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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 9 March 2022

Zahirul Hoque, Kate Mai and Esin Ozdil

This paper has two purposes. First, it aims to explore how Australian universities used calculative rhetoric and practices through accounting numbers to persuade employees and…

2296

Abstract

Purpose

This paper has two purposes. First, it aims to explore how Australian universities used calculative rhetoric and practices through accounting numbers to persuade employees and legitimize their financial recovery plans to alleviate the financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, it aims to analyze how the accounting-based solutions were legitimized through a well-blended pathos, logos and ethos rhetoric.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on a rhetorical theory of diffusion, we employed a qualitative research design within all 37 Australian public universities involving Internet-based documentary analysis.

Findings

This study finds that in an urgent crisis like the fiscal crisis caused by COVID-19, universities again found rescue in accounting tools, in particular budgets, as a rhetorical device to justify their operational and strategic choices such as job-cuts, programs closures and staff pay-cuts. However, in this crisis, the same old accounting-based solutions were even more quickly to be accepted by being delivered in management’s colorful blending of pathos–logos–ethos rhetoric.

Research limitations/implications

While this study is constrained to Australian public universities’ financial responses, its findings have implications for university decision-makers and higher education policymakers across the globe when it comes to university management using calculative devices in persuading employees to work their way through financial hardship caused by an extreme health crisis-like COVID-19 pandemic.

Originality/value

This study adds more evidence that the use of budgets as a calculative tool continues to play a key role in organizations in the construction, mobilization and preservation of certain strategic and operational choices during volatilities. Especially, the same way of creating calculative-based solutions can be communicated via the colorful blending of different rhetoric to make it acceptable.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. 34 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 26 July 2012

J. Anke M. van Eekelen, Justine A. Ellis, Craig E. Pennell, Richard Saffery, Eugen Mattes, Jeff Craig and Craig A. Olsson

Genetic risk for depressive disorders is poorly understood despite consistent suggestions of a high heritable component. Most genetic studies have focused on risk associated with…

Abstract

Genetic risk for depressive disorders is poorly understood despite consistent suggestions of a high heritable component. Most genetic studies have focused on risk associated with single variants, a strategy which has so far only yielded small (often non-replicable) risks for depressive disorders. In this paper we argue that more substantial risks are likely to emerge from genetic variants acting in synergy within and across larger neurobiological systems (polygenic risk factors). We show how knowledge of major integrated neurobiological systems provides a robust basis for defining and testing theoretically defensible polygenic risk factors. We do this by describing the architecture of the overall stress response. Maladaptation via impaired stress responsiveness is central to the aetiology of depression and anxiety and provides a framework for a systems biology approach to candidate gene selection. We propose principles for identifying genes and gene networks within the neurosystems involved in the stress response and for defining polygenic risk factors based on the neurobiology of stress-related behaviour. We conclude that knowledge of the neurobiology of the stress response system is likely to play a central role in future efforts to improve genetic prediction of depression and related disorders.

Details

Mental Illness, vol. 4 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2036-7465

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 July 2021

Hossein Mansouri, Saeed Sadeghi Boroujerdi, Michael Polonsky, Maizaitulaidawati Md Husin and Mehdi Seydi

This study examines the role of market orientation in the relationship between internal marketing and entrepreneurial orientation within private sports clubs.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the role of market orientation in the relationship between internal marketing and entrepreneurial orientation within private sports clubs.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is a descriptive-correlational study based on private sports clubs employees within Iran (Sanandaj). A theoretical model was developed based on the literature and tested using SPSS and PLS-SEM software.

Findings

The findings indicate a positive relationship between internal marketing and employees' entrepreneurial orientation. Market orientation has also played a positive mediating role in the relationship between internal marketing and entrepreneurial orientation.

Originality/value

The results suggest a higher level of market orientation in the organization can increase teamwork and, consequently, entrepreneurship development among employees. This is important in sports clubs as employees have a significant role in the success of the sports club. Club employees' satisfaction, generated through internal marketing, provides is a prerequisite for customer satisfaction. This therefore creates an environment supportive of entrepreneurial orientation in the club.

