The Disability Rights Movement

This chapter provides an overview of the social movement advocating for disability rights, including its origins, goals, strategies, structure, and impact. The chapter’s primary focus is on the movement in the United States, although developments in other nations are also discussed. The chapter reviews the origins of the disability rights movement in the 20th century in response to stigma and discrimination associated with disabilities and the medical model of disability; addresses the movement’s advocacy strategies, as well as the social model of disability that provided the conceptual underpinning for its goals and activities; and describes how the major components of the movement, including cross-disability organization, were brought together through collaboration and the common experiences of disability culture.

Personal principles for a roadmap to educational recovery in the 'Covid decade'

The Government's roadmap to recovery from the educational deficit caused by Covid-19 appears to pivot, primarily, on 'catch-up' plans and 'discipline hubs'. Despite continuous teaching online and in Covid-restricted classroom formats, teachers have been urged to act like 'absolute heroes' and abide by their 'moral duty' to keep schools open. However, neither appeals to 'heroic' duty nor Nolan's Seven Principles of Public Life, are likely to provide the conceptual underpinning required of a roadmap to meet the complex challenges of children's new learning needs or enhance their wellbeing. This article offers an alternative approach to educational principles for navigating the unchartered territory of the 'Covid decade' now unfolding.

Globalizing local understanding of fragility in Eurasia

The article aims to introduce the underlying motivation and conceptual underpinning to the special issue entitled “Globalizing Local Understanding of Fragility in Eurasia.” The main purpose of this article is to problematize the popular opinion and portrayal of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and more generally the countries of Eurasia and the Caucasus as inherently fragile states which are politically unstable and thus on the brink of collapse. This article also seeks to question narratives of modernity that are singular and constantly out of reach for large swathes of the world’s populations because of the narrowness and hegemonic nature of the architecture of global governance. By carefully considering the ways and means through which international institutions categorize countries as fragile and/or failed, the article aims to provide the theoretical foreground for the special issue which focuses on locating inherent community resilience strategies. We explain how the non-participatory norm making behavior of international organizations privilege certain actors, largely the Global North, and simultaneously ignore the majority of Eurasian states. In other words, a demand predicated in the linear evaluation of institutions and norms dictated by global institutions clash with the Eurasian model of inherent complex adaptive capability and introduce fragility. The focus thus is on understanding the ‘local’ based on the historical analysis of development in the region, nodal points of urban development and community life, forms of social capital, and community resilience strategies in the wider Eurasian region.

Introduction

This chapter introduces the idea of transformative change for sustainability and its relevance to the concept and practices of socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS). First, it lays out the context where transformative change has been described as a way of fundamental, system-wide reorganisation of technological, economic and social factors to achieve the global goals of sustainability and nature conservation. Following a literature review, which offers the current state of knowledge concerning transformative change, the chapter discusses how SEPLS management relates to the idea of transformative change. In particular, it highlights the potentials of integrated approaches to managing SEPLS that can result in multiple benefits beyond biodiversity conservation and facilitate transformative change while addressing well-being needs and challenges specific to the local contexts. With this background and conceptual underpinning, the chapter provides the scope and objectives of the book as well as the key questions followed by the case study chapters. Finally, it introduces the organisation of the book and presents an overview of the case studies.

Comparison of Composites, Dichotomous, and Latent Factor Measurement Operationalizations in Hospitality Research on Moderating Effects

Moderation testing through latent factor models is relatively underutilized in hospitality and tourism research. The purpose of this research is to highlight the differences in the treatment of measurements of reflective constructs as composite indices versus latent factors in moderating effect tests in hospitality research. For this research, we build our primer on the investigation of the differences in customer satisfaction with the perceived entertainment experience at a hospitality/tourism attraction, contingent on customers’ personality trait extraversion, borrowed from the Big-Five mini marker inventory. Our findings illustrate the consequences of the measurement conceptualization and the representation of constructs in statistical models with interaction effects. While using composites simplifies the estimation of the regression paths and provides a reasonable sense of the direction of the effect and its statistical significance, it is not always aligned with the theoretical and conceptual underpinning of the employed constructs. A statistical model with composites may underestimate an interaction effect, whereas a model with a dichotomized moderator may overestimate the interaction effect. The findings of this research draw the attention of the hospitality and tourism research community on different representations of reflective constructs in their measurement and statistical models.

Importing Complexity Leadership Theory Into Bureaucratic Organizations in Non-Western Environments

Criticisms of bureaucratic leadership in the public sector literature are increasing, and as such, a growing number of scholars in public administration are calling for a more complex and conceptually sound theoretical models of leadership that are collaborative and reduce the power of the leader and create hybrid governance models. With a multifaceted perspective, detailed conceptual underpinning and a growing body of empirical study support complexity leadership theory (CLT) as a potential to address many of the issues where an individual is seen to possess all the knowledge in the organizational goals. The intent for proposing the importation of CLT in PSOs is to offer a paradigm for thinking about leadership to explore issues that confound those from the traditional view to the shared and adaptive leadership process. In conclusion, the HR practitioners within the entity should be seen to be responsible for their actions. Therefore, adopting complexity leadership theory in today's PSOs will enhance the performance of employees.

