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1 – 10 of 11Gayathri Gunatilake, Beverley Lord and Keith Dixon
This paper illustrates the socio-political nature of accountings, referring to the partial privatisation of the monopoly telecommunications organisation in a lower-middle-income…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper illustrates the socio-political nature of accountings, referring to the partial privatisation of the monopoly telecommunications organisation in a lower-middle-income country.
Design/methodology/approach
Actor-network theory and an ANTi-history approach are used to trace circumstances and occurrences. Empirical materials include official documents, print media and retrospective interviews with organisation employees ten years on from the privatisation.
Findings
Proponents of privatisation used retrospectively constructed historical accounts to problematise the natural monopoly of telecommunications and the government organisation administering it. A restructuring programme followed. Proponents addressed controversies pertaining to the programme thus garnering widespread support for complex and controversial changes. Proponents produced and reproduced accounting artefacts as evidence in these processes of history reconstruction, consequent changes and restoring stability to telecommunications in its reconfigured commercial domain. The proponents used selective, controversial accounting evidence to problematise the government organisation's existence, then to mobilise various actors to reduce and close the controversies previously aroused and reinstate stability in a partially privatised telecommunications company. Although no longer having a monopoly this company still dominates. Dissenters did the same but with little success.
Research limitations/implications
The findings demonstrate the importance of tracing the socio-political process of arriving at the dominant outcome about the past. This assists in making sense of present circumstances and re-imagining the future.
Originality/value
The study demonstrates that, during controversial circumstances, taken-for-granted history, as well as what is thought to have not existed in the past, support the dominant network in gaining advantage over their opponents and black-boxing their perspectives of how things should be.
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Andrea Flanagan-Bórquez and Kiyomi Sánchez-Suzuki Colegrove
In this chapter, we analyze and reflect on how our cultural identities and educational experiences as international students who pursued a doctoral degree in the United States…
Abstract
In this chapter, we analyze and reflect on how our cultural identities and educational experiences as international students who pursued a doctoral degree in the United States affected and influenced our teaching philosophy and praxis as professors and educators. In this sense, we examine how our cultural identities and experiences help us define and shape our teaching praxis in the contexts in which we teach. We both are professors of color – Latino and Latino-Japanese – who graduated from doctoral programs in the United States. Currently, we work and serve culturally and linguistically diverse students, including first-generation students, in public higher education settings in Chile and the United States. We used a collection of narratives to delve into the significance of these events in our praxis. As theoretical lenses, we analyze these narratives using cultural identity and the reflecting teacher to examine our practices and identities as educators. We both conclude that our reflections, experiences, and cultural identities have been instrumental in the process of developing a professional identity that guides our teaching praxis in ways that are critical and social justice oriented.
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Since new digital micro-credential technologies emerged a decade ago, there has been a rapid rise in micro-credentials in the education landscape. Much has been promised about…
Abstract
Purpose
Since new digital micro-credential technologies emerged a decade ago, there has been a rapid rise in micro-credentials in the education landscape. Much has been promised about these educational technologies, yet there is much confusion by key stakeholders in the digital micro-credential ecosystem. This confusion has led to significant efforts globally to define micro-credentials to ensure quality learning and generate beneficial impacts to learners, employers, education providers and edtech organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
This commentary reviews relevant literature on digital micro-credentials and other alternative credentials to determine how these educational technologies can meet the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to nurture lifelong learning for working learners.
Findings
Universities are being challenged to address the changing needs and uncertainty being introduced by the Fourth and Fifth Industrial Revolutions, particularly with implications for workforce upskilling and lifelong learning. To adapt, universities will need to rethink their roles and shift their institutional mindsets in how they may approach the challenges through mechanisms such as digital micro-credntials.
Research limitations/implications
This paper focuses on the analysis of five policy statements about micro-credentials. While these policy statements represent a sample, there is a representation of Western education-related systems. Thus, they skew the findings towards Western education systems thinking.
Practical implications
Understanding how micro-credentials are being positioned within education-related systems is useful for applying the educational technologies by, for example, universities, learners and employers.
Social implications
Provides an overview of how these educational technologies may provide beneficial impacts for society as it plans to adapt to economic uncertainty and change.