Details

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, vol. 25 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2574-8904

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 June 2020

James I. Novak and Jennifer Loy

In response to shortages in personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, makers, community groups and manufacturers around the world utilised 3D printing to…

Abstract

In response to shortages in personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, makers, community groups and manufacturers around the world utilised 3D printing to fabricate items, including face shields and face masks for healthcare workers and the broader community. In reaction to both local and global needs, numerous designs emerged and were shared online. In this paper, 37 face shields and 31 face masks suitable for fused filament fabrication were analysed from a fabrication perspective, documenting factors such as filament use, time to print and geometric qualities. 3D print times for similar designs varied by several hours, meaning some designs could be produced in higher volumes. Overall, the results show that face shields were approximately twice as fast to 3D print compared to face masks and used approximately half as much filament. Additionally, a face shield typically required 1.5 parts to be 3D printed, whereas face masks required five 3D printed parts. However, by quantifying the print times, filament use, 3D printing costs, part dimensions, number of parts and total volume of each design, the wide variations within each product category could be tracked and evaluated. This data and objective analysis will help makers, manufacturers, regulatory bodies and researchers consolidate the 3D printing response to COVID-19 and optimise the ongoing strategy to combat supply chain shortages now and in future healthcare crises.

Abstract

Details

Journal of International Cooperation in Education, vol. 25 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2755-029X

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 December 2017

Daniele Morselli

The purpose of this paper is to examine how educators can teach the key competence of a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship (SIE) as a cross-curricular subject in compulsory…

5657

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how educators can teach the key competence of a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship (SIE) as a cross-curricular subject in compulsory education. It draws both on the literature relating to entrepreneurial education and on competence-based education to set out five features of entrepreneurial teaching. For illustrative purposes, these five characteristics are explored in a questionnaire put to a small group of teaching staff.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs a qualitative approach, seeking to understand the personal perspectives of participants, and drawing out the complexities of their behaviour, whilst also providing a holistic interpretation of such behaviour.

Findings

The literature review identifies five features of entrepreneurial teaching: embedding learning outcomes for a SIE within taught subjects; active entrepreneurial teaching; educating for entrepreneurial attitudes; networking activities; being entrepreneurial as part of lifelong learning. It can be hypothesised that teaching staff teach different aspects of the SIE depending on the subject they teach (vocational or more traditional) and their role (teacher or workshop assistant).

Originality/value

Development of the SIE and the five characteristics of entrepreneurial teaching is a first step towards understanding how secondary vocational teachers and workshop assistants understand and teach the SIE as cross-curricular subject. In line with Fayolle and Gailly who called for deeper investigation of the most effective combinations of objectives, content and teaching methods, the paper seeks to establish a relationship between teaching methods, development of entrepreneurial attitudes and assessment.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 60 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 16 August 2023

James Martin

Cryptomarkets have expanded rapidly since the launch of Silk Road in 2011, offering a significant new mode for the sale and distribution of illicit drugs. One of the key questions…

Abstract

Cryptomarkets have expanded rapidly since the launch of Silk Road in 2011, offering a significant new mode for the sale and distribution of illicit drugs. One of the key questions accompanying the proliferation of cryptomarkets and online drug distribution concerns how these unique online fora alter relationships between drug suppliers and their customers. Existing research points to an increase in perceptions of safety and respect among people who use cryptomarkets to purchase drugs relative to other ‘offline’ modes of drug acquisition. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that drug suppliers are also attracted to cryptomarkets by perceptions of increased safety, as well as by market norms and institutional processes that are characterised by respect and courteous engagement. These issues fall broadly under what has been termed market ‘gentrification’ – that is, the substitution of offline drug market norms, which are sometimes characterised by violence, intimidation, suspicion, and exploitation, with relative feelings of safety, respect, and courtesy. This chapter explores the ‘gentrification hypothesis’ and examines how the unique structural characteristics of cryptomarkets, which include user feedback and ratings, dispute resolution systems, and administrator and community ‘policing’ of cryptomarkets, as well as online discussion forums, assist in fostering the development of pro-social norms that appear to be prevalent on cryptomarkets.

