Lynne Butel and Alison Watkins
Entrepreneurs operate in conditions of dynamic uncertainty; identifying and exploiting opportunities presented by the business environment. Opportunistic search is core to…
Abstract
Purpose
Entrepreneurs operate in conditions of dynamic uncertainty; identifying and exploiting opportunities presented by the business environment. Opportunistic search is core to entrepreneurial activity, but its dynamics are rarely explored. Groups of entrepreneurs are attracted to the same potential business opportunities. They have no incentive to cooperate, they may not even know of the existence of others. However, over time, clusters of entrepreneurs interested in the same opportunities develop. Aims to discuss the issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Ant colony optimisation modelling is used to simulate the activities of entrepreneurs in an opportunity rich environment. The entrepreneurs must identify the locations of the appropriate resources. Three simulations were run to observe entrepreneurial success in different environments.
Findings
A random search of the business environment for resources by individual entrepreneurs was unproductive. Once the entrepreneurs learned to read the business environment and so refine their search, they were increasingly efficient. This was even more pronounced when time allowed for search was constrained and weaker entrepreneurs had little influence.
Research limitations/implications
The computer simulations demonstrate how a cluster of entrepreneurial activity may begin. The results raise questions about the appropriateness of policies supporting entrepreneurial activity and about the path dependency of cluster development. Empirical research is now needed to test these research implications.
Originality/value
Focusing on the little explored dynamics of opportunistic search by would‐be entrepreneurs in a spatially defined business environment combines previous research in the fields of entrepreneurial outcomes and cluster development. Using a multi‐agent search model to simulate the dynamic interaction of a number of entrepreneurs in the same business environment demonstrates early cluster formation without the protagonists relying on cooperative, competitive or value chain interaction.
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Deby Cassill and Alison Watkins
In this paper, we propose that the “powerful and privileged” sustain their way of life through greed and they sustain the lives of others through trickledown sharing. Greed…
Abstract
In this paper, we propose that the “powerful and privileged” sustain their way of life through greed and they sustain the lives of others through trickledown sharing. Greed provides the powerful and privileged a buffer against famine. Trickledown sharing provides them a buffer against predation or war. The inspiration for this integration of greed and trickledown sharing as self-preservation strategies is a multi-selection model called skew selection. According to skew selection, when perennial organisms are subjected to cycles of famine and predation, greed and trickledown sharing increases the organism’s survival relative to a greed-only strategy. Skew selection is extended to explain greed and trickledown sharing among humans through the introduction of mogul games. The results of mogul games reported herein suggest that inequality is an emergent property of self-organizing systems and potentially an essential precursor to the evolution of social behavior. In the future, it is our hope that mogul game simulations will be employed by others to explore the effect of variation in cycles of predation and resource abundance on the rules of greed (resource acquisition) and trickledown sharing (resources redistribution).
Racialised misrepresentation circulated en masse can be understood as a form of symbolic and cultural violence. Such misrepresentations create a dominant cultural narrative that…
Abstract
Purpose
Racialised misrepresentation circulated en masse can be understood as a form of symbolic and cultural violence. Such misrepresentations create a dominant cultural narrative that positions people of African background as violent and troubled and therefore incompatible with Australian society. Young people from various groups have been using arts-for-social-change to challenge and dismantle these imposed misrepresentation and reconstruct narratives that reflect their lived experiences. The purpose of this paper is to explore sound portraits, both the process and product, by tracing the journey of New Change, arts collective comprised of young women of African heritage, who have been pushing for social change.
Design/methodology/approach
This collaborative research mobilises arts methodologies, bringing together sound arts, audio documentary and narrative research methods. Data gathering included arts artefacts and interviews with the young women and sound recordings from news media to craft a sound portrait entitled “Battle for truth”.
Findings
Battle for Truth is a sound portrait that serve as the findings for this paper. Sound portraits privilege participants’ voices and convey the complexity of their stories through the layering of voices and other soundscapes. This sound portrait also includes a media montage of racialised misrepresentation.
