Are you sitting comfortably? The political economy of the body

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between the mass production of furniture in modern industrial societies and lower back pain (LBP). The latter has proven to be a major cost to health services and private industry throughout the industrialised world and now represents a global health issue as recent WHO reports on obesity and LBP reveal. Thus far there have been few co-ordinated attempts to deal with the causes of the problem through public policy. Drawing upon a range of sources in anthropology, health studies, politics and economics, the paper argues that this a modern social problem rooted in the contingent conjuncture of natural and social causal mechanisms. The key question it raises is: what are the appropriate mechanisms for addressing this problem? This paper develops an analysis rooted in libertarian social theory and argues that both the state and the capitalist market are flawed mechanisms for resolving this problem. There remains a fundamental dilemma for libertarians, however. Whilst the state and the market may well be flawed mechanisms, they are the dominant ones shaping global political economy. To what extent can libertarians work within these structures and remain committed to libertarian goals

Teaching geographies of small and large, near and far : multi-scalar identities in the Seychelles geography classroom

Seychelles is a small and relatively remote nation, with a hybrid legacy of European colonialism and Cuban-inspired socialism that is now fused with present-day convolutions of global capitalism. This Indian Ocean archipelago provides a unique site for the study of multiscalarity. Extending from the individual to the global, this paper uses a multi-scalar lens to critically examine the forces that have shaped (and continue to shape) Seychelles’ education, making particular reference to the geography curriculum. By linking local stories to national and international narratives, the intricacies of geography curriculum-making help to unpack the forces that shape education in small states. The multi-scalar politics of language, culture and power are shown to disrupt the geography classroom, challenging Seychellois teachers’ and students’ sense of place and Kreol identity. Generally, the paper provides an important example of the way small-scale education systems can be both resilient and vulnerable to the powers of the global economy.peer-reviewe

The socio-technical dynamics of ICT innovation: a social shaping analysis of portals

This PhD thesis presents a longitudinal study of the dynamics of the innovation process of a standardised technology. The study addresses the factors that shape technology decision-making along the entire technology life cycle - from design to implementation - within the context of a complex socio-technical setting. The development of the Internet led to acceleration in the diffusion of Inter-Organisational Networks and Systems (IONS), particularly of portals. Portals are defined as linked electronic platforms with a single point-of-entry, independent of time and space, and that enable collaboration through access to multiple sources from different organisational information systems. Organisations develop and implement portals to respond to market pressures, for example in order to rationalise procurement.The thesis attempts to expand the understanding of the socio-technical dynamics patterning both the decision-making process and the outcomes of complex ICT innovation projects. The thesis seeks to overcome the shortcomings of existing social and economic research on inter-organisational standardisation by redressing the limitations in terms of empirical scope and analytical frameworks of, on the one hand, studies of standard setting processes which neglect the wider and subsequent context of implementation and, on the other hand, of 'diffusion of standards' studies which ignore the way in which standards evolve in their implementation. This study specifically answers theoretical and practical questions of ICT innovation dynamics in a complex multi-spaced setting, combining economic, technical and sociological theories. The research draws on the Social Shaping of Technology (SST) perspective by explaining ICT innovations as historical and contexted actor-focussed technological change processes. The thesis develops a Multi-level Space of Innovation Dynamics (MSID) framework to capture the dynamics of standardised portal technology development and its outcomes on two levels: at a micro level, focusing on individuals and groups in the adopting organisation (zoom in), and at the meso level, addressing the effects that the dynamics have in the broader context of the sector (zoom out). Jorgensen's concept of 'arena' is used to analyse the way in which the actors involved at the company and the industry level are configured together. The turbulent dynamics are analysed as the outcome of complex processes of change involving the configuration and re-configuration of the various arenas and networks in which the array of involved organisational actors are embedded.The contribution to existing knowledge is based on the development of the MSID framework and its application to a complex multi-layered and longitudinal case study based in the automotive industry. The researcher's unique extensive access as a participant and analyst to the complex setting of the portal development was essential to develop the framework and to illustrate the ways in which theoretical concepts can be grounded in real empirical cases. The research finds that ICT innovations are shaped by history and context of the adopting organisation and the actors involved. The extremely complex organisational politics of decision-making processes were patterned by the configuration of the project and the management of expertise. Interactions and realignments amongst this complex set of socio-technical factors led to a drift in the subsequent outcomes. This study supports the socio-technical analysis of supply chains as mutually shaped by technology and the adopting user organisation. Finally, the study also provides organisations with rich sociological insights that could translate into the planning of similar technology-driven projects

