THE CHANGING NATURE OF RURAL COMMUNITIES

Community/Rural/Urban Development,

THE IMPACT OF POST-FARMGATE VALUE-ADDING ON WESTERN CANADIAN AGRICULTURE

Agribusiness,

The Dynamic Negotiated Exchange Model of Heroism and Heroic Leadership: Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article proposes a new model of heroism and heroic leadership that conceptualizes the exchange relationship between heroic leaders and the recipients of heroic action as dynamic and negotiated. Previous exchange models portraying heroic leadership exchange as static and passive are shown to be inadequate under conditions of major societal upheaval. Underlying the Dynamic Negotiated Exchange (DNE) model is the idea that equitable hero–recipient exchange during times of societal crises becomes strained and subject to negotiated revision. The terms of the negotiation are first manifest in media dialogue and then translate to individual or structural reforms offering more equitable exchange outcomes. To illustrate our model, we use examples from the COVID-19 pandemic, during which dynamic negotiated exchanges are demonstrated in phenomena such as the Great Resignation and the Great Upgrade

Leadership and Sexuality: Power, Principles and Processes

Although both leadership and sexuality are important and heavily researched topics, there is little work that addresses the interaction of the two areas. Leadership and Sexuality: Power, Principles, and Processes is a scholarly synthesis of leadership principles with issues related to sexuality and sexual policy-making. The authors\u27 multi-disciplinary analysis of the topic examines sexuality in the context of many different kinds of leadership, exploring both the good and the bad aspects of leadership and sexuality. These integrated topics are examined through three broad areas of study. The first involves individuals who become leaders in sexual domains by advancing new views of human sexuality. The second involves problems that leaders of businesses and other institutions must address as a result of issues related to human sexuality, including sexual harassment and sexually-based discrimination in the workplace. The third area involves understanding how being a leader influences sexual desire and sexual attraction, and may impact the course of workplace romance and the expression of sexuality.Written to be accessible to both laypeople and scholars, this book will appeal to academics and scientists interested in human sexuality as well as many related disciplines, including psychology, sociology, leadership studies, heroism science, political science, religion, and economics.https://scholarship.richmond.edu/bookshelf/1309/thumbnail.jp

Pressures to Comply or Defy: How Social Values Influence Perceptions of Healthcare Workers as Villains

During the Covid-19 pandemic, politicians, the media, and the public labeled frontline workers as heroes. The goal of this article is to examine how certain aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic—such as the nature of the Covid-19 virus, coupled with insufficient governmental and institutional responses—created a situation where it became possible for people to characterize healthcare workers as villains. This approach to medical professionals is rather novel in heroism studies and social sciences. A qualitative review of available data sources provided evidence that frontline healthcare workers were perceived negatively. Experiencing a lack of cooperation from patients and their families, healthcare personnel were forced to deal with institutional constraints that exacerbated these conflicts. Variables that could influence being villainized included the social value orientation and political persuasion of perceivers, as well as structural factors related to the transmission of effective and accurate information, including biased mass media presentations and genuine uncertainty from scientific sources

Enhancing Instruction in Lean Manufacturing Through Development of Simulation Activities in Shipbuilding Operations

Lean Manufacturing is a powerful philosophy that advocates minimization of waste within an organization. The adoption of Lean Manufacturing philosophy by major manufacturers has created a demand for qualified personnel in this area. A training program in Lean Enterprise was developed by Old Dominion University for the Apprentice School at Northrop Grumman Newport News. Physical simulation activities are an integral part of this training program. Simulation activities related to shipbuilding operations have been incorporated in the Lean training course. These activities have been used in the Business Operations course for three semesters. Results show increased student participation and better understanding of lean concepts. The paper discusses the structure of the simulation activities and their effect on learning of Lean concepts. The paper also discusses measurement of performance metrics to evaluate the impact of lean concepts. An attitudinal survey has been developed to assess the impact of the training program on student\u27s thinking

Correlation and prediction of dynamic human isolated joint strength from lean body mass

A relationship between a person's lean body mass and the amount of maximum torque that can be produced with each isolated joint of the upper extremity was investigated. The maximum dynamic isolated joint torque (upper extremity) on 14 subjects was collected using a dynamometer multi-joint testing unit. These data were reduced to a table of coefficients of second degree polynomials, computed using a least squares regression method. All the coefficients were then organized into look-up tables, a compact and convenient storage/retrieval mechanism for the data set. Data from each joint, direction and velocity, were normalized with respect to that joint's average and merged into files (one for each curve for a particular joint). Regression was performed on each one of these files to derive a table of normalized population curve coefficients for each joint axis, direction, and velocity. In addition, a regression table which included all upper extremity joints was built which related average torque to lean body mass for an individual. These two tables are the basis of the regression model which allows the prediction of dynamic isolated joint torques from an individual's lean body mass

Fuel supplier selection for large scale UK bioenergy schemes

This article presents a potential method to assist developers of future bioenergy schemes when selecting from available suppliers of biomass materials. The method aims to allow tacit requirements made on biomass suppliers to be considered at the design stage of new developments. The method used is a combination of the Analytical Hierarchy Process and the Quality Function Deployment methods (AHP-QFD). The output of the method is a ranking and relative weighting of the available suppliers which could be used to improve optimization algorithms such as linear and goal programming. The paper is at a conceptual stage and no results have been obtained. The aim is to use the AHP-QFD method to bridge the gap between treatment of explicit and tacit requirements of bioenergy schemes; allowing decision makers to identify the most successful supply strategy available

Increasing Company Competitiveness: “Tuning-Up” Your Pay System

The cost of labor (i.e., salaries, benefits and incentives) accounts for a sizeable portion of an employer’s operating expenses. Pay packages priced too low or configured improperly can deprive firms of the talent needed to successfully develop, market and produce viable products and services in today’s ultra competitive business environment. However, if pay packages are too high, labor costs can weaken a firm’s ability to compete. For example, a firm with 500 employees can have labor costs that easily exceed $15 million. Thus, building and maintaining a cost-efficient pay system that encourages employee performance without adversely affecting corporate earnings requires constant vigilance