How Women Talk in Indian Democracy

Qualitative Sociology - In democracies, political institutions based on deliberation offer citizens scope for talk-based participation in development and governance. A prominent example is the...     

Complying with voluntary codes of conduct: Corporate strategies for the Valdez Principles

The Valdez Principles is the latest of a series of voluntary codes of conduct that have been enunciated by various advocacy groups to guide the behavior of business enterprises. These principles provide guidelines on corporate conduct towards the environment and present a corporation with critical choices. This study suggests alternative strategies that firms may adopt to cope with this new code. Experience with the Sullivan and MacBride Principles is analyzed to serve as the basis to predict corporate response to the Valdez Principles.     

E-mentoring as a HRD intervention: an exploratory action research study within an International Professional Mentoring Scheme

Advances in technology have reshaped mentoring as a human resource development (HRD) intervention and heralded e-mentoring, using online solutions, as an alternative to traditional mentoring. In this article, we report on a unique learning opportunity as a part of the HRD curriculum in a higher education institution (HEI) in which mentoring was offered to pairs separated by not only geographical distance but also by time zone, culture and organisation (global mentoring relationships [GMRs]). We used an action research approach to aid the programme team’s understanding of their own practice and to evaluate 23 GMRs within an e-mentoring scheme in a UK-based university. We offer empirical evidence of the application of media richness theory as well as traditional models of mentoring to develop and evaluate e-mentoring relationships, particularly GMRs. Key findings highlight how the mode of communication and its media richness affect GMRs and demonstrate the effect of the type and style of mentoring on the success of GMRs. Based on our results, we recommend a combination of e-mentoring methods using various forms of technology and the sharing of models to create a common language to enhance the practice of e-mentoring in and across organisations.