Marie Aronsson-Storrier and Karen da Costa
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of international law in disaster prevention and management, with a particular focus on the emerging field of international…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of international law in disaster prevention and management, with a particular focus on the emerging field of international disaster law (IDL), and its relationship with international human rights law. It further introduces the four articles of the special column of this journal issue, dedicated to disasters and international law.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is based upon primary sources of legislation and policy, as well as academic literature on disasters and international law.
Findings
Although the field of IDL is in its infancy, the authors argue that this emergent area does have the potential to gain widespread recognition as a distinct field of law, and that this may benefit the wider disaster management community.
Originality/value
The paper introduces key legal features and themes relating to international law and disasters, highlighting their relevance for disaster management. The added value is to widen the discussion on aspects of disasters regulated by international law, thus facilitating the future exchange with other academic subjects and operational fields.
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Emmanuel Raju and Karen da Costa
The purpose of this paper is to identify how governance and accountability have been addressed in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify how governance and accountability have been addressed in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is mainly based on the analysis of the SFDRR; scientific literature, particularly recent publications covering the SFDRR. The paper also takes into account grey literature.
Findings
The SFDRR does address issues of governance and accountability in disasters. However, more needs to be done to translate it into practice – particularly with regard to accountability.
Originality/value
The paper covers a topic that has not attracted considerable academic attention, despite the fact that the need to address accountability in disaster risk management, notably in DRR, has been generally acknowledged. By addressing governance and accountability in the most recent international DRR framework the paper adds value to the literature.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore avenues of corporate accountability in disasters, using the Samarco chemical sludge disaster, which took place in 2015 in Brazil, as case…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore avenues of corporate accountability in disasters, using the Samarco chemical sludge disaster, which took place in 2015 in Brazil, as case study.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper considers possible ways of enhancing corporate accountability in disasters, focusing on one particular international mechanism on multinational enterprises (MNEs), which addresses both human rights and environmental issues. The research is based on the location and assessment of a variety of written sources (i.e. normative instruments, academic literature, publications by practitioners, civil society organizations, and the media). The paper makes suggestions on the potential of using existent international accountability mechanisms in similar disasters.
Findings
The paper identifies key measures taken by national authorities to address the disaster. It also considers how the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Guidelines for MNEs could be used to pursue corporate accountability.
Research limitations/implications
This is a desk-based research, chiefly conducted on documental analysis rather than fieldwork.
Practical implications
The paper might provide useful insights for organizations and communities facing similar challenges linked to multinational corporate activities that adversely affect human rights and the environment.
Originality/value
The study brings to attention normative standards relatively unknown to the disaster community, which may help raise interest on them, and lead to their potential use in future disaster situations. Furthermore, to date the Samarco chemical sludge has received scant attention from the academic literature.
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Rafaela Karen Fabri, Rossana Pacheco da Costa Proença, Suellen Secchi Martinelli and Suzi Barletto Cavalli
The purpose of this paper is to identify regional foods and analyze its use on school menus of a Brazilian city, as well as the respect to symbolic and cultural aspects related to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify regional foods and analyze its use on school menus of a Brazilian city, as well as the respect to symbolic and cultural aspects related to it.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, regional foods were identified through interviews with key school meal and city agents. In the second stage, the inclusion of these foods in school menus from 2009 to 2013 was assessed.
Findings
In total, 142 regional foods were identified and classified into four groups. This classification resulted in a decision tree model to identify regional foods. Approximately 45 percent of regional preparations and 82.5 percent of regional foods were offered totaling 455 preparations and 977 foods analyzed. However, 31 percent of the regional foods identified in Stage 1 were not offered in the menus analyzed. Various regional preparations lost their authenticity, possibly not being recognized because of a lack of traditional ingredients or because they contained non-regional foods that changed their character.
Practical implications
The results mainly point to symbolic aspects of the production and consumption of regional foods and preparations that are important to promoting healthy diets. In addition, they can support public policies that promote the use of these foods in the school environment.
Originality/value
This study analyzes the inclusion of regional foods in school meals--a topic rarely explored in the scientific literature – and proposes a decision tree model to identify regional foods with methodological rigor. This model can assist school food managers in including regional foods and developing studies related to this topic.
