An economic perspective on diversity within organizations

This paper summarizes the theoretical and empirical research in economics on the impact of employee diversity on organizational performance, where diversity is predominantly viewed through the lens of gender and ethnicity/nationality. The literature has studied this topic through two types of interactions: horizontal interactions between workers who are peers and vertical interactions between managers and workers. The theory of horizontal interactions highlights the conditions under which diversity is beneficial, such as when different groups bring complementary knowledge, but also when it is costly, as in the case of intergroup communication frictions. The theory of vertical interactions focuses on discrimination against different social groups due to the hierarchical nature of these interactions. Discrimination can result from preferences that favor or disfavor certain groups, or from imperfect information and the use of beliefs about group productivity to infer individual productivity. For both horizontal and vertical interactions, the empirical findings on the impact of diversity are mixed, with varying effects on organizational performance, ranging from positive to negative to no impact. Although this may suggest the field has little to say on the subject, the impact of diversity is often in line with the theoretical predictions. This suggests that for organizations to reap the potential rewards from diversity, they must consider how their context relates to the theory and act accordingly

Understanding Perspectives and Practices of “Learning through Play” in East African Refugee and Host-Country Schools

In this article, we investigate understandings and practices of learning through play (LtP) in refugee and host-country contexts in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda. This is an area in which international donors have increased their investments in recent years. We used a positive deviance approach to select 12 best practice preprimary and primary schools. We used ethnographic methods to study these schools for 14-20 days in order to learn from their existing play-based teaching and learning practices. Our findings draw from the research team’s observations, visually stimulated interviews, and focus group discussions with 205 teachers, parents, and headteachers, and 160 students. The findings reveal that most of these education stakeholders (teachers, students, and parents) understood play and formal learning to be mutually exclusive but also recognized the developmental benefits of play. The findings also describe various LtP and LtP-adjacent learning activities, such as guided play and games, storytelling and role-play, energizers, and structured playful learning. The factors found to be critical to the school-based implementation of LtP include supportive policies, school leadership, and parental support, professional development and support for teachers, and addressing schools’ capacity and structural limitations. Based on these findings, we recommend that LtP proponents frame LtP as connected to active learning methods in terms of definition, conceptualization, and advocacy for its integration into policy frameworks. We built on the extant constructivist pedagogy and play literature to develop a typology of classroom-based LtP activities with the aim of encouraging policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to strengthen education systems’ ability to provide targeted support for teachers that will enable them to gradually increase their implementation of quality LtP practices across typology zones

Coaching-Observing-Reflecting-Engaging: An Intervention for the Development of Teacher Wellbeing

Support to improve teacher wellbeing is scarce in almost all contexts, but especially so in low- and middle-income settings in which teachers face both professional and personal challenges (Kirk and Winthrop 2007; Mendenhall, Gomez, and Varni 2018). In this field note, we discuss War Child’s development of Coaching-Observing-Reflecting-Engaging (CORE) for Teachers, an intervention that focuses on improving teachers’ wellbeing. CORE is grounded in acceptance and commitment therapy and in the social-emotional framework of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. It also draws from current research, including Jennings and Greenberg’s (2009) prosocial classroom model. CORE aims to have a positive influence on classroom climate by providing teachers with the skills and knowledge they need to create an enabling, impactful, and safe learning environment for their students. In this field note, we outline the background on the development of the CORE intervention, including a literature review, the development of a theory of change, and field testing conducted in Chocó, Colombia. Having been field tested and adapted, CORE now is ready for further studies to determine feasibility and effectiveness

Book Review: Laboratories of Learning: Social Movements, Education and Knowledge-Making in the Global South by Mario Novelli, Birgül Kutan, Patrick Kane, Adnan Çelik, Tejendra Pherali, and Saranel Benjamin

In his review of Laboratories of Learning: Social Movements, Education, and Knowledge-Making in the Global South by Mario Novelli, Birgül Kutan, Patrick Kane, Adnan Çelik, Tejendra Pherali, and Saranel Benjamin, João Souto-Maior highlights the authors’ in-depth qualitative analysis of how social movements create spaces for learning, knowledge creation, and social transformation. Souto-Maior points out the unique contribution this book makes to the education in emergencies field through its discussion of the microlevel processes that shape social movements. Based on the authors’ participatory action research, this book is a meaningful methodological addition to the education in emergencies field for scholars and practitioners who are interested in forging meaningful relationships with individuals and organizations directly engaged in social change

