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1 – 10 of 241
Article
Publication date: 5 June 2020

Katharine McGowan, Andrea Kennedy, Mohamed El-Hussein and Roy Bear Chief

Reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian plurality has stalled. While the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action could be a focusing event…

Abstract

Purpose

Reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian plurality has stalled. While the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action could be a focusing event, creating a window of opportunity for transformative social innovations; we see coalescing of interest, social capital and investment in decolonization and indigenization in the proliferation of professorships, programs, installations and statements. However, Blackfoot (Siksika) Elder Roy Bear Chief raised significant concerns that Indigenous knowledge, experiences and people are not yet seen as relevant and useful in higher education; such marginalization must be addressed at a systems level for authentic reconciliation at any colonial university. The purpose of this paper was to explore this dual goal of exploring barriers to and opportunities for Indigenous knowledges and knowledge holders to be valued as relevant and useful in the Canadian academy, using a complexity- and systems-informed lens.

Design/methodology/approach

Local Indigenous Elders provided guidance to reflect study purpose and target audience of academics, with an approach that respectfully weaved Westernized research methods and co-learning through indigenous knowledge mobilization strategies. This analysis extends results from a qualitative grounded theory study to explain social processes of professors and administrative leadership in a Canadian mid-sized university regarding barriers and facilitators of implementing TRC Calls to Action. This further interpretation of applied systems and panarchy heuristics broadens understanding to how such micro-social processes are positioned and influence larger scale institutional change.

Findings

This paper discusses how the social process of dominionization intentionally minimizes meaningful system disruption by othering indigenous knowledge and knowledge holders; this form of system-reinforcing boundary work contributes to rigidity and inhibits potentially transformative innovations from scaling beyond individual niches and moments in time. Elders’ consultation throughout the research process, including co-learning the meaning of findings, led to the gifting of traditional teachings and emerging systems and multi-scale framework on the relevance of indigenous knowledges and peoples in higher education.

Research limitations/implications

This study was performed in one faculty of one Canadian institution; an important and potentially widely-present social process was identified. Further research is needed for greater generalizability. Conditions that led to this study are increasingly common across Canada, where at least one third of higher education organizations have explicit indigenization strategies and internationally where the rights and self-determination of indigenous peoples are growing.

Social implications

Insights from this study can inform conversations about social innovation in institutional settings, and the current systems’ resistance to change, particularly when exploring place-based solutions to national/international questions. These initiatives have yet to transform institutions, and while transformation is rarely rapid (Moore et al., 2018), for these potential innovations to grow, they need to be sustainable beyond a brief window of opportunity. Scaling up or deep within the academy seems to remain stubbornly elusive despite attention to the TRC.

Originality/value

This study contributes to a growing literature that explores the possibilities and opportunities between Indigenous epistemologies and social innovation study and practice (McGowan, 2019; Peredo, McLean and Tremblay, 2019; Conrad, 2015), as well as scholarship around Indigenization and decolonization in Canada and internationally.

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 January 2018

Soumen Kumar Roy, A.K. Sarkar and Biswajit Mahanty

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of a critical subsystem development indigenously on the outcome of an Indian defence R&D project. Indigenous development of the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of a critical subsystem development indigenously on the outcome of an Indian defence R&D project. Indigenous development of the critical subsystem requires the development of a number of technologies; hence the study is taken up for indigenously development of critical subsystem.

Design/methodology/approach

A simulation-based approach is used in this paper for studying the effect of indigenization decisions. A defence R&D project with the critical subsystems is modeled in Graphical Evolution and Review Technique (GERT) networks, and simulated in Arena simulation software using discrete event simulation model. The simulation model is thereafter experimented with decision options for the critical subsystem. Data were collected from the project management office (PMO) of short range homing guided missile (SRHGM) for this simulation study.

Findings

It has been found in this case that timely development of technology plays a key role in the Indian defence R&D projects. While indigenization of critical components reduces cost of development, the trade-off lies in much increased project development time. It is imperative that project teams should identify critical components early and work out appropriate strategies of indigenous development to avoid time overrun of the projects.

