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1 – 8 of 8Ellen Ernst Kossek, Brenda A. Lautsch, Matthew B. Perrigino, Jeffrey H. Greenhaus and Tarani J. Merriweather
Work-life flexibility policies (e.g., flextime, telework, part-time, right-to-disconnect, and leaves) are increasingly important to employers as productivity and well-being…
Abstract
Work-life flexibility policies (e.g., flextime, telework, part-time, right-to-disconnect, and leaves) are increasingly important to employers as productivity and well-being strategies. However, policies have not lived up to their potential. In this chapter, the authors argue for increased research attention to implementation and work-life intersectionality considerations influencing effectiveness. Drawing on a typology that conceptualizes flexibility policies as offering employees control across five dimensions of the work role boundary (temporal, spatial, size, permeability, and continuity), the authors develop a model identifying the multilevel moderators and mechanisms of boundary control shaping relationships between using flexibility and work and home performance. Next, the authors review this model with an intersectional lens. The authors direct scholars’ attention to growing workforce diversity and increased variation in flexibility policy experiences, particularly for individuals with higher work-life intersectionality, which is defined as having multiple intersecting identities (e.g., gender, caregiving, and race), that are stigmatized, and link to having less access to and/or benefits from societal resources to support managing the work-life interface in a social context. Such an intersectional focus would address the important need to shift work-life and flexibility research from variable to person-centered approaches. The authors identify six research considerations on work-life intersectionality in order to illuminate how traditionally assumed work-life relationships need to be revisited to address growing variation in: access, needs, and preferences for work-life flexibility; work and nonwork experiences; and benefits from using flexibility policies. The authors hope that this chapter will spur a conversation on how the work-life interface and flexibility policy processes and outcomes may increasingly differ for individuals with higher work-life intersectionality compared to those with lower work-life intersectionality in the context of organizational and social systems that may perpetuate growing work-life and job inequality.
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Joanie Caron, Hugo Asselin, Jean-Michel Beaudoin and Doïna Muresanu
While companies in developed countries are increasingly turning to indigenous employees, integration measures have met with mixed results. Low integration can lead to breach of…
Abstract
Purpose
While companies in developed countries are increasingly turning to indigenous employees, integration measures have met with mixed results. Low integration can lead to breach of the psychological contract, i.e. perceived mutual obligations between employee and employer. The purpose of this paper is to identify how leadership and organizational integration measures can be implemented to promote the perceived insider status (PIS) of indigenous employees, thereby fostering fulfillment of the psychological contract.
Design/methodology/approach
A search for relevant literature yielded 128 texts used to identify integration measures at the level of employee–supervisor relationships (leader-member exchanges, inclusive leadership) and at the level of employee–organization relationships (perceived organizational support, pro-diversity practices).
Findings
Measures related to leadership included recruiting qualified leaders, understanding cultural particularities, integrating diverse contributions and welcoming questions and challenges. Organizational measures included reaching a critical mass of indigenous employees, promoting equity and participation, developing skills, assigning meaningful tasks, maintaining good work relationships, facilitating work-life balance, providing employment security, fostering support from communities and monitoring practices.
Originality/value
While PIS has been studied in western and culturally diverse contexts, it has received less attention in indigenous contexts. Yet, some indigenous cultural values are incompatible with the basic assumptions of mainstream theories. Furthermore, colonial policies and capitalist development have severely impacted traditional indigenous economic systems. Consequently, indigenous people are facing many barriers to employment in ways that often differ from the experiences of other minority groups.
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Maria Ripollés and Andreu Blesa
The role of entrepreneurship education in promoting entrepreneurial actions remains unclear. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the logic of different types of…
Abstract
Purpose
The role of entrepreneurship education in promoting entrepreneurial actions remains unclear. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the logic of different types of entrepreneurship education and the effect of learning characteristics in promoting entrepreneurial actions among student entrepreneurs in the higher education setting.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a quantitative approach involving the use of survey data collected via an Internet tool. The constructs of variables are measured using previously tested scales. The data were analysed using partial least squares modelling because it can handle formative and reflective constructs in the same model and is capable of testing for moderation.
Findings
The findings illustrate that voluntary entrepreneurship education generates learning outcomes in terms of students' entrepreneurial actions, which is important because without action, a venture will never be launched. This is especially so if students show a deep learning orientation, while mastery motivation showed a significant and negative moderating effect. This is not the case for compulsory entrepreneurship education.
Originality/value
Embedded in construal level theory, this paper offers knowledge that can help to advance entrepreneurship education research (1) by uncovering the role of different types of entrepreneurship education interventions, (2) by considering students' entrepreneurial actions as the dependent variable and (3) by unravelling the role of students' learning characteristics in the efficacy of entrepreneurship education interventions. By doing this, the study addresses recent repeated calls for more fine-grained research focused on how university students learn in entrepreneurship in higher education and its effects.
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Jennifer Berdahl and Barnini Bhattacharyya
The purpose of this paper is to identify promising themes of the papers in the special issues of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion dedicated to advancing scholarship on sex-based…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify promising themes of the papers in the special issues of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion dedicated to advancing scholarship on sex-based harassment.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual overview of the research pertaining to these themes and an analysis of the special issues papers' contributions to these themes.
Findings
Four themes that represent important but relatively neglected lines of inquiry into sex-based harassment are identified. These are (1) the psychology of harassment, (2) organizational culture and networks, (3) the invisible majority and (4) the importance of collective action.
Originality/value
The paper offers an expert perspective on the state of research related to sex-based harassment and four themes that are important to moving it forward.
