title: Transfer and persistence of spiritual values as institutional logics in post-founding social ventures

authors: Abeywardana, Thanuksha

subjects: Spiritual Values

abstract: It is well understood that personal values can profoundly influence the purpose and direction of a new venture. This is even more so when the spiritual values of the founder are involved. Even though spirituality empowers oneself with energy, passion, direction, and meaning in both personal and occupational life, the process through which spiritual values are transferred from the founder to the organisation and how they persist within the venture remains unclear.  This leads to the research question of the study: How do spiritual values of the founder transfer and persist within the venture to become an institutional logic? Interpretivism serves as the paradigm for my study. The research follows a qualitative approach, employing case studies for an in-depth exploration of the data. A sample of sixty participants, comprising founders and employees, from Sri Lankan MSM social enterprises, was interviewed. The interview data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Firstly, the research reveals that recognising the founder’s spiritual values begins with comprising founders and employees from the founder embodying selfless qualities such as gratitude, generosity, empathy, detachment, principled conduct, and a sense of justice through self-aware thoughts and actions. This study focuses on an in-depth understanding of how the spiritual values of the founder have been transferred into the ventures and how they persist. Therefore, secondly, the study uncovers that the transferring of the founder’s spiritual values occurs through three processes: Practising, fostering and nurturing. The transfer of spiritual values involves routine actions that align thoughts and behaviours with the inner well-being of both oneself and others. This process is nurtured through intentional, compassionate understanding and encouragement, fostering inner calmness to bring comfort to others. Thirdly, my study signifies three processes of persistence of spiritual values within the venture: Contemplating, continuous engagement and inculcating. The persistence of spiritual values as institutional logics begins with self-reflection, grounded in self-awareness and consistent, often unintentional interactions that promote a commitment-driven life in service to others. 
The discussion and conclusion evaluate and reflect, respectively, on the journey of institutional logic. The transition from spiritual values to spiritual institutional logic is characterised by alignment, sense-making, and re-coupling. Alignment involves both inner resonance and collective resonance, extending beyond collective transcendence to encompass global transcendence. Sense-making indicates that founders and employees work collectively to ensure a meaningful purpose oriented toward the well-being of others, while also drawing on the inner, self-developed humanistic nature of spiritual values. In the process of recoupling, a complementary, yet evolving dimension of spiritual institutional logic emerges through the co-extraction and recombination of multiple elements derived from compatible spiritual values, resulting in a spiritual form of institutional logic. 
Finally, this study extends the moral and intellectual stance of institutional logic to include the spiritual dimension. The transition from spiritual values to institutional logics is observed through the characteristics and inherent nature of those values. Secondly, the value transfer process explored in this study offers a theoretical bridge between spirituality and management theory. It contributes to the value transmission process by integrating self-awareness and empathy into practice. Thirdly, this study provides evidence for the persistence of spiritual values within the domains of spirituality and institutional logic by highlighting the interplay between core and peripheral elements of spiritual institutional logics.

