Glass House is a play about the relationship between two young women Phumla and Linda. According to Dike the play was specifically written to show the clashing of two cultures and…
Abstract
Glass House is a play about the relationship between two young women Phumla and Linda. According to Dike the play was specifically written to show the clashing of two cultures and how white people could not understand the pain of black people. Glass House provides testimony as to how women suffered physical and mental violence whilst in detention, and this play clearly highlights how, for women, becoming part of the struggle meant surviving the acts of aggression and detention by the security forces. In Glass House Dike exposes the agony and survival techniques of women who have had to endure periods in detention desperately struggling to cope in adverse conditions and, on their release from detention, having to contend with the suspicions of their community thinking that they were informers spying for the government.
Melinda Waters, Linda Simon, Michele Simons, Jennifer Davids and Bobby Harreveld
As neoliberal reforms take hold in the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia, there is renewed interest in the quality of teaching practice. However, despite…
Abstract
Purpose
As neoliberal reforms take hold in the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia, there is renewed interest in the quality of teaching practice. However, despite the value of practitioner inquiry to the quality of teaching in schools, scholarly practice in higher education, and established links between the quality of teaching and outcomes for learners and between practice-based inquiry and pedagogic innovation in VET, the practices has received little attention. The purpose of this paper is to explore the value of a college-wide culture of scholarly activity to learners, enterprises, VET institutions, educators and the national productivity agenda.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the education literature, empirical examples of scholarly activity drawn from the authors’ experiences of working with VET practitioners, this paper asks what constitutes research and inquiry in VET, why should these practices be integral to educative practice and what value do they bring to the sector? In addressing the questions, the authors explore how research and inquiry is defined in the literature and draw on three empirical examples of scholarly activities to provide a national, institutional and individual view. A discussion about the value of scholarly activities to VET stakeholders and how the practices might be fostered and sustained concludes the paper.
Findings
The paper concludes that practice-based scholarly activities in VET cultivate rich potential for renewed and innovative pedagogies that improve outcomes for learners, respond to industry demands for innovative skills, build “pedagogic capital” for VET institutions, enrich the knowledge base of policy makers and build resilience and professionalism. The authors conclude by positioning VET educators as scholars in their own right along a continuum of scholarly activity and posing the proposition that when valued, scholarly activities are practices for new times that will build a strong and vibrant profession for the future.
Research limitations/implications
This paper brings together the authors’ experiences of working with VET practitioners as the authors engage in scholarly activities. While each vignette was drawn from a formal research project in each case, the paper itself was not structured around a formal research activity, although a small survey was undertaken for vignette 1. This poses limitations to the findings of the study. However, the purpose of the paper is not to be conclusive but to forward an argument for more scholarly activity in VET in order to promote further research and debate.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the current debate in Australia about the quality of teaching in VET and the sectors’ capability to produce “work-ready” graduates. It brings to the fore the value of scholarly activity for educators, learners, industry and communities, VET institutions and the broader national innovation agenda. As such, it has relevance to all VET stakeholders, most particularly policy makers, leaders and practitioners in VET.
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Grounded in case study research, the consultant‐client relationship is conceived as mediating between, and reconciling, competing enactments. Through their work, consultants seek…
Abstract
Grounded in case study research, the consultant‐client relationship is conceived as mediating between, and reconciling, competing enactments. Through their work, consultants seek to achieve a separation from existing organisational frames of reference, commitments and routines. To achieve any separation, consultants have to challenge the world that is shared and lived out by members of the organisation. The enactments created and sustained by interventions are experienced as competitive versions of social reality, with diverse advocates, seeking to secure a critical mass of belief and acceptance. Consultants come under pressure to conform to, or to operate within, the constructs of this organisational reality, and their interventions create tensions and the need to accommodate differing views. The consultant‐client relationship, as experienced and perceived, is central to the process of generating shared constructions, and profoundly shapes the emergent organisational reality. Reviews traditional conceptualisations of the client‐consultant relationship and contrasts them to more critical and emancipatory perspectives. Then discusses the case study research and the role and nature of the consultant‐client relationship within the theoretical framework developed.
