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1 – 10 of 28Ethnography produces accounts; the critical reflection of accounts produces accountability. Ethnography requires accountability if meaningful conclusions and/or observations are…
Abstract
Purpose
Ethnography produces accounts; the critical reflection of accounts produces accountability. Ethnography requires accountability if meaningful conclusions and/or observations are to be made. Accountability requires ethnography if is to address lived experiences. Virno argues that the principles of “languaging” make ethnographies and accountability possible. This papers aims to describe an instance of the circularity of accountability and use this to explore Virno’s insights. Doing this helps us to see the connections between accountability and ethnography, and reflect on the nature of these interconnections.
Design/methodology/approach
Inspired by Paulo Virno’s philosophy, the authors assert that an ethnographer typically produces an account of a chosen “Other” in which this “Other” is held to account. But at the same time, the ethnographer needs to be held to account by the very same “Other” and by the “Other” of the (research) community. Furthermore, ethnographers are accountable to themselves. All these moments of accountability can endlessly circle, as responsibilization of the researchers by their Other(s) continues. For ethnography to function, this must be tamed as a (research) account ultimately has to be produced for an academic project to be considered complete. Drawing on Virno’s principle of the “negation of the negation” by the “katechon,” by the “katechon,” the authors propose a potentially valuable intervention that would enable ethnography – and by extension, ethnographers – to prosper.
Findings
The authors apply Virno’s philosophical reflections to propose a positive feedback cycle between ethnography and accountability. Virno’s ideation centers on two key concepts: (i) the multitude of social relatedness and (ii) the ontology of the languaging of individuation. Hereby, a positive circle of causality between ethnography and accountability can be realized, whereby the authors can respect but also break the causal circle(s) of ethnography and accountability. This might be achieved via a reflection on Virno’s concept of the “katechon.”
Originality/value
The authors illuminate the accountability–ethnography dynamic, providing an illustration of the circularity of ethnography and accountability and showing how Virno provides us with tools to help us deal with it. Hence, ultimately, the paper focuses on the accountability as ethnographers.
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Recent research has captured the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in widening gender inequalities, by highlighting that academic women have been disproportionately affected. During…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent research has captured the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in widening gender inequalities, by highlighting that academic women have been disproportionately affected. During the COVID-19 pandemic, women assumed most of the care labour at home, whilst working at normal patterns, leaving them unable to perform as normal. This is very concerning because of the short and long-term detrimental consequences this will have on women’s well-being and their academic careers. This article aims to stimulate a change in the current understandings of academic work by pointing towards alternative – and more inclusive – ways of working in academia.
Design/methodology/approach
The two authors engage with autoethnography and draw on their own personal experience of becoming breastfeeding academic mothers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Findings
To understand the positioning of contemporary academic mothers, this study draws on insights from both cultural studies and organisation studies on the emergence of discursive formations about gender, that is “postfeminist sensibility”. Guided by autoethnographic accounts of academic motherhood, this study reveals that today academia creates an individualised, neutral (disembodied), output-focused and control-oriented understanding of academic work.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the conversation of academic motherhood and the impact of the pandemic on working mothers. The study theoretically contributes with the lens of “motherhood” in grasping what academic work can become. It shows the power of motherhood in opening up an alternative way of conceptualising academic work, centred on embodied care and appreciative of the non-linearity and messiness of life.
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Amy Wong and Jimmy Wong
This study aims to apply the service robot acceptance model (sRAM) to examine how attitude toward human–robot interaction (HRI) and engagement influence consumer acceptance of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to apply the service robot acceptance model (sRAM) to examine how attitude toward human–robot interaction (HRI) and engagement influence consumer acceptance of service robots in a frontline setting.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected from 255 visitors who interacted with a robotic tour guide at a city museum. The data was analyzed using smart PLS 4.0.
Findings
The findings show the positive effects of subjective norms, appearance, perceived trust and positive emotion on both attitude toward HRI and engagement. In addition, social capability impacted attitude toward HRI, whereas perceived usefulness affected engagement.
Practical implications
To deliver engaging museum experiences that bring about positive word-of-mouth and intention to visit, managers need to incorporate the sRAM dimensions in the design and deployment of service robots.
Originality/value
This research uses field data to empirically validate the sRAM in the context of service robot acceptance. It introduces engagement as a novel mediating variable, enriching current understanding of human-like qualities in HRIs.
