The purpose of this study is to consider entrepreneurial imagery that sheds light on differing and emerging patterns of female entrepreneurial identity which illustrate shifts in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to consider entrepreneurial imagery that sheds light on differing and emerging patterns of female entrepreneurial identity which illustrate shifts in the locus of power that challenge masculine hegemony and power structures. As a concept, power has an image component, and shifts in power are often conveyed by subtle changes in the cultural semiotic. Globally, images of female-entrepreneurship are socially constructed using stereotypes which are often pejorative. The semiotics of gendered identity as a complex issue is difficult to measure, assess and understand. Gender has its own semiotic codes, and, universally, images of female-entrepreneurship are socially constructed using pejorative stereotypes. Entrepreneurial imagery can shed light on differing and emerging patterns of female-entrepreneurial identity illustrating shifts in the locus of power that challenge masculine hegemony and power structures. Artefacts, images and semiotics construct alternative gendered social constructs of the entrepreneur to the heroic alpha-male. The imagery associated with the female-entrepreneur is either said to be invisible, or associated with “Pinkness” and the “Pink Ghetto”. Therefore, images, forms and presence associated with gendered entrepreneurial identities have been explored.
Design/methodology/approach
One hundred images of female-entrepreneurship were analysed semiotically using photo-montage techniques to identify common stereotypical representations, archetypes and themes. The resultant conceptual typology highlights the existence of near universal, archetypal gendered entrepreneurial stereotypes including the Business Woman; the Matriarch; the Diva; and the Pink-Ghetto Girl.
Findings
Although the results are subjective and open to interpretation, they illustrate that the contemporary female-entrepreneur, unlike their male counterparts, is not forced to adopt the persona of the “conforming non-conformist” because they have more options available to them to construct an entrepreneurial identity.
Research limitations/implications
This study extends research into entrepreneurial identity by considering visual imagery associated with socially constructed stereotypes. In looking beyond images associated with the “Pink-Ghetto” the author challenges stereotypical representations of the appearance of female-entrepreneurs, what they look like and how they are perceived.
Originality/value
This study widens knowledge about entrepreneurship as a socio-economic phenomenon via images forming part of enterprising identity, a physical manifestation of nebulas phenomena acting as “visual metaphors” shaping expected constructs.
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Scott Barclay, Lynn C. Jones and Anna-Maria Marshall
Those interested in studying the relationship between law and social movements have a wide variety of theoretical and empirical research to draw on, from both social movement…
Abstract
Those interested in studying the relationship between law and social movements have a wide variety of theoretical and empirical research to draw on, from both social movement theory and legal studies. Yet these disparate studies of law and social movements rarely engage with each other. In this chapter, we review current developments in research on law and social movements and summarize the chapters in this special issue. These chapters offer insight into the multivalent nature of law for social movements, the factors shaping movements’ strategic engagements with the legal system, the relationship between law and identity for social movement activists, and the complex role that cause lawyers play in social movement processes and dynamics.
Katarina Pettersson and Susanna Heldt Cassel
This paper aims to explore how gender is “done” on farms in Sweden in the context of increased tourism and hospitality activities. The authors seek to investigate how gender is…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how gender is “done” on farms in Sweden in the context of increased tourism and hospitality activities. The authors seek to investigate how gender is done vis-à-vis women’s farm tourism entrepreneurship. They seek to answer the questions: What has motivated the farm women to become tourism entrepreneurs? How are the gendered divisions of labor changed through women starting businesses? How does the gendered associated symbolism, as well as the identities, change?
Design/methodology/approach
Research has indicated that introducing tourism entrepreneurship at farms may challenge established gender relations, as many of these entrepreneurs are women. The empirical material consists of in-depth interviews with 15 women farm tourism entrepreneurs in central Sweden.
Findings
The analysis suggests that the gendered divisions of labor are not changed through the interviewed women starting tourism businesses. The authors conclude that the women build their entrepreneurship and develop some of their products on an image of rural domesticity, including a representation of themselves as traditional farm women. At the same time they are changing how gender is done through identifying as entrepreneurs and changing the use of the farms.
Originality/value
The authors seek to fill the research gap concerning women’s farm tourism entrepreneurship and the potential associated gendered changes. Their theoretical contribution is applying the perspective of “doing gender” and entrepreneurship, for delineating potential changes in gendered relations.
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Njoku O. Ama, Kagiso T. Mangadi and Helen A. Ama
This paper aims to look at Botswana women entrepreneurs involved in informal cross-border trade (ICBT). It addresses the following questions: What is the nature of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to look at Botswana women entrepreneurs involved in informal cross-border trade (ICBT). It addresses the following questions: What is the nature of the entrepreneurship activities that the women engage in, the funding sources and profitability of the businesses? How has the business helped to enhance women’s economic empowerment? What are the factors that influence participation of women in these businesses and their challenges?
