This paper examines discursive strategies deployed by individuals to manage the deinstitutionalization of technology during IS development. In particular, the strategy of…
Abstract
This paper examines discursive strategies deployed by individuals to manage the deinstitutionalization of technology during IS development. In particular, the strategy of face‐work is an inevitable response to requirements analysis, because it centers on identifying “problems”. Directly implicated are individuals who work with the legacy system, thus threats to face and place within the organization are inescapable. This research shows that individuals save face by valorizing the past. This face‐work is accomplished through constructing the legacy system as a great system of the past and by confessing to previous transgressive acts with this system that attests to their technological competence. Both strategies are an intricate part of identity negotiations that serve to secure an individuals’ place in the organization. In this study, the presence of expert consultants and researcher gave expression to particular skewed power relations during the interviews. Thus, face‐work is profoundly influenced by the discursive field in which it takes place. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
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Alison Salvadori and Tom Jackson
This article describes a short‐term psychodynamic treatment of a learning disabled adult male, referred to a community psychology service with social withdrawal and refusal…
Abstract
This article describes a short‐term psychodynamic treatment of a learning disabled adult male, referred to a community psychology service with social withdrawal and refusal behaviours. It explains the nature of the intervention, progression through the therapeutic process, development of hypotheses and the emergent formulation, and therapeutic outcomes for the client.The article identifies the suitability of short‐term individual psychodynamic psychotherapy for cases such as this, and demonstrates how such interventions can be documented through structured accounts of treatments, which link theory to practice.
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Kathryn M. Obenchain, Bob Ives and Launie Gardner
This study examines one social studies teacher’s experience developing and implementing an Experiential Education-based (EE) curriculum and her reflection on the experience of…
Abstract
This study examines one social studies teacher’s experience developing and implementing an Experiential Education-based (EE) curriculum and her reflection on the experience of putting theory and research into practice. Using a qualitative case study research strategy, we focused on the single case of the teacher’s experience. We identified four categories related to the implementation of EE elements into her classes: (a) teacher’s values, (b) students’ values, (c) teacher directedness versus student directedness, and (d) accountability. We used the teacher’s values as the central category for our discussion to explore how these values conflicted and coordinated with manifestations of the other categories. Through this study, we learned more about the importance of teachers as researchers and the value of university and school collaboration. However, the critical result was the disconnect between what is valued by the teacher and what is assessed and the need for a continued examination of this issue.
Jan Bebbington, Colin Higgins and Bob Frame
The purpose of this paper is to document organizations' self descriptions of why they initiated sustainable development (SD) reporting and explore these explanations using an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to document organizations' self descriptions of why they initiated sustainable development (SD) reporting and explore these explanations using an institutional theory framework.
Design/methodology/approach
Constructs organizational narratives from semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with reporting champions who participated in an SD reporting workshop series. The narratives are analysed using institutional theory to explore how regulatory, normative and cognitive institutions combine with organizational dynamics to influence SD reporting activity.
Findings
For these particular organizations, choosing to engage in reporting appears not to be a rational choice. Rather reporting is initiated because it has come to be an accepted part of pursuing a differentiation strategy, it offers some contribution to existing business challenges, and organizations value the rewards it offers. This rationale constitutes a cognitive mechanism within institutional theory.
Originality/value
The paper provides useful information on initiating sustainable development reporting based on organizations' self descriptions.
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Jan Bebbington, Judy Brown, Bob Frame and Ian Thomson
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to discussions about engagement in social and environmental accounting, drawing on dialogic theory and philosophy. A dialogic approach…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to discussions about engagement in social and environmental accounting, drawing on dialogic theory and philosophy. A dialogic approach, building on existing critical inquiries, is introduced to derive principles to inform “on the ground” engagements. Applying dialogic thinking to social and environmental accounting encourages the development of dialogic forms of accountability, more authentic engagements and is more likely to contribute to sustainable social and environmental change.
Design/methodology/approach
Contains a synthesis of literature from within and beyond social and environmental accounting to shed light on the issues addressed by the special issue.
