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Article
Publication date: 1 March 1994

Inger Boyett and Don Finlay

In 1989 a new head teacher was appointed to the Garibaldi School in Mansfield. Even before taking up his new position, he was aware of the need for changes — the school had a bad…

124

Abstract

In 1989 a new head teacher was appointed to the Garibaldi School in Mansfield. Even before taking up his new position, he was aware of the need for changes — the school had a bad reputation locally, the staff were unmotivated and the finance available through local authority funding was not sufficient to provide the quality of education he would wish. He developed a three and a five year plan incorporating a change of internal culture, the organisational structure, the perceived value of Garibaldi to all its stakeholders, the quality of educational experience for the youngsters and means of generating revenue for the school. The case looks at cultural change, flattening of hierarchies, the ‘bobbing cork’ organisational archetype, the entrepreneurial strategic management system, the marketing of the school and the hugely successful raising of finance, £56,000 in 1992. By early 1993 the objectives of the initial forward plans had all been met and even surpassed whilst the new head teacher had become recognised by many — including the awarders of the title ‘East Midlands Company of the Year 1992’ — as a successful entrepreneur. But can such entrepreneurial activities coexist with the values and ethics society impresses on the educators of our children? Can such innovatory management and leadership be sustained over time without cost to the effective operation of the institution, educating children?

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 1 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

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Article
Publication date: 3 May 2013

Helen Kara

This paper aims to explore the scope of fiction writing in academic research as a way of studying “messier” aspects of the process, such as emotion.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the scope of fiction writing in academic research as a way of studying “messier” aspects of the process, such as emotion.

Design/methodology/approach

The author reflects on her “lived experience” of conducting doctoral research, five years earlier and re‐searched for the paper, by composing a fictional narrative that aims to capture some of the emotional and other complexities of the process.

Findings

The author demonstrates that fictionalisation opens possibilities for a deeper probing of the emotional aspects of the research experience. Her conclusion is that this method can help researchers to think about the processes of writing, reflexivity, and emotion. It can also be useful to academic writers more widely, by showing how fiction writing techniques can convey some of the more complex aspects of their day‐to‐day activities.

Practical implications

The paper can act as a model for extending academic writing skills in the area of fiction, by introducing characterisation, plot and dialogue.

Originality/value

This paper offers an original account of the emotions of the doctoral writer, situated within current discourses on emotion, fiction writing and methodology. It will be of value to scholars of arts, humanities and social sciences.

Details

Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, vol. 8 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5648

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Article
Publication date: 24 August 2010

Leah Tomkins and Virginia Eatough

The purpose of this paper is to offer a more integrative and inclusive conceptualisation of reflexivity as a way of identifying, understanding and managing some of the risks…

1328

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer a more integrative and inclusive conceptualisation of reflexivity as a way of identifying, understanding and managing some of the risks associated with reflexivity's potentially solipsistic “inward turn”.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on the authors' experience of empirical qualitative research with working carers. This experience is grounded within the traditions of interpretative phenomenology and critical epistemology.

Findings

Two reflexive risks: an unintended focus on researcher rather than participant; and process at the expense of substance are discussed and the first of these, reflexive narcissism, is associated with the recognition of biographical similarity between researcher and participant, and the second, a kind of reflexive “process‐ism”, with certain research designs involving meta‐reflection with participants on the research experience. The paper advocates the use of multiple reflexivities and an intrinsic sensibility to reflexive possibility throughout the duration of a research programme.

Research limitations/implications

The paper offers an alternative model of reflexivity and some practical guidelines, which may be of value to researchers working across a range of different qualitative methodologies.

Practical implications

The paper makes some preliminary observations about the phenomenon of the working carer, which may be of value to organisational practitioners.

Originality/value

The approach to reflexivity outlined in this paper helps to clarify some of the issues and difficulties associated with the reflexive thesis, and in particular, will help less experienced qualitative researchers to avoid some common pitfalls of reflexive practice.

