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1 – 10 of 13Women's violence is periodically raised as a cause for concern both in the media as well as in discussions among the general public in other platforms, such as online forums…
Abstract
Women's violence is periodically raised as a cause for concern both in the media as well as in discussions among the general public in other platforms, such as online forums. These concerns are linked with anti-feminist efforts to discredit the benefits of feminisms and to counter feminist knowledge on gendered patterns in violence. In this chapter, I discuss the ways these concerns and the associated discrediting of feminism have been manifested in various contexts, including academic research on intimate partner violence. My specific focus is on online forums, where women's use of violence is frequently highlighted for the purpose of creating an image of reversed gender discrimination experienced by men. I illustrate how such meaning-making is employed in online discussions derived from various online discussion forums in Finland. The empirical example is focussed on identifying discursive methods frequently employed in the online contexts and specifically illustrates how those methods are employed for the rhetorical effect of othering feminists, highlighting the severity of women's violence as a social problem and portraying men instead of women as victims of inequality. I conclude with a discussion on connections between this meaning-making and broader patterns in anti-feminist mobilisations of the issue of women's violence.
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Obinna Alo, Ahmad Arslan, Anna Yumiao Tian and Vijay Pereira
This paper is one of the first studies to examine specificities, including limits of mindfulness at work in an African organisational context, whilst dealing with the ongoing…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is one of the first studies to examine specificities, including limits of mindfulness at work in an African organisational context, whilst dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It specifically addresses the role of organisational and managerial support systems in restoring employee wellbeing, social connectedness and attachment to their organisations, in order to overcome the exclusion caused by the ongoing pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a qualitative research methodology that includes interviews as the main data source. The sample comprises of 20 entrepreneurs (organisational leaders) from Ghana and Nigeria.
Findings
The authors found that COVID-19-induced worries restricted the practice of mindfulness, and this was prevalent at the peak of the pandemic, particularly due to very tough economic conditions caused by reduction in salaries, and intensified by pre-existing general economic and social insecurities, and institutional voids in Africa. This aspect further resulted in lack of engagement and lack of commitment, which affected overall team performance and restricted employees’ mindfulness at work. Hence, quietness by employees even though can be linked to mindfulness was linked to larger psychological stress that they were facing. The authors also found leaders/manager’s emotional intelligence, social skills and organisational support systems to be helpful in such circumstances. However, their effectiveness varied among the cases.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the first studies to establish a link between the COVID-19 pandemic and mindfulness limitations. Moreover, it is a pioneering study specifically highlighting the damaging impact of COVID-19-induced concerns on leader–member exchange (LMX) and team–member exchange (TMX) relationships, particularly in the African context. It further brings in a unique discussion on the mitigating mechanisms of such COVID-19-induced concerns in organisations and highlights the roles of manager’s/leader’s emotional intelligence, social skills and supportive intervention patterns. Finally, the authors offer an in-depth assessment of the effectiveness of organisational interventions and supportive relational systems in restoring social connectedness following a social exclusion caused by COVID-19-induced worries.
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Cen April Yue, Patrick D. Thelen and Justin Walden
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak thrust a spotlight on organizational leaders and the challenges that employees face during periods of organizational change. The purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak thrust a spotlight on organizational leaders and the challenges that employees face during periods of organizational change. The purpose of the current study is to examine the influence of empathetic supervisor communication on employee turnover intention and the mediating role of affective trust toward supervisors and employee–organization relationship (EOR) quality. Informed by the social exchange theory and EOR literature, the authors develop a model in which affective trust toward supervisors and EOR quality mediates the relationship between empathetic supervisor communication and employee turnover intention.
Design/methodology/approach
This study recruited 417 employees based in the USA through an online panel operated by a professional survey company. Data collection that followed a quota sampling procedure lasted for about three weeks in October 2020. The authors used structural equation modeling to test the study hypotheses.
Findings
The findings of this study indicated that the extent to which supervisors adopted empathetic communication during organizational change had considerable repercussions on their supervisees' affective trust toward supervisors, relationship perception toward their organizations, and ultimately, their turnover intention.
Originality/value
This study is among the first that identifies empathetic communication as a pivotal force in driving employees' positive relational and behavioral reactions, reinforcing the growing expectation of supervisors in fulfilling communication functions during organizational change. Moreover, the authors contribute to understanding change management as an activity rooted in and enacted through communication between supervisors and subordinates. In addition, this study contributes to the organizational research of empathy during change.
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Based on self-determination theory, the paper investigates the link between environmentally specific transformational leadership (ETFL) and subjective well-being (SWB) of…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on self-determination theory, the paper investigates the link between environmentally specific transformational leadership (ETFL) and subjective well-being (SWB) of employees working in an energy intensive industry. The paper also aims to examine pro-environmental behavior (PEB) as a mediator mechanism between ETFL and SWB relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical research design was used for the analysis. In total, 293 respondents working in different energy intensive Indian companies filled the questionnaire for the study. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling SMART-PLS 3 software which is a graphical user interface for variance-based structural equation modeling using the partial least squares path modeling method. Two stages of analysis were conducted: the measurement model and the structural model.
Findings
The results indicate that (1) ETFL has a significant positive impact on PEB. (2) PEB is positively correlated to SWB. (3) ETFL has a significant impact on SWB. (4) The underlying mechanism process of ETFL and SWB relationship is explained by mediation of PEB.
