Removing Macho Management: Lessons from the Field of Education

This article examines discourses of management and leadership in the light of gender inequalities in social relations and in educational administration in particular. It is argued that women's viewpoints and critiques of masculinist managerial perspectives are important in debates about alternative models of leadership. Interview data from a recent study of a group of six women working in teaching/managing positions in some primary and secondary schools in New Zealand is used to analyse a leadership style and philosophy which cuts across traditional gendered splits between private and public spheres, emotionality and rationality, teaching and administration. In this holistic approach, emphasis is placed on integrating such dichotomies through affiliation with others and power sharing. The paper concludes that such a management style must be supported and valued for the contribution it can make to improving organizational cultures and enhancing school learning and teaching environments. An original version of this paper was presented at the NZARE 13th National Conference at Knox College, Dunedin, New Zealand on 30 November 1991.     

John Butcher and David Gilchrist: Collaboration for Impact: Lessons from the Field

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations -     

Defining the Nonprofit Sector: Some Lessons from History

This article seeks to establish whether the structural-operational definition of the sector, used by the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project (JHCNSP), is universal in its applicability. Historical case studies of primary health care and social housing provision in nineteenth-century England demonstrate that the definition cannot accommodate the institutional diversity of earlier periods and does not produce meaningful sectoral distinctions. The structural-operational definition rules out of the sector a significant proportion of nonstatutory, nonprofit maximizing providers. In particular, it excludes the mutual aid organizations, which are widely recognized as important for the development of civil society and which have historically been considered to be key components of the sector. These case studies suggest that the structural-operational definition limits the capacity of the JHCNSP to fulfil its aim of establishing the factors that promote or retard the sector's development owing to potential measurement errors and the pattern of development that the project implicitly assumes for the nonprofit sector.     

Perspectives on union corruption: Lessons from the databases

Most of the surprisingly small number of studies of union corruption done over the years have focused either on longitudinal analysis of particularly aggressive unions in their prime or on the relationship between union leaders and organized crime characters who have acquired middle names in quotes. Since the 1930s, these studies have usually been based on prosecutorial initiatives of federal or state agencies seeking to rein in Mafia, Cosa Nostra, or Outfit crime families for whom control of unions has been a major income source, not the unions, themselves. I use two new, recently available data sources that allow an overview of the whole spectrum of union corruption, that quantify it, and that differentiate certain aspects of it from the corruption found in other societal organizations. My analysis reveals that union corruption is both broadly practiced and multifaceted, with some forms having brutal ancient antecedents not yet completely lost while others are new and not yet completely developed. Only a few are broadly shared with businesses or other societal organizations. Overall, I identify 25 separate categories of significant union corruption and find that among these embezzlement remains the most common, but kickbacks and malfeasance with respect to pension plan management are of much greater financial concern. Peculation associated with gaining and maintaining high union office together with the bloated perks and emoluments that obtain thereto fuel internal corruption without diminishing the practice of extortion, bribery, conspiracy, selling labor peace, licensing loose contracts, selling job access, and other traditional external corrupt practices. All are a blight on organized labor.     

Lessons from Erikson

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine issues related to autonomy across the life span and to draw comparisons between a young child's search for autonomy and an older adult's efforts to maintain autonomy. The paper includes an introduction of the challenges for young children and older adults as related to autonomy. A definition of autonomy and an explanation of Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development are included. Each of Erikson's stages is reviewed with consideration given to traits, characteristics, and needs of the young child and older adult. Similarities and differences between young children and older adults in their search for autonomy are examined. The paper concludes with implications for caregivers regarding their practices with young children and older adults.     

Organizational Innovation: Lessons from Military Organizations

Sociological Forum -     

Lessons from the courtroom: Perspectives from child welfare attorneys and supervisors

Despite a history of child welfare worker performance difficulty in the courtroom, there has been little documentation regarding specific training needs for worker courtroom practice skills. This study expands the literature on child welfare courtroom practice skills by documenting child welfare worker conduct via perspectives from courtroom attorneys and child welfare supervisors. Separate focus groups with child welfare attorneys and supervisors were held to ascertain best and concerning practices for child welfare workers in the courtroom. Focus group participants identified themes related to preparation, adversarial nature of court proceedings, testimony, reasonable efforts, appearance and mannerisms, esteem of workers, duality of worker roles, and support. Study results have implications for focusing and improving training and supervision.     

Lessons from the Niagara Movement: Prosopography and Discursive Protest

This article uses a case study of the Niagara Movement, which functioned from 1905–1910, to demonstrate that the use of prosopography (collective biographies) is a propitious methodological tool, particularly for those interested in the social-psychological analysis of movement actors within networks. I present a prosopography of the founders of the Niagara Movement. Learning more about the identity of political actors provides clues to the ways strategic choices are made and how collective action frames are developed. The prosopography of the Niagara Movement also provides theoretical insights into discursive processes that are often lost in studies of long movement trajectories. I analyze potential explanations for the absence of organizations such as the Niagara Movement from the civil rights canon, and, through an analysis of talk as a resource for mobilization, pinpoint directions for future researchers interested in micro theories of mobilization.     

Nonprofits and Democratic Development: Lessons from the Czech Republic

This article argues that existing concepts of the civil society–democracy relationship are misleading guides for analyzing political development because they incorporate limited perspectives on the nature and activities of civil society, particularly the nonprofit sector. First, three contemporary conceptualizations of civil society are critiqued, and a contradiction is noted between the importance assigned to ideational functions and the inadequacy of reliance upon elections and party systems. Particular emphasis is placed on civil society's involvement in policy formation, for it is there that a weak state–society connection may be discovered, with significant ramifications for democratic development. Second, recent political instability in the Czech Republic is related to negative trends in political attitudes, indicating a weak connection. Third, the general nature of Czech policy-making processes is examined, and then a closer look is taken at the formation of nonprofit legislation and environmental policy. Finally, implications for the future development of Czech democracy are drawn.     

