Theorizing temporary spatial clusters and institutional boundary-work in industrial markets

To better understand the nature of temporary spatial clusters (TSC’s) in industrial marketing settings, this conceptual paper first provides a theoretical synthesis of spatial understanding from the industrial marketing (IM) and economic geography (EG) fields, focusing particularly on Doreen Massey’s work on relational space. This leads to a conceptual schema for organizing the IM literature in terms of spatiality, and which also helps clarify the ontological nature of TSCs. We then move to introduce the notion of institutional boundary-work, drawing on the work of Thomas Gieryn, and Andrea Brighenti’s examination of territorology, to conceptualize the activities of market actors engaged in the ongoing social accomplishment of TSCs. Such activities, we suggest, involve these actors ‘marching’ boundaries to assume network influence and maintain market order in IM settings. In summary, therefore, our paper addresses two fundamental questions: i) How do we conceptualize the form of TSCs in IM settings? And, ii) what function(s) are TSCs performing (and how is this being undertaken) in IM? The paper closes by providing methodological guidance for how a research agenda on TSCs within IM activity might be developed, followed by a summary of the managerial implications that emerge from our theorizations.

Career Officers and Political Appointees in American Diplomacy: Contending for Diplomatic Positions through Boundary Work

American Political and Economic Series

Wikipedia: Access and participation in an open encyclopaedia

This thesis explores how people and technologies work together to coordinate and shape participation through a case study of the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia. The research found participation is shaped by different understandings of openness, where it is constructed as either a libertarian ideal where "anyone" is free to edit the encyclopaedia, or as an inclusive concept that enables "everyone" to participate in the platform. The findings therefore problematise the idea of single user community, and serve to highlight the different and sometimes competing approaches actors employ to enable and constrain participation in Wikipedia.

Surface potential images of polycrystalline organic semiconductors obtained by Kelvin probe force microscopy

P-type copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) and n-type hexadecafluorophthalocyanina-tocopper (F16CuPc) polycrystalline films were investigated by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). Topographic and corresponding surface potential images are obtained simultaneously. Surface potential images are related with the local work function of crystalline facets and potential barriers at the grain boundaries (GBs) in organic semiconductors. Based on the spatial distribution of surface potential at GBs, donor- and acceptor-like trapping states in the grain boundaries (GBs) of p-CuPc and n-F16CuPc films are confirmed respectively.

Covert conversations: disciplined improvisation and meaning-making in the masters (MA) supervisory relationship

This research asks the question: “What are the relational dynamics in Masters (MA) supervision?” It does so by focusing upon the supervisory relationship itself. It does this through dialoguing with the voices of both MA supervisors and supervisees in the Humanities using a Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) framework. In so doing, this research argues for a re-evaluation of how MA supervision is conceptualised and proposes a new theoretical framework for conceptualising MA supervision as a relational phenomenon. The research design was derived from an Activity Theory-influenced methodology. Data collection procedures included the administration of Activity Theory Logs, individual semi-structured interviews with both supervisors and supervisees and the completion of reflective journals. Grounded Theory was used to analyse the data. The sample for the study consists of three supervisor-supervisee dyads from three disciplines in the Humanities. Data was collected over the course of one academic year, 2010-2011. This research found that both individual and shared relational dynamics play an important role in MA supervision. Individual dynamics, such as supervisors’ iterative negotiation of ambiguity/clarity and supervisees’ boundary work, revealed that both parties attempt to negotiate a separation between their professional-academic identities and personal identities. However, an inherent paradox emerged when the shared relational dynamics of MA supervision were investigated. It was found that the shared space created by the supervisory relationship did not only exist in a physical setting, but was also psychoactive in nature and held strong emotional resonances for both parties involved. This served to undermine the separation between professional-academic and personal identities. As a result, this research argues that the interaction between the individual and shared relational dynamics in MA supervision enables, for both supervisors and supervisees, a disciplined improvisation of academic identity.

A Mixed Blessing: Market-mediated Religious Authority in Neopaganism

This is a study of the interplay of market-mediated and religious authority in the context of new religious movements. Specifically, we explore the ambivalent relationship followers of Wicca have with the marketplace. Our main argument is that in this context marketplace success can be a source of religious legitimacy and validation. At the same time, however, excessive engagement with the market can act as a powerful delegitimizing mechanism, leading religious leaders to continually monitor their practices. Market success is thus a mixed blessing that can increase religious authority and influence, but is just as likely to decrease authority and credibility. Based on an ethnographic study, we explore the boundary work carried out by religious marketers and consumers in order to establish themselves in a “safety area” where engagement with the market brings its positive effects without causing a loss of credibility.

