Small business transition towards degrowth

This work focuses on the relationship between small firms and degrowth. It aims to contribute to the understanding of what production by small firms should entail for a degrowth society and economy to be possible. It is proposed that for small firms to transition towards degrowth and consequently become part thereof, small firms should become degrowth businesses. This work proposes a framework of degrowth business informed by empirical insights derived from seven cases of small firms in England. The study claims that while small firms may indeed be suitable for degrowth, this entails transformation of their business on multiple levels, including worldviews of individuals involved. Moreover, it is claimed that in transition towards degrowth, small firms are likely to face barriers. It is concluded that to transition towards degrowth, transformation of small firms into degrowth businesses is not sufficient. For degrowth society and economy to be possible, these efforts must be supplemented by a larger societal transformation involving multiple agents and structures. This work’s contribution is theoretical in terms of advancing understanding of degrowth business and production by firms for degrowth, and practical since the framework developed aims to be useful for firms, policy-makers and in education.Internal funding (University of Derby): fees-only bursar

Supporting Universities and Employers to Measure the Value of Postgraduate Placements

A 'Return on Investment' toolkit for HEI's to identify and quantify the benefits to employers of investing in postgraduate education. This was one of two toolkits funded by HEFCE under the Postgraduate Support Scheme.HEFC

Less and more:Conceptualising degrowth transformations

Publisher Copyright: © 2022While the notion of degrowth has gained traction in recent times, scholarship on degrowth transformations has yet to provide a conceptualisation that captures key attributes of what such transformations entail: (1) the reduction of some items and the expansion of others and (2) profound changes in various dimensions of social being, including in how humans interact with nature, non-humans, and one another, changes in social structures and changes in how we are as human beings. The present paper develops a comprehensive and non-reductionist conceptualisation of degrowth, understanding it to involve deep transformations on four interrelated planes of social being: material transactions with nature, social interactions between persons, social structure, and people's inner being. On each plane, these transformations consist in reducing, and ultimately absenting, some currently existing items while expanding others. The paper considers the implications of the conceptualisation for degrowth practice and theorising,focusing on top-down eco-social policies, bottom-up initiatives and self-transformation. It is found that degrowth would benefit from considering more seriously the effects of policies and initiatives across all four planes and from acknowledging diversity on each plane. Moreover, it is concluded that more attention should be paid to the plane of peoples' inner being.Peer reviewe

Postgraduate Programmes as a Development Option for Organisations

The ‘Employee as Student’ Toolkit supports higher education institutions (HEIs) to measure and demonstrate the value of postgraduate programmes when used as a development option by organisations. One of two evaluation toolkits funded by the HEFCE Postgraduate Support SchemeHEFC

COVID-19 and androgenic status: testosterone or dihydrotestosterone have a pivotal role?

The aim of our study is analysis of the androgenic status including testosterone (T) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in men hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and them relationship with the course of the disease. This is a monocentric prospective study performed on 125 male patients hospitalized for COVID-19. We conducted hematological examination, blood biochemical profile, hemostasis analysis and hormonal examination (T and DHT levels) lung and chest computed tomography and also assessed outcomes of hospitalization. Low DHT serum level was found only in 18 patients (14.4%). Subjects with low DHT were significantly older compare to subjects with normal DHT. At the same time in patients with normal DHT white blood cells (WBC) count, neutrophils at admission were higher than in patients with low DHT. No correlation was observed between T and DHT serum blood levels. C-reactive protein (CRP) has a weak positive correlation of DHT serum blood concentration (r = 0.22; p = 0.016). The inverse pattern was obtained for T serum blood concentration (r = −0.285; p = 0.001). After divided all males according to T concentrations we conducted next correlation analysis for DHT and CRP in two different groups: with normal T levels and with low T levels. We found that in males with normal T DHT levels are not correlated with CRP (r = 0.095; p = 0.462). However, in males with low T DHT and CRP had weak positive correlation with r = 0.317 (p = 0.012). Higher DHT concentrations are associated with higher CRP levels, however correlation is weak and in patients with normal T is absent, that may indicate anti-inflammatory effect of T and possible proinflammatory effect of DHT

Responsibilities towards places in a degrowth society: how firms can become more responsible via embracing deep ecology

This article contemplates and proposes responsibilities towards places. Such responsibilities cannot be reduced to a mere sum of responsibilities towards humans and nature. Rather, they form a pathway to think about humans, non-humans, and nature in a way that brings to the surface their deep and place-based inter-connection. Coming from the perspective that a degrowth society is desirable, the article aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on degrowth transformations. To understand deeper how responsibilities towards places can be enacted, I rely on the philosophy of deep ecology and suggest that each firm can develop and manifest in its practices its own ecosophy. I conclude that contemplating responsibilities towards places can be a space where degrowth scholars and scholars of corporate social responsibility can meet in a mutually enriching dialogue.Peer reviewe

Degrowth Perspective for Sustainability in Built Environments

Degrowth, as a social movement, a political project, and an academic paradigm, aims tofind ways that can lead to harmonious co-existence between humanity and nature, between humansand non-humans, and within humanity, including oneself. Seen through the lens of degrowth,everything becomes subject to reflection, critique, re-evaluation, and re-imagining. This concernsenvironments created by humans in a long process of interaction with nature, i.e., built environments.Built environments are always in becoming. This entry contemplates the implications of degrowthfor intentionally directing this becoming towards genuine sustainability

Small business transition towards degrowth

This work focuses on the relationship between small firms and degrowth. It aims to contribute to the understanding of what production by small firms should entail for a degrowth society and economy to be possible. It is proposed that for small firms to transition towards degrowth and consequently become part thereof, small firms should become degrowth businesses. This work proposes a framework of degrowth business informed by empirical insights derived from seven cases of small firms in England. The study claims that while small firms may indeed be suitable for degrowth, this entails transformation of their business on multiple levels, including worldviews of individuals involved. Moreover, it is claimed that in transition towards degrowth, small firms are likely to face barriers. It is concluded that to transition towards degrowth, transformation of small firms into degrowth businesses is not sufficient. For degrowth society and economy to be possible, these efforts must be supplemented by a larger societal transformation involving multiple agents and structures. This work’s contribution is theoretical in terms of advancing understanding of degrowth business and production by firms for degrowth, and practical since the framework developed aims to be useful for firms, policy-makers and in education.ISBN saknas / ISBN missing</p

Addressing the obscurity of change in values in degrowth business

This paper takes the recent degrowth business framework as a starting point and looks deeper into one particular part of it, the change in values. It has been claimed that the agential level (i.e., that of individuals) and associated with it change in values is what underpins the remaining elements of the degrowth business framework, i.e., that change in values gives rise to degrowth compatible practices, principles, and operations. This is because, according to critical realism, individual humans are where agency resides. Considering that an immense hope is placed into the agents, the change in values needs to receive substantially more attention. As it stands, currently this category is underexplored and remains obscure on its own and in relation to degrowth business specifically. This paper attempts to address this obscurity and shed light on change in values of agents, while adopting the same philosophy of critical realism which underlaboured the construction of the degrowth business framework itself and supplementing it with the insights from the philosophy of existentialism which allows us to structure human existence and change in values specifically around three defined aspects of our being in the world