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Occupational choice describes the process that leads to occupational engagement as a result of intrinsic and extrinsic influences. There has been a considerable amount of research concerning occupational choice, gender and adolescence. However, this has largely focused on the areas of career choice and engagement in risky health behaviours. This paper aims to expand on the literature by providing a broader scope of occupation more aligned with the concept associated with occupational science. Furthering this, the researcher aims to examine the influence of gender as an extrinsic influence on occupational choice. The researcher aims to explore how contextual influences inform gendered occupational choice.

An exploratory qualitative approach was used in the current study. Incorporating photographs as a means of elucidating conversation during the interview process, photo-elicitation interview techniques were used as part of the data collection. This involved using a collection of photographs to prompt participants to discuss their interpretations of various occupations. Six adolescent boys and girls aged 11-14 years participated in the study. Participants were recruited from mixed-gendered sports clubs in the West of Ireland. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. An occupational justice perspective was used to interpret the data.

Responses suggest that gender informs occupational choice through different mechanisms. These included social systems, physical and institutional opportunities as well as expectations participants held of themselves and others they considered to be within their social grouping. Social systems included groups such as friends and family. The ease of access to physical and institutional resources was another factor that informed choice. Participants projected views of expectations they perceived others held for them informed how the participants made their choices. These factors varied across gender. Despite opportunities being available to both sexes, choices were often restricted to particular occupations.

The findings suggest that factors informing the occupational choices of adolescents included a combination of intrinsic factors such as gender and perspectives, as well as external factors including peers, family and opportunities in the local community. Practical applications of this involve acknowledging and further understanding the contextually situated nature of choice to provide more equitable practice. The results of the study may provide more insight into the factors that enable and inhibit occupation. A further understanding of these influences can redirect how we view adolescent occupations in a way that promotes health.

This study explores the integration of corporate reporting by Mitsubishi, a large Japanese company, using a culturally sensitive narrative that combines and reconciles Japanese and Western corporate values in one story.

We use an analytical framework drawing on insights borrowed from narratology and the notion of wrapping – the traditional art of packaging as communication.

We find that Mitsubishi is a survivor company that uses different corporate reporting frameworks during its reporting journey to construct a bespoke narrative of its value creation and cultural values. It emplots narratives to convey a story presenting the impression that Mitsubishi is a Japanese corporation but is compatible with Western neo-liberal ideology, making bad news palatable to its stakeholders and instilling confidence in the future.

Wrapping is a culturally sensitive form of impression management used in the integration of corporate reporting. Therefore, rather than assuming that companies blatantly manipulate their image in corporate reports, we suggest that future research should focus on how narratives are constructed and made sense of, situating them in the context of local culture and traditions.

The findings should interest scholars, report preparers, policymakers, and the IFRS, considering the recent release of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards designed to reduce the so-called alphabet soup of corporate reporting. By following Mitsubishi’s journey, we learn how and why the notion of integrated reporting was adopted and integrated with other reporting frameworks to create narratives that together convey a story of a global corporation compliant with Western neoliberal ideology. It highlights how Mitsubishi used integrated reporting to tell its story rather than as a rigid reporting framework, and the same fate may apply to the new IFRS Sustainability Reporting Standards that now include integrated reporting.

The study offers a new perspective on corporate reporting, showing how the local societal discourses of cultural heritage and modernity can shape the journey of the integration of corporate reporting over time.