The role of social media in empowering the involvement of women in information technology workforce in Iraq

The underrepresentation of the women workforce in the field of Information Technology (IT) in Iraq has been closely observed over the last few years. One of the facts is that social media have been widely and intensively used in Iraq, which is an effective way to empower women in the IT workforce. This study aimed to investigate women's awareness of using social media to get empowered in the IT workforce as well as the role of the social media in women empowerment in this sector. In order to achieve the objectives of this research and based on the theory of cyberfeminism, the current study conducted a survey amongst the female students of the University of Baghdad - College of Education Ibn al-Haytham and tried to find out how the use of social media is contributing to the growth of women participation in the IT workforce. For this purpose a sample of 162 female students was taken from this college. The quantitative method was used to collect data for this study. The findings in this study revealed there was a significant relationship between women's awareness and the encouragement of women in the IT workforce through the use of the social media. Besides, there was a significant relationship between the empowerment of women and the encouragement of women in the IT workforce through the use of the social media. Hence, women's awareness and empowerment of women through the social media encouraged the involvement of women in the IT workforce. In addition, this study recommends several suggestions for further research

Renegotiating the sexual self after an HIV-diagnosis: listening to white, European women

Research in the fields of HIV and female sexuality share a contentious past which centred on prevention and often vilified or victimised women. Psychological research, including that in Counselling Psychology (CoP), has proven more sensitive to women’s needs, yet continues to portray the sexual lives of HIV-positive women in a negative light. Despite adopting a philosophy of holism and valuing the creation of social environments that sustain mental well-being, CoP literature is relatively silent on the role of sexuality in women’s adaptation to HIV. This qualitative study explores how white, European women with HIV, who have historically been underrepresented in HIV literature, renegotiate their sexual subjectivity, a concept that has been implicated in women’s healthy psychological development (Tolman, 2002). Data was analysed using The Listening Guide (Gilligan, 1982; Beauboeuf, 2007), a feminist research tool that focuses on voice to investigate social discourses and individual meaning-making in narrative data. Results present six co-occurring voices which describe participants’ relationship to Self, HIV and Other. They speak of the continued, significant psychological impact of an HIV-diagnosis, despite advances in medication, which precipitates multiple psychosocial crises related to identity, intimacy and meaning in life. The voice of distress confirms previous research on HIV-trauma and also highlights women’s early vulnerability to infection. The voices of resistance, sexual knowing, empowerment, and the generative voice, demonstrate how sexuality is not always a stumbling block to adaptation but can also enable personal growth and psychological healing. The dignified voice speaks of participants’ acceptance of the challenges borne of HIV and their ability to preserve the dignity of their lives’ circumstances. Clinical implications are discussed in light of counselling psychology’s multidisciplinary approach, spanning areas of HIV prevention, social change and individual and group therapy with women living with HIV

The drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility in the supply chain. A case study.

Purpose: The paper studies the way in which a SME integrates CSR into its corporate strategy, the practices it puts in place and how its CSR strategies reflect on its suppliers and customers relations. Methodology/Research limitations: A qualitative case study methodology is used. The use of a single case study limits the generalizing capacity of these findings. Findings: The entrepreneur’s ethical beliefs and value system play a fundamental role in shaping sustainable corporate strategy. Furthermore, the type of competitive strategy selected based on innovation, quality and responsibility clearly emerges both in terms of well defined management procedures and supply chain relations as a whole aimed at involving partners in the process of sustainable innovation. Originality/value: The paper presents a SME that has devised an original innovative business model. The study pivots on the issues of innovation and eco-sustainability in a context of drivers for CRS and business ethics. These values are considered fundamental at International level; the United Nations has declared 2011 the “International Year of Forestry”

Proceedings of the 11th Toulon-Verona International Conference on Quality in Services

The Toulon-Verona Conference was founded in 1998 by prof. Claudio Baccarani of the University of Verona, Italy, and prof. Michel Weill of the University of Toulon, France. It has been organized each year in a different place in Europe in cooperation with a host university (Toulon 1998, Verona 1999, Derby 2000, Mons 2001, Lisbon 2002, Oviedo 2003, Toulon 2004, Palermo 2005, Paisley 2006, Thessaloniki 2007, Florence, 2008). Originally focusing on higher education institutions, the research themes have over the years been extended to the health sector, local government, tourism, logistics, banking services. Around a hundred delegates from about twenty different countries participate each year and nearly one thousand research papers have been published over the last ten years, making of the conference one of the major events in the field of quality in services

Needing permission : the experience of self-care and self-compassion in nursing

In the National Health Service (NHS) there appears to be a culture of substantial change, with many nurses highlighting the impact of this on their own wellbeing (BPS, 2014). Reports following negative healthcare experiences, such as those reported at Mid Staffordshire (Francis, 2013), led to a number of initiatives emphasising the importance of nurses delivering compassionate care. However, there is a dearth of literature focusing on how nurses care for themselves as they try to provide compassionate care in a challenging job within a climate of constant change. The literature places a focus on the more negative aspects associated with providing care such as compassion fatigue, burnout and vicarious traumatisation, rather than on nurse’s ability to look after themselves through self-care and self-compassion. The purpose of this study is to focus on experiences of self-care and self-compassion in nursing and how these experiences may relate to compassionate care giving. Constructivist Grounded Theory was used, and purposive and theoretical sampling were utilised to recruit nurses working within two NHS Trusts in the UK. Semi structured interviews were undertaken with 30 nurses from general, mental health and learning disabilities and at different levels of seniority. Data analysis was conducted in line with the Constructivist Grounded Theory approach as suggested by Charmaz (2014) and resulted in the emergence and construction of three concepts: 1) ‘Hardwired to be caregivers’ – vocation versus role 2) Needing a stable base and; 3) Managing the emotions of caring. All three concepts were then linked with a core process: needing permission to self-care and be self-compassionate. Nurses needed permission from others and from themselves in order to be self-caring and self-compassionate. An inability to do this appeared to impact upon their own wellbeing and compassionate care giving to others. Nurses in this study described how they struggled particularly with self-compassion. Helping nurses to be proactively more self-caring and self-compassionate may increase their ability to manage emotions and prevent some of the more negative consequences of nursing such as burnout and compassion fatigue. Participants identified that if they had formal permission (e.g. within nursing guidance) to look after themselves then they would be more likely to engage in it and benefit from self-care and self-compassion. Future research within this field is recommended in order to gain an understanding of the effects of self-care and self-compassion initiatives