The Hong Kong Umbrella Movement as a non-profit organization: An empirical study on the use of visual branding practices for social change

In this article, we draw our attention to the growth of a new social movement, as a non-profit organization which aims to effectively communicate its collective identity and messages to larger audiences. Initially, we provide a critical discussion on the interrelationships between marketing theory/practice and protest groups' promotional tactics. Afterwards, we focus on the interface between visual branding practices and new social movement's strategies to create a visual branding identity around their protest symbols and aims. In order to do so, we adopted a moderate participant observation approach to explore how the 2014 Hong Kong Umbrella Movement employed forms of visual branding to engage local and global audiences and induce social change. Drawing on a close examination of field notes and a visual analysis of digital archives and images from the protest sites, we identify and discuss the presence of several visual branding techniques for the imaginative promotion of the movement's demands and causes. Our findings suggest that the 2014 Umbrella Movement protesters coordinated and acted as non-profit organization which employed innovative and creative visual branding methods to enhance the movement's unity and trigger emotional responses from diverse audiences. We conclude the article with suggestions for future research around the interrelationships between social movements' protest symbols, transnational visual branding practices and non-profit organizational practices.     

Choosing a school: the impact of social class on the primary school decision‐making process

One of the objectives of recent government educational reform is greater emphasis on parental choice of school. In consequence, schools are increasingly exposed to competition and in order to maintain pupil numbers will have to become more responsive to their customers. This study, drawing from semi‐structured interviews, examines the process of parental choice of primary school. There is a consensus among parents as to the importance of the decision being taken and regarding the influential evaluative criteria. However, during the early stages of the decision‐making process there are variations between different groups of parents, in particular first time choosers and those with a child already at school, but most especially between different socio‐economic groups. Implications for the primary schools' marketing strategy are considered. Copyright © 2000 Henry Stewart Publications.     

Press stories as a medium for social marketing: the publisher's perspective

Features editors in 50 UK newspapers and magazines completed a mail questionnaire concerning their use of charity infotorials, ie human interest press stories based on materials developedandsubmittedbycharityemployees. The research focused on publishers' reasons for carrying this type of article, editorial policy regarding materials submitted by charities, perceptions of the quality of the copy received, and the determinants of publishers' levels of satisfaction with outcomes. A clear dichotomy emerged between publishing firms that viewed infotorials mainly as a means for gaining a competitive advantage over titles produced by other businesses, and those that adopted a more altruistic approach to the publication of stories with a charity‐related theme. Copyright © 2000 Henry Stewart Publications     

The natural environment as a primary stakeholder: the case of climate change

In this paper, we review the debate surrounding whether or not the natural environment should be considered an organizational stakeholder. We argue for a broad definition of stakeholders, and present a case for the natural environment being an easily identifiable primary stakeholder when climate change is brought into the debate. We develop a conceptual stakeholder identification framework by combining and extending the work of Mitchell, Agle and Wood, and Driscoll and Starik. We approach the stakeholder issue from a strategic rather than moral or ethical perspective. In particular, we contend that power, legitimacy, urgency and proximity are combined when climatic changes, such as increasingly frequent anomalous extreme weather, can damage business infrastructure, resources, products and market, overshadowing moral and ethical aspects of the debate. We also identify key implications for business and policymakers, and highlight opportunities for future research. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Excel spreadsheet as a tool for social narrative analysis

Qualitative research is an open field where different researchers from several disciplines deal with social meanings and with the issue of understanding. During the last two decades, the use of computers and software has extended to become a relevant part of our daily landscape and also a basic device of social research, even in relation to a qualitative approach. There are many applications of qualitative research software specially designed by a diversity of firms and institutions producing different levels of sophisticated tools that can be used in the social research process. This paper presents a protocol for using an Excel spreadsheet as a tool for analyzing social discourses. We will show how to work with the documents produced in the empirical data collection and the criteria to structure the components of the application and its main representations. Finally, we offer a methodology for developing a personalized application in order to orient social design as a powerful and reflexive tool that contribute to a social thinking immersed in continuous improvement.     

