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21 – 30 of 62Pilgrimage brings humans and other-than-humans together through a dual process – movement across space and the transformation of space through the process of sacralisation. This…
Abstract
Purpose
Pilgrimage brings humans and other-than-humans together through a dual process – movement across space and the transformation of space through the process of sacralisation. This paper aims to explore this dual process by outlining the development of qualitative research on contemporary pilgrimage where the dominant representational approach which focuses on human agency has been complemented by a relational perspective where statues, springs and rocks, for example, are seen as possessing their own agency that influences human action.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper describes the development of qualitative research on contemporary pilgrimage by bringing together both the representational and relational approach and drawing on the author’s experience of pilgrimage over many years and his reflections on that experience as a trained qualitative researcher.
Findings
This paper explores the ways in which the dominant representational approach in pilgrimage studies can be complemented by the relational approach by drawing on the author’s experience of pilgrimage in three different contexts
Originality/value
The paper is original by bringing together both the representational and relational perspectives, contextualising them through the author’s experience of different types of pilgrimage and linking pilgrimage to the wider issues of migration, space and agency.
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Christine Earley, Carol Hartley and Patrick Kelly
Casino gambling in the United States has increased significantly in the last 30 years, going from just 2 states (Nevada and New Jersey) in 1988 to 41 states with over 980 casinos…
Abstract
Casino gambling in the United States has increased significantly in the last 30 years, going from just 2 states (Nevada and New Jersey) in 1988 to 41 states with over 980 casinos. This rapid growth of casino gambling has resulted in additional social costs, including workplace embezzlements committed by problem gamblers. Embezzlements contribute to greater fraud risk for organizations in casino regions and are expected to rise as casinos multiply and increasingly cater to convenience gamblers. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the proximity of casinos as a fraud risk factor for embezzlement. The authors recommend that internal and external auditors for companies located in casino areas assess this fraud risk and where appropriate, perform audit procedures to address this risk. There is also an opportunity for external auditors to assist those companies located in casino regions (that may lack internal auditors) in establishing fraud prevention programs.
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Avi Kay and Moshe Sharabi
This article aims to provide an examination of the impact of Jewish religious tradition on attitudes toward life domains among Jewish Israeli women. This is the first study of…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to provide an examination of the impact of Jewish religious tradition on attitudes toward life domains among Jewish Israeli women. This is the first study of importance of life-domains among women in the ultra-Orthodox community: the fastest growing population in Israel. This population exhibits a unique occupational pattern in which women are the primary economic actors. As women are transitioning into more central occupational and economic players throughout the world, this research has both theoretical and practical implications.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 567 employed Jewish Israeli women (309 secular, 138 traditional and 120 ultra-Orthodox) completed a survey about relative importance of life domains. Responses were analyzed via mean-comparison tests, ANOVA and regression analysis.
Findings
Surprisingly, religiosity was associated with higher lower work centrality. Work centrality was the highest among ultra-Orthodox women, and family centrality the lowest. Centrality of religion increased and centrality of leisure decreased with religiosity. No differences emerged regarding centrality of community.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this study is that attitudes toward life domains are based on one-time responses to one question. With that, the psychometric characteristics of the measure and its wide-spread use indicate its acceptability and applicability for the issue studied.
Practical implications
The data point to changes in the attitudes of ultra-Orthodox women toward life-domains. Those changes and the increased presence of these women at the workplace challenge both organizational and community leaders to reexamine how to best react to and benefit from the above.
Social implications
Ultra-orthodox society is a fundamentalist, enclave society that has, generally, been able to retain traditional internal social and familial patterns until now. However, increased exposure of community members – and particularly women – to a variety of organizations and individuals operating in them, may be contributing to changes in attitudes of those women regarding their traditional social and familial roles.
Originality/value
This study closes gaps in research examining the impact of religion and of gender on work attitudes. It does so among women in the fastest growing population of Israel, that exhibit a unique occupational pattern that can contribute to both theoreticians and policy planners regarding implications of the transition of women to more central economic roles.
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Latisha Reynolds, Samantha McClellan, Susan Finley, George Martinez and Rosalinda Hernandez Linares
This paper aims to highlight recent resources on information literacy (IL) and library instruction, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to highlight recent resources on information literacy (IL) and library instruction, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering all library types.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations and other materials on library instruction and IL published in 2015.
Findings
This paper provides information about each source, describes the characteristics of current scholarship and highlights sources that contain either unique or significant scholarly contributions.
Originality/value
The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and IL.
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This paper aims is to present and discuss the personal and educational underpinnings of undergraduate and graduate students’ persistence decision, identify initiatives and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims is to present and discuss the personal and educational underpinnings of undergraduate and graduate students’ persistence decision, identify initiatives and strategies academic libraries are adopting which correlates positively with student retention, identify and discuss the main causes leading to attrition and present James White Library’s experience contributing to student retention efforts at Andrews University.
Design/methodology/approach
A bibliographic search using databases in the areas of education and library and information science was conducted to review the literature on the relationship between library use and services and university students’ retention.
Findings
The main overall factors which contribute to student retention are: user-centered philosophy; involvement and engagement; student identification and sense of belonging; academic success and achievement; and point grade average (GPA) in the context of libraries, the main factors which contribute (or correlate) to student retention are: library instruction; spaces which provide social interaction and learning; and general materials’ use.