text: Transfer and persistence of spiritual values as institutional logics in post-founding social ventures It is well understood that personal values can profoundly influence the purpose and direction of a new venture. This is even more so when the spiritual values of the founder are involved. Even though spirituality empowers oneself with energy, passion, direction, and meaning in both personal and occupational life, the process through which spiritual values are transferred from the founder to the organisation and how they persist within the venture remains unclear.  This leads to the research question of the study: How do spiritual values of the founder transfer and persist within the venture to become an institutional logic? Interpretivism serves as the paradigm for my study. The research follows a qualitative approach, employing case studies for an in-depth exploration of the data. A sample of sixty participants, comprising founders and employees, from Sri Lankan MSM social enterprises, was interviewed. The interview data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Firstly, the research reveals that recognising the founder’s spiritual values begins with comprising founders and employees from the founder embodying selfless qualities such as gratitude, generosity, empathy, detachment, principled conduct, and a sense of justice through self-aware thoughts and actions. This study focuses on an in-depth understanding of how the spiritual values of the founder have been transferred into the ventures and how they persist. Therefore, secondly, the study uncovers that the transferring of the founder’s spiritual values occurs through three processes: Practising, fostering and nurturing. The transfer of spiritual values involves routine actions that align thoughts and behaviours with the inner well-being of both oneself and others. This process is nurtured through intentional, compassionate understanding and encouragement, fostering inner calmness to bring comfort to others. Thirdly, my study signifies three processes of persistence of spiritual values within the venture: Contemplating, continuous engagement and inculcating. The persistence of spiritual values as institutional logics begins with self-reflection, grounded in self-awareness and consistent, often unintentional interactions that promote a commitment-driven life in service to others. 
The discussion and conclusion evaluate and reflect, respectively, on the journey of institutional logic. The transition from spiritual values to spiritual institutional logic is characterised by alignment, sense-making, and re-coupling. Alignment involves both inner resonance and collective resonance, extending beyond collective transcendence to encompass global transcendence. Sense-making indicates that founders and employees work collectively to ensure a meaningful purpose oriented toward the well-being of others, while also drawing on the inner, self-developed humanistic nature of spiritual values. In the process of recoupling, a complementary, yet evolving dimension of spiritual institutional logic emerges through the co-extraction and recombination of multiple elements derived from compatible spiritual values, resulting in a spiritual form of institutional logic. 
Finally, this study extends the moral and intellectual stance of institutional logic to include the spiritual dimension. The transition from spiritual values to institutional logics is observed through the characteristics and inherent nature of those values. Secondly, the value transfer process explored in this study offers a theoretical bridge between spirituality and management theory. It contributes to the value transmission process by integrating self-awareness and empathy into practice. Thirdly, this study provides evidence for the persistence of spiritual values within the domains of spirituality and institutional logic by highlighting the interplay between core and peripheral elements of spiritual institutional logics.

year: 2025-12-17

title: Correlation-based feature selection for machine learning

authors: Hall, Mark A.

abstract: A central problem in machine learning is identifying a representative set of features from which to construct a classification model for a particular task. This thesis addresses the problem of feature selection for machine learning through a correlation based approach. The central hypothesis is that good feature sets contain features that are highly correlated with the class, yet uncorrelated with each other. A feature evaluation formula, based on ideas from test theory, provides an operational definition of this hypothesis. CFS (Correlation based Feature Selection) is an algorithm that couples this evaluation formula with an appropriate correlation measure and a heuristic search strategy. 

CFS was evaluated by experiments on artificial and natural datasets. Three machine learning algorithms were used: C4.5 (a decision tree learner), IB 1 (an instance based learner), and naive Bayes. Experiments on artificial datasets showed that CFS quickly identifies and screens irrelevant, redundant, and noisy features, and identifies relevant features as long as their relevance does not strongly depend on other features. On natural domains, CFS typically eliminated well over half the features. In most cases, classification accuracy using the reduced feature set equaled or bettered accuracy using the complete feature set. Feature selection degraded machine learning performance in cases where some features were eliminated which were highly predictive of very small areas of the instance space. 

Further experiments compared CFS with a wrapper - a well known approach to feature selection that employs the target learning algorithm to evaluate feature sets. In many cases CFS gave comparable results to the wrapper, and in general, outperformed the wrapper on small datasets. CFS executes many times faster than the wrapper, which allows it to scale to larger datasets.

Two methods of extending CFS to handle feature interaction are presented and experimentally evaluated. The first considers pairs of features and the second incorporates feature weights calculated by the RELIEF algorithm. Experiments on artificial domains showed that both methods were able to identify interacting features. On natural domains, the pairwise method gave more reliable results than using weights provided by RELIEF.

text: Correlation-based feature selection for machine learning A central problem in machine learning is identifying a representative set of features from which to construct a classification model for a particular task. This thesis addresses the problem of feature selection for machine learning through a correlation based approach. The central hypothesis is that good feature sets contain features that are highly correlated with the class, yet uncorrelated with each other. A feature evaluation formula, based on ideas from test theory, provides an operational definition of this hypothesis. CFS (Correlation based Feature Selection) is an algorithm that couples this evaluation formula with an appropriate correlation measure and a heuristic search strategy. 

CFS was evaluated by experiments on artificial and natural datasets. Three machine learning algorithms were used: C4.5 (a decision tree learner), IB 1 (an instance based learner), and naive Bayes. Experiments on artificial datasets showed that CFS quickly identifies and screens irrelevant, redundant, and noisy features, and identifies relevant features as long as their relevance does not strongly depend on other features. On natural domains, CFS typically eliminated well over half the features. In most cases, classification accuracy using the reduced feature set equaled or bettered accuracy using the complete feature set. Feature selection degraded machine learning performance in cases where some features were eliminated which were highly predictive of very small areas of the instance space. 

