Katie Marlow, Belinda Winder and Helen Jane Elliott
– The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the experiences of staff working with transgendered sex offenders in a prison setting.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the experiences of staff working with transgendered sex offenders in a prison setting.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilised a qualitative approach, with semi-structured interviews used to explore the experiences of staff working with transgendered sexual offenders (n=6). Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings
Three themes were identified in the data. The first relates to how staff become educated on transgender issues and the content of this information. The second describes situations in which boundaries are overstepped by both transgender offenders and others in the prison. The third relates to the ways in which staff manage change, such as tailoring treatment to specific needs and being mindful of what adaptations may be required.
Research limitations/implications
The main drawback of this research was the limited sample; female prison staff. Future research should expand this sample to encompass male staff and staff working in alternate category prisons.
Practical implications
The research illustrates the utility of staff collaboration with transgendered sex offenders on transgender issues but also suggests some additional guidance is required when it comes to determining the boundaries. Staff may also benefit from more education on the possible ways in which a transgendered identity can impact on criminogenic needs.
Originality/value
The present research offers insight into the current state of care and management of transgendered offenders in custody and the nature of interactions between staff and this minority group. At present, there is limited research in this area.
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Souha R. Ezzedeen and Jelena Zikic
The purpose of this paper is to explore how women entrepreneurs experience entrepreneurship in the Canadian technology sector and the types of obstacles posed by the field's…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how women entrepreneurs experience entrepreneurship in the Canadian technology sector and the types of obstacles posed by the field's male‐dominated character.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors' research purpose called for an inductive approach. Interviews with a sample of women technology entrepreneurs allowed for in‐depth exploration of their subjective experiences and the contexts in which these were situated.
Findings
The research subjects encountered persistent gender stereotypes, a paucity of female role models, resistance from associates within and outside of their organizations, and societal pressures to maintain appropriate levels of work‐family balance.
Research limitations/implications
Although exploratory and preliminary in nature, the findings indicate that women entrepreneurs do not experience “glass ceilings” as much as they experience “labyrinth walls” and what the authors identify as “thorny floors”, meaning opposition and sabotage from male subordinates.
Social implications
Women considering entrepreneurship should expect to encounter resistance to their leadership, albeit manifested in different forms than in corporate settings. Male‐dominated fields such as technology involve industry‐level resistance as well as opposition from within the organization. Nevertheless, women perceived the field as merit‐driven whereby they gained acceptance once they had established themselves as credible competitors.
Originality/value
This study is one of few to elucidate the multiple levels of opposition to women's entrepreneurship in male‐dominated settings and introduces the concept of “thorny floors” to research on women's advancement and entrepreneurship.
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Jelena Zikic and Souha Ezzedeen
The purpose of this paper is to employ intelligent career theory to simultaneously explore the relationships between three types of entrepreneurial career capital (i.e…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to employ intelligent career theory to simultaneously explore the relationships between three types of entrepreneurial career capital (i.e. motivations, human, and social capital). It illustrates the interconnectedness of these three forms of capital as an important way to study entrepreneurial careers and provide a new lens for understanding both personal and venture success.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study of 22 in depth semi-structured interviews explores career stories of entrepreneurs in the high tech industry. The interviews focus on examining three aspects of their career, motivations to become an entrepreneur, ways of learning and developing their human and social capital. Interviews were transcribed and coded using grounded theory approach.
Findings
The findings describe how entrepreneurial careers as simultaneously shaped by three types of career capital: motivations (knowing-why), knowledge (knowing-how), and relationships (knowing-whom). It also illustrates the accumulation of career capital as a continuous cycle of interrelationships between these three types of capital.
Research limitations/implications
In sum, the findings add to the knowledge on entrepreneurial careers and the role that the three types of capital play in venture formation and success. It also points to the importance of a more integrated view of these careers, embedded in a web of motivational, social, and human capital.
Practical implications
The study’s findings suggest that entrepreneurs should paid equal attention and nurture each form of career capital throughout their careers. It also has implications for entrepreneurship programs as well career advisers to.
Originality/value
Prior entrepreneurship research has examined aspects of entrepreneur’s career capital (e.g. intentions, social, and human capital) typically in isolation from one another and little is known about their reinforcing relationships in entrepreneurial careers. This study provides novel insights for understanding the three types of career capital and the importance of this more integrated view in entrepreneurship education and career counseling.
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Ritika Mahajan and Kaushik Ranjan Bandyopadhyay
The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it discusses the role of entrepreneurship, in general, and women entrepreneurship, in particular, in advancing the cause of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it discusses the role of entrepreneurship, in general, and women entrepreneurship, in particular, in advancing the cause of sustainable development. Future research directions that emerge from the body of knowledge that the paper relied upon have been identified. Second, it presents unique cases of eight women-led enterprises in energy sector spread across three continents, namely, Asia, Africa and the USA; identifies the constraints and opportunities, analyses the business models and their impact on the quality of life pointers to demonstrate the role of women-led enterprises in sustainable development.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper combines a schematic review of literature at the interface of entrepreneurship and sustainable development coupled with select relevant case studies addressing the interface. The real-life case studies, which are consciously chosen and compiled from secondary data sources, complement and testify the insights drawn from the schematic literature review. The framework for analyzing the case studies is designed around multidimensional drivers and factors that steer the women-led enterprises.
Findings
The paper identified the need to look at entrepreneurship through the gendered lens not only for studying entrepreneurship as a discipline, in general, but also to gauge whether the inclusion of women as entrepreneurs is actually advancing the cause of sustainable development. Besides analyzing real-life case studies of accomplished women entrepreneurs to gauge their motivations and mindsets, the process of identification of pain points, identifying differentiating and innovative features, or studying the impact on society, economy and environment, the paper eventually created a schematic framework of key enablers, constraints and strategic response of women entrepreneurs.
Originality/value
Given the dearth of adequate theoretical and empirical contributions on the study of effectuation, mindsets and drivers of how women entrepreneurship steers the process of sustainable development, the paper is an endeavour in that direction.