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Kendra Dyanne Rivera and Sarah J. Tracy
“Dirty work” is an embodied, emotional activity, and may best be expressed through narrative thick description. The purpose of this paper is to employ creative analytic techniques…
Abstract
Purpose
“Dirty work” is an embodied, emotional activity, and may best be expressed through narrative thick description. The purpose of this paper is to employ creative analytic techniques through a “messy text” for better understanding the tacit knowledge and emotionality of dirty work and dirty research. The vignettes, based upon ethnographic fieldwork with US Border Patrol agents, viscerally reveal the embodied emotions of dirty work and doing dirty research.
Design/methodology/approach
The research draws on a two and a half year ethnography of the US Border Patrol in which the first author engaged in participant observation, shadowing, and interviews. Based upon the iterative data analysis and narrative writing techniques using verbatim quotations and field data, the essay provides a series of vignettes that explore the multi-faceted feelings of dirty work.
Findings
Tacit knowledge about dirty work is unmasked and known through experiences of the body as well as emotional reactions to the scene. A table listing the emotions that emerged in these stories supplements the narrative text. The analysis shows how communication about emotions provides a sense-making tool that, in turn, elucidates both the challenges and the potential highlights of doing dirty work. In particular, findings suggest that emotional ambiguity the “moral emotions” of guilt and shame may serve as sense-making tools that can help in ethical decision making and a re-framing of challenging situations.
Originality/value
A field immersion alongside dirty workers, coupled with a creative writing approach, provides access to the fleeting, embodied, and fragmented nature of tacit knowledge – answering the questions of what dirty work feels like. The essay provides a behind the scenes exploration of US Border Patrol agents – a profession that is alternately stigmatized or hidden from public view. Finally, the piece provides a self-reflexive account of the messy realities of conducting “dirty research” in a way that is open ended and embodied.
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Shafiqur Rahman, Debbie Haski-Leventhal and Mehrdokht Pournader
This paper aims to investigate the relations between employee corporate social responsibility (CSR) attitudes on job satisfaction (JS) and organizational commitment (OC) in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the relations between employee corporate social responsibility (CSR) attitudes on job satisfaction (JS) and organizational commitment (OC) in the context of Bangladeshi banks in the developing world. Specifically, it examines the relationship of CSR attitudes with the three diverse aspects of OC: affective OC, normative OC and continuance OC.
Design/methodology/approach
Comparisons are made via survey data obtained from 502 employees of two banks in Bangladesh using structural equation modeling analysis. The research instrument in four sections illustrates the most common measures in the literature used to evaluate the constructs and their interrelations according to the proposed conceptual model of the study.
Findings
The outcomes of the study reveal that there is a positive relationship between employee CSR attitudes, and both JS and OC. In addition to establishing a relationship between CSR attitudes and “Affective OC”, this study also found a relationship with “Normative OC”, which is less common in the existing literature.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations of the study mostly revolve around sample and social desirability. To further test the generalizability and cross-sectional validity of the outcomes, it is suggested that the proposed framework be tested in several other industrial/service sectors of developing countries.
Practical implications
The findings of the present research encourage companies in the developing world to adopt CSR practices to increase rates of JS and OC.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature on CSR and positive workplace outcomes, specifically in the developing world context. Additionally, and unlike past research, the results show the significant effect of employee CSR attitudes on both affective OC and normative OC.
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Short-term military simulations of scenarios or conditions that U.S. military personnel might meet are generally the largest, in terms of cost and personnel, of all operational…
Abstract
Short-term military simulations of scenarios or conditions that U.S. military personnel might meet are generally the largest, in terms of cost and personnel, of all operational training events. That at least six such exercises were scheduled for September 11, 2001 raises serious questions about whether or not the events of 9/11 were at least partially orchestrated by U.S. command.
In light of the aforementioned military exercises and the fact that the 9/11 Commission's Final Report barely mentions them, neither were they significantly discussed nor investigated during the hearings, this essay briefly explores four key questions that will hopefully stimulate further inquiries, investigations and perhaps subpoenas that will ultimately break the silence and force declassification of the information surrounding the war games.1.Has there been a high-level suppression of information about the military drills?2.Might the military drills have been a significant factor in the success of the attacks?3.Who was in charge of the military drills and what motives may have been operating for this person?4.In what way might Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the United States for the attacks, be a link that connects to the person in charge of the games to another tragedy that may have been “an inside job” – i.e. Senator Paul Wellstone's death, and how might Moussaoui connect all of this to the Pentagon?
