Social gatekeepers and racial equality strategies in social housing

This thesis theorises processes of change through an examination of formal and informal race equality strategies within a housing association. The literature review evaluates paradigms which seek to explain the differential housing experiences of minority ethnic and white communities. A revised model of structuration theory focusing clearly upon particular features of the housing process, such as the continuing potential of social gatekeepers to shape life chances, is proposed to advance the debate. The review of studies of the housing association movement notes that an implementation gap continues to prevent effective race equality performance despite improvements in paper policies. Whilst Niner argues that associations have had greater freedom from regulatory control than local authorities, the potential to appropriate discretionary opportunities at junior levels of the hierarchy is underplayed within organisational change literature. Primary research based upon participant observation supports the hypothesis that an 'organisational power vacuum' can create an 'opportunity space' for 'change activists' to achieve their own policy objectives without formal organisational support, as well as exercising practitioner discretion. The opportunity space represents the conscious or unconscious withdrawal of hierarchical control from an organisational area. Formal initiatives subsequently introduced at 'Byrds' Housing Association presented more overt opportunities and constraints to change activists. The absence of consistent policy ownership amongst senior gatekeepers, the completion of specialist workplans and the superficial incorporation of equal opportunities within generic work led to a degree of 'static reassertion', a reversion to historic practices and perhaps new barriers to formal and informal change following a period of innovation. Nevertheless the organisational power vacuum paradigm affirms the potential for relatively junior employees to achieve corporate change. As a model for the exploitation of opportunity space it should be criticised, evaluated and amended to provide further tools for understanding and implementing radical equal opportunities change within diverse organisations

Sprinting for creative economy growth – a case study of a business planning and rapid prototyping toolkit for the Brazilian creative economy sector

This article reflects on the development of a creative economy training product and toolkit developed by Coventry University with SEBRAE (the Brasilian Micro and Small Business Support Service) and funded by British Council. It was devised following two weeks creative economy scoping visits in autumn 2017 in Brasil. The scoping visits identified the need for a fun and “disruptive” business planning experience leading to rapid prototyping which would allow new creative economy ideas to be brought to market at low development cost – “Sprint”. A one day micro Sprint was tested in four locations in Brazil to excellent feedback in late 2017. The client subsequently requested a three day version of the methodology to invest more time in the cultural change of the creative entrepreneur and the development of an associated toolkit. However, this Sprint has subsequently also been rolled out in a super condensed 3 hour version piloting in 2019 and 2020 in Ukraine through British Council Creative Spark programmes. The toolkit offers skills and techniques to train creative entrepreneurs and their mentors in enabling the growth of the creative economy in their communities. This paper predominantly focuses on the implementation of the client commissioned three day Sprint

Scaffolding in Indoor and Outdoor Mobility a Wearable and Mobile Application for Senior Tourism in a Playable City

The growth of urban population and the challenges of an ageing society have brought to the fore the need of innovative ways to re-invent sustainable healthy ageing lifestyles and meet the growing demand on transport and residents’ assistance with ageing-in-place. Fatalities involving older adult pedestrians is a major problem in EU urban areas, given the general lack of information about traffic and road conditions. Indoor and Outdoor Mobility are also likely to affect Senior Tourism and older adults’ travel patterns. This paper proposes a digital application designed for wearables and mobile devices that engages the users in a set of missions and routes that are customized to their context and mobility condition, based on a multi-peer review system.This work was supported by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) and ESF under Community Support Framework III – the project SEDUCE 2.0 nr. POCI-01-0145-FEDER- 031696.publishe

On-farm evaluation of the impact of drying and storage on the carotenoid content of orange-fleshed sweet potato (Ipomea batata Lam.)

Drying of orange-fleshed sweet potato was evaluated under African rural conditions. Three locally built dryers (open- air sun, tunnel and shade) were tested using Resisto and MGCL01 varieties in Mozambique. Total carotenoid losses were low in all dryers being 9.2% on average. After drying, sweet potato chips were stored in a traditional way (jute bags inside a mud house). Chip size (thin, thick chip or slice) had a significant effect on drying (P < 0.05) but not on storage and variety had an effect on both. Total carotenoid losses during storage were much higher being 83.7% on average, after 4 months, with main individual carotenoids fitting a first-order kinetics degradation. Globally, carotenoid losses on-farm or on-research station were of similar level

Consequence of the tumor-associated conversion to cyclin D1b.

Clinical evidence suggests that cyclin D1b, a variant of cyclin D1, is associated with tumor progression and poor outcome. However, the underlying molecular basis was unknown. Here, novel models were created to generate a genetic switch from cyclin D1 to cyclin D1b. Extensive analyses uncovered overlapping but non-redundant functions of cyclin D1b compared to cyclin D1 on developmental phenotypes, and illustrated the importance of the transcriptional regulatory functions of cyclin D1b in vivo. Data obtained identify cyclin D1b as an oncogene, wherein cyclin D1b expression under the endogenous promoter induced cellular transformation and further cooperated with known oncogenes to promote tumor growth in vivo. Further molecular interrogation uncovered unexpected links between cyclin D1b and the DNA damage/PARP1 regulatory networks, which could be exploited to suppress cyclin D1b-driven tumors. Collectively, these data are the first to define the consequence of cyclin D1b expression on normal cellular function, present evidence for cyclin D1b as an oncogene, and provide pre-clinical evidence of effective methods to thwart growth of cells dependent upon this oncogenic variant

Young students and desire to social entrepreneurship: The impact of government's role

The main aim of the research was intended in assessing the role of the Indonesian government towards the promotion of social entrepreneurship in the country. The research was focused on addressing the level of awareness about the concept of social enterprise and what it means in Indonesia, especially among young students. For achieving this aim, a survey was conducted among students in Jakarta, Indonesia. The survey reflected the assessment of government role in the promotion of social entrepreneurship in Indonesia. The results noted that when it came to social entrepreneurship, it is the government that acts as a vital role in communication what a social enterprise is and its role to the members of the society. From the regression analysis, it was identified that there is a significant relationship between the promotion of social entrepreneurship and the role of the Indonesian government. However, the study also identifies that while the promotion of social enterprise is essential, the role of innovation and its link to the building resilient social enterprises needs more attention

Radical Innovation Process in Sustainable Development and Knowledge Management: Toyota Prius Case Study

Abstract: This article looks at the inter-linkages and causalities between innovation and knowledge management in terms of sustainable development goals through the case study method. Taking the case of the Toyota Prius, these concepts are further developed in detail. Recognising the fact that no organisational process can happen in a vacuum and that there are a host of extraneous factors that have a significant impact on the process, factors such as culture, vision, incentives are also examined here. Further, this article delves into some of the characteristics that successful organisations display and seeks to extrapolate from the specific to general implications for organisations that aim to be successfully innovative