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2008
Learning plays a crucial part in the development of entrepreneurial propensity and is inextricably linked to communication. An appreciation of the role of communication in entrepreneurial studies is increasing, albeit slowly, and in particular the pervasiveness of entrepreneurial narrative as a learning mechanism. For example, our knowledge of entrepreneurship is often grounded in cherished stories. These stories are built around accepted myths.
There is anecdotal evidence as well as a small but growing research literature indicating there may be a higher incidence of dyslexia amongst entrepreneurs compared to business managers and to the general population. Studies indicate that while dyslexics may resist entry into mainstream businesses due to their generally low literacy levels, there appears to be no such barrier for dyslexics wanting to start new ventures. Given that dyslexics also dislike imposed structure, have strong oral and spatial skills, are intuitive/insightful/curious as well as resilient and determined, it is not surprising that they gravitate toward self-employment as opposed to highly organised corporate professions.
Dyslexia is a real, but often hidden, issue among the farming community. This briefing paper reports on a preliminary scoping study into the influence of dyslexia on the entrepreneurial propensity of farmers. A propensity is an inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way and an entrepreneurial propensity is an inclination to behave entrepreneurially. It is part of an ongoing wider study into aspects of farming and learning. The research undertaken here is of a tentative nature but offers some fresh insights into this under-researched topic.
Asia Pacific Journal of Developmental Differences
Entrepreneurs with Dyslexia in Singapore: The Incidence, Their Educational Experiences, and Their Unique Attributes2020 •
The incidence of dyslexia in the Singaporean entrepreneurial population is unknown. This study compares Singaporean Entrepreneurs who have dyslexia and those who do not have dyslexia. This research examines the educational experiences and personal attributes of Singaporean Entrepreneurs, to identify the differences between those with dyslexia and those who are not dyslexic. A survey was conducted over a 12-month period and the data revealed that the incidence of dyslexia in the Singapore entrepreneurial population was 26%, this is more than 2.5 times that dyslexia would be found in the general population. The educational experiences of dyslexic entrepreneurs were significantly negative for primary and secondary education, however, in tertiary education, their educational experiences were significantly positive. Dyslexic entrepreneurs indicated two of the major factors why they were inspired to start their own business, these were to have ‘control’ over their lives, time, and success and the other was because of their ‘dyslexia’. Singapore entrepreneurial traits were explored and there is a tendency for Singaporeans to answer positively yet dyslexic entrepreneurs scored significantly less in empathy, interpersonal skills, public speaking, and memory ability compared to their non-dyslexic peers. Two attributes where dyslexic entrepreneurs scored significantly higher were visual thinking and visual-spatial ability. The findings from this research can be used to support the development of policies and support for Dyslexic Entrepreneurs in Singapore.
2010 •
Purpose–As a result of a plethora of scholarly articles by feminist scholars of entrepreneurship, it is now widely accepted that the notion of entrepreneurship is ideologically skewed towards masculine ideology. Although this body of work has been quietly acknowledged, it has not invoked a reply, or refutation, from male entrepreneurship scholars. Nor has it led to an increase in studies about the influence of masculinity on entrepreneurial behaviour or identity.
Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit
Assessing the impact of ‘farming with dyslexia’ on local rural economiesThis viewpoint article discusses the contemporary yet hidden issue of ‘Farming with Dyslexia’. Of interest to policy analysts, researchers, and practitioners, the purpose of this discussion is to raise awareness of dyslexia at a time when there is increasing bureaucratisation of official farming support services. We discuss the issue from the perspective of local economic development and regeneration, as well as considering issues of economic empowerment within the context of wider social, political and economic change. With increasing pressure on farmers to become more entrepreneurial, navigating the effects of dyslexia on their daily farming routines and ultimately their often economically fragile fortunes demands that more attention is paid to the educational and social architecture that supports these rural communities.
