Changing agents of change in neoliberally framed organizations

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheeba Asirvatham ◽  
Maria Humphries
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Career Experiences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Radical Feminist ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Agents Of Change ◽  
Career Strategies

PurposeThis paper aims to invite reflection and action among scholars of gender in management to the shaping and meeting of commitments to universal justice.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 12 women employed as senior scholars in public universities in Aotearoa New Zealand were invited to discuss their career experiences. An observed disjuncture between radical feminist analyses of their career experiences and their liberal feminist responses to issues arising for them prompted reflection on a wider disjuncture in the shaping of justice wherever neoliberal directives prevail, generating this paper’s activist call to integrity between analyses and practice among scholars as agents of change.FindingsImplications drawn from the conversations with participants vindicated earlier critiques of diversity management under the conditions of neoliberalism when accommodating damaging social outcomes and systemic compliance is morally compromising.Originality/valueExploring accommodation of system preserving career strategies of scholars claiming commitment to justice is an evocative and original call to scholarly activism.

scholarly journals Regenerative tourism in Aotearoa New Zealand – A new paradigm for the VUCA world

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josie Major ◽  
Debbie Clarke
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Systems Theory ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Living Systems ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Practical Demonstration

PurposeThe paper provides a summary of the findings from GOOD Awaits – The Regenerative Tourism New Zealand (NZ) Podcast and envisions a regenerative future for tourism in Aotearoa.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on the findings from the GOOD Awaits Podcast, a series of interviews with pioneers and practitioners of regenerative tourism. The podcast was created as a platform for the collective discovery of a new way forward for tourism in the wake of COVID-19, and the series provides a detailed summary of the regenerative tourism movement in NZ.FindingsThrough these interviews, a vision for a regenerative visitor economy in Aotearoa emerged. This new model is rooted in indigenous knowledge and living systems theory. It is a paradigm shift that allows us to see tourism as a living ecosystem and requires innovative economic models, such as social entrepreneurship, systems level changes to the way tourism operates and is governed, local tourism solutions with community thriving as the primary aim and much more collaboration both within tourism and across sectors.Originality/valueRegenerative tourism is an emerging model and one that is rapidly gaining traction in NZ and globally. The GOOD Awaits podcast is a unique, thoughtful and practical demonstration of what this model could look like in Aotearoa. It demonstrates the potential and feasibility of regenerative tourism practice, and the response has shown the desire for these conversations at a national and international scale. This paper is an accessible summary of the podcast's first season and has value for anyone interested in the regenerative tourism movement in Aotearoa.

Reflections on women’s career responsibilities in neoliberally driven universities

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-129
Author(s):  
Sheeba Asirvatham ◽  
Maria Humphries-Kil
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
Social Construction Of Reality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institutional Control ◽  
Radical Feminist ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reflect on career aspirations and experiences explored with senior women organizational scholars employed in neoliberally driven public universities in Aotearoa (New Zealand) legally mandated to serve as a critic and conscience of society. Design/methodology/approach Over the 18 months period, three sequential research conversations were conducted with each of 12 participants known for their commitment to social justice and planetary well-being. The conversational approach allowed for spontaneous participant-lead development of ideas. Sequencing of conversations allowed for reflection on matters raised in previous conversations. Findings Vitality and creativity deemed essential to scholarly careers were reportedly under pressure. Career concepts in use indicate a protean commitment to self-direction but also recognized constraints of institutionally driven neoliberal output regimes. Detrimental impacts of neoliberal values permeating their employing institutions were offered spontaneously often in radical feminist terms but paradoxically given liberal feminist remedies. Research limitations/implications The 12 diverse transcripts of participant conversations generated remarkable similarities that indicate the influence of career articulations on the social construction of reality. The implications of this interpretation invite further reflection on the consequences of normalization of career metaphors and their implication in the intensification of institutional control, the weakening of professional autonomy and the system preserving restriction of career-related responsibilities. Practical implications Highlighting constraints to creativity and vitality necessary for scholarly work can inform further research into professional influences on justice and environmental matters in and beyond the Academy. Social implications In this paper a short review of Aotearoa (New Zealand) as in vanguard of neoliberal intensification globally, the implication of this doctrine in neoliberally driven universities and the impacts on career opportunities, degradations and responsibilities of scholars are explored. Originality/value The conversational research process contrasts with more tightly framed empirical research methods by generating spontaneous participant-led articulations of career-related dynamics explored and expanded over subsequent conversations.

