Colour, culture and difference in Australian teacher education: voices from the edge

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-343
Author(s):  
Dawn Joseph ◽  
Richard Johnson

Purpose Although much has been written about international students in higher education in Australia, there is a paucity of research and discussion about international academics especially non-whites and their lived experience in the workplace. This paper represents the voices of two academics working in metropolitan universities in Melbourne. The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of how in spite of all the goodwill and highbrow research, the “corridors of academia” need to be examined in considering the politics of inclusion and internationalisation as the authors still need to address issues of colour as they exist in the academy. Design/methodology/approach The authors use narrative inquiry and reflection to tell the story as both phenomenon and method where the phenomenon is the story and inquiry is the narrative. Findings The findings suggest student and staff perceptions of difference are mostly theorised but not practiced within the academy. Research limitations/implications The paper includes two voices, a limitation in itself, thus generalisations cannot be made to other academics or institutions. The authors recommend more professional development for staff and students alike to embrace issues of colour, culture and difference. Practical implications The authors draw attention to the need for academics to reflect on their behaviour within their own academic communities and be more aware of minority groups in academia. Social implications By including and listening to issues facing minority groups (academics and students) can only improve the social cohesion of university worksites. Originality/value This is an original work carried out by both authors. It raises concerns that may also be experienced international staff and or students.

Author(s):  
Paul Ranson ◽  
Daniel Guttentag

Purpose This study aimed to investigate whether increasing the social presence within an Airbnb lodging environment could nudge guests toward altruistic cleaning behaviors. Design/methodology/approach The study was based around a theoretical framework combining the social-market versus money-market relationship model, nudge theory and social presence theory. A series of three field experiments were conducted, in which social presence was manipulated to test its impact on guest cleaning behaviors prior to departure. Findings The experimental results confirmed the underlying hypothesis that an Airbnb listing’s enhanced social presence can subtly induce guests to help clean their rental units prior to departure. Originality/value This study is the first to examine behavioral nudging in an Airbnb context. It is also one of the first field experiments involving Airbnb. The study findings offer clear theoretical and practical implications.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamini Manikam ◽  
Rebekah Russell-Bennett

Purpose – Despite the importance of theory as a driving framework, many social marketers either fail to explicitly use theory as the basis of designing social marketing interventions or default to familiar theories which may not accurately reflect the nature of the behavioural issue. The purpose of this paper is therefore to propose and demonstrate the social marketing theory (SMT)-based approach for designing social marketing interventions, campaigns or tools. Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper proposes a four-step process and illustrates this process by applying the SMT-based approach to the digital component of a social marketing intervention for preventing domestic violence. Findings – For effective social marketing interventions, the underpinning theory must reflect consumer insights and key behavioural drivers and be used explicitly in the design process. Practical implications – Social marketing practitioners do not always understand how to use theory in the design of interventions, campaigns or tools, and scholars do not always understand how to translate theories into practice. This paper outlines a process and illustrates how theory can be selected and applied. Originality/value – This paper proposes a process for theory selection and use in a social marketing context.


Author(s):  
Gwen Adshead

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe some of the basic features of attachment theory, and explore how they relate to the development of the “social mind” and the work of therapeutic communities (TC). Design/methodology/approach – The author describes the essentials of attachment theory in humans; and the development of both secure and insecure states of mind. The author will set out how insecure attachment systems are associated with deficits in mentalising processes which are fundamental to the activity of the social mind. Findings – The author suggests how attachment to a TC can promote mentalising processes. The author draws on the work of other speakers in the conclusions about how to “grow” secure minds and societies. Research limitations/implications – This paper is a brief over view only and does not address attachment process to TC in any depth. Practical implications – Attachment theory could help both service users and therapists who work in TCs understand some of the difficulties people have in engaging at the start. Attachment theory also gives a guide to what a “good enough” experience in a TC might look like. Originality/value – There is little existing discussion of the application of attachment theory to TCs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 190-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brid Featherstone ◽  
Anna Gupta ◽  
Kate Morris

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue for the need to move away from a sole focus on assessing and dealing with individualised risk factors in order to more fully engage with and understand the social determinants of many of the harms that are manifest in families. Design/methodology/approach It draws from a number of research studies being conducted by the authors and a literature on psycho-social approaches to social suffering. Findings It highlights the evidence on the contribution of poverty and inequality to many of the problems encountered within families. It explores how hurt, shame and loss are experienced by those who are marginalised and struggling to live well and care safely for themselves and others. Practical implications It highlights the practice implications of adopting an approach that engages with both the social and the psychological and understands their inter-relationship. It offers some thoughts on how the social in psycho-social might receive the attention it deserves, a situation which does not pertain currently. Originality/value It offers an original contribution to thinking in the area of child protection where the focus is primarily on individualised risk factors. It highlights the importance of understanding the social determinants of many of the harms experienced in families and offers some pointers towards thinking and practising differently.


