Introducing social and sustainable enterprise: changing the nature of business

This chapter introduces the volume, Social and Sustainable Enterprise: Changing the Nature of Business, which is edited by Sarah Underwood, Richard Blundel, Fergus Lyon and Anja Schaefer. The book draws together contemporary research contributions that seek to critically explore a range of issues in the specific context of social enterprise, sustainable entrepreneurship and social responsibility. Collectively, the chapters in this volume consider the challenges facing social enterprises globally, their environmental impact and the difficulties for policy makers in their efforts to tackle complex international environmental problems. The volume contributors draw on a range of research themes, methodological approaches and international contexts to enhance our understanding of the meaning, critical nature and value of social and sustainable enterprise development. Thus, this volume speaks directly to the core objectives of this book series by providing an opportunity for the ISBE [Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship] community of interest to challenge current thinking and create a research agenda for future inquiry

Case Studies of the Attainment of Insight in Dream Sessions: Replication and Extension

To replicate and extend the Hill, Knox, et al. (2007) case study of a client who attained insight in one session of dream work, the authors examined two additional single-session cases: one in which a client gained insight and another in which a client did not. The observations across all three cases suggest that the two clients who acquired insight had positive attitudes toward dreams; were motivated and involved in session; and were nonresistant, trusting, and affectively present but not overwhelmed. The client who did not gain insight questioned the value of dreams and was resistant, untrusting, andf emotionally overwhelmed. Therapist adherence and competence using the dream model, ability to manage countertransference, and effective use of probes for insight distinguished the therapists whose clients gained insight from the therapist whose client did not

Learning in Online Continuing Professional Development: An Institutionalist View on the Personal Learning Environment

The nature of institutions is an important question for the Personal Learning Environment (PLE). Whilst the PLE has tended to focus on what is considered to be “non-institutional” technology like social software, most online tools today have a corporate/institutional foundation. How should educators position themselves with learners who have to negotiate different institutional and discursive contexts – whether within corporate social software, formal education, work or the family? Drawing on previous work focusing on how learners maintain personal coherence in organising learning between different contexts, institutional theory is used to revise the model of the learner as a ‘viable system’, which focuses on the dynamics of transactions that learners make with different institutional entities. Data from an online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course in acute cancer care is analysed to show how learner transactions indicate constraints bearing upon learners both from their professional context and from their formal educational study. The pattern of learner engagement suggests that the interaction of constraints creates the conditions to motivate in-depth contribution to the course forums.  This finding leads us to suggest a rethink of pedagogy within the PLE, and a broader consideration of institutional and other constraints in educational dynamics

A conspicuous clay ovoid in nakhla: Evidence for subsurface hydrothermal alteration on mars with implications for astrobiology

A conspicuous biomorphic ovoid structure has been discovered in the Nakhla martian meteorite, made of nanocrystalline iron-rich saponitic clay and amorphous material. The ovoid is indigenous to Nakhla and occurs within a late-formed amorphous mesostasis region of rhyolitic composition that is interstitial to two clinopyroxene grains with Al-rich rims, and contains acicular apatite crystals, olivine, sulfides, Ti-rich magnetite, and a new mineral of the rhoenite group. To infer the origin of the ovoid, a large set of analytical tools was employed, including scanning electron microscopy and backscattered electron imaging, wavelength-dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray mapping, Raman spectroscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis, high-resolution transmission electron microscope imaging, and atomic force microscope topographic mapping. The concentric wall of the ovoid surrounds an originally hollow volume and exhibits internal layering of contrasting nanotextures but uniform chemical composition, and likely inherited its overall shape from a preexisting vesicle in the mesostasis glass. A final fibrous layer of Fe-rich phases blankets the interior surfaces of the ovoid wall structure. There is evidence that the parent rock of Nakhla has undergone a shock event from a nearby bolide impact that melted the rims of pyroxene and the interstitial matter and initiated an igneous hydrothermal system of rapidly cooling fluids, which were progressively mixed with fluids from the melted permafrost. Sharp temperature gradients were responsible for the crystallization of Al-rich clinopyroxene rims, rhoenite, acicular apatites, and the quenching of the mesostasis glass and the vesicle. During the formation of the ovoid structure, episodic fluid infiltration events resulted in the precipitation of saponite rinds around the vesicle walls, altered pyrrhotite to marcasite, and then isolated the ovoid wall structure from the rest of the system by depositing a layer of iron oxides/hydroxides. Carbonates, halite, and sulfates were deposited last within interstitial spaces and along fractures. Among three plausible competing hypotheses here, this particular abiotic scenario is considered to be the most reasonable explanation for the formation of the ovoid structure in Nakhla, and although compelling evidence for a biotic origin is lacking, it is evident that the martian subsurface contains niche environments where life could develop. Key Words: Biomorph—Clays—Search for life (biosignatures)—Martian meteorites—Hydrothermal systems. Astrobiology 14, 651–693

