Academic Definitions Research Articles

The British partnership phenomenon: a ten year review

This article presents a detailed review of the vast partnership literature that has emerged in the UK between 1998 and 2008. It begins by examining definitions of partnership, and suggests that while academic definitions are vague, practitioner definitions tend to conflate partnership processes with partnership outcomes. An alternative definition based upon processes and practices is offered. This is followed by a review of the conceptual advocates/critics debate, and the key themes of empirical partnership studies. It is proposed that while recent empirical evidence identifies a variety of outcomes and presents various typologies of partnership, there is an absence of debates on typologies in the literature. The article then identifies several limitations of the existing literature, including ideological positions, a lack of sensitivity to context and to different types of partnership, and a focus on outcomes. The article concludes by suggesting avenues for future partnership research.

Surveying American State Police Agencies About Terrorism Threats, Terrorism Sources, and Terrorism Definitions

This study presents American state police agencies' perceptions about three significant terrorism and public safety issues. First, we asked about the threat posed by specified extremist groups nationally and to their state. We asked about the number of such groups and their supporters, and the number of activities each group participates in during a typical year in their state. We also asked about the number of criminal incidents each group commits and the number of their supporters arrested in a typical year. Second, we asked the agencies to rate the usefulness of fifteen specified terrorism sources. Third, we queried the agencies about their views of eight terrorism definitions. These data were collected by surveying the fifty state police agencies in the United States. We discovered widespread concern about the criminal activities of various extremist groups, with a particular concern about the threat of Islamic jihadists. Interestingly, although the top rated threat was Islamic jihadists, the respondents indicated that other types of groups were much more criminally active. Further, respondents indicated that various open and non-open sources were valuable terrorism sources. Finally, most respondents reacted more favorably to official terrorism definitions—especially the FBI's—as opposed to academic definitions. We conclude with a discussion of the policy implications of our findings and we outline directions for future research.

Editorial: Special issue on methodology of societal complexity

This is a special issue on the field of societal complexity. The field of societal complexity is an upcoming field combining the knowledge from alpha, beta and gamma sciences in reflecting on real-life problems. The main focus of this special issue is on methodology: how to handle real-life complex problems. The field societal complexity is established in 1994 by DeTombe. Since that time, on modest scale, international conferences are organized on this topic and small research groups are established all over the world. Scientists from the field of social sciences, methodology, psychology, sociology, economy, mathematics, operational research, philosophy, systems theory, chaos theory and from applied fields like transportation, agriculture, risk management, safety, flood and healthcare focus together on handling complex societal problems. Reflecting on real-life problems, scientists are confronted with the limitations of their own field. Real-life problems are not restricted to the academic definitions of knowledge. Fast progress in science will be found in combining the knowledge of different fields. Handling complex societal problems needs a multi-disciplinary approach. Handling societal problems in a multi-disciplinary way has become a must for our society. The challenge is to combine the knowledge of the social sciences, technological sciences and natural sciences in such a way that new knowledge and insights are created. The problems that the society is confronted with are difficult to handle. There is a growing gap between the complexity of these problems, the need for interdisciplinarity and the way the knowledge is organized. There is a need for better methods and tools, more knowledge and imagination. Complex societal problems are seldom completely defined, change during their development, and involve many actors, each with a different view on the problem, with different interests and with different ‘solutions’ in mind. These kinds of problems have a large impact on society and involve often large amounts of money. Each complex societal problem has knowledge, power and emotional elements. The claim of this field is that complex societal real-life problems should be handled in according to the theory, methods and tools of the field of societal complexity. More information about this field is available on: http://www.geocities.com/doriendetombe/ detomberesearchgroupsall.html.

Mythbusting Publishing: Questioning the ‘Runaway Popularity’ of Published Biography and Other Life Writing

Mythbusting Publishing: Questioning the ‘Runaway Popularity’ of Published Biography and Other Life Writing

On the necessity of wonder

This essay emerged from an exhibition in 2006 in which notions of the Wunderkammer became central in the curation of the show. It brought together work by Anna Boggon, Silke Dettmers and Helen Maurer, three artists employing the language of what one could call the ‘contemporary surreal’ (‘The Wrong End of the Telescope’, Three Colts Gallery, London).The history and concept of the Wunderkammer is critical for the argument pursued in this article, which calls for the re-instatement of ‘wonder’ and the idea of ‘the marvellous’. These are vital ingredients for visual arts practice but are unacknowledged in today's art academies.It takes on board the current debate of ‘visual arts practice as research’ and extends the argument of authors such as Sullivan (Art Practice as Research, 2005) and Barone, by demonstrating conventional academic definitions of ‘knowledge’ and artistic practice to be irreconcilable.The importance of not knowing. Wunderkammern and Curiosity Cabinets. Some thoughts on the real, the surreal and the contemporary surreal. The aspirations of words and the difficulties with ‘proof’. Heterotopias. Questions rather than answers.

