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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the relationship between recent transformations of labour and corresponding predictions made to gender equity. It reflects in particular the German discussion on the subjective turn in labour, termed as subjectivation of work, and the diagnosis of a feminization of gainful labour work given in this context, by focusing on the governing of the psyche.

The paper is both a theoretical reflection as well as a presentation of empirical findings. It refers to Foucault's concept of governmentality, thereby considering “psychopolitics” as a new type of power, and taking it as an approach for qualitative empirical research. The empirical findings are based on narrative biographical interviews with female and male employees working in the ICT sector.

Due to an under‐elaborated conception of the subject (and its interrelation to power), the diagnosis of a subjectivation of work as a feminization of work is inadequate and misleading. Instead, the empirical analysis gives evidence to the argument that the feminization of work turns out as a (re)masculinization of life and existence.

By drawing on considerations within governmentality studies, the concept of “psychopolitics” offers a new and fruitful approach for research, implying also a dynamic concept of the subject. The empirical analysis provides new insights on the discussion on the issue of gender equity within the realm of gainful work.

Homelessness research is identified as one example of sensitive social research that engages ‘vulnerable’ (Liamputtong, 2007, p. 4) participants as well as an area of difficult research practice. This chapter explores how using qualitative research methodologies have led us to reinterpret aspects of our research practice and to develop an inclusive approach in our work on homelessness. In articulating our approach, we explore influences shaping the context of our research practice and ideas that are effective in researching homelessness. We present these as key principles informing our approach, alongside strategies we have developed for enacting inclusive research practice.

This paper aims to consider the accounting academic, the environment in which the academic operates and the challenges they face.

This paper explores a number of issues relating to the accounting academic. The five papers that make up the special issue are located within a framework which is used to illustrate how each one contributes to the field. This paper is primarily discursive in nature.

The theoretical, methodological and empirical approaches used in the papers that make up this special issue are described. In addition, the paper suggests that the accounting academic will remain a fertile area for future research.

This portrayal of accounting academics is of interest to accounting researchers, accounting historians, university managers and individual academics.

This special issue provides a range of examples of research relevant to the accounting academic and sets an agenda for future research.

Beatrice Avalos, Ph.D., is associate researcher at the Centre for Advanced Research in Education, University of Chile. She has journal and book publications on teacher education, educational policy in developing countries and gender issues focussed particularly on Chile and Latin America. She has worked and taught in universities in Chile, Britain, Canada and Papua New Guinea, and carried out consultancy work in Bangladesh and several Latin American countries on issues related to school improvement, teacher professional development and teacher initial education.

This article is based on a study that critically examined the assumption that institutionalisation may be a contributing factor to homelessness. According to the Guardian newspaper, the number of people sleeping rough in London has leapt by 15% in recent years, although the reasons remain unclear. This study suggests that there may be a positive correlation between leaving an institution and experiencing difficulties in gaining and keeping a house or flat. It also highlights the lack of help and the ignorance experienced by individuals who have left an institution. This isolation may also be partly self‐inflicted, because negative experiences in an institution can result in the individual's becoming reluctant to seek help.

The authors explore self-identity construction as a mechanism of institution­aliz­ation at the individual level. Building on in-depth analysis of life stories of yoga practitioners who are at different stages of practice, the authors found that as yoga practitioners are more exposed to the yogic institution, yogic meanings gradually infuse their general worldview and self-concept. The authors follow the line of research which focuses on professional identity construction as institutional work, yet, opening the “black box,” the authors argue that institutional meanings take root at the individual level beyond the institutional context and beneath the explicit level of identity.

To investigate the relationship between learning, organizational change, organizational culture and narratives. The issues are explored on the basis of a case study of an automotive supplier based in North‐East England where learning is deeply integrated in the daily routines of the company.

The project reported upon in this paper was of qualitative and interpretive nature, using narrative cross‐national comparative research. The main data collection method was in‐depth interviewing with organizational members from all hierarchical levels. The interviews were tape‐recorded, transcribed and fed back to the interviewees. The data was analysed using grounded theory.

The research concludes that organizational change, learning and culture are deeply interwoven. More specifically, the success of the case study company is based to a large extent on its people focus and unique learning culture, which are reflected in, separable from and sustained by the prevailing organizational narratives.

The generalizability of case studies is limited, but opens up new questions to be explored by further research into the relationship of organizational change, learning, culture and narratives.

Organizational narratives are a powerful tool for managers to examine cultural aspects within the firm, which should be used more widely.

The paper raises interesting issues for management researchers, challenging some previously taken for granted assumptions.