Accounting for change and innovativeness: organizational climate change or renewable organizational energy? / Helen Black.

This paper examines how understanding the current climate for change and innovativeness in an organisational unit can inform decision making, strategic management and future change initiatives to enhance innovativeness. Specifically, this study contributes to the growing literature with a focus on using management control systems in pursuit of innovation outcomes and assesses the current climate for change and innovativeness in three organisational units. Using the data collected from a quantitative survey, this study demonstrates that intangible elements that influence change and innovation initiatives can be measured, understood and managed through decision-making and strategy development to drive future outcomes. The results show that each of the sample organisations has different strengths and weaknesses, each individual unit is unique, and analysis of the current climate highlights areas that may impede change and innovative processes. This is useful tool for managers and management accountants when interpreting performance results and/or developing strategies and future actions

The Contribution of Small-scale, Rural Festivals to the Social Sustainability of their Host Communities in Northumberland, UK

PhD ThesisSmall-scale festivals, as occasions for communal gathering and celebration, have long held a place in the respective local calendars of many towns and villages throughout the United Kingdom. By their nature, they are sites for social interaction, performance and participation on many levels. Some have an historic precedent going back several centuries, while a great many arose post 1980 as a result, in part, of the burgeoning tourism and heritage industries and the regeneration policies and development strategies of the pre-millennium era. The proliferation of the UK festival field raises questions of sustainability, purpose and effectiveness and of the need for greater social evaluation in response to a perceived over-emphasis on economic outcomes. While some cultural and developmental strategies do acknowledge the potential social impact of small-scale festivals, to date the emphasis has been predominantly upon the economic contribution with research into festival impact taking a particularly urban focus. This research project examined the contribution of small-scale festivals to the social sustainability of their host communities within a rural context through a case study approach in Northumberland. A comprehensive overview of the dynamic of festivals within the county between 1980 and 2012 allowed for the selection of the four case studies. The mixed-method approach combined a review of the literature, archival and field research with a range of semi-structured interviews with festival and community stakeholders. Four principle indicators were identified through which to measure the contributions of the festivals to community social sustainability. These indicators are: contribution to community pride and localness, enhancement of knowledge and understanding, contribution to the continuity of local culture, and enablement of networks of connectivity. By examining these events through a lens of social sustainability, the thesis presents an argument, as outlined in the conclusion, which supports the potential for small-scale, rural festivals to make a positive contribution to their communities. The findings within the thesis suggest that small-scale, rural festivals make a significant contribution to the social sustainability of their host communities through the networks of connections they enable temporally (with heritage), spatially (with place) ii and socially (with the individuals and groups which interact with the event). In order for these festival connections to contribute to sustainability, these events must demonstrate a balance within these connections of both consistency and innovation and an accessibility and openness within the locale. It is this accessibility and the balance of consistency and innovation which ultimately determines the festival’s contribution to the social sustainability of its host community.Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) who provided funding for my PhD, and the School of Arts and Cultures (SACs) at Newcastle University for funding a number of conference attendances

Gender Differences in Facebook Addiction as a Coping Response to Social Stressors and Poor Self-Confidence

The Threat Appraisal and Coping Theory suggests that when individuals perceive social stressors from important interpersonal relationships (family, friends, romance), and when they have poor self-confidence, they may display the coping behavior of seeking social support, including that provided by social media platforms such as Facebook. However, individuals who perceive intense social stressors and have poor self-confidence may use Facebook to the extent that it interferes with other areas of their lives. The present study examined this cognitive sequence that could lead to such Facebook addiction: SOCIAL STRESSORS à POOR SELF-CONFIDENCE à EXCESSIVE FACEBOOK. Because of past research showing gender differences in each of these variables, we hypothesized that women would be more likely to show the proposed cognitive sequence leading to Facebook addiction. Participants were 243 women and 209 men from a paid online Survey Monkey sample who reported demographics, three social stressors (family, friends, romance), self-confidence with Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, and excessive Facebook use with the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale. Unlike our hypothesized results, moderated mediational analyses with 5000 bootstrapped samples found significantly higher indirect effect sizes for the three-variable sequence in men than in women, specifically when the social stressor was from family or romantic partners. One interpretation would be that when conflicts occur in intimate personal relationships (family, romance), women may have a wider network of real-life relationships in which they share their emotional concerns, whereas men are more likely to rely on online social media to vent concerns about intimate relationships

Seasonal Variation in 25(OH)D at Aberdeen (57°N) and Bone Health Indicators- Could Holidays in the Sun and Cod Liver Oil Supplements Alleviate Deficiency?

