Specific Leaders Research Articles

170 - An integrated community based redox database development approach for next generation redoxomics

The advent of high throughput technologies and development of mathematical models of systems biology has led to finer and clearer observations in various domains of biology, especially proteomics, metabolomics, and genomics. Redox biology is certainly a prospective domain to include these approaches. Some initial attempts have been successfully made by researchers at the development of redox protein database, systems biology of thiol redox systems. However, the development of an integrated database of redox parameters is highly required to pace up the redox biology research. The challenges are primarily a collection of a large dataset of various redox parameters which remain scattered across several thousands of research articles and their curation. We developed a community-based approach to gather the data and develop a composite database. We used some existing models of community-based data collection systems used in tuberculosis research and prepared an organized hierarchical system for data collection, validation, and manual curation. We have gathered more than 20 different parameters of redox systems in more than 200 datasets, which is likely to increase to >20,000 datasets by the second phase of the project. Use Google forms and Google live sheets were used for the collection of data and this was followed by data curation by specific team leaders. We observed that there was a high degree of heterogeneity in the data in terms of the units used, prevailing experimental conditions, which were normalized and segregated by curators, that can be beneficial in the next level integration with the systems biology tools. The dataset will be transformed into a highly interactive web-portal with machine learning and artificial intelligence tools, to provide live simulations of redox biology in various model systems.

What skills do volunteer leaders need? A Delphi study

Non-profit and volunteer-based organizations are tasked with meeting the needs of their communities with limited resources. Today, more than ever, these organizations are stretched to their limits increasing the workload for paid staff. Training volunteers to lead the volunteer efforts is one way to spread the workload throughout the organization. Although there are guidelines for leadership development in for-profit organizations, there is limited literature pertaining to specific competencies and skills volunteer leaders in non- profit and volunteer-based organizations should possess. This study, employing Delphi methodology, was conducted with volunteer directors in the community to identify leadership competencies for volunteer leaders. At the conclusion of three rounds of iteration, 42 competencies were identified.

Catalyzing capacity: absorptive, adaptive, and generative leadership

PurposeOrganizations increasingly operate under volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) conditions. Traditional command-and-control leadership can be ineffective in such chaotic environments. The purpose of this paper is to outline an alternative model to help leaders and organizations navigate effectively through VUCA environments. By developing three fundamental capacities (absorptive, adaptive and generative), leaders can cultivate organizations capable of continuous synchronization with their fitness landscapes. Central tenets of the framework include diversity, slack, learning, humility, reflection in action and abductive logic.Design/methodology/approachThis framework is designed based on literature insights, conceptual analysis and experts’ judgment. The paper integrates knowledge from a variety of disciplines and interprets them through the lens of complex adaptive systems.FindingsThis paper argues for a process centered, contemplative approach to organizational leadership and development. By providing the underlying rationale for the proposed interventions (e.g. Ashby’s law of requisite variety), the paper also reorients busy leaders’ mental models to show why these time investments are worth implementing.Practical implicationsThis actionable framework can help leaders and organizations be more effective operating in a VUCA context.Originality/valueThis paper provides a historic context as to why prediction and certainty are favored leadership strategies, why these approaches are no longer suitable and specific steps leaders can take to develop absorptive, adaptive and generative capacities to transform their organizations. Its scholarly contribution is the synthesis of disparate bodies of literature, weaving those multiple academic perspectives into a practical roadmap to enhance organizational leadership.