Facing Nuclear Risks: Lessons from the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

This paper discusses the sociological lessons learnt from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident that occurred on 11 March 2011. This disaster is the second largest nuclear accident after the Chernobyl accident. Meltdown and explosions occurred because of the hydrogen released from the damaged core. A large amount of radioactive materials has been released. Many people, around 150 000, are still in evacuation by government order or by their own choice. The incident has several characteristics. First, it is the first severe accident of a nuclear power station, the complex disaster being triggered by a large earthquake and tsunami. Second, the four reactors were simultaneously endangered. Third, the uncontrolled situation of the melted‐down reactors has continued for more than 9 months. Fourth, it is the first severe accident of a nuclear power plant on the coast. Scientists are worried about serious contamination of seawater and damages to the ecosystem. This accident is a human disaster which an electric company and the national government are very much responsible for due to a series of “underestimates,” such as that of the height of a possible tsunami, the possibility of a “station blackout” and lengthy periods of no AC power. A lot of confusing and misleading information, along with the deliberate concealment of information and delay in information disclosure occurred. Located in the background of all of this is the “Atomic Circle,” a very closed relationship between politicians, government, academics, industry and the media. We should try and learn from all of this in building a post‐nuclear East Asia. This would be the greatest lesson from the tragic Fukushima disaster and the greatest message to East Asia, the world and future generations.     

Refocusing Children's Services Towards Prevention: Lessons from the Literature

Increasingly, western developed countries are committed to improving prevention and early intervention strategies that address risks in all areas of children's lives. This article considers the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of such refocusing activity. Five sets of strategies for refocusing are described: developing and using local evidence; designing, implementing and evaluating new services (alongside de‐commissioning); fiscal control; mainstreaming reforms and ensuring sustainability; and structural reorganisation. Five benefits of such reforms are outlined: improved outcomes; better inter‐agency working; greater efficiency; improved practice and outputs; and enhanced user and staff satisfaction. The article notes ways of mitigating the risks of refocusing and the need for practical methods that connect strategies and overcome obstacles in order to achieve the identified benefits.     

Spirit Writing in Vietnam: Political Lessons from the Beyond

Spirit writing is a rare form of trance mediumship in contemporary urban Hanoi and part of the resurgence of popular religious practices in late Socialist Vietnam. This article explores the transmission of otherworldly messages from heroic political and military leaders of the past via an urban female spirit medium and examines practices of translation, decoding and implementing celestial directives. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, the paper investigates how efforts to execute instructions from the beyond are intertwined with mediation, materiality, and technology. Drawing on an analysis of messages from the spirit of H? Chí Minh and other heroes of the past, this paper argues that spirits interfere in Vietnam’s current political matters by questioning issues of injustice and by advising the authorities with regard to ritually safeguarding the country’s borders.     

Confronting Uncertainty: Lessons from Rural Social Work

Abstract

Communities in Australia and internationally are experiencing massive change. Climate variability is an aspect of change that social workers in Australia, particularly in rural areas, are grappling with. Vulnerable populations will be at increased risk as extreme weather events increase in frequency. Communities will be facing social challenges hitherto unknown. The experience of uncertainty and fragmentation as characteristics of postmodernism has exposed the ambiguous and contested nature of much of social work practice and contributed to a crisis of confidence for the social work profession. The move towards rationality and linear approaches in the postwelfare state is often at odds with the complexity and uncertainty of human situations that has always been social work terrain. It can be argued that social work, with its ethical base, person-in-environment approach, expertise in ambiguity and complexity, and recognition of context, is well-placed to manage postmodern uncertainty. Using the 2009 Victorian bushfire example, I argue that an uncertain future is an opportunity for social workers, those working in rural areas in particular, to reassert social work's moral purpose in working with communities facing change. Implications for social work policy, practice, and education are briefly explored.     

Modeling Social Processes: Some Lessons from Sports

Sports events can provide helpful models for thinking about social processes. DiMaggio's hitting streak in baseball, for example, raises serious questions about how the causes of relatively uncommon social events are typically studied. The hitting streak also directs our attention to considering models that generate a distribution of outcomes in a population of social units. The series of games leading to a football championship is relevant for approaching the role of complex chains of events in leading to a given outcome (where each individual sequence itself has a low probability of occurring). A model of changing templates suggests a more realistic way of thinking about the linkages over time from an initial starting point to a given outcome. Another sports example, based on the application of a binomial model to the outcome of a series of games, suggests that we should think of chance as a dependent variable that is influenced by—among other factors—the nature of the social structure. Also examined are the special problems in explaining any specific outcome.     

Lessons from Marrano Beach: Attachment and Culture

SUMMARY

Clinical experiences, research within the American Indian/Alaska Native and Latino/a Los Angeles community, consultation with colleagues, and reflections on professional development indicate that cultural material exerts profound influence on individual, family, and community development. Reflections on practice are discussed that emphasize the role of theory, the significance of culture, and the importance of consultation in all levels of social work practice. In particular, the discussion notes that the prevailing paradigm on cultural competency can be expanded by integrating concepts from attachment theory in the analysis of why culture exerts such a profound influence on human development and behavior.