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1 – 10 of 317
Article
Publication date: 15 May 2017

Colin G. Brown, Scott A. Waldron and John Francis Wilkins

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact on household and farming systems of government efforts to modernise production, build scale and develop specialisation in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact on household and farming systems of government efforts to modernise production, build scale and develop specialisation in the Tibet dairy industry.

Design/methodology/approach

An overview of policy strategies and industry developments is used to frame detailed micro-level analysis of household and farming systems where impacts on households are explored from both a comparative static and dynamic perspective.

Findings

Specialisation and intensification improve household returns but elicit major changes in the farming and household systems and engagement with external markets. For instance, scaling up from three to ten improved cows increases returns from farm activities by one-half but shifts households from a state of food self-sufficiency to one where they need to sell two-thirds of their dairy products and buy three-fifths of their livestock feed.

Research limitations/implications

The diversity among Tibetan farm households and the dynamic changes occurring in farm productivity, product markets and agrarian systems means that the empirical results are used as illustrative rather than definitive.

Originality/value

Relative to the large attention on the Chinese dairy industry with regard to food safety and industry development, the impacts of dairy specialisation on smallholders especially in western China have been overlooked. The case highlights several issues relevant to agrarian transition and development including changing labour use, risk exposure and engagement with external markets.

Details

Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-0839

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1985

John M. Gowdy

Neo‐classical utility theory has withstood several decades of sustained criticism. Its success has been due (1) to the ability of the theory to represent an essentially…

Abstract

Neo‐classical utility theory has withstood several decades of sustained criticism. Its success has been due (1) to the ability of the theory to represent an essentially non‐analytical process by analytical methods, and (2) to the fact that the theory was developed for, and applied to, advanced market economies where the simplifying assumptions are most appropriate. It is argued below that the neo‐classical formulation is inappropriate in societies where agrarian traditions predominate and that, consequently, economic policies based on such an approach have frequently been misdirected.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 12 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2003

Mohamed M. Mostafa

This study investigates Egyptian society’s attitudes towards women who work held by a sample of 217 participants. The subjects completed the newly developed multidimensional…

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Abstract

This study investigates Egyptian society’s attitudes towards women who work held by a sample of 217 participants. The subjects completed the newly developed multidimensional aversion to women who work scale (MAWWWS). The study validates the scale in a non‐western context. The results reveal that, contrary to our expectation, Egyptian students have very similar attitudes towards women who work to those of the older generations. There are significant differences between males’ and females’ perceptions towards women’s roles and participation in society. The study predicts that modernity may diminish patriarchal attitudes towards women in Arab societies. Finally, the study detects no significant difference between Muslims and non‐Muslims in Egypt regarding their attitudes towards women who work.

Details

Women in Management Review, vol. 18 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0964-9425

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2005

Mohamed M. Mostafa

This study aims to investigate the United Arab Emirates (UAE) society's attitudes towards women managers held by a sample of 186 participants.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the United Arab Emirates (UAE) society's attitudes towards women managers held by a sample of 186 participants.

Design/methodology/approach

The subjects completed the newly developed multidimensional aversion to women who work scale (MAWWWS). The study validates the scale in an Arab non‐Western context.

Findings

The results reveal that UAE students have significantly different attitudes towards women managers from those of the older generations. There are significant differences between males' and females' perceptions of women's roles and participation in society. The study predicts that modernity may diminish patriarchal attitudes towards women managers in the Arab world.

Originality/value

This study has provided some insights into the factors associated with attitudes towards women managers in the UAE. This research contributes to the literature on cross‐cultural studies by systematically assessing the attitudes towards women managers in the UAE.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 20 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 March 2013

Johan Edman

This article seeks to investigate the ideological visions embedded in the political formulation of the Swedish drug problem and in the bureaucratic management of the Swedish drug…

808

Abstract

Purpose

This article seeks to investigate the ideological visions embedded in the political formulation of the Swedish drug problem and in the bureaucratic management of the Swedish drug treatment services during the years 1960‐2000.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical basis for the analysis consists mainly of parliamentary material from the Swedish Parliament (403 parliamentary bills, 66 government bills, 198 parliamentary records, 14 government letters and 159 standing committee statements) as well as archival materials produced in the application process of 73 aspiring treatment homes from the years 1960‐2001. The empirical material is partly analyzed from a theoretical understanding of political consensus as a doxa and political debate as permeated by naturalizing ideologies.

Findings

The article examines drug consumption as a political problem and its ideological undertones. It shows how drugs and drug consumption often have been subordinate in problem descriptions that have fulfilled other political purposes. Worries about politically radical youth, foreign religions or incomprehensible music have been understood as a drug problem. In the Swedish parliament the drug problem has been described in terms of capitalist class oppression, Americanism or cultural superficiality. Modernity, urbanization and industrialization have also been criticized in the name of the drug problem. In the treatment centres and within the ruling bureaucracy it was also elucidated that the drug problem was an ideological problem. The effective treatment method has been elusive, but the effective method has also played second fiddle in the choice of treatment solutions. Other values have been awarded, such as rural romanticism, Swedishness, solidarity and diligence. Individualism, Americanism and profit making have also been opposed within the ideological treatment sector. At the end of the research period such assessments however became subordinate to an overarching ideological quest to make substance abuse treatment a market among others.

Social implications

A focus on the ideological content both in political discussions and bureaucratic management might enrich the understanding of both politics and bureaucracy as well as the formulation of the drug problem and the suggested solutions. Ideology is not the opposite of facts or evidence‐based solutions; ideology permeates every aspect of problem formulations and solutions. To recognize the drug issue's ideological disposition should therefore not be seen as way of avoiding discussions about the actual dilemma with drugs, it is rather an opportunity to seriously start a discussion on how to solve the problem.

