Social Purposes Research Articles

A proposal for a balanced scorecard for the water utilities sector to address the United Nations sustainable development goals

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the technical, social and moral aspects of accounting through the implementation of a novel balanced scorecard (BSC) that addresses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation – within the Portuguese water utilities sector.Design/methodology/approachA novel research design is adopted, using actor network theory (ANT) as a broad approach to frame the study. ANT emphasizes the importance of ever-evolving networks of relationships and how concepts such as the BSC are just as important in structuring social practice. A set of expert interviews was conducted with stakeholders in the water utilities sector in Portugal, which led to the iterative development of a context-relevant BSC proposal and associated indicators.FindingsA novel BSC architecture to achieve UN SDG 6 is proposed through a unique engagement between professionals and academics. The BSC, and the specific definition of indicators for an entire sector (water), contribute to bridging business processes with the common good to improve life and planetary conditions. Ultimately, the study discusses how the technical aspects of accounting can be enhanced to achieve social and moral imperatives. The paper also reflects on the limitations of broadening existing technical practices.Originality/valueThere is a burgeoning literature on how organizations are engaging with the UN SDG agenda. However, there is a dearth of studies on how management control systems are currently addressing, or can potentially contribute to measuring and managing specific UN SDGs such as Clean Water and Sanitation. This study makes a unique contribution to the literature by developing a novel BSC solution to SDG 6 measurement and management using a novel practitioner-led approach. Ultimately, our study highlights how accounting can be broadened to enhance technical practices while also serving a moral and social purpose.

Understanding the large role of long-distance travel in carbon emissions from passenger travel

Long-distance passenger travel has received rather sparse attention for decarbonization. Here we characterize the long-distance travel pattern in England and explore its importance on carbon emissions from and decarbonization of passenger travel. We find that only 2.7% of a person’s trips are for long distance travel (>50 miles one-way), but they account for 61.3% of the miles and 69.3% of the greenhouse gas (CO2 equivalent) emissions from passenger travel, highlighting its importance for decarbonizing passenger transport. Long-distance travel per person has also been increasing over time, trending in the opposite direction to shorter-distance travel. Flying for leisure and social purposes are the largest contributors to long distance miles and emissions, and these miles are also increasing. Overall, per capita travel emissions have started decreasing slowly from 2007, but are still higher than in 1997. We propose a new metric—emissions reduction sensitivity (% emission reduced/% trips altered)—to understand the efficiency of travel demand related initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Long-distance travel—especially flying—can offer orders of magnitude larger emissions reduction sensitivity compared with urban travel, which suggests that a proportionate policy approach is necessary.

독일 특수교육의 역사에서 시대별 특수학교 명칭의 변천 과정과 시사점 탐색

Terms related to disability reflect the reflection of times and philosophies of the time, and with what conceptualized vocabulary they should be expressed has been dealt with as a major topic in academia. This paper viewed that there must have been reasonable social public opinions and purposes in the process of changing the names of special schools, and mainly paid attention to understanding the paradigm shift in special education through the foregoing. In Germany, the names of special schools attended by students with disabilities have been changed several times. In this study, the names were divided into ‘Hilfsschule’, ‘Sonderschule’, and ‘Förderschule’ and the process of changing the names was generally examined. Whereas ‘Hilfsschule’ was introduced in that it was a positive term on humanitarian grounds, ‘Sonderschule’ helped organize 10 different types of special schools into one school system and establish a thoroughly independent school system. The name ‘Förderschule’, which has represented special schools in Germany since the 2000s, can be seen as emphasizing the need for special educational support. ‘Special schools for students with disabilities’ are being changed into ‘support centers for all students who need support.’ As concerns about terms that reflect the trends of the times are a common topic regardless of eras or societies, it is expected that examining the process of changing the names of special schools in Germany will have many implications for us as well.