Originality/value
The commentary provides a policy context for the emerging use of micro-credential technologies to examine demands for workforce upskilling.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore Somos Escritoras, a creative space and writing workshop, for Latina adolescent girls (grades 6–8), as a program that supports not only…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore Somos Escritoras, a creative space and writing workshop, for Latina adolescent girls (grades 6–8), as a program that supports not only writing and literacy development of girls, but also their college going identities.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a case study focused on the experiences of five Latina girls who participated in Somos Escritoras and what they define as the important aspects of the program that supported their personal and academic development.
Findings
Through girls writing, interview transcripts, and ethnographic conversations, their words illustrate how Somos Escritoras provided a safe space to examine their lives and find comunidad. Girls described the value they found in examining their lives through art and writing in ways that school did not invite them to do. Also, girls discussed the power they found in writing alongside Latinas their age and Latina mentors.
Originality/value
This study offers pedagogical implications for English language arts classrooms and schools to support Latina girls’ college-going identities.
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Teresa Maria Linda Scholz and Judith Flores Carmona
Replicating colonization at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) must be addressed from the root, structurally. At New Mexico State University (NMSU) the authors are aimed to…
Abstract
Purpose
Replicating colonization at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) must be addressed from the root, structurally. At New Mexico State University (NMSU) the authors are aimed to commit to going beyond counting and enrolling, to center servingness.
Design/methodology/approach
HSIs will continue to struggle in fulfilling their mission, especially given the fast-growing Latina/e/o/x populations in the United States (US). A major challenge all HSIs face is the contrasting demographics between the student population, the faculty and staff and the administration – with HSI administrations consistently being predominantly White.
Findings
Hence, in this piece the authors shed light on the important work the authors have done these last two years through collaborative efforts to transform the institution and center servingness. Judith as the Interim Director of Chicano Programs, and Linda as the inaugural Vice President for equity, inclusion and diversity.
Originality/value
Herein, the authors now share about the genre of testimonio as a decolonial methodology and about the experiences in our work as we attempt to decolonize the praxis at an HSI.
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Infanticide stands out as a crime which, in England and Wales, has been marked for at least 200 years by deep-rooted continuities in its representation and treatment by both the…
Abstract
Infanticide stands out as a crime which, in England and Wales, has been marked for at least 200 years by deep-rooted continuities in its representation and treatment by both the criminal justice system and the media, despite the massive political, economic, social, legislative and cultural changes that occurred over this period. Particularly remarkable about this long-standing discourse is its routine emphasis that the guilty mother is also a victim of tragic circumstances that led to the crime and deserving of sympathetic treatment. It also invariably sets infanticide apart as a ‘special case’ which does not necessarily fit with either medical or legal definitions of diminished criminal responsibility. Perhaps surprisingly, this framing of women who commit infanticide stresses not only their ‘normality’ prior to the offence but also their ‘respectability’, a sharp contrast to the sometimes overtly misogynistic representation of other types of women offenders. This chapter argues that it is above all ‘respectability’ that profoundly shaped the cultural script relating to infanticide in England and Wales between 1800 and 2000, and that this continues to exert a powerful legacy on the relatively small number of cases that now comes before the courts in the twenty-first century.
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Irina Surdu and Giulio Nardella
The data used to present this case was collected from secondary data sources. These sources included media reports associated with Michael Jordan and his trajectory since entering…
Abstract
Research methodology
The data used to present this case was collected from secondary data sources. These sources included media reports associated with Michael Jordan and his trajectory since entering the sport, as well as specific information published about his time at the Chicago Bulls. Another key source of information is the ESPN documentary conducted specifically on Jordan’s relationship with his National Basketball Association (NBA) team.
Case overview/synopsis
The case follows the story of Michael Jordan, who took his team, the Chicago Bulls, to fame in a rather controversial manner. To do so, Michael Jordan had to alter his leadership style over the years to be respected as a leader and motivate his team to win one NBA championship after another. On 20th April 2020, ESPN’s “The Last Dance”, a 10-part documentary about Michael Jordan and his time playing for the Chicago Bulls was released to much acclaim. The documentary became highly noted as Jordan himself, both directed and starred in the documentary. Jordan’s great achievements stood out, but so did the conflicts that the basketball star had with The Bulls’ management team and mainly, his teammates. Relationships between teammates were far from harmonious, which led to questions around whether Michael Jordan was as good a leader, as he was a star player. Cultural change within the organisation was primarily linked to the often-contested leadership of Jordan.
