The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of how gay and lesbian spaces are constructed and deployed within the context of asylum claims by sexually diverse people…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of how gay and lesbian spaces are constructed and deployed within the context of asylum claims by sexually diverse people. Through doing this, the author details the ways in which the present deployment of place, as a form of evidence for a relatively fixed conception of sexual difference, does not correspond to the self-conceptions of sexually diverse asylum seekers.
Design/methodology/approach
This article draws on the experiences of eight sexually diverse refugees who agreed to participate in semi-structured interviews. Deploying a queer narrative analysis approach, these experiences are explored to develop a detailed understanding of how sexually diverse spaces are constructed within refugee status determinations. This interview-led approach is combined with a critical epistemology informed by the queer theory to understand the role of place in the construction of sexual identity.
Findings
The central finding of this article is that engagement/attendance with/in particular places and spaces is overdetermined as a form of evidence of LGBTIQA+ identity within refugee status determination. Further findings relate to the relationship between places and sexual identities more generally. The paper helps to shed light on how sexually diverse identities are conceived in essentially ontological and fixed terms, with the result that places are often flattened, with the diversity and tensions within them being ignored and occluded.
Originality/value
The originality of this study emerges from the analysis of new qualitative data. This originality is strengthened by the successful combination of empirical research, queer theoretical insights and the application of this combination to policy. This remaining a relatively rare combination. In addition, in contrast to the existing literature, the paper looks specifically at how LGBTIQA+ or queer spaces are conceptualised within refugee status determination processes.
Details
Keywords
In today's society with concern for crime and violence increasing and court television and celebrity trials bringing the criminal justice system, courtroom procedures, and rules…
Abstract
In today's society with concern for crime and violence increasing and court television and celebrity trials bringing the criminal justice system, courtroom procedures, and rules of evidence into our living rooms, there is an increased need for reliable information about issues that are the core of forensic science: crime scene investigation and the collection and scientific analysis of physical evidence used in trials.
Ronald I. Powell and Alex G. Copping
This research was founded on the premise that more can be done to help improve safety in the global construction industry. Worker fatigue-impairment may be an underlying cause or…
Abstract
Purpose
This research was founded on the premise that more can be done to help improve safety in the global construction industry. Worker fatigue-impairment may be an underlying cause or major contributor to accidents. Fatigue-impairment is believed to be pervasive in construction, and research has shown it can be as concerning as alcohol-impairment. When fatigue-impairment is acknowledged as existing, there is poor understanding of its severity or how it contributes to performance and accidents. The purpose of this research was to attempt to measure fatigue-impairment in real time.
Design/methodology/approach
This research expanded on actual measurements of fatigue-related impairment from workers on a large construction project displaying significant fatigue-related impairment. The research identified and tested possible techniques for real-time measurement solutions to assist with this safety-related issue. 100 participants had their sleep/wake cycles monitored for a month with an actigraph to derive their on-going mental effectiveness levels by the minute. The same participants took cognitive tests over the month to compare mental performance results to the modelled mental effectiveness levels.
Findings
Performance results from cognitive tests were compared with modelled mental effectiveness from actigraph-monitored sleep of 100 participants for a month each and showed significant correlation for all cognitive tests used.
Practical implications
This research showed that real-time surrogate measurements for fatigue-impairment in the workplace exist to assist organizations manage an important workplace hazard.
Originality/value
Derived from operational settings, this research developed predictive models based on simple, quick and inexpensive cognitive tests as screening techniques for workplace impairment and confirmed the need for and found a solution for fatigue monitoring in the workplace.
Details
Keywords
Alex Anlesinya, Kwesi Amponsah-Tawiah, Kwasi Dartey-Baah, Sampson Kudjo Adeti and Adwoa Benewaa Brefo-Manuh
There is a major lacuna in sustainable human resource management (HRM) research regarding the theoretical context of its adoption or implementation. Consequently, the purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
There is a major lacuna in sustainable human resource management (HRM) research regarding the theoretical context of its adoption or implementation. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to examine the relative influence and interactive effects of different levels of institutional isomorphisms on sustainable HRM adoption.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applies the conceptual method and anchors the discussions on the institutional theory and the extant literature on the antecedents of sustainable HRM implementation.
Findings
Internal and external institutional isomorphisms will have complementary (synergies) or substitution (trade-offs) effects on sustainable HRM adoption. Furthermore, external institutional isomorphic pressures related to societal values and culture and stakeholders’ sustainability demands are likely to have greater influence on sustainable HRM implementation relative to the internal institutional isomorphic pressures related to managerial sustainability values and attitudes; sustainability-related HRM competencies; resource availability; and perceived sustainability benefits.