Sounds Good To Me: How Communication Mode and Framing Affect Audit Quality

In the audit process, audit associates seek explanations from clients, follow-up to corroborate or refute these explanations, and document their findings. Throughout these interactions with the client, auditors must focus on the task at hand and maintain their professional skepticism. This paper examines whether (i) communication mode (face-to-face or email) and (ii) the frame of the client’s response (as explanation or fact) affect the ability of auditors to appropriately assess the quality of client communications and follow-up when necessary. We use professional auditors and conduct a 2x2 between-participants experiment. We find that auditors receiving a face-to-face response from the client that is framed as an ‘explanation’ assess the response as higher quality than auditors in the other three conditions. As a result, these auditors are less likely to follow-up with additional questions, likely impairing audit quality and increasing audit risk. We attribute the decrease in auditor performance to distractions causing the auditors to accept the client’s story at face value rather than applying appropriate skepticism. Our recommendations are that auditor associates (a) use email communication where feasible and (b) prime themselves to listen for ‘facts’ and ask the client to respond with ‘facts’ when face-to-face meetings are unavoidable or otherwise desirable

Severe Back Pain in a Young Patient with Pyoderma Gangrenosum and Crohn’s Disease Controlled with Anti-tumor Necrosis Factor Therapy: Sterile Osteomyelitis

INTRODUCTION: Inflammatory bowel disease has been associated with a number of cutaneous and systemic neutrophilic disorders, including pyoderma gangrenosum. In 1972, the term chronic multi-focal recurrent osteomyelitis was given to a sterile neutrophilic condition which has been associated with inflammatory bowel disease. CASE REPORT: We report a case of a 23-year-old man with long-standing severe Crohn’s disease which necessitated subtotal colectomy. He subsequently developed progressive, intermittent back pain that were limiting his functional movement. Numerous investigations to identify what initially was thought to be an infectious process failed to lead to the diagnosis. Biopsy of the spine identified a sterile neutrophilic infiltrate and the diagnosis of chronic recurrent multi-focal osteomyelitis was made which was successfully treated with immunosuppressive drugs. CONCLUSION: Inflammatory bowel disease can present with cutaneous and systemic neutrophilic disorders and this association is becoming increasingly recognized by gastroenterologists and dermatologists. Chronic recurrent multi-focal osteomyelitis is a sterile neutrophilic disorder which can present with bone pain and responds to immunosuppressive therapy. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13555-014-0044-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Fair Trade Towns USA: growing the market within a diverse economy

Fair trade is both a movement and a market, and the tension between these two domains reflects an ambiguity at the center of fair trade in the United States, resulting from long-standing debates within the contemporary movement. In practice, this ideological division produces a struggle between companies that offer a small number of fair trade products aside a vast number of conventional items, and those that sell only fair trade certified products. However, it also shapes the experience of on-the-ground fair trade advocacy work. This article uses Gibson-Graham's diverse economies framework to explore three arenas in which this is most clearly evidenced. First, some fair trade advocates are wary of Fair Trade USA's (FTUSA) power and strategies. They are aware that multiple fair trade certification frameworks currently exist; however they aren't always sure which ones are most desirable and why. This confusion can be problematic in Fair Trade Towns (FTT) advocacy work which involves convincing community members, institutions and governments to purchase more fair trade products. Second, in light of FTUSA's strategic marketization of fair trade and the entry of large corporate players into the U.S. fair trade market, fair trade advocates increasingly find themselves in the equivocal position of providing free labor and marketing for large corporations. Third, the efforts of some FTT advocates are stymied by the determined localvores in their community who are more focused on minimizing carbon footprints and supporting local farmers than promoting social justice and environmental stewardship in the developing world. These tensions raise important questions about the scalar politics of alternative markets and diverse economies. Keywords: fair trade, social movements, localism, ethical consumption, Gibson-Graha

Reacciones al Turismo en los Tejidos de Huilloc y Chinchero: Una Comparación entre dos Pueblos

Los textiles en la cultura Andina no son un arte estacionario, sino como la gente, se adaptan a los nuevos tiempos y la cultura occidental. Eso no es porque la cultura y arte de los pueblos indígenas en los Andes son más propensos a las influencias de afuera, o que son más variables que otras culturas. Pensar que los pueblos indígenas y su cultura están ‘influenciado’ o ‘impactado’ por la cultura occidental es pensar que los pueblos indígenas son pasivos sin la voz para decir lo que van a escoger a sacar de la cultura occidental. Es mejor para hablar sobre como los pueblos indígenas reaccionan a la cultura occidental o lo que escogen a hacer en relación a la cultura occidental, que es para hablar sobre como los pueblos indígenas están impactado por la cultura occidental. La distinción es entre un verbo activo y un verbo pasivo y eso hace toda la diferencia. Cuando escogimos a creer que la cultura occidental influencia a los pueblos indígenas sin la aportación de ellos, otra vez estamos silenciando sus voces para hacernos el poder activo y a ellos los reaccionarios. Como explica Mary Louise Pratt en Apocalypse in the Andes, “What [indigenous] peoples are struggling for now, as indeed in the earlier periods, is not the hope of remaining in pristine otherness. That is a Western fantasy that gets projected on[to] indigenous people all the time. Rather[,] people are very clear that they are struggling for self-determination, that is[,] significant control over the terms and conditions under which they will develop their relations with the nation-state, the global economy, the communication revolution, expansionist Christianity, and other historical processes.”1 La verdad es que la situación es más complicado que muchas personas piensan, y por eso la mayoría de la gente no quiere desentrañar los hilos del problema, sino pensar simplemente que los pueblos indígenas están influenciado por la cultura occidental, sí es por lo bueno o por lo malo