Conservative Leaders Research Articles

Electricity conservation intention among university students in northern Ghana: An assessment of the drivers for some electrical appliances

University students are among those associated with high energy consumption but with low conservational practices. Such behavior has serious implications on energy sustainability and emission of greenhouse gases. For developing countries, low electricity conservation increases the burden on utility companies and the government as a whole. Efforts to promote electricity conservation have led to an increased number of studies. However, such research have not given much consideration to the role of emotions as well as religion in energy conservation. Evidence from Ghana is also limited. This study examines the factors of electricity conservation intention among University students in Ghana. With the lens of the theory of planned behavior, electricity conservation intention associated with the usage of laptops, refrigerators, light and electric fans was assessed. Emotions and religion were included in the model to assess their effect. Data was collected through the administration of questionnaires to 204 university students. The findings from ordered probit regression indicate that subjective norms, perceived behaviourial control, attitude, emotions and religion influence the extent that students intend to conserve electricity. However, their effects were somehow found to be appliance-specific. The results suggest that continuous teaching of the need for electricity conservation at religious centers or among religious groups could generate some guaranteed levels of electricity conservation among students and may be, even among the larger population. Individuals that assume considerable importance in society should act as conservation leaders to promote such behavior among students and the general public.

Mentorship and professional growth for conservationists in primate-range countries.

Ways to support professional capacity of emerging conservation leadership in primate range countries.

Understanding factors influencing technical inertia in family-run SMEs : A study on technology adoption challenges

The study aims to develop theoretical understanding regarding the factors impacting technical inertia in family-run businesses by studying the literature available. The factors impacting are similar in some ways to technology adoption in other businesses but family businesses bring along their own set of challenges to the mix. The study relies on a qualitative research design to identify the factors impacting the technology adoption. Drawing on the secondary data with an in-depth literature review, this study explores how family-run businesses approaches technology adoption. The analysis shows that family-run businesses may face multiple obstacles in the process of acquisition and adoption of technology. The factors like fear of change, lack of skills and conservative leadership being the prime ones. The paper contributes to a better understanding of how family businesses can leverage the adoption of new innovation. The technology adoption such as the use of Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT and social media will help the business to grow and have the existence not only local but global as well. The use of technology will impact the business in decision making. This will further helps in grown and profitability in business with better utilisation of resources. This will also impact the evolution in the business. The paper suggests the future course of action which can be taken by these businesses. The paper offers insights into the very relevant field of technology adoption by the family businesses in India.

From “compassionate conservatism” champion to Thatcher 2.0: Storytelling, ethos building and the evolution of Tory leadership (2005-2022)

When he became leader of the Conservative Party in 2005, David Cameron’s ambition was to change the negative image of his party. After years of internal disputes over Europe, immigration or gay rights, Cameron wanted to shake off the “Nasty Party” label that was hanging around the neck of his political organisation. This makeover process amounted to what some political scientists defined as the “decontamination of the Conservative brand”, and Cameron was meant to embody the new direction. In a similar vein, when she replaced Cameron, Theresa May tried to create the image of a healer who would mend the divisions caused by the Brexit referendum. Boris Johnson seems to have ignited another kind of leadership, more confrontational and aggressive, and perhaps more in tune with the legacy of Margaret Thatcher. Liz Truss, who took over from Johnson, did not seek to move away from this new – or rather traditional – path, as she repeatedly tried to emulate the heritage – and the political image – of the Iron Lady.This article proposes to study the evolution of Tory leadership, from 2005 to 2022, in order to assess whether Johnson’s mandate marks a clear break from his direct predecessors, Cameron and May, who seemed to have favoured One-Nation, compassionate conservatism, in direct opposition to the Thatcher years. To reach this objective, we will examine how recent Conservative leaders (Cameron, May, Johnson and Truss) used storytelling to build their ethos and reinforce their leadership, in their annual Conference keynote speeches.

The influence of environmental clubs in Chinese universities on the development of core competencies for conservation leadership among college students

The influence of environmental clubs in Chinese universities on the development of core competencies for conservation leadership among college students

Проблема взаимоотношений с народом в деятельности Императорского Православного Палестинского общества (конец XIX – начало XX в.)

