Questioning impact: interconnection between extra-organizational resources and agency of equality and diversity officers

This paper examines the change agency of equality and diversity (E&D) officers with a specific emphasis on the role of extra-organizational influences and resources. The paper is informed by qualitative material collected through interviews with E&D officers from 20 higher education institutions in the UK. The paper offers an evidence-based analysis of the utility of extra-organizational mechanisms and intervention programmes for organizational E&D agenda and for the agentic influence of E&D officers. The paper contributes to both academic literature and policy-making. We present original empirical insights into the change agency of E&D officers by exploring the impact of extra-organizational bodies as potential mechanisms for support and influence. At the policy level, the paper provides evidence on the value of extra-organizational resources and tools that are produced by policy bodies in promoting progressive E&D agendas in organizations

Involving, Countering and Overlooking Stakeholder Networks in Soft Regulation: Case study of a SME’s implementation of SA8000

To achieve effective stakeholder governance in the context of international social accountability certification (SA8000) requires constructing a network of agreement. In a case study of a small-to-medium-sized enterprise (SME), we examine managers’ attempts at enrolling participants in the supply chain to investigate how they strive to engage these stakeholders. We adopt actor-network theory (ANT) and sensemaking theory to develop a novel approach to understanding social accountability (SA) standards’ certification in stakeholder networks. We argue that the design and operation of any SA standard across a network requires not only attempts at enrolling other participants in the supply chain but management contextualizing and problematizing the terms of their involvement.acceptedVersio

Shovels and Swords: How realistic and fantastical themes affect children's word learning

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Research has shown that storybooks and play sessions help preschool children learn vocabulary, thereby benefiting their language and school readiness skills. But the kind of content that leads to optimal vocabulary learning – realistic or fantastical – remains largely unexplored. We investigate this issue as part of a large-scale study of vocabulary learning in low-income classrooms. Preschoolers (N = 154) learned 20 new words over the course of a two-week intervention. These words were taught using either realistic (e.g., farms) or fantastical (e.g., dragons) storybooks and toys. Children learned the new words in both conditions, and their comprehension knowledge did not differ across conditions. However, children who engaged in stories and play with a fantastical theme showed significantly greater gains in their production knowledge. Reasons for and implications of this result are discussed

Cosmopolitanism and transnational elite entrepreneurial practices: manifesting the cosmopolitan disposition in a cosmopolitan city

Purpose The paper aims to focus on the role that cosmopolitanism and, in particular, “the cosmopolitan disposition” (Woodward et al., 2008) plays in the process of entrepreneurial business by transnational business elites in Dubai. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a relational perspective based on Bourdieu and Wacquant’s (1992) Reflexive Sociology, as well as an inductive design, the authors conducted 30 semi-structured interviews focusing on both expatriates and Emiratis (locals/nationals) who displayed key features of a transnational business elite. Findings The findings indicate that the cosmopolitan disposition is an asset for transnational business elites when they venture in the context of Dubai. Research limitations/implications The findings would have to be further replicated in similar contexts, i.e. other major cities displaying similar cosmopolitan features with Dubai. A theoretical framework that calls for further study of transnational entrepreneurship via the lens of cosmopolitan disposition and Bourdieuan “habitus” is proposed. Practical implications The research outlines cosmopolitan skills for a transnational business elite which are required when entrepreneurial ventures are developed in the context of a city like Dubai. Social implications Cosmopolitanism and transnational entrepreneurship change cities like Dubai around the world constantly. Therefore, this study aims at achieving a better understanding of these changes and the ways in which they occur. Originality/value Studies on transnational entrepreneurship have already adopted Bourdieu’s theory (1977/1986), but this is the first time the cosmopolitan perspective and disposition is researched using this approach

Challenging the assumptions of social entrepreneurship education and repositioning it for the future: wonders of cultural, social, symbolic and economic capitals

Purpose: Social entrepreneurship education (SEE) is gaining increasing attention globally. This paper aims to focus on how SEE may be better understood and reconfigured from a Bourdieusian capital perspective with an emphasis on the process of mobilising and transforming social entrepreneurs’ cultural, social, economic and symbolic resources. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on qualitative research with a sample of social entrepreneurship educators and mentors, the authors generate insights into the significance of challenging assumptions and establishing values and principles and hence that of developing a range of capitals (using the Bourdieusian notion of capital) for SEE. Findings: The findings highlight the significance of developing a range of capitals and their transformative power for SEE. In this way, learners can develop dispositions for certain forms of capitals over others and transform them to each other in becoming reflexive social agents. Originality/value: The authors respond to the calls for critical thinking in entrepreneurship education and contribute to the field by developing a reflexive approach to SEE. The authors also make recommendations to educators, who are tasked with implementing such an approach in pursuit of raising the next generations of social entrepreneurs.Higher Education Entrepreneurship Group of SEEDA (South East England Development Agency)

Citizen Science Case Studies and Their Impacts on Social Innovation

Social innovation brings social change and aims to address societal challenges and social needs in a novel way. We therefore consider citizen science as both (1) social innovation in research and (2) an innovative way to develop and foster social innovation. In this chapter, we discuss how citizen science contributes to society’s goals and the development of social innovation, and we conceptualise citizen science as a process that creates social innovation. We argue that both citizen science and social innovation can be analysed using three dimensions – content, process, and empowerment (impact). Using these three dimensions as a framework for our analysis, we present five citizen science cases to demonstrate how citizen science leads to social innovation. As a result of our case study analysis, we identify the major challenges for citizen science in stimulating social innovation

HLA class II DNA typing in a large series of European patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: correlations with clinical and autoantibody subsets

We conducted this study to determine the HLA class II allele associations in a large cohort of patients of homogeneous ethnic derivation with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The large sample size allowed us to stratify patients according to their clinical and serologic characteristics. We studied 577 European Caucasian patients with SLE. Antinuclear antibodies (Hep-2 cells), anti-dsDNA antibodies (Crithidia luciliae), and antibodies to extractable nuclear antigens Ro (SS-A), La (SS-B), U1-RNP, Sm, Jo1, SCL70, and PCNA, were detected in all patients. Molecular typing of HLA-DRB1, DRB3, DQA1, and DQB1 loci was performed by the polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific oligonucleotide probes (PCR-SSOP) method. We found a significantly increased frequency of DRB1*03, DRB1*15, DRB1*16, DQA1*0102, DQB1*0502, DQB1*0602, DQB1*0201, DQB1*0303, and DQB1*0304 in lupus patients as compared with healthy controls. In addition, DRB1*03 was associated with anti-Ro, anti-La, pleuritis, and involvement of lung, kidney, and central nervous system. DRB1*15 and DQB1*0602 were associated with anti-dsDNA antibodies; DQB1*0201 with anti-Ro and anti-La, leukopenia, digital skin vasculitis, and pleuritis; and DQB1*0502 was associated with anti-Ro, renal involvement, discoid lupus, and livedo reticularis. In conclusion, our study shows some new HLA clinical and serologic associations in SLE and further confirms that the role of MHC genes is mainly to predispose to particular serologic and clinical manifestations of this disease