Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of leadership religiosity in a local non-profit organizational setting, from a larger program evaluation project, and to problematize prevailing theoretical assumptions in the leadership religiosity literature about the nature of religion in organizational settings. Design/methodology/approach – Methods of data collection consisted primarily of in-depth interviewing, observations, and document content analysis of organizational publications, web sites, and social media. The larger program evaluation project also utilized social network analysis and surveys. Findings – The data highlights several important manifestations of leadership religiosity that serve to legitimate potentially unhealthy leadership tendencies and organizational processes: unrealistic future goals in strategic planning and dogmatic decision making. Both stem from the perceived divine origination of the organization in question, and from the perceived divine authority placed upon the leader of the organization. Practical implications – This research challenges prevailing theoretical assumptions about religion in the workplace that characterize “religion” as wholly distinct from other social, political, and organizational processes and inherently positive or beneficial. Conclusions about the potential benefits of religion for organizational life should therefore be made with caution and with a more robust and balanced understanding of the constructed nature of religion. Originality/value – This paper adds much-needed nuance to the extant literature on leadership religiosity, the vast majority of which assumes certain a priori qualities and values in religion and considers only the positive manifestations and functions of religion. While religiosity is often associated with certain organizational benefits, more robust discussion must examine the potential for religion to be manifested or used in the service of more negative or harmful purposes and ends.

No abstract

BackgroundThe current study aims to investigate how the ability to accurately gauge risk factors associated with contracting HIV while taking into consideration various individual and community level socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., race and poverty) predicts the nature of stigmatizing attitudes toward persons with HIV.MethodsData from a sample of 1,347 Cape Town area youth who participated in the Cape Area Panel Study (CAPS) Wave 2a were used. Latent Class Analysis was conducted to ascertain whether response patterns regarding knowledge of HIV contraction suggest the presence of subgroups within the sample.ResultsFindings indicate that there are four latent classes representing unique response pattern profiles regarding knowledge of HIV contraction. Additionally, our results suggest that those in South Africa who are classified as “white,” live in more affluent communities, and have more phobic perceptions of HIV risk are also more likely to have the most stigmatizing attitudes toward those who are HIV positive.ConclusionImplications of these findings include extending HIV knowledge, education, and awareness programs to those who are not traditionally targeted in an attempt to increase levels of knowledge about HIV and, consequently, decrease stigma.

State surveillance programs often operate in direct tension with ideals of democratic governance and accountability. The fraught history of surveillance programs in the United States, for instance, illustrates that government agencies mobilize discourses of exceptional circumstances to engage in domestic and foreign spying operations without public awareness or oversight. While many scholars, civil society groups, and media pundits have drawn attention to the propensity of state surveillance programs to violate civil liberties, less attention has been given to the complex trust dynamics of state surveillance. On one hand, in justifying state surveillance, government representatives claim that the public should trust police and intelligence communities not to violate their rights; on the other hand, the very act of engaging in secretive surveillance operations erodes public trust in government, especially when revelations about such programs come to light without any advance notice or consent. In order to better understand such trust dynamics, this paper will analyze some of the competing trust relationships of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ‘fusion centers,’ with a focus on the role of these organizations in policing the Occupy Wall Street movement of 2011 and 2012.

No abstract