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1 – 10 of 232This paper aims to draw attention to multicultural experience as a manager. It is an auto-ethnographic enquiry which comprises own experiences and intercultural and intra-cultural…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to draw attention to multicultural experience as a manager. It is an auto-ethnographic enquiry which comprises own experiences and intercultural and intra-cultural engagement of the author’s self in both mono-cultural and multicultural environments drawing from archival records of personal account of experience.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopted auto-ethnographic enquiry of the author’s experience in multicultural environment. The auto-ethnography as a research method is discussed along with its criticisms, validity, reliability and generalisability.
Findings
The findings include power distance, elitism in hiring practices, inclusivity of women, challenges in South Asian Muslim countries, challenges in the non-anglophone country and their implications for a practitioner.
Research limitations/implications
As the author employed an auto-ethnographic enquiry based on the author’s prior experience, this raises questions about wider generalisability and applicable contexts. Findings of the enquiry can be tested using further qualitative enquiries such as in-depth interviews with a sample of stakeholders in a multicultural environment.
Practical implications
The paper provides insights useful in managing in multicultural environments discussed. Also, it provides implications for policy makers in organisations. Practitioners can use the paper to get an insight into the markets the author already have been to and use the learning for decision-making during market development efforts.
Originality/value
Auto-ethnography in multicultural environment is scant. This auto-ethnographical enquiry provides original content of practitioner experience compared with the related theory.
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The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the use of an auto‐ethnographic life history can provide rich, original data to critically analyse the interplay between the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the use of an auto‐ethnographic life history can provide rich, original data to critically analyse the interplay between the socially constructed self, a career journey over time and societal change.
Design/methodology/approach
A reflexive auto‐ethnography is used as a conduit to explore a career journey. The author draws on the fluidity of ageing to make visible gendered organizational processes. The setting is New Zealand.
Findings
To understand the interplay of a career journey through a life history approach and intersectional analysis reinforces the life‐long significance of gender with ageing.
Originality/value
The author suggests that by reflecting on the complex interplay of one's own life through an intersectional approach can add a further dimension to scholarly thinking on the “doing” of intersectionality when considering the career journey of others.
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Narrative accounts of subjective consumer experience are, in one form or another, a staple of qualitative market research. They have an obvious connection with the literary form…
Abstract
Purpose
Narrative accounts of subjective consumer experience are, in one form or another, a staple of qualitative market research. They have an obvious connection with the literary form of creative non‐fiction (CNF), yet this connection has rarely been explored. Based on the assumption that writing craft is a neglected yet fundamental part of qualitative research practice, this paper seeks to contribute a new, literary‐based perspective to the interpretive turn in qualitative market research.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on a range of extant literature to draw out the distinguishing features of CNF, placing these in juxtaposition to biographical and narrative auto‐ethnographic consumer research. The overall aim is to begin to detail the particular qualities of writing that might contribute to better qualitative research. To assist in this quest the attempts at scholarly discussion in the paper are interpolated with a series of digressive interludes written in an auto‐biographical CNF style. These interludes are intended to exemplify aspects of the interpretive research mentality.
Findings
This is a conceptual paper seeking to draw attention to and develop a relatively neglected research agenda. The concluding reflections suggest some tangible consequences of this research. The paper suggests that a stronger focus on research writing craft through CNF can liberate the imagination of research respondents and enrich the analysis of narrative forms of qualitative data.
Originality/value
This paper addresses the vast area of narrative‐based qualitative research from a perspective which will be entirely new to many researchers and practitioners. It suggests tangible benefits that this new perspective could bring to the work of each.
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User involvement in research is entering the mainstream of traditional mental health research. In practice, there are diverse ways in which the process of involvement is…
Abstract
Purpose
User involvement in research is entering the mainstream of traditional mental health research. In practice, there are diverse ways in which the process of involvement is experienced by mental health service user researchers. This paper aims to explore two diverse experiences of involvement by the researcher.
Design/methodology/approach
Auto-ethnography is the research methodology used in this study; it combines a process of reflective writing and critical analysis which enables the author to explore experiences of being both a service user and academic researcher. Two accounts of the author’s involvement in mental health research are presented: one which builds on a consultation model and the other based on co-production principles.