Further experiments compared CFS with a wrapper - a well known approach to feature selection that employs the target learning algorithm to evaluate feature sets. In many cases CFS gave comparable results to the wrapper, and in general, outperformed the wrapper on small datasets. CFS executes many times faster than the wrapper, which allows it to scale to larger datasets.

Two methods of extending CFS to handle feature interaction are presented and experimentally evaluated. The first considers pairs of features and the second incorporates feature weights calculated by the RELIEF algorithm. Experiments on artificial domains showed that both methods were able to identify interacting features. On natural domains, the pairwise method gave more reliable results than using weights provided by RELIEF.

year: 1999

title: The Māori precariat: A silhouette

authors: Stubbs, Thomas

abstract: Recent financial crises and a host of punitive labour and welfare reforms have intensified socio-economic divisions across advanced nations. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the indigenous Maori peoples are subject to systemic labour market disadvantages, and are thus more likely to be affected by increased inequalities in times of economic downturn. Despite the legacies of systematic economic exclusion and discrimination in the economy, the majority of Maori demonstrate a resounding level of social resilience in the face of this hostile context. Even so, there is evidence to suggest that an unacceptable number of Maori still struggle to overcome these challenges. For instance, 13.0 per cent of Maori are in temporary work compared to 8.2 per cent of Pakeha,1 and 12.4 per cent of Maori are experiencing unemployment against 4.4 per cent. of Pakeha.2 These trends contribute to a range of socio-economic challenges, to which mainstream and Maori service providers are struggling to respond.
In this chapter, we develop a demographic silhouette to seek an understanding of socio-economically marginalised - or 'precariat' - Maori. Although we are wary of portraying Maori in an unduly negative light, we also submit that an appreciation of the extent of the issues faced by this group is necessary if our analysis is to be useful in the development of an effective response. We begin by defining the precariat. Using data obtained from Statistics New Zealand's Te Kupenga survey of Maori wellbeing, we then outline the prevalence and composition of the Maori precariat in Aotearoa New Zealand. Overall, we find that the Maori precariat comprises a substantial portion of the Maori population, particularly among females, younger age groups, and those with low or no qualifications. They are predominantly located-in regions that have high levels of seasonal employment, and in more deprived areas. We also find the value attached to Maori culture and experiences of stigma for this group are, for the most part, similar to those among the Maori non-precariat.

text: The Māori precariat: A silhouette Recent financial crises and a host of punitive labour and welfare reforms have intensified socio-economic divisions across advanced nations. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the indigenous Maori peoples are subject to systemic labour market disadvantages, and are thus more likely to be affected by increased inequalities in times of economic downturn. Despite the legacies of systematic economic exclusion and discrimination in the economy, the majority of Maori demonstrate a resounding level of social resilience in the face of this hostile context. Even so, there is evidence to suggest that an unacceptable number of Maori still struggle to overcome these challenges. For instance, 13.0 per cent of Maori are in temporary work compared to 8.2 per cent of Pakeha,1 and 12.4 per cent of Maori are experiencing unemployment against 4.4 per cent. of Pakeha.2 These trends contribute to a range of socio-economic challenges, to which mainstream and Maori service providers are struggling to respond.
In this chapter, we develop a demographic silhouette to seek an understanding of socio-economically marginalised - or 'precariat' - Maori. Although we are wary of portraying Maori in an unduly negative light, we also submit that an appreciation of the extent of the issues faced by this group is necessary if our analysis is to be useful in the development of an effective response. We begin by defining the precariat. Using data obtained from Statistics New Zealand's Te Kupenga survey of Maori wellbeing, we then outline the prevalence and composition of the Maori precariat in Aotearoa New Zealand. Overall, we find that the Maori precariat comprises a substantial portion of the Maori population, particularly among females, younger age groups, and those with low or no qualifications. They are predominantly located-in regions that have high levels of seasonal employment, and in more deprived areas. We also find the value attached to Maori culture and experiences of stigma for this group are, for the most part, similar to those among the Maori non-precariat.

year: 2017