Doing it from your heart: The role of older women as informal volunteers

This paper explores the contributions made by older women to the Community as informal volunteers. It argues that ageing policy is not gender neutral and tends to ignore the contributions made by Women Outside paid work. As well as being ignored in policy, women's unpaid roles have been denigrated by some feminist commentators, who suggest that these roles Subordinate the position of women. The aim of the present paper is to explore the lived experiences of older women in relation to their informal volunteer roles, using role identity theory as a framework. The study utilizes data from a qualitative study Using focus group methodology. Findings demonstrate. that informal volunteering contributes to the women's identity and gives their lives meaning. These findings suggest that a more positive policy framework around ageing is needed to ensure that the worth of these contributions is recognised.

Man and boy with Queensland Peace Committee banner during Aldermaston Peace march in 1964

Man and boy with Queensland Peace Committee banner during Aldermaston Peace march, Sunday, April 5th 1964. The Aldermaston march covered the distance between Ipswich and Brisbane, Australia, walked in relays covering approximately two miles each. Most relay sections were sponsored by one or more individual organisations.

Women with banner Ban the Bomb during Peace march on Sunday April 5th 1964, Brisbane.

Women with banner Ban the Bomb during Peace march, Sunday April 5th Brisbane, Australia, 1964.

Two men with placards during Aldermaston Peace march in 1964

Two men with placards during Aldermaston Peace march, Sunday, April 5th 1964. The Aldermaston march covered the distance between Ipswich and Brisbane, Australia, walked in relays covering approximately two miles each. Most relay sections were sponsored by one or more individual organisations.

Two men from the Bulimba Peace Group with placards during Aldermaston Peace march in 1964

Two men from the Bulimba Peace Group with placards during Aldermaston Peace march, Sunday, April 5th 1964. The Aldermaston march covered the distance between Ipswich and Brisbane, Australia, walked in relays covering approximately two miles each. Most relay sections were sponsored by one or more individual organisations.

Women from the Union of Australian Women with banner during Aldermaston Peace march in 1964

Women from the Union of Australian Women with banner during Aldermaston Peace march, Sunday, April 5th 1964. The Aldermaston march covered the distance between Ipswich and Brisbane, Australia, walked in relays covering approximately two miles each. Most relay sections were sponsored by one or more individual organisations. The Union of Australian Women is a national organisation that was formed in 1950. Its aim is to work for the status and wellbeing of women across the world. It has been involved in a wide variety of campaigns that concern women. The Union of Australian Women networks with other women's community and union groups on such issues.

Participants with peace banners during Aldermaston Peace march in 1964

Participants with peace banners during Aldermaston Peace march, Sunday, April 5th 1964. The Aldermaston march covered the distance between Ipswich and Brisbane, Australia, walked in relays covering approximately two miles each. Most relay sections were sponsored by one or more individual organisations.

Folk singers during Labour Day march Brisbane 1965

Folk singers during the Labor Day procession, in Brisbane, Australia, May 1965. One person holds a banner relating to the S.S. Binburra

Trucks with banners in Brisbane 1965 during Labor Day procession.

Trucks with banners in Brisbane, Australia, during the Labor Day procession, May 1965.

Queensland Trades and Labor Council float with banner during Labour Day march Brisbane 1965

Queensland Trades and Labor Council float with banner during the Labor Day procession, May 1965, Brisbane Australia.

Participants with Equal pay placard during Labour Day march Brisbane 1965

Participants with Equal pay placard in Brisbane, Australia, during the Labor Day procession, May 1965.

Marchers with banners during Labour Day march Brisbane 1965

Marchers with banners in Brisbane, Australia, during the Labor Day procession, May 1965.

New descriptions and understandings of internationalisation: A tale of knowledge-intensive SMEs

This research seeks to generate and foster new descriptions and understandings of processes underlying the internationalisation experienced by small- and medium-sized, knowledge-intensive enterprises. The longitudinal study centres on the growth and internationalisation of a cluster of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the most southern state of Australia, of which a number were 'bom global.' It draws on both retrospective data such as corporate archives, as well as observations and interviews as events unfolded over a period of eighteen months to garner insights into processes underlying the SMEs' internationalisation. The approach to inquiry is influenced by an epistemology of social constructionism, interpretive narrative, sensemaking and dramaturgical theoretical perspectives, and elements of cultural anthropology. Exploratory in the early stages, a funnel approach characteristic of ethnographic enquiry was used whereby the study became progressively focused over time. The extended period of fieldwork led to observations and interpretations that cast the retrospective data in new light, and the use of the construct 'legitimacy' as a lens through which to view activities and events infusing the firms' internationalisation. A generic narrative scheme that offers a temporal ordering of actions, context and meaning attributions in relation to legitimation behaviours and internationalisation processes is developed. This narrative scheme is then used to garner a deeper understanding of three activities that were central to the firms' internationalisation over time: the choice of geographic export markets, strategic participation in international standard-setting committees, and portfolio entrepreneurship. In addition, the study offers a rich story of the growth and internationalisation of the cluster of knowledge-intensive SMEs. The tale of growth and internationalisation pursued by the cluster of knowledgeintensive SMEs spans the period from 1975 to mid 1997, and may prove a useful resource for the theorising of others.