The activities of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS), founded in 1882, reflected important trends in the socio-political and ideological development of Russia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Created mostly on order to strengthen the political influence of Russia in the Holy Land, and to assist the pilgrims arriving there, the IOPS, from the point of view of its founders, had another extremely important task – to develop the contacts between the power structures and the conservative upper classes of society with the masses of the common people. Seeking to reach this goal, the IOPS launched the extensive publishing activities, established its local departments in the dioceses and organized there the so-called popular readings dedicated to the Holy Land. In the course of these activities, a number of problems emerged related to the question of the ways and mechanisms of interaction between an educated society and the masses. It was necessary to realize what subjects and forms of presentation of the material would attract the people to the greatest extent, what forms of communication should be used, how much the consciousness of the intelligentsia differs from the system of ideas of the social lower classes. The solution of these issues was supposed to help strengthen the religious foundations of people's self-consciousness in the period of growing socio-political turbulence. The conservative leaders of IOPS also believed that developing of the above-mentioned activities would give them the opportunity to comprehend the peculiarities of the common people’s worldview. The beginning of the revolution in 1905, the development of secularization tendencies and the aggravation of social contradictions did not allow the IOPS to fulfill the intended program. However, its activities became an important page in the history of Russia in the pre-revolutionary period.

The Theme of Indianism in the Selected Works of Upamanyu Chatterjee

One of the most accomplished and prolific contemporary Indian writers of English is Upamanyu Chatterjee. With a strong sociocultural and Indian foundation, Chatterjee’s fields of expertise encompass a wide range of subjects while remaining deeply influenced by the rich legacy of Indian culture. The Spiritualism and nationalism are included on this list. For him, just like for Aurobindo Ghosh, nationalism entails a genuine dedication to one’s country and its people, regardless of their race, gender, caste, or place in society. India is a nation that embraces many languages, cultures, and religions. Religion- and culture-related disputes have always arisen. The conservative and narrow-minded religious leaders and politicians frequently have mislead the populace, which occasionally have caused riots. Upamanyu Chatterjee asserts that in a country with as many cultures as India, riots are inevitable. India has continued to expand over time despite being the target of multiple invasions and incursions. India’s greatest asset is its spirituality. It has been reinforced by them in all attacks, both internal and external. According to Upamanyu Chatterjee, the evil forces endangering the peace and harmony of the nation can be vanquished by grasping the core values of Indian culture. The comparison and analysis of the nationalistic and spiritualist ethos found in the selected works of Upamanyu Chatterjee is the main goal of this research project.

Selling hope versus hate: the impact of partisan social media messaging on social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThis study aims to examine the role of hope and hate in political leaders’ messages in influencing liberals versus conservatives’ social-distancing behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the increasing political partisanship across the world today, using the appropriate message framing has important implications for social and public policy.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use two Natural Language Processing (NLP) methods – a pretrained package (HateSonar) and a classifier built to implement our supervised neural network-based model architecture using RoBERTa – to analyze 61,466 tweets by each US state’s governor and two senators with the goal of examining the association between message factors invoking hate and hope and increased or decreased social distancing from March to May 2020. The authors examine individuals’ social-distancing behaviors (the amount of nonessential driving undertaken) using data from 3,047 US counties between March 13 and May 31, 2020, as reported by Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports and the New York Times repository of COVID-19 data.FindingsThe results show that for conservative state leaders, the use of hate increases nonessential driving of state residents. However, when these leaders use hope in their speech, nonessential driving of state residents decreases. For liberal state leaders, the use of hate displays a directionally different result as compared to their conservative counterparts.Research limitations/implicationsAmid the emergence of new analytic techniques and novel data sources, the findings demonstrate that the use of global positioning systems data and social media analysis can provide valuable and precise insights into individual behavior. They also contribute to the literature on political ideology and emotion by demonstrating the use of specific emotion appeals in targeting specific consumer segments based on their political ideology.Practical implicationsThe findings have significant implications for policymakers and public health officials regarding the importance of considering partisanship when developing and implementing public health policies. As partisanship continues to increase, applying the appropriate emotion appeal in messages will become increasingly crucial. The findings can help marketers and policymakers develop more effective social marketing campaigns by tailoring specific appeals given the political identity of the consumer.Originality/valueUsing Neural NLP methods, this study identifies the specific factors linking social media messaging from political leaders and increased compliance with health directives in a partisan population.

