bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Comparison of Paralle Lization Techniques for a Finite Element Quasigeostrophic Model of Regional Ocean Circulation
Authors: Kumaran Santhosh , Miller Robert N.
Published: March 2007

A barotropic, quasigeostrophic, finite-element model of regional ocean circulation is implemented on three parallel architectures: a Multiple Instruction Multiple Data (MIMD) vector computer, a Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) hypercube, and a network of workstations connected together using Fiber Distrib uted Data Interface (FDDI). Specific computation-inten sive tasks are identified, and alternative algorithms are implemented and compared. Detailed performance comparisons are presented. lssues in parallel algo rithm design, such as portability, scalability, and effi ciency, are studied in an attempt to provide guidance to numerical modelers wishing to use parallel and dis tributed computing.

The first intended application is the analysis of the meandering of the Kuroshio, an intense current in the North Pacific which is the dynamical analog of the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic. Here we consider the distinctive eddy patterns off the coast of Japan. The model reproduces the observed bimodality, which appears in this model through a Hopf bifurcation.
Climbing the Commitment Ladder
Authors: White Susan S. , Schneider Benjamin
Published: March 2007

Within the framework of relationship marketing, the authors hypothesized that the degree to which customers’ expectations were disconfirmed for different service dimensions would place customers on different levels of a commitment ladder. The steps on the commitment ladder studied ranged from being a one-time patron of an organization (a “customer”) to persuading others to switch to one’s own service firm (an “advocate”). On a sample of 2,007 patrons from three service businesses, some support for predicting commitment levels based on disconfirmations of specific facets of service was found. Implications and conclusions are discussed.
The Relationships between Culture and Service Quality Perceptions
Authors: Furrer Olivier , Liu Ben Shaw-Ching , Sudharshan D.
Published: March 2007

The authors argue that perceptions of service quality vary across cultural groups, as defined by each culture’s position on Hofstede’s dimensions. They explicitly map the relationship between service quality perceptions and cultural dimension positions and draw the implications for international service market segmentation. They also test the hypotheses constituting their theoretical analysis. They show that the importance of SERVQUAL dimensions is correlated with Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. They also used the correlation coefficients to compute a Cultural Service Quality Index that could be used to segment international service markets and allocate resources across segments.
Time Styles and the Waiting Experience
Authors: Durrande-Moreau Agnès , Usunier Jean-Claude
Published: March 2007

In this exploratory research, the authors try to relate the actual duration of waiting and consumers’“time styles” to the way they experience waiting, especially in terms of passive and active impatience. These variables are linked to waiting acceptability and to satisfaction with the service. The resulting model has been tested with a structural equations method based on public transportation data. Significant relationships have appeared, especially a direct link between actual waiting time and waiting acceptability, whereas time styles (mostly economic time orientation) influence perceived time pressure and active impatience but not waiting acceptability.
Test for Formaldehyde Off-Gassing Rates From Insulation and Other Building Materials
Authors: Timm William , Smith Patti M.
Published: March 2007

The concern for formaldehyde off-gassing or release from various products has been a major concern of govern mental agencies in recent years. The Commonwealth of Massa chusetts has held public hearings and declared formalde hyde a hazardous substance. The Consumer Product Safety Com mission has also held public hearings but has not released the results of their findings, to date.
The Upside-Down Roof. Field and Laboratory Studies of Thermal Insulation. Moisture Conditions and Performance
Authors: Petersson Bengt-Åke
Published: March 2007

In the upside-down roof the thermal insulation is placed on top of the waterproofing membrane, which means that wind and rain affect the thermal resistance of the construction.
The Optically Thin Boundary Approximation to Conductive and Radiactive Heat Transfer
Authors: Fine H.A. , Jury S.H. , Yarbrough D.W. , Mcelroy D.L.
Published: March 2007

Since an exact analytical solution to the equation of heat transfer for com bined conduction and radiation in a purely absorbing, gray medium bounded by infinite, parallel, black, isothermal plates does not exist, several approxima tions to this problem are examined. Comparisons of the total heat fluxes and temperature profiles predicted by the approximations are made with results from a numerical solution of the equation of transfer. Domains within which the approximations are in good agreement with the numerical technique are established. The "optically thin boundary" approximation is shown to be the most accurate of the approximations studied.
Moisture Gain of Spray-Applied Insulations and Its Effect on Effective Thermal Conductivity-Part I
Authors: Modi Debendra K. , Benner Steve M.
Published: March 2007

