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From “business as usual” to sustainable “purpose‐driven business”: Challenges facing the purpose ecosystem in the United Kingdom and Australia
Get PDFPurpose‐driven businesses have a stated objective to contribute to the welfare of society and the planet alongside generating shareholder value. As interest in purpose‐driven businesses grows, an emerging “purpose ecosystem” of advisers, investors, and enablers offers different types of support for businesses wanting to transition to sustainability. This paper examines how the transition towards purpose‐driven business in Australia and the United Kingdom requires addressing challenges facing this support ecosystem at three levels. First, at the individual level where support providers need to build the capabilities of managers who are experiencing tensions around integrating societal and environmental purpose while facing pressure for maximizing shareholder value. Second, the support providers working within the purpose ecosystem offering professional advice and finance face their own tensions between environmental or social objectives and commercial pressures. Third, there are challenges facing actors in the ecosystems aiming to change the wider policy and institutional environment but facing lobbying from those wanting to keep “business as usual.” We identify practical implications for those parts of the purpose‐driven business ecosystem providing support. This includes building capabilities to combine social, environmental, and commercial purpose; coordination among support providers; and creating an institutional environment to avoid “purpose wash.
‘This thing that we do’: in pursuit of hope-full renewals through hydrofeminist scholarly praxis
Get PDFIn this paper we dwell amongst what was agitated from enacting Neimanis’ (2012) hydrofeminism in an ‘aqueous-body-writing-reading’ experiment that unfolded in discrete but entangled locations (London and Cape Town) to actively disrupt and reformulate ideas about what it is to do scholarly work. We consider how we might dislodge Anthropocentric ways of knowing, being and doing through our swimming-writing-reading. Aligned with emergent hydrofeminist scholarship our unruly writing experiment has - over seven months of alternating seasons on two continents - involved exchanging, diffracting, and curating words that e/merge together. The multiple, interwoven stories told in this paper are a direct challenge to what and how knowledge gets produced, by whom, where, and for what purposes. Working with wit(h)nessing; contact zones; and radical openness, our speculative, enmeshed, multispecies praxis offers glimpses into the possibilities that exist in porous spaces to generate knowledge differently in the spirit of hopeful renewal
OP v Commune d'Ans: another step in the wrong direction for headscarf wearing women
No full textThis article analyses and criticises the latest Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) case concerning the wearing of Muslim headscarves at work. OP was refused permission to wear a Muslim headscarf at work because her employer, a public authority, had a policy of exclusive neutrality, prohibiting employees from wearing any form of religious clothing or symbols. The CJEU judgment limits the employment opportunities of Muslim women who want to wear headscarves for religious reasons and allows member states and infra-state bodies a margin of discretion to decide whether to ban religious clothing and symbols for all employees, only for employees who come into contact with service users or not to ban such items at all; and, it ignores any possibility of the presence of gender, race or multiple discrimination. Prohibitions on religious clothing and symbols affect especially Muslim women, who are often from a non-European background and thus could amount to gender discrimination, race discrimination and to discrimination on a combination of religion or belief, gender and racial or ethnic origin
Vrednotenje nevarnosti gola v nogometu z uporabo lokacij igralca in žoge
Get PDFGoal scoring in football is relatively low but vitally important, hence research has considered how goals are created and scored with measures such as expected goals prevalent. The dynamical systems theoretical perspective, considers a collective system, such as football, as existing in two states, stable (no substantive advantage for either team) or unstable (advantage present). Hence, goal scoring events occur when the system has become unstable, with a “perturbation” the event causing the system state change. Here, a “goal threat” value was calculated every second (scaled from 0 to 100) using the XY coordinates of players and the ball, weighted in relation to proximity to the goal (a potential proxy for the degree of system instability). Video recordings and synchronised Amisco 2D representations of goals (n=64) scored in Swansea City AFC English Premier League 2012/2013 matches (n=20) were analysed using Dartfish v10 Pro software. Each goal was analysed from when the play was judged to be stable (no obvious goal scoring opportunity), or the start of possession, until the goal had been scored. Goals were not always preceded by high goal threat values (maximum goal threat values ranged from 13.4 to 99.0). The authors independently subjectively determined that perturbations occurred up to 7 seconds from when the goal threat value increased by at least 40%. Thus, perturbations were not directly related to goal scoring opportunities. This novel method provides a useful, quantifiable, and simple measure of goal threat that may also aid audience engagement and measure defensive effectiveness.Zadetki v nogometu so ključnega pomena. Ker je le teh relativno malo, smo preučevali, kako se gol doseže. V ta namen smo uporabili koncept prevladovanja pričakovanih golov. Teoretična perspektiva dinamičnih sistemov je