The U.S. needs a National Biodiversity Strategy

AbstractThe U.S. needs a National Biodiversity Strategy (hereafter Strategy). As a nation that places a high value on domestic biodiversity and on being a global leader in biodiversity conservation, the U.S. is failing to live up to its expectations regarding a national Strategy. A Strategy should suggest both legislation and policies and guide our country toward achieving stated objectives. We first propose a process to create a Strategy that involves establishing a government task force and supporting expert advisory panel. We then identify five key elements of a Strategy. First, a Strategy should identify priorities among legislation that impacts biodiversity. At present, conflicting rules lead to administrative uncertainty and inconsistent decisions. Second, a Strategy should create a comprehensive vision for societal participation in biodiversity protection. Current practices comprise a mixture of different levels of commitment to stakeholder participation and social justice. Third, a Strategy should mandate periodic review to better provide the American public a synopsis of how we are faring with our treasured biodiversity. Fourth, a Strategy should be as comprehensive and broad as biodiversity itself, spanning organizational ranges from genes to ecosystems. Finally, a Strategy should provide a structure for achievement that incentivizes public and business and that stimulates innovation, particularly in nature‐based solutions to complex environmental challenges.

Stakeholders’ perceptions of the conservation and management of elasmobranchs in South Africa

Global shark populations are in serious decline, especially due to overexploitation through fisheries, whose impact is often increased by a lack of proper management regulations and enforcement. South Africa’s population of chondrichthyan fauna is one of the most diverse in the world, with high rates of endemic and imperiled elasmobranch species. South Africa has been lauded as a global leader in shark conservation through progressive management legislation, such as the 2013 National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks (NPOA-Sharks I). However, South Africa’s shark populations have continued to decline. This study aimed to survey stakeholders’ (students, academics, government representatives, conservationists, recreational anglers, commercial fishers, and tourism-related stakeholders) perspectives on the efficacy of NPOA-Sharks I in managing and enforcing fisheries regulations and to advise the 2022 NPOA-Sharks II approach concerning the conservation of South African elasmobranchs. A total of 89 stakeholders participated in an online questionnaire survey launched in 2021. Most stakeholders viewed the NPOA-Sharks I as somewhat appropriate, South Africa’s current exploitation of shark stocks as unsustainable and management and enforcement of regulations as inadequate. Commercial fishing and lack of enforcement were ranked as the two most pressing issues facing South Africa’s sharks. Similarly, the expert review panel found limited progress (<50%) made in the implementation of the NPOA-Sharks I concerning regulatory tools and sustainable management and called for improved monitoring, surveillance and enforcement of compliance regulations across fisheries as one of the top recommendations for immediate implementation in NPOA-Sharks II. However, the majority of action items under the “Sustainable Management” issue cluster in NPOA-Sharks II suggest a reassessment or reestablishment of existing regulations or the development of new regulatory tools with few specifics provided, reflective of a disconnect between what the lead government agency responsible for the management of South Africa’s sharks, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), perceives to be effective and what stakeholders experience concerning shark conservation in South Africa. What was perceived by the national management agency as effective concerning shark conservation in South Africa was not necessarily experienced as such by the stakeholders. There is a need for increased collaboration among stakeholders and significant improvements in the practical management of South African fisheries for shark conservation, which is now also suggested in the NPOA-Sharks II.

Associations between partisan media consumption, opioid use disorder stigma, and opioid policy support: An exploration of the media’s role in the ongoing opioid epidemic

We report on a preliminary investigation into the relationship between partisan media consumption (PMC) among U.S. adults and their (1) opioid use disorder (OUD) stigma, (2) national OUD policy support (e.g., Medicaid coverage for OUD treatment), (3) local OUD policy support (e.g., safe injection sites), (4) discriminatory OUD policies (e.g., denying housing), and (5) carceral OUD policies (e.g., jailing people who use opioids). We performed a cross-sectional survey of a nationally-representative sample of U.S. adults (n = 6,515) from October 1-November 19, 2021. We surveyed a sample of U.S. adults ages 18 and older drawn from NORC's AmeriSpeak® Panel. AmeriSpeak is a probability-based ongoing panel of over 40,000 households designed to represent the U.S. household population. Cross-sectional analyses revealed significant relationships between PMC and OUD stigma (b = 0.29, p <.001, CI95 = 0.14,0.43), support for national (b = -0.31, p <.01, CI95 = -0.54,-0.09) and local policy responses (b = -0.38, p <.001, CI95 = -0.59,-0.17), and support for discriminatory opioid use disorder policies (b = 0.27, p <.01, CI95 = 0.07,0.45). After controlling for self-reported political affiliation and other potential covariates, Republican-leaning media consumption was significantly associated with increased OUD stigma, less support for national and local harm reduction or rehabilitative policies, and more support for discriminatory policies against individuals experiencing OUD. The opposite associations were observed for Democratic-leaning media consumption. Markers for racism mediated the relationship between PMC and support for carceral policies (indirect path b = -0.41,p <.001, CI95 = -0.50,-0.31). Our results indicate that public health advocates must collaborate with conservative leaders to find bipartisan common ground for targeted communication campaigns.