Details

Digital Transformations of Illicit Drug Markets: Reconfiguration and Continuity
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-866-8

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 4 June 2021

Jane Bailey, Nicola Henry and Asher Flynn

While digital technologies have led to many important social and cultural advances worldwide, they also facilitate the perpetration of violence, abuse and harassment, known as…

Abstract

While digital technologies have led to many important social and cultural advances worldwide, they also facilitate the perpetration of violence, abuse and harassment, known as technology-facilitated violence and abuse (TFVA). TFVA includes a spectrum of behaviors perpetrated online, offline, and through a range of technologies, including artificial intelligence, livestreaming, GPS tracking, and social media. This chapter provides an overview of TFVA, including a brief snapshot of existing quantitative and qualitative research relating to various forms of TFVA. It then discusses the aims and contributions of this book as a whole, before outlining five overarching themes arising from the contributions. The chapter concludes by mapping out the structure of the book.

Details

The Emerald International Handbook of Technology-Facilitated Violence and Abuse
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-849-2

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 9 August 2022

Etienne St-Jean, Maripier Tremblay, Franck Barès and Monica Simionato

A career in entrepreneurship is stressful, especially during the start-up phase. Training programs for these nascent entrepreneurs are designed to improve entrepreneurial…

1517

Abstract

Purpose

A career in entrepreneurship is stressful, especially during the start-up phase. Training programs for these nascent entrepreneurs are designed to improve entrepreneurial competencies and, more generally to generate learnings. Although learning outcomes can reduce stress, the conditions under which this can happen are not fully understood. The study looks particularly at the effect of learning, interaction with other participants and gender.

Design/methodology/approach

A six-month three-wave longitudinal study of 120 nascent entrepreneurs has been conducted to investigate the before-and-after effects of training on stress reduction. The training is specially designed to develop competencies, share knowledge about business creation and support the development of the project, not to reduce per se stress.

Findings

The training has no direct effect on stress levels. However, results indicate that interacting with others has a positive moderating effect on training as stress reduction, just as gender has. Specifically, women reduce their stress through training while men see theirs increasing. The authors conclude that breaking isolation through training is a relevant way to reduce entrepreneurial stress for nascent entrepreneurs.

Research limitations/implications

Training programs offer different ways to deliver the learning content (online, in cohorts, in the continuous entrance, etc.). The findings of this study suggest ensuring that the participants will have opportunities to interact with others as it reduces the stress on nascent entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, the authors cannot demonstrate that this has a long-term effect as our timeframe is limited to six months.

Originality/value

This research investigates the stress-reduction effect of training, which is not a common outcome studied related to training. This highlights the importance of looking at other more distal outcomes as nascent entrepreneurs may seek other peripheral outcomes from training, like seeking a sense of belonging or wanting to break isolation.

Details

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, vol. 26 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2574-8904

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 April 2022

Mario Biggeri and Lisa Braito

This paper aims to investigate the distinctive economic and social dynamics of ethnic quasi-enclave industrial sub-clusters and to econometrically analyse the main factors…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the distinctive economic and social dynamics of ethnic quasi-enclave industrial sub-clusters and to econometrically analyse the main factors affecting the economic performance of Chinese-migrant microentrepreneurs with a specific focus on social capital.

Design/methodology/approach

An interpretative framework that encompasses sustainable local human development and mixed embeddedness is applied to a case study of Wenzhounese migrant socioeconomic quasi-enclave leather industrial sub-clusters located adjacent to the industrial district area of Florence, Italy. Given the complexity of the phenomenon, the research study adopted a mixed-method approach encompassing both qualitative and quantitative methods. The econometric analysis was based on data collected via a survey administered to a random sample of enterprises.

Findings

Ethnic social capital plays a central role in ethnic entrepreneurship. The results confirm the relevance of social networks in the context analysed and reveal the importance of ethnic and non-ethnic business social capital as one of the main factors affecting enterprise’s economic performance.

Practical implications

The findings propose potential policies to upgrade the ethnic enterprises especially in terms of increasing their formality and inclusion in the Italian social and economic systems of production.

Originality/value

This analysis contributes to existing literature on migrant entrepreneurship and communities, adding new evidence related to ethnic enterprises and the importance of social capital in terms of performance and working conditions of the community of entrepreneurs.

Details

Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal , vol. 32 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1059-5422

Keywords

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