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Sponsored Article: Women In STEM: Interview with Anna Rafferty
Get PDFEncouraging diversity in the workplace has the potential to “change the trajectory of health for humanity” says Anna Rafferty, Director of Strategy at Johnson & Johnson Campus, Ireland. Promoting such representation, particularly in the area of STEM, has been one of the key aims of Johnson & Johnson’s WiSTEM2D undergraduate programme since its creation in 2016.
As a leader of this programme, Anna started her career with Johnson & Johnson in 2003 after graduating with a BSc in Biotechnology from the National University of Ireland, Galway, and later a Graduateship in Marketing from the Technological University of Dublin. She is now a central figure in the undergraduate WiSTEM2D programme in Ireland.
We spoke to Anna about the about the WiSTEM2D programme, the difficulties and challenges faced by women in STEM careers, and what she believes universities can do about it
Soft Controls and Employee Well-being: An analysis of SMEs in Europe
Get PDFHow can small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) take care of their employees’ well-being so that they can retain a productive and satisfied workforce? The present study examines the relation between soft controls and the well-being of employees in small and medium-sized enterprises. Soft controls are defined in terms of social safety, autonomy, support and empowerment. We use the job demands resources (JD-R) model and the self determination theory (SDT) to develop hypotheses on how soft controls are related to well-being. The research was based on data collected from the European Working Conditions Survey 2015. The sample consisted of 9255 salaried employees, working in SMEs across 35 European countries. Structural equation modelling showed that soft controls affect employee well-being. In European SMEs especially social safety is an important form of soft control. Social safety appears to promote employees’ job satisfaction and engagement, while preventing burnout and workaholism
Individual Entrepreneurial Orientation and Entrepreneurial Bricolage Behaviour among Managers: The moderating role of occupational embeddedness
Get PDFThis paper investigates a sample of operational managers in the clothing and textile (C&T) industry in Iran between December 2020 and March 2021, and their potential decisions to leave their job and consequently start entrepreneurial self-employment. This sector was severely harmed during the COVID-19 crisis. The concept of entrepreneurial bricolage is employed, as entrepreneurial bricolage skills are useful to succeed as an entrepreneur and hence may influence the potential decision to leave the firm and start one’s own business. The paper focuses specifically on the roles of individual entrepreneurial orientation and occupational embeddedness as determinants of entrepreneurial bricolage behaviour, and indeed finds evidence for both variables to influence such behaviour and thus the potential decision to leave the job and start a new venture, particularly during a crisis in the C&T industry
Introduction to the ESR Special Issue on “Gender, Economics and Society”
Get PDFGender inequality is a pervasive issue affecting all areas of life. While some progress towards equality has been made in recent decades, significant gender gaps persist. Across the globe, on average, women are less likely to engage in paid work outside the home (ILOSTAT, 2024), work fewer hours (OECD, 2022) and are paid less than men (World Economic Forum, 2024). Despite the introduction of many laws to protect the rights of women, no country in the world provides equal opportunities to women; on average women are afforded two-thirds the rights of men (World Bank Group, 2024). Alarmingly, at the current rate of progress, it will take 134 years to reach gender parity across the economic, political, health, and educational dimensions (World Economic Forum, 2024). In Ireland, gender equality made significant improvements between 2010 and 2020, with particular gains in the domains of decision-making positions across spheres, and education and training. However over the past few years gender inequality has increased, primarily due to setbacks in time allocation which has accompanied increasing female labour force participation
Comparative Investigation of the Reasons Propagating Maternal Mortality in Sweden, India and Rwanda
Get PDFBackground: Haemorrhage, sepsis, and hypertensive disorders have been identified as the leading causes of maternal mortality worldwide. The majority of maternal deaths occur in developing countries and the majority are preventable. Despite the advent of technologies and scientific progress that have significantly reduced maternal mortality globally, developing countries disproportionately represent the majority of maternal deaths. Identifying and comparing countries with different maternal mortality rates is important because it provides an opportunity to reduce maternal death by understanding why and how we can learn from countries that perform well to inform and prioritize health policies, programmes and funding.
Objectives: First, to identify the leading causes of maternal mortality in Sweden, India and Rwanda. Second, to identify the factors contributing to maternal death and the strategies used by said countries to address and/or decrease maternal mortality. Third, to identify strategies that could be adopted to reduce maternal death.