Details

Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, vol. 5 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5648

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Book part
Publication date: 6 September 2021

Jayne Finlay and Jessica Bates

This chapter offers an insight into library provision and user engagement at a Secure College in Northern Ireland. It draws on findings from doctoral research carried out by Finlay

Abstract

This chapter offers an insight into library provision and user engagement at a Secure College in Northern Ireland. It draws on findings from doctoral research carried out by Finlay (2020) which examined the role of the library in the learning experiences of people in prison. The case study described in this chapter took a multi-method qualitative approach to exploring engagement with the space, resources and informal learning programmes offered by the library. Acknowledging the many roles and functions of a prison library, this chapter focuses particularly on its relationship to formal and informal prisoner education. The strong educational ethos of Hydebank Wood College made it an ideal setting to explore the transformative educational possibilities of a well-managed and well-funded library. Following a description of the library and its services, the chapter will consider first steps into learning, informal and self-directed learning opportunities, library services in a divided society, and the importance of interpersonal relationships.

Since the completion of this doctoral research, a newly renovated Learning and Skills Centre has opened at Hydebank Wood College. This chapter includes findings from recent interviews with staff members which reveal the impetus for these changes and how the redesign of the library space has impacted upon the learning experiences of both the women and young men held at Hydebank. Taken alongside the doctoral findings, this discussion helps to show how the library space is valued within the institution and the significant role played by the library and library staff in the lives of incarcerated individuals.

Details

Exploring the Roles and Practices of Libraries in Prisons: International Perspectives
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-861-3

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Book part
Publication date: 4 July 2019

Steve McDonald, Amanda K. Damarin, Jenelle Lawhorne and Annika Wilcox

The Internet and social media have fundamentally transformed the ways in which individuals find jobs. Relatively little is known about how demand-side market actors use online…

Abstract

The Internet and social media have fundamentally transformed the ways in which individuals find jobs. Relatively little is known about how demand-side market actors use online information and the implications for social stratification and mobility. This study provides an in-depth exploration of the online recruitment strategies pursued by human resource (HR) professionals. Qualitative interviews with 61 HR recruiters in two southern US metro areas reveal two distinct patterns in how they use Internet resources to fill jobs. For low and general skill work, they post advertisements to online job boards (e.g., Monster and CareerBuilder) with massive audiences of job seekers. By contrast, for high-skill or supervisory positions, they use LinkedIn to target passive candidates – employed individuals who are not looking for work but might be willing to change jobs. Although there are some intermediate practices, the overall picture is one of an increasingly bifurcated “winner-take-all” labor market in which recruiters focus their efforts on poaching specialized superstar talent (“purple squirrels”) from the ranks of the currently employed, while active job seekers are relegated to the hyper-competitive and impersonal “black hole” of the online job boards.

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Work and Labor in the Digital Age
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78973-585-7

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Article
Publication date: 11 November 2014

Elizabeth Thomson and Russell Williams

– The purpose of this paper is to explore children’s relationships with football teams and players and the influences on these.

1358

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore children’s relationships with football teams and players and the influences on these.

Design/methodology/approach

A child-centric (Banister and Booth, 2005) inductive qualitative approach was utilised to capture children’s voices. The children were asked to take photographs around the theme of “football in my life” and these served as interview prompts when talking to friendship pairs.

Findings

Football played a central role in children’s lives in terms of interest, activity and consumption. The children articulated a portfolio of team (club) and player connections of varying strength. This contrasts with the existing adult fandom literature which focuses on individuals supporting a single team. Another strong theme emerging from the data was the children’s market-centred relationships with football clubs. Children’s connections were shaped by a complex web of influences including family and family history, friends, media and geography.

Research limitations/implications

Existing fan literature has an adult focus which does not appear to fully explain the child fan. This research provides impetus for developing new theory that better captures child fandom. The findings reinforce the idea that football plays an important part in children’s lives and in doing so they establish their own meanings. The findings presented in this paper provide important insights into the lives of children that could be reflected on in the design of policy across a number of areas including education.

Originality/value

This paper presents the first child-centred football fan study.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

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Article
Publication date: 18 December 2017

Finlay Green

The purpose of this paper is to provide a platform for young British Muslims in Tower Hamlets to share their perspectives on British values and identity, in light of the increased…

529

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a platform for young British Muslims in Tower Hamlets to share their perspectives on British values and identity, in light of the increased pressure schools are facing to actively promote “British values”.

