Understanding self-criticism from personal and professional perspectives

Section A: This review aimed to investigate individuals’ experiences of self-criticism. A systematic literature search was conducted. Eight qualitative studies were identified, and their quality was assessed. Thematic synthesis was used to identify four central themes: Originsand triggers of self-criticism past and present; qualities of self-criticism as harsh and distorting; known and unknown impacts of self-criticism; and self-criticism as a survival mechanism, achievement motivator or moralising force. Twelve subthemes were also identified. The review outlined clinical and research implications of findings. Section B: This study aimed to investigate how UK based clinical psychologists understand and work with people who are highly self-critical in practice. Ten psychologists were recruited via social media and interviewed. Data was analysed using grounded theory. Two contextual categories were identified: Self-criticism as common and yet exists in a “blind-spot” in mental health; and psychologists’ own experiences of self-criticism and difference. Three main categories were identified: Understanding client’s personal and/or shared critics; recognising the “size” and “influence”; and working with the “clinical gut” to integrate models and ideas. Study limitations were discussed, along with clinical and research recommendation

Gender and the labour market in South East England. Volume 2: employers’ policies and practices

This research on gender and the labour market in South East England was funded by the South East of England Development Agency/European Social Fund. In volume 1 we set out the context: theoretical explanations for gender equality, the legal framework and organisational factors. Moreover, using a range of published data, we answered the first of our research questions: how does the labour market position of women in the government region of the South East of England compare with that of both men in the South East and that of women in Great Britain/United Kingdom? In this volume we turn our attention to our other research questions: • What policies and practices do employers in South East England adopt in respect of gender equality? • What barriers do employers and women employees in South East England identify in respect of gender and employment

Application for a PhD by published work

The body of research presented here represents an important contribution to knowledge in the field of the future of work with particular reference to work facilitated by Information and Communications Technology (ICTs). The work encompasses a number of levels of analysis: the macro level, the organisational level and the workforce level. It has explored previously neglected areas of self-employment, and has contributed to understanding of both corporate and self-employed telework. The submission document is organised as follows: following the list of submitted work the Introduction explores the background to the research area, and then provides a detailed commentary on each piece of submitted work, including clear information on the author's contribution to publications which are co-authored. The Conclusion outlines how the research has added to the existing body of knowledge in the subject fields, and this is followed by a Literature Review which sets the submitted work into the broader context of research on telework and the future of work and employment

Rhetoric, Ritual, and the Fashioning of Public Memory in Washington's America

As America entered a new and unshaped political existence after the ratification of the constitution by eleven of the thirteen states, the notion of a country had to be publicly ratified in the collective imagination. Visual culture provided a means of establishing a shared public memory in the minds of an informed public. George Washington’s processions in such places as Gray’s Ferry and Trenton prior to his inauguration as president were marked by ceremonies that deliberately made use of symbol and rhetoric as a means of resolving the tension between individualism and collectivism through the respected persona of the president-elect. The record of these events is perhaps most visibly represented in the Columbian Magazine, the American journal with the greatest circulation of the day.Au moment où les États-Unis franchissaient le seuil d’une existence politique encore vierge, au sortir de la ratification de la Constitution par onze des treize États, la notion de pays devait être publiquement ratifiée dans l’imagination collective. La culture visuelle offrit le moyen de forger une mémoire publique commune dans l’esprit d’un public informé. Les défilés de George Washington en des lieux tels que Gray’s Ferry et Trenton avant son inauguration comme président se déroulèrent à l’enseigne de cérémonies faisant appel aux symboles et à la rhétorique pour désamorcer les tensions entre l’individualisme et le collectivisme par l’intermédiaire de la figure respectée du président élu. C’est peut-être le Columbian Magazine, la revue américaine au plus grand tirage de l’époque, qui rend visiblement le mieux compte de ces événements

Review of the "Web:How2SolveIt"Website

Web:How2SolveIt is a website provided for Gakushuin University to help students understand maths concepts,mainly in the areas of Economics and Business.The site offers a practical collection of quality study material,with useful videos. The site has been evaluated by "walking through" the student interface,applying some typical user cases,which are typical usage stories of student users.We recommend a few changes to the site,which would help students to find what they need easily, making it more attractive for students and for academics who contribute their materials.For example,the Home Page should give more useful context information and a text-entry search box should always be visible,with which students can navigate the collection of teaching resources. An attractive feature of the site is the hand-written question sheets,which explain or amplify important teaching points.Some changes to the presentation of the sheets and the videos would make them easier for students to follow. A usability study,where a small number of volunteers from the target demographic are observed while carrying out typical tasks,would quickly and cheaply give valuable insight into the way that real users respond to the site. Directions for possible future development of the site include: Adding further explanations,videos,notes and formulae to cover further topics in Business Maths Adding further content from other lecturers Offering the site to other students outside the Economics Faculty Offering the site to High School Students Developing a bi-lingual version of the site for teaching through the medium of English as well as Japanese These future directions would involve varying degrees of additional effort and investment

A comparative study of the effectiveness of small business organizations - Towards an economic interactionist theory of the small firm.

The present research adopted as its focal point of study the higher participants in small owner-managed manufacturing firms in the Kingston area of Surrey. A case-study approach was used in the research. The main-study sample consisted of eight firms drawn from the printing and electronics industries, i.e. four firms from each industry. In addition, an entrepreneur involved in the manufacture of wire products who was in the process of selling his firm to a public company before joining the latter as Managing Director, was investigated in order to assist in a deeper understanding of the situation of the small entrepreneur. The principal findings of the study centred around an observed dynamic process of entrepreneurial goal succession. Individually determined entrepreneurial goals, many of them having an essentially non-economic nature, were shown to change over time. Further, the goals valued at any one time were seen to conform more or less closely with one of three hypothesised ideal type entrepreneurial roles, each based upon a separate latent social identity. The three ideal type entrepreneurial roles were termed. "Artisan", "Classical Entrepreneur" and "Manager". Various facets of entrepreneurial experience were found to be associated, with entrepreneurial role type. Role specificity, job satisfaction, leadership style, role time intensitivity, environmental perception and business ideology were found to be dependent variables. In accordance with the organisational goal model of organisational effectiveness, the structurally and culturally prescribed goals of the firms studied were found to be expressed essentially in terms of the concept of profit. This goal was seen, in turn, to have an identifiable relationship with each of the three entrepreneurial roles. This relationship resulted in a decline in entrepreneurial independence and. discretion as the entrepreneur moved from occupation of the "Artisan" role to occupation of the "Classical Entrepreneur" role and, finally, to occupation of the "Manager" role. The underlying motivation for entry into entrepreneurship, and for subsequent movement between entrepreneurial role types, was seen as being based upon experiences of social marginality. Each of the three ideal type roles was seen as possessing potential for a solution to marginality in a different area of the total entrepreneurial environment. Finally, a scheme for an understanding of the firm's relations with its environment was conceptualised in terms of six facets of environmental control and an attempt was made to quantify them. The thesis questionnaires and case studies are presented in a separate volume accompanying the thesis

Managing Across or Within a Culture? Comparing Hotel Workers From China and Taiwan Using Hofstede’s Scales

Potential cultural differences between China and Taiwan are explored using Hofstede’s Values Survey Module (VSM94). The focus is on workers in hotels that cater to Western visitors. Hofstede’s VSM was administered to hotel workers in Tainan, Taiwan, and Shanghai, China.  A comparison shows worker attitudes to be, in general, highly similar.  Differences, however, on some scales, especially Power Distance, indicate that different managerial styles will be successful in the two countries. Qualitative data from industry stakeholders corroborate and elaborate on our findings