Search results

The purpose of this paper is to prepare the conceptual groundwork for the future study of leadership for sustainable development. The paper demonstrates the relevance of Critical Leadership Studies to future research on sustainable development policies and practices. A critical approach is also applied to concepts of sustainable development, with three paradigms of thought described.

The approach taken is an extensive literature review in fields of leadership and sustainable development, with a focus on some of the broad assumptions and assertions in those literatures.

A key finding is that leadership studies drawing from critical social theory can provide important insights into future research and education on leadership for sustainability. This literature shows that some assumptions about leadership may hinder opportunities for social or organisational change by reducing the analysis of factors in change or reducing the agency of those not deemed to be leading. These limitations are summarised as “seven unsustainabilities” of mainstream leadership research.

The paper calls for the emerging field of sustainable leadership to develop an understanding of significant individual action that includes collective, emergent and episodic dimensions. The paper then summarises key aspects of the papers in this special issue on leadership for sustainability.

The implications for practice are that efforts to promote organisational contributions to sustainable development should not uncritically draw upon mainstream approaches to leadership or the training of leaders.

The authors consider this the first paper to provide a synthesis of insights from Critical Leadership Studies for research in sustainability.

The task of changing the organizational climate of a school is only one tiny example of the fundamental issue of permanence and change. This example can only be understood in the light of a broad social and intellectual matrix. Two prime questions are: Under what conditions can the organizational climate be changed? If it can be changed, what approach is most appropriate? There is a great deal that is not known about organizational climate. Research is needed into the development of norms, the control of variables in experimental situations, the effects of size and “human density” and the influence of bureaucracy. Though we may be anxious to change organizational climate, one thing is clear—social change takes place slowly. To force its growth “out of phase” is to invite unanticipated social consequences. If the nature of social change is to be understood the planners, scientists, technologists need to maintain dialogue with each other. We must create in our society an “open” organizational climate that encourages the human dialogue.

This case was developed to explore what social entrepreneurship looks like in an emerging market context. It tells the story of Neil Campher, a self-identified social entrepreneur working in South Africa, a country that has recently been awarded middle income status by the World Bank despite sharing a ranking with Syria on the Human Development Index. In environments of deep market failure, what does social enterprise look like? and can you sustain change in communities of extreme poverty? The case looks at the academic characteristics of social entrepreneurs and applies them to Neil to see if he “qualifies”. It has a particular focus on the bricoleur social entrepreneur. It explores concepts of poverty, and looks at sustainability, achieved through asset-based community development. It explores the need for organisations to transition in response to the environment and provides a tool to assess sustainability. The value of the paper is in exploring what social entrepreneurship looks like in an emerging market context. It also raises important questions on sustainability in environments which are inherently constrained.

This case study is aimed at students of social entrepreneurship, development studies, sustainable livelihoods and asset-based development. It is written at an Honours level and is therefore appropriate for use in customised or short programmes. The case study is a good introduction for students with a background in business (e.g. Diploma in Business Administration/MBA/custom programmes) who are wanting to understand social enterprise and blended theories of social and economic change.

The case study follows self-identified social entrepreneur Neil Campher in the grime and crime-ridden township of Helenvale, outside Port Elizabeth, in South Africa. Campher has given up his glitzy career as a financier in the economic hub of Johannesburg and returned to his home town, drawn by a need to give back. Helenvale used to be where he and his school friends would hide from the apartheid police, but as an adult, his friends are focused on strengthening and progressing the community. Campher’s entry point to change is a small waste recycling project, and the case study looks at how he uses this as a lever to achieve deeper structural change in the community. The teaching case exposes several questions around social entrepreneurship and change: what is social entrepreneurship in an emerging context and is Campher a social entrepreneur? What is community led change and can it be sustainable? Campher’s dilemma is around sustainability – has his extensive involvement of the community been enough to achieve progress in Helenvale?

The case study gives insight into social entrepreneurship in a developing country context. It highlights the nuances in definition and introduces the importance of context in shaping the social entrepreneur. The case is an opportunity for students to interrogate ideas on poverty and classical interpretations of social entrepreneurship and relate them to a small community that mirrors the macro country context in South Africa. The case study shows how asset-based approaches to development are interlinked with basic principles of social entrepreneurship. It shows that sustainability is more than a secure and predictable income stream and the need for community engagement and commitment to the solution. In tackling these issues, the case questions sustainability potential and the need for the organisation to transition to respond to opportunity and the changing environment.

