Roman Grynberg, Peter Fulcher and Peter Dryden
The paper considers the development of the unique fiscal relationship that exists between the government of Fiji and Emperor gold mines. Over a period of 40 years Emperor has not…
Abstract
The paper considers the development of the unique fiscal relationship that exists between the government of Fiji and Emperor gold mines. Over a period of 40 years Emperor has not only paid negligible amounts of taxes and royalties it has frequently been directly subsidised by the state. In 1983 the government signed the Vatukoula tax agreement which effectively gave new mines a tax holiday for over 20 years. At the time of writing, Emperor regularly declares a dividend, is profitable in comparison to similar mines and pays no corporate taxes. The tax agreement stands as unique among developing countries in terms of allowing all potential rents from the mine to pass directly to the mine owners and almost nothing to the resource owner.
Details
Keywords
New Zealand continues to struggle with interpreting and implementing its current policy of inclusion, especially as it relates to children traditionally known as having “special…
Abstract
Purpose
New Zealand continues to struggle with interpreting and implementing its current policy of inclusion, especially as it relates to children traditionally known as having “special educational needs”. The purpose of this paper is to trace the discursive development of institutionalised Special Education in New Zealand and examines how the funding and policy mechanisms of neoliberalism within which rights-based inclusion was introduced have complicated the planning and delivery of services in schools.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on Gillian Fulcher’s (1989) discourses of disability as they are expressed through policy documents and educational reports to examine the language and values that have underpinned the development of Special Education policy and provision in New Zealand.
Findings
The paper has identified and attempted to explain the extent to which traditional forms of exclusion have continued to structure current policy and practice despite a paradigm shift to inclusion. It argues that this has militated against clear understanding, acceptance and success of this major paradigm shift.
Research limitations/implications
In examining the social nature of disability, and its implications in the structures of education today, it is possible to consider opportunities for acting to address these.
Originality/value
The value of this work is in taking an historical approach to help understand why there continues be a distance between policy rhetoric and the reality of its implementation in practice.
Details
Keywords
This essay explores Planetary Sociology through an individual account of social construction of the self as it unfolded under the influences of a military ethic of service…
Abstract
This essay explores Planetary Sociology through an individual account of social construction of the self as it unfolded under the influences of a military ethic of service, sociological training, and academic studies of entrepreneurship. A three-part process is identified that includes unlearning, reorienting, and assuming new roles. New theoretical combinations are integral to this process and are expanded upon in this essay, suggesting a role for planetary sociology in providing a framework for better understanding tensions and connection points between habit and innovation as it pertains not only to entrepreneurship but also to the social construction of the self and social systems.
Details
Keywords
Riley Caldwell-O’Keefe and Matt Recla
In this chapter, the authors discuss the process of embedding experiential learning in a required ethics and diversity course (ED200). The course is a model of humanistic…
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors discuss the process of embedding experiential learning in a required ethics and diversity course (ED200). The course is a model of humanistic education in which students develop disciplinary-based methodological expertise while also drawing on cross-disciplinary, inclusive, problem-solving skills. The authors suggest that in a course that challenges students to think about their lives in community, engagement with that community plays a critical role in humanizing the learning experience. This pedagogical emphasis on experiential learning, instantiated as community engagement, unites the foci of ethics and diversity through students’ practical application of and reflection on their experiences to enhance ethical and cultural self-awareness. In the process, it also fosters a desire for participatory and justice-oriented citizenship (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). In what follows, the authors provide a history of the development of ED200. The authors then justify the inclusion of experiential learning in the course from theoretical and practical perspectives: Why is it valuable to include experiential learning in this course and how does it advance the goal of developing critically engaged citizens through improving ethical reasoning skills and actionable understanding of diversity? Last, the authors detail positive impacts and implementation challenges and indicate next steps for continued development.
Details
Keywords
This chapter offers a pedagogical, analytical and heuristic framework for the critical analysis of higher education policy texts, and of the processes and motivations behind their…
Abstract
This chapter offers a pedagogical, analytical and heuristic framework for the critical analysis of higher education policy texts, and of the processes and motivations behind their articulations, grounded in considerations of relationships and flows between language, power and discourse. Theoretically the framework draws on critical discourse analysis, which provides a systematic framework for exegesis, analysis and interpretation, uncloaking the ways in which language (and other semiotic modes) work within discourse as agents and actors in the realisation, construction and perception of relations of power. The framework itself comprises two elements: one concerned with contextualising and one with deconstructing. The contextualisation element of the frame comprises three parts: temporal context, policy levers/drivers and warrant. The second element of deconstruction engages with text and discourse using a number of analytical lenses and tools derived from critical discourse analysis and critical literacy analysis.