Transhumanisme et Cellules Souches : travail à la frontière de la gériatrie biomédicale

La recherche scientifique biomédicale dans le domaine des cellules souches et plus largement de la médecine régénérative offre aujourd’hui des promesses d’applications thérapeutiques révolutionnaires pour de nombreuses maladies. Pourtant, il semble que pour certains, ces avancées pourraient servir d’autres desseins, notamment en ce qui concerne l’amélioration biologique de l’humain vers des objectifs de contrôle voire d’inversion du processus de vieillissement. Beaucoup de ceux qui tiennent à ces idées appartiennent à un mouvement, dit transhumaniste, où ils s’accordent sur des idées et valeurs communes concernant l’avenir de l’humain. Plus que cela, certains de ces acteurs transhumanistes prennent activement part à la recherche scientifique et orientent celle-ci vers les valeurs qu’ils soutiennent, touchant ainsi aux frontières de disciplines scientifiques établies et à la démarcation entre science et pseudoscience. En s’appuyant sur les concepts de recherche confinée / recherche de plein air, de forum hybride et de travail aux frontières, la présente recherche explore la place que les chercheurs transhumanistes occupent dans la recherche scientifique institutionnelle et se questionne sur la façon et les moyens qu’ils mettent en oeuvre pour y prendre part. À partir de la constitution et de l’analyse d’un corpus documentaire transhumaniste sur les cellules souches, mais aussi en décrivant le réseau auquel les chercheurs transhumanistes appartiennent, l’étude apporte une perspective nouvelle sur le mouvement transhumaniste. Les résultats obtenus montrent que les chercheurs transhumanistes ne se cantonnent pas à produire des discours et des représentations de leurs idées et de leurs valeurs, mais participent activement à la réalisation de celles-ci en menant eux-mêmes des recherches et en infiltrant la recherche scientifique institutionnelle.

Participatory scenarios as a tool to link science and policy on food security under climate change in East Africa

How effective are multi-stakeholder scenarios building processes to bring diverse actors together and create a policy-making tool to support sustainable development and promote food security in the developing world under climate change? The effectiveness of a participatory scenario development process highlights the importance of ‘boundary work’ that links actors and organizations involved in generating knowledge on the one hand, and practitioners and policymakers who take actions based on that knowledge on the other. This study reports on the application of criteria for effective boundary work to a multi-stakeholder scenarios process in East Africa that brought together a range of regional agriculture and food systems actors. This analysis has enabled us to evaluate the extent to which these scenarios were seen by the different actors as credible, legitimate and salient, and thus more likely to be useful. The analysis has shown gaps and opportunities for improvement on these criteria, such as the quantification of scenarios, attention to translating and communicating the results through various channels and new approaches to enable a more inclusive and diverse group of participants. We conclude that applying boundary work criteria to multi-stakeholder scenarios processes can do much to increase the likelihood of developing sustainable development and food security policies that are more appropriate.

För Sverige i framtiden : Bio-objektifiering av ny medicinsk teknologi

Taking Sweden into the future – Bio-objectification of new medical technology In this article, we analyze how contemporary discursive silences around new biotechnologies such as cybrids and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), have been enabled by earlier policy processes in the area, e.g. boundary work around what is human and non-human, living and non-living, subject and object. The analysis of policy processes around xenotransplantations and the use of human embryonic stem cells, shows that the stem cells’ and xenografts’ “bio-identities” become stabilized through high expectations for the future, a lack of therapeutic possibilities and struggles over definitions of life. The policy processes around human embryonic stem cells and organs from other animals, are characterized by a normalization of certain understandings of ”life”, trust in scientific progress and it’s national financial potentials and a categorization of criticism as irrational. Through these “bio-objectification processes”, debate and decision making has been moved from a political and public context into ethical committees and research funding bodies. The article concludes by discussing consequences of this political non-handling of biomedical technologies and how these bioobjects could be re-politicized.