Video X1 5minute video interview with Neil Campher 5min: YouTube Video of Campher from Interview 1 www.leadingchange.co.za (live from 01 April 2016) Video News report of gang violence in Helenvale 3min: YouTube. This is a quick visual introduction to Helenvale. It is a news clip, so is particularly focused on the angle of the story. It includes interviews with residents. The site www.youtube.com/watch?v=TluLpTuEq8I Northern Areas burning 2min: YouTube is a collection of video footage from a local reporter which shows Helenvale and its surroundings. The site www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCW-Hp24vMI shows the Text Global Competitiveness Report: South Africa; the first page gives additional information on social and economic development in South Africa, highlighting developed/developing country attributes. It also highlights how Helenvale is a microcosm of the negative social development indicators in South Africa (http://reports.weforum.org/global-competitiveness-report-2014-2015/economies/#economy=ZAF). Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

This study aims to synthesize theoretical and empirical studies on the food dimension of developments in cultural omnivorousness. Cultural omnivorousness is an antithesis which Peterson developed against Bourdieu's stratification theory that emerged in 1992, and it has been the subject of scientific research in different dimensions, including literature, music, art and food.

In this study, databases were systematically searched to identify publications on cultural omnivorousness and food. The data obtained in the study was appraised using the checklist of preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA).

This study concluded that research on cultural omnivoriusness and food is often investigated from a demand perspective. Findings indicated that the relationship between food and cultural omnivorousness is focused on the axis of eating out, restaurant types and preferences, regions where restaurants are located, liked/preferred food, vegetarianism, the healthy/unhealthy state of food, locality and economic value of preferred food. Moreover, comparing the reviewed study results, it was identified that multiple regression was mostly used in quantitative research, and content analysis was benefited in qualitative research.

The reviewed studies were limited to articles with open access and peer-reviewed journals over the period 1990–2020. In addition, this study adopted a qualitative research approach. Another limitation of the research is that it only examined cultural omnivorousness in terms of food.

It is noticed that the results of the research conducted regarding the relationship between cultural omnivorousness and food vary by countries and cities. The reason for this situation might be the different historical processes and development levels of the countries and the difference in the symbols represented by food in this process. Additionally, in practical terms, this research offers some implications for how the relationship between cultural omnivorousness and food can be used by supply. Restaurants from a consumer perspective and destinations from a tourist perspective can use cultural omnivorousness as a strategic element in their marketing planning.

The literature on cultural omnivorousness is used to make sense of a striking phenomenon, namely the tastes/likes of individuals in the middle and upper classes. However, there has not been found such an examination of food and its use in cultural omnivorousness studies. This article fills the identified gap, adding to the discussion on food and cultural omnivorusness and provides a related research agenda.

Recently I remarked that my collection of Caithnessiana is diminishing to the point of invisibility, but no longer had that been said than a copy of David Morrison's The idealist landed on my desk and reopened the whole question of what is happening on the literary scene in the far North. More, in fact than I had suspected. Some of it stems from atomic energy at Dounreay and the growth of Thurso as a dormitory for the Dounreay staff.

Trans-oral robotic surgery (TORS) is increasingly employed in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) management. Objective outcomes are generally assessed through polysomnography. Pre-operative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be a useful adjunct in objective upper airway assessment, in particular the tongue base, providing useful information for surgical planning and outcome assessment, though care must be taken in patient positioning during surgery. The purpose of this paper is to identify pitfalls in this process and suggest a protocol for pre-operative MRI scanning in OSA.

This study is a four-patient prospective case-series and literature review. Outcome measures include pre- and post-operative volumetric changes in the pharynx as measured on MRI and apnoea–hypopnea indices (AHI), with cure being OSA resolution or a 50 per cent reduction in AHI.

All patients achieved AHI reduction and/or OSA cure following TORS, despite a decrease in pharyngeal volume measurements at the tongue base level. This study and others lacked standardisation in the MRI scanning protocol, which resulted in an inability to effectively compare pre- and post-operative scans. Pitfalls were related to variation in head/tongue position, soft-tissue marker usage and assessed area boundary limits.

TORS appears to be effective in OSA management. A new protocol for patient positioning and anatomical landmarks is suggested.

The findings could provide directly comparable data between scans and may allow correlation between tongue base volumetric changes and AHI through subsequent and historical study meta-analysis.

We consider the theory and evidence supporting learning styles, and contrast these with the related concepts of learning preferences and student choice. Although the theory of learning styles remains popular in the field of education as one guidepost teachers might use to maximize the effectiveness of instruction for individual students, including students with learning and behavioral disabilities, a review of the evidence supporting a learning styles approach suggests that it offers little benefit to students with disabilities. In contrasting learning styles with the related concept of learning preferences, we posit that interventions based on student choice may offer a more parsimonious and evidence-driven approach to enhancing instruction and improving outcomes for students with learning and behavioral disabilities.

In addressing positive general education teaching practices for use with students with or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), the chapter emphasizes teacher behavior change research that has been informed by applied behavior analytic (ABA) principles. Its central theme is that general education teachers can access research informed by ABA in developing prosocial instructional and management practices. Highlighted teaching practices include fostering correct academic responses from students, increasing active student response, and using contingent praise with regularity. The chapter also discusses functional behavioral assessment, positive behavioral interventions and supports, and controversial behavior change issues surrounding seclusion and restraints and medication, topics related to teaching students with or at risk for EBD in general education settings.