Go Green: Making the Case for Eco-Friendly Printing at Your Organization

Relying on 100-percent virgin paper and petroleum-based inks, traditional printing strategies leave a large and damaging ecological footprint on our planet. Green minded consumers concerned about our environment are pressuring businesses to adopt green printing practices and rewarding those who do so with their dollars. The development of new eco-friendly inks, paper, and print processes have made it easier for professional communicators to take their companies in a green direction and print eco-friendly documents. This paper discusses strategies for being an advocate for environmentally responsible printing practices and describes some of the eco-friendly and price-competitive print options now available

Sentosa : a feminist ethnography of a psychiatric hospital in Sarawak, East Malaysia

This doctoral thesis is a feminist ethnographic study of psychiatric patients in the State of Sarawak, East Malaysia. The study took place at a psychiatric hospital located in the capital city of Kuching, commencing in 1997. Although Hospital Sentosa is a small institution it is the only psychiatric institution in the State and therefore constitutes an important mental health resource in this region. This ethnographic study primarily concentrates on the lives of women patients in keeping with my chosen methodological approach and seeks to explore the 'culture' of the hospital setting through facets such as daily interactions, activities and relationships. The feminist approach has not however precluded the accounts of male patients whose experiences are utilised in a comparative exercise with those of women counterparts. In addition the views of staff of both sexes and all ranks are considered in relation to their attitudes towards the care of psychiatric patients and the broader area of work-related concerns including collegial support and occupational hazards. In keeping with an ethnographic approach themes developed in the thesis are drawn through an analysis of findings as noted by observation methods as well as through interviews with participants. Furthermore a self-reflexive approach has been an important aspect of analysis commensurate with feminist methodology, in which my role as a researcher is considered in relation to issues of culture, gender and class as well as some of the difficulties of research in a post-colonial and unfamiliar cultural context. Although some avenues of inquiry in the study have not easily lent themselves to an analysis of gender, this thesis primarily argues that the hospital reproduces oppressive policies and practices that impact with greater severity on women patients. Oppressive practices in relation to gender and ethnicity at the hospital are viewed against a backdrop of contemporary psychiatric care as enacted on wards. It is argued that these practices can be viewed in turn as being, for the most part, historically premised upon imported British models of care replicated through colonialism in Malaya and by extension at a later period in the multicultural State of Sarawak

Power struggles in the production of and changing perceptions over the contemporary public space : an insight toward experienced reality

PhD ThesisCities have been invaded by the tools of the capitalist systems which transform the built environment while leaving the scars of this transformation on the societies. The demands of market forces generate new life styles and social contexts reshaped via relations of power and expression of political and economic hegemony. The nature of urban landscape, particularly the condition of public spaces, has shifted towards most profitable use while private interests have taken over public spaces and contemporary public spaces have emerged such as shopping malls. This study contributes to the debates that explore the ‘veiled’ side of planning and hegemonic relations of power in decision making processes that actually in a strong relation with cultural structuring and traditional praxis of a community. In addition, the study has a comprehensive approach by exploring societal influences emerging through power relations and their reflections on contemporary public spaces via exploring perceptions. The study conducts an investigation using qualitative methods and adopting case study approach via three shopping malls from Ankara (Turkey) to answer how urban power relations are generated and become effective on planning and production of contemporary public spaces and how the perceptions upon these public spaces are being transformed? Therefore, the study is founded on two main themes as pillars: power relations and public spaces. In addition, the empirical chapters at the end are set in parallel with the research objectives and data is gathered via archive analysis of the municipalities and interviews conducted with key informants and users of the selected cases. The thesis concludes with contributions to the fields of policy and theory through the above mentioned themes. On one hand, it emphasise the urgent necessity for a comprehensive transformation in Turkish planning structure, on the other hand draws an attention to the inefficiency of ‘western’ literature to elucidate different cultures and power relations that shape the cities of those cultures. In addition, the study also highlighted that the nature of the public space is changing while engendering further change in the perception of public