Understanding fire learning experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelia Jane Rhodes ◽  
Nichola Tyler
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sensory Experiences ◽  
Fire Use ◽  
Qualitative Survey ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to present exploratory research on how people in Aotearoa New Zealand experience and learn about fire, and how they think and feel about fire as adults. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative survey with a sample of 40 young adults aged 18–23 years in Aotearoa New Zealand were recruited through Prolific Academic. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to construct themes across participants experiences. Findings Four themes were constructed that described participants’ learning about fire and were named influence of context and internal responses to fire, development of normative beliefs about fire, learning how and when fire can be used and learning about fire safety. Two themes were developed that described participants thoughts and feelings about fire as an adult. These were named knowledge is power and emotional congruence with fire. Results highlight the significant role of parental modelling, reinforcement and sensory experiences in the way individuals experience and learn about fire. Practical implications Understanding fire learning is important for establishing which experiences may lead to appropriate and inappropriate fire use which in turn can inform fire prevention initiatives. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research represents one of the first studies to directly examine fire learning in the general population.

Aotearoa New Zealand: keeping the virus at bay

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer Lilley
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Changing Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Opportunities ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Future Outcomes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Way

PurposeThis paper responds to an invitation from the Editor to write about how the COVID-19 virus has impacted on New Zealand and possible future outcomes, which are presented as three scenarios.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a scenario-based methodology to outline the implications of COVID-19 in New Zealand. Three different scenarios are presented for consideration.FindingsThere is a need for adaptability and flexibility in the way that New Zealand approaches how it recovers from the impact that COVID-19 has had. Specific challenges for libraries are to ensure that they can continue to deliver resources and services to their communities in a fast-changing environment.Research limitations/implicationsThere will be a substantial number of research opportunities in the years ahead to identify how libraries were able to contribute to recovery efforts.Originality/valueThis is a thought piece, delivered as scenarios. It only presents the views of the author.

Century plus journeys: using career crafting to explore the career success of pioneer women accountants

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohini P. Vidwans ◽  
Rosalind H. Whiting
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Career Success ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Pioneer Women ◽  
Insight Into

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the struggle for entry and career success of the early pioneer women accountants in Great Britain and its former colonies the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.Design/methodology/approachA career crafting matrix guides the analysis of historical information available on five pioneer women accountants in order to understand their success in gaining entry into the profession and their subsequent careers.FindingsDespite an exclusionary environment, career crafting efforts coupled with family and organizational support enabled these women to become one of the first female accountants in their respective countries. Their struggles were not personal but much broader—seeking social, political, economic and professional empowerment for women.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to utilize the career crafting matrix developed from current female accountants' careers to explore careers of pioneering female accountants. It adds to the limited literature on women actors in accounting and may provide insight into approaching current forms of difference and discrimination.

Children as change agents for family health

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 498-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisette Burrows
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
School Health ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Change Agents ◽  
Family Health ◽  
School Health Promotion ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Agents Of Change

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore ways in which children and young people are being positioned as change agents for families through school health promotion initiatives in New Zealand. Design/methodology/approach The paper maps and describes the kinds of policies and initiatives that directly or indirectly regard children as conduits of healthy eating and exercise messages/practices for families. Drawing on post-structural theoretical frameworks, it explores what these resources suggest in terms of how healthy families should live. Findings Families are positioned as central to school health promotion initiatives in New Zealand, especially in relation to obesity prevention policies and strategies. Children are further positioned as agents of change for families in many of the resources/policies/initiatives reviewed. They are represented as key transmitters and translators of school-based health knowledge and as capable of, and responsible for, helping their families eat well and exercise more. Social implications While recognising children’s agency and capacity to translate health messages is a powerful and welcome message at one level, the author need to consider the implications of requiring children to convey health information, to judge their family practices and, at times, to be expected to change these. This may create anxiety, family division and expect too much of children. Originality/value The paper takes a novel post-structural perspective on a familiar health promotion issue. Given the proliferation of family-focussed health initiatives in New Zealand and elsewhere, this perspective may help us to explore, critique and understand more fully how children are expected to be engaged in these initiatives, and the potentially harmful implications of these expectations.

