On the conditions of authority in academic publics

The discourse of some of the most powerful public figures in today’s world is often incoherent and nonsensical. Incoherent yet authoritative discourse shows that authority does not rest in language but results from non‐linguistic and pre‐textual conditions. The non‐linguistic and pre‐textual conditions are exemplified in an Australian case‐study of a media debate between the Immigration Minister and a refugee, drawing on research by Smith‐Khan (2019a, 2019b). Two such conditions are then examined with reference to academic publics. First, I ask which languages do or do not carry authority, before moving on to speaker identity as a condition of authority. The close association between English and academic excellence has resulted in diminishing the authority of academic publications in languages other than English. The same is true of publications by women and people of colour. I close by reflecting on referencing practices as forms of extending authoritativeness to voices in excluded languages and from excluded scholars in academic publics.     

Wisdom of the crowd and capabilities of a few: internal success factors of crowdsourcing for innovation

Crowdsourcing has been demonstrated to be an effective strategy to enhance the efficiency of a firm’s innovation process. In this paper, we focus on tournament-based crowdsourcing (also referred to as “broadcast search”), a method to solve technical problems in form of an open call for solutions to a large network of experts. Based on a longitudinal study of six companies piloting this application of crowdsourcing, we identify barriers and sources of resistance that hinder its implementation in firms. Our paper contributes to the state of research by analyzing crowdsourcing on the level of pilot projects, hence providing a workflow perspective that considers the creation of dedicated processes and operations of crowdsourcing. This project level analysis enables the identification of specific challenges managers face when implementing crowdsourcing within an established R&D organization. Following a design science approach, we derive suggestions for organizational interventions to overcome these barriers. We find that dedicated promoter roles strongly contribute to a successful implementation of crowdsourcing, turning pilot projects into an organizational routine.     

The Pre- and Post-1997 Well-Being of Hong Kong Residents

Since July 1997, Hong Kong has become a Special Administrative Region (SAR) under the sovereignty of China. This paper compares the social well-being of Hong Kong residents before and after the change of sovereignty by analyzing six sets of survey data collected between 1990 and 2001. These are six biennial territory wide Social Indicator Surveys conducted to collect subjective assessments of well-being of Hong Kong residents. Analysis of the survey data which are typically categorized subjective evaluations has to deal with the commonly encountered problems of ‘direct quantification’ (Schuessler and Fisher, 1985) and ‘incomplete data’ (Little R.J.A. and Rubin D.B., 2002, Statistical Analysis with Missing data (Wiley-Interscience, New Jersy). The problems are handled by applying ‘optimal scaling’ and ‘hot-deck imputation’ as recommended by Shen S.M. and Lai Y.L. (2001, Social Indicators Research 55, pp. 121-166). Different life domain measures as well as compound measures in the form of indices are studied. The data analysis indicates that the residents of Hong Kong were most satisfied in 1997 and least satisfied in 1995. It reveals that the sovereignty change had major impact on many life domains of the people of Hong Kong and the effect was compounded by the economic situation of the territory.     

To Aid the Fatherland. German-Americans,Transatlantic Relief Work and American Neutrality, 1914–17

Abstract

This article explores German-American war relief for Germany during First World War, concentrating on the period of American neutrality, 1914–17. Based on financial ledgers, meeting protocols and the publications of ethnic organisations, it shows how German-American charity served as a force of mobilisation on behalf of the old fatherland after August 1914 even as American public sentiments turned increasingly hostile towards Germany. The article nuances common notions of American humanitarianism during the period of neutrality and broadens our understanding of how German-Americans (and by extension, ethnic groups more generally) tried to balance political loyalty to their ‘hostland’ with emotional attachment to their ‘homeland’.     

Cyber-Laundering: The Union Between New Electronic Payment Systems and Criminal Organizations

Cosa Nostra, ‘Ndrangheta, Camorra, Sacra Corona Unita, Stidda, Triad, Yacuza, Russian Mafia, American Cosa Nostra, Chinese Triads, Wo Hop To, Sun Yee On, 14 K, these are only some of the criminal organizations considered as the “magnates” (particularly with the meaning in power) of national and international crime and/or organized criminality. Together with the aforementioned criminal organizations, we may consider many other organizations, particularly those of the terroristic type which, although having different characteristic activities as opposed to the former, share the same modalities of financing and/or laundering of the gains deriving from the activities carried out. Studies and research, but mainly financial police operations, have often brought out the channels, systems and modalities, by means of which great amounts of money of criminal origin or destined to criminality are cleaned up and/or introduced into the financial circuits.      

The value and rationale of gender‐specific intervention with at‐risk adolescent girls

Gender‐specific intervention (GSI) with at‐risk adolescent girls (ARAGs) is highly prevalent in Israel and elsewhere; professionals commonly consider GSI to be beneficial for ARAGs. However, despite the popularity of such programmes, there is little empirical support for their effectiveness and almost no critical examination of their theoretical rationale. The aim of this qualitative, naturalistic study was to explore how experienced professionals in this domain perceive the value and rationale of GSI with ARAGs, based on in‐depth, semistructured interviews with 15 female Israeli professionals. All of the interviewees claimed that overall, GSI is the “right” or most effective way to work with ARAGs. The discussion reviews the empirical support for participants' assumptions regarding the value of GSI for ARAGs and critically considers the potential drawbacks of GSI with ARAGs.