Findings
Research engagements in social and environmental accounting need not be taken in a haphazard manner uninformed by theory. In particular, the “learning turn” in social sciences has generated a large body of theorizing (informed by concrete engagement activities) that can be used to shape, guide and support engagement.
Practical implications
The principles developed can be used to inform future research design, with the aim of increasing the likelihood that such engagements will yield outcomes of “value” usually defined as emancipatory changes.
Originality/value
This paper develops a new (to accounting) theoretical perspective.
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Vicki Holmes, Wilma Clark, Paul Burt and Bart Rienties
Information and Communication Technology offers powerful Web 2.0 tools that can benefit learners with different learning preferences. The rise of video streaming, the increased…
Abstract
Information and Communication Technology offers powerful Web 2.0 tools that can benefit learners with different learning preferences. The rise of video streaming, the increased proliferation of ‘on demand’ televisual media and new smartphone streaming opportunities have generated a range of web-based media that may usefully support teachers and learners in accommodating these varied learning styles. At the same time, media streaming technologies such as YouTube have distinct drawbacks for students, teachers and their institutions, particularly in relation to appropriate content and the ethical issues around the uploading of student materials to a public repository.
Two studies are reported. In Study 1, two case studies of how teachers engaged students with a media-streaming system called Box of Broadcasts (BoB) are discussed using principles of design-based research. The result from the first case study indicated that BoB provided an improved efficiency for teachers who filmed students’ presentations in a second language. The second case study illustrated how the integration of BoB into their classroom teaching led a psychology teacher to think differently about students and the design and delivery of teaching and learning resources. In Study 2, the use of a qualitative semi-structured interview approach with eight teachers indicated that staff felt that BoB was beneficial in supporting pedagogic practice. Furthermore, staff highlighted the opportunities for dialogue about theory, reality and practice that video materials offered to students as added value. Key limitations for some staff in their use of BoB as a support for video-enriched pedagogic practice were the restricted level of available content on BoB, some difficulties relating to the skills required for creating and using clips and technical stability when using clips.
Beth Williford and Mangala Subramaniam
Adopting a two-sited approach, this paper examines frames deployed by a network of organizations by developing the concept of the transnational field. The transnational field is…
Abstract
Adopting a two-sited approach, this paper examines frames deployed by a network of organizations by developing the concept of the transnational field. The transnational field is the geo-specific field within which the movement organizations are encompassed which can explain the differential power across ties in a transnational network. It enables analyzing whether frames at the local and transnational level are similar, remain as is or are altered within a field which is mediated by the power dynamics embedded in the political-economic-cultural relationships between countries. Using qualitative data, this study of ties between movement organizations in the Amazonian region of Ecuador (local level) and organizations in the United States (transnational level) provides evidence for empirical and narrative fidelity of frames at both ends of the network. The two-sited approach enriches the understanding of resistance to globalization by prioritizing the perspective of indigenous peoples in the Global South highlighting the North–South power dynamic. Departing from common assumptions about the power of US-based groups in the choice of frames deployed, the analysis show that ties between organizations in a transnational network are complex as they rely on each other for resources and information. We discuss the conditions under which local frames are deployed or redefined at the transnational level.
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An examination from an historical perspective of the stereotype applied to constructors, with an emphasis on the contemporary stereotype of constructors within the UK construction…
Abstract
An examination from an historical perspective of the stereotype applied to constructors, with an emphasis on the contemporary stereotype of constructors within the UK construction industry, indicates that constructor stereotypes have become increasingly negative. Over the same period, the stereotype of architects has become increasingly positive and the status of architects has increased, whereas that of constructors has decreased. Possible factors in the development of such a situation are considered, as is the possibility of moving the constructor's negative stereotype to a more positive position through an awareness of the effects of the Bob the Builder cartoon character. There is evidence that Bob has become a hero to the current generation of pre‐school children, with the consequence that this generation is more receptive to the possibility of constructors exhibiting behaviour which can be characterized in positive terms. Little evidence exists of the UK industry's reaction to this situation.