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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 October 2022

Chris Brown, Ruth Luzmore and Jana Groß Ophoff

Background: The ideas-informed society represents a desired situation in which: (1) citizens see value in staying up to date, and; (2) citizens regularly keep themselves up to…

Abstract

Background: The ideas-informed society represents a desired situation in which: (1) citizens see value in staying up to date, and; (2) citizens regularly keep themselves up to date by actively, openly and critically engaging with new ideas, developments and claims to truth. As a result, it is hoped citizens become increasingly knowledgeable, better able to make good decisions, and better positioned to support new progressive norms and beliefs. Yet despite these potential benefits, a substantive proportion of the population do not value staying up to date, nor attempt to do so.

Methods: With this research project we seek to identify whether the theoretical lens of anomie can account for why “ideas refusers” do not engage with ideas, as well as provide clues as to how they might be encouraged to do so. To explore the possible impacts of anomie on ideas-engagement we conducted four online focus groups, interviewing a purposive sample of ten individuals who previously indicated they were ideas refusers.

Results: Our findings identify eleven themes which seemingly account for why ideas refusers do not currently engage with ideas. Of these, ten are related to anomie, including themes which encapsulate feelings of frustration, anxiety, confusion and powerlessness regarding the complexities of modern society.

Conclusions: We also identify three areas of future focus that might help the ongoing development of the ideas-informed society. These are: (1) the more positive and relevant reporting of ideas; (2) supporting “healthy” face-to-face engagement with ideas; and (3) supporting effective ideas engagement through social media.

Details

Emerald Open Research, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-3952

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 January 2023

Qingqing Zhou

With the rapid development of social media, the occurrence and evolution of emergency events are often accompanied by massive users' expressions. The fine-grained analysis on…

Abstract

Purpose

With the rapid development of social media, the occurrence and evolution of emergency events are often accompanied by massive users' expressions. The fine-grained analysis on users' expressions can provide accurate and reliable information for event processing. Hence, 2,003,814 expressions on a major malignant emergency event were mined from multiple dimensions in this paper.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper conducted finer-grained analysis on users' online expressions in an emergency event. Specifically, the authors firstly selected a major emergency event as the research object and collected the event-related user expressions that lasted nearly two years to describe the dynamic evolution trend of the event. Then, users' expression preferences were identified by detecting anomic expressions, classifying sentiment tendencies and extracting topics in expressions. Finally, the authors measured the explicit and implicit impacts of different expression preferences and obtained relations between the differential expression preferences.

Findings

Experimental results showed that users have both short- and long-term attention to emergency events. Their enthusiasm for discussing the event will be quickly dispelled and easily aroused. Meanwhile, most users prefer to make rational and normative expressions of events, and the expression topics are diversified. In addition, compared with anomic negative expressions, anomic expressions in positive sentiments are more common. In conclusion, the integration of multi-dimensional analysis results of users' expression preferences (including discussion heat, preference impacts and preference relations) is an effective means to support emergency event processing.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, it is the first research to conduct in-depth and fine-grained analysis of user expression in emergencies, so as to get in-detail and multi-dimensional characteristics of users' online expressions for supporting event processing.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 76 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 17 July 2023

Lei Xu, K. Praveen Parboteeah and Hanqing Fang

The authors enrich and extend the existing institutional anomie theory (IAT) in the hope of sharpening the understanding of the joint effects of selected cultural values and…

Abstract

Purpose

The authors enrich and extend the existing institutional anomie theory (IAT) in the hope of sharpening the understanding of the joint effects of selected cultural values and social institutional changes on women's pre-entrant entrepreneurial attempts. The authors theorize that women are culturally discouraged to pursue pre-entrant entrepreneurial attempts or wealth accumulation in a specific culture. This discouragement creates an anomic strain that motivates women to deviate from cultural prescriptions by engaging in pre-entrant entrepreneurial attempts at a faster speed. Building on this premise, the authors hypothesize that changes in social institutions facilitate the means of achievement for women due to the potential opportunities inherent in such institutional changes.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a randomly selected sample of 1,431 registered active individual users with a minimum of 10,000 followers on a leading entertainment live-streaming platform in the People's Republic of China, the authors examined a unique mix of cultural and institutional changes and their effects on the speed of women's engagement in live-streaming platform activity.

Findings

The authors find support for the impact of the interaction between changes in social institution conditions and cultural values. Unexpectedly, the authors also find a negative impact of cultural values on women's speed of engaging in pre-entrant entrepreneurial attempts.

Originality/value

The authors add institutional change to the IAT framework and provide a novel account for the variation in the pre-entrant entrepreneurial attempts by women on the platform.