Pains and Gains of Studying Theatre Arts in Nigeria: Ambivalent Voices of Theatre Arts Graduates

This study contends that Theatre Arts as a professional discipline in the humanities should be regarded as other disciplines, and its graduates be given equal opportunities as their counterparts from other fields in Nigeria. The study dispels the numerous misconceptions about the discipline. Although the study of Theatre Arts might be quite enjoyable, it has received a lot of scorn in Nigeria. While prior studies have exposed society’s misconceptions about the field, this study presents a nuanced perspective of Theatre Arts graduates on the discipline in Nigeria. The data for this study were collected using mixed research methods. Primary data were derived from a group discussion on a WhatsApp group of Theatre Arts graduates in 2022. Out of the 202 members in the group, 22 participated. The result indicates ambivalence. It is recommended that individuals, companies, and the government optimise the potentials of Theatre Arts graduates in Nigeria by giving them equal opportunities as others

Journal on Education in Emergencies: Volume 10, Number 1 (Complete)

This issue of the Journal on Education in Emergencies (JEiE) samples the broad range of themes, contexts, disciplinary perspectives, and methodological approaches that represent research and practice in the field of education in emergencies. The articles in this issue of JEiE present evidence that underscores the need for education systems that are flexible, inclusive, and responsive to the social, cultural, and political conditions in which they operate. JEiE Volume 10, Number 1 includes five research articles, two field notes, and three book reviews. It offers cutting-edge scholarly and applied research conducted by teams of academics, practitioners, advocates, and policymakers who live and work among diverse populations in an array of settings, including Palestine, Lebanon, Colombia, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and the United States. The rigorous research and innovative field notes in this issue join debates over the agency, power, rights, (in)visibility, and deservingness of vulnerable, marginalized, and crisis-affected students and their communities. The authors who contributed to this issue break new ground in our understanding of identity, belonging, and access to education. They explore the opportunities and challenges of refining and scaling play-based learning for refugee and host communities. They critically reflect on initiatives for supporting teacher wellbeing, training, and professionalization. And they share insights into how displacement, migration, and resettlement affect education experiences worldwide

Pleiades Datasets 4.0.1

This is a package of data derived from the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places. It is used for archival and redistribution purposes and is likely to be less up-to-date than the live data at https://pleiades.stoa.org

Guidelines for Preservability in New Forms of Scholarship

A Self-Assessment Tool is available to be used with these guidelines at https://doi.org/10.33682/r23i-9zg2Updated and with a new title, these recommendations will guide publishers to create digital publications that are more likely to be preservable. They are meant to be shared with authors, editors, digital production staff, software developers and those who design and maintain publishing platforms. An interactive web version of the guidelines is published at https://preservingnewforms.dlib.nyu.edu.The Andrew W. Mellon Foundatio

Decommodifying Housing: The Social Housing Development Authority

This essay is planned as an anchor essay for a Real Utopias gathering in Spring of 2026.As the housing crisis has taken hold in communities all around the world, many have pointed to models of “decommodified” housing to remove land and housing from the speculative real estate market. Yet neoliberalism has eroded the social, political, and administrative powers necessary to create such new solutions, especially at the scale that we need. This essay proposes a Social Housing Development Authority (SHDA) to grow the supply of decommodified housing. The SHDA would act as a public bank and a public developer to create decarbonized, non-market housing, including community land trusts, limited equity cooperatives, and government-owned rental housing. The institution would also foreground democratic governance at all levels and solve a variety of political and coordination challenges to the scalable decommodification of housing. In doing so, it would unwind the legacy of racialized inequality that is exacerbated when housing is a speculative commodity

Editorial: Stay Woke

In this editorial, the editor reflects on the current political climate in the US and its impact on theatre education. The editor then introduces this issue, in which our contributors document and reflect on innovative educational theatre practices. Samantha Briggs and Marissa Barnathan explore how they combined methods from participatory democracy, futures studies, and Boal’s Legislative Theatre to create a multi-step audience engagement process consisting of pre-production, post-show, and post-production workshops aimed at collectively strategizing methods for preventing gun violence. Aghogho Lucky Imiti contends that Theatre Arts as a professional discipline in the humanities should be regarded as other disciplines, and its graduates be given equal opportunities as their counterparts from other fields in Nigeria. Rosalind M. Flynn analyzes embodied learning, using physical theatre activities to support the learning of vocabulary words. Finally, Dave Humphreys shows how carefully structured and targeted drama games can benefit learners’ experiences and support teachers in understanding a dramatic pedagogical approach