Attilla the Hun: leadership as a change agent

This presentation will examine both ideas and successful examples of how some companies are inspiring and empowering their employees through the development of leadership skills within their management ranks. These skills can be learned and used to aid any organization in its goal of continuous improvement. Today's leadership establishes corporate directions while balancing individual and group achievement, both of which can improve the overall company. Power is shared, not used to control. After all, leadership is not about power. It is about setting directions for others, the clearing of obstacles, and then allowing others to believe the direction was their idea. Great leadership is based on the success of others.     

社会保障--欧洲社会的稳定器

欧洲社会保障制度经过100多年的发展,至今已相当完善.它对于促进欧洲经济的发展,保证人民生活质量和生活水平的不断提高,保持欧洲社会的稳定,发挥了巨大的作用.     

Public entrepreneurship: desiring social change,creating sociality

In this paper we want to affirm the desiring-social-change that we find in practices presently represented by theorists and policy-makers as examples of ‘social entrepreneurship’ (SE). We do this as an attempt to intensify the presence of the social and sociality in today's discourse on the entrepreneurship–society relationship. SE, as all entrepreneurship practices, operates by social and economic forces (limiting ourselves to those here), and generates social and economic outcomes (amongst others). Its second half, however, dominates the concept of SE, and our analysis seek to remedy this imbalance by focusing on the social productivity of entrepreneurship, on entrepreneurship desiring social change. We suggest ‘public entrepreneurship’ might grasp this as a more balanced concept that will also support a more precise analysis of the entrepreneurship–society relationship.     

Economies of scale for a state system of public school districts

A review of the different variables, school district samples, regression techniques and a priori assumptions utilized in recent studies clearly indicates that no standard model or set of procedures have been developed for the problems of economies of scale within the educational sector. Based on these studies and a brief discussion of the limitations of economies of scale models as a tool in policy planning, we present a generalizable model that can easily be applied to statistics now available in state departments of education to derive valuable new information about the existing cost-size relationships and opportunity costs that exist in a state system of public school districts. A recent application of the model in Oregon that illustrates its generalizability is described. An example of how economies of scale information might be used in policy planning and proposed district consolidations is also outlined.     

Perceived human resource system strength and employee reactions toward change: Revisiting human resource's remit as change agent

Although scholars have highlighted human resource's (HR's) important role as a change agent, we know little about the extent to which HR influences the change context to foster positive employee responses and support organizational changes. This study positions perceived HR system strength as an important internal context factor that influences employees' reactions toward change. Drawing on emotion theory and social exchange theory, we analyze the mechanisms through which employees' perceptions of HR system strength lead to positive employee responses to organizational change. Data from 704 employees in a UK police force showed that employees' perceptions of HR system strength were positively related to their ability to cope with organizational change and that this relationship was simultaneously mediated by state positive affect and perceived organizational support. Moreover, our findings demonstrated that coping with organizational change was positively related to employees' change‐supportive behavior. This study is important because it broadens the remit of HR's role as change agent and provides valuable insight into how HR positively influences employee outcomes during organizational change.     

Physical accessibility as a social indicator

A discussion is presented of the ways in which accessibility to employment and urban services constitute an important measure of the quality of urban living, and how accessibility might, therefore, be included as an important component of a “social report” for a city or region. A conceptual framework is introduced for measuring accessibility in terms of the ease with which citizens may reach a variety of opportunities for employment and services. This framework is interpreted as an approach to evaluating transportation and regional plans which differs from approaches based upon travel volumes and travel times which are currently employed in urban transportation planning and evaluation. The use of the proposed measures of accessibility is illustrated with data on accessibility to employment and health care facilities in Los Angeles, and these data are interpreted to illustrate differences in accessibility as a function of spatial location of residence, and socio-economic status.     