Details

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, vol. 26 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2574-8904

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 4 April 2024

Phan Anh Tu

This chapter investigates whether, and if so, how particular firms in a transition economy are involved in bribery. Built on pressure theories, we explain how the direct effects…

Abstract

This chapter investigates whether, and if so, how particular firms in a transition economy are involved in bribery. Built on pressure theories, we explain how the direct effects of firm characteristics and contextual characteristics determine firm bribery behavior. Entrepreneurs make choices based on perceptions of a specific pressure due to organizational characteristics (internal pressures) or due to context (external pressures). The relationship between firm characteristics, context, and bribery was estimated using unique data from a survey of 606 Vietnamese entrepreneurs. We controlled for various entrepreneurial, organizational, and industrial characteristics. The exploratory findings support firm attributes hypotheses, which is a negative relationship between firm size and bribery and a nonmonotonic U-shaped relationship between firm age and bribery. Besides, the effects of context on bribery are also found. Specifically, the result supports a positive relationship between competition and bribery and a negative relationship between the quality of the government and bribery.

Details

Advances in Pacific Basin Business, Economics and Finance
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-865-2

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 October 2022

Ojeifoh Okosun and Uchenna Ilo

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the evolution of a particular variant of cyber fraud known as the Nigerian prince scam and to demonstrate its socio-cultural…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the evolution of a particular variant of cyber fraud known as the Nigerian prince scam and to demonstrate its socio-cultural impact. These scams are also referred to as yahoo scams. This paper traces the history of the Nigerian prince scam and how the scheme has evolved over the years to become more sophisticated, audacious and damaging to its victims.

Design/methodology/approach

The analytic approach is conceptual, drawing on institutional anomie theory, social learning theory and routine activity theory to explain this unique typology of cybercrime. Data were collected and analysed from books, journal articles, newspaper articles and other electronic Web sources.

Findings

The ineffective political leadership of Nigeria’s present elected and past military leaders could be attributed to creating culturally induced pressures to secure monetary success by the scammers. A significant number of people involved in this malfeasance justify these crimes with the argument of being owed reparations for colonisation, which might explain why international and local agencies may not be effective at eradicating this crime problem.

Originality/value

Despite the continued perpetration of the Nigerian prince scam, current research has not presented an evolutionary view of this fraudulent operation. This paper adds to the literature by explaining the origins of the scam, how they have developed over time and how internet technology has advanced the sophistication of the scam.

Details

Journal of Financial Crime, vol. 30 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-0790

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 January 2024

Chris Rees

The article considers the utility of a pluralist perspective in the context of current debates around UK corporate governance reform. Oxford School pluralism advanced both a…

Abstract

Purpose

The article considers the utility of a pluralist perspective in the context of current debates around UK corporate governance reform. Oxford School pluralism advanced both a description of how industrial relations (IR) operated in practice plus a prescription for how it should operate. Whilst economic conditions are different today, a pluralist framing provides not only a useful way of understanding interests in firm governance (description) but also a solid grounding for a pragmatic reform agenda (prescription).

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing from key texts in the field, the article considers core concepts within pluralist discourse and discusses their relevance to contemporary policy debates.

Findings

The article provides a short outline of recent economic and political developments and considers how a pluralist framing helps explain firm-level interests, challenging the dominant narrative of shareholder primacy. It then asks what policy interventions might flow from this analysis of capital and labour investments, and how feasible they are in the current UK context. This allows a discussion of levels of analysis (evident in materialist theories such as “radical pluralism” and the “disconnected capitalism thesis”). Finally, it reflects briefly on the links between corporate governance and wider patterns of inequality, suggesting the pluralist position is consistent with a Durkheimian sociology focusing on the potential in state-led regulatory interventions to tackle anomie and strengthen social solidarity.

Originality/value

The article brings together literature from what are often treated as relatively discrete areas of enquiry (employment relations and corporate governance) and also considers the public policy implications of these connections.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 30 November 2023

Jungsik Kim, Hun Whee Lee and Goo Hyeok Chung

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most organizations have experienced a sudden and unprecedented drop in revenue and productivity. However, the pandemic did not…

Abstract

Purpose

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most organizations have experienced a sudden and unprecedented drop in revenue and productivity. However, the pandemic did not exclusively negatively impact organizations; rather, it resulted in both negative and positive effects. To delve into the multi-level process through which organizational outcomes change from negative to positive indicators, this study focuses on organizational resilience as a theoretical concept to overcome pandemic-related turmoil.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a multi-level analysis based on grounded theory with a sample of 30 healthcare employees who worked in hospitals and were simultaneously enrolled in a part-time master of business administration (MBA) program at a university in the Midwest. Of the 30 participants, 21 were from a single university hospital (UH), and the remaining 9 participants were from other hospitals (non-UH).