Leading in turbulent times : an investigation of leadership practices in the Australian higher education sector

Much of the turbulence experienced by the Australian higher education sector in recent years stems from longstanding issues such as uncertainties and reductions in government funding, and increased competition nationally and internationally. Other issues in the sector include the introduction of new education technologies and delivery models, and the changing and sometimes more demanding expectations of students. More recently the sector has faced fundamental disruptions surrounding a wide range of strategic and operational impacts of COVID-19 including uncertainties in the international student market. There are now growing calls for significant systemic change in the sector to deal with these challenges for higher education institutions. Clearly, this will have significant implications for leadership in the higher education sector, and this highlights the skills and practices required of leaders in the sector. This exploratory study has therefore been guided by the research question: ‘How does turbulence in the sector impact leadership practices in higher education institutions?’ While past literature on leadership in higher education has concentrated on the perspectives and practices of those in designated leadership roles, this study argues for a broader understanding of leadership in the sector by incorporating the perspectives of frontline academics. Therefore, the current exploratory study investigates leadership from the perspectives of leaders and academics at two public universities and two private non-university higher education providers. The findings suggest that higher education institutions increasingly operate in corporatist ways, often leading to some form of managerialist culture, which has then led to a rise in tensions between institutional leaders, on the one hand, and academics who argue for more collegial environments on the other. The sector showed signs of being at an impasse on this issue, although some participants found these tensions to be over-dichotomised and called for a sense of balance between these approaches. The leadership framework proposed in the study anticipates a dynamic interaction between the three domains: behaviours, mindsets and skills. The framework recognises that leadership can be represented not only by what leaders do, but also by the skills they adopt in their roles and the mindsets they possess in the performance of them. The development of this dynamic and integrated leadership framework represents a theoretical contribution to the existing knowledge and literature on leadership in higher education

Organisational rhetoric and leadership in agile : a Wittgensteinian inquiry.

The focal point of this research has been the unpicking of reported experience versus rhetoric around a neo-bureaucratic approach to project management, referred to as “Agile”. This monolithic entity consists of many distinct methodologies, with an overlapping conceptual core. An understanding of Agile discourse is established through the data analysed as an object of comparison. The research findings speak to the space of legitimated expression and action, the depth grammar, of Agile organisation. The research was undertaken from a perspective of leadership agnosticism, in that the term was sceptically treated and included only in an emic capacity. The research is a coding-based analysis which runs across three strands of linguistic “metafunction”, as defined by Michael Halliday’s “Systemic Functional Grammar”. A total of 35 Agile experience reports were analysed through this process. The codes derived in this first pass were aggregated into groupings based on the perceived relation of events captured, termed manifestations. These manifestations were then themselves aggregated into a smaller set of categories. In practice, this meant a reduction from 138 codes, grouping similar exemplars, to 16 manifestations and then 6 categories. These categories establish the core concepts around which the depth grammar is presented through the first discussion chapter. This research has two primary contributions to Agile and another relating to leadership. In leadership studies, this research stands as an early empirical demonstration of the value in leadership agnosticism. Relating to Agile, a much needed description of the focal points of organisational talk in Agile practice is provided. Furthermore, it is argued that concepts of leadership had a significant role to play in disguising the continued operation of power in Agile contexts. This thesis, then, represents a contribution to Agile literature by providing a fuller exploration of the empirical challenges facing Agile’s idealised “Santa’s workshop” or “Hollywood/Disneyland” template.The focal point of this research has been the unpicking of reported experience versus rhetoric around a neo-bureaucratic approach to project management, referred to as “Agile”. This monolithic entity consists of many distinct methodologies, with an overlapping conceptual core. An understanding of Agile discourse is established through the data analysed as an object of comparison. The research findings speak to the space of legitimated expression and action, the depth grammar, of Agile organisation. The research was undertaken from a perspective of leadership agnosticism, in that the term was sceptically treated and included only in an emic capacity. The research is a coding-based analysis which runs across three strands of linguistic “metafunction”, as defined by Michael Halliday’s “Systemic Functional Grammar”. A total of 35 Agile experience reports were analysed through this process. The codes derived in this first pass were aggregated into groupings based on the perceived relation of events captured, termed manifestations. These manifestations were then themselves aggregated into a smaller set of categories. In practice, this meant a reduction from 138 codes, grouping similar exemplars, to 16 manifestations and then 6 categories. These categories establish the core concepts around which the depth grammar is presented through the first discussion chapter. This research has two primary contributions to Agile and another relating to leadership. In leadership studies, this research stands as an early empirical demonstration of the value in leadership agnosticism. Relating to Agile, a much needed description of the focal points of organisational talk in Agile practice is provided. Furthermore, it is argued that concepts of leadership had a significant role to play in disguising the continued operation of power in Agile contexts. This thesis, then, represents a contribution to Agile literature by providing a fuller exploration of the empirical challenges facing Agile’s idealised “Santa’s workshop” or “Hollywood/Disneyland” template

