Silvia Gherardi, Annalisa Murgia, Elisa Bellè, Francesco Miele and Anna Carreri
Affect is relevant for organization studies mainly for its potential to reveal the intensities and forces of everyday organizational experiences that may pass unnoticed or pass in…
Abstract
Purpose
Affect is relevant for organization studies mainly for its potential to reveal the intensities and forces of everyday organizational experiences that may pass unnoticed or pass in silence because they have been discarded from the orthodoxy of doing research “as usual.” The paper is constructed around two questions: what does affect “do” in a situated practice, and what does the study of affect contribute to practice-based studies. This paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors chose a situated practice – interviewing – focusing on the dynamic character of the intra-actions among its heterogeneous elements. What happens to us, as persons and researchers, when we put ourselves inside the practices we study? The authors tracked the sociomaterial traces left by affect in the transcript of the interviews, in the sounds of the voices, in the body of the interviewers, and in the collective memories, separating and mixing them like in a mixing console.
Findings
The reconstruction, in a non-representational text, of two episodes related to a work accident makes visible and communicable how affect circulates within a situated practice, and how it stiches all the practice elements together. The two episodes point to different aspects of the agency of affect: the first performs the resonance of boundaryless bodies, and the second performs the transformative power of affect in changing a situation.
Originality/value
The turn to affect and the turn to practice have in a common interest in the body, and together they contribute to re-opening the discussion on embodiment, embodied knowledge, and epistemic practices. Moreover, we suggest an inventive methodology for studying and writing affect in organization studies.
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Silvia de Simone, Daniela Putzu, Diego Lasio and Francesco Serri
Despite the ongoing increase of women in the top positions, they are still underrepresented in politics. The studies that primarily focus on women’s underrepresentation in…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the ongoing increase of women in the top positions, they are still underrepresented in politics. The studies that primarily focus on women’s underrepresentation in politics neglect the role of gender as a category that structures and makes sense of social practices. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mechanisms that regulate the contemporary gender order in politics through discourse analysis and the contribution of the critical feminist perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on 30 biographical interviews with Italian politicians and focuses on the account of their political experiences and on the meanings attributed to these.
Findings
The results of this paper underline the tendency to either absolve or blame women for gender inequality in politics through different interpretative repertoires: “Women’s disinterest toward politics,” “Politics as masculine context” and “Politics–family unbalance.” The analysis allowed to unravel the way in which the discursive practices create and reproduce the hegemonic gender order in politics.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to 30 qualitative interviews, and so results cannot be generalized.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper highlight the importance of exploring issues relating to the gender gap in politics and stress the need to implement actions to promote gender equality in politics.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to an understanding of women’s underrepresentation in politics and offers causes for reflection on a phenomenon that has profound implications for our society.
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Pankaj Mandpe, Bala Prabhakar, Hunny Gupta and Pravin Shende
The present study aims to summarize different non-invasive techniques for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in diabetic patients using glucose-oxidase biosensors. In diabetic…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study aims to summarize different non-invasive techniques for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in diabetic patients using glucose-oxidase biosensors. In diabetic patients, the self-monitoring of blood glucose (BG) levels through minimally invasive techniques provides a quick method of measuring their BG concentration, unlike conventional laboratory measurements. The drawbacks of minimally invasive techniques include physical pain, anxiety and reduced patient compliance. To overcome these limitations, researchers shifted their attention towards the development of a pain-free and non-invasive glucose monitoring system, which showed encouraging results.
Design/methodology/approach
This study reviews the development of minimally and non-invasive method for continuous glucose level monitoring in diabetic or hyperglycemic patients. Specifically, glucose monitoring using non-invasive techniques, such as spectroscopy-based methods, polarimetry, fluorescence, electromagnetic variations, transdermal extraction-based methods and using body fluids, has been discussed. The various strategies adopted for improving the overall specificity and performance of biosensors are discussed.
Findings
In conclusion, the technology of glucose oxidase-based biosensors for glucose level monitoring is becoming a strong competitor, probably because of high specificity and selectivity, low cost and increased patient compliance. Many industries currently working in this field include Google, Novartis and Microsoft, which demonstrates the significance and strong market potential of self-monitored glucose-oxidase-based biosensors in the near future.
Originality/value
This review paper summarizes comprehensive strategies for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in diabetic patients using non-invasive glucose-oxidase biosensors. Non-invasive techniques received significant research interest because of high sensitivity and better patient compliance, unlike invasive ones. Although the results from these innovative devices require frequent calibration against direct BG data, they might be a preferable candidate for future CGM. However, the challenges associated with designing accurate level sensors to biomonitor BG data easily and painlessly needs to be addressed.