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Solveig-Alma Halaas Lyster and Siri Wormnæs
One of the challenges in educating teachers about inclusion, be it pre-service or in-service, is influencing the student's preconceptions and perspectives so that their newly…
Abstract
One of the challenges in educating teachers about inclusion, be it pre-service or in-service, is influencing the student's preconceptions and perspectives so that their newly acquired knowledge will guide their actions in the classroom. A DVD entitled Teachers for All, consisting of 40–50 video sequences recorded in Uganda and Kenya, each followed by discussion questions, has been produced to help meet this challenge. Lecturers at the Department of Special Needs Education at The University of Oslo, in collaboration with our partners in Uganda and Kenya, have been involved in the development of the content of the video recordings. The material has been tested at teacher education institutions in Uganda, Kenya and Norway. The topic of the material is the inclusive classroom, focusing on learners with special needs and on the teaching of reading. Video recordings of a total of 59 students’ reflections and discussions and also information from their reflective notes, were transcribed and analysed. The project results show that the DVD material is promising; it is user-friendly providing students with new outlooks about teaching and learning. Results of the study indicate that video sequences have the potential to be used in training students to observe significant details for implementing inclusive education.
The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the issues affecting successful employment outcomes for young women in male-dominated careers, focusing on those generally accessed…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the issues affecting successful employment outcomes for young women in male-dominated careers, focusing on those generally accessed via a traditional Australian apprenticeship model. Current patterns of participation in trades-based fields of education and training reinforce the highly gender segregated nature of the Australian Labour Force. Women are particularly under-represented in the large industries of construction, mining and utilities, where female employees account for only around 12, 15 and 23 per cent of employees, respectively, an issue of concern both in terms of increased economic participation of women and girls, and gender equality more broadly. The foundations for transition from education and training to employment are established during school. It is during these formative years that young men and women have notions of what is possible for them, and what is not possible, reinforced. Unfortunately, gendered stereotypes and perceptions around certain career options for young women are still reinforced within schools and create barriers to widening young women’s participation in a range of careers, particularly in fields traditionally dominated by males. The paper discusses strategies supporting initial apprenticeship opportunities for young women, and supportive structures to help women and girls build careers in these industries.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws from a mixed method study, involving a national electronic survey of educators, industry and community groups, and a range of semi-structured interviews. Whilst the major study focused primarily on career exploration in relation to young women taking on careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and non-traditional industries, this paper focuses on one aspect of this study, young women taking up an apprenticeship in a male-dominated career. The research around career exploration was undertaken in 2014, and this paper has placed it in the current context of falling apprenticeships and increasing pressures to increase the number of women and girls employed in a wider range of careers.
Findings
The findings of this particular study consider the barriers to young women taking on apprenticeships and identify strategies that hopefully will produce more successful pathways. This paper can be seen as adding to the public discourse to address the Australian Government’s stated reform objective in vocational education and training (VET), that trade apprenticeships are appropriately valued and used as career pathways.
Originality/value
This paper can be seen as adding to the public discourse to address the Australian Government’s stated VET reform objective, that trade apprenticeships are appropriately valued and used as career pathways.
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Francine Richer and Louis Jacques Filion
Shortly before the Second World War, a woman who had never accepted her orphan status, Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, nicknamed ‘Little Coco’ by her father and known as ‘Coco’ to her…
Abstract
Shortly before the Second World War, a woman who had never accepted her orphan status, Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, nicknamed ‘Little Coco’ by her father and known as ‘Coco’ to her relatives, became the first women in history to build a world-class industrial empire. By 1935, Coco, a fashion designer and industry captain, was employing more than 4,000 workers and had sold more than 28,000 dresses, tailored jackets and women's suits. Born into a poor family and raised in an orphanage, she enjoyed an intense social life in Paris in the 1920s, rubbing shoulders with artists, creators and the rising stars of her time.
