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1 – 10 of over 1000Christine A. Grant, Louise M. Wallace and Peter C. Spurgeon
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of remote e‐working on the key research areas of work‐life balance, job effectiveness and well‐being. The study provides a set…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of remote e‐working on the key research areas of work‐life balance, job effectiveness and well‐being. The study provides a set of generalisable themes drawn from the key research areas, including building trust, management style and the quality of work and non‐working life.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is an exploratory study into the psychological factors affecting remote e‐workers using qualitative thematic analysis of eleven in‐depth interviews with e‐workers, across five organisations and three sectors. All participants worked remotely using technology independent of time and location for several years and considered themselves to be experts.
Findings
The paper provides insights into the diverse factors affecting remote e‐workers and produces ten emerging themes. Differentiating factors between e‐workers included access to technology, ability to work flexibly and individual competencies. Adverse impacts were found on well‐being, due to over‐working and a lack of time for recuperation. Trust and management style were found to be key influences on e‐worker effectiveness.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the exploratory nature of the research and approach the research requires further testing for generalisability. The emerging themes could be used to develop a wide‐scale survey of e‐workers, whereby the themes would be further validated.
Practical implications
Practical working examples are provided by the e‐workers and those who also manage e‐workers based on the ten emerging themes.
Originality/value
This paper identifies a number of generalisable themes that can be used to inform the psychological factors affecting remote e‐worker effectiveness.
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It has been at least twenty years since I was first alerted to the notion that my interest in a research topic arises from my unconscious. More recently, feminist theorists have…
Abstract
It has been at least twenty years since I was first alerted to the notion that my interest in a research topic arises from my unconscious. More recently, feminist theorists have developed the insight by arguing that integration of experience is helpful in defining research questions, as a source of data, to test findings and, in the words of Jean Bethke Elshtain, in assisting them to be less removed from the ‘wellsprings’ of their own ‘thought and action’. My aim in this article is to reconnect my experience with constructions of teachers in Australian children’s literature and to explore ways in which they are imagined in the literature. In my initial foray into this topic, I used Maurice Saxby’s historical review of Australian children’s literature as a guide for data gathering. This linear, chronological approach, while probably a helpful place to start, is not one I can sustain with any passion. In this article, I am returning to my experience to find a starting point, acknowledging that history is a ‘process of intellectual production as well as discovery’
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Christine Anne Grant, Louise M. Wallace, Peter C. Spurgeon, Carlo Tramontano and Maria Charalampous
The purpose of this paper is to develop and provide initial validation for the new E-Work Life (EWL) Scale. This measure assesses a range of theoretically relevant aspects of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and provide initial validation for the new E-Work Life (EWL) Scale. This measure assesses a range of theoretically relevant aspects of the e-working experience related to four main areas: job effectiveness, relationship with the organisation, well-being and work-life balance.
Design/methodology/approach
This study presents structured item development. Internal validity and reliability were tested on a sample of 260 e-workers (65 per cent female, age range 25–74). Correlations of the EWL scale with a measure of general health were tested on a subsample of 119 workers to provide initial evidence of construct validity.
Findings
Exploratory factor analysis supported a 17-item scale assessing four factors: work-life interference, productivity, organisational trust and flexibility. Individual well-being was measured and a pattern of significant correlations against four factors as indicators of general health were found, including mental health and vitality.
Research limitations/implications
A new sample would confirm the strength of the EWL scale alongside further tests of validity. Coping strategies related to the scale would aid mapping of individual competencies for remote e-working to promote e-workers’ self-management, management style and organisational policy.
Practical implications
The EWL scale helps organisations to evaluate and support the well-being of remote e-workers. It provides measurement on three levels: individual, supervisory and organisational, whereby practical strategies for improvement can be linked to the scale.
Originality/value
The EWL scale completes a gap in the research by providing a measure aiding organisations to evaluate and support remote e-worker well-being.