Sustaining a social movement through infrastructural followup: activist pedagogies and prefigurative politics in Narmada Bachao Andolan’s schools for life (jeevanshalas)

ABSTRACT This article is based on an exploratory study of jeevanshalas, a network of ‘schools for life’ run by the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), an anti-dam movement in the Indian states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra that did not succeed in its mission of stopping the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam. Based on participant observation and conversations with movement leaders, teachers, administrators, parents and community volunteers, and on participatory research with children living in the localities of Jeevan Nagar and Trishul, Maharashtra, this article illuminates how the NBA reinvented itself through education. It argues that the jeevanshalas offer a model of long-term sustainability for social movements whose aim is not necessarily to grow the movement’s membership but to catalyse wider societal change that might eliminate the need for the movement. The findings suggest that the NBA’s understanding of the social purpose of education reflects a view of young people as political agents whose voices shape the community’s collective future, in marked contrast with India’s state-run depoliticising education system. The jeevanshalas thus represent a previously under-researched model of social movement led education whose explicit aim is not to train movement agents but to leverage the transformative potential of education to address underlying patterns of oppression. The article theorises this rearticulation of the concept of ‘social movement schools’ through Spivak’s notion of ‘infrastructural followup’, which parallels recent debates about the nature of prefigurative politics.

Exploring the efficacy of writing comics as a tool for enhancing EFL writing skills of undergraduate Ecuadorian polytechnic students

Purpose This paper aims to identify the effectiveness, student perceptions and impacts of integrating comics into the English as a foreign language (EFL) writing curriculum for undergraduate Ecuadorian polytechnic students. Design/methodology/approach This research followed a mixed method design to obtain quantitative information through a researcher-made survey and paired T-test, which would be corroborated by the qualitative data obtained from semistructured interviews. Findings From the descriptive and T-test results and the interview answers, it is concluded that students have a favorable view of the effectiveness of using comics to improve their writing skills. They also expressed their engagement and motivation to work with comics. Research limitations/implications First, the research sample, comprised of 109 students, may restrict the generalizability of the findings beyond the specific context of this study. This constraint suggests caution in extrapolating these findings to broader student cohorts, emphasizing the need for larger-scale studies to validate the robustness and applicability of the outcomes. Second, the study’s focus solely on students from a polytechnic state university introduces a potential limitation concerning the diversity and representativeness of the participant pool. Consequently, the findings might be limited in their applicability and may not fully encompass students’ varied responses and attitudes from other educational backgrounds. Practical implications The scaffolding afforded by comics aligns with genre-based literacy perspectives, valuing instruction in textual genres and social purposes. From a practical pedagogical point of view, this paper’s results suggest the potential of comic narratives and storyboarding. Comics writing could be added to classroom activities to vibrantly aboard brainstorming, drafting and peer reviewing before dealing with higher-stakes assignments. Legitimizing alternative mediums like comics for academic writing tasks has social implications for promoting literacies in a multimedia world. Social implications Writing comics nurtures multiliteracies aligned with participatory digital cultures by expanding traditional linguistic-centric norms. This multimodal composing can potentially increase access and representation and amplify voices across identities and cultures. Originality/value Although the paper addresses a topic that is not entirely novel in research, its originality lies in its focus on data originating from Ecuador, where specific cultural nuances and educational contexts may influence the effectiveness of using comics to enhance EFL writing skills. Thus, it fills a gap in the existing literature on this subject.

Students' Perceptions Towards Direct and Indirect Feedback in Speaking for Social Purposes

Speaking is one of the most important subjects in learning a foreign language. In speaking class, there are some mistakes that students found, which must be corrected. One way that teachers usually do to help the students cope with their problems is giving feedback. This study was aimed to find out about students’ perceptions towards direct and indirect feedback in Speaking for Social Purpose class. This study was guided by these two questions: What are PBI students’ perceptions towards direct feedback given by the teacher in the Speaking for Social Purposes class? What are PBI students' perceptions towards indirect feedback given by the teacher in the Speaking for Social Purposes class? This research involved 5 fifth-semester and 5 eight-semester students from the English Language Education Program (ELEP), Faculty of Language and Arts (FLA), Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana in Salatiga, Central Java. They were randomly chosen to be the participants for the research sample. A semi-structured interview was used to collect the data. The researchers found that there were several problems faced by students during the Speaking for Social Purposes class. Moreover, it was found that the students recognized teachers’ feedback was very important for their study, especially in speaking because it helped them to know their mistakes or problems and they can correct their mistakes. The direct feedback became the most favorite kind of feedback and was very important for the students.