СОВРЕМЕННОЕ РОССИЙСКОЕ ОБЩЕСТВО КАК ПРОСТРАНСТВО КОНФЛИКТА

The article considers the contradictions and conflicts that are characteristic of modern Russian society. The processes of social disintegration are analyzed and interpreted as a result of fundamental social and economic transformations. The problems of economic inequality are presented in the historical perspective in close connection with the previous stages of Russia's socioeconomic development. Significant polarization of the population is one of the most significant conflict factors in modern society, which leads to an increase in protest moods and may in the long term threaten social upheavals. Nevertheless, dissatisfaction with the socio-economic situation does not lead to ideas of the unification and consolidation of society, but find expression in social conflicts. The emergence and development of social conflicts is influenced by a number of factors: economic, ethnic, religious. One of the most important characteristics of society is its social structure. After the collapse of the USSR, the previous social structure was abolished, and a new social reality was formed in Russia. When considering the stratification structure of society, most attention is paid to the middle class, which is considered the backbone of a stable society. The middle class in Russia is in the stage of formation, it is hardly possible to speak of a complete analogy with the middle class of Western society. The share of middle class in society can be estimated in different ways depending on the methodological approaches used by researchers. An important consequence of the transformation of the social structure was the problem of marginalization, since the dismantling of the old social structure and the slow formation of the new one put the social status and place in the division of labor system of many individuals into question. The sharp impoverishment of representatives of prestigious professions led to a reassessment of their situation, especially for the younger generation. When analyzing the origins of social conflicts in modern Russian society, it is necessary to consider the issue of the attitude of the broad masses of the population to power and national elites. It should be noted that power in Russia historically takes shape around specific leaders and does not have an institutional character. The most significant factor shaping the attitude towards the authorities and the elite in general in Russian society are the economic results of the market reforms that have taken place. Only a small part of the population believes that they won as a result of the changes that have taken place, the natural consequence of which is the population's distrust of the authorities and, in general, political institutions.

СОВРЕМЕННОЕ РОССИЙСКОЕ ОБЩЕСТВО КАК ПРОСТРАНСТВО КОНФЛИКТА

The article considers the contradictions and conflicts that are characteristic of modern Russian society. The processes of social disintegration are analyzed and interpreted as a result of fundamental social and economic transformations. The problems of economic inequality are presented in the historical perspective in close connection with the previous stages of Russia's socioeconomic development. Significant polarization of the population is one of the most significant conflict factors in modern society, which leads to an increase in protest moods and may in the long term threaten social upheavals. Nevertheless, dissatisfaction with the socio-economic situation does not lead to ideas of the unification and consolidation of society, but find expression in social conflicts. The emergence and development of social conflicts is influenced by a number of factors: economic, ethnic, religious. One of the most important characteristics of society is its social structure. After the collapse of the USSR, the previous social structure was abolished, and a new social reality was formed in Russia. When considering the stratification structure of society, most attention is paid to the middle class, which is considered the backbone of a stable society. The middle class in Russia is in the stage of formation, it is hardly possible to speak of a complete analogy with the middle class of Western society. The share of middle class in society can be estimated in different ways depending on the methodological approaches used by researchers. An important consequence of the transformation of the social structure was the problem of marginalization, since the dismantling of the old social structure and the slow formation of the new one put the social status and place in the division of labor system of many individuals into question. The sharp impoverishment of representatives of prestigious professions led to a reassessment of their situation, especially for the younger generation. When analyzing the origins of social conflicts in modern Russian society, it is necessary to consider the issue of the attitude of the broad masses of the population to power and national elites. It should be noted that power in Russia historically takes shape around specific leaders and does not have an institutional character. The most significant factor shaping the attitude towards the authorities and the elite in general in Russian society are the economic results of the market reforms that have taken place. Only a small part of the population believes that they won as a result of the changes that have taken place, the natural consequence of which is the population's distrust of the authorities and, in general, political institutions.

Critical Success Factors That Influence Black Leadership Integration in Companies Listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange

In the context of post-apartheid period, there have been certain measures introduced to have employment equity in South Africa. The integration of black leadership in a white dominant companies was one among them. The purpose of this study is to identify the critical success factors that influence black leadership integration as per the reform measures defined after post-apartheid period in South Africa. The overall research question guiding this study is: What are the critical success factors that influence black leadership integration in companies listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange? The quantitative correlation research design utilizes a pre-validated survey to access the success factors that influence black leadership integration. To address the research question, the independent variables – corporate culture, leadership style, diversity and strategic leadership behaviours – were correlated with three dependent variables - tenure (years of service), job satisfaction and growth satisfaction (career development opportunities) as measures of successful leadership integration. The study finds statistically significant relationships amongst many of the 32 constructs identified in the literature which using factor analysis are described as fair treatment, job hopping, commitment to transformation, Black entrepreneurship and corporate culture. As defined by Black management, job satisfaction, career development (dependent variables), fair treatment and specific leaders behaviours (inspirational motivation and idealised attributes) (independent variables) as defined by MLQ 5X leadership survey are critical success measures that could influence Black leadership integration in Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) listed companies. The results of this study provide strong evidence of critical success factors that have a statistically significant influence on successful Black leadership integration into historically White dominated South African companies.

