Body image,aging, and identity in women over 50: The Gender and Body Image (GABI) study

We conducted a qualitative study of 1,849 women over age 50 to capture the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes that women at middle age have about their bodies and the experience of aging. Via an open-ended question online survey, four primary themes emerged: (a) the physical and psychological experience of aging; (b) the injustices, inequities, and challenges of aging; (c) the importance of self-care; and (d) a plea for recognition of the need to maintain a contributory role in society. Results highlight the complexities of women’s psychological and physical aspects of aging and point toward important topics worthy of further study in this growing population.     

An integrated model of national HRD and critical HRD: considering new possibilities for human resource development

Though both National Human Resource Development (NHRD) and Critical Human Resource Development (CHRD) have received an increasing amount of attention, only two published works have used an explicitly critical approach to discuss NHRD norms, policies, and practices. The purpose of this article was to examine and articulate the relationship between NHRD and CHRD and make a case for the importance of that relationship to the field of HRD. We identify some commonalities between NHRD and CHRD, including the shared priorities of context, culture, and empowerment, which provide a strong foundation for future focuses on theory-sharing, global awareness, holistic and socially conscious economic development, negotiated power and performance, and emancipation in HRD research and practice.     

Cognitive skills and leadership performance: The nine critical skills

Over the years, a growing body of evidence indicates that certain cognitive skills are a critical determinant of leader performance. In the present effort we show that application of these skills is typically founded in case-based knowledge. Subsequently, we identify nine key skills people in leadership positions employ when working with case-based knowledge to address leadership problems: 1) problem definition, 2) cause/goal analysis, 3) constraint analysis, 4) planning, 5) forecasting, 6) creative thinking, 7) idea evaluation, 8) wisdom, and 9) sensemaking/visioning. Individual and situational contingencies shaping effective application of these thinking skills is discussed. In addition, the implications of findings bearing on leader thinking skills for leader assessment and leader development are considered.     

Who is More Likely to “Not See Race”? Individual Differences in Racial Colorblindness

Many Americans endorse a colorblind racial ideology, meaning they strive to “not see race” and emphasize sameness and equal distribution of resources across racial lines. Currently, there is an absence of studies examining the personality and individual difference correlates of racial colorblindness. The current study investigated the association between three different aspects of racial colorblindness (unawareness of racial privilege, unawareness of institutional discrimination, and unawareness of blatant racism) and the Big 5, empathy, and aggression in white undergraduates. Our results revealed two divergent patterns. Unawareness of racial privilege was related to lower openness and perspective taking, but more empathic concern, whereas unawareness of blatant racism and unawareness of institutional discrimination were related to lower agreeableness, perspective taking, and empathic concern. These results are discussed in relation to the broader literature on prejudice and personality.     

Using counter-stories to challenge stock stories about Traveller families

Abstract

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is formed from a series of different methodological tools to expose and address racism and discrimination. Counter-stories are one of these tools. This article considers the potential of counter-stories as a methodological, theoretical and practical tool to analyse existing educational inequalities for Traveller communities. Although discrimination towards Traveller communities is well documented, there has been limited use of CRT to examine this position and challenge the social injustice they experience. In this article ‘stock stories’, or commonly held assumptions and stereotypes about Traveller communities are highlighted and refuted with Travellers’ own accounts. It is hoped this article will dispel stock stories, raise awareness of the real inequalities Travellers face and inform methodological debate.     

A study of significance of racial and athletic identification on educational perceptions among African American male college athletes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the racial and athletic identities of African American male college athletes to determine how the identities might impact the athletic and educational potential and performance of this specific group of college athletes. The study revealed that participants who responded negatively to a poor athletic performance were more likely to have lower levels of academic self-concept. In contrast, college athletes who highly identified with their racial group were more likely to have higher levels of academic self-concept. Overall, the findings reveal the intricacies and complexities of being an African American college student and athlete at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) in the US. As such, the article details the implications of the findings as they relate to African American culture, American sports culture, and higher education realities.     

The Use of Simulation to Reduce the Domain of “Black Swans” with Application to Hurricane Impacts to Power Systems

Recently, the concept of black swans has gained increased attention in the fields of risk assessment and risk management. Different types of black swans have been suggested, distinguishing between unknown unknowns (nothing in the past can convincingly point to its occurrence), unknown knowns (known to some, but not to relevant analysts), or known knowns where the probability of occurrence is judged as negligible. Traditional risk assessments have been questioned, as their standard probabilistic methods may not be capable of predicting or even identifying these rare and extreme events, thus creating a source of possible black swans. In this article, we show how a simulation model can be used to identify previously unknown potentially extreme events that if not identified and treated could occur as black swans. We show that by manipulating a verified and validated model used to predict the impacts of hazards on a system of interest, we can identify hazard conditions not previously experienced that could lead to impacts much larger than any previous level of impact. This makes these potential black swan events known and allows risk managers to more fully consider them. We demonstrate this method using a model developed to evaluate the effect of hurricanes on energy systems in the United States; we identify hurricanes with potentially extreme impacts, storms well beyond what the historic record suggests is possible in terms of impacts.     

Understanding the theory behind the Last Planner System using the Language-Action Perspective: two case studies

Since the Last Planner System® (LPS) was devised in the early 90s, a number of studies have pointed out the need to understand the underlying theory in which it is based on. The Language-Action Perspective (LAP) has been suggested as a suitable approach to understand the management of commitments in the LPS. This paper aims to assess the contribution of LAP to understand construction planning and control systems based on LPS. Two case studies were carried out in different construction companies, both highly experienced on the use of LPS. The results reveal the role of LAP for creating explicit representations of commitment flows that can be used to explain the sources of complexity and failures in planning systems, as well as for describing the profile of planning and control meetings.