Koorosh Gharehbaghi, Kerry McManus, Kathryn Robson, Chris Eves and Matt Myers
The purpose of this paper is to review the Fuzzy Markov development for assessing the structural integrity of buried transportation bridges. In doing so, the appropriateness of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the Fuzzy Markov development for assessing the structural integrity of buried transportation bridges. In doing so, the appropriateness of Fuzzy Markov will be assessed, leading to the subsequent model.
Design/methodology/approach
This research will utilize the Fuzzy Markov techniques as the conceptual framework. Such methodology is further supported via the utilization and evaluation of 30 buried transportation bridges using the developed Fuzzy Markov model.
Findings
Subsequently, through a developed Fuzzy Markov model, this research found that as the basis of structural resilience, specific matrices for age-dependent transition probability can be compiled using conditional survival probabilities in the various structural states; as the basis of structural integrity, specific environmental and economic schemes can also be established based on inspection intervals, intervention systems and failure phases; exact inspection and maintenance intervals can be scheduled to further prolong an asset’s life; and clear and early warning signs can also be formulated for immediate intervention when the structural integrity of the asset are indeed compromised.
Originality/value
The gap within the literature currently surrounds the limitation of computational analysis for some buried structures such as bridges. Specifically, to streamline such evaluation and regimes, a Fuzzy Markov is developed and reviewed.
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Kris De Welde, Marjukka Ollilainen and Catherine Richards Solomon
Feminist leadership and administrative praxis include areas overlooked or devalued by traditional leadership. In this chapter, the authors explore how academic administrators in…
Abstract
Feminist leadership and administrative praxis include areas overlooked or devalued by traditional leadership. In this chapter, the authors explore how academic administrators in the United States who self-identify as “feminist” integrate their feminist values into daily praxis, decisions, and implementation – or revision – of institutional policies. The goals of this study are to identify how feminist values inform praxis and how feminist administrators’ praxis produce successful changes. Through in-depth, semi-structured, qualitative interviews with feminist administrators in higher education, the authors find commonalities in feminist values, in how those values shape administrators’ interactions, and how they inform initiatives and policies on which administrators have worked. Feminist administrators rely on values such as transparency, collaboration, inclusivity, empowering others, and being mindful of power and personal biases. These values informed their interactions with faculty, staff, and students as well as formal policies and initiatives, which were infused with feminist principles in their efforts to make academe more just.
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Debbie Thorne McAlister and Linda Ferrell
Outlines the concept of strategic philanthropy, assesses its development and evolution, gives examples of the stakeholder focus, discusses marketing issues and addresses elements…
Abstract
Outlines the concept of strategic philanthropy, assesses its development and evolution, gives examples of the stakeholder focus, discusses marketing issues and addresses elements to consider in implementation. Organizations have long realized the benefits of benevolent philanthropy in supporting community, employees and the interests of investors. It has only been in recent years that organizations have formalized and integrated the philanthropic decisions with corporate citizenship and other key strategic organizational performance‐related decisions. Organizations in the twenty‐first century are increasingly concerned about managing societal issues in marketing to benefit key stakeholder interests. A new definition of strategic philanthropy is developed and contrasted with other initiatives that link marketing and society. Finally, suggestions for future research are provided.
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This paper examines the perceived benefits of line dancing for a group of women between 60 and 80 years of age. It is based on a one‐year qualitative research study in Cape Town…
Abstract
This paper examines the perceived benefits of line dancing for a group of women between 60 and 80 years of age. It is based on a one‐year qualitative research study in Cape Town, South Africa. Line dancing has been classified as a form of aerobic exercise and this study sought to investigate whether these older women perceived line dancing to be beneficial to their health and well‐being. Individual and group interviews were conducted with 30 women and these provided useful insights into the participants' subjective experiences with regard to line dancing and the impact it had on their health and well‐being. The two broad assumptions that guided this study were a) that line dancing was perceived to be beneficial to the health and well‐being of these older women and b) that these older women did not subscribe to the popular assumption that there is a general deterioration in mental capacity, psychological or physical endurance or creativity once one reaches the age of 60.
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