Upplysning och gränsdragning : en filosofisociologisk studie av den första generationen analytiska filosofer i Sverige

Enlightenment and boundary work: a study of the first-generation Swedish analytical philosophers from a sociology-of-philosophy perspective The history of Swedish analytical philosophy begins with the writings of Ingemar Hedenius, Anders Wedberg, and Konrad Marc-Wogau, who introduced the country to a new style of thinking that was to become the dominant mode of academic philosophizing in it from the mid-1940s to the late 1960s. The article presents a sociological analysis of how that hegemonic position was claimed and established for it in Swedish philosophy departments. In particular, the critique that Hedenius, Wedberg, and Marc-Wogau levelled in their popular writings against continental philosophy is looked upon in detail. Drawing upon Thomas Gieryn’s theory of boundary work, it is shown how the three strove for epistemic authority by demarcating their own ‘scientific’ enterprise from the ‘unscientific’ philosophy of their competitors. This quest for authority, however, was pursued not solely for its own sake: Hedenius, Wedberg, and Marc-Wogau were also all firmly committed to the ideals of enlightenment and cultural radicalism shaping the Swedish society of their time.

Mellan etnologi och modern sociologi : K. Rob. V. Wikman som medlare i Finland och Sverige

Between ethnology and sociology: K. Rob. V. Wikman as a mediator in Finland and Sweden K. Rob. V. Wikman, professor in sociology at the Åbo Akademi University in Turku, Finland, played a central role both within Finnish and Swedish sociology in the 1940s and 1950s. He was a student of Westermarck and thus his own research represented an ethnosociological tradition, which at that time was challenged by modern, American-influenced sociological ideas. The aim of this article is to discuss the adaptation of “modern sociology” and the drawing of boundaries in Nordic sociology after the Second World War by focusing on Wikman’s work in Finnish as well as Swedish sociology, especially the assessor assignments he was given, and by giving emphasis to some of those that served as border poles or border markers in this process. The comparative starting point gives us reason to discuss some nationally characterized similarities and differences that can be observed in the establishment process of modern sociology in Finland and Sweden.

Institutional Processes and Discursive Strategies: Rhetoric and Vocabulary Analysis of CSR and Sustainability

The candidate tackled an important issue in contemporary management: the role of CSR and Sustainability. The research proposal focused on a longitudinal and inductive research, directed to specify the evolution of CSR and contribute to the new institutional theory, in particular institutional work framework, and to the relation between institutions and discourse analysis. The documental analysis covers all the evolution of CSR, focusing also on a number of important networks and associations. Some of the methodologies employed in the thesis have been employed as a consequence of data analysis, in a truly inductive research process. The thesis is composed by two section. The first section mainly describes the research process and the analyses results. The candidates employed several research methods: a longitudinal content analysis of documents, a vocabulary research with statistical metrics as cluster analysis and factor analysis, a rhetorical analysis of justifications. The second section puts in relation the analysis results with theoretical frameworks and contributions. The candidate confronted with several frameworks: Actor-Network-Theory, Institutional work and Boundary Work, Institutional Logic. Chapters are focused on different issues: a historical reconstruction of CSR; a reflection about symbolic adoption of recurrent labels; two case studies of Italian networks, in order to confront institutional and boundary works; a theoretical model of institutional change based on contradiction and institutional complexity; the application of the model to CSR and Sustainability, proposing Sustainability as a possible institutional logic.

Migrantinnen in interkulturellen Vereinen: Perspektiven zur Integration in den Sport