scholarly journals Accountability reporting objectives of Māori organizations

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Craig ◽  
Rawiri Taonui ◽  
Susan Wild ◽  
Lũcia Lima Rodrigues
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Core Values ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Activities ◽  
The Core ◽  
Regional Associations

Purpose This paper aims to highlight the accountability reporting objectives of four Māori-controlled organizations. The examples cited reflect the core values of the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand (Aotearoa) and help demonstrate how these values are manifest in the accountability reporting of Māori-controlled organizations. Design/methodology/approach Narrative sections of ten annual reports of two small and two large Maori organizations, drawn variously from their financial years ending in the calendar years 2009 to 2014, are read closely. These organizations represent diverse tribal and regional associations in terms of size, scope and structure; and in terms of the business, social and cultural activities they pursue. Findings Three core Māori values are identified: spirituality (wairuatanga); intergenerationalism and restoration (whakapapa); and governance, leadership and respect (mana and rangatiratanga). The commitment to these values and the way this commitment is reflected in accountability reports of Maori organizations, is presented. Originality/value The examples provided, and the associated discussion, should help inform reporting initiatives of organizations that are seeking better accountability in terms of their long-term engagement with indigenous communities, the environment and broader society.

scholarly journals The complex concept of sustainable of diversity management

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 45-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Best ◽  
Alistair Soyode ◽  
Michael Muller-Camen ◽  
Andrew Boff
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Social Contacts ◽  
Television Station ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Complex Concept ◽  
Full Participation ◽  
Management Policies

Purpose – Explores the notion of sustainable diversity-management practices. Design/methodology/approach – Summarizes research into the sustainability of diversity management across four countries and provides examples of efforts to maintain high levels of diversity. Findings – Looks at the activities of Africa House, an organization that develops business links with Africa, and of Bright Entertainment Network (BEN) Television, which is a television station that caters primarily for ethnic minorities. Social implications – Highlights the complexity of diversity and so the difficulty of legislating in this area. Originality/value – Explains that employees can also stifle attempts to engage in sustainable diversity management policies. A lack of understanding of local laws or language, or through limited social contacts, can prevent full participation by employees.

Affect and the history of masculinities

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Brickell
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relational Quality ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Nineteenth

Purpose – Many scholarly disciplines are currently engaged in a turn to affect, paying close attention to emotion, feeling and sensation. The purpose of this paper is to locate affect in relation to masculinity, time and space. Design/methodology/approach – It suggests that historically, in a range of settings, men have been connected to one another and to women, and these affective linkages tells much about the relational quality and texture of historically experienced masculinities. Findings – Spatial settings, in turn, facilitate, hinder and modify expressions and experiences of affect and social connectedness. This paper will bring space and time into conversation with affect, using two examples from late nineteenth-century New Zealand. Originality/value – If masculinities scholars often focus on what divides men from women and men from each other, the paper might think about how affect connects people.

Exploring the relationship between dispositions to think critically and sustainability concern in HESD

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Shephard ◽  
Qudsia Kalsoom ◽  
Ritika Gupta ◽  
Lorenz Probst ◽  
Paul Gannon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Higher education is uncertain which sustainability-related education targets should be sought and monitored. Accepting that something needs to be measurable to be systematically improved, the authors explored how measures relate to potential targets. This paper aims to focus on dispositions to think critically (active open-minded thinking and fair-minded thinking in appraising reasoning) as measures and explored how they related to sustainability concern as an indicative educational target. Design/methodology/approach This research included the development and testing of research instruments (scales) that explored dispositions to critical thinking and sustainability concern. Authors researched these instruments within their own correspondence groups and tested them with university students and staff in Pakistan, the USA, Austria, India and New Zealand. The authors also asked a range of contextualising questions. Findings Respondents’ disposition to aspects of active, open-minded thinking and fair-minded thinking do predict their concern about facets of sustainability but their strength of religious belief was an important factor in these relationships and in their measurement. Practical implications This research demonstrates the complexity of monitoring dispositions to think critically and sustainability concern in educational systems, particularly in circumstances where the roles of religious beliefs are of interest; and suggests ways to address this complexity. Originality/value This research integrates and expands discourses on ESD and on critical thinking in diverse disciplines and cultures. It investigates measurement approaches and targets that could help higher education institutions to educate for sustainable development and to monitor their progress, in ways that are compatible with their culture and values.

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