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 20-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Alan Grossberg

Purpose Delineate the strategic implications for three new marketing trends based on digital technology. Design/methodology/approach The author looks at how strategy is being affected by: Marketing automation, where artificial intelligence is used to help win a customer and optimize the search for such potential prospects. Social media, which blends the personal and the businesslike and provides opportunities for engagement with the client on an almost real-time, personalized basis. The manipulation of huge quantities of “Big Data” to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing automation and of deriving value from social media. Findings Under all emerging digital technology scenarios, the marketer’s job becomes more complex and more central to the interaction between the customers and the corporation. Practical implications Social marketing will increasingly involve co-creation of product and brand story with customers, experienced-based marketing and more sophisticated management of the interface between the social media platform and automated marketing. Originality/value This article identifies the integral relationship between advances in marketing technology and strategic opportunities for marketing innovation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 4-6

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – The great number of concepts found in literature are organized into a framework that distinguishes relevant inputs that can affect team functioning; relevant mediators for team creativity (TC) and TC outcomes. The framework is reviewed and discussed within the context of the social systems in which the team is embedded. Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Zeegers ◽  
Ian Francis Clark

Purpose – This study investigated whether a course which focused on raising students' awareness of sustainability, from a balanced perspective, that is, one which gives equal consideration to the social and economic aspects as well as the environmental would produce graduates with the knowledge and commitment required to drive the sustainability agenda forward. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – An analysis of students' final entries in their reflective journal was used to explore whether their views on sustainability reflected a balanced view. Findings – The findings of this research confirmed previous studies showed that initially students do have an enviro-centric bias. It also showed that despite experiencing a pedagogical approach which challenged views by encouraging discussion, debate, and reflection and which provided what was considered to be a balanced view of sustainability, many of the students still leaned towards an environmentally focused perspective of sustainability. Research limitations/implications – The conclusions are based on one data set but are supported by other data described in the paper. Practical implications – The finding led the authors to conclude that a concerted holistic effort within and across courses is needed within tertiary institutions if students' views about sustainability are to be challenged. Originality/value – The outcomes demonstrate that students' reflective journals can be used to gather information about the change in students' perceptions about sustainability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 5-14
Author(s):  
John C. Camillus ◽  
Jeffrey E. Baker ◽  
Anushka I. Daunt ◽  
Jungyoon Jang

Purpose This study aims to offer a strategic management response to societal disruptions of the magnitude triggered by the agricultural, industrial and information revolutions. These pose challenges that are much greater and different in kind than the industry-wide disruptions that businesses have learned to manage. Pandemics, climate change, biotech and artificial intelligence guarantee that such societal disruptions will be an inescapable and recurring reality. Design/methodology/approach The paper builds on the strategic management responses to wicked problems, which possess in microcosm the chaotic ambiguity that characterizes societal disruptions. Findings The authors propose a management process that affirms a sense of identity, identifies robust actions, adopts a real-options approach and uses a platform organization. Research limitations/implications The primary limitation is that the recommendations and findings are extrapolations of organizational practices in analogous situations. No examples of formal management processes specifically designed to address societal disruptions were identified. Practical implications The practical implications are significant. The specific recommendations in the paper directly address strategic management practice in organizations. Social implications The social implications are integral to the motivation of the paper as it describes the intrinsic characteristics of societal change and transformation, enabling organizations to interact with society on a dynamic basis. Originality/value While there has been growing interest and research into business and industry disruptions, the challenge of societal disruptions, which is the focus of this paper, has not been directly addressed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (10) ◽  
pp. 2025-2053
Author(s):  
Markus Wohlfeil ◽  
Anthony Patterson ◽  
Stephen J. Gould

Purpose This paper aims to explain a celebrity’s deep resonance with consumers by unpacking the individual constituents of a celebrity’s polysemic appeal. While celebrities are traditionally theorised as unidimensional semiotic receptacles of cultural meaning, the authors conceptualise them here instead as human beings/performers with a multi-constitutional, polysemic consumer appeal. Design/methodology/approach Supporting evidence is drawn from autoethnographic data collected over a total period of 25 months and structured through a hermeneutic analysis. Findings In rehumanising the celebrity, the study finds that each celebrity offers the individual consumer a unique and very personal parasocial appeal as the performer, the private person behind the public performer, the tangible manifestation of either through products and the social link to other consumers. The stronger these constituents, individually or symbiotically, appeal to the consumer’s personal desires, the more s/he feels emotionally attached to this particular celebrity. Research limitations/implications Although using autoethnography means that the breadth of collected data is limited, the depth of insight this approach garners sufficiently unpacks the polysemic appeal of celebrities to consumers. Practical implications The findings encourage talent agents, publicists and marketing managers to reconsider underlying assumptions in their talent management and/or celebrity endorsement practices. Originality/value While prior research on celebrity appeal has tended to enshrine celebrities in a “dehumanised” structuralist semiosis, which erases the very idea of individualised consumer meanings, this paper reveals the multi-constitutional polysemy of any particular celebrity’s personal appeal as a performer and human being to any particular consumer.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 700-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akume T. Albert

Purpose The purpose of this paper therefore is to identify and examine major issue-areas in law, prominent among which are the Plea-Bargain and S308 Immunity Clause, and how they impact the process of effectively combating corruption in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses documentary sources and analytical method to examine the issues involved. Findings The identified issue-areas are inhibitors rather than facilitators. Research limitations/implications The implication is that the government needs to change the existing laws to strengthen the fight against corruption. Practical implications This is to ensure that the war against corruption is strengthened and effective. Social implications To ensure that offenders face the full weight of the law for their action. Originality/value This paper is the author's original work and all references are appropriately acknowledged.


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