An Analysis of the Relationship between Value Diversity and Project Implementation. A Case of Building Construction Projects in Kajiado County, Kenya, Africa.

The process of implementing building construction projects usually involves teams that are made up of individuals who are diverse in several aspects, which can be classified as either deep-level or surface-level diversity. Diversity in work-values has been seen to influence project performance in different fields. During the financial year 2016/2017, the County Government of Kajiado implemented a total of 50 building construction projects, which were meant to be completed within the financial year, but only 48% of the projects were deemed to be successfully implemented by the end of the period. Several factors have been attributed to the low success rate but none has looked at diversity in values among project team member. This research sought to determine the strength and nature of relationship between project team value diversity and building construction projects implementation process in Kajiado county. A pragmatic paradigm was employed in the research. Data was collected using semi-structure questionnaires from a random sample of 251 respondents while interviews were done on 11 key respondents. Descriptive statistics such as percentages, means and standard deviations as well as inferential statistics like correlation and regression were generated from the quantitative data while qualitative data was thematically analysed. It was established that a moderate positive correlation (r=0.401 ) existed between value diversity and project implementation process. It can therefore be inferred that value diversity positively influences the process of implementation of building construction projects.

The origins of the theory of values in sociology and directions of its development

Since the first stages in the development of society and its scientific models, the term value has become a center of theoretical and applied concepts. On the one hand, in everyday life, we all understand the importance of value diversity; however, on the other hand, it is not clear how this diversity can be combined with the social order. The article presents an attempt to identify those interdisciplinary origins of the theory of values that are the most significant for the conceptual definition of value and for the empirical study of the value system of the contemporary society in sociology. The author identifies two conditional trends in the development of the theory of values, which are fundamentally important for sociology: the first trend is presented by the development of a kind of axiological concept which was originally purely philosophical. As a rule, the origins of this trend are found in the works of I. Kant (morality as duty, its relationship with freedom and natural aspirations, objective goals, absolute values, etc.), since all subsequent philosophical interpretations of values either followed or criticized his transcendental approach. Thus, representatives of neo-Kantianism focused on such concepts as revaluation of values, value devaluation, imaginary values and guiding cultural values, values and estimates. The origins of the classical sociological theories of values are found in the works of E. Durkheim: he believed that values formed a kind of objective reality on which social harmony can and should be based; therefore, the main social phenomena (religion, morality, law, economics, aesthetics) are systems of (very different) values, or social ideals. The evolution of sociological interpretations of values was determined by the gradual departure from purely theoretical concepts to generalized methodological models, which allowed to describe the role of values in the institutionalized performance of the functions of preserving and reproducing a cultural model, and then to empirical-instrumental models based on the terms value orientations and social attitudes. Thus, the second conditional trend in the development of the theory of values in sociology is determined by the introduction of methods for the empirical study of value diversity in the historical and comparative perspectives.

Place of religious holidays in the labor legislation of Russia

The article draws attention to the normative organization (consolidation) of religious holidays. Only one of them is enshrined in the Labor Code — the Nativity of Christ. The federal legislator transferred the authority to introduce religious holidays to the regional authorities, subjecting such a decision to the national-territorial location of the subjects. It is proposed to consider a version of the norm on weekends and holidays, which provides for the celebration of the most important religious holidays existing in world religions, which will allow to form both cultural and value diversity and civic unity of the population of Russia.

Development of professionalism vignettes for the continuum of learners within a medical and nursing community of practice

Background: It is challenging to develop professionalism curricula for all members of a medical community of practice. We collected and developed professionalism vignettes for an interactive professionalism curriculum around our institutional professionalism norms following social constructivist learning theory principles. Methods: Medical students, residents, physicians, nurses and research team members provided real-life professionalism vignettes. We collected stories about professionalism framed within the categories of our Faculty’s code of conduct: honesty; confidentiality; respect; responsibility; and excellence. Altruism was from the Nursing Code of Ethics. Two expert committees anonymously rated and then discussed vignettes on their educational value and degree of unprofessional behaviour. Through consensus, the research team finalized vignette selection. Results: Eighty cases were submitted: 22 from another study; 20 from learners and nurses; and 30 from physicians; and eight from research team members. Two expert committees reviewed 53 and 42 vignettes, respectively. The final 18 were selected based upon: educational value; diversity in professionalism ratings; and representation of the professionalism categories. Conclusion: Realistic and relevant professionalism vignettes can be systematically gathered from a community of practice and their representation of an institutional norm, educational value, and level of professional behaviour can be judged by experts with a high level of consensus.

