Treading the (corporate) board. A critical analysis of organisational diversity discourse

My aims in this thesis, in terms of analysing the persistence of gendered occupational segmentation in the UK, are three-fold. The first is to explore the extent to which organisational diversity discourse is the outcome of essentialist, binary thinking; the second is to examine whether essentialism can be analysed as a form of identity thinking; and the third is to assess whether and in what ways that analysis can contribute to feminist organisation studies and critical diversity scholarship. To achieve those aims, I carried out a critical discourse analysis of the diversity discourse of 30 FTSE 100 companies, highlighting the essentialism that underpins it, and the ways in which organisations have conflated biological and cultural essentialism. By drawing on Theodor Adorno’s theory of negative dialectics, I argue that this essentialism can be analysed and understood in terms of the identity thinking that permeates organisational discourse such that women are classified and categorised according to their supposed natural, biological characteristics. However, as organisations have mistaken the natural for the cultural and the cultural for the natural, they have come to assume that the object of women’s biology (the body or the natural) equates to the concept of their sexed and gendered characteristics (the social or the cultural). Adorno, on the other hand, argues that under non-identity thinking, “objects do not go into their concepts without leaving a remainder” (Adorno, 1973: 5). I suggest that Adorno’s theory contributes to feminist scholarship by shifting the focus away from the binary thinking inherent within the sex/gender dualism and onto the identity thinking that produced it in the first place. I contribute to critical diversity and feminist organisation studies scholarship by moving away from an analysis of corporate diversity discourse focused largely on difference, inclusion and poststructuralism respectively to an analysis highlighting its identarian, subjectivistic and hierarchical nature

Calendars, Cemeteries and the Evolution of Colonial Culture

Calendars, Cemeteries and the Evolution of Colonial Cultur

The Necessity of Leisure and Physical Activity

Educational Objectives 1. Explain the value and benefit of physical and leisure activity across the lifespan, regardless of physical limitations. 2. Identify barriers to participation in physical and leisure activity. 3. Discuss strategies to engage and maintain physical and recreational activity participation

The glia response after peripheral nerve injury: A comparison between Schwann cells and olfactory ensheathing cells and their uses for neural regenerative therapies

The peripheral nervous system (PNS) exhibits a much larger capacity for regeneration than the central nervous system (CNS). One reason for this difference is the difference in glial cell types between the two systems. PNS glia respond rapidly to nerve injury by clearing debris from the injury site, supplying essential growth factors and providing structural support; all of which enhances neuronal regeneration. Thus, transplantation of glial cells from the PNS is a very promising therapy for injuries to both the PNS and the CNS. There are two key types of PNS glia: olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), which populate the olfactory nerve, and Schwann cells (SCs), which are present in the rest of the PNS. These two glial types share many similar morphological and functional characteristics but also exhibit key differences. The olfactory nerve is constantly turning over throughout life, which means OECs are continuously stimulating neural regeneration, whilst SCs only promote regeneration after direct injury to the PNS. This review presents a comparison between these two PNS systems in respect to normal physiology, developmental anatomy, glial functions and their responses to injury. A thorough understanding of the mechanisms and differences between the two systems is crucial for the development of future therapies using transplantation of peripheral glia to treat neural injuries and/or disease.Griffith Health, School of Nursing and MidwiferyFull Tex

Enhancing Care and Advocacy for Sexual Assault Survivors on Canadian Campuses

Recent media coverage of the rape chant at Saint Mary’s University, the misogynist Facebook posts at Dalhousie’s dental school, and the suspension of the University of Ottawa’s hockey team have brought the topic of campus sexual assault under intense public scrutiny and the media accounts point to a widespread systemic rape culture on Canadian campuses. The objective of this paper is to examine the existing structure of campus sexual assault services at Canadian universities and colleges in order to highlight best practices and barriers to their success. The study’s data collection entailed an environmental scan of existing programs and campus-community collaborations across Canada, and a half-day symposium in which stakeholders reviewed the scan’s results and developed recommendations. The study’s findings indicate that most campus sexual assault and women’s centres rely on volunteers and collaboration with off-campus organizations in order to maintain a breadth of services for sexual assault survivors. Funding challenges were found to impose significant limitations to the functionality of the centres. The paper closes with recommendations for improvements, including public education programming and dedicated services provided by professionals with specialized training and experience.   La récente couverture médiatique provoquée par un chant d’initiation encourageant le viol à l’Université Saint Mary, des messages misogynes affichés sur la page Facebook de l’école de dentisterie de l’Université Dalhousie à Halifax et la suspension de l’équipe de hockey de l’Université d’Ottawa a mis sur la sellette les agressions sexuelles sur les campus. Toutes ces situations ont fait l’objet d’un examen attentif du public et confirment une culture du viol sur les campus canadiens. L’objectif de la présente étude est d’examiner la structure existante des services d’intervention en matière d’agression sexuelle sur les campus des universités et des collèges du Canada pour mettre en évidence les meilleures pratiques et les obstacles à leur réussite. Les données de l’étude comportent une analyse environnementale des programmes existants et de la collaboration entre campus et collectivités partout au Canada, ainsi qu’un symposium d’une demi-journée lors duquel des intervenants ont examiné les résultats de l’analyse environnementale, puis soumis leurs recommandations. Les résultats de l’étude indiquent que la plupart des centres pour femmes et des organismes de défense contre les agressions sexuelles comptent sur des bénévoles et une collaboration avec des organismes hors campus pour maintenir l’étendue des services offerts aux victimes d’agression sexuelle. Par ailleurs, des difficultés financières ont imposé des limites importantes à la fonctionnalité des centres. L’étude conclut en recommandant d’apporter des améliorations, dont la mise en œuvre de programmes d’éducation du public et l’offre de services fournis par des professionnels expérimentés détenant une formation spécialisée

A Delphi study to explore and gain consensus regarding the most important barriers and facilitators affecting physiotherapist and pharmacist non-medical prescribing

Non-medical prescribing was introduced into the United Kingdom to improve patient care, but early research indicated a third of Allied Health Professionals may not use their prescribing qualification. A previous literature review, highlighting factors influencing prescribing, identified only papers with nursing and pharmacy participants. This investigation explored consensus on factors affecting physiotherapist and pharmacist non-medical prescribers. A three round Delphi study was conducted with pharmacist and physiotherapist prescribers. Round One comprised information gathering on facilitators and barriers to prescribing participants had experienced, and underwent content analysis. This was followed by two sequential consensus seeking rounds with participants asked to rate the importance of statements to themselves. Consensus criteria were determined a priori, including median, interquartile range, percentage agreement and Kendall's Coefficient of Concordance (W). Statements reaching consensus were ranked for importance in Round Three and analysed to produce top ten ranks for all participants and for each professional group. Participants, recruited October 2018, comprised 24 pharmacists and 18 physiotherapists. In Round One, content analysis of 172 statements regarding prescribing influences revealed 24 themes. 127 statements were included in Round Two for importance rating (barriers = 68, facilitators = 59). After Round Two, 29 statements reached consensus (barriers = 1, facilitators = 28), with no further statements reaching consensus following Round Three. The highest ranked statement in Round Three overall was: "Being able to prescribe to patients is more effective and really useful working [in my area]". Medical support and improved patient care factors appeared the most important. Differences were noted between physiotherapist and pharmacist prescribers regarding the top ten ranked statements, for example team working which pharmacists ranked higher than physiotherapists. Differences may be explained by the variety of practice areas and relative newness of physiotherapy prescribing. Barriers appear to be post or person specific, whereas facilitators appear universal