Research limitations/implications

The accuracy of results of the study could perhaps be affected on account of the extent of data forthcoming from the PMO. However, GERT framework presented in this paper is realistically derived from the practices used in the SRHGM project.

Originality/value

The study would help the project teams to identify critical subsystems early and work out appropriate strategies of indigenous development to avoid time overrun of the projects. This study would also make the project as well as the R&D teams aware of the causes for delays and cost overruns, and assist to deliver a product meeting end-user requirements.

Details

World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-5945

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 August 2022

Nixon S. Chekenya and Heinz Eckart Klingelhöfer

The paper examines the possible existence of systematic performance differences between Broad based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) affiliated and non-B-BBEE affiliated mutual…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper examines the possible existence of systematic performance differences between Broad based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) affiliated and non-B-BBEE affiliated mutual fund firms in South Africa and see whether the indigenisation laws affect firm performance directly through their effects on firm behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors’ baseline regression is a model features that varies between the observed groups in Fama-MacBeth regressions. To address the issue of how B-BBEE laws affect mutual funds' performance, the study follows Golec (1988, p. 77) in calculating mutual fund returns and follows Carhart's (1997) four-factor regression model.

Findings

The paper's results also cannot confirm with statistical significance the expectation motivated by theory that B-BBEE laws influence firm performance negatively, thus, predicting a block for foreign investment. The authors’ much longer sample period (from 2004 to 2016) does not lead to significant other results than a prior study published only shortly after the B-BBEE laws coming into force. However, this study’s results could not confirm that these laws have effects on firm performance.

Research limitations/implications

The authors chose all the 3,320 B-BBEE-affiliated mutual fund firms and 3,329 non-B-BBEE-affiliated ones in the Morningstar database that had complete data for the period 2004– 2016.

Practical implications

The study's results cannot confirm with statistical significance the expectation motivated by theory that B-BBEE laws influence firm performance negatively, thus, predicting a block for foreign investment.

Originality/value

B-BBEE laws have been topical in the South African mutual fund industry. The unit trust industry in South Africa started with the establishment of the Sage Fund in 1965 in order to cater for the normal investors' needs for an easy product that starts with low investment amounts, but offers professional assets management and wide risk diversification across an extensive shares portfolio, that can be liquidated at short notice.

Details

Managerial Finance, vol. 48 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4358

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1984

Oladimeji I. Alo

Of all the challenges facing scholars in the 3rd world today none is as serious as the need to harness their knowledge and skills for the task of nation‐building. There is a…

199

Abstract

Of all the challenges facing scholars in the 3rd world today none is as serious as the need to harness their knowledge and skills for the task of nation‐building. There is a demand on the scholars to make their teaching and research activities relevant to the problems of their societies. For the social scientists the pressure is even greater since they claim as their domain the study of man in society. In meeting this challenge, many of these scholars have come up against formidable odds created by the historical background of their discipline; the dominant intellectual orientation that informed their training; and academic colonisalism that urges them to conform to walls of the “ivory towers”. Ironically, this situation is not helped by an awareness among an increasing number that knowledge is socially determined and that in every human community men strive to make sense of their social reality. This awareness only created different camps divided on what form the contribution of the sociologists should take in the development of theories needed in understanding their society. This article attempts to discuss these issues in the context of the debate on universalism and indigenisation in social theory. The debate is on the extent to which theories developed within a particular social context might be expected to hold in all others. This debate is fundamental as it not only touches on the popular identity of sociology as a science it also bears on the role of the non‐Western sociologist in studying his own society. To give focus to the theoretical and methodological issues involved in the debate‐which is discussed in the first part of this article, the second part highlights the developments one major area of sociological interest and shows in concrete terms (1) how the dominant trend has hindered our understanding of social issues and (2) how the sociological enterprise can benefit from an approach which is flexible enough to integrate a people's thought system into an explanation of their social reality.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 4 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2019

Yaotang Peter Lin

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a brief survey on the Catholic Church in Taiwan since its establishment by the Spanish missionaries in 1662 until today on its internal…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a brief survey on the Catholic Church in Taiwan since its establishment by the Spanish missionaries in 1662 until today on its internal development and external relationship with the government. It is interesting to discover that, mostly, the Church has a harmonious relationship with the government, except a very few cases in which its foreign missionaries following the social teaching of the Church antagonize the government. However, it does not affect the close relationship between the Church and government in Taiwan.