Kolmogorov extension theorem for (quantum) causal modelling and general probabilistic theories

In classical physics, the Kolmogorov extension theorem lays the foundation for the theory of stochastic processes. It has been known for a long time that, in its original form, this theorem does not hold in quantum mechanics. More generally, it does not hold in any theory of stochastic processes -- classical, quantum or beyond -- that does not just describe passive observations, but allows for active interventions. Such processes form the basis of the study of causal modelling across the sciences, including in the quantum domain. To date, these frameworks have lacked a conceptual underpinning similar to that provided by Kolmogorov’s theorem for classical stochastic processes. We prove a generalized extension theorem that applies to all theories of stochastic processes, putting them on equally firm mathematical ground as their classical counterpart. Additionally, we show that quantum causal modelling and quantum stochastic processes are equivalent. This provides the correct framework for the description of experiments involving continuous control, which play a crucial role in the development of quantum technologies. Furthermore, we show that the original extension theorem follows from the generalized one in the correct limit, and elucidate how a comprehensive understanding of general stochastic processes allows one to unambiguously define the distinction between those that are classical and those that are quantum.

The Role of Supplier Base Rationalisation in Operational Performance in the Retail Sector in Zimbabwe

This research aimed at adding to the existing inventory of literature in the arena of procurement management to find out the role of supplier base rationalisation in operational performance in the retail sector in Zimbabwe. A cross-industry survey of retail supermarkets in Zimbabwe was done. A supplier base rationalisation key variables model incorporating five variables that are, the twenty/eighty rule, improve or else approach triage approach, competency staircase approach and spend categorization was tested in operational performance in Zimbabwe’s retail sector. Research variables were discussed under the conceptual underpinning. The target population constitutes of retail supermarkets employees involved in procurement operation with a sample size of 59 procurement practitioners using Krejcie and Morgan [1] formula. Purposive sampling was carried out. The research instruments that were used are close-ended questionnaires to all procurement practitioners in the retail sector and open-ended interviews with procurement managers only. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tools and Statistical Package for Social Science software (SPSS) version 24 was used to process the collected data and presented in tables. Correlation analysis indicated that 76.2% of the change of operational performance was explained by the five supplier base rationalisation variables and revealed that they have a positive significant effect in operational performance. This research recommends that the procurement should move towards overall effective and efficient supplier base rationalisation practices that focus on boosting operational performance.

Combining patient, clinical and system perspectives in assessing performance in healthcare: an integrated measurement framework

Background The science of measuring and reporting on the performance of healthcare systems is rapidly evolving. In the past decade, across many jurisdictions, organisations tasked with monitoring progress towards reform targets have broadened their purview to take a more system-functioning approach. Their aim is to bring clarity to performance assessment, using relevant and robust concepts – and avoiding reductionist measures – to build a whole-of-system view of performance. Existing performance frameworks are not fully aligned with these developments. Methods An eight stage process to develop a conceptual framework incorporated literature review, mapping, categorisation, integration, synthesis and validation of performance constructs that have been used by organisations and researchers in order to assess, reflect and report on healthcare performance. Results A total of 19 performance frameworks were identified and included in the review. Existing frameworks mostly adopted either a logic model (inputs, outputs and outcomes), a functional, or a goal-achievement approach. The mapping process identified 110 performance terms and concepts. These were integrated, synthesised and resynthesised to produce a framework that features 12 derived constructs reflecting combinations of patients’ needs and expectations; healthcare resources and structures; receipt and experience of healthcare services; healthcare processes, functions and context; and healthcare outcomes. The 12 constructs gauge performance in terms of coverage, accessibility, appropriateness, effectiveness, safety, productivity, efficiency, impact, sustainability, resilience, adaptability and equity. They reflect four performance perspectives (patient, population, delivery organisation and system). Conclusions Internationally, healthcare systems and researchers have used a variety of terms to categorise indicators of healthcare performance, however few frameworks are based on a theoretically-based conceptual underpinning. The proposed framework incorporates a manageable number of performance domains that together provide a comprehensive assessment, as well as conceptual and operational clarity and coherence that support multifaceted measurement systems for healthcare.

Weyl’s Raum-Zeit-Materie and the Philosophy of Science

In this contribution I explore the philosophical underpinning of Weyl’s interpretation of Relativity as emerging from Raum-Zeit-Materie. I emphasize the important distinction between the philosophical and the mathematical methods, as well as the dichotomy and relationship between time and consciousness. Weyl identified the latter as the conceptual engine moving the whole history of Western philosophy. and the revolutionary relevance of relativity for its representation is investigated together with the conceptual underpinning of Weyl’s philosophy of science. In identifying the main traits of Weyl’s philosophy of science in 1918, I also offer a philosophical analysis of some underlying concepts of unified field theory.