Findings
Experiences of power-sharing and collaborative decision-making, alongside disempowerment, are discussed, leading to exploration of the theoretical and practical processes for promoting participation of users in research.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited because it is undertaken by one individual in a local setting, and is therefore is not generalisable; however, it provides useful insights into the diverse processes of involvement that many service users experience.
Practical implications
Recommendations are presented to support the involvement of service users in research, with final remarks offered considering the possible future implementation of this still emerging tradition.
Originality/value
This paper reflects on the experiences of one service user academic involved in research and highlights diverse experiences of both empowering and disempowering involvement, providing recommendations for best practice.
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Margarietha de Villiers Scheepers, Paul Williams, Vikki Schaffer, Anthony Grace, Carl Walling, Jenna Campton, Karen Hands, Deborah Fisher, Hannah Banks, Jo Loth and Aurora Scheelings
In contrast to prior studies examining burnout in academic employees, this paper explores how academic employee agency mitigates burnout risks in the context of the coronavirus…
Abstract
Purpose
In contrast to prior studies examining burnout in academic employees, this paper explores how academic employee agency mitigates burnout risks in the context of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and how this agency facilitates research productivity and influences well-being in the face of changes in learning and teaching practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use collaborative auto-ethnography (CAE) in the higher education (HE) sector to probe how an employee productivity group supported the group's members during the pandemic.
Findings
Thematic analysis revealed four emerging themes: burnout, beneficial habits for research productivity, blocking-out-time and belonging. The authors' findings suggest that by acknowledging and legitimising employee-initiated groups, feelings of neglect can be combatted. Purposeful employee groups have the potential to create a therapeutic, safe space and, in addition to the groups' productivity intent, diminish the negative effects of a crisis on organisational effectiveness.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature by utilising a CAE approach to provide greater insight into how academics enact agency by creating digital research workspaces, attending to the spatial dimensions of well-being especially during turbulent times.
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Allan Discua Cruz, Jose Mario Reyes Hernandez and Carlos Roberto Arias Arévalo
This study aims to focus on understanding the tensions experienced by government officials in introducing electronic government (e-government) policies to support entrepreneurs in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to focus on understanding the tensions experienced by government officials in introducing electronic government (e-government) policies to support entrepreneurs in a developing Latin American country.
Design/methodology/approach
This study relies on an in-depth qualitative approach based on collaborative and analytic auto-ethnography. The authors concentrate on tensions experienced by a government official and how they were addressed when introducing e-government policies to support entrepreneurs during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Findings
The findings reveal that paradoxical tensions occur as changes are demanded, multiple concerns are expressed and decisions about resources have to be made. The findings reveal sources of tensions from government, business and external sources. Addressing such tensions revolves around a diverse form of paradoxes dealing with contradictions in terms of speed vs thoroughness and short- vs long-term implications.
Research limitations/implications
The authors’ study provides several contributions. It advances understanding on the source and management of tensions experienced by government officials introducing e-government policies to support entrepreneurs during the Covid-19 pandemic. It also delineates multiple paradoxes experienced by government officials as new policies and systems were introduced. Finally, it offers a conceptual model explaining how government officials deal with multiple tensions emerging from the introduction of e-government policies in a developing country.
Originality/value
The prior literature has suggested that e-government initiatives would be guided by a prescriptive and tension-free process, driven by the interest to enhance governmental efficiency. This study reveals that developing e-government initiatives for entrepreneurs and existing businesses during the Covid-19 crisis was not immune to contradictions between government officials and the public. A conceptual model, based on multiple sources of tensions (government-related, business-related and external sources) and their management, is proposed. Implications and opportunities for further research are presented.
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The purpose of this paper is to present an evocative story “Resisting the Ban” which illustrates the ethical and pragmatic issues that nurses face when contending with smoking ban…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present an evocative story “Resisting the Ban” which illustrates the ethical and pragmatic issues that nurses face when contending with smoking ban policies in inpatient psychiatric settings.
Design/methodology/approach
The creative story “Resisting the Ban” was developed based on an organisational auto-ethnographic approach. The story was crafted through employing creative writing techniques and through framing and critiquing memories via several theoretical frames.