Practical implications
Overall, the study insinuates that PEB act as underlying mechanism in environmental leadership and SWB of employees. The study further suggests that the management should promote green leaders for enhancing the overall SWB of the managements' employees especially in energy intensive sector. Doing so helps the managers to enhance managers' environmental conscious behavior for inducing SWB of employees.
Originality/value
The study contributes to novel findings in existing literature particularly to determine ETFL and PEB as predictors of SWB especially in energy intensive sector. The study also leads the ways for organizations by promoting green conscious leaders, which stimulates PEB among employees that ultimately contributes to SWB of employees. Furthermore, the research methodology can be used in other studies for variation of contextual variables such as size of the industry, developed or underdeveloped country and manufacturing or service industry.
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This paper describes the curriculum design of an architectural studio course aimed at making concepts of sustainability accessible, understandable and practicable to second-year…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper describes the curriculum design of an architectural studio course aimed at making concepts of sustainability accessible, understandable and practicable to second-year undergraduate students. Architectural education and design pedagogy is shaped and interrogated in the Global North or Western Europe and North America and influences various pedagogical approaches in the Global South. By including exemplars, voices and practices from global, historical, vernacular and contemporary contexts, understanding of sustainability is enriched.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach to course design included decolonising the curriculum and making it relevant for globally diverse future professionals. The studio theme of “memory and history” was framed as responsiveness to context and experiencing the site. Students were required to define place, and articulate form and space with sensitivity towards social, cultural, environmental and ecological aspects. The lectures, exercises and interactive activities emphasised design process, in-progress work, and experimentation through sketching, diagramming, drawing, and making study models which scaffolded student learning under the guidance of tutors.
Findings
The findings show that to make the process of learning to design in an environmentally responsive manner explicit for students, approaches to curriculum design must have a global and inclusive curriculum, engage students in experiential learning through doing/making to develop critical thinking skills, encourage students to synthesise and transfer learning to and from other settings and contexts, and interpret knowledge-power relationships and co-construction processes embedded in studio-based teaching and learning.
Originality/value
The original contribution of the course is that it creates an inclusive, experimental and decolonised space for co-construction of knowledge about designing sustainable environments.
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Myra Hindley is typically described as an ‘icon of evil’. In the 1960s, Hindley and her boyfriend Ian Brady sexually tortured and murdered at least two girls and three boys, aged…
Abstract
Myra Hindley is typically described as an ‘icon of evil’. In the 1960s, Hindley and her boyfriend Ian Brady sexually tortured and murdered at least two girls and three boys, aged between 10 and 17 years, in the Manchester area of the UK. All except one were sexually assaulted. She has provoked a huge amount of public commentary for more than three and a half decades after her conviction. This chapter asks how Hindley's actions were understood and interpreted at the time. Central themes are the concept ‘evil’, sexual violence, pornography, permissive society and patriarchy, as refracted through gender and class.
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Teresa Atkinson and Rebecca Oatley
The purpose of this paper is to present the views of people living with dementia in extra care housing (ECH). This is a model of housing with care and support aiming to support…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the views of people living with dementia in extra care housing (ECH). This is a model of housing with care and support aiming to support older people, including those with dementia, to live independently. Previous research identifies benefits but is predominantly derived from third-party accounts, with the voices of those living with dementia in ECH significantly absent.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a qualitative approach conducting 100 interviews across 8 ECH schemes in England. Over half of the interviews were conducted with people living with dementia and their families with the remainder involving staff and commissioners.
Findings
Findings suggest there are a range of benefits including owning your own home, having a safe, age friendly location with flexible support, social interaction and continuing to live as a couple. Challenges included availability of staff, flexible resourcing, loneliness and the advancing symptoms of dementia.
Research limitations/implications
Despite efforts to create an inclusive, diverse sample, the participants were all White British. Participants involved were identified by gatekeepers, which may present some bias in the selection.
Practical implications
Whilst ECH offers benefits to people living with dementia, addressing the challenges is essential for effective dementia care. Improving staff training, promoting person-centred care and fostering an inclusive community are critical for enhancing residents’ well-being and quality of life.
Originality/value
This paper explored the lived experiences of residents and family members, providing new insight into the advantages and disadvantages of ECH for people living with dementia.
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Grace Nalweyiso, Samuel Mafabi, James Kagaari, John Munene and Ernest Abaho
This paper offers a theoretical explanation to a positive story of a micro enterprise found in Uganda, an African developing country that has successfully managed workplace…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper offers a theoretical explanation to a positive story of a micro enterprise found in Uganda, an African developing country that has successfully managed workplace relationships, its survival and good performance. Specifically, the paper examines multiple theories to explain the practice in this enterprise.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses storytelling, a form of narrative inquiry embedded in qualitative methodology. Based on in-depth interviews with the owner-manager and employees, a story was developed detailing their practical experience while focusing on the context, actions, results and lessons.
Findings
Findings reveal that micro enterprises that allow free generation of ideas across all levels with optimistic people who reciprocate and work together create a friendly work atmosphere with support for one another, with the ability to amicably resolve conflicts and build trust. More so, theories including social exchange theory, relational cohesion theory, complex adaptive systems theory and cultural historical activity theory help explain the manifestations of relational people management in micro enterprises.
Originality/value
This paper is unique in its use of a positive story showing a practical experience of how workplace relationships are managed in a micro enterprise found in Uganda. In addition, a multi-theoretical perspective is used to explain the manifestations in the story which may be novel in the study context. Thus, a conceptual model is proposed depicting generalized reciprocity, positive emotions, generative leadership and relational agency as antecedents of relational people management with relational agency again mediating the other relationships.
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