Social responsibility in a troubled world

PURPOSE– Social responsibility (SR) in accepting the obligation to resolve the many troubling problems facing tomorrow’s generations is essential if those problems are to be effectively addressed. The purpose of this paper is to identify the nature of SR for business, academic institutions, government, religious institutions, and individuals. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH – This paper is a conceptual paper which relies heavily on the current literature about social obligations for five major organizations: business, academic institutions, government, religious institutions, and individuals. Findings – The paper provides the standard of the virtuous continuum and the Hosmer decision-making model to explain why leaders, organizations, and individuals must be more responsible to be perceived as virtuous leaders, complete with 50 examples of action to be taken. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS – As this paper is not an empirical study, it does not present research information. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS – This paper suggests that organizations can be more effective if they come to understand the responsibilities and stewardship of social responsibilities entrusted to them. ORIGINALITY/VALUE – The paper expands on Hosmer’s research and incorporates a virtuous continuum in examining the responsibilities of leaders, organizations, and individuals. More importantly, this paper is among the first to identify the specific steps organizations and individuals can take in addressing the challenges and problems facing the world of in key aspects of society

Moral Identity, Self-Improvement, and the Quest for Greatness: A Leadership Responsibility

The focus of this paper is on explaining how leaders can follow the path of self-improvement by more fully understanding their moral identity. We begin by briefly reviewing excerpts from the literature about personal development and self-awareness to lay a foundation for the importance of leaders seeking to achieve their optimal effectiveness. Following that introduction, we introduce a new definition of moral identity that builds upon identity theory as developed by Peter Burke and Jan Stets (2009). We then identify nine traits that link moral identity and leadership. Integrating moral identity with the pursuit of personal excellence, we identify twelve insights about the leader’s responsibility to honor moral duties owed to those individuals whom they serve. Following that review, we then suggest six significant contributions of this paper for both academic scholars and individuals who seek to become more honorable leaders and conclude the paper with suggestions about opportunities for additional research about moral identity and its importance for leaders

University Professors as “Transformative Leaders”

University professors have a moral obligation to be ethical leaders in guiding their stewards. Transformative Leadership, a concept identified in both the educational and business leadership literature, provides a valuable model for university professors to consider as they interact with students and help them to learn and to prepare for the challenges of the modern world. This paper integrates the education and business leadership perspectives of Transformative Leadership and identifies the contributions that this leadership model can contribute to the effectiveness of university professors who adopt its principles

Analyzing Partnered Counterterrorism Outcomes Beyond the Conflict Zone

Defense Analysis PosterJoint Special Operations Comman

Towards Machine Wald

The past century has seen a steady increase in the need of estimating and predicting complex systems and making (possibly critical) decisions with limited information. Although computers have made possible the numerical evaluation of sophisticated statistical models, these models are still designed \emph{by humans} because there is currently no known recipe or algorithm for dividing the design of a statistical model into a sequence of arithmetic operations. Indeed enabling computers to \emph{think} as \emph{humans} have the ability to do when faced with uncertainty is challenging in several major ways: (1) Finding optimal statistical models remains to be formulated as a well posed problem when information on the system of interest is incomplete and comes in the form of a complex combination of sample data, partial knowledge of constitutive relations and a limited description of the distribution of input random variables. (2) The space of admissible scenarios along with the space of relevant information, assumptions, and/or beliefs, tend to be infinite dimensional, whereas calculus on a computer is necessarily discrete and finite. With this purpose, this paper explores the foundations of a rigorous framework for the scientific computation of optimal statistical estimators/models and reviews their connections with Decision Theory, Machine Learning, Bayesian Inference, Stochastic Optimization, Robust Optimization, Optimal Uncertainty Quantification and Information Based Complexity.Comment: 37 page

Differential response to resistance training in CHF according to ACE genotype

The Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) gene may influence the risk of heart disease and the response to various forms of exercise training may be at least partly dependent on the ACE genotype. We aimed to determine the effect of ACE genotype on the response to moderate intensity circuit resistance training in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients. Methods: The relationship between ACE genotype and the response to 11 weeks of resistance exercise training was determined in 37 CHF patients (New York Heart Association Functional Class=2.3±0.5; left ventricular ejection fraction 28±7%; age 64±12 years; 32:5 male:female) who were randomised to either resistance exercise (n=19) or inactive control group (n=18). Outcome measures included V˙ O2peak, peak power output and muscle strength and endurance. ACE genotype was determined using standard methods. Results: At baseline, patients who were homozygous for the I allele had higher V˙ O2peak (p=0.02) and peak power (p=0.003) compared to patients who were homozygous for the D allele. Patients with the D allele, who were randomised to resistance training, compared to non-exercising controls, had greater peak power increases (ID pb0.001; DD pb0.001) when compared with patients homozygous for the I allele, who did not improve. No significant genotype-dependent changes were observed in V˙ O2peak, muscle strength, muscle endurance or lactate threshold. Conclusion: ACE genotype may have a role in exercise tolerance in CHF and could also influence the effectiveness of resistance training in this condition

Housing as a social determinant of health and wellbeing: developing an empirically-informed realist theoretical framework

Background The role of housing as a social determinant of health is well-established, but the causal pathways are poorly understood beyond the direct effects of physical housing defects. For low-income, vulnerable households there are particular challenges in creating a sense of home in a new tenancy which may have substantial effects on health and wellbeing. This study examines the role of these less tangible aspects of the housing experience for tenants in the social and private rented sectors in west central Scotland. Methods The paper analyses quantitative data from a mixed methods, longitudinal study of tenants from three housing organisations, collected across the first year of their tenancy. The paper postulates causal hypotheses on the basis of staff interviews and then uses a Realist Research approach to test and refine these into a theoretical framework for the connections between tenants’ broader experience of housing and their health and wellbeing. Results Housing service provision, tenants’ experience of property quality and aspects of neighbourhood are all demonstrated to be significantly correlated with measures of of health and wellbeing. Analysis of contextual factors provides additional detail within the theoretical framework, offering a basis for further empirical work. Conclusions The findings provide an empirically-informed realist theoretical framework for causal pathways connecting less tangible aspects of the housing experience to health and wellbeing. Applying this within housing policy and practice would facilitate a focus on housing as a public health intervention, with potential for significant impacts on the lives of low-income and vulnerable tenants. The framework also offers a basis for further research to refine our understanding of housing as a social determinant of health

Hybridity in the housing sector: examining impacts on social and private rented sector tenants in Scotland

Housing Associations in many countries exhibit increasing levels of ‘hybridity’, as reductions in state financing for social housing, exacerbated by austerity policies since the 2008 crash, have instigated ‘enterprising’ approaches to maintaining income. Alongside this, hybrid organisations have emerged in the Private Rented Sector (PRS), responding to sectoral growth and consequent increases in vulnerable households entering private renting. These developing hybridities have been considered at a strategic level, but there has been little exploration of the impacts on tenants. This paper examines two organisations, operating across the social and private rented sectors, to elucidate potential implications for tenants. The research suggests that different forms of hybridity can affect tenant outcomes and, moreover, that examining such impacts is important in understanding hybridity itself. Furthermore, the study suggests that emerging forms of hybridity, particularly in the PRS, may be blurring the boundaries between housing sectors, with implications for policy and research