An Illuminating Exchange The Construction of Social Reality

A BSTRACT . In his The Construction of Social Reality , Searle presents an account of rights, responsibilities, obligations, duties, and similar entities in terms of the formula X counts as Y in context C , where " X " refers in the simplest case to some physical object or event and " Y " to the result of imposing upon X some deontic power or function. Smith attempts to show the limitations of this formula, focusing especially on the examples of contested property rights (where C is not uniquely defined), and of money in bank accounts and other phenomena (where no physical X -term is available). Searle responds to these criticisms, above all by pointing to the fact that some of the problems Smith raises are to be addressed not by an ontological analysis of social reality but rather through legal or political means.     

Socioeconomic variations in perceived barriers to recreation participation among would‐be participants

Abstract

The effects of fifteen barriers to participation were examined among people who expressed a desire for but were unable to participate in a new recreational activity. Work commitments, overcrowding of facilities, and lack of partners were the three main barriers. The effects of barriers were not perceived uniformly across the sample but varied between subgroups defined according to socioeconomic variables: the people most likely to be affected by barriers to participation included the poor, the elderly, and single parents. The extent to which recreation practitioners can and should respond to these kinds of research findings is discussed, and several ways in which the effects of barriers to participation might be modified or alleviated are evaluated.     

Editorial: Trust and HRM: Current insights and future directions

Over the last 20 years, HRM has been identified as one of the most influential organisational contexts in which to explore trust, and yet scholars have been slow to look systematically at both the systems and practices that underlie this assertion. Organisations make choices regarding both the design and implementation of HRM policies and practices, with research considering the impact on trust for both key single policy areas and bundles of policies. We outline the previous dominance on teleological approaches compared with a dearth of more deontological perspectives which would highlight moral and ethical considerations implicit in definitions of trustworthiness. We review the contribution of five new articles to further our understanding of trust and HRM and identify future research and practice agendas.     

Keynes was a Monetarist

Rosalind Levaic of the Open University argues that Keynes has been misinterpreted by the Cambridge Marxist-Keynesians and that standard textbooks (Samuelson, Lipsey and others) have misled students and non-economists by failing to emphasise that Keynes accepted the classical view that a reduction in unemployment required a fall in real wages. She therefore questions conventional demand management, macro-economic 'models', and other elements in current economic teaching.     

The importance of creative match in television sponsorship

It is one of the accepted wisdoms of sponsorship literature that there should be a good fit between sponsor and sponsored. This paper reports an exploratory study into the way in which programme audiences respond to television sponsors’ credits and to the sponsorships they announce. The study used a purposive sample of young television viewers and focused on the programmes they like to watch. It was found that, although the viewers expected a fit between the programme and the product or its image, they would accept a sponsor that added to the entertainment value of the programme. Clever or funny creative treatments that match the programme content apparently make up for a lack of fit elsewhere.     

Lone star or team player? The interrelationship of different identification foci and the role of self‐presentation concerns

Work identity is important in the attraction and retention of staff, yet how the facets of such identity relate remains convoluted and unclear despite this being of interest to both scholars and practitioners. We use structural equation modeling to analyze empirical data from 144 employees in the United Kingdom's oil and gas industry, analyzing the nature and interrelationship of identification as individual‐level (career advancement) and social‐level (work group and organization) foci, as well as considering the two psychological self‐presentation factors (value expression and social adjustment) that direct and drive identification processes. A dichotomy between individual and social components of work identity is found, revealing a strong association between both social‐level foci of identification. Moreover, both components of work identity are found to be premised on different psychological factors, furthering our knowledge of the enmeshed nature of identity at work.