The Politics, Problems, And Practicalities Of Serving As Effective User Advocate In An Obstinate Organization

We are all, to some extent, political animals who continually work with definitions and categorizations, trying to determine who is inside our group, who is outside our group, who is supportive of our group, who is detrimental who is useful and productive and who is not. These politics of organization, classification, division and association are intensified as the pressures on our groups to successfully work toward any goal also increase. (Baecker, 1993) Therefore, we react to organizational and goal-driven pressures by making even finer distinctions about who is inside our group and who is outside . These distinctions in turn define the world for us and lead us to make projections (either accurate, or inaccurate) about the obstacles we must overcome, and lead us to consider who might get in the way of our goals. These types of social/political distinctions help us establish who is with us and who is against us

Consumer Protection for Latinos: Overcoming Language Fraud and English Only in the Marketplace

Non-English-speaking consumers deserve the same protection as other consumers, and thus, this article advocates guarantees for their ability to strike informed bargains. To safeguard consumers most vulnerable to unfair and deceptive trade practices, this article contemplates a comprehensive strategy of reform that involves the legislatures, administrative agencies, and courts, as well as nonprofit organizations that advocate for language minorities and merchants themselves. Part I examines the growth in numbers of monolingual Latino/a consumers and documents their experience in the American marketplace. Part I also explores the shortcomings of existing remedies under the common law and consumer protection regulation when applied to non-English-speaking consumers. Part II details potential obstacles to establishing effective consumer protection for Latinos/as and other language minorities. English language movement\u27s repeated calls for a sink or swim standard for language minorities in settings ranging from the classroom to the voting booth. The anti-immigrant climate that spawned California\u27s Proposition 187 may also impede reform efforts. Part III proposes reforms to common law remedies and to statutory consumer protection to place more responsibility on businesses when they deal with language minority consumers. Part III also provides a model of self-regulation for merchants who desire to accommodate these consumers. Finally, the article revisits President Kennedy\u27s consumer bill of rights from the point of view of Latino/a consumers. Due to the large number of monolingual Spanish-speaking Latinos/as in the American marketplace, this article focuses on these consumers. Much of the analysis and proposed reforms, however, extend to other language minority groups

Youth Development: Issues, Challenges and Directions

During the past decade there has been considerable concern and discussion about what Americans can do to improve the lives and life prospects of our youth. The changing economy, the stress on family and community life that changing economy brings, concern about the adequacy of public education, the highly publicized incidents of gun violence in schools and the very large cohort of teenagers that this decade brings have only heightened the legitimacy, and the rhetoric, of that concern. In this volume of nine essays, leading researchers and practitioners in the field of youth development share what they have learned over the past decade about the potential challenges of the "youth development approach" and offer some suggestions about how to proceed in the coming decade