Sex, Violence and Censorship: London's Grand Guignol and the Negotiation of the Limit

This article provides analysis of the short-lived London Grand Guignol (1920–2). During its brief existence, this institution became infamous – its presentation of acts of murder and violation provoked strong reactions from its audience, the press and the Lord Chamberlain's office. It has not attracted sustained scholarly analysis since, however, and this article draws upon archival material from the Lord Chamberlain's Plays and Correspondence Files, London's Theatre Museum and the Mander and Mitchenson collection in order to assess its audience's scopophilic – and often very physical – responses, as well as the ocularcentric preoccupations of the genre. The article illuminates censorious, critical and academic definitions of value, drawing upon Foucault's essay ‘A Preface to Transgression’ and the work of Georges Bataille.

Racist violence in Europe: Challenges for official data collection

This article critically examines official data collection on racist violence in European Union [EU] Member States. Academic and legal definitions of “racist violence” are offered, in a European-wide context, before the article explores the current state of data collection on “racist violence”, both official and unofficial, in the European Union. Drawing on evidence reported by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia [EUMC], the article presents a stark introduction to the limitations of current official criminal justice data collection practices in EU Member States. In contrast with most Member States, the UK is held up in the article as an example of good official data collection on racist violence (although, even in this case, there is still scope for refinements to be made to data collection practices). Towards the end, the article looks at the challenges for official data collection on racist violence across the EU, such as different data collection traditions and legislative barriers. In response, the article introduces a range of recommendations to meet the challenge for effective data collection on racist violence in the EU.

Drivers of supply chain vulnerability: an integrated framework

PurposeThis paper aims to report on findings of a cross‐sector empirical study of the sources and drivers of supply chain vulnerability.Design/methodology/approachThe research was undertaken in accordance with the realist tradition. It begins with a descriptive exploratory stage involving an in‐depth exploratory case study of aerospace industry supply chains, validated through in‐depth interviews with managers representing other “critical sectors” of the UK economy. This is followed by an explanatory theoretical stage. The work is supported throughout with reference to relevant literature sources.FindingsThe findings highlight the absence of any widespread understanding of the scope of and dynamic nature of the problem, which should be considered from multiple perspectives and at four levels of analysis: value stream/product or process; asset and infrastructure dependencies; organisations and inter‐organisational networks; and social and natural environment.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is normative rather than positive, so focuses on understanding why supply chains are vulnerable to disruption, rather than presenting itself as a prescription for management. The paper does not investigate academic definitions or existing taxonomies of risk.Practical implicationsThe work provides some useful insights for practising managers and policy makers.Originality/valueThe paper reports on empirical research, then draws as appropriate on network theory and complex systems perspectives to produce a conceptual model of a supply chain as in interactive adaptive system.

Teaching and Research: The Idea of a Nexus

The article explores whether the idea of a nexus between research and teaching is still influential, what meanings are attached to it and within what concepts of higher education. It draws on research into the perceptions of two groups of actors, academics and students, and some recent scholarly analyses of the issues. It argues that the idea of the nexus is still important to academics and a range of students. It is embedded in a world in which academic definitions of knowledge and higher education remain largely dominant. The recent writings examined are attempts to tighten the conceptual connections between teaching and research ...

Trauma and Stress in the Principal's Office: Systematic Inquiry as Coping

The study of school leaders’ feelings during and about their work suffers from inadequate academic definitions about the depth, character, and legitimacy of those feelings, as well as from limitations on the means of capturing and recording those feelings. This study pushes the definitions of administrators’ stress into the areas of traumatic stress and offers autobiography as a systematic means of investigating and legitimating school leaders’ feelings about their work. Four vignettes drawn from autobiographical inquiry demonstrate the authenticity of this method and the legitimacy of school leaders’ experiences of traumatic stress in their work.

Marginality and gender at work in forestry communities of British Columbia, Canada

This paper examines the practices and discourses of forestry work in a Canadian context. I argue that forestry-town women contribute to a paradox. From the outside, women's experiences of forestry employment are rendered marginal by academics, government agencies and policy makers. Women's representations in forestry work are limited, in part, because those who count forestry have historically overlooked types of employment where women are most likely to be found. Paradoxically, I argue that women contribute to their own marginality by their adherence to discourses and practices that reinforce stereotypes about the industry. I explain this paradox developing the concept of social embeddedness to explore women's direct involvement in the paid work of forestry and to examine the meanings women give to forestry occupations. My empirical analysis traces government and academic definitions of forestry work and contrast these to interpretations of forestry work given in interviews by women living in forestry communities on Vancouver Island, Canada. I observe women both protested their marginal positions within forestry while they reinforced dominant stereotypes that exclude them from participating more fully in forestry occupations. I consider the implications of these findings from a theoretical and a policy perspective.

