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1 – 5 of 5Comic books are finally being recognized as a scholarly medium in literature, art, history, popular culture, and many other fields of study. Blanket disapproval of comic books…
Abstract
Comic books are finally being recognized as a scholarly medium in literature, art, history, popular culture, and many other fields of study. Blanket disapproval of comic books, however, continues in all but a few academic libraries. Librarians do face philosophical and practical challenges to acquiring comic books, but it is both possible and desirable to do so. Valuable selection tools and Internet resources are examined, along with annotations of significant comic book creators.
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The aerospace industry relies heavily on protective treatments and processes to ensure that the structural integrity of an aircraft is not degraded in service as a result of…
Abstract
The aerospace industry relies heavily on protective treatments and processes to ensure that the structural integrity of an aircraft is not degraded in service as a result of operating under harsh corrosive conditions. Many of the chemicals and processes currently employed in metal finishing have been found to cause pollution and long‐term damage to the environment. Legislation and international agreements are now in place which ultimately will lead to a ban or major reduction in the use of many of these processes and coatings. The aircraft constructors and operators are seeking to adopt new protective schemes and treatments which will satisfy future environmental requirements.
Dina H. Bassiouni, Chris Hackley and Hakim Meshreki
Empirical studies using the technology acceptance model (TAM) have mainly focussed on utilitarian technologies. The purpose of this paper is to extend the TAM in order to develop…
Abstract
Purpose
Empirical studies using the technology acceptance model (TAM) have mainly focussed on utilitarian technologies. The purpose of this paper is to extend the TAM in order to develop a more nuanced understanding of the family dynamic around video game acceptance within households.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper proposes a new and unique adaptation of the TAM to study the acceptance of hedonic technologies in the context of parents’/carers’ acceptance and integration of video games within family-life dynamics. This adaptation of the TAM attempts to shed light on the social influences and intrinsic motivations behind parents’ and carers’ intentions to purchase video games for their children’s consumption.
Findings
The usefulness of video games lies in how enjoyable and entertaining they are, and this seems to be influenced by the convenience and ease of use that ultimately affects the behavioural intention towards video games. Convenience of use brings in social influences on perceived enjoyment and on parents’ actual behaviour towards video games. Some social influences seem to play a direct role in affecting children’s behaviour towards video games.
Research limitations/implications
The authors acknowledge that using Facebook as a tool for data collection has limitations attributed to selection bias. Another limitation is not giving voice to the children to account for their own subjective experience of video games and relying on their parents’ perceptions on the matter.
Social implications
This study advocated extending TAM within a hedonic framework in the context of examining parents’/carers’ acceptance of video games, while re-validating past theories of TAM and introducing new contextual variables adapted to address hedonic technologies.
Originality/value
Empirical studies using TAM have focussed on the utilitarian nature of technologies and very few considered hedonic technologies. This study’s key contribution to research lies in explaining the effects of parents’ perceived enjoyment, ease of use and convenience on the intention to purchase and play video games. The findings feed into work on the ethics and developmental issues around the marketing of video games to and for children.
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Christine D. Bataille and Emma Hyland
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how professional men in dual-career relationships craft and enact their fatherhood role ideologies during the transition to fatherhood…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how professional men in dual-career relationships craft and enact their fatherhood role ideologies during the transition to fatherhood. In particular, the authors focus on the impact that the development of a more involved approach to fatherhood has on the mother's ability to combine career and family.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilizes a longitudinal, qualitative methodology. Pre- and post-natal interviews were conducted with 18 professional men in dual-career heterosexual relationships.
Findings
Although the traditional mode of fatherhood that is rooted in breadwinning continues to be the dominant approach among working fathers in the US, new modes of more involved fathering are emerging. The results of the study indicate that a general shift away from a strict, gendered division of household labor is taking place in today's dual career couples, and this is leading to an increase in men's involvement in childcare. Further, although much of the extant research conceptualizes fatherhood as a role typology, the results reveal that all fathers are involved in caring for their babies, though to varying degrees. Thus the authors propose a continuum of involvement. Finally, the authors discovered how men are finding creative ways to use official and unofficial workplace flexibility to be more involved at home.
Originality/value
The findings offer novel insights into the factors that encourage involved fathering. The authors encourage organizations to create more supportive environments that foster involved fathering by extending paid parental leave benefits to men and providing more access to flexibility.
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Rommel O. Salvador, Adelina Gnanlet and Chris McDermott
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the use of unit-level functional flexibility on one particular patient outcome, unit-acquired pressure ulcers, and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the use of unit-level functional flexibility on one particular patient outcome, unit-acquired pressure ulcers, and the potential moderating influences of coworker support and workload.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses an archival approach, examining data from 68 hospital units.
Findings
The results indicate that a unit's higher use of functionally flexible nurses in one-quarter was associated with a higher number of pressure ulcers among the unit's patients the following quarter. This detrimental effect was significantly diminished when coworker support within the unit was high. Unit-level nurse workload did not have any moderating influence.
Research limitations/implications
One of the scholarly contributions of this study is that it links greater use of functionally flexible employees to a negative patient safety outcome at the unit level. As most of the variables used in the study were archival measures, future research could examine the replicability of these findings using other indicators and measures.
Practical implications
Beyond healthcare settings, the results prompt managers in industries where there has been growing use of functional flexibility (e.g., banking) to think about the associated unintended negative consequences. That said, the results also point to coworker instrumental support as a means by which to mitigate negative outcomes.
Originality/value
Although functional flexibility has been shown to positively correlate with a number of organizational performance indicators, this is one of the very few studies that has examined its negative consequences, particularly on patient safety.
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