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Life and the Labour Process in the Planetary Social Factory
Full text linkChallenging productivist approaches to Labour Process Theory (LPT) and drawing inspiration from Harry Braverman’s own call to analyse the labour process as embedded in the broader social relations of capitalism, this article advocates for a ‘life-making’ approach to the labour process, informed by plural strands of social reproduction feminism. Conceptually anchored in the idea of the ‘planetary social factory’ and its many ‘forms of exploitation’ — concepts developed through engagement with the work of Silvia Federici and Jairus Banaji—this perspective redefines the boundaries of LPT by situating work within global, gendered, racialised, and ecological circuits of production and reproduction. The article builds this argument across six sections, where it identifies the manifold ways in which life shapes the labour process and explores key links between workers’ depletion and the planetary ecological harm inflicted by globalised production. The concluding section explores the political implications of this life-making approach to LPT for organising, and calls for an articulation of life, labour, and ecological struggles as intersecting declinations of ‘value struggles’. Though primarily conceptual, the analysis draws from long-term fieldwork in India’s garment industry, offering empirical grounding to its theoretical point
Enhancing Health Care Access in Rural and Remote Communities: An Environmental Scan of Virtual Health Innovations in British Columbia
Full text linkAligning with British Columbia (BC)’s Ministry of Health mandate, virtual health innovations have the potential to reduce health inequities and improve health care services in rural and remote communities. Understanding the current state of the implementation of virtual health innovations in rural and remote communities can inform future research, implementation, and policy priorities. We conducted an environmental scan and identified 70 unique virtual health innovations implemented in BC’s rural and remote communities in the past 10 years. An example of an innovation supported by the Ministry of Health is the Real Time Virtual Support pathways, which have been implemented across the province to assist rural health professionals in emergency, pediatric, maternity, and newborn care. While a variety of initiatives are being implemented across different regions, they often operate in isolation. Building on previous successes and our own reflections, this paper highlights the need to enhance partnerships and strengthen relationships among policy-makers, health authorities, researchers, industry partners, and communities. This underscores the need for more integrated and collaborative efforts to transform and improve health care services and access in rural and remote areas. The findings of the SWOT analyses can be used to inform future research, implementation, and policy priorities and related activities.
Les innovations en santé virtuelle ont la capacité de réduire les iniquités en santé et d’amélio-rer les services de santé dans les communautés rurales et éloignées, en accord avec le mandat du Ministère de la Santé de la CB. Comprendre l’état actuel de la mise en œuvre de ces innovations virtuelles de la santé dans les communautés rurales et éloignées peut éclairer les priorités futures de la recherche et de la mise en œuvre, ainsi que les politiques prioritaires. Nous avons mené une analyse de l’environnement et identifié 70 innovations uniques en santé virtuelle, mises en œuvre dans les communautés rurales et éloignées de la CB au cours des 10 dernières années. Un exemple d\u27innovation soutenue par le Ministère de la Santé est les parcours de soutien virtuel en temps réel, qui ont été mis en œuvre à travers la province pour soutenir les professionnels de la santé ruraux dans les domaines des soins d’urgence en pédiatrie, maternité, et néonatal. Bien que de nombreuses initiatives soient mises en œuvre dans différentes régions, elles sont administrées souvent de manière isolée les unes des autres. En s\u27appuyant sur les succès passés et nos réflexions, cet article met en avant la nécessité d’améliorer les partenariats et de renforcer les relations entre les législateurs, les autorités de santé, les chercheurs, les partenaires industriels, et les communautés. Cela souligne le besoin d’efforts plus intégrés et collaboratifs afin de transformer et d’améliorer l’accès et la qualité des services de santé dans les communautés rurales et éloignées. Les conclusions de l’analyse SWOT peuvent être utilisées pour éclairer les recherches futures, les mises en œuvre, ainsi que les politiques prioritaires et les activités connexes
Egypt’s Failed Democratic Transition: Why the Labour Movement Matters
Full text linkThis article analyses the failure of Egypt’s democratic transition between 2011 and 2013, highlighting the often-overlooked role of the labour movement. While dominant approaches in transition studies emphasise socio-economic factors, elite dynamics or the middle class, this study argues that the absence of an independent labour movement rooted in the industrial working class critically undermined Egypt’s prospects for democratic consolidation. Drawing on interviews with Egyptian trade unionists and relevant literature, the article uses process-tracing to situate the Egyptian experience within broader debates on democratisation. It contrasts this experience with transitions in Tunisia, Brazil, South Africa, Poland and South Korea—where labour movements were central actors. Challenging modernisation theory and elite-focused models, it adopts an actor-centred perspective that foregrounds organised labour. The article concludes that although Egypt’s working class played a key role in mobilising dissent, it lacked the institutional strength to shape the transition. The Egyptian case underscores the enduring relevance of labour movements, especially in an era of democratic backsliding and neoliberal fragmentation
Reflecting on a student-staff partnership: Co-designing and implementing a sustainable induction framework to embed a culture of equality, diversity and inclusion amongst third level students
No full textThis reflective piece, delves into the narratives and experiences of students Chris, Aoife, Jordan, and Karolina; participants in a student-staff partnership aimed at enhancing the first-year undergraduate experience. This student-staff partnership came to fruition through a fellowship awarded by the National Technological University TransfOrmation for Recovery and Resilience project (N-TUTORR), an innovative collaboration across the Technological Higher Education sector to transform the student experience.. The partnership project was titled; ‘SETU Includes U: ‘Facilitating Friendships’ Induction for Year 1 Students’. The students-staff partnership team worked together to design and deliver a sustainable induction day framework and these induction days were ran by the team in the Department of Nursing and Health Care at the South East Technological University (SETU).