The presence of free water in fibrous insulating materials can have a very det rimental effect on their thermal and physical properties. Fiberglass and cellu lose insulations were spray-applied to horizontal aluminum plates and exposed to air at relative humidities of 30, 50, and 70% and temperature differences of 20 and 27 C°. The moisture gain was determined by periodically weighing the samples, and the effect of the moisture on the heat flow and temperature distri bution was measured by heat flow sensors and thermocouples. Drying was also investigated by reducing the relative humidity to 10% once steady state had been reached. The rate of moisture gain and the total moisture gain increased with increasing relative humidity and temperature difference, and, after an initial increase, the apparent thermal conductivity would attain a quasi-steady state value that was directly proportional to the moisture gain.
Radiant Panel Fire Tests on Cellular Plastics Insulation
Authors: Dowling V.P. , Martin K.G.
Published: March 2007

Following the introduction in the Australian Model Uniform Building Code of a general limitation on materials, according to their performance in the "Test for Early Fire Hazard Properties of Materials" (AS 1530 Part 3), a range of rigid cellular plastics and systems used for insulating buildings has been subjected to this test. It was found that additional observations to those required by the standard were necessary to gain an understanding of product behaviour. The influence of specimen restraint and the need to consider all indices when assessing product performance are also discussed.
Two New Techniques for Determining the Thermal Radiative Properties of Thin Fabrics
Authors: Cain B. , Farnworth B.
Published: March 2007

Two new techniques for determining the emissivity, reflectivity and transmissivity of fabrics in the infra-red region of the spectrum are described and experimental results reported. Results obtained by both techniques compared favourably. The thermal radiative properties of many textile fabrics were found to be somewhat dif ferent from values reported in the literature. General, qualitative relationships be tween the thermal radiative properties and physical properties of textile fabrics are discussed.
The Final Thermal Inspection of Buildings by Means of Short Period Performance Monitoring: Two Case Studies
Authors: Esposti Walter
Published: March 2007

Thermal performance monitoring of buildings and heating systems has been used in Italy since 1979. The main purposes were to assess both the typical energy con sumption of the different construction technologies used, and the amount of saving obtained by energy conservation measures or solar energy applications.

For the purposes of research, the data acquisition systems used were quite sophisti cated, and the monitoring period very long (up to 3 years). In this paper the author discusses the possiblity of making use of short period performance monitoring as a basis for the final thermal evaluation of a building; this is done by presenting two relevant case studies. The first case regards a school building (17,750 m3) where the heating system is solar assisted by 800 m2 of air collectors. The working of the system was specially designed to take into account the complex utilization pattern of the building.

The second case regards a convertible mobile home (140 m3) designed for emergency assistance in case of earthquake: in this case the heating system is electric.

After outlining the buildings' construction and physical parameters, the author de scribes the testing procedure adopted.

The results obtained are then presented, comparing the measured behaviour of the buildings and systems with the expected ones.

Starting from these first experiences, some aspects regarding the possibility of per forming a final thermal evaluation of buildings based on this technique are discussed, such as:

• the shortest significant performance monitoring period

• types and minimum significant number of parameters to be measured

• physical parameters qualifying the energy consumption of buildings

• complementary measurements (useful or necessary)

Finally, the author gives a short account of future work on the possibility to use low-cost instrumentation.
Air Movement Influence on the Effective Thermal Resistance of Porous Insulations: A Literature Survey
Authors: Powell Frank , Krarti Moncef , Tuluca Adrian
Published: March 2007

The effects of air movement on the thermal performance of permeable insulation systems are reviewed. The paper addresses air convection in and around porous insulation exclusively. Air infiltration through the insulation, from uncondi tioned to conditioned space is not covered The results reported indicate that the thermal insulation actually provided by a porous material may differ substantially from that which is calculated by simple application of R-values (as reported in the lit erature), due to air convection effects The application of an airtight membrane can reduce this R-value degradation.
Thermal Radiative Properties of Metallized Films
Authors: Cain J.B. , McKay N.
Published: March 2007

The results of a theoretical analysis and an experimental procedure to determine the thermal infrared properties of metallized films are presented and fac tors affecting the properties are discussed. The theoretical analysis is applied to the specific case of aluminized polyester films and the results are compared with those obtained experimentally. The effects of location and orientation of metallized films on heat transfer is discussed for a simple problem.
Understanding Surface Sweating
Authors: Khanpara J.C. , Behrens E.W.
Published: March 2007

The sweat control provided by cold pipe/sheet insulation depends on the surface temperature, the dew point of air and the thermal and surface characteris tics of the insulation. The objective of the present research is to observe and better understand how surface sweating on closed cell foam insulation occurs at different relative humidities and air temperatures. An apparatus was built to measure the sur face temperature of foam insulation on a cold plate at various air temperatures and relative humidities.