Originality/value

The analyzing of naturalized and apparently self‐evident ideology as part of the rational argument rather than its very opposite would be useful both for further research on the topic as well as for deepening the democratic discussions on, for instance, evidence‐based methods within the drug treatment services.

Details

Drugs and Alcohol Today, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1745-9265

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2000

Leo McCann

Presents a unique view of informality within the government of Tatarstan which challenges the notion that these forms can be dismissed as simply corruption. Focuses on interviews…

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Abstract

Presents a unique view of informality within the government of Tatarstan which challenges the notion that these forms can be dismissed as simply corruption. Focuses on interviews with investors and businessmen, showing how informality can be an important factor in the reproduction of elite classes. Limits the article to the unique dynamics of the transition from command economy to free market economy but provides resonance with the experiences of those who have worked in many third‐world societies.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 20 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2006

Rhonda McClellan and Ramon Dominguez

This paper aims to provide a framework for the development and implementation of educational administration programs that encourage practitioners and educational administration…

1323

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a framework for the development and implementation of educational administration programs that encourage practitioners and educational administration faculty to push application and preparation beyond reproducing tendencies of the status quo as well as to open education to the potential of embracing silenced or marginalized learners.

Design/methodology/approach

Two programs developed and implemented by the Department of Educational Management and Development (EMD) at New Mexico State University are described and discussed. The programs are reviewed to show the gradual but significant transformation to a social justice content beginning with the more traditionally‐aligned program in educational administration, the Community College Leadership Doctoral Program (CCLDP), and concluding with a detailed description of the Educational Leadership Doctoral Program (ELDP), a leadership program that unites traditional educational administration curriculum with social justice inquiries of power and privilege.

Findings

The detailed information attempts to teach practitioners and educational administrators how to gain entry into institutional power structures so communication, collaboration, and reform can occur.

Originality/value

The paper provides the tools to survive in existing systems and the awareness to see inequalities. The capability of creating change in educational environments expecting a business‐as‐usual‐paradigm is also discussed.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 44 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2024

Hamid Yeganeh

This article analyzes the relationships between different conceptions of time, socioeconomic development and cultural values.

Abstract

Purpose

This article analyzes the relationships between different conceptions of time, socioeconomic development and cultural values.

Design/methodology/approach

We focus on three major aspects of time, namely, 1) duration, 2) orientation and 3) tempo. Furthermore, we draw on modernization theory to distinguish between agrarian/traditional and industrial/modern societies and their respective cultural values.

Findings

Analyses indicate that agrarian/traditional societies with cultural values such as collectivism, survival, religiosity and hierarchical structures are marked by subjective/cyclical/inaccurate, past-oriented and slow-paced conceptions of time. In contrast, industrial/modern societies with cultural values such as individualism, self-expression, secularism and egalitarianism are marked by objective/linear/accurate, future-oriented and accelerated conceptions of time.

Originality/value

This paper introduces an original conceptualization of the three dimensions of time – duration, orientation and tempo – previously overlooked in the literature. Additionally, it provides an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the relationships between time, culture and socioeconomic development.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 44 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 July 2017

Hamid Yeganeh

The purpose of this study is to rely on the modernization theory to analyze and explain the cross-national differences in work-related values and attitudes (WVA).

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to rely on the modernization theory to analyze and explain the cross-national differences in work-related values and attitudes (WVA).

Design/methodology/approach

First, the modernization theory and WVA are conceptualized, their relations are discussed and the hypotheses are formulated. Next, the data, measures, variables and empirical tests are presented. Finally, the theoretical and managerial implications are discussed, an integrative model is proposed and avenues for future research are suggested.

Findings

The empirical results confirm the explanatory strength of the modernization theory and provide valuable insights into the patterns of WVA across the world. It is found that the countries involved in the first phase of human development emphasize work centrality, extrinsic aspects of a job and material rewards and are likely to show noticeable discrimination against women and foreign workers. In contrast, post-industrial societies that are involved in the second phase of human development prefer emancipative WVA, such as low work centrality, tolerance of foreign workers, gender equality and hedonism at the workplace.

Research limitations/implications

Despite the remarkable acceptance of the modernization theory, some of Inglehart’s propositions have been subject to criticism. Furthermore, human development, modernization and the subsequent cultural shifts are “path-dependent” as they are affected by the national, religious and civilization heritage of a country.

Practical implications

The findings of this study can help international mangers adopt the appropriate strategies for a wide range of issues, such as staffing, planning, job description and compensation policies.

Originality/value

The modernization theory is a suitable alternative to national cultural dimensions. This approach relies on the premise that socioeconomic development creates consistent patterns of values, beliefs and behaviors that ultimately shape WVA around the globe.

Details

International Journal of Development Issues, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1446-8956

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 October 2023

Mingguo Liu, Xiangming Fang and Jingru Ren

This study aims to identify the importance of agricultural and rural modernization and propose ways to accelerate such modernization.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to identify the importance of agricultural and rural modernization and propose ways to accelerate such modernization.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors systematically examine the crucial role that the modernization of agriculture and rural areas plays in China, discuss the current issues in China's modernization from the perspective of agricultural and rural fields and propose practical measures to accelerate agricultural and rural modernization.

Findings

This study emphasizes the importance of China's agricultural and rural modernization in five aspects: the significance inherent in theories and experiences, the high complexity of the modernization work, the extreme difficulty of the task, the particular sluggishness of the process and its specific impact on the overall development. Numerous shortcomings in domestic agriculture and rural areas have been identified. The following actions can help achieve modernization: strengthening strategic leadership, providing policy support and constructing supportive measures.

Originality/value

This paper summarizes the significance of agricultural and rural modernization, highlights the issues regarding such modernization and suggests effective solutions.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

Keywords

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