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Rebecca L. Fix and Rebkha Atnafou-Boyer
Community leaders working in Black communities are faced with countless challenges yet require unique skills for which evidence-based training is often limited or difficult to…
Abstract
Community leaders working in Black communities are faced with countless challenges yet require unique skills for which evidence-based training is often limited or difficult to find. The current study employed a mixed- methods approach using archival data to evaluate a promising and much needed neighborhood leadership program for Black community leaders, the Bunting Neighborhood Leadership Program. The three primary foci of the program were to examine who were selected as fellows, the goals fellows presented with upon entering the program, and the primary outcomes following immediate program completion and follow-up. Nineteen fellows have matriculated through the program, and all completed pre- and post-surveys, and were each contacted about current awards and other leadership successes. Additionally, seven fellows were interviewed about their experiences with and outcomes following the program. Surveys demonstrated important gains in knowledge and skill development for fellows. Following participation, many fellows developed their own organizations, and some secured funding and received awards for their community leadership work. Three key themes emerged from coded interviews, namely (1) characteristics of those who seek a community leadership training, (2) successes in community impact and activities observed among fellows following program completion, and (3) skills-based outcomes for fellows following program completion. The COVID-19 pandemic and killings of Black civilians by police also impacted participants’ responses. The role of blackness in Black community leadership was observed across themes that emerged. Overall, this is a promising community leadership program with important implications for leaders who serve Black communities.
Rachel Spacey, Louise Cooke, Adrienne Muir and Claire Creaser
The purpose of this paper is to review current knowledge, research and thinking about the difficulties facing public libraries offering internet access to their users in ensuring…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review current knowledge, research and thinking about the difficulties facing public libraries offering internet access to their users in ensuring legally compliant and non-offensive use of this facility whilst still adhering to the professional value of freedom of access to information.
Design/methodology/approach
A range of recently published sources (1997-2013) relating to the technical and organisational measures used to manage public internet access primarily in public libraries in the UK with some limited international examples were reviewed and analysed. This work was undertaken as the underpinning research for an AHRC-funded project, MAIPLE (Managing Access to the internet in Public Libraries).
Findings
The provision of public internet access is a well-established component of the role of public libraries, but is seen as a potential problem due to the possibility of misuse, and it appears that simplistic technical solutions have disappointed. Legislation increases the need for more effective solutions that can provide a balance between the need for legal compliance, a welcoming environment for users, and the protection of key freedoms. A range of measures are being adopted worldwide in response to this dilemma.
Originality/value
Research exploring internet access in public libraries and its management in the UK is numerically small and much of it dates back to the start of the twenty-first century. This review presents a comprehensive analysis of the available literature and is of relevance to practitioners and academics in the fields of public librarianship.
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Irene Bernhard and Anna Karin Olsson
The purpose of this study is to explore the benefits and barriers for learning in industrial PhD education through the perspectives of industrial PhD students. A work-integrated…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the benefits and barriers for learning in industrial PhD education through the perspectives of industrial PhD students. A work-integrated learning (WIL) approach is applied to highlight key issues that university and industry need to consider promoting mutual learning.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical context is a Swedish university profiling WIL offering PhD programs in three disciplines for industrial PhD students from both the private and public sectors. Data was gathered using qualitative methods; 19 semistructured interviews with industrial PhD students.
Findings
Findings show that industrial PhD students are developing practical and transferable skills, hence, contributing to research of interest for academia and work–life. Identified benefits for learning include proximity and access to data, project and networks and contextual understanding and tacit knowledge. Barriers for learning are the perceived limited understanding of employers, the dilemma of balancing and switching between different roles, lack of belonging and identity, deficient collaboration agreements and ethical dilemmas.
Research limitations/implications
Contributes insights into an industrial PhD education transforming along with societal needs promoting a future workforce of researchers with skills, new work practices and learning capabilities applicable in the work–life of contemporary society.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the emerging field of studies of alternative doctoral educations by identifying benefits and barriers for learning and providing recommendations for how university and industry may promote learning in a resilient industrial PhD education collaboration.
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Andrew D. Madden, Sheila Webber, Nigel Ford and Mary Crowder
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between preferred choice of school subject and student information behaviour (IB).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between preferred choice of school subject and student information behaviour (IB).
Design/methodology/approach
Mixed methods were employed. In all, 152 students, teachers and librarians participated in interviews or focus groups. In total, 1,375 students, key stage 3 (11-14 years) to postgraduate, responded to a questionnaire. The research population was drawn from eight schools, two further education colleges and three universities. Insights from the literature review and the qualitative research phase led to a hypothesis which was investigated using the questionnaire: that students studying hard subjects are less likely to engage in deep IB than students studying soft subjects.
Findings
Results support the hypothesis that preferences for subjects at school affect choice of university degree. The hypothesis that a preference for hard or soft subjects affects IB is supported by results of an analysis in which like or dislike of maths/ICT is correlated with responses to the survey. Interviewees’ comments led to the proposal that academic subjects can be classified according to whether a subject helps students to acquire a “tool of the Mind” or to apply such a tool. A model suggesting how IB may differ depending on whether intellectual tools are being acquired or applied is proposed.
Practical implications
The “inner logic” of certain subjects and their pedagogies appears closely linked to IB. This should be considered when developing teaching programmes.
Originality/value
The findings offer a new perspective on subject classification and its association with IB, and a new model of the association between IB and tool acquisition or application is proposed, incorporating the perspectives of both teacher and student.
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