Vitamin D has been linked with many health outcomes. The aim of this longitudinal study, was to assess predictors of seasonal variation of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) (including use of supplements and holidays in sunny destinations) at a northerly latitude in the UK (57°N) in relation to bone health indicators. 365 healthy postmenopausal women (mean age 62.0 y (SD 1.4)) had 25(OH)D measurements by immunoassay, serum C-telopeptide (CTX), estimates of sunlight exposure (badges of polysulphone film), information regarding holidays in sunny destinations, and diet (from food diaries, including use of supplements such as cod liver oil (CLO)) at fixed 3-monthly intervals over 15 months (subject retention 88%) with an additional 25(OH)D assessment in spring 2008. Bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine (LS) and dual hip was measured in autumn 2006 and spring 2007 (Lunar I-DXA). Deficiency prevalence (25(OH)

New academics’ experiences of induction to teaching: an Activity Theory approach

In this article we present findings of a research project investigating the experiences of new academics in the process of becoming effective teachers, using an Activity Theory framework (Engestrom, 2001 ). The research was undertaken in a post-92 university that has shifted from teaching and professional development to prioritise a new emphasis on research. However, all academics have a dual responsibility for teaching and research. The project brought us together as education developers who were involved in the induction of academics into teaching across six departments. We shared a common aim in trying to understand the issues faced by new academics in their various disciplines and departments, in order to improve their induction experience and provide an enhanced CPD offer

Organisational Climate for Change and Innovativeness: A social capital perspective

Purpose: Acute health services around the world are increasingly required to respond to accreditation institutes, the changing needs and expectations of patients and societal values that demand continuous improvement in quality and efficiencies. Many change initiatives and innovative attempts have failed or resulted in lower performance than expected. The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the organisational contextual factors such as social capital and organisational climate that interact with the change implementation processes and provide a new perspective for change management in the unique environment of acute health care. Methodology: This mixed methods study was executed in three different sized operating theatre suites. A survey and in-depth interviews were used to reveal a current organisational climate for innovativeness through team member perspectives.  The strength of each organisational climate was assessed with reference to the level of disparity in the participant responses. In-depth interviews and observations provided understanding of how social capital is developed and maintained, then examined in context with the climate for innovativeness to understand how contextual factors, social capital and climate interact.  Findings: It has been demonstrated that social capital in the operating theatre suite has bearing on the organisational climate for change and innovativeness. Size and structure of an organisation influence how social networks develop; policies and management practices influence how different networks interact; and, the combination of contextual factors and social capital influences the organisational climate for innovativeness.  Originality/value: Managing social capital can offer a people-focused perspective through which to design and implement change and enhance an organisational climate for innovativeness

Sere dina ni Lotu Wesele e Viti : "True Songs" The history, culture and music of Fijian Methodist Indigenous liturgy

In 1835 Fijian society was a complex web of discrete social groups, connected either by common ancestry or political affiliation, ruled by chiefs with varying degrees of authority. The largest and most powerful were the political matanitu (confederations) whose paramount chiefs ruled through turaga bale kei Viti, a powerful chiefly system sustained through tribute, approbation and reciprocity. Maintaining their power was a paramount force at the time of missionary contact when constant warfare embroiled all Fijian societies to a greater or lesser extent. The Methodist evangelists, first Westemers to make an impact of consequence on Fijian society, realised the overwhelmingly challenging task of introducing Christianity to so complex a society: tyranny of distance, deified chiefs, rigid mores, dialectic differences, diverse religious beliefs, priests with a vested interest in maintaining power; all these strands omnipresent in an ancient society with limited Western contact. Acceptance of the Christian God would challenge fundamental tenets of chiefly authority and power, as well as Fijian spiritual belief and worship. Making meaningful progress involved the missionaries acknowledging Fijian authority, working within the Fijian social system and, of paramount importance, training and providing Fijian Christian acceptors with the tools for their work of evangelisation. Most effective of all the tools of written language, single dialect, literacy and education, was the utilisation for a Christian liturgy of the meke. Meke, all indigenous sung poetry, is the repository of Fijian oral culture and the one unifying factor in Fijian societies at the time of missionary contact. Events of consequence, past and present, are recorded in the music text known and sung by all indigenous Fijians. Here then was the vital tool for imparting the principles of Christian theology in the semiotics of their first language. Known as taro (catechism), same and polotu, these compositions together with Methodist prayers gave Fijians a complete theological framework in the tradition of their music. This thesis examines the pivotal role of Christianised meke as an evangelising tool in the introduction of Christianity. The text of this music spoke directly to Fijians in their oral tradition. Understanding the impact of that contact is to know the elements constituting Fijian society at the time of missionary contact, to be studied with the ethos of the missionaries and the process of adjoining Methodist theocracy to a polytheistic society. Examination of the music and text of the liturgy will show how an indigenous form so completely and uniquely accommodated a rubric for Christian worship

Incorporating satellite data into weather index-based insurance

What: Twenty-three people from six countries came together to discuss how drought insurance based on remotely sensed data can reduce the impact of weather shocks on some of the poorest people in the world. Participants were drawn from financial and agricultural sectors, nongovernmental and governmental organizations, and universities. When: 16–17 February 2016. Where: Reading, United Kingdo