Inclusion ideals and inclusion problems: Parsons and Luhmann on religion and secularization

This paper builds upon the theoretical work of Talcott Parsons and Niklas Luhmann and offers a critical reconstruction of their views on religion (Christianity) and secularization in the western world. It discusses the relation between the functional differentiation of modern society, the individualization of inclusion imperatives and the changing expectations regarding inclusion/exclusion in religious communication. From this perspective, it analyzes secularization in terms of perceived problems of inclusion in religious communication, and in terms of the reactions of Christian religions to these perceived problems. It thereby shows how the theories of Parsons and Luhmann are useful for empirical and historical research, and how they open up new perspectives for empirical and historical research

The HRM Cockpit: an instrument for developing and evaluating sustainable HRM in an organization

These days, a new approach is emerging in the field of Human Resource Management (HRM). Where strategic HRM has been the main approach for the last decades, nowadays more and more scholars are connecting sustainability to HRM (Ehnert, 2009, 2014, Kramar, 2014). There are many different conceptualizations for sustainable HRM, but most scholars agree on defining it as an extension of strategic HRM (Ehnert, 2009; Kramar, 2014). Thereby they agree that sustainable HRM has a broader focus on the organization’s performances than only accounting for the financial success of the organization. In fact sustainable HRM incorporates the triple bottom line, namely people, planet and profit (Elkington, 1997) and tries to balance these three different aspects. Even though literature (Ehnert, 2009, De Prins et al., 2014) provides different models about sustainable HRM, we face a lack of practical tools to explore and exploit sustainable HRM in an organization. To develop a practical tool for monitoring sustainable HRM in an organization, an extended literature review was conducted, complemented with qualitative data (i.e. explorative interviews with practitioners, trade unions and a test panel) to define the field of sustainable HRM. The development of the tool started with a literature review in several different domains such as strategic HRM, sustainable HRM, HR scorecards and strategy mapping. The tool is based upon the idea of scorecards and measuring progress in realizing an HRM strategy. Deriving from the literature review, two concepts were used as basic principles during the development of the tool. First, the idea of the HR value chain where an input, throughput and output model is presented as a strategic approach to sustainable HRM (den Hartog, Boselie & Paauwe 2004; Vanderstraeten, 2014). Secondly, to increase the applicability of the model, strategic mapping, starting with Kaplan & Norton (2004) and further developed in the field of HRM by Becker (2001) and Huselid (2005), is used as a guideline for implementing sustainable HRM. After the literature review, a first draft of the tool was developed. We used the Delphi methodology to gain consensus among practitioners about the components and definitions that were used in the first draft of the tool (Linstone & Turoff, 1975). HR managers of twelve organizations participated in this part of the development. This resulted in a tool with 12 different components. The resulting tool can be used to guide social profit and public organizations in the development of a sustainable HRM or to support the evaluation of their current sustainable HRM. For each of the different components (12) in the tool, validated questionnaires and measures are available so that organizations can collect data and measure their progress towards a sustainable HRM. Six experts in HRM were consulted to allocate the measures to the components. To further test the practical usefulness and correctness of the tool seven organizations were willing to test it more in detail and even started implementing it. Because of the importance of sustainability in organizations and the support that a sustainable HRM can provide in transitioning towards such an organization it is important to encourage more organizations towards sustainable HR. The developed tool provides organizations can guide them towards sustainable HRM. In addition more organizations can make the shift towards a sustainable organization based on a scientifically validated and evidence based HRM practice. Future research should reexamine the implementations that were made, their effectiveness and extend the implementation of the tool to different organizations

Scholarly communication in education journals

The rise of disciplines is connected with the formation of groups or networks of specialists. It is connected with the emergence of "scientific communities," theorized about since Thomas Kuhn and Robert Merton. But how is such a community of specialists brought together; how are common orientations among members of a scientific community upheld? In this article it is argued that scholarly journals play a key role in the modern scientific disciplines. Journals both secure the shared values of a scientific community and endorse what that community takes to be certified knowledge. Publications in scholarly journals have become the basic units of scientific communication in a discipline. Against this theoretical background, I analyze in this article the evolution of the leading scholarly journal in the field of education in the Dutch-language community, Paedagogische Studien (Studies in Education). The analyses illuminate a number of historical evolutions in this journal in the period 1920-75: the increase in coauthorship and the concomitant standardization of publication formats; the changing role of the editorial board, especially in its function of gatekeeper of scientific communication; and the increase and the shifting "global" nature of cited work in the journal. Because of the close relationship between journal and discipline, this analysis highlights basic characteristics of the patterns of communication and the constitution of disciplinary identity in Dutch-language educational science

Parsons on Christianity

In his late work on Christianity, Talcott Parsons obviously built upon the writings of both Durkheim and Weber. While he departed from the idea that increasing differentiation of the system of action did not have to threaten the unity of the system as a whole, his emphasis on structural differentiation was also complemented by one on value integration. He believed that, especially in the New World, religion (i.e. Christianity) has gradually become able to impose its definition of the situation in highly different, highly heterogeneous contexts of action. In this paper, I reconstruct Parsons' historical-sociological analyses of the relation between Christianity and modern society. I discuss how Parsons appropriated the writings of Durkheim and Weber - in ways which did not fully exploit the potential of some of these writings. I suggest some alternatives, which rely less on a concern with value integration (Durkheim) but more on one with the differentiation of meaning systems (Weber).In his late work on Christianity, Talcott Parsons obviously built upon the writings of both Durkheim and Weber. While he departed from the idea that increasing differentiation of the system of action did not have to threaten the unity of the system as a whole, his emphasis on structural differentiation was also complemented by one on value integration. He believed that, especially in the New World, religion (i.e. Christianity) has gradually become able to impose its definition of the situation in highly different, highly heterogeneous contexts of action. In this paper, I reconstruct Parsons' historical-sociological analyses of the relation between Christianity and modern society. I discuss how Parsons appropriated the writings of Durkheim and Weber - in ways which did not fully exploit the potential of some of these writings. I suggest some alternatives, which rely less on a concern with value integration (Durkheim) but more on one with the differentiation of meaning systems (Weber).A

Back and forward to the future: an explorative study of public responses to urban groundwater contamination

The objective of this case study is to explore responses by residents confronted with groundwater contamination in their community. Using a mail-survey design, self-administered questionnaires were collected (N = 170) that included questions about risk perceptions, site-specific concerns and perceived neighbourhood problems. The results show that concerns about chemical risks (i.e. chlorinated solvents) are rather limited in comparison to the potential impacts of site-redevelopment and other neighbourhood problems. Accordingly, the results of logistic regression analyses indicate that place detachment is not significantly related to risk perception but rather to site-specific concerns such as a perceived decrease in property values on the one hand, and wider environmental stressors such as traffic congestion on the other. In turn, the latter chronic environmental conditions are closely intertwined with residents' views on the redevelopment of the contaminated site