Research limitations/implications
This study does not provide results of actual in-person investigations conducted at libraries, rather, identifies presents, and discusses reported studies in the Education and Library & Information Science (LIS) literature.
Practical implications
A summary and structured presentation of the main issues concerning the library’s role in university student’s retention identifies the main personal, including non-academic and academic problems leading to student’s attrition, as well successful efforts and strategies which libraries are adopting to curtail this pressing problem within academic institutions. The paper can be used as general guidelines which academic library managers and library service providers can adopt to contribute to the university’s overall efforts to increase its graduation rate.
Social implications
Higher education presupposes large expenditures from providers (Universities) and students. Millions of dollars are spent by both parties each year without yielding the expected results, considering that attrition levels can reach more than 40 per cent at any given university during an academic year in the USA. Also, purposeful or intentional expensive recruitment efforts and programs can be greatly curtailed by high attrition rates. However, these can be greatly diminished by successful retention strategies. Also, society is greatly benefited with the talents, skills, and services rendered by a professional with a higher education degree.
Originality value
This study organizes and systematizes the many study results, ideas, and considerations concerning academic libraries and student retention which are dispersed in the literature of the field, allowing the reader and practitioner to better understand the theoretical and practical issues concerning this subject. It provides the reader with practical experiences and data which will enhance one’s decision-making process in developing retention policies and strategies at the library level.
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Multiple research studies show a positive correlation between library usage and student retention. At the same time, no formal research studies focusing on the effect of library…
Abstract
Purpose
Multiple research studies show a positive correlation between library usage and student retention. At the same time, no formal research studies focusing on the effect of library usage on LGBT student persistence and retention exist. The purpose of this paper is to provide information about today’s LGBT undergraduates, their personal and academic needs, and how academic libraries may meet those needs.
Design/methodology/approach
The author will challenge the grand narrative perpetuated by LGBT librarians that “libraries save [LGBT] lives” through a review of existing research literature on LGBT undergraduates and their personal and academic needs, where libraries play a role in LGBT undergraduate life, and whether or not academic libraries actually meet those needs.
Findings
No formal research studies on how libraries play a role in the retention of LGBT undergraduates exist. While LGBT undergraduates share many similarities with their peers, they seek out resources and spaces that the library may be able to provide independently or through collaborations with other units on campus. The existence of campus LGBT resource centers may impact LGBT undergraduate use of libraries.
Practical implications
The author will provide suggestions for academic libraries to create appropriate resources, services, and spaces for LGBT undergraduates so that they persist at their institutions and graduate.
Originality/value
This is the first research paper to address the role that academic libraries play in LGBT student retention.
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Birgit Kleymann and Hedley Malloch
The “classical” logic of organisations existing as generators of shareholder value, with the human “resources” seen as a means to this end, has been the subject of criticism…
Abstract
Purpose
The “classical” logic of organisations existing as generators of shareholder value, with the human “resources” seen as a means to this end, has been the subject of criticism regarding alienation in its members and the instrumentalisation both of work and of people. This paper aims to look at the way a medieval monastic rule is used to govern secular for‐profit organisations and trace its potential relevance as an alternative example for the structure and governance of organisations today.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on an in‐depth case study, the paper critically discusses the feasibility of applying aspects of the rule of Saint Benedict (RSB) to modern organisations.
Findings
Some of the principles of the RSB (such as fitting jobs around people, inverse delegation, and a critical attitude towards organisational growth) are quite different from standard management practice. Yet these monastic organisations turn out to be highly successful businesses with remarkably low employee turnover and high profitability.
Social implications
The paper claims that the principles of the RSB can contribute, outside of the monastic context, to the creation and running of more “humane” organisations.
Originality/value
The paper illustrates that several of these monastic communities are important commercial organisations in their own right, producing goods and services for the market place. Some are businesses with multi‐million euro turnovers, the scale of whose activities compels them to rely on lay employees from outside the monastery on conventional contracts of employment. Yet these outsiders are managed under the same principles of the RSB as the monks.
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Yaffa Moskovich and Ido Liberman
The purpose of this paper is to study examine the social identity of Ultra-Orthodox students enrolled in institutions of higher learning in Israel, and specifically the ways in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study examine the social identity of Ultra-Orthodox students enrolled in institutions of higher learning in Israel, and specifically the ways in which the identity of Ultra-Orthodox students who interact with other groups on campus compares to the identity of self-segregated Ultra-Orthodox students. Traditionally, Ultra-Orthodox students have preferred self-segregated educational institutions. Today, however increasing numbers of Ultra-Orthodox Jews are enrolling in regular academic institutions. Although they study in separate, homogeneous classrooms, they interact with secular students within the framework of the institution.
Design/methodology/approach
A four-part questionnaire dealing with attributions, feelings, personal identities, and social proximity was administered to the Ultra-Orthodox students.
Findings
As hypothesized, the students in self-segregated institutions exhibited a different identity than the students in secular institutions. Contrary to the hypotheses, the self-segregated students had positive feelings toward secular Israeli students and a greater desire for social proximity than the more integrated group. Explanations center on structural identity theory.
Originality/value
In this naturalistic study, the encounters between Ultra-Orthodox students and other students in their academic institution were random, unplanned, and unmonitored, unlike previous studies of intergroup relations in institutions of higher education. These students were not involved in cooperative tasks, which theoretically could help improve the relationships between Ultra-Orthodox and secular students.
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