Purpose is the new branding: understanding conscientious purpose-driven marketing and its impact on brand outcomes

PurposeConsumers increasingly expect brands to have a social purpose. Yet, guidelines on how to effectively engage in conscientious purpose-driven branding are lacking. This study aims to better understand what the key drivers of a successful conscientious purpose-driven branding strategy are and what is its impact on key brand outcomes.Design/methodology/approachData was gathered using a self-administered survey, answered by 670 young adults belonging to generations Y and Z. The study integrates in a single moderated-mediation model, tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling, the joint effects of cause–brand–consumer congruences, cause-brand authenticity and brand image, on consumers’ intention to purchase and recommend the brand.FindingsConsumer-brand congruence mediates the path from cause-brand congruence and authenticity to brand image, which in turn impacts purchase and recommendation intentions, with authenticity playing a dominant role. Moreover, for consumers highly congruent with the cause/purpose, the direct effect of cause-brand congruence on brand image becomes non-significant and only works through consumer-brand congruence.Originality/valueTheoretically, this study contributes to a better understanding of how and when conscientious purpose-driven branding can be effective. Its findings further advance prior research, by providing an alternative path anchored on cause-brand authenticity to explain positive effects of conscientious purpose-driven marketing on brand outcomes. Moreover, it challenges prior assumptions regarding the impact of consumer-cause congruence on the effectiveness of these strategies. Finally, it highlights that cause-consumer and brand-consumer congruencies also play a role, offering an integrated, triadic view of conscientious purpose-driven branding strategies. Managerially, it provides insights to brand managers wishing to successfully implement these strategies and better understand the role of brands as “purpose-driven entities”.

Rhinoceros horn mineral and metal concentrations vary by sample location, depth, and color

Poaching is again driving rhinos to the brink of extinction due to the demand for rhino horn products consumed for cultural, medicinal, and social purposes. Paradoxically, the same horn for which rhinos are killed may contain valuable clues about the species’ health. Analyses of horn composition could reveal such useful bioindicators while elucidating what people actually ingest when they consume horn derivatives. Our goals were to quantify minerals (including metals) in rhino horn and investigate sampling factors potentially impacting results. Horns (n = 22) obtained during necropsies of white (n = 3) and black (n = 13) zoo rhinos were sampled in several locations yielding 182 specimens for analysis. Initial data exposed environmental (soil) contamination in the horn’s exterior layer, but also confirmed that deep (≥ 1 cm), contaminant-free samples contained measurable concentrations of numerous minerals (n = 18). Of the factors examined in deep samples, color-associated mineral differences were the most profound with dark samples higher in zinc, copper, lead, and barium (p < 0.05). Our data demonstrate that rhino horns contain both essential and potentially toxic minerals that could be relevant to rhino health status, but low concentrations make their human health benefits or risks unlikely following consumption.

Translanguaging practices and language ideologies in adult migrants’ Chinese learning classrooms and beyond

ABSTRACT The arrival of trade migrants in China has increased the demand for Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) education, and their superdiverse sociolinguistic profiles also present challenges to native Chinese-speaking teachers and their monolingual teaching approach. Compared to the research on foreign traders’ mobility in China, fewer studies have explored their day-to-day language use and learning experiences. This research unpacks the complex reality of teachers and students’ language ideologies and practices in a migrant community in Yiwu. While ethnographic data showed that translanguaging was adopted for both academic and social purposes, interview data revealed three types of conflictual language ideologies, i.e. ‘supporters of multilingualism’, ‘believers of monolingualism’, and ‘pragmatists valuing functionality and practicality of languages’. Despite the discrepancies, I argue that translanguaging was not an arbitrary choice by teachers and students; instead, it represents a natural response to the superdiverse linguistic landscape of the community. This study contributes to the conceptual development of translanguaging practices as I apply it as a legitimate theoretical framework and a valid practice in CFL education and outside the West. It is suggested that multiple languages and external resources should be dynamically integrated into superdiverse classrooms to create a multilingual and multimodal learning environment.