Military identities, conventional capability and the politics of NATO standardisation at the beginning of the Second Cold War, 1970-1980

This paper uses equipment standardisation as a lens for examining power relationships and the importance of military identity in framing the development of NATO conventional capability. In the face of the Warsaw Pact's overwhelming military capacity the logic of standardisation was compelling. Standardising equipment and making military forces interoperable reduced logistics overlap, increased the tempo of operations and allowed partners to optimise manufacturing capacity. Applied carefully, standardisation would help NATO mount a successful conventional defence of Western Europe, a crucial aspect of the Alliance's flexible response strategy. In this paper we apply Actor Network Theory to standardisation discussions thereby revealing the incoherence and volatility of NATO's collective strategic thinking and the vast networks of countervailing interests on which this is based

The role of strategic groups in understanding strategic human resource management

Purpose – This article explores how understanding the challenges faced by companies’ attempts to create competitive advantage through their human resources and HRM practices can be enhanced by insights into the concept of strategic groups within industries. Based within the international hotel industry this study identifies how strategic groups emerge in the analysis of HRM practices and approaches. It sheds light on the value of strategic groups as a way of readdressing the focus on firm and industry level analyses. Design Methodology/Approach – Senior human resource executives and their teams across eight international hotel companies (IHCs) were interviewed in corporate and regional headquarters, with observations and the collection of company documentation complementing the interviews. Findings – The findings demonstrate that strategic groups emerge from analysis of the HRM practices and strategies used to develop hotel general managers (HGMs) as strategic human resources in the international hotel industry. The value of understanding industry structures, dynamics and intermediary levels of analysis are apparent where specific industries place occupational constraints on their managerial resources and limit the range of strategies and expansion modes companies can adopt. Research limitations/implications - This study indicates that further research on strategic groups will enhance the theoretical understanding of strategic human resource management (SHRM) and specifically the forces that act to constrain the achievement of competitive advantage through human resources. A limitation of this study is the dependence on the human resource divisions’ perspectives of realising international expansion ambitions in the hotel industry. Practical implications - This study has implications for companies’ engagement with their executives’ perceptions of opportunities and threats, and suggests companies will struggle to achieve competitive advantage where such perceptions are consistent with their competitors. Originality/value - Developments in strategic human resource management have relied upon the conceptual and theoretical developments in strategic management, however, an understanding of the impact of strategic groups and their shaping of SHRM has not been previously explored

The political risks of technological determinism in rural water supply: A case study from Bihar, India

With the politics of the environment so fundamental to the development process in rural India, this paper analyses the relations between water discourses and drinking water technology. First, the national discourses of water are analysed using key policy and populist documents. Second, the paper presents ethnographic fieldwork studying the politics of drinking water in rural Bihar, where the relative merits of borehole handpumps and open wells are contested. The links between the national discourses and local contestation over appropriate technology are examined. The paper argues both policy and traditionalist perspectives are too technologically deterministic to adequately account for the myriad challenges of delivering rural water supply. The emphasis on technology, rather than service levels, creates the conditions in which capability traps emerge in terms of service provision. This is not only in terms of monitoring regimes but in the very practices of rural actors who use certain water supply technologies under an illusion of safety. With a focus on furthering the policy debate, the paper considers ways forward and suggests that a move from a binary understanding of access to a holistic measure of service levels will reduce the potential for political contestation and capability traps in rural water supply

The political economy of global environmental governance

This article develops a political economy account of global environmental governance to improve upon our understanding of the contemporary conduct of environmental politics and to clarify thinking about the potential for, and barriers to, effective environmental reform. By elaborating the key contours of a political economy account on the one hand and opening up to critical enquiry prevailing understandings of what is meant by ‘global’ ‘environmental’ and ‘governance’ on the other, such an approach is able to enhance our understanding of the practice of environmental governance by emphasising historical, material and political elements of its (re) constitution and evolution