Search results

1 – 10 of 251
Article
Publication date: 16 November 2023

Ibeawuchi K. Enwereuzor, Amuche B. Onyishi and Fumnanya Ekwesaranna

Supervisory abuse is a form of destructive leadership. Research has continued to document many deleterious consequences associated with such improper behavior at work. This study…

Abstract

Purpose

Supervisory abuse is a form of destructive leadership. Research has continued to document many deleterious consequences associated with such improper behavior at work. This study further extends its consequences by testing a model linking abusive supervision to job apathy through a climate of fear.

Design/methodology/approach

This study drew on affective events theory in investigating the role of the climate of fear in instances where casual workers perceive abuse in commercial banks. A three-wave and three-week time lag approach was adopted for data collection from 245 casual workers in southeastern Nigeria.

Findings

Results from partial least squares structural equation modeling supported the model by showing that abusive supervision had a direct positive relationship with the climate of fear and job apathy, while the climate of fear related positively to job apathy. Results also revealed that the climate of fear partially mediated the relationship between abusive supervision and job apathy.

Practical implications

Managers can be trained to become more supportive and less abusive to address the problem of abusive supervision. Furthermore, casual workers are encouraged to report any abuse from their manager to higher authorities inside or outside their workplace.

Originality/value

This study sheds new insights and advances the abusive supervision literature by investigating the climate of fear as the underlying mechanism.

Details

Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2051-6614

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 October 2023

Asem Abdalrahim, Mohammad Suliman, Mohammed ALBashtawy, Abdullah Alkhawaldeh and Wafa'a Ta'an

This paper aims to explore examine the therapeutic potential of head-mounted display (HMD)-based Virtual Reality Relaxation Therapy (VRRT) sessions for people individuals with…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore examine the therapeutic potential of head-mounted display (HMD)-based Virtual Reality Relaxation Therapy (VRRT) sessions for people individuals with dementia in Jordan.

Design/methodology/approach

This cross-sectional survey recruited 75 dementia-diagnosed elderly individuals from three Jordanian care homes. A VRRT intervention comprising 10 tailored RT sessions held over the course of five weeks was administered to the participants. Apathy, cognitive performance, anxiety and depression were evaluated before and after the intervention to determine any changes. The Person-Environment Apathy Rating Scale's (PEARS) Arabic translation's validity and reliability were also evaluated.

Findings

The VRRT intervention yielded noteworthy results in reducing apathy, as indicated by a substantial decrease in PEARS scores from 17.20 to 11.15. The findings of the study revealed that the participants demonstrated enhanced cognitive abilities, as evidenced by a significant rise in their Saint Louis University Mental Status ratings, which increased from 15.11 to 19.70. The levels of anxiety and depression exhibited a significant decrease subsequent to the implementation of VRRT, with anxiety levels decreasing from 13.66 to 8.23 and depression levels decreasing from 13.62 to 9.33. Furthermore, a notable 70% of participants demonstrated statistically significant decreases in indifference.

Practical implications

This study makes a significant contribution to the advancement of innovative treatment approaches aimed at addressing the needs of the aging population, hence enhancing health outcomes and raising the quality of care in Jordan.

Originality/value

The effectiveness of VRRT in reducing apathy among Jordanian senior citizens residing in nursing homes has not yet been fully investigated. Therefore, this paper seeks to assess the effectiveness of HMD-based VRRT by conducting pre- and post-intervention evaluations. This research aims to provide valuable insights into the applicability and significance of VRRT in the Jordanian context, contributing to the development of culturally appropriate and cutting-edge therapeutic interventions for older individuals in Jordan. Through this study, the authors aim to promote improved health and elevated standards of care for this population.

Details

Working with Older People, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-3666

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 August 2022

Ayşen Coşkun, Michael Polonsky and Andrea Vocino

To achieve the UN’s 2030 agenda, consumers will need to behave more responsibly and make less environmentally harmful purchases. This study aims to investigate the antecedents of…

Abstract

Purpose

To achieve the UN’s 2030 agenda, consumers will need to behave more responsibly and make less environmentally harmful purchases. This study aims to investigate the antecedents of consumers’ pro-environmental purchase intentions based on a range of motivating (i.e. attitudes, locus of control) and inhibiting factors (i.e. apathy and myopia) for a low-involvement product. It also tests the moderating effect of the greenness of a low-involvement product (green vs nongreen) on the consumer’s pro-environmental purchase intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

An online panel survey of 679 Turkish consumers was used. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships.

