Disrobing the emperor : mainstream CSR research and corporate hegemony

Purpose – This paper aims to utilise a typological matrix as the basis to categorise various corporate-society interventions. It aims to argue that an instrumental version of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is hegemonic in both the theoretical and normative domains of mainstream research, and that this hegemony underpins an intellectual blockage that prevents the field from achieving critical reflexivity and ultimately, a justifiable raison d'e^tre.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper reflects on the extant CSR literature in the context of globalisation; presents a two-dimensional typological matrix to be used in positioning corporate-society interventions; provides examples of particular activities relevant to each quadrant of the matrix; and considers the wider political economy of CSR research.

Findings – The logical implications of the corporation as an institution behaving in increasing accordance with the normative expectations of mainstream CSR scholarship will likely lead in the direction of increasing corporate hegemony.

Practical implications – The paper proposes the adoption of the more theoretically coherent and empirically precise terms enlightened self-interest and corporate social irresponsibility in CSR and related research streams, as well as the institutional relocation of much future CSR research to disciplinary areas outside of the business school.

Originality/value – The typological matrix presented in this paper offers a new way of locating corporate-society interventions. The partial abandonment of the term “CSR” by researchers, as well as the institutional relocations of much CSR research, are original notions.

Peers and pragmatics : listening to ESL students in a mainstream Australian school

This paper discusses a listening initiative aimed at assisting newly arrived ESL adolescents to meet the sociolinguistic challenges they faced in an Australian school. Proponents of a mainstream approach to ESL learning maintain that immersing students into age appropriate classrooms with native speakers provides superior opportunities for ESL students to those of a language school. Listening to native speaking peers is viewed as a way to accelerate sociolinguistic learning. Yet the school where this study took place acknowledged that many of the ESL students were quickly marginalized rather than supported within the school environment, and their academic success was erratic. A listening based initiative was introduced to raise awareness of pragmatics, the knowledge of meaning in context. Observed instances of communication analysed in this paper typify those likely to isolate ESL adolescents in their early years of mainstream secondary school. Furthermore, the positive impact of the outlined peer listening intervention on social inclusion as a precursor of significant language development is demonstrated. This case study has curriculum and welfare implications relevant to schools offering ESL students mainstream education.

With guarded optimism? Evidence from focus groups of ‘mainstream’ Australians’ perceptions of Muslims

Studies of Australian perceptions of Muslims and Islam tend to be based on research into media representations of these themes. Additionally, most research on attitudes pertaining to social cohesion and security in the post-9/11 environment concentrates on the opinions of minority groups on these matters. The following study is drawn from materials extracted from focus group discussions relating to Islam, multiculturalism and security that took place with 119 Australians from so-called ethnic and religious majority groups (European descended, and identifying with Judaeo-Christian traditions or having no religious affiliation) in selected metropolitan and rural/regional centres of the state of Victoria in 2007–2008. This article is guided by the following research questions: How can ‘mainstream’ Australian attitudes towards Muslims be categorized? What concerns ‘mainstream’ Australians most about Muslims? Can these attitudes be considered to be Islamophobic? If not, how else may we classify these attitudes? Although some participants voiced very strong, critical and at times unflattering and potentially antagonistic opinions of Muslims, most contributors were guardedly optimistic that current tensions with and controversies surrounding Australia’s Muslims would subside, and that Muslims would soon become well established within Australian society, as previous generations of migrants have since World War II.

A framework for designing mainstream educational e-simulations

This chapter describes the knowledge, skills, and technology needed for the effective design of educational e-simulations. It reviews the features and functionality of a typical experiential e-simulation and discusses approaches useful in its design, with impact on its subsequent construction and deployment in the field. The chapter reports a conceptual study examining development experiences gained in the construction of several educational e-simulations and folds these experiences into a framework for understanding e-simulation design. The chapter finally uses the framework to compare and contrast different approaches taken while designing and delivering two e-simulations, based on the same technology and business case, but delivered to distinct cohorts of university students.

Developing a presence in a mainstream market with a product perceived as offbeat

Generally when one thinks of Australian wine regions images of the Barossa Valley, the Hunter Valley or Margaret River may be conjured up as they have developed a presence in the mainstream market. Queensland, by contrast, may be perceived as offbeat, despite its similar quality and growing conditions. This study explores the plausibility of Queensland developing a presence in a mainstream market with findings from a survey completed by 347 people. The results indicate that when consumers choose their wine on the basis of terroir that personality, reputation and label design are the most important elements. Positioning wine from Queensland on its personality may hold the key to having an offbeat product compete in a mainstream market.

It comes with the territory: 'remote' Indigenous reporting for mainstream audiences

Mainstream news coverage of ‘remote’ Indigenous Australia is arguably one of the most distinctive forms of Australian journalism practice. While there has been considerable scholarly interest in news media representations of ‘remote’ Indigenous people, little research has been done until now on the logic or operations of this reporting specialisation. This monograph presents a Bourdieuian analysis of the subfield based in the insights study participants offered in interviews undertaken as part of The Media and Indigenous Policy project. It analyses the reporting subfield through an investigation of the practices participants say shape the way white, mainstream journalists understand their role, its possibilities and limitations. Reporting specialists spoke of the geographical and ontological distances they have to negotiate in dealing with Indigenous and government sources, as well as the ways in which they are constrained by institutional pressures. They attribute many of the difficulties with covering ‘remote’ Indigenous issues to factors linked with these physical and cultural distances.