2012 •
Abstract: Despite an increasing interest in minority entrepreneurship in recent years, the issue of'underclass entrepreneurship'and its linkages to'enterprise culture'remain underresearched. In this article, the authors examine'chavs' as an indigenous British underclass. Using data gathered from an Internet search and newspaper cuttings, they examine how this silent'stereotyped'and socially constructed minority is presented as dangerous and unemployable.
PhD by Publication - Thesis
DYSLEXIA, TRAUMATIC SCHOOLING AND CAREER SUCCESS: Investigating the motivations of why many individuals with developmental dyslexia are successful despite experiencing traumatic schooling2018 •
This thesis aims to: investigate the motivations of why many individuals with developmental dyslexia are successful despite experiencing traumatic schooling. It details seven studies that investigate the emotional coping amongst individuals with developmental dyslexia, investigating successful post-school careers as ‘post-traumatic growth’, an outcome from school-based trauma. The first two studies with school-aged dyslexics were quantitative and whilst helpful in understanding different coping strategies utilised, it was perceived to lack depth in understanding the emotional side of the dyslexia experience, and any long-term emotional ramifications from school-based trauma. A third study sought to understand the discrimination, stigma, and the dangers of self-disclosure of dyslexia, experienced by adult dyslexics. Two investigations of self-harm and possible post-traumatic stress disorder followed to better understand how adults with dyslexia emotional cope with learned helplessness experienced at school. Lastly, two studies investigating post-school workplace success, firstly to understand concepts of ‘success’ amongst adults with dyslexia, and secondly to understand how school-based trauma could be used positively. This thesis offers original contributions to literature through the use of standardised measures to measure emotional coping in school-aged dyslexic samples (especially depression); comparing the sources and manifestations of stress between school-aged dyslexics and their siblings; the types of self-harm used by dyslexic adults and where the source of their helplessness/depression begun; and how the concept of ‘post-traumatic stress disorder’ could be correlated to the reactions that many dyslexic adults experience now as parents returning to school. Original contributions were also made regarding adult dyslexics in regard to self-perceptions of success and understanding the role that school plays in motivating them to post-school success in the workplace, argued to be a form of ‘post-traumatic growth’. Lastly, the author proposes the use of ‘bi-abilities’ to better understand the experience of dyslexia, rejecting both the medical and social models of disability, as dyslexics reject a disability identity.
Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy
Understanding entrepreneurial behaviour in organized criminals2009 •
Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to focus upon organized criminals as an enterprising community and as enterprising people. Organized crime is a global phenomenon that concentrates upon the development of both sustainable personal prosperity and criminal culture as they define it. Such criminal businesses and the business of criminality go far beyond simple economic and capitalist criteria and entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ability play a significant part in creating criminal wealth. Indeed, it is part of committed ...
Asia Pacific Journal of Developmental Differences
Dyslexia, Success and Post-Traumatic Growth2016 •
Academy of Management Perspectives
Mental Disorders in the Entrepreneurship Context: When Being Different Can Be An AdvantageJournal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Extracting value from their environment: some observations on pimping and prostitution as entrepreneurship2009 •
Asia Pacific Journal of Developmental Differences
Perceptions of Success in Dyslexic adults in the UK2015 •
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business
Prohibition and the American Dream: an analysis of the entrepreneurial life and times of Al Capone2014 •
2007 •
2003 •
International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research
Narrating the decline of subsistence entrepreneurship in a Scottish fishing community: 1934-20042006 •
2018 •
2008 •
2011 •
The Journal of Enterprising Peoples, Communities and Places in the Global Economy, 7(4).
Re-scripting criminal identity: A ‘Close Reading’ of contemporary biographies of British criminals as entrepreneurship discourse”,1997 •
Teachers’ Academy Papers
ExPLORING THE LINKS2008 •
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
After the fall: Developing a conceptual script-based model of shame in narratives of entrepreneurs in crisis!2011 •
Annals of Dyslexia
Dyslexia in adults: Evidence for deficits in non-word reading and in the phonological representation of lexical items1994 •
2009 •