Findings

The results suggest that while inhibiting factors (i.e. apathy and myopia) may not directly impede such purchase intentions, they could prevent consumers from considering the environmental characteristics of low-involvement products.

Practical implications

The insights are expected to assist marketers and policymakers to understand consumer psychological mechanisms when encouraging and promoting pro-environmental behavior in the context of low-involvement purchases, enhancing consumers contributing to the 2030 objectives.

Originality/value

This study examines the role of inhibiting factors behind the purchase of low-involvement goods. It also tests the moderating effect of the greenness of a low-involvement product on pro-environmental purchase intentions.

Executive summary
Publication date: 27 December 2023

TUNISIA: Local polls show apathy amid economic crisis

Details

DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-ES284235

ISSN: 2633-304X

Keywords

Geographic
Topical
Article
Publication date: 14 August 2023

Abby Griffin and Rachel Worthington

Social psychology has focused on an individual’s reaction to emergencies and witnessing a crime, which has developed theories of bystander intervention and bystander apathy. The…

Abstract

Purpose

Social psychology has focused on an individual’s reaction to emergencies and witnessing a crime, which has developed theories of bystander intervention and bystander apathy. The purpose of this study is to explore why people choose to intervene when they are a bystander to intimate partner violence (IPV) and the psychological processes that underpin this. Decision-making was explored drawing on literature from the whistleblowing field.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a mixed methods epistemology, this study explored factors that explained intervening behaviour concerning IPV. In total, 212 participants who had known someone who was a victim of IPV were recruited from the general population.

Findings

A logistic regression model indicated that conscientiousness and fairness were found to predict intervening behaviour. Being a child witness was found to predict non-intervening behaviour. Qualitative analysis revealed three types of bystander apathy: those who lacked capability as they were children; those who were indifferent and did not see it as their place to intervene; and those who wanted to intervene but did not as they were frightened of exacerbating the situation.

Practical implications

IPV has significant physical and psychological effects on victims. However, the choice to intervene is complex, and bystander intervention in this study was also associated in some cases with not only a continuation of the IPV behaviour towards the victim but also aggression and physical violence towards the bystander (whistleblower retaliation). Based on the findings of this study, recommendations are made for how to support bystanders and victims of IPV.

Originality/value

This study involved participants with real-life experience of being a bystander to IPV. The mixed methodology provided an insight into the psychological processes, which underpin bystander experiences of IPV and maps onto the literature in relation to whistleblowing.

Details

Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-6599

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 December 2023

Willard Morgan

Consistent with international trends, various policy initiatives have been proposed in South Africa to reform education practices and equip learners with the ability to become…

Abstract

Consistent with international trends, various policy initiatives have been proposed in South Africa to reform education practices and equip learners with the ability to become critical-thinking citizens. One such reform was the inclusion of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) as a subject in the curriculum in the late 1990s. EMS, a uniquely South African creation, was introduced to address a particular agenda, enabling learners to understand the wealth creation process and develop entrepreneurial dispositions. Accordingly, the programmed curriculum evident in the EMS textbooks was designed to meet these official curriculum objectives that would create an entrepreneurial culture, which, in turn, would stimulate economic growth. Considering that textbooks are carriers of more than content information and reflect specific values and ideologies, it is of particular importance to examine these textbooks and the messaging communicated to young people about entrepreneurs, as these adolescents themselves start forming their own identities.

Details

Delivering Entrepreneurship Education in Africa
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-326-8

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 November 2023

Mildred Arevalo, Jonathon Day, Sandra Sotomayor and Nancy Karen Guillen

Specifically, this study aims to examine residents’ perceptions regarding the following: the sociocultural, environmental and economic impacts generated by the presence of Airbnb…

Abstract

Purpose

Specifically, this study aims to examine residents’ perceptions regarding the following: the sociocultural, environmental and economic impacts generated by the presence of Airbnb and the irritability caused by the presence of Airbnb based on Doxey’s Doxey (1975) irritation index (i.e. index).

Design/methodology/approach

Twenty-one semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted between February and March 2021 with residents of three condominiums in the Huancaro residential complex. Data were analyzed using the qualitative data analysis software ATLAS.ti 8.