Outsider and Insider Expertise: The Response of Residents of Deprived Neighbourhoods to an Academic Definition of Social Exclusion

The aim of this paper is to compare academic interpretations of the term social exclusion with the understanding of people with direct experience of the phenomenon. A preselected group of residents of deprived neighbourhoods were asked about various aspects of the concept and their responses compared with the definitions of social exclusion used by Burchardt, Le Grand and Piachaud in this Journal in 1999. In general, the residents’ understanding of the term corresponded well with the more academic definitions; however, in one or two key areas there were significant differences, suggesting that it might be useful for more academic concepts to be tested against the views of those with experience of the phenomenon which the concept is trying to capture.

Re-thinking a black feminist standpoint

Black feminists in Britain and the USA have long argued that there exists a black feminist standpoint based on theoretical understanding of black women's everyday experiences. This article draws connections between black feminist standpoint theory and the widening availability of black women's writings within literature and popular culture to investigate the issue of what experiences get taken up and come to define the black female experience. Through doing so, questions are raised about the 'triumph of experience' and the underlying assumptions of authenticity and authority that are so central to academic accounts and popular narratives of the black female experience. In the analysis, tension and discontinuity emerge between academic definitions of experience and the way that black women define experience within their everyday social worlds. The essay draws on and uses empirical research within specific localized communities to critically explore these issues.

Changing government, changing cultures? Moving the quality agenda towards effective processes to counterbalance performance outcomes.

This paper begins by identifying current government initiatives to tabulate performance in the National Health Service by the identification and codification of selected clinical indicators, and notes the ambivalence as to whether effectiveness is to be seen on financial or qualitative terms. It continues by reviewing official and academic definitions of effectiveness, and discovers a similar lack of consensus. It then moves on to consider the concept of effectiveness in another public utility -- education. A distinction is drawn between effectiveness as a measure of institutional outcome and as a key factor influencing institutional process. The factors that promote effectiveness in education are identified and exemplified. The paper concludes by reflecting on the steps necessary if such processes are to be adopted in the management of the National Health Service, and notes that the new 'National Plan' offers, at least in theory, an ideal context for a collective effort to enhance effectiveness processes in the health service, in which managers can play a decisive role.

Reviews and Two Markets for Sociology Books

ARTHUR L. STINCHCOMBE Northwestern University a-stinch@9northwestern. edu that slips in some instruction? talk radio? musical messages? to reach a larger public and influence the public agenda. It won't be easy, not because it can't be done hip hop music, television comedies, and radio call-in shows routinely convey sociological messages but because such channels of communication violate both the habits of the reading class (all sociologists are members, like it or not) and academic definitions of productivity. But the discipline needs to start trying. References Arnold, Martin. 2000. A Litmtls Test for Romantics. New Yoaflk Tinzes, September 14, p. E3. Griswold, Wendy. 2000. Beasisjg Witness: lWiters, Readers, and the Novel il1. Nigeria. Princeton University Press. Harris, William V. 1989. Anciel1t Litesacy. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Marx, Karl. 1978. The German Icleology, Pclrt I, p. 172 in Marx-Ellgels Reacler, editecl by Robert C. Ttlcker. 2cl ed. New York: Norton.

A Voice from the Past

Too often, academic definitions of organizations describe what the firm is rather than why the firm is. Also, corporate mission statments and other publications often describe what the firm does in static terms, without answering the deeper question of why the firm exists at all. These attempts at describing the organization are good tools for explaining their structure, but are inadequate for understanding the purpose of organizations. In this article, a method of analysis first described by Aristotle is applied to corporations in an attempt to define the mission of business. Using an end oriented, or teleological, framework, Aristotle's theory of causation can provide deeper understanding and broader perspectives on the role of the corporation in the modern world. Mission statements are intended to communicate the on-going purpose of an organization to its constituencies. They are public declara tions that guide planning and operational decision-making within the organization. However, decision-making within organizations frequently pays only lip-service to the declared mission. For example, during recent interview sessions,2 several top executives were asked to describe their decision process when faced with an organizational restructuring. Many of these executives commented on the importance of the mission statement in guiding the restructuring process. This wisdom is consistent with re cent summary research of successful restructuring strategies,3 which