Thanks to her entrepreneurial skills, she was able to innovate in her methods and in her trendsetting approach to fashion design and promotion. Coco Chanel was committed and creative, had the soul of an entrepreneur and went on to become a world leader in a brand new sector combining fashion, accessories and perfumes that she would help shape. By the end of her life, she had redefined French elegance and revolutionized the way people dressed.
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A one-hour intergenerational event held at an infant school in Norfolk, England, aimed to increase the citizenship experience of young children and their awareness of what it…
Abstract
Purpose
A one-hour intergenerational event held at an infant school in Norfolk, England, aimed to increase the citizenship experience of young children and their awareness of what it means to live with stroke, and to address social isolation or self-confidence in communicating among stroke survivors with aphasia. It was also intended to gauge whether this activity might provide a basis for future research. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Four community-dwelling stroke survivors with aphasia were recruited. In total, 12 pupils aged six and seven were selected by their Year 2 teacher and head-teacher. At the event, participants sat in groups of one adult and three pupils and engaged in writing, hand-tracing and talking about pictures. The author circulated among the groups to facilitate engagement.
Findings
All participants enjoyed interacting together in the activities. The pupils gained insights into the stroke survivors’ lived experience and wanted them to return to “see us again soon”; the adults valued being in the “real world” and practising their conversation in activities different from their usual routines. Feedback indicated the value of the engagement and that participants welcomed similar intergenerational opportunities. The author will develop a research application exploring enablers, barriers and benefits of this type of engagement.
Originality/value
The event gave a rare opportunity for stroke survivors with aphasia to participate in intergenerational activities and for children to engage with vulnerable older adults. It demonstrated the value of interactions in which learning and insights are obtained on both sides. It also provided evidence that pursuing research in this field is feasible.
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Current publication practices in the scholarly (International) Business and Management community are overwhelmingly anti-Popperian, which fundamentally frustrates the production…
Abstract
Purpose
Current publication practices in the scholarly (International) Business and Management community are overwhelmingly anti-Popperian, which fundamentally frustrates the production of scientific progress. This is the result of at least five related biases: the verification, novelty, normal science, evidence, and market biases. As a result, no one is really interested in replicating anything. In this essay, the author extensively argues what he believes is wrong, why that is so, and what we might do about this. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an essay, combining a literature review with polemic argumentation.
Findings
Only a tiny fraction of published studies involve a replication effort. Moreover, journal authors, editors, reviewers and readers are not interested in seeing nulls and negatives in print. This replication crisis implies that Popper’s critical falsification principle is actually thrown into the scientific community’s dustbin. Behind the façade of all these so-called new discoveries, false positives abound, as do questionable research practices meant to produce all this allegedly cutting-edge and groundbreaking significant findings. If this dismal state of affairs does not change for the good, (International) Business and Management research is ending up in a deadlock.
Research limitations/implications
A radical cultural change in the scientific community, including (International) Business and Management, is badly needed. It should be in the community’s DNA to engage in the quest for the “truth” – nothing more, nothing less. Such a change must involve all stakeholders: scholars, editors, reviewers, and students, but also funding agencies, research institutes, university presidents, faculty deans, department chairs, journalists, policymakers, and publishers. In the words of Ioannidis (2012, p. 647): “Safeguarding scientific principles is not something to be done once and for all. It is a challenge that needs to be met successfully on a daily basis both by single scientists and the whole scientific establishment.”
Practical implications
Publication practices have to change radically. For instance, editorial policies should dispose of their current overly dominant pro-novelty and pro-positives biases, and explicitly encourage the publication of replication studies, including failed and unsuccessful ones that report null and negative findings.
Originality/value
This is an explicit plea to change the way the scientific research community operates, offering a series of concrete recommendations what to do before it is too late.