Design/methodology/approach

It is a qualitative research on archive and books to research on the events of the Catholic Church in Taiwan in the discipline of social sciences. Historical research is in the majority of events.

Findings

The finding is acceptable because it is one of the few writings on the Catholic Church in Taiwan when writing on the Protestant Churches in Taiwan is flooding.

Originality/value

This is a ground-breaking work with academic value.

Details

Asian Education and Development Studies, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-3162

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 May 2018

Gongming Qian, Bin Liu and Qingtao Wang

Although there has been much research on government support for export in China and other emerging economies, considerably less attention has been given to government…

Abstract

Purpose

Although there has been much research on government support for export in China and other emerging economies, considerably less attention has been given to government subsidy-related importing activity in China. This study aims to propose that the government subsidies as the source of financial resources produce a significant increase of imports, as the firms are more likely to engage actively in importing technology-related products which are conducive for China’s future innovation. However, state ownership in firms negatively moderates this relationship and holds back technology imports. Improved formal regulatory institutions do not help to improve but rather weaken this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

To investigate how government policy affects imports of strategic resources in China, all of the listed firms on Chinese stock markets (from 2008 to 2014) have been selected, the firms that are engaged in exporting and importing activities. The data from the China Stock Market & Accounting Research database have been selected and merged with those of the General Administration Customs in China. A panel analysis has been done with several robustiness tests.

Findings

First, the study indicates that government subsidies are a driving force for the development of importing activities. Second, it finds conflicts of interests between government subsidies and state ownership of a firm, as increased ownership will weaken and even negate the positive effect of a government policy, thus negatively affecting the national competitiveness in the long run. Third, it is important to take into account the issue on different levels of institutional development, even allowing for the fact that a nationwide government policy is applied to the firms located in all corners of the country.

Research limitations/implications

The authors suggested a regional difference in regulatory development but did not find the proposed direction. In their future study, the authors will validate and generalize this intriguing substitutional effect. They expect the results will help the government to ensure that it can fulfill a policy (e.g. regulation) down to every gross-roots organization so the development of regulatory infrastructure will help the firm to obtain and accumulate strategic resources through increased imports of them. Another direction of their future study will explore how government policy will prompt the firms to increase their spending so that they can possess plenty of “stamina” for their future development.

Practical implications

Different levels of institutional development exist in China even allowing for the fact that a nationwide government policy should be applied to all firms within the territory. This certainly has impacts on technology imports and thus creates difficulties for firms located in the western parts of China about which the government is particularly concerned. The government needs to ensure that its policies (laws and regulations) can be fulfilled down to every gross-roots organization so that the development of regulatory infrastructure can be inclusive and pervasive, given its influence on technology importation and indigenization.

Originality/value

Both of the theoretical and empirical work centered on policy initiatives and particularly government subsidies in emerging economies that significantly influence imports of strategic resources, a means with which the firm is better able to maintain and develop its competitive advantages, particularly in an economy with institutional void. Relatedly, the results on a causal relationship help envision a transcending trajectory of China’s economy, suggesting that businesspeople should capitalize on the policy advantage so that they are better able to sustain their long-term development. The results also present implications for policymakers to encourage and support strategic move toward such import endeavors.

Details

Multinational Business Review, vol. 26 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1525-383X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 March 2010

Marcus L. Stephenson, Karl A. Russell and David Edgar

The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges faced by the hospitality industries in developing an Islamic hospitality identity and indigenous styles of management…

8145

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges faced by the hospitality industries in developing an Islamic hospitality identity and indigenous styles of management, particularly in the context of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – especially Dubai. It also aims to identify and comprehend the socio‐cultural implications of Islamic hospitality in terms of products and marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual‐based paper critically reviews and amalgamates a diverse range of literature concerning Islamic hospitality (and tourism), Arab management and leadership qualities, human capital and nationalization of employment, industry skills and educational directives in hospitality and destination and product strategies.