Methods: International databases such as the World Health Organisation, World Bank, Population Reference Bureau, World Poverty Clock and the National Eclampsia Registry were used to identify key metrics. A scoping review was conducted in databases (PubMed Medline, Embase, Pubmed, Cochrane Library and Scopus) on quantitative and qualitative studies conducted in Sweden, Rwanda and India after 2000. We also searched for articles in search engines (Google Scholar and Google).
Results: The research highlights that socioeconomic and demographic barriers contribute to the higher rates of maternal mortality seen in developing countries. The implementation of standardised guidelines for the use of drugs, investment in community-led care and the implementation of a midwifery model could play a key role in addressing maternal mortality in developing countries.
Conclusion: It is understood that a multitude of factors contribute to maternal mortality. These perpetuating reasons are often closely interlinked in a complex relationship with the country\u27s socioeconomic and political conditions. Therefore, in order to decrease maternal mortality rates in developing countries especially, the focus needs to be diverted towards bridging the gap between the urban and rural populations, and equipping mothers with accessible, affordable, and high-quality healthcare
Human Capital Investment, New Business Creation and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Get PDFThis paper investigates if a level of human capital investment exists that would, possibly, trigger a positive impact of new business creation on economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). To do this, we apply the dynamic panel threshold technique to analyse a panel of 19 SSA countries for the period 2006-2020. Using the World Bank’s new business density measure as a proxy for new business creation, we find a negative relation between new business creation and economic growth for SSA countries with low levels of human capital investment. However, we also report that new business creation positively affects economic growth if human capital investment exceeds a certain (estimated) threshold value. This evidence suggests that high levels of human capital in SSA come along with a positive impact of new business creation on growth. Using data from SSA to study the dynamics of the new business creation and economic growth nexus allows us to highlight that investment in human capital accumulation is an important conduit through which a positive impact of new business creation on economic growth can be realised
The Short-Term Distributional Impact of Pension Auto-enrolment
Get PDFThe Irish government plans to introduce pension auto-enrolment with an initial employee contribution rate of 1.5 per cent eventually rising to 6 per cent. We examine the immediate distributional, poverty and inequality impacts of an auto-enrolment charge. We find that the bottom two income quintiles will see the smallest fall in disposable income, driven by the fact that only 2 per cent of family units in the lowest quintile and 18 per cent in the second quintile will actually be affected by auto-enrolment. There will be little impact on the at-risk-of-poverty rate. This is explained by the fact that the largest negative impacts on disposable income will be in higher income quintiles
At least a Two-Way Street – decolonising arts management curricula in Kingston and Belfast
Get PDFWith the rising popularity of arts management and creative industries programmes, there have been concerns about the eurocentrism of these programmes, disquiet about the student demographic and the consequences for an increasingly globalised arts sector and cultural economy. However, these concerns have largely been discussed within the context of individual university programmes and aligned with a need for curriculum internationalisation across the North-South/East-West continua. Through a comparative case study of two arts management/film curricula in UK and Jamaica, I argue that, firstly, curricula decolonisation, not just internationalisation, is needed. Additionally, curricula decolonisation requires the inclusion of a relational geographic framework, in recognition of the relational geographic nature of coloniality. Thirdly, while application made by individual academics and within academic programmes is key, curricula decolonisation necessitates re-examination of the hegemonic coloniality of the international academic system, especially in the interdisciplinary field of cultural policy/arts management/creative industries due to coloniality’s foundational cultural hierarchy. Curricula decolonisation is, at very least, a two-way street requiring North-South/East-West exchanges, partnerships and transformation; or at the simplest, a decolonial community of practice
Assessing the Impact of Mobility on COVID-19: Spatial Evidence from Ireland
Get PDFThis paper attempts to draw lessons from the Irish experience of COVID-19 by concentrating on the importance of mobility, especially the role of commuting. As lockdown periods progressed, we found increasing levels of workplace attendance, over and above what would be expected if only essential workers were physically going to work. Mobility-related variables were significantly associated with increased incidence of the virus at a national level. The level of inter-county essential worker commuting was found to be inversely related to infection rates in the workers’ home county
Perspectives on Practice: Building a better environment for all – an interview with Jane Daly and Siobhán Bourke
Get PDFIn this Perspectives on Practice interview, Tanya Dean speaks to Siobhán Bourke and Jane Daly about their work with Irish Theatre Institute in supporting Irish theatre and fostering positive change in the industry. The discussion explores how the purpose of Irish Theatre Institute has evolved, and how it has adapted to and reflected the changes and challenges facing Irish theatre over the decades