Design/methodology/approach
The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods in studying the challenges faced by Botswana women entrepreneurs in ICBT. A sample of 319 women were identified for study using a combination of the systematic sampling method and snowball techniques. Questionnaires were administered on the sampled women by trained research assistants. In addition, key informant interviews and focus group discussion were conducted on selected women entrepreneurs and key personnel from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Customs and Immigration Offices at the border posts.
Findings
The study revealed that the majority of the women (67 per cent) were under 35 years of age, 69 per cent had very little education (senior secondary certificate and below), 41 per cent were unemployed and 44 per cent were single (never married). The women traded mainly in agricultural products and industrial goods. Raising income for the families (49 per cent) ranked highest as the push factor for the women entrepreneurs. The average monthly profit made by the women was P5916.77 ± 409.86 (US$657.42 ± 45.54). The major constraints faced by the women traders were delays at the borders, long hours of travel, time away from their homes and stiff completion with other traders. ICBT was shown to be highly profitable for the women entrepreneurs, with gross profit margin on imported goods at 59.5 per cent.
Research limitations/implications
The study limitations included fear that the research assistants are agents of the income tax department disguised as researchers and that the collected information may be passed on to government authorities for the purpose of taxation. It was not possible to evaluate the impact of these feelings by the respondents on the responses. However, “anonymity” was the best strategy for getting information. They were assured in the consent form and orally that information provided was not going to be divulged to any other sources and that the questionnaire does not contain anybody’s personal information which could be used to track the person. Notwithstanding these limitations, the study design was appropriate for the purpose of the research. The instrument was adequate as can be seen from the high values of the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.90) and knowledgeable research assistants who collected the data under the supervision of the authors.
Practical implications
The women entrepreneurs were able to generate substantial incomes and profits that enabled them to improve the livelihood of the families and empowered them to themselves take major decisions in their families. The educational status of the women needs to be improved, as this will be necessary to improve their entrepreneurial skills.
Social implications
Reduction in internal taxes on imported goods by the women can enhance the profitability of the businesses.
Originality/value
The study is highly original, especially as no such study has been undertaken in Botswana before. The methodology used is very adequate and specially articulated to achieve the objective of the study. The research assistants were well-trained for this assignment.
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Gary J. Egan and Brinley R. Franklin
Library accounts in the university financial accounting system should give administrators information for sound management decision. In light of the extensive body of literature…
Abstract
Library accounts in the university financial accounting system should give administrators information for sound management decision. In light of the extensive body of literature published recently on library accounting and cost analysis, 12 university libraries were reviewed to determine whether their accounting practices were keeping up theory.
The current stringent economic climate requires library managers to be more systematic in cost analyses. Allocating costs to cost centers, determining costs per unit of service…
Abstract
The current stringent economic climate requires library managers to be more systematic in cost analyses. Allocating costs to cost centers, determining costs per unit of service, and correlating costs to specific categories of users, helps ensure accurate analyses of costs, productivity, and efficiency. Along with cost analysis, assessment of service is a key component in the complete analysis, for cost and efficiency must be related to quality and effectiveness. In addition to discussing the general process of determining costs for specific library services, this article focuses on the cost center model in more detail, with a case study of the cost of a library's support for grant‐sponsored research.
THE WASHINGTON SCENE. LSCA or LSIA — the Debate Continues. With the fate of federal funding for libraries still at stake, debate continues on re‐authorization of the Library…
Abstract
THE WASHINGTON SCENE. LSCA or LSIA — the Debate Continues. With the fate of federal funding for libraries still at stake, debate continues on re‐authorization of the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) vs. the enactment of the Library Services Improvement Act (LSIA), which was proposed to replace both LSCA and HEA funding for libraries.
In the context of an analysis of stopgap and reactionary presidential library and records act, the purpose of this paper is to consider how the separation of the Obama…
Abstract
Purpose
In the context of an analysis of stopgap and reactionary presidential library and records act, the purpose of this paper is to consider how the separation of the Obama Presidential Library from the Obama Presidential Center illuminates fundamental flaws in the public-private model that demand a more comprehensive legislative solution.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing upon government, academic and public sources, this paper examines the legislation of presidential records and libraries to gain perspective on the presidential library system and the Obama Presidential Center, the first post-Presidential Records Act institution to operate independently of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Findings
This paper traces the evolution of presidential library statutes and standards to reveal how the genesis of an independent Obama Presidential Center strained an already stressed system, creating significant questions about its future.
Originality/value
This paper offers an original treatment of the statutes governing NARA’s administration of presidential libraries, framing a cycle of calls and responses, with the acts of individual presidents eliciting acts of Congress. Also original, and timely, is the treatment in this paper of how these laws created the conditions for an independent Obama Presidential Center.