This chapter focuses on the contextual conditions around which entrepreneurship is a positive option for individuals on the autism spectrum. Drawing on omnibus and discrete…
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the contextual conditions around which entrepreneurship is a positive option for individuals on the autism spectrum. Drawing on omnibus and discrete context (Johns, 2006) and on research on other forms for neurodiversity and entrepreneurship, this chapter explains the who, what, where, when, and why of entrepreneurship and autism. Aimed at encouraging future scholarship in this under-research area, the chapter underlines the connections between entrepreneurship and common characteristics of individuals on the spectrum, issues of motivation and self-efficacy, the option of social entrepreneurship, and the importance of formal and informal support networks.
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Sandra L. Fisher, Jeroen Meijerink and Martijn Arets
The current study examines the relationship between platform workers’ economic dependence on platform work and work satisfaction in the context of algorithmic management.
Abstract
Purpose
The current study examines the relationship between platform workers’ economic dependence on platform work and work satisfaction in the context of algorithmic management.
Design/methodology/approach
We surveyed 1,094 platform workers on 6 online labor platforms in the Netherlands to evaluate their perceived economic dependence and levels of work satisfaction.
Findings
We find that the relationship between economic dependence and work satisfaction in an online labor platform environment is dual in nature. This depends on the type of mediator that is at play. We find that economic dependence and work satisfaction are negatively related when mediated by work autonomy, yet positively related when mediated by affective commitment. Moreover, the negative relationship between economic dependence and work satisfaction is attenuated when workers perceive that online labor platforms use algorithmic management in the form of online review systems to help them improve and perform more effectively.
Originality/value
This study sheds new light on the positive impact of platform workers’ economic dependence and platforms’ usage of online review systems on workers’ experience alongside their downsides that are (more) extensively reported on in the literature.
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Sandra Leonara Obregon, Luis Felipe Dias Lopes, Wesley Vieira da Silva, Deoclécio Junior Cardoso da Silva, Bratriz Leite Gustmann de Castro, Nuvea Kuhn, Maria Emilia Camargo and Claudimar Pereira da Veiga
This study aims to investigate the impact of spirituality, spiritual experiences, religiosity, efficacy and job engagement among Brazilian university professors, particularly…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the impact of spirituality, spiritual experiences, religiosity, efficacy and job engagement among Brazilian university professors, particularly focusing on the implications for social responsibility.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered from a nonprobability sample of academics from private and public universities in Brazil during periods of crisis using a standardized survey. The study used partial least squares structural equation modeling as the method for data analysis.
Findings
The study identified robust correlations between daily spiritual experiences (DSE), spirituality and job engagement and efficacy. Additionally, an indirect effect of religiosity on these variables was identified, mediated via DSE. Religiosity was found to impact spiritual experiences and spirituality. The results identified a direct influence of spirituality on work vigor and self-efficiency. However, the study revealed no significant indirect relationship between religiosity, job engagement and efficacy when mediated solely through spirituality.
Research limitations/implications
This study is primarily limited by its sampling method and Brazil’s cultural context, potentially affecting the generalizability of the findings. Future research should include a more diverse demographic and extend beyond the Brazilian context to various cultural settings. Despite these limitations, the study provides valuable insights for managers leveraging religiosity, spiritual experiences and spirituality to create a more inclusive workplace. Emphasizing these aspects can help foster an environment that respects and accommodates employees’ diverse religious and spiritual beliefs, enhancing workplace harmony and engagement.
Practical implications
The findings are relevant for university administrations and policymakers. Recognizing the role of spirituality, spiritual experiences and religiosity in academic engagement can guide the development of more supportive, inclusive and socially responsible work environments.
Social implications
This research underscores the social responsibility of educational institutions to consider and integrate their faculty members’ spiritual and religious dimensions, especially during times of crisis. It highlights how these aspects can significantly influence engagement and efficacy, contributing to a more holistic approach to employee well-being and organizational culture.
Originality/value
This study brings a novel contribution to the dialogue around social responsibility in academia by associating religiosity, spiritual experiences and spirituality with job engagement and effectiveness during a global crisis. It highlights the importance of these personal dimensions in the professional environment, particularly in times of elevated stress and uncertainty.
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Kaleb L. Briscoe and Veronica A. Jones
Legislators continue to label Critical Race Theory (CRT) and other race-based concepts as divisive. Nevertheless, CRT, at its core, is committed to radical transformation and…
Abstract
Purpose
Legislators continue to label Critical Race Theory (CRT) and other race-based concepts as divisive. Nevertheless, CRT, at its core, is committed to radical transformation and addressing issues of race and racism to understand how People of Color are oppressed. Through rhetoric and legislative bans, this current anti-CRT movement uses race-neutral policies and practices to limit and eliminate CRT scholars, especially faculty members, from teaching and researching critical pedagogies and other race-based topics.
Design/methodology/approach
Through semi-structured interviews using Critical Race Methodology (CRM), the authors sought to understand how 40 faculty members challenged the dominant narratives presented by administrators through their responses to CRT bans. Additionally, this work aimed to examine how administrators’ responses complicate how faculty make sense of CRT bans.
