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1 – 10 of over 32000The purpose of this paper is to propose to expand the political economic understanding of a “fix”, that is, capital’s ability to overcome crises of profitability through a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose to expand the political economic understanding of a “fix”, that is, capital’s ability to overcome crises of profitability through a displacement of its crisis tendencies, to include an analytical attention to the gendered, sexualised and racialised unwaged and underpaid (caring) labour that reproduces labour power within a capitalist economy.
Design/methodology/approach
A “care fix”, the author argues, involves attempts to manage a crisis of care in ways that do not resolve but merely displace the crisis, perpetuating the systemic imperative of capital to off-load the cost of social reproduction and care, thereby constituting a crucial dynamic of capitalist development and restructuring and resulting in the reorganisation of gendered and racialised class relations and historically contingent regimes of reproduction.
Findings
The maceration of the Fordist regime of reproduction under neoliberalism has given way to a new post-Fordist arrangement that, having exhausted its care fix, is now once again in crisis. A new care fix is currently under way, while at the same time it is being contested and redirected by the contemporary struggles over social reproduction, care and democracy.
Research limitations/implications
Consequently, the author discusses the emergence of the notion of “caring capitalism” and contrasts this with proposals for democratising care, in turn investigating these developments in the context of an ongoing crisis of political representation in Europe and offering a notion of “care municipalism” as a possible way forward.
Practical implications
The practical implications concern the possibility of democratising the care sector.
Social implications
The social implications pertain to the questions of how social, political and economic institutions shift when care is placed on their agenda.
Originality/value
The value of this paper is to make a theoretical contribution to the analysis of changing configurations of care, social reproduction and society in relation to questions of democracy.
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Keywords
The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act…
Abstract
The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act (which has been amended by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975) provides:
Michael Aherne and José L. Pereira
The purpose of this paper is to use a descriptive case study to establish how collaboration, innovation and knowledge‐management strategies have scaled‐up learning and development…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use a descriptive case study to establish how collaboration, innovation and knowledge‐management strategies have scaled‐up learning and development in rural, remote and other resource‐constrained Canadian delivery settings.
Design/methodology/approach
Intervention design was realized through a one‐time, collaborative, national capacity‐building project. A project portfolio of 72 sub‐projects, initiatives and strategic activities was used to improve access, enhance quality and create capacity for palliative and end‐of‐life care services. Evaluation was multifaceted, including participatory action research, variance analysis and impact analysis. This has been supplemented by post‐intervention critical reflection and integration of relevant literature.
Findings
The purposeful use of collaboration, innovation and knowledge‐management strategies have been successfully used to support a rapid scaling‐up of learning and development interventions. This has enabled enhanced and new pan‐Canadian health delivery capacity implemented at the local service delivery catchment‐level.
Research limitations/implications
The intervention is bounded by a Canada‐specific socio‐cultural/political context. Design variables and antecedent conditions may not be present and/or readily replicated in other nation‐state contexts. The findings suggest opportunities for future integrative and applied health services and policy research, including collaborative inquiry that weaves together concepts from adult learning, social science and industrial engineering.
Practical implications
Scaling‐up for new capacity is ideally approached as a holistic, multi‐faceted process which considers the total assets within delivery systems, service catchments and communities as potentially being engaged and deployed.
Originality/value
The Pallium Integrated Capacity‐building Initiative offers model elements useful to others seeking theory‐informed practices to rapidly and effectively scale‐up learning and development efforts.
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Lucie K. Ozanne and Julie L. Ozanne
Time banking is a form of alternative consumer market where members trade services, non-reciprocally creating a local marketplace for services. Time Banks facilitate dyadic…
Abstract
Purpose
Time banking is a form of alternative consumer market where members trade services, non-reciprocally creating a local marketplace for services. Time Banks facilitate dyadic exchanges, meeting members’ practical needs and building diverse skills. The purpose of this research was to determine the broad capabilities developed in the Time Bank economy, and to demonstrate how these capabilities were mobilised following a series of earthquakes, contributing to the larger community’s resiliency.
Design/methodology/approach
Taking an ethnographic approach, data were collected using a variety of methods including interviews, focus groups, participant observation and secondary research.
Findings
Over time, this alternative consumer market developed a significant communication and social network that members activated to solve diverse practical problems facing the community. Similar to other exchange communities, the Time Bank also fostered a strong sense of community based on reciprocity and egalitarian values. Although the Time Bank was created as a marketplace to exchange local services, during a series of devastating earthquakes, it galvanised adaptive capacities, increasing the resiliency of the local community during disaster relief and reconstruction.
Research limitations/implications
The data were drawn from one alternative exchange system in New Zealand.
Practical implications
The study shows how grassroots alternative consumer markets like Time Banks build community capacities alongside the formal economy. During normal times, this system meets consumer needs, but in extraordinary times, this system provides community shock absorbers, thereby enhancing community resiliency.
Social implications
The Time Bank was particularly adept at leveraging local knowledge to provide social support to those residents who were most vulnerable.
Originality/value
Data were collected before, during, and after the earthquakes, providing a rare opportunity to explore the process of community resiliency in action. This research extends existing theories of community resiliency explaining the development and activation of capacities by a local alternative consumer market.
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– This paper aims to examine ethical investment problems related to fiduciary responsibilities.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine ethical investment problems related to fiduciary responsibilities.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study discusses these issues from the perspective of stock investment. It identifies, validates and explains the ethical problems and possibilities concerning the principles of responsible investment. The paper focuses on, but is not restricted to, the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment.
Findings
The United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment give investors moral freedoms, although from the point-of-view of most moral theories, only such investments that serve the well-being of people and the environment would be ethically responsible. The legitimacy of fiduciary responsibilities is motivated by the pursuit of economic gain, which is essential for business on the one hand but ethically problematic on the other, if the “invisible hand” of the economy does not work and wealth accumulates in the hands of only a few people.
Research limitations/implications
This vision presented in the paper (albeit practically relevant) is obviously general and many details, including the starting points of the care-ethical approach and the moral rating of stock portfolios, need to be developed further.
Practical implications
The vision proposes, in essence, a care-ethical approach according to which only such investments that promote the general good and welfare are morally acceptable. From this perspective, investment should primarily serve people and the environment, and therefore investments should only be made, based on a careful evaluation, in ethically acceptable and economically profitable companies that contribute to the human and environmental good.
Originality/value
This subject matter has been much discussed; however, the perspective and starting points of this article, especially the ethics of care, are new and add novel ideas to the conversation.
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