Africa must formulate appropriate social welfare policy for the elderly as a matter of urgency. W... more Africa must formulate appropriate social welfare policy for the elderly as a matter of urgency. Whether policy formulation takes place without in-depth knowledge of black indigenous structures, or whether it does the contrary and builds upon this knowledge, will have consequences for the whole of Africa. This article addresses the issue of gender and intergenerational support as a policy agenda for African countries. The article focusses on Ghana and examines intergenerational support systems. in particular the intergenerational exchanges hetv.oeen women traders. It also considers the social welfare benefits and contributions that intergenerational support can make. A new approach to the design of social welfare policy is proposed. which recogni:o.es that the problems of the aged are increasingly African problems. lntergenerational support and social functioning: a neglected area
This paper contributes to research on gendering of organizational spaces by analyzing the genderi... more This paper contributes to research on gendering of organizational spaces by analyzing the gendering of space and spacing of gender through the novel concept of assemblage. Assemblage highlights the...
Identity construction as a form of institutional work has mainly been studied from discursive per... more Identity construction as a form of institutional work has mainly been studied from discursive perspectives. We examine how the identity of start-up entrepreneurs is constructed within the sociomaterial setting of a major start-up and technology conference, to enhance institutionalization of start-up entrepreneurship. We draw from the theories of performative identity construction, sociomateriality, and affect. Our study contributes to research on institutional work by highlighting the sociomaterial and affective nature of identity construction as a form of institutional work. We demonstrate how the identity of start-up entrepreneurs is constructed as rock star, vital entrepreneur, and buddy in a start-up ecosystem. Furthermore, we present characteristics of sociomaterial agency that strengthen identification with the institution of start-up entrepreneurship: multisensority, temporal multidimensionality, and the dynamics of equality and exceptionality building. Our study also critically demonstrates how constructed identities tend to reinforce the link between entrepreneurship and masculinity.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 2014
Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to discuss and illustrate how contemporary market discourse... more Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to discuss and illustrate how contemporary market discourses rearticulate socio-political relationships and identities, including the rights, duties, and opportunities of individuals and categories of individuals as citizens. More specifically, the purpose is to analyze how “economic citizenship” is articulated and negotiated in the intersection of (Nordic) welfare state ideals and shareholder-oriented market discourses. The paper further elaborates on how different identity markers, especially gender and class, intersect in these articulations and contribute to exclusionary practices. Design/methodology/approach – The paper approaches the articulation of economic citizenship through an empirical study that focusses on business media representations and online discussions of a major factory shutdown in Finland. Drawing from discourse theory and the notions of representational intersectionality and translocational positionality, the paper analyze...
The idea for this book was germinated during a panel session on diversity management at the 2006 ... more The idea for this book was germinated during a panel session on diversity management at the 2006 International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management Conference in Berlin, Germany. Those participating in that session indicated that they had benefitted from being able to share experiences about developing inclusive teaching and research approaches in the academic setting. This book is designed to replicate and extend those experiences, bringing together writers from different academic institutions around the globe. Its editors wanted to extract the insights arising from the application of inclusion in different local academic environments. Inclusion and the management of diversity of course require individual differences to be acknowledged and systems and processes to be adapted and designed to ‘manage’, or even better, to value those differences. To do so is a significant challenge, and one that is rarely achieved at the systems level. Instead, we can learn from the range of individual and usually small scale victories, and this is very much what this book presents. In its Introduction the authors acknowledge the entrenched nature of unequal power relations and structures that underpin academic organisations, and that the stories they relate represent ‘relative success’ in changing everyday practices (p. 1). Structurally the book follows a useful separation into a focus on developing curricula for inclusion, followed by a focus on reworking pedagogy, and a final section focused on shifting research strategies and academic identities. The conclusion is designed to reflect on key points made throughout the book. Each of the book’s chapters presents a story of success, but not systemic success, with a strongly autobiographical style. These are personalised accounts and while this adds a sense of realism, their effectiveness relies on their capacity to be generalised across different academic settings and locations. This is achieved in some of the chapters where the authors have provided a concluding section that elicits the lessons learned, but unfortunately, this approach is inconsistent and not all authors have pursued this approach. Similarly, the book is designed to explore the impact of local context but not all of the chapters
Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze how global and local changes in higher education ... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze how global and local changes in higher education impact upon writing practices through which doctoral students become academics. The study explores how norms and values of academic writing practice are learned, negotiated and resisted and elucidates how competences related to writing come to determine the academic selves. Design/methodology/approach The study uses memory work, which is a group method that puts attention to written individual memories and their collective analysis and theorizing. The authors offer a comparison of experiences in becoming academics by two generational cohorts (1990s and 2010s) in the same management studies department in a business school. Findings The study indicates that the contextual and temporal enactment of academic writing practice in the department created a situation where implicit and ambiguous criteria for writing competence gradually changed into explicit and narrow ones. The change was relati...
How is it that some organizational practices flow like clockwork and may even energize us but oth... more How is it that some organizational practices flow like clockwork and may even energize us but others seem to be stuck in the mud and diminish our capacity to act? In order to understand this, we develop a concept of affecto-rhythmic order that captures how rhythms and affects interrelate in the flow of organizational practices. Adopting a sociomaterial practice perspective, our ethnographic study of a Nordic startup accelerator demonstrates how participants learn and embody a contextual affecto-rhythmic upbeat order and how this enhances their individual and collective capacity to engage with the fast-paced development of business ideas and sales pitching skills relevant in the accelerator setting. As a contribution, the study theorizes and empirically illustrates the entangled nature of rhythms and affects in organizational practices, provides novel insights into inter-corporeal learning and the regulative nature of practices, and shows how affective ethnography can help scholars e...
