The Role of Values and Unity in Family Businesses

This study tests the application of an ecosystems perspective on family businesses. Specific focuses are given to values, resources and unity within family businesses. Two separate samples are examined, the American Family Business Survey and a multilevel sample. Results from this study support the ecosystems perspective. Family businesses are shown to vary by their value for family growth in comparison to business growth. This value variation across family businesses was shown to predict internal goals and resource transfers within family businesses. This study also shows the benefit to family businesses in unifying values across individuals, as unity of values is a stronger predictor of satisfaction even when controlling for the family business’ tendency to privilege the family or business growth.     

Barriers and Promoters of Mental Health Services Utilization in a Latino Context: A Literature Review and Recommendations from an Ecosystems Perspective

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on the problems of disparities in mental health service utilization in the Latino population in the United States. It begins with an overview of the Latino population within the United States, an exploration of the diversity within this group, and shared cultural values and traits with a particular focus on the problems of Latino poverty. A review of the literature follows, including identified barriers to and promoters of mental health services utilization. These are contextualized in a Latino perspective using an ecosystems framework. Recommendations are made for future practice, research, and policy regarding mental health and mental health services utilization in the Latino community.     

Women Political Leaders

Abstract

This article thoroughly examines women prime ministers and presidents (also referred to as women executives) rigorously comparing nearly all cases of women executives from 1960 through 2002. The numbers of women executives, countries they have led, and the types of governmental systems in which they came to power are analyzed. A main focus is their political and educational backgrounds. Findings suggest that the number of women making it to executive office is few but varied geographically. Women executives have diverse education and political backgrounds. An important springboard to office in Asia and Latin America has been women's familial ties to important political leaders. Even these women are more diverse than expected in terms of background and, in particular, political experience.     

A comparative overview of social enterprise ‘ecosystems’ in Scotland and England: an evolutionary perspective

Social enterprise has been identified as a culturally and socially constructed phenomenon; over recent years there has been increasing focus on how social enterprise ‘ecosystems’ differ across countries. There has been less focus on the differences in social enterprise ecosystems within countries, where regional differences in the cultural, political and social environment can lead to variations in the environment for support. Recent devolution within the United Kingdom has led to all four countries developing fairly diverse political and policy environments. This paper explores these differences through the lens of evolutionary theory which posits that within an ecosystem all organisms are a product of the evolution of that ecosystem and that socio-political and regulatory differences can lead to the rapid divergence of social enterprise ecosystems.     

A conceptual framework for the study of human ecosystems in urban areas

The need for integrated concepts, capable of satisfying natural and social scientists and supporting integrated research, motivates a conceptual framework for understanding the role of humans in ecosystems. The question is how to add humans to the ecological models used to understand urban ecosystems. The ecosystem concept can serve as the basis, but specific social attributes of humans and their institutions must be added. Learning and feedback between the human and natural components of urban ecosystems are key attributes of the integrated model. Parallels with familiar ecological approaches can help in understanding the ecology of urban ecosystems. These include the role of spatial heterogeneity and organizational hierarchies in both the social and natural components of urban ecosystems. Although urban watersheds are commonly highly altered, the watershed approach can serve as a spatial basis for organizing comparative studies of ecosystems exhibiting differing degrees of urbanization. The watershed concept can also spatially organize the hierarchically scaled linkages by which the integrated human ecosystem model can be applied. The study of urban ecosystems is a relatively new field, and the questions suggested by the integrated framework can be used to frame ecosystem research in and associated with urban and metropolitan areas.     

Remembering our roots: A possible connection between loss of ecological memory,alien invasions and ecological restoration

When a community or ecosystem is lost, some of its properties may remain, leaving behind an ecological memory. The soil properties, spores, seeds, stem fragments, mycorrhizae, species, populations and other remnants of the previous inhabitants contribute to shaping the replacement community and building a new ecosystem. The loss of ecological memory for the natural stability domain of a site reduces ecosystem resilience and enables alien invasive species to become established more easily. These invasives may eventually create a new ecosystem with its own ecological memory and resilience. These new ecosystems are described here as novel ecosystems and are placed in the context of adaptive cycles. Ecological restoration of urban ecosystems requires removing the ecological legacy of invasive alien species. To be successful, invasive species control must address both internal within patch memory of invasives and external between patch memory. The restoration of Garry oak ecosystems (Quercus garryana), by students of the Restoration of Natural Systems Program at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, and a number of other examples are presented here that highlight why ecological memory is especially important in urban ecosystems.     

Women's Spirituality: A Proposed Practice Model

SUMMARY

The values and spirituality of clients are an important area for social workers, counselors, and other mental, health professionals to consider in their work. This article addresses the need for professionals to be sensitive to this aspect of growth and development for all clients. Noting that until recently, religious writings have tended to reflect a male-centered bias and patriarchal values, issues related to women's spirituality are identified, implications for therapeutic interventions are discussed, and a model for understanding and facilitating women's spirituality is proposed.     

Gender and National Identity Constructions in the Cross‐Border Merger Context

In this article we explore ways in which vertical gender inequality is accomplished in discourse in the context of a recent chain of cross‐border mergers and acquisitions that resulted in the formation of a multinational Nordic company. We analyse social interactions of ‘doing’ gender in interviews with male senior executives from Denmark, Finland and Sweden. We argue that their explanations for the absence of women in the top echelons of the company serve to distance vertical gender inequality. The main contribution of the article is an analysis of how national identities are discursively (re)constructed in such distancing. New insights are offered to studying gender in multinationals with a cross‐cultural team of researchers. Our study sheds light on how gender intersects with nationality in shaping the multinational organization and the identities of male executives in globalizing business.     