From the analysis of the experimental data, it can be concluded that the surface of an insulation would visibly sweat only if adverse conditions of air temperature and relative humidity are sustained for rather long periods of time. The reasons are a strong dependence of surface sweating on surface temperature, an increase in the convective heat transfer coefficient with relative humidity at constant air tempera ture, and a possible condensation of a thin invisible layer of water on the surface.
Comparison of Full-Board and Thin-Slice Aging of XEPS Manufactured with Alternative Blowing Agent
Authors: Booth J.R. , Grimes J.T.
Published: March 2007

Thin-slice accelerated aging methodologies have been employed primarily as a quality control test to determine the thermal performance of gas- filled closed-cell polymeric foam products in a timely fashion. However, thin- slicing has not been aggressively pursued because of past concerns about the reliability of the results. In this article, we monitor the diffusion of thin-slice accelerated samples of extruded polystyrene (XEPS) by thermal conductivity in crease.
Novel Innovative Concept for Self-Drying of the Insulation of Cold Piping
Authors: Korsgaard Vagn
Published: March 2007

The self-drying concept for the insulation of cold piping is based on the wicking action of a hydrophillic fabric which is wound around the pipe and ex tended through the slot of the tubular insulation mantel. If the dew point of the am bient air is below the temperature of the surface of the pipe, water vapour will diffuse through the insulation, condense on the pipe and be sucked up by the wick fabric and transported by wicking action through the slot to the surface of the insulation mantel, from where it will evaporate into the ambient air.

In this paper, an experimental set-up is described which within a few hours can demonstrate the self-drying concept. Results are given that show that the concept is able to prevent moisture build up in tubular mineral fibre insulation even without any vapour retarder jacket.

The concept can also be used on piping below freezing temperature if the cooling plant is closed down for a short period once a year or every other year, depending on the permeability of the vapour retarder jacket.
Spherical Thermal Transmission Apparatus with Constant Temperature Boundary
Authors: Cao Shenghan
Published: March 2007

The principles of spherical thermal transmission apparatus and two kinds of working modes-constant temperature boundary and constant heat flux boundary- are described. Numerical solutions are made by means of finite difference analysis for each mode. The results show that the settling time for the constant tem perature mode is about 2.5-6.5 times shorter than the constant heat flux mode. The error analysis for this apparatus is also discussed; the accuracy is better than ±3%. Experiments show that the apparatus is suitable to determine the apparent thermal conductivity for granular and powder materials.
An Algorithm to Accelerate Simulations of Simultaneous Heat and Gas Transfer in Gas-Filled Foams
Authors: Jinkai Wang  , Hagentoft Carl-Eric
Published: March 2007

This paper proposes an algorithm to accelerate simulations of si multaneous heat and gas transfer in gas-filled insulating foams, based on an analy sis of the different transfer processes. This algorithm combines explicit finite dif ference and over-relaxation schemes: the time step of a simulation is determined by diffusion of gases, which is calculated by the explicit difference scheme; and the over-relaxation scheme is used to handle heat conduction. Calculation ex amples using a model presented separately [1] show that the results calculated by the fast algorithm agree well with those calculated by the single explicit finite dif ference scheme. In general, the simulations using the proposed algorithm are much faster than those using a single explicit finite difference scheme. The time step is increased more than 300 and 270 times for the two examples studied.
Damage to Thermal Insulation Foams in Low-Slope Roof Systems Caused by Simulated Foot Traffic
Authors: Liu K. , Booth R.J.
Published: March 2007

The results indicated that commonly used foam plastic roof msula tions will be damaged if exposed to foot traffic, and that their protection with fi brous overlay boards as recommended by roofing contractor associations [1,2] con tinues to be good roofing practice. The results also indicated that finished roof surfaces will be damaged if exposed to frequent roof traffic and that surface protec tion of the membrane is good roofing practice.
Interlaboratory Comparison of the Measurement of Retention Curves
Authors: Hansen Morten Hjorslev , Houvenaghel Geert , Janz Mårten , Krus Martin , Strømdahl Kenneth
Published: March 2007

The results of an interlaboratory comparison of the measurement of apparent density, solid density, open porosity and retention curves are presented. Baumberger sandstone and Sander sandstone were used as test materials.