Critical Consciousness of Systemic Racism in Parks among Park Agency Directors and Policymakers: An Environmental Justice Tool for Recreation and Conservation Leaders

Systemic racism in parks has created significant environmental injustices for people of color. Park leaders including agency directors and policymakers are well positioned to advance environmental justice, but doing so relies on their critical awareness of how systemic racism manifests in parks. We conducted a survey to assess critical consciousness of systemic racism in parks (CCSRP), specifically local parks, among local park leaders in Pennsylvania, explore differences in these perceptions based on leader and community type, and examine the relationship between political ideology and CCSRP. Findings indicate higher critical consciousness among agency directors and individuals working in urban or suburban communities compared to policymakers and those from rural areas. Policymakers with more conservative ideologies exhibited lower CCSRP. Findings provide preliminary evidence of the reliability and validity of the CCSRP measure and baseline evidence of CCSRP that can be used to inform educational initiatives, encourage policy change, and stimulate improved management.

A comparative analysis of water quality guidelines for fluoride in Canada and Spain

Although anthropogenic fluoride (F−) pollution is a serious worldwide environmental problem, only a few countries have currently established national water quality criteria for the protection of freshwater biota. Since Canada is a global leader in biodiversity conservation that exhibits restrictive water quality benchmarks, I carry out a comparative analysis of water quality guidelines for fluoride in Canada and Spain. The Canadian water quality benchmark of 0.12 mg F−/l (maximum allowable concentration) prevents Canada’s fresh waters from significant adverse events of fluoride pollution, thereby protecting sensitive native aquatic invertebrates and adult-migrating Pacific salmon. By contrast, the Spanish water quality benchmark of 1.7 mg F−/l (annual mean concentration) allows not only continuous levels of fluoride pollution more than six times higher than natural fluoride concentrations in the fresh waters of mainland Spain, but also much higher discontinuous levels of fluoride pollution (&gt; 15 mg F−/l). This unacceptable scenario is contrary to the current environmental goal of “zero pollution” in the European Union. In view of the existing toxicological data, a Spanish water quality guideline of 0.15−0.3 mg F−/l (maximum allowable concentration) seems much more reasonable. The recommended water quality guideline for fluoride would much better protect sensitive native fish and invertebrate species, and prevent significant bioaccumulation of fluoride in tolerant freshwater organisms.

Next generation of global conservation leaders awarded funding and support

Next generation of global conservation leaders awarded funding and support

Minority, Marginality and Modernity

Abstract Ismailis are a minority community within the larger world of Sunni and Shia Muslims and were persecuted by conservative Muslim religious and political leaders. They were marginalised in the social, cultural and political arena and were forced to dissimulate their faith in order to avoid adversarial confrontation by hostile forces. Scholars and writers in the Muslim world avoided any objective and candid discussions of the community fearing that they might encounter severe reprisal by their own dogmatic and biased leaders. In Afghanistan, the Hazara Ismailis experienced discrimination, marginalisation and repression because of their ethnicity and religious beliefs. They endured years of political, social, cultural and economic deprivation. However, their situation improved after the downfall of the Taliban rule in late 2001. Although Ismailis, for the most part, were treated as footnotes in most historical literature, they became the main topic of historical and development literature after their spiritual leader, His Highness the Aga Khan iv and present Imam of the Ismailis worldwide, got involved in the reconstruction of Afghanistan’s war-torn infrastructures. Parallel to this endeavour, the Aga Khan also abolished the hereditary system of leadership in the Ismaili community, established modern institutions and appointed a new generation of leaders to guide the community.