Leadership within Australian voluntary sport organization boards

This article applies leader‐member exchange theory to the study of dyadic relationships between leaders (board chairs and paid executives) and members (volunteer board members) within the boards of Australian voluntary sport organizations. The article specifically examines leader‐member exchanges within a sample of six Queensland State sport organizations and their relationship with board performance. It was found that leadership within voluntary sport organization boards emanates from either board chairs or executives and that when the individuals fulfilling these roles are able to develop a mature working relationship, the board's ability to perform is enhanced. These findings extend our understanding of the importance of leadership roles held by volunteers and paid professionals for the achievement of organizational outcomes.     

Discursive opportunities and the transnational diffusion of ideas: ‘brainwashing’ and ‘mind control’ in Japan after the Aum Affair

A case study in the sociology of ideas, this article refines the theory of ‘discursive opportunities’ to examine how intellectual claims cross national and linguistic boundaries to achieve public prominence despite lacking academic credibility. Theories of ‘brainwashing’ and ‘mind control’ originally began in the United States in the 1960s as a response to the growth of new religious movements. Decades later in Japan, claims that so‐called ‘cults’ ‘brainwashed’ or ‘mind controlled’ their followers became prominent after March 1995, when new religion Aum Shinrikyō gassed the Tokyo subway using sarin, killing thirteen. Since then, brainwashing/mind control have both remained central in public discourse surrounding the ‘Aum Affair’ despite their disputed status within academic discourse. This article advances two arguments. Firstly, the transnational diffusion of brainwashing/mind control from the US to Japan occurred as a direct result of the 1995 Tokyo sarin attack, which acted as a ‘discursive opportunity’ for activists to successfully disseminate the theories in public debate. Secondly, brainwashing/mind control became successful in Japanese public discourse primarily for their normative content, as the theories identified ‘brainwashing/mind controlling cults’ as evil, violent and profane threats to civil society.     

Use of a conceptual model of societal drivers of ecological change in South Florida: Implications of an ecosystem management scenario

Human-dominated ecosystems such as in South Florida's Everglades region are greatly affected by societal actions and choices, and efforts to restore degraded ecosystems must take into account the societal drivers of ecosystem change. A conceptual model of societal-ecological interactions within the region illustrates connections between major societal drivers, such as water management and land use, and ecological stressors, such as loss of habitat and nutrient loading. Using the conceptual model as an initial guide for discussion, examination of a restoration scenario for the region shows that social and economic effects from activities proposed in a restoration scenario will likely affect most sectors of South Florida. Political effects from changing land and water management practices likely will be significant, as will the physical effects of changing water structures and management practices. Conceptual models such as this can aid in the initial stages of ecosystem restoration discussions and can assist in planning for subsequent social science evaluations of specific societal impacts of actual proposed governmental restoration alternatives. In crafting restoration scenarios, local, regional, and national decision makers can use conceptual models such as this to help broaden the early considerations of how possible future changes in societal drivers, including management choices, will change ecological stressors that affect ecosystem health.     

A comparative gradient approach as a tool for understanding and managing urban ecosystems

To meet the grand challenges of the urban century??such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and persistent poverty??urban and ecological theory must contribute to integrated frameworks that treat social and ecological dynamics as interdependent. A socio-ecological framework that encapsulates theory from the social and ecological sciences will improve understanding of metropolitan dynamics and generate science for improved, sustainable management of urban ecosystems. To date, most urban ecological research has focused on single cities. A comparative approach that uses gradients within and between cities is a useful tool for building urban ecological theory. We offer five hypotheses that are testable using a comparative, gradient approach: (i) the current size, configuration, and function of larger metropolitan ecosystems predicts the potential trajectory of smaller urban areas; (ii) timing of growth explains the greatest variance in urban ecosystem structure and function; (iii) form and function of urban ecosystems are converging over time; (iv) urban ecosystems become more segregated and fragmented as populations increase; and (v) larger cities are more innovative than smaller cities in managing urban ecosystems.     

The Perspective from the Field on Computer Literacy Training Needs

Summary

Rapidly evolving computer technology is changing agency life and social work practice and challenging schools of social work to incorporate such information technology into their curriculum in order to prepare students for these changes. This article describes one effort to meet this challenge: a planning and data-gathering approach utilized by the School of Social Work at the University of Washington to integrate classroom and practicum preparation with computer applications in the field. As part of this process, human service agencies that serve as practicum training sites and potential employers for master's level students within the Seattle metropolitan area were surveyed.

Based upon findings from this survey, this article presents an agency-based perspective on computer literacy training needs through addressing the questions of who is using what computer tools, toward what service ends, with what expected level of proficiency, and with what future needs and directions in mind. Implications of these field-based findings for curriculum planning, for prac-ticum development, and for the conceptualization of computer literacy within human services are identified.     

Creating stabilizers and safety nets for successor executives' high‐wire act

This article explores executive succession planning in a nonprofit health care organization with a strong values‐based culture. Case study research was used to explore how retiring executives have prepared the organization for their departure and have used various strategies in an attempt to limit any potentially negative impact.     

Violence Against African Americans in Corporate America

Abstract

Increasing numbers of African Americans are entering the corporate workplace and becoming vulnerable targets for insidious, devastating and punishing forms of abusive behavior exhibited at all levels in America's corporate structures. This article explores violence against African Americans who are attempting to climb the “crystal staircase” in these formal organizations. A model is proposed to assist black executives survive hostile environments in corporate America and in other settings.