Findings

The authors analyzed the data and incorporated three existing perspectives of organizational resilience (attribute, process and multi-level views) into an integrated model. The authors identified 25 first-order concepts and 8 second-order themes and categorized them into 4 aggregate dimensions at different unit levels: organizational field, leadership, operation and individual units.

Practical implications

A resilient hospital operates as a cohesive system, with entities at various levels – from individuals and teams to the broader organization – collaborating seamlessly to foster resilience. Top management team (TMT) should persistently communicate with employees to provide information about the current crisis and clear strategic directions to reduce employees' fear and prevent anomie stemming from future uncertainty. Managers should not only be concerned about employees' physical safety from infection and psychological safety from isolation but also encourage employees to elicit meaningfulness from their work. Furthermore, TMT and human resource (HR) teams should adapt human resource management (HRM) practices to allow for flexibility and optimism in employee roles.

Originality/value

In this study, the authors utilized a qualitative methodology with grounded theory in order to develop a comprehensive model that holds theoretical, methodological and practical significance. Theoretically, the authors' novelty lies in the synthesis of three distinct perspectives: attribute, process and multi-level. The authors merged these approaches into a unified model, identifying precursors of resilience at different levels. Methodologically, the authors focused on hospitals as target samples, which were the foremost and representative organizations severely confronting the crisis and turmoil brought by the pandemic. The authors documented organizations' experiences amidst the crisis as they unfolded in real time rather than in hindsight. This approach highlights the immediacy and significance of the authors' research in the realm of crisis management. Practically, the authors' findings illuminate that organizational resilience can be developed through a collaborative effort. It emerges from coordinated interactions across various organizational actors, from employees and middle managers to the TMT.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 37 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 March 2024

William Joseph Fassbender

This study builds on previous theoretical work that considered artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential for creating “teacher-centaurs” whose labor could be accelerated…

Abstract

Purpose

This study builds on previous theoretical work that considered artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential for creating “teacher-centaurs” whose labor could be accelerated through the use of generative AI (Fassbender, in review). The purpose of this paper is to use empirical methods to study centaur teachers and the division of labor (Durkheim, 1893/2013) that arise from outsourcing teaching tasks to AI.

Design/methodology/approach

Multiple case study (Stake, 2006) was used to collect data on two secondary English teachers who were early adopters of generative AI. Data included semi-structured interviews as well as ChatGPT chat logs, which helped in describing how teaching approaches evolved using AI technology.

Findings

Results showed that teachers used AI for planning, instruction and assessment. AI-augmented teaching practices allowed teachers to complete tasks with greater speed, which in turn increased stamina and short-term work–life balance. Given the novelty of AI, concerns about data privacy and academic integrity raised ethical questions.

Originality/value

ChatGPT’s rise to popularity in 2023 brought with it significant discussions about education, specifically how students would use AI primarily as a tool for plagiarism. This study takes a different focus, considering how early adoption of AI has begun changing teacher labor, offering implications for the future of the teaching profession.

Abstract

Details

Women's Imprisonment in Eastern Europe: ‘Sitting out Time’
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-283-7

Article
Publication date: 27 September 2023

Alexander Yulievich Chepurenko, Nadezhda Nikolaevna Butryumova, Marina Vyacheslavovna Chernysheva and Anastasia Yevgenyevna Sutormina

This paper deals with types and actors of entrepreneurship in and around academia in Russia, as well as with institutional settings of the entrepreneurial activity of academic…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper deals with types and actors of entrepreneurship in and around academia in Russia, as well as with institutional settings of the entrepreneurial activity of academic faculty.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a series of semi-structured interviews using the purposive snowball method (2022–2023). The respondents are either engaged in different kinds of entrepreneurship in and outside universities in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod or experts in entrepreneurship in and around academia.

Findings

A double mixed embeddedness driven approach to the typology of diverse forms of entrepreneurship in and around academia are shown in the context of the temporality as well as of the micro-, meso- and macro-level institutions, such as the low demand in innovations in the economy; uncertainty of property rights; limited interest of university administration in academic entrepreneurs or its focus solely on students' entrepreneurship; and necessity entrepreneurship motives on the micro-level. The research limitations of the study are the small number of observations and the localisation of the panel in only one country.

Research limitations/implications

The research limitations of the study are the small number of observations and the localisation of the panel in only one country.

Practical implications

The “Special Military Operation” and its consequences would hinder bottom-up academic entrepreneurship in the country, while pushing universities to launch R&D with the big industry, and forcing many faculties to non-academic entrepreneurship.

Originality/value

For the first time, the broad variety of entrepreneurial activities of academic staff including the specifics of non-classical forms of entrepreneurship in and around academia and their embeddedness into different contexts are discussed.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 44 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

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