Social implications
Through their restorying, sound portraits are a way to counter passive and active forgetting and wilful mishearing, creating a space in the public memory for polyphonic voices and stories that have been shutout. Sound portraits necessitate reflexivity and dialogue through deep listening, becoming important sites for reimagining possibilities for social change and developing new activist avenues.
Originality/value
This paper brings together sonic methods, liberation arts and social justice perspectives to attend to power, race, gender and voice.
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Margaret Somerville and Alison McConnell‐Imbriotis
This paper explores the results of applying a diagnostic questionnaire for measuring the dimensions of a learning organisation in a resource squeezed service organisation. The…
Abstract
This paper explores the results of applying a diagnostic questionnaire for measuring the dimensions of a learning organisation in a resource squeezed service organisation. The questionnaire was conducted as the first stage of an ethnographic study of workplace learning in an aged care organization. It was distributed to the 600 employees in nine facilities to provide baseline information to be complemented by qualitative data collected in the second stage. Strengths in the dimensions of leadership and systemic connection and weaknesses in the areas of dialogue and inquiry, team learning and empowering people were revealed. Preliminary qualitative data support the findings and add to the meaning of the questionnaire results. Subsequent discussions with the organisation about the questionnaire suggest that it was a useful tool to enhance workplace learning.
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A survey of 100 young women's body measurements was undertaken during 1992/93. The findings are the basis of Part 3, which aims to explain how size charts are developed for…
Abstract
A survey of 100 young women's body measurements was undertaken during 1992/93. The findings are the basis of Part 3, which aims to explain how size charts are developed for garments; to evaluate the measuring equipment used and to compare the size chart body measurements with those proportionally derived by traditional formulae. A size chart is the artificial dividing of a range of measurements which are concise and consistent. There are different types of size charts. Some are of body measurement for specific proportion and shape. Others are for garments including ease allowances which vary according to the garment style and type of fabric. Size charts can be developed in three stages commencing with the raw survey data, which is then rounded to the nearest 1.0 cm or 0.5 cm and finally ease allowance is added for the finished garment. During the survey some measurements were repeated using different measuring equipment so that a comparison could be made to select the most suitable for pattern construction. The use of the anthropometer is limited as it can only take linear measurements. However, it is helpful when analysing body proportion, whereas the tape measures attached to the harness and a metal tape measure can record the contour surface of the body, which is more appropriate for clothing. The adjustable square and angle were a little difficult to position correctly but were useful to check the formulae used for pattern construction. A comparison is made between the survey body measurements and traditional formula to derive body measurements which are difficult to take. The dividing of the height by eight heads is useful for length proportions. The derived neck shape and survey measurements were comparable. Head measurements suitable for hoods were similar for all bust and neck sizes. Only the height showed any progression in size. This concludes the three articles which explain the taking of body measurements, methods of analysing the data and applying it to clothing pattern construction. It is hoped that this will aid those in industry and education who wish to undertake research and to develop new technology.
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Annemaree Lloyd and Alison Hicks
The aim of this study is to investigate people's information practices as the SARS-CoV-2 virus took hold in the UK. Of particular interest is how people transition into newly…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to investigate people's information practices as the SARS-CoV-2 virus took hold in the UK. Of particular interest is how people transition into newly created pandemic information environments and the ways information literacy practices come into view.
Design/methodology/approach
The qualitative research design comprised one-to-one in-depth interviews conducted virtually towards the end of the UK's first lockdown phase in May–July 2020. Data were coded and analysed by the researchers using constant comparative and situated analysis techniques.
Findings
Transition into new pandemic information environments was shaped by an unfolding phase, an intensification phase and a stable phase. Information literacy emerged as a form of safeguarding as participants engaged in information activities designed to mitigate health, legal, financial and well-being risks produced by the pandemic.
Research limitations/implications
Time constraints meant that the sample from the first phase of this study skewed female.
Practical implications
Findings establish foundational knowledge for public health and information professionals tasked with shaping public communication during times of crisis.
Social implications
This paper contributes to understandings of the role that information and information literacy play within global and long-term crises.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to explore information practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.