Repeatability standard deviation and reproducibility standard deviation for the measurement of apparent density, solid density, open porosity and retention curve moisture content have been estimated from the results of the interlaboratory com parison. The statistical analysis was made along the guidelines given in ISO 5725-2.
Method of Averages to Determine Insulation Conductivity under Transient Conditions
Authors: Kossecka Elisabeth
Published: March 2007

A simple method of data analysis, called the averaging technique, is presented which may be useful in long-term field measurements of temperature dependent thermal conductivity of insulating materials. Its mathematical basis is the integral statement, which follows from the heat conduction equation For lin ear dependence of conductivity on temperature, on neglecting capacity terms, it yields simple algorithms to determine thermal conductivity in transient heat flow, for the weighted average temperature, when the heat flux and surface temperatures are measured simultaneously, and also when the heat flux comparator method is em ployed. The problem of proper control of the temperature inside the exposure test box, in order to minimize the error due to neglecting capacity terms, is discussed.
Another Look at the Future of Program Evaluation in the Federal Government: Five Views
Authors: Wye Chris , Sonnichsen Richard
Published: March 2007

Editor Comment: Chris Wye and Richard Sonnichsen left a Cracker Barrel session of the 1988 AEA Annual Meeting very concerned about the future of program evaluation in the federal government. At this session, past officers of the Association reflected on the "progress" AEA had made since its founding. They said they could understand why the word "progress" could be applied to the Association itself, but ... Here, let me let them tell you their thoughts:
The Evolving Syntheses of Program Value
Authors: Stake Robert , Migotsky Christopher , Davis Rita , Cisneros Edith J. , Depaul Gary , Dunbar Christopher , Farmer Raquel , Feltovich Joan , Johnson Edna , Williams Brent , Zurita Martha , Chaves Iduina
Published: March 2007

In this paper, we object to Michael Scriven's claim that the basic logic of evaluation is criterial and standards-based. We note that valuing is an integral part of perception and that valuing within perception, repeatedly refined, is an even more basic logic of evaluation. We find unpersuasive his claim that making the final synthesis "governed" will diminish bias, noting that bias will find its way into the required statements of need, function, standards and weighting. We offer our alternative for disciplining the synthesis process, by urging more systematic and demanding critiques of Robert Stake emerging interpretations and values, and by more deliberately using competing conceptual organizers (e.g., goals, issues, decisions and elements of the rules Scriven advocates) as temporary and dialectical grounds for reconsidering the evolving meanings of the program, including its merit and shortcoming.
Empowerment Evaluation Examined
Authors: Scriven Michael
Published: March 2007

It is suggested that there are some serious problems with defining the concept of empowerment evaluation, with its underlying assumptions, and with its proposed justification.
Management Education in a Globalizing World
Authors: Kumar Rajesh , Usunier Jean-Claude
Published: March 2007

Globalization is necessitating the development of managerial skills crucial to achieving success in a turbulent world. Educational institutions are now beginning to respond to this imperative with varying degrees of success. This article assesses the challenges posed by the talk of globalization for French management education. We analyse the strategies adopted by the French Grandes Ecoles de Commerce (business schools) in coping with the globalization imperative; assess the effectiveness of these strategies in developing new managerial skills; and conclude by assessing the effectiveness of educational organizations located in `tight' cultures in developing a culture conducive to maximizing learning.
Organizational Sensemaking in a Culturally Diverse Setting
Authors: Tomlinson Frances , Egan Sue
Published: March 2007

Developments encompassed under the discourse of globalization include the growing literature of both cross-cultural management and the management of diversity. This article aims to contribute to the understanding of organizing processes in a cross-cultural context through a narrative account of the sensemaking of members of a multinational MBA programme. While generally espousing the discourse of `valuing diversity', participants experienced its enactment as more problematic. Outcomes of interaction among members included not only effective group working and the establishing of friendships, but also group fragmentation and the breakdown of friendships. Successful outcomes are understood as the product of shared experience leading to greater interpersonal understanding. It is argued that the emphasis on cultural difference which pervades the valuing diversity discourse was not particularly helpful to participants' sensemaking and that the language of cultural diversity needs to be developed beyond the limitations of this discourse.
Learning Opportunities and Learning Behavior
Authors: Van Der Sluis Lidewey E. C. , Poell Rob F.
Published: March 2007

This study approaches the management learning process of individuals as an interaction between personal and situational characteristics. Combining insights from cognitive learning theory and social construction theory, it aims to explore the interactions between learning opportunities and learning behavior on the job. Learning opportunities are divided into four categories: obstacles, support, task-related characteristics, and transitions. Learning behavior is specified in five elements: instruction-oriented learning Gestalt learning tactical learning, planned learning, and tacit learning. Examination of five main hypotheses leads to the conclusion that, among MBAs in their early career stage, there is an interaction between individual learning behavior and the amount of learning opportunities, although the latter influences learning behavior in a less dominant way. More specifically, Gestalt learning results in more support, which itself leads to more planned learning which in turn increases the number of learning opportunities. Discussion focuses on possible explanations why not all hypotheses were confirmed.
The Effects of Graduate Management Training on Subsequent Job Success: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Orpen Christopher
Published: March 2007

