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1 – 10 of 174This paper aims to check whether the bodily self-perception factor plays any role in (female) migrants’ alleged underuse of health services. Out of the four main reasons…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to check whether the bodily self-perception factor plays any role in (female) migrants’ alleged underuse of health services. Out of the four main reasons identified by scholars, the “cultural specificity” factor is tackled here from an intersectional perspective that envisages gender, migration and totalitarianism.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted on 20 Romanian women living in Spain. Two categories were analysed (body as image and body as discourse) to detect perceptions in consultations in Spain as compared to Romania. The assumption that their perceptions varied between the period prior and subsequent to the fall of the dictatorship was contrasted with the information provided by a sample of 25 Spanish women.
Findings
The analysis revealed perceptions of a more relaxed medical relationship for Romanian patients in Spain, hence the possibility that migration (normally stressful) gave them a sense of freedom and empowerment.
Originality/value
The intersectional perspective in health communication is original. This study opens a research avenue in health services’ underuse by migrants.
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Sexual violence’s alarming prevalence demands action to challenge the gendered and generational relations that sustain injustice. This chapter introduces a nuanced model of…
Abstract
Sexual violence’s alarming prevalence demands action to challenge the gendered and generational relations that sustain injustice. This chapter introduces a nuanced model of consent that, if utilised to inform adults’ everyday practices with children, could empower children to identify and engage in healthy relationships and manage sexual victimisation. Inadequate sex education in adolescence engenders harmful beliefs about consent, which hinder young people’s abilities to navigate sexual relationships and limit the extent to which sexual assault survivors can understand their trauma. Accordingly, effective consent education is critical to protect and empower all human beings. Drawing on decades of childhood studies research that exemplifies the ways in which children learn through experience, this chapter argues that, by practising consent with children, adults can facilitate children’s knowledge of this moral concept. To equip adults with the thorough understanding of consent necessary to engage in truly consensual relationships, this chapter presents a theoretical explanation of children’s agency, recognising that structure, personal elements, and relationships collectively influence, and are shaped by, children’s participation. Based on a recognition of parents’ distinct role in children’s education, this model is examined in the context of children’s experiences in the home. Specifically, this analysis considers the ethics of corporal punishment and explores parental practices that could better facilitate children’s learning. The themes in this chapter emphasise the dangers of assumptions and raise fundamental questions about the ways in which society approaches human dignity and justice.
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Through the lens of self-perception theory, this paper investigates how avatar design (i.e. avatar user similarity) affects users' self-awareness and shapes their task engagement…
Abstract
Purpose
Through the lens of self-perception theory, this paper investigates how avatar design (i.e. avatar user similarity) affects users' self-awareness and shapes their task engagement and performance in the Metaverse.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a 2 (avatar user similarity: high vs low) × 2 (task type: procedural vs creative) lab experiment and collected data from questionnaires, the recording of users' behavior during tasks and their actual task performance.
Findings
The results show that higher avatar user similarity leads to higher task engagement in general. Furthermore, while a similar avatar promotes users to regulate their behaviors and achieve better performance in a procedural task, high similarity also inhibits users' creativity by invoking habitual thinking, resulting in worse performance in generating original ideas in a creative task.
Originality/value
This study is expected to contribute to the information systems literature by revealing the value of avatar design and providing new perspectives on improving users' experiences in the Metaverse.
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Berta Schnettler, Horacio Miranda, German Lobos, Jose Sepulveda, Ligia Orellana, Marcos Mora and Klaus Grunert
The purpose of this paper is to explore differences in consumers’ willingness to purchase functional foods (FFs) in southern Chile in terms of socio-demographic characteristics…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore differences in consumers’ willingness to purchase functional foods (FFs) in southern Chile in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, consumer knowledge, and subjective well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was carried out among 400 people in southern Chile. The questionnaire measured willingness to buy FFs with 18 different benefits, knowledge about FFs, socio-demographic characteristics and satisfaction with life and with food-related life.
Findings
Two dimensions were found for benefits sought in FFs: disease prevention and improvement of bodily functions. Cluster analysis was used to distinguish three types of consumers. The majority (59.8 per cent) showed a significant disposition to buy FFs that prevent diseases or improve bodily functions. Others (25.8 per cent) were less inclined to buy either type of FF. A minority (14.5 per cent) showed greater disposition to buy FFs which improve bodily functions. The types differ according to the size of family, presence and age of children at home, ethnic origin, education, socio-economic status, knowledge about FFs and satisfaction with life and food-related life.
Research limitations/implications
This study was conducted in the context of only one country in South America. The results reveal a high interest to buy FFs in order to improve bodily functions, and this preference may be associated to lifestyle changes in the population in Latin American countries.
Originality/value
This study provides information on the willingness to buy FFs and relates it to ethnic origin and satisfaction with food-related life. People from ethnic minorities are less inclined to buy FFs. People who are more inclined to buy FFs are more satisfied with their life and their food-related life.
