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1 – 10 of 281
Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 March 2022

Agostino Cortesi, Carlotta Berionni, Carina Veeckman, Chiara Leonardi, Gianluca Schiavo, Massimo Zancanaro, Marzia Cescon, Maria Sangiuliano, Dimitris Tampakis and Manolis Falelakis

The European H2020 Families_Share project aims at offering a grass-root approach and a co-designed platform supporting families for sharing time and tasks related to childcare

1766

Abstract

Purpose

The European H2020 Families_Share project aims at offering a grass-root approach and a co-designed platform supporting families for sharing time and tasks related to childcare, parenting, after-school and leisure activities and other household tasks. To achieve this objective, the Families_Share project has been built on current practices which are already leveraging on mutual help and support among families, such as Time Banks, Social Streets and self-organizing networks of parents active at the neighbourhood level and seek to harness the potential of ICT networks and mobile technologies to increase the effectiveness of participatory innovation. The aim of this paper is to present and discuss the Families_Share methodology and platform, as well as the results obtained by several partecipating communities in different European countries.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper discusses how the Families Share approach (CAPS project, Horizon 2020) is bringing the sharing economy to childcare. Families Share developed a co-caring approach and a co-designed digital welfare platform to support parents with sharing time and tasks related to childcare, after-school and leisure activities. Families Share conducted two iterative pilot experiments and related socio-economic evaluations in six European cities. More than 3,000 citizens were engaged in the co-design process through their local community organizations and more than 1,700 parents and children actively experimented with the approach by organizing collaborative childcare activities. The authors discuss the challenges and solutions of co-designing a socio-technical approach aimed at facilitating socially innovative childcare models, and how the Families Share approach, based on technology-supported co-production of childcare, may provide a new sustainable welfare model for municipalities and companies with respect to life––work balance.

Findings

The authors discuss the challenges and solutions of co-designing a technological tool aimed at facilitating socially innovative childcare models, and how the Families Share approach may provide a new sustainable welfare model for municipalities and companies with respect to work–life balance.

Originality/value

As a main difference with state-of-the-art proposals, Families_Share is aimed to provide support to networks of parents in the organization of self-managed activities, this way being orthogonal with respect either to social-network functionalities or to supply and demand services. Furthermore, Families_Share has been based on a participative approach for both the ICT platform and the overall structure.

Details

Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5038

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 July 2024

María Cervini-Plá and José I. Silva

This study aims to contribute to the literature by examining the gender gap effects of childcare restrictions. Specifically, not using professional childcare services due to…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to contribute to the literature by examining the gender gap effects of childcare restrictions. Specifically, not using professional childcare services due to issues like access, quality or costs. Additionally, we explore the long-run consequences of extended work interruptions for childcare.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a specialized cross-sectional module from the 2018 Spanish Labor Force Survey, we estimated a set of linear regression models to capture the short and long run effects of childcare restrictions in labor market outcomes.

Findings

We identify substantial gender gaps in labor force, employment, full-time employment and hours worked among parents facing childcare constraints. In contrast, parents without such restrictions experience much lower gender gaps. The long-run analysis reveals that mainly career breaks lasting 2 years or more significantly diminish the labor supply and employment rates of mothers.

Originality/value

Our study goes beyond examining the effects of childcare restrictions on mothers’ labor market behavior and explicitly studies the gender disparities related to these restrictions. Moreover, our database includes information on work flexibility for childcare, allowing us to explore whether such flexibility can help mitigate these gender gaps. Additionally, we assess the long-term effects of work interruptions due to childcare responsibilities on women’s labor outcomes.

Details

Applied Economic Analysis, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2632-7627

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 July 2003

Bryan Roberts

135

Abstract

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 31 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 21 May 2024

Raushan Aman, Maria Elo, Petri Ahokangas and Xiaotian Zhang

Entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) research has focused on high-growth scale-up entrepreneurship, whereas the role of EEs in nurturing the ventures of marginalised groups like…

1119

Abstract

Purpose

Entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) research has focused on high-growth scale-up entrepreneurship, whereas the role of EEs in nurturing the ventures of marginalised groups like migrant women entrepreneurs (MWEs) has often been elided from extant discussions. This research explores how the EE's structure, policies and programmes advance diversity, equity and inclusion to foster MWEs, and MWEs' contribution to the dynamics and sustainability of the host country's EE based on EE actors' perspectives. We contribute to EEs' diversity, equity and inclusion, which are important but neglected social aspects of sustainable EEs.