preučila nogomet kot kolektivni sistem, ki obstaja v dveh stanjih - stabilnem (brez prednosti za nobeno ekipo) ali nestabilnem (s prednostjo eni ekipi). Pri doseganju golov se sistemi spremenijo iz stabilnega v nestabilno stanje, pri čemer se \"motnja\" pojavi kot dogodek, ki povzroči spremembo stanja sistema. V raziskavi je bila izračunana vrednost \"grožnje golu\" za vsako sekundo, ki je upoštevala položaj igralcev in žoge ter oddaljenost od gola (kot približek za stopnjo nestabilnosti sistema). Za analizo je bilo uporabljenih 64 golov, doseženih na tekmah angleške Premier lige Swansea City AFC v sezoni 2012/2013, ki so bili predstavljeni v videoposnetkih in 2D animacijah programa Amisco. Vsak gol je bil analiziran od trenutka, ko je bila igra ocenjena kot stabilna, ali od trenutka, ko je ekipa pridobila posest žoge, do trenutka, ko je bil gol dosežen. Pred golom vrednosti grožnje niso bile vedno visoke, najvišje vrednosti so bile med 13,4 in 99,0. Ugotovili smo, da se je motnja običajno pojavila v roku 7 sekund od trenutka, ko se je vrednost grožnje povečala za vsaj 40% in da motnje niso nujno povezane s priložnostmi za gol. Ta nova metoda zagotavlja uporabno in merljivo merilo grožnje golu, kar lahko pomaga tudi pri angažiranju gledalcev in merjenju učinkovitosti obrambe
Seasonal variation and positional differences in anthropometry, strength, and power characteristics in English premiership women's rugby union players
Get PDFWomen’s rugby is a collision sport that relies heavily on body composition and physical characteristics of strength and power to achieve competitive success. Furthermore, the seasonal nature presents a variety of physical challenges that can cause fluctuations in a player’s physical development. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the differences in anthropometry, strength and power characteristics between forwards and backs in women’s rugby union athletes in England and to identify changes throughout a season. Forty-seven players were recruited from the English premiership women’s rugby during the 2020–2021 season. Players were split into forwards and backs and underwent body composition testing via dual-X-ray absorptiometry, and strength and power tests (countermovement jump, drop jump, and isometric mid-thigh pull) on 3 separate occasions (pre-, mid-, post-season). Overall, forwards had significantly (p 0.5) jump height, reactive strength and shorter drop jump contact time. When observing seasonal changes, there were statistically significant differences (p 0.5) in lean mass, reactive strength index modified, time to take off and drop jump flight time among forwards when comparing three testing time frames. For backs, statistically significant differences (p 0.5) were reported in lean mass and drop jump flight time throughout the season. In conclusion, the strength and power testing and characteristics shown in this study could support coaches and junior women’s rugby athletes to have a basic understanding of English premiership physical standards
Making a difference through art practice, research and knowledge exchange
No full textSocial practice is now very much to the fore in the artworld, though when I started out several decades ago, it was largely treated as if it wasn’t art at all. However this new acceptance also brings with it the danger of simply using social issues as content for art rather than using art to make a difference in the world, and it is the latter that I want to talk about today.
In my teaching I have been largely focused on passing on the understandings and skills involved in the processes of social engagement to achieve just that. At the same time my practice has interfaced with academic research. All my work has been based on the premise that local knowledge can often hold answers to society’s problems, whereas those most in contact with these challenges who might have the insights to inform change can lack access to the skills or resources to bring it about. By taking this approach into interdisciplinary research I have been able to use the arts to address issues in wider global contexts.
In this presentation I will briefly outline the foundations that underpin this practice - including how and where I learned these approaches - in order to pass on these lessons to anyone interested in this field of work
Opening up conversations: collaborative working across sociomaterial contexts in nursing in London
Get PDFAim
To discuss nurses' use of networks to address nursing recruitment and retention in London, UK.
Design
Qualitative evaluation of the Capital Nurse programme reporting on 30 narrative interviews with executive, clinical and student nurses in 2019.
Results
Executive nurses within the Capital Nurse programme recognized the importance of sociomaterial contexts in the health and social care system in London and worked strategically across these contexts to achieve change. Supported through the Capital Nurse programme, executive nurses from health organizations across London initiated collaborative working to improve recruitment and retention. Primarily by designing and delivering sociomaterial products (organizational and educational) to support nurses to build a career in London. Drawing on ideas from actor network theory, in particular sociomaterial contexts, nurses' actions at all levels to develop and sustain networks to address nursing recruitment and retention across the NHS in London are described.
Conclusions
Capital Nurse supported collaborative working both within single organizations and across organizations in London. There is evidence of change in how nurses across the capital work together to improve patient care, improve recruitment and retention. Findings may resonate with nurses in other settings who seek to address the problem of recruitment and retention. They show how nurses coming together in networks to effect changes in practice can work successfully.