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Seth Ketron and Kelly Naletelich
Although vanity sizing has often been conceptualized as “smaller is better” in apparel sizing, this perspective is limited in that many products would be more negatively perceived…
Abstract
Purpose
Although vanity sizing has often been conceptualized as “smaller is better” in apparel sizing, this perspective is limited in that many products would be more negatively perceived if viewed as smaller in size. In such scenarios, “larger is better” would be a more appropriate heuristic. Thus, vanity sizing should be redefined as a practice in achieving social desirability in size labeling. Namely, vanity sizing actually seeks to induce feelings of either smallness or largeness depending on the context. The purpose of this paper is to address this redefinition.
Design/methodology/approach
The current research provides initial empirical support of this redefinition with two studies that utilize a blended qualitative/quantitative approach and a hypothetical product scenario in which “larger is better” (bras).
Findings
Study 1 indicates that consumers seek to feel smaller and larger across different bodily areas. Further, study 2 found that compared to consumers of larger cup sizes, consumers of smaller cup sizes react more favorably to larger-than-typical cup sizes, forming more positive cognitive/affective reactions. Further, these cognitive/affective reactions influence purchase intentions, confirming findings of prior literature concerning attitudes and purchase intentions. Overall, the findings support the need to redefine vanity sizing.
Originality/value
The present conceptualization of vanity sizing is too narrow and limits understanding of the implications of vanity sizing across all sizing situations. Thus, this paper redefines vanity sizing and furnishes empirical evidence that such redefinition is warranted.
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Jayme Stewart, Jessie Swanek and Adelle Forth
Despite representing a relatively small portion of the population, those who experience repeat victimization make up a significant share of all sexual and violent crimes, implying…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite representing a relatively small portion of the population, those who experience repeat victimization make up a significant share of all sexual and violent crimes, implying that perpetrators target them repeatedly. Indeed, research reveals specific traits (e.g. submissiveness) and behaviors (e.g. gait) related to past victimization or vulnerability. The purpose of this study is to explore the link between personality traits, self-assessed vulnerability and nonverbal cues.
Design/methodology/approach
In all, 40 undergraduate Canadian women were videotaped while recording a dating profile. Self-report measures of assertiveness, personality traits and vulnerability ratings for future sexual or violent victimization were obtained following the video-recording. The videotape was coded for nonverbal behaviors that have been related to assertiveness or submissiveness.
Findings
Self-perceived sexual vulnerability correlated with reduced assertiveness and dominance and increased emotionality (e.g. fear and anxiety). Additionally, nonverbal behaviors differed based on personality traits: self-touch was linked to lower assertiveness, dominance and extraversion and higher submissiveness, emotionality and warm-agreeableness.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of its kind to consider the relationships between personality, self-perceived vulnerability and nonverbal behaviors among college-aged women. Potential implications, including enhancing autonomy and self-efficacy, are discussed.
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This paper aims to draw together research which links the moral panic about the “adipose” body during the first five years of the millennium to the worsening mental health of US…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to draw together research which links the moral panic about the “adipose” body during the first five years of the millennium to the worsening mental health of US teens. Noting the way medical advocacy biased the news coverage in the quality press in the UK, the USA and Canada through its emphasis on weight gain in child and youth populations, it reviews evidence of a relationship between eating disorders, body dissatisfaction and the mental health of teens.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on research which suggests that teens ' misperception of their body can impact their mental health, the paper proposes reflexive embodiment, defined as the way an individual interprets and evaluates their own body morphology in relationship to the medical profession’s articulation of norms for weight classes, as a new construct for exploring the impact of the medical debates about obesity.
Findings
Using data sets from the US Youth Risk Behavior Survey gathered in 2001 and 2007 to compare both weight status and weight class accuracy, the study finds evidence that teens ' perceptions of their bodies have changed more than their actual weight. Noting a complex relationship between teens ' misperception of their weight status and mental health risks associated with depression and suicide, the paper explores ways that the medical stigmatization of the adipose body, and the ensuing consequences of gendered weight bias, have consequences for teen well-being.
Research limitations/implications
This case study only provides an exploratory analysis of an hypothesis suggested by the theory of reflexive embodiment.
Practical implications
Refocus health professions on the mental health of teens.
Social implications
Evidence of health implications of reflexive embodiment adds to a growing critique of medicalization of adipose body morphology.
Originality/value
The analysis of data contributes to a growing concern about medical stigmatization of “fat” bodies as unhealthy.
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Ashleigh McFarlane and Emma Samsioe
This paper demonstrates how #50+ fashion Instagram influencers contribute to the social construction of cognitive age through their aesthetic digital labours.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper demonstrates how #50+ fashion Instagram influencers contribute to the social construction of cognitive age through their aesthetic digital labours.