Public opinion and the end of apartheid

Why did whites in South Africa come to support the dismantling of the apartheid system that gave them a monopoly of political power? We use a reformulated version of symbolic politics to address this puzzle, showing that white attitudes toward political change were primarily driven by symbolic predispositions regarding race, ideology, party, and specific leaders, as well as various sorts of threat perceptions. Strong attachments to the National Party and de Klerk, low perceptions of threat, more tolerant racial attitudes, and more socially and politically liberal values increased the likelihood of whites supporting policies consistent with the ending of apartheid. We also find that assessments of the economy, both personal and national, have no influence on this attitude. We use South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council data collected during the crucial 1991–1992 period.

Should Authentic Leaders Value Power? A Study of Leaders’ Values and Perceived Value Congruence

Although there is consensus that authentic leaders act according to their true values, we have no empirical evidence of what specific values authentic leaders have. While traditional leadership approaches place power at the core of leadership, authentic leadership scholars would argue that benevolence is the value that is central to effective authentic leadership. To date, the questions about whether and when authentic leaders with high power values promote or hurt followers’ performance have not been investigated. Ostensibly, authentic leaders with high power values seem to represent the dark side of authentic leadership. In this paper, we develop a theoretical model and empirically investigate the role that leaders’ power values play in the functioning of authentic leadership. We also test the assumption that authentic leaders with high benevolence values promote followers’ performance. Based on our multilevel analyses of 477 employees in 72 teams, we found that authentic leaders with prominent power values could foster followers’ performance, only when followers’ perceived value congruence was low. Authentic leaders with high benevolence values, however, cultivated followers’ performance unconditionally, regardless of perceived value congruence levels.

The dream of statehood and the reality of conflict: local and international coverage of the Palestinian United Nations bid for statehood

ABSTRACTThis paper examines whether or not media coverage is biased by the political orientation of the journalists’ country, specifically illustrated by the 2011 bid for statehood by the Palestinian Authority in the United Nations. This bid represents a symbolic step toward international recognition of a Palestinian state, an important event in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A quantitative analysis was conducted on 1577 news reports from American, European, and Middle Eastern outlets to determine the differences in media coverage of the Palestinian bid for statehood among the channels. The findings suggest that Israeli channels broadcasted a relatively low number of items in which the Palestinian declaration itself was the main theme. The BBC broadcasted a relatively high rate of such items, and offered balanced coverage of both Israeli and Palestinian positions, while coverage by American FOX News channel reflected a pro-Israel bias. The findings also suggest that media outlets may be biased toward specific leaders. This work builds on a growing body of research on media framing of political conflicts and the effect of the political context of a country on its media outlets’ coverage.

Formation of raiding parties for intergroup violence is mediated by social network structure

Intergroup violence is common among humans worldwide. To assess how within-group social dynamics contribute to risky, between-group conflict, we conducted a 3-y longitudinal study of the formation of raiding parties among the Nyangatom, a group of East African nomadic pastoralists currently engaged in small-scale warfare. We also mapped the social network structure of potential male raiders. Here, we show that the initiation of raids depends on the presence of specific leaders who tend to participate in many raids, to have more friends, and to occupy more central positions in the network. However, despite the different structural position of raid leaders, raid participants are recruited from the whole population, not just from the direct friends of leaders. An individual's decision to participate in a raid is strongly associated with the individual's social network position in relation to other participants. Moreover, nonleaders have a larger total impact on raid participation than leaders, despite leaders' greater connectivity. Thus, we find that leaders matter more for raid initiation than participant mobilization. Social networks may play a role in supporting risky collective action, amplify the emergence of raiding parties, and hence facilitate intergroup violence in small-scale societies.