The Rise and Decline of the Liberal World Order and the Multilateral Trade System: A Critical-Constructivist Synthesis to International Regime Analysis

This article devises an analytical framework that synthesizes neo-Gramscian and social constructivist perspectives to dissect international regimes amid global hegemonic shifts. It portrays regimes as intersubjective constructs with unique social purposes within the broader hegemonic fabric, shaped by dominant ideologies and power distributions. The study examines the transition of the trade regime from General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to World Trade Organization (WTO) through the Uruguay Round (1986-1994) and the Doha Round’s deadlock since 2001. The article posits that the Uruguay Round marked a pivotal hegemonic transformation, transitioning the regime from embedded liberalism to neoliberalism by transforming its social purpose, norms, and generative grammar. Yet, this shift, which precipitated a legitimacy crisis within the WTO and was exacerbated by the Doha Round’s failure to regenerate neoliberal hegemony with a fresh synthesis of free trade and sustainable development, arguably rendered the WTO directionless and contributed to the fragmentation of global trade governance amidst emerging regional pacts and varied ideological visions of economic liberalism.

Collective Capabilities for Organizational Democracy: The Case of Mutual Social Enterprises

AbstractDemocratic forms of enterprise and economic governance are needed to help address urgent societal challenges where hierarchical decision‐making and governance approaches are clearly failing. There is insufficient understanding, however, of the capabilities needed by enterprises to implement and sustain organizational democracy in pressurized operational contexts. We focus on the role of collective capabilities, which arise from interactions between individuals to create collaboration and collective benefits. Interview evidence from 12 mutual social enterprises – organizations that trade with a social purpose – is used to explore the learning processes that underpin the generation of collective capabilities for organizational democracy. The analysis leads us to a theoretical model of collective capabilities development that responds to three fundamental areas of challenge: (i) Adaptive design of governance structures and processes, to balance ‘bottom‐up’ democracy with ‘top‐down’ stewardship control; (ii) Embedding, extending and revitalizing democracy, by supporting the voice, capabilities and confidence of workers and users to participate in collaborative governance; and (iii) Fostering deliberative learning, to navigate tensions and conflict between plural perspectives and achieve collective aims. In concluding, we reflect on some institutional and cultural barriers to organizational democracy and the case for more concerted policy action to realize its potential as a crucial component of economic democracy.

Is the socialization purpose of a social studies course being realized?: A Q-method research investigating secondary school students' socialization perceptions

This research examined how effectively the social studies course achieves its intended purpose of socialization. The research was conducted using the Q-method. The participant group of the research was formed by the criterion sampling method. The participant group consisted of a total of forty-eight students, with sixteen from the fifth grade, sixteen from the sixth grade and sixteen from seventh grade, who were studying at secondary schools in the center of a province in Turkey. Data were collected with a list and a Q-matrix was developed by the researcher and analyzed using the PQ-Method 2.35 program. At the end of the research, it was determined that secondary school students' socialization perceptions were grouped under seven factors and were all different from each other. As a result, it was revealed that the purpose of the social studies course was not realized. Based on the results and limitations of the research, recommendations were developed to examine secondary school students' socialization perceptions with larger participant groups.