Values-based practice: how can history taking help psychiatrists explore the values involved in clinical decision-making?

SUMMARY Values-based practice (VBP) is a framework of clinical theory and skills to facilitate a good process whereby the (often conflicting) values involved in clinical decision-making can be recognised and balanced productively. Many of these values come from the personal histories of the patient and of the clinician, and the traditions and history of psychiatry. New developments in science lead to increasing choice and increasing complexity of values. Therefore, psychiatrists will need more skills in this area, as reflected by the inclusion of VBP in the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ training curricula. This article describes some tools for understanding and navigating this value diversity in applying science to clinical practice during history taking.

Risky Business: Cosmopolitan Culture and Risk-Taking

Some metropolitan areas (e.g., Berlin, New York) have a cosmopolitan culture. That is, they serve as centers of economic development and value diversity, creativity, and equality. These areas offer economic and creative opportunities that are open to anyone willing to take a risk. Therefore, such cities may attract people who are high in risk-taking. We first showed that real-world risk-taking is more common in cities with a more cosmopolitan culture (Study 1). Second, we found that people who are more prone to risk-taking as measured by self-report (Studies 2a and 2b) and observed behavior (Study 3, preregistered) have greater preferences for cosmopolitan cities as residential destinations. Third, we tested a causal link between risk-taking and preference for cosmopolitan cities. Inducing a prevention focus (known to inhibit risk-taking) reduced people’s desire to settle in cosmopolitan cities (Study 4). We discuss implications for economic growth and migration to cosmopolitan cities.

From Kindness and Diversity to Justice and Action: White Parents’ Ethnic–Racial Socialization Goals

Ethnic–racial socialization (ERS) is the collection of practices by which individuals learn about norms, values, and customs regarding ethnicity and race (Hughes et al., 2006). In contrast to research with families of color, few studies have examined ERS among White families (Umaña-Taylor & Hill, 2020). In this study, we used the Consensual Qualitative Research procedure (Hill et al., 2005) to analyze the ERS goals expressed by 35 White parents of White children during semi-structured interviews. We identified 11 domains (privilege awareness, take action, racism, value diversity, egalitarianism, children lead the way, informed, embracing the difficulty of being anti-racist, empathy, protection, and racial–ethnic identity) that generally map onto Hughes et al.’s (2006) existing ERS framework. Our results suggest that some White parents have ERS goals that move beyond kindness and diversity to delve into issues of equity and justice in order to support children in their own anti-racist journies.

Workgroup’s Openness to Diversity and Employees’ Perception of Human Resources Practices: The Moderating Effect of Group Membership

The purpose of this article is to examine the role of a workgroup’s openness to diversity (WOD) in shaping employees’ perception of human resources practices (HRPs), by focusing primarily on three types of diversity, namely visible diversity, value diversity and informational diversity. The study also examines the moderating effect of group membership on the relationship. Cross-sectional data through a survey of 533 employees of various leading information technology (IT) companies in India are used. The results suggest that a workgroup’s openness to diversity is a strong determinant of the perception of HRPs. It is observed that the workgroup’s openness to visible diversity has no significant impact on the perception of HRPs, whereas openness to value and informational diversity has a significant positive impact. The results also show that group membership moderates the relationship. In terms of the originality of this study, we contend that, to date, there is a paucity of empirical studies linking a workgroup’s openness to diversity with the perception of HRPs. Hence, the present study addresses this gap by examining the relationship, as well as the boundary conditions on this relationship.