中日社会经济发展与物流变迁(下)——中国社会经济发展与物流变迁

新中国成立至今,社会经济取得了举世瞩目的成就,人民的生活水平发生了翻天覆地的变化.这一发展过程可以说是物资不断丰富、流通不断发展的过程.物流,其概念从无到有,从不被重视到成为重点发展产业,目前正同社会经济一起处于转型升级的重要阶段.本文结合中国社会经济发展对中国物流的变迁进行分析,并针对中国物流现状提出目前中国物流存在的问题,最后结合日本物流发展过程和中国社会经济的特点探讨中国物流的发展方向.     

Co-location as a catalyst for service innovation: a study of Scottish health and social care

Academic literature and policy on co-location of local public services focus on the cost benefits. Other benefits and outcomes of co-location, including service innovations benefiting users, are under-conceptualized. This paper suggests a framework for evaluating co-location as a learning environment for innovation, drawing on new case studies of five Community Health Partnerships in Scotland charged with more closely coordinating health and social care. We conclude that partnerships using co-location are benefiting from additional service innovations.     

Applied nonlinear dynamical system in social science. A nonlinear model for social control system: an application to Italian coercion system

Does an increase in police strength discourage an increase in crime levels? It would seem very likely so, despite the many platitudes common everywhere, even in the most serious literature on the subject. This research study, using Non-Linear Analysis on the Italian crime situation from 1985 to 2003, shows an almost non controvertible result. The police force really does seem to have a deterrence function on crime, particularly evident from the 90s on, where, as police strength increases, the number of crimes decrease. One of the most interesting aspects deriving from the non-linear model used, is the specific measurement of the number of crimes that might have been committed and that were not in virtue of the deterrent action of the Police Force. Up to now, such an acquisition seems to be lacking from other so called ‘traditional’ research, where such ‘indirect’ deterrence appears easily hypothesized, but impossible to determine. For this reason too, the adoption of a non-linear analysis logic shows its heuristic superiority able to shed light on certain aspects that in other analysis models would remain in the shadows.     

Causality as validity: some implications for the social sciences

We analyse the concept of causality in the social sciences, whose development is insufficient and lesser than the methodology developed for its study. The nature of the causal process as the production of effects remains unclear and the relationships considered to be manifestations of that process cannot be taken for proof of its existence. Given these difficulties, we suggest that, aside from the inherited interpretations, the practice of the concept of causality makes reference to correctly specified relationships not confounded by others; characteristics identical to those which define validity. In that way, causality is equivalent to the validity of a relationship. Beyond merely re-understanding causality, this proposal permits the deduction that the temporal precedence of the cause is a necessary condition only for one type of causality, making it possible to consider other types, not admitted by the traditional notion, in which the cause is consequent or simultaneous to the variable to be explained. Examples and characteristics of these types of causality are presented and considered to be useful for the social sciences.     

HR as a strategic partner: Culture change as an American Express case study

A corporate culture is the combination of the values and characteristics that define an organization. It influences the way employees relate to each other, to customers, to shareholders, and to business partners. It drives behaviors and unites employees around a shared set of values. Companies with strong, formally articulated values that are focused on the needs of their constituencies have an important advantage over those without such values. American Express recently worked to strengthen its culture and renew its corporate values. I will focus on why this initiative was important, how we reviewed company culture and implemented culture change strategy, and what early results showed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Productivity change in a multisectoral economic system

We estimate productivity growth without recourse to data on factor input shares or prices. In the proposed model, the economy is represented by the Leontief input–output model, which is extended by the constraints of primary inputs. A Luenberger productivity indicator is proposed to estimate productivity change; this is then decomposed in a way that enables us to examine the contributions of individual production factors and individual commodities to productivity change. The results allow for the identification of inputs or outputs that are the drivers of the overall productivity change. Their contributions are then decomposed into efficiency change and technical change components. Using input–output tables of the US economy for the period 1977–2006, we show that technical progress has been the main source of productivity change. Technical progress was mostly driven by capital, whereas low-skilled labour contributed negatively.