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1 – 8 of 8Sophie Brière, Maripier Tremblay and Alain Daou
In the past years, several initiatives were implemented in South Africa to encourage entrepreneurship. In this paper, we try to answer the question: what services South African…
Abstract
Purpose
In the past years, several initiatives were implemented in South Africa to encourage entrepreneurship. In this paper, we try to answer the question: what services South African entrepreneurs want? In order to do so, the services offered by Enablis, a Canadian NGO whose purpose is to encourage entrepreneurship in South Africa are analyzed.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a qualitative case study approach, this paper presents the point of view of entrepreneurs in South Africa.
Findings
Surprisingly, we found that entrepreneurs want first and foremost networking opportunities. Human capital, expressed through training and developing entrepreneurs' skills is another key issue. Finally, access to financing is only the third priority for South African entrepreneurs.
Originality/value
This research allowed the identification of the needs of entrepreneurs and provides an insight into entrepreneurship in South Africa.
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Hélène Lee-Gosselin, Sophie Briere and Hawo Ann
For decades, numerous mechanisms have been adopted to accelerate the progression of women in decision-making levels, and many organizations have developed programs to promote…
Abstract
Purpose
For decades, numerous mechanisms have been adopted to accelerate the progression of women in decision-making levels, and many organizations have developed programs to promote gender mainstreaming. In practice however, literature has shown that experience in gender mainstreaming faces many important challenges and under-representation persists at higher organizational levels. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This research brings together the results of two case studies on gender equality in the higher echelons of public and private sector organisations in Canada (Québec) and Morocco. Based on the analytical framework used as a theoretical basis for the analysis of change and resistance to gender mainstreaming, the data were revisited to explore common trends and patterns, despite the differences in context.
Findings
The analysis shows that common factors support and limit women's progress in organizations. Equity initiatives are limited to the technical agenda and scant effort goes to managing political and cultural dimensions. The study shows that those dimensions play a central role in the production of gender inequality and that actions and measures targeting political and cultural dimensions must be prioritized.
Originality/value
An improved conceptual framework is proposed for practical interventions and theory building. The new matrix feeds into the reflection for a new learning approach for organizations who want to achieve gender mainstreaming, to better identify the dimensions that should be addressed or to assess the measures taken and their impact and also offers a basis for new studies and research to test the matrix, its usefulness for theory building for intervention.
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Sophie E. Jané, Virginie Fernandez and Markus Hällgren
The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon how encountering trauma unexpectedly in the field informs the doing of fieldwork.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon how encountering trauma unexpectedly in the field informs the doing of fieldwork.
Design/methodology/approach
A reflexive essay approach was adopted to explore traumatic incidents in extreme contexts. Written vignettes, interviews, field notes and information conversations served as the bases for reflections.
Findings
Four themes arose from the reflections (Bracketing, Institutional Pressure, Impact on Research and Unresolvedness). It was suggested that researchers engaged in extreme context research, and management and organization studies scholars engaged in dangerous fieldwork more broadly, are under institutional pressure to continue work that may put themselves in harm's way. Traumatic experiences also shape and reflect the researcher's identity, which informs choices about current and future research projects.
Research limitations/implications
It was suggested that scholars will benefit from reading the accounts of others to reduce the burden of isolation that can accompany traumatic field experiences.
Originality/value
Exploring single traumatic events enabled in engaging with trauma encountered unexpectedly and directly in the field. The reflections reveal the effects of psychological and physical trauma on researchers, and highlight how trauma impacts the research process.
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Andy Cook and Julie Payne
The purpose of this paper is to describe family intervention (FI) with four families in which the service user is under the care of forensic mental health services. There is a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe family intervention (FI) with four families in which the service user is under the care of forensic mental health services. There is a focus on identifying how systemic practice is used or adapted in working with families who have a family member who has presented risk and caused harm.
Design/methodology/approach
Four case studies are used to provide a basis for the exploration of commonalities in practice between the cases and the utility of FI within forensic services, which have the dual purpose of promoting mental health recovery and reducing offending/risk behaviour.
Findings
Family work can be a key healing tool in the recovery journey of forensic service users and their families. An integrated systemic and psycho-educational FI approach was found to be appropriate in the cases described. Issues particular to forensic services are identified; these include the role of safety planning; the function of talking about the history of trauma in the family including the impact of offending behaviour; mediating difficult relationships between family members and professionals; and overcoming barriers to having difficult and emotive conversations.
Research limitations/implications
The absence of outcome assessments limits the findings to observational data and self-reported experiences from the authors.
Practical implications
FI can be safely and effectively used within forensic settings, facilitated by practitioners competent in working with trauma and complexity, as an integrated component of the therapeutic treatment.
Originality/value
There are recognised barriers to the provision of FI within forensic settings, with limited research regarding the application of such therapies with forensic patients and their families. This paper adds to the small pool of knowledge regarding useful applications of FI in such settings.
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The question of responsibility is not new to labour law. The earliest developments in labour law and social law sprang from a “legal revolution” to borrow the words of Georges…
Abstract
The question of responsibility is not new to labour law. The earliest developments in labour law and social law sprang from a “legal revolution” to borrow the words of Georges Scelle, considering the concept of responsibility that prevailed in common law. Civil responsibility which was originally based on fault could now be based on the risk inherent to a socially useful activity so as to ensure that the responsibility for damages that might result from it be equitably shared. This development took place under the generalization of the industrial production mode, first within the frame work of laws respecting compensation for industrial accidents.
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Petra Scicluna and Marilyn Clark
The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical analysis of the pathways of female addicts within the Maltese context by highlighting the complex interrelatedness between…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical analysis of the pathways of female addicts within the Maltese context by highlighting the complex interrelatedness between substance abuse and victimisation. This paper proposes that female addiction and victimisation trajectories unfold in a non-linear fashion, heavily influenced by particular socio-psychological processes.
Design/methodology/approach
Guided by a career approach conceptual framework, this study was carried out through an in-depth exploration of the victimisation and addictive career trajectories of 12 women, who are either incarcerated or in a residential drug treatment facility. Data were gathered qualitatively through in-depth interviews and analysed using a grounded theory methodology.
Findings
The paper highlights how the victimisation and substance abuse trajectories of women initially unfold and develop over time. This includes an exploration of the strategies employed in order to negotiate gender-based victimisation experiences throughout their lifetime, such as through the development of a victim identity and the self-medication of trauma symptoms, a process that is facilitated by the influence of older, male peers. As the women’s addiction trajectories progress rapidly towards commitment, sex work and IPV feature and the victim identity is reinforced, motivating continued and increased drug use.
Practical implications
The paper includes implications for the development of a gender-responsive framework of intervention when working with women who were present for the treatment.
Originality/value
With a focus on women’s experiences, this study fills a lacuna within the literature by complementing and expanding upon quantitative analyses that examine these phenomena as distinct entities.
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