Danny Miller

Bio: Danny Miller is an academic researcher from HEC Montréal. The author has contributed to research in topics: Consumption (economics) & Agency (sociology). The author has an hindex of 133, co-authored 512 publications receiving 71238 citations. Previous affiliations of Danny Miller include University of New Mexico & McGill University.

Anthropology and the Individual : A Material Culture Perspective

Abstract: 1. Individuals and the Aesthetic of Order D. Miller 2. Trading in Fake Brands, self-creating as an individual M. Craciun 3. 'Making Things Come Out':Design, Originality and the Individual in a Bogolan Artisan Community B. Olesen 4. Building and Ordering Transnationalism: The 'Greek House' in Albania as a Material Process D. Dalakoglou 5. The Christian and the Taxi-driver: poverty and aspiration in rural Jamaica D. Miller 6. How Madrid makes individuals M. Murray 7. Aesthetics of the Self: Digital Mediations H. Horst 8. Unmaking Family Relationships: Belgrade Mothers and their migrant children I. Bajio 9. Fashioning individuality and social connectivity among Yoruba women in London J. Botticello 10. Creating order through struggle in revolutionary Cuba A. Pertierra 11. Food, Family, Art and God: Aesthetic authority in public life in Trinidad G. Hosein

A concept of leadership for strategic organization

Abstract: Leaders’ efforts at shaping people’s convictions are vital to the effectiveness of formal and informal organizations (Hambrick, 2004; Whittington, 2003). Unfortunately, the domains of strategy and organization theory have been ignoring the critical role of leadership – a concept that may both enlighten and help bridge the two domains. In strategy, the emphasis has been largely on economically rational behaviour, competitive positioning, and resources and capabilities. In organization theory, the focus has been on macro-social levels of analysis and on structural parameters. In each domain there has been too little attention paid to the micro-processes of individual human interaction in which beliefs and values – indeed convictions – are transferred among people within an organization: a process that is at the heart of developing and implementing strategy, and a central contributor to, and outcome of organization design. We shall argue this process to be, in essence, leadership. One possible reason for the neglect of leadership in strategic organization is that we lack a robust concept of it that would be useful to scholars in this domain. Certainly, there have been thousands of studies of leadership, and the term has enjoyed a wide range of definitions and conceptions (Bass, 2008; Yukl, 2006). In fact, Bass’s Handbook of Leadership contains about 10,000 references! However, the concept of leadership is sometimes cast too broadly to have clear implications for organizational behaviour, or too narrowly to do it justice in the many management situations in which it occurs (Podolny et al., 2010). That may limit its usefulness. The objective of this essay is to provide an appropriate concept of leadership for scholars of strategy and organization and to suggest its research implications. First we relate why most current notions of leadership are unable to capture fully its significance for the study of strategic organization. Then we propose a baseline conception of leadership whose parameters are promising for that purpose. We also investigate the boundaries of the term to appreciate its varieties. We conclude with the implications our conception of leadership has for addressing gaps in the literature on strategy and organization, and suggest several research directions.

Causal explanations of miscarriage amongst Qataris

Abstract: Despite its commonality, there is a paucity of literature on miscarriage in non-Western societies. In particular, there is little understanding of how people ascribe cause to miscarriage. This research sought to gain an in-depth understanding of notions of miscarriage causality and risk amongst Qataris. The study adopted an exploratory descriptive qualitative approach and collected data during 18 months of ethnographic research in Qatar, including semi-structured interviews. The sample includes 60 primary participants (20 pregnant women and 40 women who had recently miscarried), and 55 secondary participants including family members, health care providers, religious scholars and traditional healers. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. Primary participants were interviewed in Arabic. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and translated into English. Data was analysed using an inductive thematic approach, which involved identification and application of multiple codes to different text segments. Data were encoded manually and examined for recurrences across the data set. Similar quotations were grouped into subcategories and further categorized into main themes. A number of key themes emerged, revealing Qatari women attributed miscarriages to a number of factors including: supernatural forces, such as God’s will and evil eye; lifestyle, such as physical activities and consuming particular substances; medical conditions, such as diabetes; and emotional state, such as stress, and emotional upset. Resting, avoiding stress and upset, maintaining healthy diet, and spiritual healing (ruqyah) are seen as a means to avoid miscarriage. Practices and beliefs around miscarriage are embedded in social, cultural, religious and medical frameworks. Understanding the socio-cultural context and understandings of explanatory theories can enhance health care providers’ understandings, resulting in improved communication and care.

Improving Health-related Quality of Life for Patients With Nonambulatory Cerebral Palsy: Who Stands to Gain From Scoliosis Surgery?