This paper reports the results of a five-year longitudinal study in which the subsequent success of 41 MBA managers was compared to that of 41 non-MBA managers, matched initially for age, tenure, speciality, position, experience and training. Initially there were no differences between the groups in salary, positional level, or job satisfaction. However, after five years, the MBA managers earned significantly more and occupied significantly higher positions than their non-MBA counterparts, but there was no difference in their satisfaction with their jobs. The results are taken as evidence that post-graduate management training can improve one's chances of success, at least in terms of salary earned and position attained. Further research is needed to uncover the reasons for this effect.
Perception, Power and Responsibility in Management Development: A Study of the Implications for Change in the National Health Service
Authors: Thompson David
Published: March 2007

The argument starts from the recognition that the management developer has so far had only a very limited impact on the performance of National Health Service managers. One reason for this is found in a tendency to underestimate the importance of individual perception in the process of managerial learning.

The paper suggests an approach which combines ideas about coalitions of power in managerial organisations with a soundly-based 'technology' of management development intervention. It maintains that the management developer may become a more effective change agent in organisations such as the National Health Service by adopting this approach, together with a more vigorous belief in creating change and accepting responsibility for its consequences. The practical implications are discussed by drawing on the evidence of a series of field studies carried out within the National Health Service.
Owl, Fox, Donkey or Sheep: Political Skills for Managers
Authors: Baddeley Simon , James Kim
Published: March 2007

This paper describes the development of a model the authors and their colleagues have been using to develop political skills as an increasingly important element of management education. We suggest why the teaching of political skills is still approached with some timidity, even in the field of local government where there are increasing demands for officers to be 'politically sensitive'. We describe a model containing two dimensions relating, first, to the skills of 'reading' the politics of an organisation and, second, to the skills an individual is 'carrying' into situations which may predispose them to act with integrity or play psychologi cal games. The two dimensions are tightly integrated but allow us to separate out four types of behaviour - innocent, inept, clever and wise - which an individual may adopt in different situations. That these are behaviours and not fixed traits is a critical distinction, helping us to develop wise behaviour in managers by concentrating in our training on the way the dimensions of 'carrying' and 'reading' are combined.
A Perspective On Management of Change in the Chinese Retail Industry
Authors: Selby Lorna
Published: March 2007

This paper considers problems of management in China, with particular reference to a large retail organisation in Beijing. Management of change is discussed, factors contributing to its effective implementation suggested. Amongst the key issues identified, staff development is considered in some detail and its contribution to enterprise change evaluated.
Strategic Management Research and Teaching
Authors: Mockler Robert J.
Published: March 2007

The term 'strategic management' implies that something is managed by someone. By definition, then, it is an applied field involving individual human beings and companies managing something in a situation-specific context. For this reason, strategic management teaching and research should focus on that core viewpoint. This article explores how both strategic management research and teaching have in many ways lost sight of this core viewpoint. This article also suggests ways the identified problems might be corrected.
Managerial Learning, Organizational Learning
Authors: Torbert William R.
Published: March 2007

Two illustrations of organizational interventions by consultants and CEOs measured at late stages of managerial development are shown to generate significant opportunities for both managerial and organizational learning at the same time. Moreover, these learning processes occur during the real-time work of the organizations. The article discusses the kind of leadership awareness and action that can generate such simultaneous transformational learning and productive work at both the managerial and organizational scales. By contrast to single-loop and double-loop learning, this kind of leadership is characterized by timely triple-loop learning.
The Bases of Competence
Authors: Evers Frederick T. , Rush James C.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this paper is to present a model of four `base competencies' mobilizing innovation and change, managing people and tasks, communicating, and managing self-developed from 18 workplace skills. The base competencies constitute generic skill sets necessary for advanced-level corporate jobs and provide a succinct model of the managerial competencies which advanced level employees, not just managers, need to complement their technical expertise. The analysis is based on the Making the Match Between University Graduates and Corporate Employers-Phase II project consisting of three surveys (1987-8, 1988-9, and 1989-90) of two cohorts of university students (early university and pre-graduate) and three cohorts of graduates (job entry, job change and stabilized). A total of 816 students from five Ontario universities and 794 university graduates working in 20 Canadian corporations returned questionnaires in all three years. The skills and base competencies are examined across the three years and the five cohorts. Base competency ratings of men and women are also compared.
Rethinking Undergraduate Business Education
Authors: Mutch Alistair
Published: March 2007

