Gender identity inclusion in the workplace: broadening diversity management research and practice through the case of transgender employees in the UK

Based on 14 in-depth interviews, this paper explores the unique workplace experiences of transgender individuals in the UK employment context. The paper identifies gender identity diversity as a key blind spot in HRM and diversity management research and practice. The findings reveal the range of workplace challenges experienced by transgender employees. Major findings are that discriminatory effects are often occupation- and industry-specific; transition is a period where many transgender workers suffer due to lack of proper organisational support; and expertise deficits exist in supporting and accommodating transgender employees’ needs. In unpacking these experiences, the paper demonstrates the distinctive dimensions of challenges faced by transgender employees, revealing the need for conceptually expanding how we frame diversity and diversity management. Our findings identify the necessity for an emic approach not only to researching diversity but also to devising organisational diversity strategies. The paper provides recommendations for HRM policy and practice in order to develop a more sophisticated approach to achieving inclusion

Spatial variability of precipitation regimes over Turkey

Turkish annual precipitation regimes are analysed to provide large-scale perspective and redefine precipitation regions. Monthly total precipitation data are employed for 107 stations (1963–2002). Precipitation regime shape (seasonality) and magnitude (size) are classified using a novel multivariate methodology. Six shape and five magnitude classes are identified, which exhibit clear spatial structure. A composite (shape and magnitude) regime classification reveals dominant controls on spatial variability of precipitation. Intra-annual timing and magnitude of precipitation is highly variable due to seasonal shifts in Polar and Subtropical zones and physiographic factors. Nonetheless, the classification methodology is shown to be a powerful tool that identifies physically-interpretable precipitation regions: (1) coastal regimes for Marmara, coastal Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Sea; (2) transitional regimes in continental Aegean and Southeast Anatolia; and (3) inland regimes across central and Eastern Anatolia. This research has practical implications for understanding water resources, which are under ever growing pressure in Turkey

New Statistical downscaling methods and applications for Turkey

Hava ve iklim süreçlerinin yeryüzündeki yaşam üzerinde hayati etkileri vardır. İklim değişkenliği ve değişiminin anlaşılabilmesi, bölgesel ve yerel iklim tanılarının geliştirilmesi, iklim çalışmalarının temel konularından biridir. İklim etkilerini araştıranlar genelde iklim değişiminin ve değişkenliğinin geçmişi, bugünü ve geleceği hakkında detaylı ve doğru bilgilere gereksinim duyarlar. İklim değişimi ve değişkenliği konusunda önemli ve temel araçlar genel dolaşım modelleridir (GDM). Ne yazık ki kaba sayısal çözünürlük üzerinde çalıştırılan GDM’ler yerel iklim değişimi ve değişkenliği hakkında doğru bilgi veremezler. Bu bağlamda, GDM’lerin kısıtlarından dolayı “ölçek küçültme” stratejilerinin geliştirilmesine gerek vardır. İklim araştırma ve etkilerinin arasındaki farklı ölçekler; “ölçek küçültme” ve “ölçek büyültme” yaklaşımları ile birbirine bağlanabilir. Bu çalışma, yeni ölçek küçültme yöntemlerini geliştirme ve Türkiye üzerine uygulanması konusunda ilk ve tek araştırmadır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Bölgesel, genel dolaşım modeli, iklim etki, ölçek küçültme, Türkiye, yinelemeli yapay sinir ağları.Weather and climate have a profound influence on life on earth. Understanding climate variability and climate change reveals the increasing need for improving regional and local-scale climate diagnosis which is one of the main goals of climate research. The climate impact researches usually require accurate and detailed climate information on yesterday, present, and tomorrow with high resolution space scale. The main and important tools of studying climate are general circulation models (GCMs). Unfortunately, GCMs running on coarse resolution may not be able to detect the local scale climate variability. The spatial-scale mismatch between climate research and climate impact studies has to be bridged by ?downscaling? on the side of the climate research and ?upscaling? on the side of the climate impact research. This study is the first research of developing downscaling strategies over Turkey. Two new downscaling strategies for climate diagnosis are developed in this study. The proposed methods are based on artificial recurrent neural networks (RNN) and multivariate statistical techniques that derive transfer functions from the large-scale free troposphere variables of which are assumed to govern the local climate over Turkey. This study presents two new approaches for downscaling monthly near-surface air temperature and total precipitation for Turkey stations by surface large-scale pressure systems and upper air circulations derived from National Centers for Environmental Prediction- National Center of Atmospheric Research (NCEP-NCAR) Reanalysis data sets. Keywords: Regional, general circulation model, climate impact, downscaling, Turkey, artificial recurrent neural networks