Design/methodology/approach

Three focus groups were convened of 16-18 year olds, two all-male (one with five and one with six participants) and one all-female (five participants). Discussions were audio recorded with the data subjected to a form of thematic analysis that divided the raw data into three different categories: individual, group and group interaction data.

Findings

All but one of the participants defined themselves as British, largely due to a strong connection with British values. A minority felt this understanding was reflected back to them by society. However, the majority felt that, as ethnically Bengali and as Muslims, the opposite was the case. By judging the strength of an individual’s Britishness against the strength of their adherence to British values the government’s British values agenda is only serving to reinforce the isolation of those that feel excluded.

Originality/value

While the identities of young people, British people, and Muslims have been widely explored, there is little research that looks at the intersection of all three.

Details

Journal of Children's Services, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-6660

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Article
Publication date: 14 December 2022

Gerbrand Tholen

The aim of the study is to understand how the hiring process develops in cases where there are no explicit or formal requirements. How do implicit and informal criteria and…

500

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the study is to understand how the hiring process develops in cases where there are no explicit or formal requirements. How do implicit and informal criteria and requirements impact the process of selecting the right candidate?

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative approach was employed through the use of semi-structured interviews with 47 external recruitment consultants in the south of England.

Findings

In contrast to what is assumed in mainstream Human Resource Management literature, employers do not rely on a comprehensive implicit understanding of what is needed in cases where there are no explicit criteria and requirements. Instead, high uncertainty makes the development of criteria and requirements incremental and negotiable but also problematic. The analysis shows that three mechanisms compensate for the lack of certainty in the hiring process. First, interviews with applicants shape how the hiring criteria develop. Second, market signals of what is available in the labour market help construct the criteria and requirements. Third, criteria and requirements are interpreted and negotiated during interactions with recruiters and others.

Originality/value

Hiring without explicit requirements and criteria is often understood as rather unproblematic and/or not fundamentally distinct from hiring with them. The study shows that in these cases the process becomes more unpredictable and more open to interpretation and negotiation.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. 45 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

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Book part
Publication date: 12 June 2017

Ofer Sharone

The rapid growth of online social networking sites (“SNS”) such as LinkedIn and Facebook has created new forms of online labor market intermediation that are reconfiguring the…

Abstract

The rapid growth of online social networking sites (“SNS”) such as LinkedIn and Facebook has created new forms of online labor market intermediation that are reconfiguring the hiring process in profound ways; yet, little is understood about the implications of these new technologies for job seekers navigating the labor market, or more broadly, for the careers and lives of workers. The existing literature has focused on digital inequality – workers’ unequal access to or skilled use of digital technologies – but has left unanswered critical questions about the emerging and broad effects of SNS as a labor market intermediary. Drawing on in-depth interviews with unemployed workers this paper describes job seekers’ experiences using SNS to look for work. The findings suggest that SNS intermediation of the labor market has two kinds of effects. First, as an intermediary for hiring, SNS produces labor market winners and losers involving filtering processes that often have little to do with evaluations of merit. Second, SNS filtering processes exert new pressures on all workers, whether winners or losers as perceived though this new filter, to manage their careers, and to some extent their private lives, in particular ways that fit the logic of the SNS-mediated labor market.

Details

Emerging Conceptions of Work, Management and the Labor Market
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-459-0

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Book part
Publication date: 15 October 2020

Sabina Pultz and Ofer Sharone

Drawing on in-depth interviews and observations in Denmark and the United States, this chapter compares discourses and experiences of young unemployed professionals engaged in…

Abstract

Drawing on in-depth interviews and observations in Denmark and the United States, this chapter compares discourses and experiences of young unemployed professionals engaged in networking. Common across both sites is the kind of emotional labor perceived to be required for effective networking, with workers frequently drawing on romantic dating as a key metaphor. However, engagement in such emotional labor is more intense and pervasive for American jobseekers, while Danish jobseekers express greater concern about potential exploitation of the other party, corruption, and pressure to conform to norms of marketability. The chapter discusses possible links among networking experiences, hiring practices and political-economic contexts in the United States and Denmark.

Details

Professional Work: Knowledge, Power and Social Inequalities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-210-9

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