Im deutschsprachigen Raum wird ein hoher Anteil an Migrantinnen, die sportlich inaktiv und in Sportvereinen unterrepräsentiert sind, konstatiert (Burrmann et al., 2015; Lamprecht et al., 2014). Migrantinnen ist der Zugang zu Sportaktivitäten häufig erschwert aufgrund von Diskriminierung, Konflikten und Grenzziehungsprozessen, denen Aspekte betreffend des Geschlechts und der Ethnizität inhärent sind. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurde bislang häufig das Potenzial der Integration in den Sport bzw. Sozialisation zum Sport von Migrantinnen in (ethnischen) Sportvereinen und im Schulsport untersucht. Wie jedoch die Integration in den Sport in interkulturellen Vereinen, welche Sportangebote offerieren, funktioniert, ist weder in der Migrations- noch in der sportbezogenen Integrationsforschung ein gängiges Thema. Basierend auf dem theoretischen Ansatz Boundary Work (Lamont & Molnár, 2002) untersucht die vorliegende Studie geschlechtsbezogene und ethnische Grenzziehungsprozesse hinsichtlich der Sportpartizipation von Migrantinnen in einem interkulturellen Verein sowie vereinsbezogene Möglichkeiten, welche die Integration in den Sport fördern. Es wurden halbstrukturierte Interviews mit acht Migrantinnen verschiedener Herkunft und zwei Leiterinnen eines interkulturellen Vereins in der deutschsprachigen Schweiz durchgeführt. Zusätzlich erfolgte eine Gruppendiskussion mit sechs Migrantinnen. Mittels qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse und dokumentarischer Methode wurden geschlechtsbezogene und ethnische Grenzen sowie Möglichkeiten für eine Sportpartizipation durch den Verein abgeleitet. Hinsichtlich der erschwerten Sportpartizipation indizieren die Resultate vielfältige, miteinander verschränkte, sich überlagernde und durchlässige Grenzen, die das Geschlecht und die Ethnizität allgemein betreffen. Im Speziellen wirken migrationsbedingt und lebensphasenspezifisch geprägte Haltungen gegenüber „mütterlichen“ Verpflichtungen, sprachlichen- und beruflichen Aus- bzw. Weiterbildungspflichten sowie Praktiken der Körperverhüllung. Die jeweilige Struktur der Grenzverschränkungen wirkt z.T. mehrfach restriktiv und prägt zugleich die verfügbare Zeit und finanzielle Mittel der Migrantinnen, was eine Dilemma artige Situation hervorruft. Zur Überwindung der Grenzen bietet der interkulturelle Verein insbesondere professionelle Mitarbeiterinnen; Kinderbetreuung; niederschwellige, kosten- und zeitgünstige Sportangebote exklusiv für Frauen; und eine wohlwollende Atmosphäre mit gleichberechtigtem Zusammensein. Interkulturelle Vereine können somit den Zugang zu Sportangeboten für Migrantinnen erleichtern und die Integration in den Sport bzw. die Sozialisation zum Sport fördern. Dies geschieht z.B. infolge bedarfsgerechter Vereinsangebote, unverbindlicher Teilnahmebedingungen und einer integrationsorientierten Vereinskultur. Der auf Grenzziehung fokussierte theoretische Ansatz und die vorliegenden Resultate eröffnen neue Forschungsperspektiven im Bereich Sport und Sozialisation sowie Integration.

Zum Potenzial der Integration von Migrantinnen in den Sport durch interkulturelle Vereine

Einleitung Im deutschsprachigen Raum besteht ein hoher Anteil an sportlich inaktiven und in Sportvereinen unterrepräsentierten Migrantinnen (Burrmann et al., 2015; Lamprecht et al., 2014). Migrantinnen ist der Zugang zu Sportaktivitäten häufig erschwert aufgrund von Diskriminierung, Konflikten und Grenzziehungen. Häufig wurde das Potenzial der Integration in den Sport bzw. Sozialisation zum Sport von Migrantinnen in (ethnischen) Sportvereinen und im Schulsport untersucht. Hingegen ist zur Integration in den Sport in interkulturellen Vereinen wenig bekannt. Basierend auf dem theoretischen Ansatz Boundary Work (Lamont & Molnár, 2002) wurden geschlechtsbezogene und ethnische Grenzziehungsprozesse hinsichtlich der Sportpartizipation von Migrantinnen in einem interkulturellen Verein sowie vereinsbezogene Möglichkeiten, welche die Integration in den Sport fördern, untersucht. Methode Es wurden halbstrukturierte Interviews mit acht Migrantinnen und zwei Leiterinnen eines interkulturellen Vereins in der Schweiz sowie eine Gruppendiskussion mit sechs Migrantinnen durchgeführt. Die Datenauswertung erfolgte mittels qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse und dokumentarischer Methode. Ergebnisse Die Resultate indizieren vielfältige, verschränkte, sich überlagernde und durchlässige Grenzen, die das Geschlecht und die Ethnizität allgemein betreffen. Im Speziellen wirken migrations- und lebensphasenspezifisch geprägte Haltungen gegenüber „mütterlichen“ Verpflichtungen, sprachlichen- und beruflichen Ausbildungspflichten sowie Praktiken der Körperverhüllung. Die jeweilige Struktur der Grenzverschränkungen wirkt z.T. mehrfach restriktiv. Zur Überwindung der Grenzen bietet der Verein z.B. professionelle Mitarbeiterinnen; Kinderbetreuung; niederschwellige, kosten- und zeitgünstige Sportangebote exklusiv für Frauen; und eine wohlwollende Atmosphäre mit gleichberechtigtem Zusammensein. Diskussion Interkulturelle Vereine können den Zugang zu Sportangeboten für Migrantinnen erleichtern und die Integration in den Sport bzw. die Sozialisation zum Sport fördern. Der auf Grenzziehung fokussierte theoretische Ansatz und die vorliegenden Resultate eröffnen neue Forschungsperspektiven im Bereich Sport und Sozialisation sowie Integration.