Design/methodology/approach

The qualitative data was collected through thematic interviews with EE actors, including NGOs and entrepreneurial support-providing organizations based in Finland. The collected data was complemented by interviews with MWEs, archival data and published supplementary materials on ecosystem actors.

Findings

EE structure, policies, programmes and individual agency, coupled with MWEs' proactivity in lobbying the necessary actors in the required places for their interests, enhance their businesses' development. There were both impeding and fostering dynamics, which may have idiographic and contextual features. Evidently, by being occupied in various sectors, from science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to socially beneficial niche service sectors, MWEs contribute to the host country's EE dynamics not only through their productive entrepreneurship but by enriching the ecosystem's resource endowments and institutional arrangements.

Originality/value

We argue that exploring the gender and inclusivity aspects of EEs as the accommodating context is particularly relevant, given that the United Nation's sustainable development goals 5, 8 and 10 aim to improve women's empowerment at all levels, promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and ensuring equal opportunities and reduced inequalities within the population. Inclusion and embeddedness in EEs positively affect diversity and sustainability in the host country. Theoretically, our contribution is twofold. First, by exploring female migrants' entrepreneurial experiences within the EE based on EE actors' perspectives, we broaden the research on inclusivity in EEs and gender aspects and enrich the research on their societal impact, which has received scant attention from scholars. More specifically, we contribute to EE research with (1) a novel understanding of MWEs and EE elements, their interconnections and dynamism, (2) identifying previously ignored elements shaping MWE and (3) providing EE actor insights into the co-creation of EE for MWE. Second, by analysing the impact of MWEs' businesses on the host country's EE, we contribute to calls for research on MWE contributions to its economic environment.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 30 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 29 September 2023

Xiaorong Gu

In what follows, I first unpack the context of East Asia where fast economic growth, demographic transition, shifting public policies, and historical legacies as well as emerging…

Abstract

In what follows, I first unpack the context of East Asia where fast economic growth, demographic transition, shifting public policies, and historical legacies as well as emerging trends of family norms and practices jointly influence children's and youths' everyday lives and well-being. I show that albeit intraregional and intrasociety heterogeneities, childhood is part and parcel of the modernization project in this part of the world, which has attracted concerted efforts of intense investment from the state and the family, shaping a trajectory of childhood that is increasingly scholarized. I then sketch the landscape of childhood and youth studies in this region, calling for the intervention of childhood sociology as an approach to bring young people's own perspectives, voices, subjectivities, and actions to the fore. This is followed by an introduction to four compelling contributions that offer rich and nuanced insights into the pains and gains, pressures and perseverance of the growing up experiences of the young in rapidly changing East Asian societies.

Details

The Emerald Handbook of Childhood and Youth in Asian Societies
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-284-6

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 March 2021

Aizhan Tursunbayeva, Claudia Pagliari, Stefano Di Lauro and Gilda Antonelli

This research analyzed the existing academic and grey literature concerning the technologies and practices of people analytics (PA), to understand how ethical considerations are…

34381

Abstract

Purpose

This research analyzed the existing academic and grey literature concerning the technologies and practices of people analytics (PA), to understand how ethical considerations are being discussed by researchers, industry experts and practitioners, and to identify gaps, priorities and recommendations for ethical practice.

Design/methodology/approach

An iterative “scoping review” method was used to capture and synthesize relevant academic and grey literature. This is suited to emerging areas of innovation where formal research lags behind evidence from professional or technical sources.

Findings

Although the grey literature contains a growing stream of publications aimed at helping PA practitioners to “be ethical,” overall, research on ethical issues in PA is still at an early stage. Optimistic and technocentric perspectives dominate the PA discourse, although key themes seen in the wider literature on digital/data ethics are also evident. Risks and recommendations for PA projects concerned transparency and diverse stakeholder inclusion, respecting privacy rights, fair and proportionate use of data, fostering a systemic culture of ethical practice, delivering benefits for employees, including ethical outcomes in business models, ensuring legal compliance and using ethical charters.