Design/methodology/approach
Non-participative netnography was used in the form of visual and textual analysis of over 300 Instagram posts including images, captions and comments.
Findings
Findings reveal how outfit selection, background choices and bodily poses redefine expressions of look age through forms of aesthetic labour. Post-construction, hashtag and emoji usage illustrates how influencers refrain from directly posting about the fashion brands that they endorse. Instead, image and personality work visually attracts followers to politically charged posts which directly impact upon the social and cultural contexts where influencers are active. This ties into present-day wider societal discourses.
Practical implications
50+ fashion influencers have high spending power. Fashion brands should refrain from using #brand and collaborate in more subtle ways and concentrate on challenging the negativity of the old-age cliché.
Originality/value
The study advances theory on the social construction of age in fashion studies by combining cognitive age with aesthetic labour to identify the characteristics of the social phenomenon of the 50+ Instagram influencer. It applies principles from critical visual analysis to digital context, thereby advancing the qualitative netnographic toolkit.
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Tobias Otterbring, Peter Samuelsson, Jasenko Arsenovic, Christian T. Elbæk and Michał Folwarczny
Previous research on salesperson-customer proximity has yielded mixed results, with some studies documenting positive proximity effects on shopping responses and others…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research on salesperson-customer proximity has yielded mixed results, with some studies documenting positive proximity effects on shopping responses and others demonstrating the reverse. To reconcile such mixed findings, this paper aims to test whether and how salesperson proximity influences a series of key customer outcomes in actual retail settings using sample sizes that are considerably larger than most former investigations.
Design/methodology/approach
We conducted two high-powered field studies (N = 1,312) to test whether salesperson‐customer proximity influences consumers’ purchase behavior and store loyalty. Moreover, we investigated whether the short-term effects on purchase behavior were moderated by the extent to which the consumption context had a clear connection to consumers’ own bodies.
Findings
Salesperson proximity increased purchase incidence and spending in consumption contexts with a bodily basis (e.g. clothes, beauty, health), suggesting that consumers “buy their way out” in these contexts when a salesperson is violating their personal space. If anything, such proximity had a negative impact on consumers’ purchase behavior in contexts that lacked a clear bodily connection (e.g. building materials, furniture, books). Moreover, the link between proximity and consumer responses was mediated by discomfort, such that a salesperson standing close-by (vs farther away) increased discomfort, with negative downstream effects on shopping responses. Importantly, the authors found opposite proximity effects on short-term metrics (purchase incidence and spending) and long-term outcomes (store loyalty).
Research limitations/implications
Drawing on the nonverbal communication literature and theories on processing fluency, the current work introduces a theoretically relevant boundary condition for the effects of salesperson-customer proximity on consumers’ purchase behavior. Specifically, the bodily basis of the consumption context is discussed as a novel moderator, which may help to explain the mixed findings in this stream of research.
Practical implications
Salesperson-customer proximity may serve as a strategic sales tactic to improve short-term revenue in settings that are closely tied to consumers’ own bodies and characterized by one-time purchases. However, as salesperson proximity was found to be associated with lower store loyalty, irrespective of whether the shopping setting had a bodily basis, the risk of violating consumers’ personal space may have costly consequences from a long-term perspective.
Originality/value
The present field studies make three central contributions. First, we introduce a novel moderator for proximity effects in various sales and service settings. Second, we test the focal hypotheses with much higher statistical power than most existing proximity studies. Finally, we document that salesperson-customer proximity ironically yields opposite results on short-term metrics and long-term outcomes, thus underscoring the importance of not solely focusing on sales effectiveness when training frontline employees.
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Aira Huttunen, Noora Hirvonen and Lotta Kähkönen
This study aims to increase the understanding of the early-stage identity-related information needs of transgender people.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to increase the understanding of the early-stage identity-related information needs of transgender people.
Design/methodology/approach
This study draws on social constructivism, queer theory and information practice research. In accordance with the queer phenomenological approach which emphasises lived experiences, data was collected by interviewing 25 individuals who identified as transgender. The data was analysed with a focus on how early-stage information needs are formed into conscious information needs.
Findings
The formation of early-stage information needs were conceptualised as a chain including a trigger for information seeking, finding the right words and understanding the experience. Especially the bodily changes starting at puberty were strong causes of discomfort causing friction between the subjects' own gendered body and their gender experience, even leading to gender dysphoria. Finding words to describe the experience played an important role in the process of identity formation. In many cases this was difficult because of the lack of accurate and relevant information.
Social implications
Providing information especially of varying transgender experiences is vital for individuals trying to understand and verbalise their gender identity.
Originality/value
This study provides an understanding of the early-stage information needs described by transgender people and the process of building identities through disorientation. This study suggests that early-stage information needs are a valid concept to help understand how embodied experiences and the friction between the lived experience and the social world can lead to information seeking.
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