Association between Lifestyle and Higher Learning Students’ Academic Performance in Tanzania

This study sought to establish the correlation between students' lifestyles and academic performance through a cross-sectional design. The study involved a diverse student population, employing a questionnaire. Data analysis took place through descriptive and thematic approach. The study concludes that marital status, sexual activity and alcoholism did not have significant associations with academic performance. Spending more than two hours on the internet for socialization was associated with decreased likelihood of high academic performance. Neither living environment nor job status showed significant associations with high academic performance. Based on the conclusions, students need a balanced internet usage. There is a need for students to regulate the time used for internet. Students have to use the internet for both academic and social purposes. While lifestyle components such as marital status, sexual activity, alcoholism and engagement in recreational activities do not have significant associations with academic performance, it is still essential for students to be aware of how their lifestyle choices may affect their academic achievement and social overall well-being. Finally, there is a need to create students’ awareness of recreational activities and academic success.

Exploring volunteers' emotional reactions to a potential transition from a non-profit organisation towards a social enterprise

PurposeBy focussing on the anticipated emotional reactions of volunteers and drawing on theories of motivation and identity, this study investigates how volunteers react to different options of the entrepreneurial model of Amigos for Children Foundation (ACF). The paper proposes a hypothetical model for volunteer’s emotional reactions to potential business model changes. We suggest the relative importance of intrinsic motivational factors, professional identity and attitudes towards business organisations as mediating variables. ACF works exclusively with university students as volunteers, so their specific characteristics may limit some of the conclusions and propositions of this qualitative research, but public policy consequences of supporting similar entrepreneurial transitions can be generally relevant.Design/methodology/approachBased on the qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with volunteers of ACF, a Hungarian non-profit organisation, we explore the challenges of transitioning into a social enterprise.FindingsPrevious research showed controversial results about the impact of pay on the motivations of volunteers. For a non-profit organisation that would like to utilise the competencies of its volunteers, introducing a market-based service may mean additional financial resources and the potential loss of human resources. Understanding the moderating factors of volunteers' reactions might help build better theories for managing the non-profit-social enterprise transition and designing public policies to support scaling up the impact of successful social purpose organisations.Originality/valueFor practitioners, the research underlines the importance of participatory mechanisms in volunteer management. By managing transitions better, non-profit organisations can expand their social impact by acquiring more financial resources through market-based activities closely related to their original activities and keeping their volunteers. The study elucidates the relevance of the crowding-out effect and indicates some hypothetical moderating variables influencing its potential degree.

Право ребенка на семейное воспитание: проблемы защиты в аспекте конвергенции публичных и частных интересов

The article analyzes the features of the child’s right to education, the specifics of its implementation in modern conditions, determines its legal and social purpose, and the degree of influence on the child’s development. It has been proven that such an intangible right of a child is distinguished by a combination of public and private interests, the convergence of which allows each parent to freely exercise their right to raise a child, and the state, represented by public bodies, to ensure the protection of the rights of the child as a priority in the event of improper fulfillment by parents of their rights and responsibilities.

Реализация охранительной функции права в состязательном гражданском процессе

The article discusses the concept of the protective function of law and the connection of this function with the social purpose of law. The implementation of this function in adversarial civil proceedings has a dual character, since intra-branch protective legal relations must provide conditions for the implementation of the protective function of civil procedural law in the substantive legal sphere. The methods and features of the implementation of the protective function of law in the conditions of adversarial civil proceedings are explored.

Preschoolers’ Leadership-Followership Communication in Outdoor Pretend Play

ABSTRACT Pretend play provides enriched environments for multiple cognitive and social purposes. The quality of children’s pretend play depends on the process, including children’s back and forth proposals and responses about the play frames. Proposing and responding to play ideas with metacommunication use, leadership-followership interactions are required in which the leaders and followers are interdependent to effectively move play frames forward. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of metacommunication and leadership/followership processes expressed in social pretend play. A conceptual framework was built on works on leadership development and Vygotsky’s work of pretend play, describing the dynamic nature of leadership process within social pretend play. Results indicate that children’s use of metacommunication varies by which components of pretend play (i.e., imaginary situation, play role, play rule) they are discussing and with whom they are communicating. Results also show how much the factors of interest – use of metacommunication, child gender, and the role of followership – may impact children’s successful pretend play, represented by sustained pretend play with agreement on the play situation, play roles, and play rules by all players involved.