Originality/value
This study proposes a novel multi-level conceptual model on the implementation context of sustainable HRM for testing empirically. Furthermore, this study generates insight on how different levels of institutional isomorphic pressures relatively and interactively (synergies versus trade-offs) affect sustainable HRM adoption. This is significant because there is a view that HRM as a discipline is theoretically weak. Although the field has advanced theoretically, one of the areas that need more theorisation is the context of HRM. Hence, this study advances the theoretical context of sustainable HRM implementation through the perspectives of the institutional theory.
Details
Keywords
Analysing the intersectional race and gender politics of the England women's national team, this chapter, based on oral history interviews, shows the historical forces shaping the…
Abstract
Analysing the intersectional race and gender politics of the England women's national team, this chapter, based on oral history interviews, shows the historical forces shaping the diversity of the squad over time, from 1972 to the present. Class is important here, as many of the first black and mixed heritage England women players were the daughters of the Windrush generation of Caribbean migrants who settled in working-class areas of urban, and to a lesser extent, rural England. In the case of London-based players, this gave a proximity to important development centres, available by public transport. In the case of Kerry Davis, from Stoke on Trent, access to private transport was important. As head coach, Hope Powell oversaw the first Black-British captain of an England women's side, but when succeeded by Mark Sampson much of this development receded, notably as Eni Aluko, a centurion capped star of Nigerian descent was de-selected for ‘Unlioness behaviour’. In the ensuing legal analysis, the FA showed itself to lack awareness of diversity and inclusion issues in its own sport. The chapter analyses the effect of this, on an England team that includes several high profile LGBTQ+ stars, which is diverse in different ways than the England men's team.
Details
Keywords
Nilupama Wijewardena, Ramanie Samaratunge, Ajantha Sisira Kumara, Alex Newman and Lakmal Abeysekera
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether family-to-business support acts as a job resource that attenuates the negative effects of work demands on the stress and creativity…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether family-to-business support acts as a job resource that attenuates the negative effects of work demands on the stress and creativity of women micro-entrepreneurs in the informal sector in Sri Lanka.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 359 women micro-entrepreneurs and their respective case officers in local government were used to test the hypothesized relationship between work demands and their creativity through the mediating mechanism of stress and the moderating effect of family-to-business support on the said relationship.
Findings
Work demands reduced creativity through heightening the levels of stress faced by women micro-entrepreneurs. However, family-to-business support reduced the negative influence of work demands on creativity through stress.
Practical implications
Women micro-entrepreneurs should build strong family ties to obtain support from family members. In addition, government training programs that target women micro-entrepreneurs should be extended to include their immediate family members.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature by examining whether family-to-business support buffers the negative effects of work demands for women micro-entrepreneurs in the informal sector. In doing so it makes a theoretical contribution by testing the key tenets of the JD-R model in entrepreneurial settings.
Details
Keywords
Alex Anlesinya, Kwasi Dartey-Baah and Kwesi Amponsah-Tawiah
The purpose of this paper is to review strategic talent management (STM) research with the aim of providing major insights into the under-explored themes, issues, theories and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review strategic talent management (STM) research with the aim of providing major insights into the under-explored themes, issues, theories and methods.
Design/methodology/approach
The method included a systematic review of studies from 2007 to 2019 in five reputable academic databases. In total, 51 studies met the inclusion criteria and were analysed.
Findings
STM can be leveraged to achieve several positive employee, organisational and macro-level outcomes. However, the realisation of these positive outcomes can be threatened by several challenges, which need to be addressed through the creation of conditions critical for the success of talent management strategies. Moreover, effective talent management strategy regime does not lie on the shoulders of just one individual but a collective responsibility of multiple stakeholders. The study also highlighted the digitalisation of STM, integration of ethical and responsible management principles into talent management strategies, and strategic management of unconventional of talent pools as key trends. Finally, several major weaknesses in the current STM scholarship from theoretical, content, context and methodological perspectives are discussed.
Research limitations/implications
Although the studies included in the analysis may not include all studies published during the study period, it is assumed that they provide a good representation of such studies.
Originality/value
Since no systematic study was conducted specifically on STM, this study contributes to the talent management literature by identifying several research issues and gaps while defining future directions of the field. It can, therefore, enrich STM debates, practices and policy making.