Ashlea C. Troth, Neal M. Ashkanasy and Ronald H. Humphrey
In this introductory chapter, we establish the basis for the theme of this volume, “Emotions and Disruption.” We discuss how the initial idea for the theme arose during the height…
Abstract
Purpose
In this introductory chapter, we establish the basis for the theme of this volume, “Emotions and Disruption.” We discuss how the initial idea for the theme arose during the height of COVID-19. At this time, and as widely reported in the press (e.g., see Grensing-Pophal, 2020), a myriad of workplace disruptions occurred impacting employees' moods and emotions and their subsequent well-being and performance. We open by discussing some key work on emotions research during change and disturbance, followed by a synopsis of each of the chapters in this volume, including discussion of their key contributions. This includes an overview of how some of these chapters were first presented as conference papers at the Twelfth International Conference on Emotions and Worklife (EMONET XII), an event that took place for the first time online in response to the turbulence and travel disruptions created by the pandemic.
Approach
In this chapter we give an outline of the organization of this book and discuss its four major parts. We then relate each chapter to the relevant part and consider its key contributions in terms of what we have learnt about emotions when applying the lens of disruption.
Findings
We conclude that the chapters provide a range of insights and practical solutions for dealing with emotions during different types of disruption that should be helpful to practitioners and academics.
Value
The chapters investigate underresearched topics and thus make new and important contributions. While many topics addressed in the chapters are still in their initial stages, they clearly have the potential to make a significant impact on people's work lives.
Details
Keywords
In this chapter, the author critically examines the relationship between sociology and the identities/experiences of disability and ‘mental illness’ (referred to throughout as…
Abstract
In this chapter, the author critically examines the relationship between sociology and the identities/experiences of disability and ‘mental illness’ (referred to throughout as distress). The author argues that despite sociology having an ethos of social justice and frequently producing critical accounts of inequalities – such as anti-racism and gender equality – it nonetheless uncritically reiterates the marginalisation of disability and distress. As such, sociology not only reflects the increasing ‘medicalisation of everyday life’ and shores up the essentialist discourses of genetics and neuroscience, but also consigns research and knowledge production about disability and distress to the medical sciences. The author challenges these sociological conventions and highlights the ways in which both disability and distress are socially structured, embodied experiences. The author argues that a sociological account of distress and disability are important not only in and of themselves, but also because they highlight the ways and means to challenge essentialism, inequality and the ever-narrowing definition of what is considered a normal or acceptable part of human experience. Furthermore, vibrant streams of user-led research, activism and practice-interventions – resulting in widespread social, legal and identity transformations – have emerged from the experiences of disability and distress. These user-led perspectives highlight the importance and potential of knowledge produced from the margins, not only for those experiencing disability and/or distress but also for the ways in which we perceive, theorise and research the social world more broadly.
Details
Keywords
Charles Musselwhite and Hebba Haddad
The population of older people in the ‘western world’ is increasing both in number, as well a percentage of the overall population. Changes in lifestyle as a result of increased…
Abstract
The population of older people in the ‘western world’ is increasing both in number, as well a percentage of the overall population. Changes in lifestyle as a result of increased longevity and better health and social care mean that older people are being mobile later on in their life than ever before. This qualitative study adopts an iterative and grounded theory approach to eliciting and generating the travel needs of older drivers through in-depth qualitative research with 26 older car drivers and 31 ex-car drivers. The findings suggest three levels of travel needs, these being; practical, psychosocial and aesthetic. At a primary level, practical needs encompass day-to-day, functional and utilitarian travel needs. The secondary level, psychosocial needs, include a sense of control and independence, enhancing status and defining (personal and social) roles. The tertiary level are aesthetic needs, such as travel for pleasure and for enjoyment. Psychosocial and aesthetic needs are less obvious to the participants themselves, but arguably are of equal importance as practical needs. However, less provision is made for older people in meeting these needs when they give-up driving. This has implications for design of travel services for older people: highlighting the importance to place emphasis not only on practical aspects of travel, but also on meeting psychosocial and aesthetic needs.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this article is to posit an alternative learning design approach to the technology-led magnification and multiplication of learning and to the linearity of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to posit an alternative learning design approach to the technology-led magnification and multiplication of learning and to the linearity of curricular design approaches such as a constructive alignment. Learning design ecosystem thinking creates complex and interactive networks of activity that engage the widest span of the community in addressing critical pedagogical challenges. They identify the pinch-points where negative engagements become structured into the student experience and design pathways for students to navigate their way through the uncertainty and transitions of higher education at-scale.
Design/methodology/approach
It is a conceptual paper drawing on a deep and critical engagement of literature, a reflexive approach to the dominant paradigms and informed by practice.
Findings
Learning design ecosystems create spaces within at-scale education for deep learning to occur. They are not easy to design or maintain. They are epistemically and pedagogically complex, especially when deployed within the structures of an institution. As Gough (2013) argues, complexity reduction should not be the sole purpose of designing an educational experience and the transitional journey into and through complexity that students studying in these ecosystems take can engender them with resonant, deeply human and transdisciplinary graduate capabilities that will shape their career journey.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is theoretical in nature (although underpinned by rigorous evaluation of practice). There are limitations in scope in part defined by the amorphous definitions of scale. It is also limited to the contexts of higher education although it is not bound to them.
Originality/value
This paper challenges the dialectic that argues for a complexity reduction in higher education and posits the benefits of complexity, connection and transition in the design and delivery of education at-scale.