Who Democratizes? Western-educated Leaders and Regime Transitions

Many theories attempt to explain why some countries democratize and others do not. Existing accounts, however, focus almost exclusively on structural factors and ignore individual leaders. In this article, we argue that leaders educated at Western universities are more likely to democratize than other leaders because Western education socializes leaders to prefer democracy and creates transnational linkages that alter the strategic calculus of democratization. Utilizing an original data set on the specific colleges and universities world leaders attended, we show that Western-educated leaders significantly and substantively improve a country’s democratization prospects.

Striving for Islamic governance

Muslim-majority countries are striving with some success to reshape their governance models along Islamic lines. Some countries have opted for implementing the Shari‘ah, whereas others have focused on applying personal status laws. This study analyzes the attempts made by specific leaders in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the secular Republic of Turkey, and multi-ethnic Malaysia to improve their governance models in the areas of human, economic, and social development. As these countries adopted different strategies, the resultant models of Islamic governance are due largely to the contexts and features of their respective societies. Unlike Pakistan’s authoritarian top-down approach, Turkey and Malaysia largely embraced democratic principles, operated a new hybrid economic model that combined the characteristics of Islamic and capitalist market systems, and worked closely with the West. Many consider these two models, although “partial” in their approach, to be examples of open and democratic Islamic governance that are relatively appreciated by the West. Keywords

Striving for Islamic governance

Muslim-majority countries are striving with some success to reshape their governance models along Islamic lines. Some countries have opted for implementing the Shari‘ah, whereas others have focused on applying personal status laws. This study analyzes the attempts made by specific leaders in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the secular Republic of Turkey, and multi-ethnic Malaysia to improve their governance models in the areas of human, economic, and social development. As these countries adopted different strategies, the resultant models of Islamic governance are due largely to the contexts and features of their respective societies. Unlike Pakistan’s authoritarian top-down approach, Turkey and Malaysia largely embraced democratic principles, operated a new hybrid economic model that combined the characteristics of Islamic and capitalist market systems, and worked closely with the West. Many consider these two models, although “partial” in their approach, to be examples of open and democratic Islamic governance that are relatively appreciated by the West. Keywords

The Role of Intra-Group Consensus-Building in Disarming Militant Groups in Northern Ireland

This study examines the internal process that led combatant groups in Northern Ireland, focusing on the Loyalist camp, to relinquish armed struggle as a viable strategy to accomplish their political goals. The study focuses on internal dynamics, i.e. intra-group negotiations and consensus-building mechanisms that Loyalist militant organisations employed to switch from violence to non-violence and from confrontation to engagement with their enemies. The paper underlines how the consensus-building process was multi-layered and included a combination of carefully structured internal consultations amongst combatants, together with the crafting and implementation of targeted programs to empower and transform militant organisations and their role within society. The chapter also focuses on the specific roles both ex-prisoners and key faith leaders played in shaping this monumental transformation. Finally, through in-depth case study analysis, the authors examine the main lessons that can be learned from the consensus-building process among Northern Irish Loyalist combatants and discuss its relevance to other intractable conflicts. This paper is based on the chapter "Disarming Militant Groups from Within: Building Support for Peace amongst Combatants in Northern Ireland,” in: Negotiations in Times of Conflict, Sher, G., Kurz, A., (eds.); Tel Aviv: Institute for National Security Studies, forthcoming.

Signaling Alliance Commitments: Hand‐Tying and Sunk Costs in Extended Nuclear Deterrence

How can states signal their alliance commitments? Although scholars have developed sophisticated theoretical models of costly signaling in international relations, we know little about which specific policies leaders can implement to signal their commitments. This article addresses this question with respect to the extended deterrent effects of nuclear weapons. Can nuclear states deter attacks against their friends by simply announcing their defense commitments? Or must they deploy nuclear weapons on a protégé's territory before an alliance is seen as credible? Using a new dataset on foreign nuclear deployments from 1950 to 2000, our analysis reveals two main findings. First, formal alliances with nuclear states appear to carry significant deterrence benefits. Second, however, stationing nuclear weapons on a protégé's territory does not bolster these effects. The analysis yields new insights about the dynamics of “hand‐tying” and “sunk cost” signals in international politics.