Findings
The story illustrates how smoking ban policies have created pragmatic and ethical issues on wards. The work practices of nurses have changed as have their relationships with patients. The liberties of involuntary patients have also been infringed.
Research limitations/implications
This approach can illuminate links between acts of resistance and issues associated with public policies.
Practical implications
The effects of smoking bans need to be considered more carefully particularly in relation to their effects on workers and patients. The social meaning of the smoking bans needs closer investigation. Policy needs to be recrafted so that it better addresses the liberties of involuntary patients. Also ward nurses need to be able to carry out their roles in a manner which is consistent with their values.
Social implications
Public policies, such as smoking bans, can produce negative consequences maligning relationships, practices and cultures. Critical auto-ethnography provides a means of understanding issues that have resulted from problematic policies.
Originality/value
Scholarly work conducted on the relationship between everyday resistance in workplaces and public policies is rare. This study offers new “insider” insights into the negative effects of a smoking ban policy in psychiatric inpatient settings.
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The purpose of this paper is to expand upon prior debates on reconceptualising reflexivity in order to encompass research communities and prospective thinking, based upon an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to expand upon prior debates on reconceptualising reflexivity in order to encompass research communities and prospective thinking, based upon an analysis of the development of a research question (RQ).
Design/methodology/approach
Ontologically, the author regards the development of a RQ as an inter-subjective process; epistemologically, the author regards investigating such processes as possible by identifying their relationality and dialogism “from within”; methodologically, the author constructed and abductively analysed data by performing an auto-ethnography as a PhD student.
Findings
The author suggests that developing an RQ evolves as relational learning and academic rationality. While the former concerns relations within a research community, the latter concerns prospective thinking. The author introduces the notion of an academically accepted RQ to suggest that this part of knowledge construction is shaped as much by research communities and prospective thinking as it is by the researcher.
Research limitations/implications
The author introduces and discusses the notion of social reflexivity as a possible way forward in the debate on reconceptualising reflexivity. Such notion encourages the exploration of relational learning and academic rationality in the construction of knowledge. It implies exposing issues related both to processes of assimilating prevailing academic literature and to contextual pressures faced when writing new ones.
Originality/value
While introducing social reflexivity, the author suggests a possible way to overcome the challenges of reconceptualising reflexivity. Also, the author provides a detailed description of how the author crafted the analysis of an inter-subjective process.
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The purpose of this study is to explore through the author’s personal experience the impact rebuilding the author’s well-being had on the author’s identity and efficacy as a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore through the author’s personal experience the impact rebuilding the author’s well-being had on the author’s identity and efficacy as a teacher. This describes the author’s experiences after the death of the author’s father and the effect of the author’s emotional state on the author’s personal and professional identity. It also explores how the author developed sustainable habits to cope with daily challenges.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts an auto-ethnographic approach utilizing journal entries and reflections collected over the years as part of the healing process. These will provide a descriptive view of the author’s emotional state in the years after the author’s father's death. The author employed this method to explore the author’s personal experiences and provide a better understanding of the connections between the reconstruction of the professional identity and the importance of well-being and mental health in light of a significant or transformative event.
Findings
The paper provides insights about the significance of a positive mind-set on the efficacy and performance of teachers. This suggests that there is a connection between the impact of improving the author’s well-being on a personal and professional level.
Originality/value
There is little research on how self-efficacy or coping strategies could have an impact on teachers. The paper offers a unique insight into teachers' emotional and academic identities.
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Charl de Villiers and Rouxelle de Villiers
This poem aims to examine the difficulties of getting qualitative research published.
Abstract
Purpose
This poem aims to examine the difficulties of getting qualitative research published.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach is informed by personal experience.
Findings
The poem reveals that it can be extremely hard to make it through the review process, but there are certain hidden opportunities. It focuses on one such opportunity.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, they are the first to examine the difficulties around the publication of qualitative research in this particular way and to come up with this unique solution. In addition, readers may find solace in the knowledge that their hardships are shared by others. The pressure to publish keeps mounting. This rap uses humour to alleviate the stress and makes the point that all of us have to deal with the situation.
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