Findings
Findings describe three major themes: (1) how administrators failed to respond to CRT bans, which to faculty indicated their desire to present a neutral stance as the middle ground between faculty and legislators; (2) the type of rhetoric administrators engaged in exemplified authoritarian approaches that upheld status quo narratives about diversity, exposing their inability to stand against oppressive dominant narratives; and (3) institutional leaders’ refusal to address the true threats that faculty members faced reinforced the racialized harm that individuals engaging in CRT work must navigate individually.
Originality/value
This study is one of the few that provide empirical data on this current anti-CRT movement, including problematizing the CRT bans, and how it affects campus constituents such as faculty members.
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Sandra Cereola, Karen Green and Edward Lynch
Organizations are considering the influence of workplace attention breadth (mindfulness and absorption) on professional development. Although corporate accountants typically focus…
Abstract
Organizations are considering the influence of workplace attention breadth (mindfulness and absorption) on professional development. Although corporate accountants typically focus on technical skills, soft skills such as mindfulness may also improve performance. In this study, we examine the influence of attention breadth on task performance by demonstrating how mindfulness and absorption vary with respect to improvement to entry, mid, and upper-level accounting tasks. We survey over 700 corporate accounting professionals and find that upper-level manager task performance is related to mindfulness, and mid-level manager task performance is associated with mindfulness and absorption. We also find that mid-level professionals who are unable to transition between mindfulness and absorption states serve a relatively longer tenure before advancing to an upper-level position. This study has important implications for management to assist in improving office productivity and morale.
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Eileen Conmy, Garry Prentice, Barbara Hannigan and Timothy James Trimble
This study aims to explore the experiences of non-offending partners (NOPs) of men who perpetrated contact and non-contact sexual offences.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the experiences of non-offending partners (NOPs) of men who perpetrated contact and non-contact sexual offences.
Design/methodology/approach
In-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight women and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Findings
Findings yielded two superordinate themes, eight subordinate themes and an overarching theme. The first superordinate theme “Paying for their Husband’s Transgressions” captured many ways in which the women’s lives were impacted by their husbands offending. The second superordinate theme “Navigating the Darkness” encompassed the women’s experiences of trying to adapt to their new lives. The overarching theme “A Contaminated Life” pertained to the shared experiences of the women who all described encountering instant and profound consequences. This research highlighted the need for immediate signposting to support services for NOPs. The value of a humanistic counselling approach paired with forensic expertise was also identified. Future research with cross-cultural samples and same sex-couples would enrich the current understanding of this experience.
Practical implications
This research highlighted the need for immediate signposting to support services for NOPs. The value of a humanistic counselling approach paired with forensic expertise was also identified.
Originality/value
Qualitative research on the experiences of NOPs of men who perpetrated sexual offences is sparse. Furthermore, existing research focuses on the experiences of women who’s own children were abused, with the partners of men who have perpetrated extra-familial or non-contact offenses remaining largely neglected.
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Belen Fraile-Rojas, Carmen De-Pablos-Heredero and Mariano Mendez-Suarez
This article explores the use of natural language processing (NLP) techniques and machine learning (ML) models to discover underlying concepts of gender inequality applied to…
Abstract
Purpose
This article explores the use of natural language processing (NLP) techniques and machine learning (ML) models to discover underlying concepts of gender inequality applied to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in female social media conversations. The first purpose is to characterize female users who use this platform to share content around this area. The second is to identify the most prominent themes among female users’ digital production of gender inequality concepts, applied to AI technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
Social opinion mining has been applied to historical Twitter data. Data were gathered using a combination of analytical methods such as word clouds, sentiment analyses and clustering. It examines 172,041 tweets worldwide over a limited period of 359 days.
Findings
Empirical data gathered from interactions of female users in digital dialogues highlight that the most prominent topics of interest are the future of AI technologies and the active role of women to guarantee gender balanced systems. Algorithmic bias impacts female user behaviours in response to injustice and inequality in algorithmic outcomes. They share topics of interest and lead constructive conversations with profiles affiliated with gender or race empowerment associations. Women challenged by stereotypes and prejudices are likely to fund entrepreneurial solutions to create opportunities for change.
Research limitations/implications
This study does have its limitations, however. First, different keywords are likely to result in a different pool of related research. Moreover, due to the nature of our sample, the largest proportion of posts are from native English speakers, predominantly (88%) from the US, UK, Australia and Canada. This demographic concentration reflects specific social structures and practices that influence gender equity priorities within the sample. These cultural contexts, which often emphasize inclusivity and equity, play a significant role in shaping the discourse around gender issues. These cultural norms, preferences and practices are critical in understanding the individual behaviours, perspectives and priorities expressed in the posts; in other words, it is vital to consider cultural context and economic determinants in an analysis of gender equity discussions. The US, UK, Australia and Canada share a cultural and legal heritage, a common language, values, democracy and the rule of law. Bennett (2007) emphasizes the potential for enhanced cooperation in areas like technology, trade and security, suggesting that the anglosphere’s cultural and institutional commonalities create a natural foundation for a cohesive, influential global network. These shared characteristics further influence the common approaches and perspectives on gender equity in public discourse. Yet findings from Western nations should not be assumed to apply easily to the contexts of other countries.