Curative resection of a primarily unresectable acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas after chemotherapy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Acinar cell carcinoma (ACC) represents only 1–2% of pancreatic cancers and is a very rare malignancy. At the time of diagnosis only 50% of the tumors appear to be resectable. Reliable data for an effective adjuvant or neoadjuvant treatment are not available.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 65-year old male presented with obstructive jaundice and non-specific upper abdominal pain. MRI-imaging showed a tumor within the head of the pancreas concomitant with Serum-Lipase and CA19-9. During ERCP, a stent was placed. Endosonographic fine needle biopsy confirmed an acinar cell carcinoma. Laparotomy presented an locally advanced tumor with venous infiltration that was consequently deemed unresectable. The patient was treated with five cycles of 5-FU monotherapy with palliative intention. Chemotherapy was well tolerated, and no severe complications were observed. Twelve months later, the patient was in stable condition, and CT-scanning showed an obvious reduction in the size of the tumor. During further operative exploration, a PPPD with resection of the portal vein was performed. Histopathological examination gave evidence of a diffuse necrotic ACC-tumor, all resection margins were found to be negative. Eighteen months later, the patient showed no signs of recurrent disease.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>ACC responded well to 5-FU monochemotherapy. Therefore, neoadjuvant chemotherapy could be an option to reduce a primarily unresectable ACC to a point where curative resection can be achieved.</p

Gender Equality and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Middle East

This chapter focuses on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in relation to gender equality in the Arab Middle East. It examines the relationship between CSR and gender in the workplace whilst exploring the link between CSR and human resource management (HRM) policies and practices. The chapter first presents some seminal work on gender equality and diversity management, looking at the business case for gender equality within the CSR and HRM contexts, before engaging with relevant work on gender equality in the Arab Middle East. It concludes by offering recommendations on advancing the equality agenda at the macro- and meso-levels, within a framework which recognises the centrality of agency of women, as well as the potential of positive changes through corporations being seen as ‘agents of change’. The chapter advocates for organisational and governmental policies to promote gender equality in the Arab Middle East

Universities’ pursuit of inclusion and its effects on professional staff: the case of the United Kingdom

This paper explores the proliferation of non-academic professionals as a cultural response to universities’ mission of inclusion. Departing from a neo-institutionalist perspective, the author argues that the diffusion of highly rationalised models of institutional action shapes universities as formal organisations who engage with new levels of professional expertise in the pursuit of goals and missions. The United Kingdom (UK) offers an illustrative example, the emergence of statutory equality duties on public institutions (race equality duty 2001, disability equality duty 2006 and gender equality duty 2007) nurturing an image of universities as strategic for the pursuit of demographic inclusion. Using yearly longitudinal data on 109 UK universities from 2003 to 2011, the author shows that universities increase their professional staff in catering for demographic inclusion in terms of ethnicity and disability, revealing highly rationalised institutional responses to the aforementioned equality duties. The findings contribute to the neo-institutionalist literature drawing attention to the transformation of universities into organisational actors (i.e. highly integrated entities, strategically oriented towards the pursuit of formally articulated goals and targets), which contrasts with traditional conceptions of the university as an institution with a taken-for-granted societal role and loosely defined organisational backbone. The findings provide the impetuous for further empirical research into the role of professional staff as universities assimilate new goals and missions

Stories from the field:Women's networking as gender capital in entrepreneurial ecosystems

Women are underrepresented in successful entrepreneurial ecosystems and the creation of women-only entrepreneurial networks has been a widespread policy response. We examine the entrepreneurial ecosystem construct and suggest that it, and the role networks play in entrepreneurial ecosystems, can be analysed in terms of Bourdieu's socio-analysis as field, habitus and capital. Specifically, we develop the notion of gender capital as the skill set associated with femininity or from simply being recognized as feminine. We apply this to the development of women's entrepreneurial networks as a gender capital enhancing initiative. Using data from qualitative interviews with network coordinators and women entrepreneurs we reflect on the extent to which formally established women-only networks generate gender capital for their members and improve their ability to participate in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The paper concludes by drawing out the implications of our analysis for theory, entrepreneurial practice and economic development policy

Antecedents and Outcomes of Managing Diversity in a UK Context: Test of a Mediation Model

Extant research on diversity management has primarily examined the main effects of diversity management practices on outcomes from an organizational perspective. Meta-analysis in this field corroborates the conclusion that this approach is unable to account for the outcomes of diversity management effectively. The current study extends the literature by examining organizational antecedents of diversity management practices (DMP). This study also examines the mediating influences of perception of overall justice (POJ) and social exchange with organization (SEWO) on the relationships between DMP and work outcomes of career satisfaction and turnover intention. Results of data obtained from a cross section of 191 minority employees in UK revealed: (i) the reasons why organisations adopted and implemented DMP influenced employees’ outcomes of turnover intention and career satisfaction; (ii) the relationship between diversity management and social exchange with organization is mediated by perception of overall justice; (iii) social exchange with organization relates to increased career satisfaction; and (iv) DMP related positively to career satisfaction through perception of overall justice and SEWO