The Optimum Level of Argumentativeness for Employed Women

Discussion of substantive among coworkers is vital to group effectiveness (see, for example, Burnett, 1991), and workplace discussion is rightfully encouraged by many business communication textbooks, which warn of the pitfalls of groupthink. However, when an employee disagrees with the boss or a colleague, the employee must carefully consider the merits of pursuing the issue to the point of an argument. Although some recent business communication textbooks explain how to argue (e.g., Ewald & Burnett, 1997; Locker, 1997), there is little discussion in the business communication literature of the potential benefits and risks of argument, or of the personality predisposition known as argumentativeness that leads some individuals to argue more than others. This predisposition is of interest to business communication practitioners and teachers for two reasons: (a) argumentativeness can be influenced by training, and (b) highly argumentative individuals have been shown to have characteristics linked with workplace success. Achievement of supervisory authority is a widely recognized indicator of workplace success. Since supervisors must both present departmental results to upper management and convey executive decisions to their own subordinates, the possibilities for argumentative discussion are numerous, and the potential importance of those arguments is great. The supervisor's position is held at the pleasure of management, which must have confidence in the supervisor's ability to communicate about corporate issues (Gorden, Infante, & Izzo, 1988, p. 20). The importance of this and other management skills increases at higher supervisory levels. The value of argumentativeness for business people seems clear, yet, for female employees, a contradiction emerges regarding what Infante calls a desirable communication (1982, p. 146) in the workplace. Recent assertiveness research shows that males may react negatively to females' use of powerful communication (Carli, 1990; Wiley & Eskilson, 1985), defined as direct, assertive communication, in contrast to a traditional, tentative communicative manner (Wiley & Eskilson, 1985, p. 996). Yet argumentativeness is an assertive trait (Rancer, Baukus, & Infante, 1985) which claims numerous positive assertions over the last 15 years of study (Infante & Rancer, 1996, p. 321). The contradiction between the argumentativeness and the assertive research is striking. For ambitious women who have been encouraged to be assertive, or who are predisposed to argumentativeness, these findings pose a dilemma which this paper attempts to resolve. In this paper, I examine the relationship between argumentativeness and women's success in organizations, as operationalized by the women's supervisory levels. I begin by defining argumentativeness, including descriptions of how it relates to assertiveness and aggression, and how it is quantified. Then, I review the literature related to the following issues: the benefits of argumentativeness, relevant cultural perceptions/misperceptions, current workplace demographics, and the contradictory research regarding the value of assertiveness for women. Finally, I present the results of my own study which indicates that a moderate level of argumentativeness is optimum for women seeking supervisory advancement and explore the implications of this new information in research, in the classroom, and in the workplace. Literature Review The distinctions among aggressiveness, assertiveness, and argumentativeness are important to understand since the academic definitions, while validated by research, may differ from popular connotations and, therefore, workplace perceptions. Argumentativeness and assertiveness are academically defined as distinct, constructive aspects of aggressive behaviors (Infante & Rancer, 1982). Argumentativeness is One Type of Assertive (and, Therefore, Aggressive) Behavior. …

Defining international terrorism: A pragmatic approach

One of the fundamental problems in addressing the phenomenon of international terrorism is that despite a plethora of scholarly work and more than thirty years of inter‐governmental discourse there is still no commonly accepted definition of international terrorism. Existing definitions tend to fall into two broad categories academic and political. Contemporary academic definitions of international terrorism are primarily designed to fit incidents into various statistical models. They are often lengthy, over‐complicated and defy common usage. Governmental definitions of international terrorism tend to be ambiguous to allow the most politically convenient interpretation of events. This paper takes a pragmatic look at the ongoing definitional dilemma in the study of international terrorism. Drawing upon both sides of the definitional spectrum, it charts a middle course arguing for a more lucid and functional definition of terrorism based on primary characteristics which distinguish international terrorism from other types of violence.

Social and Sociopsychological Prerequisites of Fascism

The concept of and fascism as a concrete reality are related to one another just as a scientific abstraction is related to ever-changing and analysis-resistant life. One cannot present fascism so that it is a phenomenon created to correspond fully to all academic definitions that then, with no change at all, comes to power and constitutes a regime.

Music and politics in Ireland: The specificity of the folk revival in Belfast

Academic definitions of folk song have excluded Irish patriotic and nationalist song which, in conjunction with the cultural avoidance of politically sensitive issues endemic in northern Irish society, facilitated the integration of middle‐class Catholics and Protestants in the folk revival. This paper contextualizes the folk revivial in Belfast within the historical and contemporary setting of Irish nationalist politics and song and explores how song has been used to construct identities in “the battle of two civilisations”.