Contradictions in social enterprise: do they draw in straight lines or circles?

This paper provides a critical perspective on the discourse surrounding the concept of social enterprise. The paper shifts the lens away from numbers to consider how actors see themselves as social enterprises. The authors make sense of the foundations upon which the concept of social enterprise and entrepreneurship is ‘drawn’ – quite literally – by considering linear models and diagrams that analyse social enterprise on a continuum between non-profit (mission) and profit (market) orientation. A great deal has been made of the success and growth of social enterprise. The imagery in the literature reflects an emphasis on growth resulting from ‘the rising tide of commercialisation of non-profit organisations’ (Dees, 1998) with the result that the CBI now includes over 50,000 organisations in a social enterprise sector (SBS, 2005). Despite reports of rapid growth, there is awareness that ‘take-up of social enterprise model … is patchy and fails to reflect the enthusiasm with which it is discussed’ (Stevenson in Westall &amp; Chalkley 2007). We ask why? A methodological approach involving visual drawings by actors reveals stories and sensemaking experiences of social enterprises. Open conversations enabled the researchers to gain deep insights that would not have been as insightful through a quantitative approach. The key findings suggest: Firstly, participants report tensions when pursuing social and economic goals simultaneously. Secondly, whilst some welcome opportunities that are emerging, others perceive substantive threats to the third sector. Thirdly, Social enterprise emerges as a diverse and heterogeneous movement located at the boundaries of public, private and voluntary sectors. At each boundary, different constitutional forms and practices are seen. In conclusion, it is argued that the linear perspective itself gives the impression that there is a ‘patchy’ take up of social enterprise. A heterogeneous perspective reveals that theory and policy development is patchy, rather than social enterprise practices. The unique contribution this research paper offers is within the depth of enquiry and insight into the actual practices provided from those within the field. The critical perspective is taken from the literature and discussed in the settings of the actors in the field which provides practitioners, business support agencies and academics with a different level of empirical investigation that captures an originality and narrative that has barely been explored before.</p

Seeing social enterprise through the theoretical conceptualisation of ethical capital

Objectives: Current conceptualisations of social enterprise fail to fully satisfy an understanding of the movement. A focus on the economic implies a business model where deep tensions lie. A focus on social capital offers a different frame of reference, yet both these conceptualisations fail to fully identify the phenomena that is social enterprise. The objective of this paper seeks to fill that gap. Ethical capital is offered here as the missing conceptualisation in the field of social enterprise. Prior work: Pearce (2003) describes social enterprises as part of the third system, closer to the first system (private business), than the second system (public provision), yet primarily social and secondly a business. Social Enterprises are described as trading organisations in a market (Pearce 2003). A focus and operationalisation for social enterprises to be ‘business-like’ and ‘entrepreneurial’ is well documented (Leadbeater 1997; Dees 1998; Nicholls 2006b). Approach: Yet, if as part of the third sector, social enterprises are as Dart (2004) suggests; ‘blurring the boundaries between non-profit and profit’, but what blurs? What is compromised? What exactly is lost (or gained)? What challenges are there for social enterprises? And is a managerialist ideology taking precedence over the social? This paper provides a conceptual paper that seeks to outline the arguments on the table and develop an ethical capital conceptualisation of social enterprise. Results: This paper very much aims at starting the process of intellectual debate about the notion of ethical capital in social enterprises. The conclusions of this paper outline further research questions that need to be addressed in order to fully develop this concept. Implications: The current ideology of the neo-classical economic paradigm it is argued in the paper pursues interests towards the self and towards the erosion of the moral basis of association. The outcome leaves society with a problem of low ethical virtue - the implications of this paper are that social enterprises maximise ethical virtue beyond any other form of organisation and as such hold great value beyond their missions and values. Value: This paper offers great value in the understanding of social enterprise through fresh insight into the conceptualisation. A critical perspective to the current literature is taken and discussed but though the introduction of ethical capital this paper takes our understanding of the value of the sector into another light, providing practitioners, business support agencies and academics alike with a different level of conceptualisation that has not been explored before.</p

Particle distributions in approximately 10(14) 10(16) eV air shower cores at sea level

Experimental evidence is reported for fixed distances (0, 1.0, 2.5 and 4.0 m) from the shower centers and for core flattening. The cores become flatter, on average, as the shower size (primary energy) increases. With improved statistics on 4192 cores, the previous results are exactly confirmed

The Invincible (1758) site: an integrated geophysical assessment

Chirp sub-bottom profiler and repeat sidescan sonar imaging of the Invincible wreck site (1758) in the Solent (U.K.), interpretation, and implications for management of the site

Virtual image out-the-window display system study. Volume 2 - Appendix

Virtual image out-the-window display system imaging techniques and simulation devices - appendices containing background materia

Progress report on a new search for free e/3 quarks in the cores of 10(15) - 10(16) eV air showers

The Leeds 3 sq m Wilson cloud chamber is being used in a new search for free e/3 quarks close to the axes of 10 to the 15th power - 10 to the 16th power eV air showers. A ratio trigger circuit is used to detect the incidence of air shower cores; the position of the shower center and the axis direction are determined from photographs of current-limited spark chambers. It is thus possible, for the first time, to know where we have looked for quarks in air showers and to select for scanning only those cloud chamber photographs where we have good evidence that the shower axis was close to the chamber. 250 g/sq cm of lead/concrete absorber above the cloud chamber serve to reduce particle densities and make a quark search possible very close to the shower axes. The current status of the search is given

Genomic variations associated with attenuation in Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis vaccine strains

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) whole cell vaccines have been widely used tools in the control of Johne's disease in animals despite being unable to provide complete protection. Current vaccine strains derive from stocks created many decades ago; however their genotypes, underlying mechanisms and relative degree of their attenuation are largely unknown. RESULTS: Using mouse virulence studies we confirm that MAP vaccine strains 316 F, II and 2e have diverse but clearly attenuated survival and persistence characteristics compared with wild type strains. Using a pan genomic microarray we characterise the genomic variations in a panel of vaccine strains sourced from stocks spanning over 40 years of maintenance. We describe multiple genomic variations specific for individual vaccine stocks in both deletion (26-32 Kbp) and tandem duplicated (11-40 Kbp) large variable genomic islands and insertion sequence copy numbers. We show individual differences suitable for diagnostic differentiation between vaccine and wild type genotypes and provide evidence for functionality of some of the deleted MAP-specific genes and their possible relation to attenuation. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows how culture environments have influenced MAP genome diversity resulting in large tandem genomic duplications, deletions and transposable element activity. In combination with classical selective systematic subculture this has led to fixation of specific MAP genomic alterations in some vaccine strain lineages which link the resulting attenuated phenotypes with deficiencies in high reactive oxygen species handling

A free account or not? Its effect upon information yield in strategic interviews with suspects

Asking suspects for a free account (FA) at the start of an interview is considered good practice in a growing number of police organisations, whereas in others it still is not commonplace. This study explored whether interviews with or without such an invitation yielded more information from guilty suspects. Students in safety and security committed a mock crime and were then interviewed using a strategy of gradual disclosure of evidence, in the experimental condition preceded with an FA invitation (n = 20) and without such an invitation in the control condition (n = 17). On average, relatively little information was collected in the FA phase and far more in the subsequent gradual disclosure phase. However, the FA condition yielded seven confessions, four of which were given already in the FA phase. The No FA condition yielded only two confessions. Other differences in yield were not found. These findings indicate that an FA invitation could lead to some relevant and important information, such as a confession, being gathered already at an early stage of an interview, and that such an invitation does not hamper the gathering of further information later in the interview