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Silvia Gherardi, Karen Jensen and Monika Nerland
The purpose of this paper is to conceive “organizing” as an indeterminate process taking place in the interstices of intra-acting elements, beyond visible/rational/intentional…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conceive “organizing” as an indeterminate process taking place in the interstices of intra-acting elements, beyond visible/rational/intentional organizing. The term intra-activity refers to relationships between multiple elements (human and more-than-human) that are understood not to have clear or distinct boundaries. The paper aims at reframing organizing, as the effect of multiple intra-acting elements, by introducing the metaphor of shadow organizing. It offers examples as diverse as knowledge spillover, evidence-based medicine and improvisation, and the mafia’s organizational rules.
Design/methodology/approach
The frame of reference is metaphorical theorization, based on the metaphor of shadow organizing, and is explored through three metonymies: the forest and its sheltered spaces in penumbra; the shadow as a grey zone between canonical and non-canonical practices; and secret societies, hidden in the shadow. The shadow is the symbol of what is “betwixt and between.”
Findings
Shadow organizing focuses on the way that situated elements (people, technologies, knowledge, infrastructures, society) intra-relate and acquire agency. Whilst organizing as the effect of intentional coordination, planning, and strategizing represents a well-established theorization, shadow organizing sheds light on what happen in the interstices of intentional and structured processes. The paper identifies the dimensions of shadow organizing as performativity, liminality, and secrecy.
Originality/value
The passage from elements in interaction to intra-acting relations that form elements is a challenge both for theory and methodology. To face this challenge, metaphorical thinking proves useful since it enhances scholars’ imaginations and emotional participation.
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Balqis Mohammed, Anna Olsson Rost and Karen Pashby
This chapter examines the role that guided collaborative reflection can play in teachers’ development of decolonial thinking. Following research undertaken with teachers in…
Abstract
This chapter examines the role that guided collaborative reflection can play in teachers’ development of decolonial thinking. Following research undertaken with teachers in England, Finland, and Sweden, this chapter uses data collected from preservice history teachers in England to investigate how HEADSUP resources can be applied in aid of encouraging preservice teachers to start to undertake the task of developing and interrogating their ways of knowing, to begin the process of decolonising their practices. Our research shows how HEADSUP can be applied to stimulate collaborative reflection among practitioners as a key starting point for the work of decolonising curricula and practices, in a bid to try and avoid issues of performative decolonisation.
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Diversified trading networks have recently drawn a great deal of attention. In the process, the importance of diversity has perhaps been overemphasized. Using the trade in port…
Abstract
Diversified trading networks have recently drawn a great deal of attention. In the process, the importance of diversity has perhaps been overemphasized. Using the trade in port wine from Portugal to Britain as an example, this essay attempts to show how a market once dominated by general, diversified traders was taken over by dedicated specialists whose success might almost be measured by the degree to which they rejected diversification to form a dedicated “commodity chain.” The essay suggests that this strategy was better able to handle matters of quality and the specialized knowledge that port wine required. The essay also highlights the question of power in such a chain. Endemic commodity-chain struggles are clearest in the vertical brand war that broke out in the nineteenth century, which, by concentrating power, marked the final stage in the transformation of the trade from network to vertical integration.
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Karen Harrison, Lauren Smith, Rachael Mason and Roger Bretherton
Although existing research demonstrates that the health and wellbeing of prison staff is affected by many factors, the current academic evidence base for effective support is…
Abstract
Purpose
Although existing research demonstrates that the health and wellbeing of prison staff is affected by many factors, the current academic evidence base for effective support is limited. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of prison staff who had been involved in the Spark Inside Prison Staff Coaching Programme to understand the perceived benefits of this intervention.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory approach using in-depth semi-structured interviews with 17 staff who had experienced coaching was used.
Findings
Perceived benefits included personal and professional growth, a positive sense of self and improved relationships. A positive influence on health and wellbeing and staff retention was noted.
Originality/value
The research details the perceived benefits of coaching for prison staff and adds to the evidence base about what interventions can usefully support the health and wellbeing of correctional staff. The findings have implications for prisons as well as broader occupations who experience challenges with staff retention.