Much of the literature on management education focuses on the postgraduate level: this paper reviews the existing undergraduate business studies curriculum. Despite superficial indicators of health it is argued that there is a need for fundamental debate on the shape and purpose of this curriculum. Such debate, it is argued, opens up the space for the development of more critical perspectives. The paper seeks to suggest ways in which the curriculum might develop and how critical perspectives might be addressed.
Knowledge Creation in Japanese Manufacturing Companies in Italy
Authors: Kidd John B.
Published: March 2007

A study of all the Japanese-Italian production subsidiaries was undertaken in Italy by Songini et al. (including the present author) with respect to the managerial, technical and political issues that were felt to be important to their chief executive officers (CEOs). Using these data, the present author discusses the issues pertaining to the creation of knowledge in the Italian firms, which is often based on the assimilation of the technical knowledge brought to the alliance by the Japanese partner. The `best' firms appeared to be those which were firmly managed by Italian CEOs. They possessed a good understanding of Japanese techniques, know-how and financing which they adopted to fit within the Italian management style. In contrast, the firms which were less good seem to be overly `pressed' by their Japanese managers, whether located in the firm in Italy, in the European regional headquarters, or in the headquarters in Japan. The author explores the contextual aspects that may govern knowledge creation in joint-venture subsidiaries, basing the analysis on the framework of organizational learning proposed by Nonaka. He concludes that `success' is due to the blending of contextual factors so as to ameliorate the intercultural conflicts that may so easily arise in these forms of overseas ventures.
The Transfer of Western Management to China
Authors: Fan Ying
Published: March 2007

This paper examines the issue of transferring western management knowhow to China, focusing on the context, content and constraints of the transfer. A model of the transfer of management knowhow is developed which contains five closely-related stages: selection, adaptation, application, evaluation and integration. Factors which influence management transfer are identified as environmental, organizational, and cultural and behavioural; while cultural constraints are discussed in detail. It concludes that China cannot depend on the West for the solutions to its problems but must develop its own indigenous knowhow by blending the best of both East and West.
People, Knowledge, and Change in Participatory Research
Authors: Park Peter
Published: March 2007

My purpose in this article is to highlight characteristics of participatory research that distinguish it from other forms of research aimed at generating action. To this end, I will single out the central role that ordinary people play in motivating and sustaining research efforts, the nature of the knowledge generated, and the social change mechanism embedded in participatory research.
Managing Subjectivity and the Dialectic of Self-Consciousness: Hegel and Organization Theory
Authors: Hancock Philip , Tyler Melissa
Published: March 2007

This article presents the work and ideas of the German philosopher G. WF Hegel as a means of addressing recent debates concerning the management of employee subjectivity within contemporary work organizations. Drawing primarily upon his writings on the phenomenological development of `self-consciousness' and the concept of `ethical life' as a state of realized subjectivity, the authors argue that they provide a meta-theoretical framework within which the processual ontology of organizational (inter)subjectivity can be both addressed and critically appraised. This is then illustrated by a discussion of the role corporate culturalism plays in the mediation of this process, with particular attention being paid to its impact on the embodied dimension of the subject.
Making Sense of Gender in the World Economy: Focus on Latin America
Authors: Fernandez Kelly Maria Patricia
Published: March 2007

The paper highlights gender as a main force in the distribution of power and resources in the global economy. As more Latin American women join the labor force, men partake of a two-fold experience; while some are making gains as technicians and professionals, many more are working in jobs with characteristics formerly associated with female employment. As workforces reconfigure on the basis of gender, men and women confront new dilemmas about their proper roles in society.
Customer Care in a Consumer Society: Smiling and Sometimes Meaning it?
Authors: Sturdy Andrew
Published: March 2007

This article proposes a focus for research by drawing on two emerging and largely distinct streams of literature-on service/emotion work and organizations in consumer society. In particular, experiences of `customer care' and related `corporate culture' initiatives are examined. Here, employee ambivalence is highlighted and is typically portrayed in terms of: protecting a privileged or `real' sense of self; (re-)asserting control; and/or as being constituted through gender, class and other cultural relations and interactions with customers. Little attention has been given to parallel postmodern literatures documenting both the pervasiveness of a constituting discourse of the sovereign consumer and the emergence of multiple selves in a `de-traditionalized' consumer society. Here, the theoretical primacy given to discourse typically precludes an empirical consideration of subjectivity which is viewed as ephemeral. It is argued that such an epistemology has given rise to an exaggeration of the dominance and coherence of discourse, neglecting internal contradictions, alternative representations and associated practices of resistance.
Fueling Discovery or Monitoring Productivity: Research Scientists' Changing Perceptions of Management
Authors: Cohen Laurie , Duberley Joanne , McAuley John
Published: March 2007