Development-induced dispossession: Adivasi existence in the milieu of contemporary Indian texts in translation

The paradigms of development around the globe involves mechanisms associated with its social purpose, which is more often than not dubious in nature! Natural resources form the fundamental aspect of any developmental activity. But in the process of accumulating these resources, the beneficiaries often rely on malignant mechanisms. The capitalist discourse has always been successful in manifesting their agendas of development as constructive and profitable for the entire humanity. Periodically, when the utility of development is foregrounded by dominant cultural forms, often the ramifications of progress remain uncritiqued. The developmental projects earmarked for the rural population remain unnoticed, for it serves the interest of the elite and the urban middle class. Many a time, the indigenous population, who inhabit the resource rich area are swayed away by the false propaganda for development, ultimately aggravating their existing deprivation. In the case of India, too, amidst all the development activities, the marginalized populace or the so-called Adivasis are the worst sufferers, because they have been encountering displacement for ages. The current study attempts to unveil the displacement of the tribal population (Adivasi) of India due to development projects, thereby offering a critical analysis of the social policies. The study employs select translated literary narratives to examine the development-induced dispossession of tribal population in the colonial, postcolonial and neo-liberal phase of Indian history, adopting the theoretical framework of new historicism.

A new approach to entrepreneurship and regional development: key roles of purpose and well-being in the Swansea Bay City Region

PurposeThis paper critically evaluates regional development through the lens of well-being and purpose. The paper provides insight into the key roles that well-being and purpose play in regional development and the way in which various actors are engaged in this process. This paper focuses on the Swansea Bay City Region within Wales, a country at the forefront of well-being legislation.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyses a case study of 4theRegion, a membership organisation that undertakes regional development activities underpinned by a social purpose and well-being across the Swansea Bay city region. 4theRegion has been selected due to (1) its unique business model; (2) its clear focus on well-being and purpose; and (3) the influence of its regional development actions bringing together various stakeholder groups under a common aim.FindingsThis paper extends existing debates on collaborative development approaches and underlines the unique emphasis on asset-based local development influenced by well-being, which seeks to engage with a variety of community stakeholders to derive “holistic flourishing”. This emphasises inclusive development activities across the region, through people, place, process and purpose, underpinned by well-being. The research also underlines debates about the subjectivity of well-being and how the impact of well-being legislation can be evaluated.Originality/valueThis research provides a new way of looking at regional development, through the lens of well-being and purpose and provides insight into the way in which various actors are engaged in this process. Implications of this research could influence policymaking in supporting regional development activities, as well as practical lessons for those involved in place-based development.

Social purpose branding approaches: a typology of how brands engage with a social purpose

PurposeAs brands progressively become instruments for consumers to advocate for social change, many feel pressure to engage in social purpose branding (SPB) through addressing social issues. In a rush to remain socially relevant, brands have approached SPB differently; some genuinely intend to advance the social issue, while some intend to capitalise on social movements to mobilise the brand. This paper aims to explain these differences by theoretically outlining various approaches to SPB.Design/methodology/approachThis mixed method paper draws on theory, interviews with marketing practitioners, and practical exemplars to present a typology of SPB approaches. FindingsUsing institutional logics theory, SPB is categorised into four approaches: social purpose-driving, social purpose-driven, social purpose-aligning and social purpose-washing.Research limitations/implicationsThe typological framework for SPB advances this domain to outline effective and ineffective ways for brands to engage with social issues. A detailed agenda for further research is provided to guide ongoing SPB research. Practical implicationsThe typology presented reduces complexity and helps marketers understand the different approaches to engaging with a social issue. Given the growing intertwinement of brands and social issues, this research is essential for brands seeking to advance a social issue and remain relevant.Originality/valueThis paper offers a novel conceptualisation of SPB by defining it, identifying a framework of its characteristics, and detailing four SPB approaches.