Africa must formulate appropriate social welfare policy for the elderly as a matter of urgency. W... more Africa must formulate appropriate social welfare policy for the elderly as a matter of urgency. Whether policy formulation takes place without in-depth knowledge of black indigenous structures, or whether it does the contrary and builds upon this knowledge, will have consequences for the whole of Africa. This article addresses the issue of gender and intergenerational support as a policy agenda for African countries. The article focusses on Ghana and examines intergenerational support systems. in particular the intergenerational exchanges hetv.oeen women traders. It also considers the social welfare benefits and contributions that intergenerational support can make. A new approach to the design of social welfare policy is proposed. which recogni:o.es that the problems of the aged are increasingly African problems. lntergenerational support and social functioning: a neglected area
This paper contributes to research on gendering of organizational spaces by analyzing the genderi... more This paper contributes to research on gendering of organizational spaces by analyzing the gendering of space and spacing of gender through the novel concept of assemblage. Assemblage highlights the...
Identity construction as a form of institutional work has mainly been studied from discursive per... more Identity construction as a form of institutional work has mainly been studied from discursive perspectives. We examine how the identity of start-up entrepreneurs is constructed within the sociomaterial setting of a major start-up and technology conference, to enhance institutionalization of start-up entrepreneurship. We draw from the theories of performative identity construction, sociomateriality, and affect. Our study contributes to research on institutional work by highlighting the sociomaterial and affective nature of identity construction as a form of institutional work. We demonstrate how the identity of start-up entrepreneurs is constructed as rock star, vital entrepreneur, and buddy in a start-up ecosystem. Furthermore, we present characteristics of sociomaterial agency that strengthen identification with the institution of start-up entrepreneurship: multisensority, temporal multidimensionality, and the dynamics of equality and exceptionality building. Our study also critically demonstrates how constructed identities tend to reinforce the link between entrepreneurship and masculinity.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 2014
Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to discuss and illustrate how contemporary market discourse... more Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to discuss and illustrate how contemporary market discourses rearticulate socio-political relationships and identities, including the rights, duties, and opportunities of individuals and categories of individuals as citizens. More specifically, the purpose is to analyze how “economic citizenship” is articulated and negotiated in the intersection of (Nordic) welfare state ideals and shareholder-oriented market discourses. The paper further elaborates on how different identity markers, especially gender and class, intersect in these articulations and contribute to exclusionary practices. Design/methodology/approach – The paper approaches the articulation of economic citizenship through an empirical study that focusses on business media representations and online discussions of a major factory shutdown in Finland. Drawing from discourse theory and the notions of representational intersectionality and translocational positionality, the paper analyze...
The idea for this book was germinated during a panel session on diversity management at the 2006 ... more The idea for this book was germinated during a panel session on diversity management at the 2006 International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management Conference in Berlin, Germany. Those participating in that session indicated that they had benefitted from being able to share experiences about developing inclusive teaching and research approaches in the academic setting. This book is designed to replicate and extend those experiences, bringing together writers from different academic institutions around the globe. Its editors wanted to extract the insights arising from the application of inclusion in different local academic environments. Inclusion and the management of diversity of course require individual differences to be acknowledged and systems and processes to be adapted and designed to ‘manage’, or even better, to value those differences. To do so is a significant challenge, and one that is rarely achieved at the systems level. Instead, we can learn from the range of individual and usually small scale victories, and this is very much what this book presents. In its Introduction the authors acknowledge the entrenched nature of unequal power relations and structures that underpin academic organisations, and that the stories they relate represent ‘relative success’ in changing everyday practices (p. 1). Structurally the book follows a useful separation into a focus on developing curricula for inclusion, followed by a focus on reworking pedagogy, and a final section focused on shifting research strategies and academic identities. The conclusion is designed to reflect on key points made throughout the book. Each of the book’s chapters presents a story of success, but not systemic success, with a strongly autobiographical style. These are personalised accounts and while this adds a sense of realism, their effectiveness relies on their capacity to be generalised across different academic settings and locations. This is achieved in some of the chapters where the authors have provided a concluding section that elicits the lessons learned, but unfortunately, this approach is inconsistent and not all authors have pursued this approach. Similarly, the book is designed to explore the impact of local context but not all of the chapters
Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze how global and local changes in higher education ... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze how global and local changes in higher education impact upon writing practices through which doctoral students become academics. The study explores how norms and values of academic writing practice are learned, negotiated and resisted and elucidates how competences related to writing come to determine the academic selves. Design/methodology/approach The study uses memory work, which is a group method that puts attention to written individual memories and their collective analysis and theorizing. The authors offer a comparison of experiences in becoming academics by two generational cohorts (1990s and 2010s) in the same management studies department in a business school. Findings The study indicates that the contextual and temporal enactment of academic writing practice in the department created a situation where implicit and ambiguous criteria for writing competence gradually changed into explicit and narrow ones. The change was relati...
How is it that some organizational practices flow like clockwork and may even energize us but oth... more How is it that some organizational practices flow like clockwork and may even energize us but others seem to be stuck in the mud and diminish our capacity to act? In order to understand this, we develop a concept of affecto-rhythmic order that captures how rhythms and affects interrelate in the flow of organizational practices. Adopting a sociomaterial practice perspective, our ethnographic study of a Nordic startup accelerator demonstrates how participants learn and embody a contextual affecto-rhythmic upbeat order and how this enhances their individual and collective capacity to engage with the fast-paced development of business ideas and sales pitching skills relevant in the accelerator setting. As a contribution, the study theorizes and empirically illustrates the entangled nature of rhythms and affects in organizational practices, provides novel insights into inter-corporeal learning and the regulative nature of practices, and shows how affective ethnography can help scholars e...
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Papers by Saija Katila