Public sector research institutes are finding themselves in an increasingly competitive, market-driven environment. This study seeks to examine the ways in which scientists make sense of this increasingly `managerial' orientation, and howitis reconciled (or not) with their notions of science and their professional interests and aspirations. A central theme emerging from interviews with scientists was that of increasing management control, and a perception that, whereas previously their work had been driven by scientific interests, such interests were now being circumscribed by the needs and demands of management. This study shows the ways in which individuals, while recognizing the constraints imposed upon them by their structural circumstances, negotiate with these structures in the pursuit of their own personal and professional interests. The article concludes that the relationship between the (polysemic) discourses of science and management must be seen as a dynamic and complex interplay.
Persuasion, Frames and Norm Construction
Authors: PAYNE RODGER A.
Published: March 2007

Constructivist theorists view norms as shared understandings that reflect `legitimate social purpose'. Because the focus is on the ideational building blocks that undergird a community's shared understandings, rather than material forces, persuasive communication is considered fundamentally important to norm-building. In practice, this means that frames are crafted by norm entrepreneurs so as to resonate with audiences. However, the constructivist empirical literature illustrates the central importance of material levers in achieving normative change. Those who promote specific norms also manipulate frames strategically to achieve their ends and do not necessarily convince others to alter their preferences. The global debate over `core labor standards' is highlighted to illustrate the various means by which frames can be distorted by communicators acting strategically, perhaps even to secure their own instrumental interests or to maintain their powerful status. Norms that do not reflect a genuinely voluntary consensus can be seen as illegitimate.
Transnational Norms and Military Development:
Authors: FARRELL THEO
Published: March 2007

This article examines the impact of transnational norms on military development. In so doing, it combines constructivism's study of systemic norms with culturalist work on unit-level norms. I focus on two transnational norms — norms of conventional warfare and norms of civilian supremacy — and show how they shape military development through a case study of post-revolutionary Ireland. I draw on recent work by constructivists to elucidate the context, process and mechanism whereby transnational norms are diffused and empowered in new national contexts — a process called norm transplantation. Norm transplantation is particularly problematic when transnational norms clash with local norms. Drawing on studies of military culture and military innovation, I identify the conditions necessary for norm transplantation to occur in cases of cultural clash. Returning to the Irish case, I show how transnational norms of military professionalism became encoded in Irish Army culture despite the fact that its predecessor, the Irish Republican Army, practised norms of military sovereignty and unconventional warfare.
The Meaning of New Medievalism
Authors: FRIEDRICHS JÖRG
Published: March 2007

This article is an exercise in theoretical reconstruction. As a point of departure, the apparent contradictions between globalization, fragmentation and sovereign statehood are analysed. Neither conventional International Relations theory nor the discourse about globalization seem able to account for these contradictions. As a conceptual alternative, the notion of `new medievalism' is introduced. For the present purpose, medievalism is defined as a system of overlapping authority and multiple loyalty, held together by a duality of competing universalistic claims. Thus, the Middle Ages were characterized by a highly fragmented and decentralized network of sociopolitical relationships, held together by the competing universalistic claims of the Empire and the Church. In an analogous way, the post-international world is characterized by a complicated web of societal identities, held together by the antagonistic organizational claims of the nation-state system and the transnational market economy. New medievalism provides a conceptual synthesis which hopefully transcends some of the current deadlocks of IR theory and, at the same time, goes beyond the fundamental limitations of the globalization discourse.
The Emerging Euro-Polity and Organized Interests
Authors: TRAXLER FRANZ , SCHMITTER PHILIPPE C.
Published: March 2007

European integration poses considerable and novel challenges to the associability of both capital and labor. As the locus of political decision-making shifts during this process, class, sectoral and professional interests at the national and subnational levels are confronted with the need to adapt their existing political strategies and/or to create ex novo appropriately novel organizational structures. After exploring the various alternative configurations that might be adopted by the Community, we argue that the emerging Euro-polity is not likely to become a stato/federatio and is even less to regress to a confederatio. As it moves unwillingly and unimaginatively toward becoming a novel form of political domination, either a consortio or a condominio, the range of possibilities in terms of interest organizability and intermediation widens. Sectorally or functionally specific arrangements for the regulation of product markets and supply-side governance of labor markets are compatible with a basically pluralist structure at the EC/EU level because both forms of concertation are likely to be highly selective. Furthermore, these forms of intermediation are most likely to emerge and be sustained where the relevant policy area already has a long tradition of concertation within the member states.
Agents, Structures, Narratives
Authors: SUGANAMI HIDEMI
Published: March 2007