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Tracey Ollis, Ursula Harrison and Cheryl Ryan
We argue this method of inquiry better represents the participants' learning, lives and experiences in the formal neoliberal education system prioritising performativity…
Abstract
Purpose
We argue this method of inquiry better represents the participants' learning, lives and experiences in the formal neoliberal education system prioritising performativity, categorising and ranking students.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper explores using poetry as a research method to reveal the learning experiences of adult learners, who have often had disruptive experiences of the formal schooling system and return to study in community-based education spaces. Inspired by Laurel Richardson’s transgressive technique of presenting sociological data through poetry as method, we use poetic representations of these learners' lives alongside case study research methodology. The research was conducted in conjunction with Neighbourhood Houses in Victoria, Australia. Qualitative data were generated through conducting multiple case studies of learners across various adult community education (ACE) sites. In this research, some case studies were presented in the traditional method of writing biography, others were written in the form of found poetry, which we refer to as data as poetry and text. The paper uses found poetry through participant-voiced poems written from interview transcripts. We argue this method of inquiry better represents the participants' learning, lives and experiences in the formal neoliberal education system prioritising performativity, categorising and ranking students. Our findings highlight the benefits of using poetry to communicate data in case study research as it effectively represents the experiences of adult learners' lives in a creative and concise form, transgressing normative practices of writing education research. These poetic representations of data reveal learner experiences in an embodied and agentic way while providing readers with a deep and rich understanding of these crucial adult learning spaces.
Findings
Our findings highlight the benefits of using poetry to communicate data in case study research as it effectively represents the experiences of adult learners' lives in a creative and concise form, transgressing normative practices of writing education research.
Originality/value
This research paper is empirical research and has not been submitted elsewhere for publication.
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Sunil D. Santha, Devisha Sasidevan, Atul Raman, Khadeeja Naja Ali, Soofiya Yoosuf, Deepankar Panda and Gauri Shenoy
This paper showcases how the PAR embedded in posthumanist perspectives enabled us to navigate several complexities in the field through methodological situatedness and pluralism…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper showcases how the PAR embedded in posthumanist perspectives enabled us to navigate several complexities in the field through methodological situatedness and pluralism. It also attempts to critically outline the drivers and barriers that shaped our capacities to engage with the PAR.
Design/methodology/approach
The Tamil Nadu state in the Bay of Bengal along the southeast coast of India is one of the six regions in the world where severe tropical cyclones originate throughout the year. Storm surges in this region are well known for their destructive potential due to strong winds and heavy rainfall. This paper describes our participatory action research (PAR) journey towards strengthening grassroots action by providing access to safe and affordable housing for cyclone-impacted households (CIHs) in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu, India. The PAR was guided by an adaptive innovation model (AIM) that draws inspiration from posthumanism, action research and reflective practice traditions.
Findings
The insights from the PAR insist that we must recognise and work with diverse knowledge systems and situated practices to develop meaningful disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate adaptation strategies. Our approach has to be rooted in the lived experiences of various vulnerable groups, their entanglements with nature and their everyday struggles of interacting with a complex social-ecological system.
Originality/value
This paper is an outcome of a PAR in a cyclone-impacted village in Tamil Nadu, India. The discussions and findings of the paper are original in nature and have not been published elsewhere.
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Chunli Ji, Catherine Prentice, Erose Sthapit and Inman Lei
Using the analogy of “If you build it, they will come” from the movie Field of Dreams, this study aims to draw on relational signaling and commitment–trust theories to examine the…
Abstract
Purpose
Using the analogy of “If you build it, they will come” from the movie Field of Dreams, this study aims to draw on relational signaling and commitment–trust theories to examine the role of different types of trust (cognitive, affective and relational) in the relationship between relational-encounter quality and customer loyalty to service employees and to the organization in the case of an integrated casino resort. The study confirms that building it (trust), they (customers) will come to the casino exhibited in their loyalty to casino hosts and their affiliated casinos.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted with very important person (VIP) customers who have a designated VIP host to provide them with personal services at an integrated casino resort in Macau. The questionnaire was distributed to the respondents by VIP hosts using WeChat and Tencent QQ.
Findings
The study shows that different types of trust (cognitive, affective and relational) play a significant mediation role in the relationship between relational-encounter quality and the customers’ loyalty to the hosts and their affiliated casinos.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the roles of different types of trust (cognitive, affective and relational) in the relational encounter between casino hosts and VIP customers and provides insights into the link between service employees and their firm through the nurturing of the service encounter with the firm’s key accounts.
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Valtteri Kaartemo and Anu Helkkula
Applications of artificial intelligence (AI), such as virtual and physical service robots, generative AI, large language models and decision support systems, alter the nature of…
Abstract
Purpose
Applications of artificial intelligence (AI), such as virtual and physical service robots, generative AI, large language models and decision support systems, alter the nature of services. Most service research centers on the division between human and AI resources. Less attention has been paid to analyzing the entangled resource relations and interactions between humans and AI entities. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to extend our metatheoretical understanding of resource integration and value cocreation by analyzing different human–AI resource relations in service ecosystems.