To capture the lived experiences of the students involved in the partnership process, an adapted version of the Gibbs Reflective Cycle has been used as a framework for this reflectice piece. Their accounts provide a multifaceted view of the complexities of the partnership process, from initial apprehensions to eventual triumphs, and offers valuable insights to the lived experiences regarding student staff partnerships in higher education, with implications for future practice
“Unfortunately, This Isn’t a Joke”: Crisis Communication and Humour Messaging Strategy on American Late Night Talk Shows
No full textOver the past 25 years or so, celebrities have appeared on American late night talk shows to respond to social issue crises that threaten their reputations and careers. This study examines 10 celebrity appearances in this comedy genre to better understand how the late night talk show functions discursively in crisis communication with respect to humour messaging strategy. The analysis finds that, rather than using humorous messaging strategies to deal with their crises, TV show hosts and guests downplay humour to project sincerity—even in response to less serious situations. Furthermore, the live studio audience faces scolding for the typical reactions expected of live studio audiences—cheering, clapping, laughing—that may reduce the celebrity’s sincerity. This study argues that these behaviours suggest that humour should be avoided even in less serious reputational crises. Finally, the article speculates why a celebrity would choose a funny television talk show—an unusual venue for crisis communication—to respond to a reputational crisis that is no laughing matter
Establishing local sustainability projects that address the UN Sustainability Development Goals
Full text linkBefore increasing global disruptions and uncertainties, it is necessary to prepare students with capabilities to influence change and to nurture their agency. This case study examines a pilot student sustainability leadership initiative run at an English university. It comprises a model which combines student as partners and “living lab” practices. It engaged undergraduates in partnership with academics in projects they co-created to address curriculum and campus challenges, framing these in relation to the UN Sustainability Development Goals. The model, underpinned by constructivist and experiential learning pedagogies, harnesses creativity to nurture action for sustainability. A multi-level evaluation identified the impacts of the experience on students and academics and of the outputs in relation to the university’s education and sustainability strategies. The results demonstrate this student as partner and living lab model to be effective and efficient. It has been adopted as business-as-usual at the university and is transferable. This case study is co-authored by the staff and some of the students involved
Student-driven projects to promote equitable and justice-oriented teaching and learning
Full text linkArtificial intelligence and student-teacher relationships: Reflections on a conversation across the contexts of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Australia
Full text linkThis reflective essay examines the student-teacher relationships in the context of recent advancements in artificial intelligence. The essay draws on a conversation between the authors from an online event which brought together over 90 participants from South and Central Asia, East Africa, and Australia. By presenting these reflections, the essay encourages further dialogue within the IJSaP community about the role of AI in education. It invites readers to consider the implications of AI on student-teacher relationships and to explore ways to navigate the complexities introduced by AI in higher education, while remaining committed to human-centered pedagogical practices
The First in Family pilot podcast
Full text linkThe aim of the First in Family pilot podcast project was for students and staff to work together to produce a podcast which would support the student experience and recruitment of first-generation students (FGSs). This case study reports on the project, which used funds from the University of Reading’s Partnerships in Learning and Teaching scheme to enable the pilot to be realised and market research data to be collected and reviewed. We explain how we researched and investigated podcast format, production, and broadcast, as well as brainstormed key issues that affect FGS. We then produced a pilot episode for further market research. We present our ways of working, indicate what feedback we gleaned from the market research, and how we intend to use the feedback to apply for greater funding to produce and broadcast a monthly or bi-weekly podcast for FGSs
