Ideologies & Narratives in Relation to ‘Fat’ Children as Bullies, ‘Easy Targets’ and Victims

In this study, we explore narratives in relation to ‘fatness’, drawing on focus group interviews with parents, early years practitioners, teachers and young people. The study is located in a larger study on bullying and resilience, with no specific focus on obesity or ‘fatness’. Analysis of the interview data highlighted a recurrent focus on ‘fatness’ within the participants’ narratives, by labelling and stigmatising the ‘fat kid’ and ‘bigger children’. We conclude that obesity and fatness, as abnormalities, are now included in commonsense talk in relation to ‘easy targets’, victims and bullies.     

Validating Work Discrimination and Coping Strategy Models for Sexual Minorities

The purpose of this study was to validate and expand on Y. B. Chung's (2001) models of work discrimination and coping strategies among lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons. In semistructured individual interviews, 17 lesbians and gay men reported 35 discrimination incidents and their related coping strategies. Responses were coded based on Chung's models. Results supported the validity of the Work Discrimination model and two coping strategy models (Vocational Choice and Identity Management). The Discrimination Management coping strategy model was expanded. Implications for practice and research are discussed.     

Leveraging the common and outsourcing the distinct: institutional difference and multinational company identity in emerging economies

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the challenges of outsidership faced by multinational companies (MNCs) accessing emerging economies. The paper departs from popular conceptualisations of culture drawing instead on social identity theory as part of an institutions-based view, to explain how employing a singularities approach can allow the identification of commonalities of Indianness and Australianness that can be leveraged to ameliorate negative socially embedded business norms that pose a challenge to MNC success in emerging economies. This study shows that despite recognised formal (regulatory) and informal (cultural) differences, managers of Australian MNCs operating in India were able to innovatively identify and exploit cultural commonalties/singularities to ease cultural adjustment and mitigate intergroup conflict, allowing them to achieve an innovative institutional fit. The paper discusses how, using this approach, sole-venture MNCs can access many of the benefits provided by collaborative entry modes while preserving MNC identity. We further propose that the singularities approach can provide a valuable starting point to develop culturally appropriate competence training initiatives.     

Addiction science and the perception of freewill

Do people think individuals with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) have freewill? How does addiction science inform views on the issue? We distinguish between two senses of freewill: 1) libertarian freewill , in which freedom turns on a particular metaphysical conception of action (sometimes operationalized as “could have done otherwise”), and 2) compatibilist freewill , in which freedom depends on the relation between the actor's psychology and her actions (e.g., “was the act what she wanted to do?”). We argue that, in different ways, scientific accounts can impact conceived freewill by linking addictive behavior to mechanisms that observers view as peripheral to the actor ( motivation modularity) . While a variety of impacts on conceived compatibilist freewill are plausible, we argue that contemporary addiction science has no direct bearing on conceived libertarian freewill. Addiction science may, however, indirectly impact conceived libertarian freewill by priming an explanatory framework in which intention is superfluous (especially materialism).     

Global Climate Emergency: after COP24, climate science,urgency, and the threat to humanity

ABSTRACT

This Special Editorial on the Climate Emergency makes the case that although we are living in the time of Global Climate Emergency we are not yet acting as if we are in an imminent crisis. The authors review key aspects of the institutional response and climate science over the past several decades and the role of the economic system in perpetuating inertia on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Humanity is now the primary influence on the planet, and events in and around COP24 are the latest reminder that we live in a pathological system. A political economy has rendered the UNFCCC process as yet a successful failure. Fundamental change is urgently required. The conclusions contain recommendations and a call to action now.     

Flexible univariate and multivariate models based on hidden truncation

A broad spectrum of flexible univariate and multivariate models can be constructed by using a hidden truncation paradigm. Such models can be viewed as being characterized by a basic marginal density, a family of conditional densities and a specified hidden truncation point, or points. The resulting class of distributions includes the basic marginal density as a special case (or as a limiting case), but also includes an array of models that may unexpectedly include many well known densities. Most of the well known skew-normal models (developed from the seed distribution popularized by Azzalini [(1985). A class of distributions which includes the normal ones. Scand. J. Statist. 12(2), 171–178]) can be viewed as being products of such a hidden truncation construction. However, the many hidden truncation models with non-normal component densities undoubtedly deserve further attention.     

Community change for diverse democracy

This paper presents ideas about community change for diversedemocracy. It provides perspectives on change, identifies threetypes of practice, and examines some of its elements. It drawsupon secondary literature and empirical studies of practicein various communities and concludes with observations aboutfuture work in the field, with the general conclusion that democraticsocieties, especially ones whose populations are becoming morediverse, will depend in part on their ability to both recognizedifferences and also build bridges across cultural boundaries.The paper is based on the belief that strengthening the studyof these phenomena can contribute to their practice.     

Tackling strategy management

Managing strategies in a one-man business is second nature to the entrepreneur. Strategic coordination becomes much more problematic as the company grows. In today's large multi-nationals, their size constantly threatens strategic lethargy and inertia. Only those companies which can manage their business strategies effectively in all levels of the enterprise are likely to survive and prosper against the competition. This paper seeks to describe how one manufacturing enterprise, as part of a very large marketing oriented multi-national, sets out to tackle this challenge.