In this article I attempt to reshape the agent-structure debate in International Relations which has become increasingly confused and fruitless. I do so by first rejecting two things — (1) the agent-structure dichotomy, presupposed in the debate, in favour of the age-old classification of causative factors into mechanistic, volitional and coincidental ones; and (2) the explanation-understanding dichotomy, prevalent in the debate, in favour of the idea of `narrative intelligibilifying'. I also draw attention to narrative as a factor constitutive of agents and structures, and offer a modified version of structurationism, while rejecting a version of scientific realism sometimes associated with it. As to how one form of social structure moves towards another, I suggest that, at its most ambitious, this is a world-historical question, and that how the three causative factors are combined in addressing this question is as fascinating as it is vital for our self-understanding as human beings.
Beyond Stereotypes
Authors: Jahoda Gustav
Published: March 2007

Valsiner (2000) sketched a possible semiotic analysis of how people respond to Others, and the present paper seeks to modify and expand his original scheme slightly. The more usual ‘stereotype’ approach to this issue is critically examined in historical context and current practice. It is shown to be largely descriptive at the collective level, and to focus on cognitive mechanisms rather than content at the individual one. By contrast, semiotic processes operate on both levels, the major one being some form of ‘symbolic inversion’. This is illustrated with references to past images of Africans and Japanese, as well as the recent and current political arena. It is suggested that in such contexts the semiotic approach, invoking general principles, is likely to be more illuminating than the ‘stereotype’ one.
Individuals Create Culture: Comments on Van der Veer's 'The Concept of Culture in Vygotsky's Thinking'
Authors: Marti Eduardo
Published: March 2007

The analysis of the two fundamental traditions that shape Vygotsky's concept of culture is used by Rene van der Veer (1996) to point out both the power and the limitations of this concept in Vygotsky's theory. Two of these limitations-the absence of non-linguistically mediated aspects of culture and the difficulty in explaining innovation by individuals are treated in this commentary from a piagetian point of view. It is argued that Piaget's emphasis on non-linguistically mediated forms of behaviour and his concern to explain what enables individuals to create new meanings and new forms of behaviour can contribute to the overcoming of some of the limitations of Vygotsky's concept of culture.
The Legacy of Boesch's Intellectual Oeuvre
Authors: Eckensberger Lutz H.
Published: March 2007

The article serves as an introduction to Boesch's theory from the personal point of view of an author who has interacted with Boesch for a long time. First, three roots of Boesch's enterprise are located (Boesch's clinical work, his interest in contexts, and his own scientific heritage), and their implications for his theoretical framework are drawn. In a second section the intrinsic relationship among some of Boesch's key concepts is illustrated (actor, action, cognitive and affective schemata, symbolism, fantasms and myths). In a third part some thoughts about the future of Boesch's theory are offered. Here it is claimed that in Boesch's theory the social world is not as adequately elaborated as is the world of objects, and that this is a task for the future. Additionally, some methodical and methodological implications are enumerated, which follow from an action theory that is built upon a potentially self-reflective subject who is to be respected also as a moral patient.
The Discursive Voice of Psychoanalysis: A Case for Culturally Constituted Defenses
Authors: Sharma Dinesh
Published: March 2007

The cultural construction of defense mechanisms has been a central concern of psychoanalytic and psychological anthropologists. Billig (1998) offers a novel perspective orn this issue. The approach advanced in this article goes beyond Billig's discursive view by taking seriously the determinative influence of preoedipal phase and preverbal communication for the establishment and maintenance of repression or psychological defense and by locating psychoanalysis within the wider field of social and biological sciences. The Euro-American middle-class bias prevalent in psychoanalysis and psychology overemphasizes verbal interactive and socialization strategies. This article suggests that an understanding of defense mechanisms in a cultural context can be furthered by ethnographic descriptions of the social and interpersonal environments of infants and young children prior to, during and after the emergence of language.
Diversity, Definitions and Dilemmas: A Commentary on Helfrich’s Principle of Triarchic Resonance
Authors: Chaudhary Nandita
Published: March 2007

Helfrich (1999) argues that understanding human psychic diversity requires a notion of culture that can attend to both cultural patterns and personal experience, to the fact of intra-cultural heterogeneity, and one that does not invoke old dualisms such as ‘us’ and ‘other’. It is argued that Helfrich’s triarchic model entails a view of culture as separated from tasks and individuals, which poses difficulty in explaining human experience. The model also omits interpersonal processes and the dynamics of emotions, values, and other social experiences. It is also argued that the meaning of constructs such as ‘intelligence’ should be reconsidered before cross-cultural validation is attempted. Finally, it is suggested that researchers consider the resonance between their scientific theories and ethnotheories in deciding whether a specific approach would actually explain the phenomena and the context to which a scientific theory is applied.