Findings

The work critically accounts for the changing nature of skills needed by localised hospitality managers and the industry in general, especially to keep pace with dynamic customer demands and an increasingly sophisticated market and consumer. The outcome of the paper concerns the operationalisation of soft skills and managerial expertise attuned to ethnic and religious attributes of the host society. The evaluations propose ways in which the education sector can extend the career development and progression pathways for UAE nationals. The work also indicates how product development, innovation, transformation and marketing have a crucial role to play in advancing an Islamic and cultural approach to hospitality.

Originality/value

This paper uniquely concerns an under‐developed area of academic study: the role Islamic‐based principles and practices of hospitality and ways in which they can be developed through an indigenous‐led workforce, and Islamic and Arab styles of management, leadership and service sector operation.

Details

Journal of Islamic Marketing, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-0833

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 August 2017

Molly Lee, Morshidi Sirat and Chang Da Wan

The purpose of this paper is to investigate, in general, what are the contemporary external influences that have been dominant in Malaysian universities and what are the major…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate, in general, what are the contemporary external influences that have been dominant in Malaysian universities and what are the major local traditional practices that are also found in these universities.

Design/methodology/approach

From the literature review, the paper proposes a conceptual framework to explore hybridity in governance and management, programs and curriculum, teaching and learning, and research and service.

Findings

Using the conceptual framework, the paper discusses the Malaysian higher education in terms of Western influence and indigenization of Western models, the background context of Islamic universities and seven possible hybridities compiled from anecdotal evidences.

Originality/value

The conceptual framework and possible hybridities identified in the paper serve to provide the guide to a more systemic empirical investigation to examine the characteristics of Malaysian universities emerging from the interaction between external influence and local cultures. The Malaysian case also potentially contribute in exploring the question, “Are Asian universities different from Western universities?”.

Details

Higher Education Evaluation and Development, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-5789

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2000

Alex Sekwat

This study examines distinctive economic reform measures pursued in post-independent Zambia and ethical problems which plagued the reform process. The study begins with a review…

Abstract

This study examines distinctive economic reform measures pursued in post-independent Zambia and ethical problems which plagued the reform process. The study begins with a review of the philosophy of Zambian Humanism, the ideology which guided Zambia’s early reform initiatives. Specific reform measures pursued within the framework of humanism focused on: increased state control of the economy; indigenization of the public and private sectors, accelerated development of the rural sector, and use of a series of policy measures to curb domestic exploitation. Beginning in the mid-1980s, deepening economic crisis forced the government to retract most humanist-based reform measures in favor of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) induced reforms within the framework of structural adjustment and economic liberalization. Post-Humanism reform initiatives built on previous World Bank and IMF formulated framework, but stalled due in part to increase in ethical misbehavior in higher levels of government.

Details

International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior, vol. 3 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1093-4537

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1990

Jeremy Cobb and John Gibbs

Increasingly, on‐the‐job experiences are being recognised as themost significant source for learning how to perform complex jobs. Toaccelerate the development of engineers…

Abstract

Increasingly, on‐the‐job experiences are being recognised as the most significant source for learning how to perform complex jobs. To accelerate the development of engineers worldwide and to counter the lengthier and less predictable results of “business as usual,” Mobile Oil has taken a systematic, focused approach to on‐the‐job development. Particular attention is given to foreign locations where there is strong emphasis on indigenisation and transfer of technology. A unique competency approach has been used to benchmark outstanding performance in engineering jobs and provide a common language for development discussions. The development process emphasises challenging assignments and supervisory coaching. The programme consists of a recurring cycle of systematic assessments of engineers; feedback and development discussions between engineers and their supervisors; development plans integrated with work unit objectives; and a resource guide that provides development options. Key organisational issues of implementation are described. Features which characterise successful programmes are identified and analysed.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

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