Executive development: History lessons learned from Barnard

The purpose of this paper is to derive practical lessons from Barnard's less well-known contributions to our understanding of leadership, leadership development and executive education. The main contributions of this paper are the introduction of Bevir's logic to the leadership studies and revelation that Barnard might have established the early foundations of pragmatic leadership. The introduction of Bevir's logic from the history of ideas may be instrumental to overcoming biases toward historicism and presentism, which are latent, yet common in leadership studies. The recognition of Barnard's historical contributions to the conceptualization of leadership, leadership development, and executive education is significant. These contributions are not widely known because they are not a part of his well-known book The Functions of the Executive. Barnard has much to say about these issues and we should listen and heed his suggestions.     

Anabolic steroid use: indications of habituation among adolescents

The use of anabolic steroids (AS) by adolescent males is argued to be more widespread than currently acknowledged. Although the long-term physiological and psychological ramifications of use are not well established, current research and anecdotal information suggest that there is reason for concern. In addition, very little is known about the attitudes and behaviors of these adolescent AS users. While the debate concerning the physiological versus the psychological dependence liability of various drugs continues to evolve, there seems to be a consensus that drug dependence is not a per se phenomenon and that the characteristics of dependence differ in accordance with the drug being used. The following article attempts to identify characteristics of the adolescent male AS user and suggests that AS use does have a dependence potential. The AS user population was found to be significantly different from nonusers in several areas such as self-perceptions of health and strength, interest in controlling AS use, and perceptions of peer AS use. The AS user group was also found to contain several subgroups (heavy users [greater than or equal to 5 cycles] versus other users, and those who initiated use prior to age sixteen who reported significantly different attitudes and/or behaviors. These differences suggest that prevention efforts will have to focus on different motivations for AS use.     

URban Biotopes of Aotearoa New Zealand (URBANZ) (I): composition and diversity of temperate urban lawns in Christchurch

Christchurch urban lawns are dominated by non-native grasses and forbs. However, we document considerable plant diversity; the total number of species encountered in our 327 sampled lawns was 127, although 80 species occurred in <2% of lawns. Seven distinct lawn communities were identified by Two-Way INdicator SPecies ANalysis using occurrence of 47 species that occurred in > 2% of lawns. Our ability to explain variation in species composition was surprisingly good and indicates intensity of lawn maintenance such as frequency of mowing, irrigation, fertiliser, and herbicide use and whether clippings are removed or not plays the major role. Species richness significantly declines with an increase in total area of contiguous lawn, leaf litter cover, the presence of grass clippings, and on loamy soil. Hence, park lawns with coarser management had lower species richness than residential lawns. Native species were more prevalent in well tended residential lawns, where more frequent mowing and removal of clippings or litter build-up diminishes shoot competition or shading. There is tremendous potential for more native species in New Zealand lawns which would contribute substantially to the conservation of endangered lowland herbaceous flora.     

The international business incubator as a foreign market entry mode

Foreign market entry for the firm is often a more complex process than suggested by theoretical models, which can often benefit from re-contextualising and extension in order to retain their explanatory power. In this article, case study research shows how an international business incubator in China, operated by a British export promotion organisation is able to facilitate the foreign market entry of firms. The findings provide an opportunity to highlight a hitherto under-researched method of foreign market entry, explore the synergies between the foreign market entry and business incubation literature and also to extend theory by integrating the role of the business incubator as a method of foreign market entry into existing models and frameworks.     

Is Local Office a Springboard for Women to Dáil Éireann?

Previous research has found the single transferable vote electoral system is relatively friendly to women candidates. Despite this, female representation in the Irish Parliament remains substantially lower than in most other democracies. Drawing on pipeline theory and localism, we assess the impact of local officeholding on the success of male and female major party candidates in the 2007 and 2011 Irish general elections. We find previous experience in local office is a key springboard to higher office for men and women, and when women serve in local government, the likelihood of election increases significantly.     

Exposure to international migration and its effect on childbearing in Turkey

International migration alters social norms, family structures, and population development in sending regions. Each of these factors affects fertility, making the impact of international migration on childbearing an increasingly important area of study. In many sending regions, the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) provide a promising, but underutilized, source of data for understanding the relationship between international migration and childbearing. Using the household and individual questionnaires in the 2003 Turkish DHS, we develop a multi-layered approach for measuring international migration. We then use these measures to examine differences in childbearing among women in migrant and non-migrant households, assessing the effects of migrant selection and migration-related roles and attitudes on the number of children born. After adjusting for selection characteristics, we find return female migrants and migrant wives are not significantly different from women in non-migrant households; role and attitude differences have only modest impacts on the association between women’s exposure to migration and childbearing.     

‘Like waking up in a Franz Kafka novel’: Service users' experiences of the child protection system when domestic violence and acrimonious separations are involved

The challenges that arise in respect of child abuse reports made in the context of domestic violence and/or acrimonious separation have been the subject of recent academic discussion. This paper adds a service user perspective to the debate and reports on the findings from a study conducted in the Republic of Ireland. In addition to the previously established evidence about such cases, it demonstrates the level of powerlessness and frustration experienced by families who found it difficult to have their needs heard or met. It also illustrates the very detrimental emotional impact on children and parents who frequently encountered indifference as well as insensitive and gendered responses from child protection staff. The findings indicate that mainstream statutory child protection services do not have the capacity to deal with these complex cases, and advocates the adoption of alternative approaches. Importantly, the study demonstrates the necessity to pay attention to the views of service users in developing an appropriate response.