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In the social sciences and in everyday speech we often talk about groups as if they behaved in the same way as individuals, thinking and acting as a singular being. We say for example that «Google intends to develop an automated car», «the U.S. Government believes that Syria has used chemical weapons on its people», or that «the NRA wants to protect the rights of gun owners». We also often ascribe legal and moral responsibility to groups. But could groups literally intend things? Is there such a thing as a collective mind? If so, should groups be held morally responsible? Such questions are of vital importance to our understanding of the social world. In this lively, engaging introduction Deborah Tollefsen offers a careful survey of contemporary philosophers? answers to these questions, and argues for the unorthodox view that certain groups should, indeed, be treated as agents and deserve to be held morally accountable. Tollefsen explores the nature of belief, action and intention, and shows the reader how a belief in group agency can be reconciled with our understanding of individual agency and accountability. Groups as Agents will be a vital resource for scholars as well as for students of philosophy and the social sciences encountering the topic for the first time.


Trust Agents. Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust Trust Agents. Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust

Автор: Chris Brogan

Год издания: 

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller-now in a new, updated paperback edition Today's online influencers are Web natives who trade in trust, reputation, and relationships, using social media to accrue the influence that builds up or brings down businesses online. In Trust Agents, two social media veterans show you how to tap into the power of social networks to build your brand's influence, reputation, and, of course, profits. In this revised paperback version, learn how businesses are using the latest online social tools to build networks of influence and how you can use those networks to positively impact your business. Combining high-level theory and practical actions, this guide delivers actionable steps and case studies that show how social media can positively impact your business. New edition features specific first moves for entering social media for small businesses, educators, travel and hospitality enterprises, nonprofit organizations, and corporations Authors both have a major presence on the social Web as well as years of online marketing and new media experience If you want your business to succeed, don't sit on the sidelines while new markets and channels grow. Instead, use the Web to build trust with your consumers using Trust Agents.


Extraordinary Groups. How Ordinary Teams Achieve Amazing Results Extraordinary Groups. How Ordinary Teams Achieve Amazing Results

Автор: Kathleen Ryan D.

Год издания: 

Two leading experts present a new approach to help teams nurture extraordinary experiences and excel Occasionally we participate in a group that inspires us to describe the experience as «powerful» or simply «wow.» Why are some teams described in such exceptional terms, while most are not? Bellman and Ryan argue that an extraordinary group emerges when a group experience satisfies two or more core needs that members intuitively bring to any group they join. Based on extensive research, the book presents the Group Needs Model to help anyone nurture extraordinary experiences in their groups and achieve outstanding results. Introduces a new approach for creating extraordinary experiences and results in teams Identifies the key characteristics that define exceptional teams Describes the Group Needs Model for encouraging extraordinary experiences and team success A timely resource for anyone who leads groups including HR and OD professionals, managers, executives, nonprofit managers and directors, virtual teams leaders, and trainers


Beyond Listening. Learning the Secret Language of Focus Groups Beyond Listening. Learning the Secret Language of Focus Groups

Автор: Bonnie Goebert

Год издания: 

A groundbreaking guide to making one of marketing's most important resources more effective When kids in a Nabisco focus group told researchers that they always separated their Oreos before they ate them, the researchers recommended that the company develop a cookie that couldn't be taken apart. Fortunately, in this case, Nabisco didn't heed the researchers' advice. Each year, companies spend a billion dollars on focus groups designed to ferret out consumer motivation, and, according to expert Bonnie Goebert, in many cases they're throwing their money away. In this fascinating book, Goebert, a highly respected moderator with three decades of experience with focus groups, explains what's wrong with how companies use the information. More importantly, she draws on her own experiences with clients like the New York Times, Tropicana, Maxwell House, Colgate, Maybelline, Lipton, Federal Express, and scores of other prestigious accounts to provide simple clear-cut guidelines on how companies of just about any size can use focus groups to capture the hearts and minds of consumers. Bonnie Goebert (Southampton, NY) heads her own focus group consulting firm.


The Handbook for Working with Difficult Groups. How They Are Difficult, Why They Are Difficult and What You Can Do About It The Handbook for Working with Difficult Groups. How They Are Difficult, Why They Are Difficult and What You Can Do About It

Автор: Sandy Schuman

Год издания: 

WE'VE ALL EXPERIENCED the challenges associated with working with groups, but The Handbook for Working with Difficult Groups turns the idea of «difficult groups» on its head. Rather than view groups as inherently difficult, it looks at the factors that make working with groups difficult. Individual chapters focus on challenges such as involving dissenters, building external perspectives, reducing complaining, adapting to cultural differences, incorporating diversity, facilitating inclusion, working virtually, resolving identity-based conflict, transforming unproductive behavior patterns, preventing workplace harassment, and strengthening accountability. The book first provides a framework for thinking systemically about the many and varied ways in which working with a group can be difficult. Building on that framework, the contributors each address three basic issues: How the group is difficult—a description of a real group and the observable phenomena that reflect the group's difficulty. Why the group is difficult—an exploration of the underlying causes of the difficulty. What you can do about it—what you can do as a group facilitator, leader, or member to help the group.


Emerging Infectious Diseases. A Guide to Diseases, Causative Agents, and Surveillance Emerging Infectious Diseases. A Guide to Diseases, Causative Agents, and Surveillance

Автор: Lisa Beltz A.

Год издания: 

Emerging Infectious Diseases offers an introduction to emerging and reemerging infectious disease, focusing on significant illnesses found in various regions of the world. Many of these diseases strike tropical regions or developing countries with particular virulence, others are found in temperate or developed areas, and still other microbes and infections are more indiscriminate. This volume includes information on the underlying mechanisms of microbial emergence, the technology used to detect them, and the strategies available to contain them. The author describes the diseases and their causative agents that are major factors in the health of populations the world over. The book contains up-to-date selections from infectious disease journals as well as information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, MedLine Plus, and the American Society for Microbiology. Perfect for students or those new to the field, the book contains Summary Overviews (thumbnail sketches of the basic information about the microbe and the associated disease under examination), Review Questions (testing students' knowledge of the material), and Topics for Further Discussion (encouraging a wider conversation on the implications of the disease and challenging students to think creatively to develop new solutions). This important volume provides broad coverage of a variety of emerging infectious diseases, of which most are directly important to health practitioners in the United States.