Inaugural Speeches by Conservative Prime Ministers From 2010 to 2022: A Consolidated Rhetoric

The Conservative Party has been in power for more than 10 years in Great Britain, from 2010 until the time of writing this document and five Prime Ministers have succeeded from David Cameron to Rishi Sunak, now in office. The document analyzes and seeks to explain how Conservative leaders have informed the country and communicated with the people every time each of them took office and gave his inaugural speech. Through speech analysis I worked on each inaugural speech and tried to explain their differences and similarities even though the genre of inaugural speeches doesn&amp;#39;t leave much space for the speaker to express their policies and measures in detail because it only lasts a handful of minutes and can give a simple indication of what the new PM will do. Surely the most interesting aspect of this type of discourse is the PM&amp;#39;s sense of leadership and decisiveness which may or may not emerge from the words, syntactic structures and rhetorical figures they use to communicate their ideas to the country.

The 2022 Conservative leadership campaign and post-racial gatekeeping

The UK Conservative Party leadership contest that took place in the summer of 2022 was unprecedented for, among other things, its level of ethnic diversity. This article argues that this does not indicate a sharp, contemporary liberal turn within the party. It argues the opposite, in fact, that recent senior ethnic minority cabinet members and leadership contenders represent some of the party’s most rightwing ideologues in years. Through critical discourse analysis of narrative related to race, borders, immigration and the ‘nation’ in selected media appearances made by ethnic minority leadership contenders Rishi Sunak, Sajid Javid, Nadhim Zahawi, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch as part of their campaigns, this piece positions these individuals – in distinct yet interrelated ways – as ethnic minority post-racial gatekeepers, continuing yet intensifying a long trend within the Conservative Party of the reproduction of the racial status quo legitimised through nominal ethnic minority representation.

Wise (Teen) Anger on Twitter: Greta Thunberg Uses “Bio Warfare” to Reshape Oppressive Anger Norms

“Bio warfare” describes a digital rhetorical tactic used by teen climate activist Greta Thunberg to challenge oppressive anger norms and assert a feminist paradigm that sees sometimes-angry teen girl activists as credible, rational rhetors. On the surface, the rhetorical strategy is simple: Thunberg copy/pastes world leaders’ disparaging language into her 160-character Twitter bio. Yet, in these seemingly simple Twitter bio updates, Thunberg recontextualizes conservative leaders’ language into her own Twitter profile, inverting their meaning to assert an opposing ideology: that teen girls’ anger can be wise.

“Molière amoché”: Discourse on the quality of English-speaking Canadian politicians’ French in Canadian news media coverage of the 2020 conservative leadership debate

“In the course of a federal electoral campaign in Canada, the French language ability of the candidates is widely discussed in both French-language and English-language media. This article proposes a discourse analysis of a representative sample of articles recovered in both French-language (20) and English-language (15) online news publications targeting the French language proficiency of candidates who have participated in the 2020 Conservative leadership French-language debate. Through an examination of representations of the French language and French language ability, the study develops a comparative analysis of the evaluation of French language ability of English-speaking Canadian politicians in the French-language and English-language Canadian media in a comparative perspective, demonstrating that the divergent language representations and the ideologies they underpin condition a number of differences between the two respective discourses: the overwhelmingly negatively constructed commentary in the French-language corpus, the construal of French language ability as an acquirable skill and a tool of communication by English Canadian journalists and as an intrinsic faculty by French Canadian journalists, and the positing of a monolingual educated native speaker as a standard in French Canadian journalistic metadiscourse on language, with no such standard discernible in the English Canadian discourse. Crucially, in examining the ways in which the two discourses interact, and, potentially, influence one another, the analysis shows the reproduction of discourse to be unidirectional, with French-language discourse influencing its English-language counterpart. This finding suggests an important role of language ideologies circulating in the French-language press in judging French language ability in Canada, which can be problematic for bilingual speakers and adult learners of French, such as English-speaking Canadian politicians.”

The Rhetoric of Illiberal Democracy: Viktor Orbán’s Narratives of National Ascent and a Nation in Peril

AbstractThe rise of illiberalism and nationalism in Hungary is often attributed to Viktor Orbán’s leadership and rhetoric over the past decade. His ideas and words have also reverberated around the globe and served as models for conservative leaders. This article offers a rhetorical analysis with a focus on the role of the intertwining narratives of national ascent and a nation in peril as containers for the ideology of illiberalism. Taking a narrative perspective, it examines the way in which Orbán appeals to Hungarians to embrace nationalist, isolationist, and illiberal approaches to democratic governance. It concludes with a discussion of the implications of the rhetoric of illiberalism and the implications for future research into the rhetorics of the newest wave of conservatism spreading throughout the world.