Design/methodology/approach
The conceptual paper adapts a novel framework from postphenomenology, specifically cyborg intentionality. This framework is used to analyze what kinds of human–AI resource relations enable resource integration and value cocreation in service ecosystems.
Findings
We conceptualize seven different human–AI resource relations, namely background, embodiment, hermeneutic, alterity, cyborg, immersion and composite relation. The sociotechnical entangled perspective on human–AI resource relations challenges and reframes our understanding of interactions between humans and nonhumans in resource integration and value cocreation and the distinction between operant and operand resources in service research.
Originality/value
Our primary contribution to researchers and service providers is dissolving the distinction between operant and operand resources. We present two foundational propositions. 1. Humans and AI become entangled value cocreating resources in inherently sociotechnical service ecosystems; and 2. Human and AI entanglements in value cocreation manifest through seven resource relations in inherently sociotechnical service ecosystems. Understanding the combinatorial potential of different human–AI resource relations enables service providers to make informed choices in service ecosystems.
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This paper draws on African anti-colonial thought and Black consciousness to propose critical conscious leadership (CCL) as a decolonising leadership approach appropriate for…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper draws on African anti-colonial thought and Black consciousness to propose critical conscious leadership (CCL) as a decolonising leadership approach appropriate for pursuing emancipation, social justice and innovation in a new African university.
Design/methodology/approach
I utilised the method of critical discourse analysis to study Ihron Rensburg’s language as he reflected on his leadership at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). The study engaged with Rensburg’s writings and texts on his account of leading the merger and transformation of UJ. The primary text draws from his book “Serving Higher Purposes” (2020).
Findings
Through the construction of CCL, the paper proposes alternative tenets for leading transformation towards a new African university. CCL grounds a decolonised and pluriversal new African university’s character premised on a consciously revitalised alternative thinking that will carry the communitarian spirit of Africa in knowledge production, dissemination and consumption in humanising all and serving the greater good. And it operates within the dialectical tensions of the social and economic purpose of higher education (HE), African and global relevance, African and Western paradigms, excellent performance and attainment of social justice.
Originality/value
The proposed CCL offers an alternative leadership approach that responds to the call to “Dethrone the Empire” by centring Blackness in HE leadership, which is crucial for authentic transformation and decolonisation.
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Zhi Yang, Sai Xie and Yuanhan Gu
The purpose of this study is to investigate the technology-focused and technology-supported dilemmas that firms have encountered and their digital orientation from a nuanced…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the technology-focused and technology-supported dilemmas that firms have encountered and their digital orientation from a nuanced perspective to answer the following research questions: What digital orientations do companies take in launching digital initiatives? How does the choice between a proactive digital orientation (Pro-DO) and a reactive digital orientation (Rea-DO) influence firm value?
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopted machine learning and a quantitative research approach using observations from China’s listed companies from 2010 to 2020 and applied statistical techniques and regression analysis to examine the effect of digital orientation alternatives on firm value.
Findings
The findings of this study indicate that firms with a Pro-DO exhibit a positive effect on firm value. In contrast, firms with a Rea-DO do not demonstrate the same positive relationship with firm value. Additionally, this study reveals that firms with better corporate governance practices and lower financing constraints are more responsive to the positive effects of Pro-DO on firm value.
Originality/value
We elucidate two primary perspectives of digital orientation: Pro-DO and Rea-DO. Additionally, we empirically showcase their nuanced influences on firm value, thereby enriching knowledge in the fields of strategic orientation and digital transformation. Moreover, our findings underscore the importance of corporate governance and financing constraints as moderators.
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This paper aims to trace how Asian American girls engaged with civic learning in a virtual out-of-school literacy community featuring a curriculum of diverse literary texts.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to trace how Asian American girls engaged with civic learning in a virtual out-of-school literacy community featuring a curriculum of diverse literary texts.
Design/methodology/approach
The researcher used practitioner inquiry to construct a virtual literacy education community dedicated to the civic learning of Asian American girls.
Findings
The paper explores how participants mobilized critical practices of textual consumption and production rooted in their intersectional identities and embodied experiences to make meaning of the civic constraints and affordances of marginalized identities and to read and (re)design author choices for civic purposes. These findings – examples of youths’ critical civic meaning-making – indicate how they claimed space for Asian American civic girlhoods in literacy education.
Originality/value
This paper foregrounds how Asian American girls mobilize critical processes of text consumption and production to assert civic identities in literacy education – a significantly under-examined topic in literacy studies. This work has implications for how literacy practitioners and scholars can prioritize Asian American civic girlhoods through pedagogy and research.
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