Practical implications
From a practical perspective, the results help us understand the role of female influencers and scrutinize public conversations. From a theoretical one, this research upholds the argument that feminist critical thought is indispensable in the development of balanced AI systems.
Social implications
The results also help us understand the role of female influencers: ordinary individuals often challenged by gender and race discrimination. They request an intersectional, collaborative and pluralistic understanding of gender and race in AI. They act alone and endure the consequences of stigmatized products and services. AI curators should strongly consider advocating for responsible, impartial technologies, recognizing the indispensable role of women. This must consider all stakeholders, including representatives from industry, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), civil society and academia.
Originality/value
This study aims to fill critical research gaps by addressing the lack of a socio-technical perspective on AI-based decision-making systems, the shortage of empirical studies in the field and the need for a critical analysis using feminist theories. The study offers valuable insights that can guide managerial decision-making for AI researchers and practitioners, providing a comprehensive understanding of the topic through a critical lens.
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Donald Simpson and Sandra Lyndon
This chapter discusses research exploring preschool practitioners' beliefs about child poverty and their responses to it before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, in…
Abstract
This chapter discusses research exploring preschool practitioners' beliefs about child poverty and their responses to it before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, in 2014, the authors’ research found notable levels of poverty insensitivity amongst preschool practitioners within prescribed formal pedagogical contexts emphasising early education over care. With COVID-19 pandemic, some commentators speculated care's place in public consciousness would be raised allowing it to go viral across society. Exploring this, the authors replicated the earlier study in 2021. Drawing upon these recent data from England, the authors consider preschool practitioners' views about the extent to which COVID-19 posed challenges for children in poverty and how much they agreed poverty was something they needed to be sensitive to during the pandemic. The authors then examine preschool practitioners' pedagogical adaptions and their prioritising of care alongside early education during the pandemic. The chapter ends by questioning conjecture about a ‘new normal’ emerging in preschool, allowing pedagogical space for an energised focus upon care.
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Resty Tamara Utami, Romi Bhakti Hartarto, Wahyu Tri Wibowo and Muhammad Luqman Iskandar
This study aims to investigate the extent to which the Indonesian conditional cash transfer (CCT), known as the Family Hope Program (FHP), impacts the probability of children…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the extent to which the Indonesian conditional cash transfer (CCT), known as the Family Hope Program (FHP), impacts the probability of children engaging in labour activities.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilizes data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey in 2014, focussing on periods following the implementation of the FHP. To estimate the impact of FHP on child labour in Indonesia, the authors employ a propensity score matching strategy to balance the characteristics observed between the participant and non-participant groups.
Findings
The estimates show that FHP has no statistical impact on child labour across all matching techniques. This implies that receiving the CCT does not always help poor households decrease the probability of stopping their children from participating in labour activities.
Social implications
The conditions applied to the beneficiaries, which only require children to attend school without requiring them to stop working, may not effectively address the issue of child labour. The current structure and design of the FHP need to be re-evaluated and improved to effectively combat child labour.
Originality/value
Despite numerous studies examining the impact of CCT on child labour which remains inconclusive in Indonesia, this study contributes to the existing literature by considering children participating in labour activities across all types of work without focussing on specific education levels or regions.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-07-2023-0580
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This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing methodological discussions surrounding the adoption of ethnographic approaches in accounting by undertaking a comparative analysis of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing methodological discussions surrounding the adoption of ethnographic approaches in accounting by undertaking a comparative analysis of ethnography in anthropology and ethnography in qualitative accounting research. By doing so, it abductively speculates on the factors influencing the distinct characteristics of ethnography in accounting and explores their implications.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a comparative approach, organizing the comparison using Van Maanen’s (2011a, 2011b) framework of field-, head- and text-work phases in ethnography. Furthermore, it draws on the author’s experience as a qualitative researcher who has conducted ethnographic research for more than a decade across the disciplines of anthropology and accounting, as well as for non-academic organizations, to provide illustrative examples for the comparison.
Findings
This paper finds that ethnography in accounting, when compared to its counterpart in anthropology, demonstrates a stronger inclination towards scientific aspirations. This is evidenced by its prevalence of realist tales, a high emphasis on “methodological rigour”, a focus on high-level theorization and other similar characteristics. Furthermore, the scientific aspiration and hegemony of the positivist paradigm in accounting research, when leading to a change of the evaluation criteria of non-positivist research, generate an impoverishment of interpretive and ethnographic research in accounting.
Originality/value
This paper provides critical insights from a comparative perspective, highlighting the marginalized position of ethnography in accounting research. By understanding the mechanisms of marginalization, the paper commits to reflexivity and advocates for meaningful changes within the field.