Abstract: INTRODUCTION It is unclear what factors influence health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in neuromuscular scoliosis The aim of this study was to evaluate which factors are associated with an improvement in an HRQOL after spinal fusion surgery for nonambulatory patients with cerebral palsy (CP) METHODS A total of 157 patients with nonambulatory CP (Gross Motor Function Classification System IV and V) with a minimum of 2-year follow-up after PSF were identified from a prospective multicenter registry Radiographs and quality of life were evaluated preoperatively and 2 years postoperatively Quality of life was evaluated using the validated Caregiver Priorities and Child Health Index of Life with Disabilities (CPCHILD) questionnaire Patients who had an increase of 10 points or greater from baseline CPCHILD scores were considered to have meaningful improvement at 2 years postoperatively 10 points was chosen as a threshold for meaningful improvement based on differences between Gross Motor Function Classification System IV and V patients reported during the development of the CPCHILD Perioperative demographic, clinical, and radiographic variables were analyzed to determine predicators for meaningful improvement by univariate and multivariate regression analysis RESULTS A total of 363% (57/157) of the patients reported meaningful improvement in CPCHILD scores at 2 years postoperatively Preoperative radiographic parameters, postoperative radiographic parameters, and deformity correction did not differ significantly between groups Patients who experienced meaningful improvement from surgery had significantly lower preoperative total CHPILD scores (438 vs 552, P<0001) On backwards conditional binary logistic regression, only the preoperative comfort, emotions, and behavior domain of the CPCHILD was predictive of meaningful improvement after surgery (P≤0001) CONCLUSION Analysis of 157 CP patients revealed a meaningful improvement in an HRQOL in 363% of the patients These patients tended to have lower preoperative HRQOL, suggesting more "room for improvement" from surgery A lower score within the comfort, emotions, and behavior domain of the CPCHILD was predictive of meaningful improvement after surgery Radiographic parameters of deformity or curve correction were not associated with meaningful improvement after surgery LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level II-retrospective review of prospectively collected data

Open Access, scholarship and digital anthropology

Abstract: This article consists of three arguments. The first advocates the development of Open Access for anthropological books and journals and critiques the way we have ceded control of dissemination to inappropriate commercial concerns that come to stand for what should have been academic criteria. The second argues that this is best accomplished while being conservative about the process of review, selection, and the canons of scholarship. Third, the article address the emergence of Digital Anthropology, suggesting this has considerable significance for the very conceptualization of anthropology and its future, and suggesting that it can be given definition. But, this should not be confused with the issues of Open Access and review. This is followed by ten helpful and critical comments. In the concluding discussion I respond to these and argue how these points can be taken into account in creating the conditions for a shift to Open Access while defending the concept of Digital Anthropology.

Competitive advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance

Abstract: COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE introduces a whole new way of understanding what a firm does. Porter's groundbreaking concept of the value chain disaggregates a company into 'activities', or the discrete functions or processes that represent the elemental building blocks of competitive advantage. Now an essential part of international business thinking, COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE takes strategy from broad vision to an internally consistent configuration of activities. Its powerful framework provides the tools to understand the drivers of cost and a company's relative cost position. Porter's value chain enables managers to isolate the underlying sources of buyer value that will command a premium price, and the reasons why one product or service substitutes for another. He shows how competitive advantage lies not only in activities themselves but in the way activities relate to each other, to supplier activities, and to customer activities. That the phrases 'competitive advantage' and 'sustainable competitive advantage' have become commonplace is testimony to the power of Porter's ideas. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE has guided countless companies, business school students, and scholars in understanding the roots of competition. Porter's work captures the extraordinary complexity of competition in a way that makes strategy both concrete and actionable.

Upper Echelons: The Organization as a Reflection of Its Top Managers

Abstract: Theorists in various fields have discussed characteristics of top managers. This paper attempts to synthesize these previously fragmented literatures around a more general “upper echelons perspective.” The theory states that organizational outcomes—strategic choices and performance levels—are partially predicted by managerial background characteristics. Propositions and methodological suggestions are included.

Clarifying the Entrepreneurial Orientation Construct and Linking It To Performance

Abstract: The primary purpose of this article is to clarify the nature of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) construct and to propose a contingency framework for investigating the relationship between EO and firm performance. We first explore and refine the dimensions of EO and discuss the usefulness of viewing a firm's EO as a multidimensional construct. Then, drawing on examples from the EO-related contingencies literature, we suggest alternative models (moderating effects, mediating effects, independent effects, interaction effects) for testing the EO-performance relationship.

Social Identity Theory and the Organization

Abstract: It is argued that (a) social identification is a perception of oneness with a group of persons; (b) social identification stems from the categorization of individuals, the distinctiveness and prestige of the group, the salience of outgroups, and the factors that traditionally are associated with group formation; and (c) social identification leads to activities that are congruent with the identity, support for institutions that embody the identity, stereotypical perceptions of self and others, and outcomes that traditionally are associated with group formation, and it reinforces the antecedents of identification. This perspective is applied to organizational socialization, role conflict, and intergroup relations.