Impact
Nurses' use of networks led to novel models of communication and action to address the problems of recruitment and retention in London. We argue that sociomateriality should be considered outside the clinical practice setting, as part of nurses' professional development and organizational practice, that is how they plan their career, how they address recruitment and retention, how they communicate across organizations about nursing issues
Discrimination and daycare choice: evidence from a randomized survey
No full textWe use a randomized survey to study the relation between parenting styles and attitudes towards ethnic minorities in a daycare setting. Parents choose between two daycare centers: a free-play facility that reflects a “relaxed” parenting approach and a structured facility that reflects a “strict” parenting approach. We find biases against ethnic minorities among parents who prefer the structured daycare but not among parents who prefer the free-play one. Using data from the European Value Survey, we further document an association between discriminatory attitudes towards peer ethnicity and parenting style
Ethnic identity negotiation through dialogical self: the case of Anywaa and Nuer evangelicals in Gambella, Ethiopia
Get PDFThis study explores the ethnic identity negotiation of Anywaa and Nuer Evangelical Christians in the Gambella region, Ethiopia, using the Dialogical Self Theory. The two ethnic groups are living in conflict due to different reasons such as historical narratives and cultural differences. Though they have differences on multiple issues, they are converts from their respective traditional religion to Evangelical Christianity, which is given insufficient attention in the existing literature when their relation is investigated. A case study methodology is employed to understand the peoples’ perception and understanding of the dialogical self and value dissonance in their identity elements. Data was collected through semi-structured individual interviews, focus group discussions and non-participant observations of 69 respondents from both ethnic groups with varying ages, sex, and responsibilities. Through thematic data analysis, the study reveals that the Anywaa and the Nuer have ascribed identities that emphasize their group peculiarities and differences with others. However, their acquired identity, Evangelical Christianity, enables them to redefine some of the cultural elements, especially aspects of relations with ethnic others through the dialogical self. The redefinition of identity markers results in the discontinuity of some elements and the continuity of others, leading to negotiation strategies to deal with value-dissonance between identity elements that change the nature of their ethnic boundary, making it permeable or impermeable. Some of these strategies promote positive relations, while others promote negative relations among the two groups. The study suggests the need for fostering value-based reflective dialogues in individuals by different institutions, enabling them to see their relations through other lenses. Moreover, the study recommends using individuals as change agents and creating a community of practice to help peace grow from inside-out or bottom-up. The findings offer distinctive insights on how social changes like religious conversion coupled with an individual’s dialogical self can redefine issues of identity by altering ethnic boundaries and how that can be used for the better coexistence among the ethnic groups
Investigating enhancement of factors affecting mobile government services adoption in Egypt
No full textM-government refers to the utilization of wireless and mobile communication technologies in government administration to enable the delivery of informative and transactional services to the government's stakeholders (such as residents and companies). Due to the popularity of mobile applications among individuals, there is a current trend for businesses in all fields to develop an application, specifically in the governmental sector. However, the implementation of m-government is surrounded by technological, organisational, social issues, and political that must be carefully considered and addressed to facilitate this change.
This research aims to investigate the significant factors that can be promoted to encourage citizens’ intention in using m-government in Egypt. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to look into the variables that influence how effectively m-government solutions are adopted, used, and perceived in Egypt. Therefore, this study focuses on Egypt as Egypt has a strategic plan to become fully digitalized in its governmental services by 2030. In addition, it is important for government officials to create a mobile application that is appealing to citizens as well as encouraging its usage. A review of the literature reveals a vacuum in understanding the elements that influence people' acceptance of m-government services in developing nations. Furthermore, several research focused on e-government adoption rather than m-government services. To fill this need, this research intends to identify the research approach suitable for measuring mobile government acceptance and recognize the main mobile government acceptance factors, the Extended Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) and the Technology Readiness Index (TRI). The main aim of the research was conducted through the moderating role of (age, gender, and experience) between exogenous latent constructs draws from two well-established theoretical models (UTAUT2 and TRI) and Egyptian intention to adopt mobile government application installations. As a result, information was gathered by conducting an interview with 13 interviewees who are technology experts in Egypt and asking them a total of 13 open-ended, structured questions about the factors influencing the mobile applications installation, followed up by a questionnaire distributed among 800 participants who are mobile customers in Egypt through two stages with a number of 400 participants that will be examined before the intervention of the application and the other 400 will be asked after the intervention of the application.
M-government implementation and adoption in Egypt were studied using a multi-method research strategy [combining both qualitative (interview) and quantitative (survey) methodologies] to investigate enhancement of factors affecting mobile government services adoption in Egypt.
This research assists scholars and practitioners to have a better insight on how to promote and create an application that is considered attractive for the adoption of m-government services. These discoveries have the potential to boost public trust in government online services, creating sustainable long-term partnerships with citizens