Findings

Results showed that participants perceived negative economic impacts regarding investments, jobs, real estate prices and overall cost of living; negative sociocultural impacts regarding criminality, social conflicts and cultural exchange; and negative environmental impacts regarding sanitation in the context of the pandemic and the state of the Airbnb apartments. Further, it was found that participants related to the following three of the four stages of irritability: euphoria, apathy and annoyance.

Research limitations/implications

It is necessary to complement the information with the perceptions of the residents about the city’s authorities and managers in the hotel business before the stage of the COVID-19 pandemic and the current stage.

Practical implications

The study identifies improve Airbnb operations like establishing health paraments and defining cohabitation rules at the condominiums.

Social implications

The residents consider that visitors’ returns produce positive and negative impacts on the quality of life being important for understanding their perceptions.

Originality/value

Short-term rental companies, such as Airbnb, generate a range of impacts on urban residents, particularly when travelers encroach on areas of the city beyond the traditional “tourist bubbles.” This study explored the perceptions of Airbnb’s impacts on activities among residents of Huancaro, a residential section of Cusco-Peru, in the context of tourism reopening after a year of an almost complete halt in tourism activities because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also highlighted the heterogenetic responses to Airbnb within the community.

Details

International Journal of Tourism Cities, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-5607

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 January 2023

Innocent Otache, Innocent Patrick Alfa and Yakubu Ali

The purpose of this study is threefold: first, to determine whether civic education has a positive impact on voting intentions among the electorate; second, to establish whether…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is threefold: first, to determine whether civic education has a positive impact on voting intentions among the electorate; second, to establish whether attitudes towards voting behaviour (ATVB) mediate the relationship between civic education and voting intentions; and third, to determine whether educational level moderates the relationship between civic education and voting intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted a survey research design and a quantitative approach. Data were collected from a sample of 1,450 registered voters from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. A regression-based approach was adopted to test the study hypotheses using Hayes-PROCESS Macro 3.5.

Findings

The results indicate that civic education is positively associated with voting intentions. Further analysis reveals that ATVB significantly mediates the association between civic education and voting intentions. Additionally, educational level positively moderates the relationship between civic education and voting intentions.

Practical implications

The findings offer implications for governments and democratic institutions.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to provide empirical evidence of the mediating effect of ATVB and the moderating effect of educational level on the relationship between civic education and voting intentions. This study provides useful insights into the factors that influence voting intentions.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 April 2024

Farjam Eshraghian, Najmeh Hafezieh, Farveh Farivar and Sergio de Cesare

The applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in various areas of professional and knowledge work are growing. Emotions play an important role in how users incorporate a…

Abstract

Purpose

The applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in various areas of professional and knowledge work are growing. Emotions play an important role in how users incorporate a technology into their work practices. The current study draws on work in the areas of AI-powered technologies adaptation, emotions, and the future of work, to investigate how knowledge workers feel about adopting AI in their work.

Design/methodology/approach

We gathered 107,111 tweets about the new AI programmer, GitHub Copilot, launched by GitHub and analysed the data in three stages. First, after cleaning and filtering the data, we applied the topic modelling method to analyse 16,130 tweets posted by 10,301 software programmers to identify the emotions they expressed. Then, we analysed the outcome topics qualitatively to understand the stimulus characteristics driving those emotions. Finally, we analysed a sample of tweets to explore how emotional responses changed over time.

Findings

We found six categories of emotions among software programmers: challenge, achievement, loss, deterrence, scepticism, and apathy. In addition, we found these emotions were driven by four stimulus characteristics: AI development, AI functionality, identity work, and AI engagement. We also examined the change in emotions over time. The results indicate that negative emotions changed to more positive emotions once software programmers redirected their attention to the AI programmer's capabilities and functionalities, and related that to their identity work.

Practical implications

Overall, as organisations start adopting AI-powered technologies in their software development practices, our research offers practical guidance to managers by identifying factors that can change negative emotions to positive emotions.

Originality/value

Our study makes a timely contribution to the discussions on AI and the future of work through the lens of emotions. In contrast to nascent discussions on the role of AI in high-skilled jobs that show knowledge workers' general ambivalence towards AI, we find knowledge workers show more positive emotions over time and as they engage more with AI. In addition, this study unveils the role of professional identity in leading to more positive emotions towards AI, as knowledge workers view such technology as a means of expanding their identity rather than as a threat to it.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Expert briefing
Publication date: 28 February 2024

Many centrist and reformist candidates have been disqualified or declined to stand. This, together with the poor state of the economy and resentment over money spent abroad on…

1 – 10 of 251