La vie des habitants de Cheung Kok sous le régime khmer rouge

Based on long-term fieldwork, this paper describes the living conditions of people of Cheung Kok village in Kompong Cham province in Cambodia between 1973 and 1978. This study goes beyond the village only to mention the names of specific leaders of the commune and the district, and presents itself as an ethnographic contri bution to the study of the Khmer rouge regime. Specifically, the author considers a population of farmers who did not leave their homeland during and after the era of Democratic Kampuchea. The focus is a village which didn’t host any ‘ new people’, urban people who could not flee the country and were forced to live in rural areas by the Khmer rouge, and who, in contrast to the ‘ old people’ experienced an explicit ideological discrimination by the regime.

Female Leadership and Sexual Health Policy in Argentina

Latin American women’s accession to executive and legislative office has been accompanied by the widespread expectation that their participation will change policies in ways that benefit women’s lives. This article uses an in-depth case study of sexual health reform in Argentina to explore the leadership and coalition-building activities of key political actors. As a case study, the article moves beyond critical mass theories, which argue that women’s greater presence will result in gender policy reform. Rather, the article demonstrates that women’s inclusion, even at high percentages, generates statutory change only when specific leaders build momentum for reform through issue networks and diverse coalitions. More important, leaders must mobilize resources within civil society and across government branches to ensure that successful policies are enacted. Whether Latin American women enjoy material changes thus depends on whether their leaders are committed to passing and implementing gender reforms.

Disentangling the Value of a Ministry: Party Leaders’ Evaluations of German State Ministries

While the role played by ministries in the process of coalition government has been investigated from multiple angles, there is a clear lack of knowledge about which specific ministry features party leaders actually value as they assess different government posts. This paper aims at discovering whether, next to office considerations, the policy influence resting with a ministry does affect its value. A new survey of party leaders in the German states enables us to estimate the relative importance of specific office (e.g. public standing) and policy considerations (e.g. influence via legislation) for ministries’ values as well as to directly investigate differences between parties. The results show that both office and policy considerations matter for ministry evaluation generally, but also that different aspects have different weights. Furthermore, while all parties value the policy influence of a ministry, there is variation as to which type of policy influence (cross-sectional vs. within-jurisdictional) parties emphasise.

Leadership and culture in Asia: the case of Malaysia

This study advances prior theoretical research by investigating the influence of cultural forces in our understanding of leadership. The research provides new insights by linking transformational and transactional leadership to the Malaysian cultural environment. Using a quantitative approach by administering the multifactor leadership questionnaire MLQ-5x-short, 138 usable responses were analysed. Findings indicate that cultural foundations contribute significantly to transformational leadership behaviours to facilitate the creation of a harmonious leader–subordinate relationship. Furthermore, this study contributes to an understanding of how specific leaders' behaviours are affected by cultural forces, and reveals leadership attributes that are contingent upon dynamic environmental conditions. The study extends beyond the obvious, and reveals subtle yet important culture-specific differences. The Malaysian managers, regardless of gender, show a preference for leading within the transformational leadership framework. This has led us to infer that cultural forces do indeed play an important role in determining leadership styles.

Failures in leadership: assessing organizational, strategic, and tactical intelligence failures prior to 11 September 2001

The events of 11 September 2001 still haunt many Americans. More troubling are the failures of the federal government and the intelligence community to prevent the attacks of that day. While there is much research and scholarship identifying those failures, the most popular of which is the 9/11 Commission Report, there is little research and information available regarding the failures of specific leaders in the government. The extant research regarding pre-9/11 intelligence failures mainly describes the organizational, strategic, and tactical intelligence failures as attributable to either a failure of imagination or a failure of information sharing, which are the two primary culprits according to the 9/11 Commission Report. There is little scholarship on the failures of leadership and how pre-9/11 political and intelligence community leadership failed to create a comprehensive strategy for combating terrorism, failed to appreciate the threat presented by Al-Qaeda by means of hijacking and failed to institute an organizational structure that provided for a prompt response to terror threats. This paper found that while organizational, strategic and institutional failures can be committed by individuals other than political or intelligence community leadership, the direct and indirect responsibility for all three kinds of failure belongs to leadership.