Research limitations/implications

This research adds to current debates over the future of work and employment in a digitized, algorithm-driven society.

Practical implications

The research provides an accessible summary of the risks, opportunities, trade-offs and regulatory issues for PA, as well as a framework for integrating ethical strategies and practices.

Originality/value

By using a scoping methodology to surface and analyze diverse literatures, this study fills a gap in existing knowledge on ethical aspects of PA. The findings can inform future academic research, organizations using or considering PA products, professional associations developing relevant guidelines and policymakers adapting regulations. It is also timely, given the increase in digital monitoring of employees working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 May 2007

981

Abstract

Details

Human Resource Management International Digest, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0967-0734

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 9 January 2009

Ulla Wischermann

144

Abstract

Details

Equal Opportunities International, vol. 28 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0261-0159

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 September 2023

Cristen Dalessandro, Daniel Patterson and Alexander Lovell

Compared to the years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, more workers today seemingly have choice over where, when and how they do their work. However, gender inequalities at work

1085

Abstract

Purpose

Compared to the years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, more workers today seemingly have choice over where, when and how they do their work. However, gender inequalities at work and at home persist, which may impact perceptions of choice. Thus, researchers must investigate the potential impact of gender and domestic responsibilities on perceptions of work-related options, including perceptions of workspace choice.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an original dataset with workers in North America, South America, Europe and Asia (N = 3,147), the authors conducted logistic regression analyses to explore whether workers felt they had a choice in where they do their work (workspace choice). In addition to gender, the authors considered the effect of domestic responsibilities (childcare and housework) on worker perceptions of workspace choice.

Findings

In the paper's initial regression, the authors found that men (OR: 1.24; 95%CI 1.04–1.48) as well as workers reporting that a partner was responsible for all or most of the housework (OR: 1.80; 95%CI 1.34–2.40) and childcare (OR 1.51; 95%CI 1.09–2.09) reported feeling a greater sense of workspace choice. Simultaneously, follow-up regression analyses found that women and men whose partners had a greater share of domestic responsibility had amplified perceptions of choice. However, surprisingly, men who claimed primary responsibility for domestic work also reported more choice over workspace.

Originality/value

Using an international sample, the authors explore gender inequities in worker perceptions of workspace choice. The authors' findings suggest that domestic responsibilities interact with gender in interesting ways, leading to differences in perceptions of choice in the post-pandemic workplace.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 43 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 September 2022

Zarin Khan Moon and Md. Mahedi Hasan

This study aims to explore whether the working parents' perception about the necessity of childcare centres for their work efficiency is associated with their anxieties and…

2077

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore whether the working parents' perception about the necessity of childcare centres for their work efficiency is associated with their anxieties and concerns related to their dual responsibilities, i.e. providing proper parental childcare and maintaining work efficiency.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 100 employed parents, from the Jashore region of Bangladesh, was surveyed, and descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data.

Findings

It was revealed that there is a strong association between the perceived negative impact on job performance, childcare, child development, work efficiency and perceived need for a childcare centre.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of this study is that it was confined to Jashore University of Science and Technology. The results may differ from those of the study conducted outside this study area and the methodology used here.

Practical implications

This study has significant practical implications for employers, childcare service providers and policy makers, especially in Bangladesh. The employers will be able to understand the demand for childcare services centres among the employed parents in respective organizations. It will draw attention of employers of knowledge intensive industries and grants commission to the issue of conflict of work and childcare-related responsibilities of employed parents. This will also make employers conscious about the dilemma that is undergone by employed parents motivating them to take actions for minimizing such conflicts to ensure better job performance of working parents.

Social implications

Based on this study, childcare providers and other policy makers will be able to ascertain the potential size of the childcare market and determine the requirement for investment in childcare-related human resources development. As the work and childcare responsibilities compete for limited time of working parents, either childcare or job performance suffers. This causes concerns, anxieties or remorse, which again hampers the job performance further. Therefore, this study may motivate the university authority around the world, specifically those in Bangladesh, to provide childcare facilities for its faculties, students and other employees.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on growing demand for centre-based childcare services in an emerging economy context. It provides evidence of high demand for on- and off-site childcare centres to enhance work efficiency of working parents.

Details

South Asian Journal of Marketing, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2719-2377

Keywords

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