Complexity academic level
The case can be used at UG, MSc and MBA levels. It works for in-person teaching and for online teaching. It is most suitable in leadership, strategy and strategy in practice courses. However, it is critical to note that the case can shed light on the dynamics that leaders and teammates have within their teams. Therefore, this case may be valuable to students studying courses where they themselves must work in groups and oftentimes encounter challenges in managing their team. These challenges can arise at all levels of experience. As such, the case provides particularly useful reflection for decision makers who may be beginning to develop their leadership skill (UG), those who have already experienced working in teams (MSc) or leading teams themselves (MBA, Executive MBA). The case addresses the challenges associated with achieving high team motivation and performance. It also sheds light on the challenges associated with leading a cultural change within a team and the approaches of different actors involved. It may be best to introduce the case in the context of a (1.5–2 h) workshop once students understand the basic frameworks and tools used to analyse leadership styles and their characteristics.
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Michael Takudzwa Pasara and David Mhlanga
Background: Educational institutions are strategic tools in disseminating knowledge on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since education is an effective developmental tool. All…
Abstract
Background: Educational institutions are strategic tools in disseminating knowledge on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since education is an effective developmental tool. All the 17 SDGs are tied in one way or the other to education, that is, the ability of people to learn and apply. This study applies unorthodox theories which include convergence models, neo-functionalism, intergovernmentalism, neorealism and the Hofstede model to explain how educational institutions are an essential enabling environment which accelerates the attainment of SDGs.
Methods: These factors are analysed in the context of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Empirically, some university case studies were highlighted in addition to unclear modus operandi, small, fragmented and heterogeneous markets and economies, political stability, deficient political will, and lack of standardisation of products and procedures among other factors. These dynamics affect both the quality of educational institutions and the quality of education thereby directly or indirectly affecting the attainment of the 17 SDGs and are compounded with the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic.
Results: The study reveals that acceleration of the 17 SDGs will require a holistic approach as opposed to silos (scientific, economic, political, academic) which usually emerge when pursuing overarching goals of this magnitude.
Conclusions: It concludes that accelerating progress towards the attainment of SDGs will not only require dynamic and visionary leadership but also well-functioning institutions which are based on economic feasibility as opposed to political alliances. Priorities should be placed on addressing poverty, inequality and quality education. Moreover, partnerships will be key in achieving sustainability especially given that the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded existing challenges.
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Mostafa Bagherianfar and Aliakbar Dolati
Social participation of university refers to the creation of knowledge and participatory processes with local communities in solving community problems in order to achieve…
Abstract
Purpose
Social participation of university refers to the creation of knowledge and participatory processes with local communities in solving community problems in order to achieve sustainable development. Identifying the university's social participation strategies was the main purpose of the present study.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to achieve this aim, the qualitative method was used. The study area is Semnan province and Semnan University. The statistical sample included two groups of internal beneficiaries of the university (including staff, deputies and faculty members of the university) and external beneficiaries of the university (including managers and experts of local organizations, education, province and municipality). The sampling was purposefully performed based on the theoretical saturation criterion, holding an interview with 29 participants. Data analysis was performed in three stages of open, axial and selective coding.
Findings
The results of the research showed that the university can participate with its local community in developing the university vision according to the needs of the local community, holding workshops and scientific conferences, concluding joint research contracts, expert and researcher exchange, environmental leadership training, participatory management and teamwork, indigenous manpower, institutionalizing regional participation, solving community issues and problems, creating associations and non-governmental companies in the community, mission orientation, directing education and research towards solving problems and meeting the real needs of the province according to land management, supervising research activities, conducting comprehensive studies in the field of mineral potentials, organizing workshops for farmers' awareness, monitoring the employment of graduates, creating and developing new fields according to the needs of the province and region, educating citizens and cultural zing to reduce production and segregate household waste, opening the university's social space for the growth and supply of youth, educating the province's handicrafts to housewives, especially in the deprived areas, sensitizing programs in the field of environmental protection, and reviewing educational content based on the community needs.
Originality/value
Biosocial and economic policy of universities was another result of the present study. The university intends to make citizens aware of social and environmental problems and to provide the necessary education in the fields of air pollution, soil salinity, drinking water supply, cultivation pattern refinement, agricultural mechanization, and waste and waste management. The university should also promote entrepreneurship among students and faculty members and attract economic resources to the university through innovation and commercialization circles, and develop the province's economic infrastructure in various fields of tourism, agriculture, industry and mining.
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