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This article focuses on one court case concerning the regulation of Anti-Abortion protesting and asks: (1) Do the various actors involved in this case recognize a tension between…
Abstract
This article focuses on one court case concerning the regulation of Anti-Abortion protesting and asks: (1) Do the various actors involved in this case recognize a tension between their actions and their broader beliefs concerning the regulation of political protests? (2) If this tension is recognized, how do the actors resolve it, and if it is not recognized, why is it not? While concerned with legal consciousness and cognitive dissonance, the article is framed by broader questions concerning tolerance and the interaction of law and political passions.
In her regular column examining key issues facing community safety practitioners, Sarah Morton from Matrix Research and Consultancy considers evaluation.Everyone agrees that…
Abstract
In her regular column examining key issues facing community safety practitioners, Sarah Morton from Matrix Research and Consultancy considers evaluation.Everyone agrees that evaluation allows services to systematically investigate the effectiveness of interventions, determining their value, allowing for evidence‐informed decision‐making and increasing the accountability of such decisions.
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Ricardo R. Andrade and Christine E. Kollen
As any library strives to improve services and make them increasingly relevant, planning for change has become routine. During 2011, the University of Arizona's Libraries…
Abstract
As any library strives to improve services and make them increasingly relevant, planning for change has become routine. During 2011, the University of Arizona's Libraries undertook extensive assessments in order to develop and improve services in support of research and grant services so that campus-wide achievements in research, scholarship, and creative works could improve. A project explored ways for the library to become more effective at increasing research and grant support to faculty, researchers, and graduate students in a scalable way, and to help the campus increase achievements in research, scholarship, and creative works. The project defined the library's role in research and grant activities and explored ways for the library to be involved at optimal points in these cycles. This chapter discusses the process developed for assessing what new research and grant support services the library might want to develop. This involved interviewing peer university libraries and surveying faculty and graduate students at the University of Arizona about their research and grant needs. The chapter also describes how results were analyzed to identify potential new library services. The project team recommended new services which were presented to the library for inclusion in its Strategic Plan. The methodology presented in this chapter can be used by any type of library for developing new services to include in their strategic plans.
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Since the 1994 regime change many South African public libraries have been destroyed by the communities they were serving which raises questions about how communities perceive…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the 1994 regime change many South African public libraries have been destroyed by the communities they were serving which raises questions about how communities perceive these libraries. With the loss of activist library organizations, few insights are gained from activists or critical librarianship on how to respond. In this context, the chapter examines public library social inclusion and poverty alleviation initiatives, and government conditional grants to public libraries.
Methodology/approach
Using a transformative paradigm, a qualitative approach and thematic analysis, the chapter examines recent literature on public libraries and social inclusion, and local annual and parliamentary reports. A mini-survey yields case study material.
Findings
The findings augment the scarce store of recent evidence on South African public libraries. Most provinces had built new libraries, upgraded others, and installed information and communication infrastructure to enhance access. Problems included governance, fund wastage, and staffing. The libraries have great potential to improve their relevance for local communities.
Research limitations
The poor survey response rate and lack of a comprehensive national database on public libraries limits the research. Annual reports are uneven in comprehensiveness, making comparison difficult.
Practical implications
The chapter recommends (i) creating a national information system to monitor service delivery via the grants and enable rigorous investigation of their impact and (ii) increased government support for public library social inclusion initiatives.
Originality/value
First hand evidence from local librarians and official reports demonstrates the grants’ effect on public library promotion of social inclusion and shows what is possible in a situation of historical inequities.
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Shagoofa Rakhshanda, Sahlil Ahmed, Samuel Saidu, Christine Nderitu, Basanta Thapa, Abdul Awal, Nadia Farnaz, Atiya Rahman, Bachera Aktar and A.S.G. Faruque
About half of the 16% adolescents in the world experience menstruation. Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is a health concern and challenge especially in humanitarian situations…
Abstract
Purpose
About half of the 16% adolescents in the world experience menstruation. Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is a health concern and challenge especially in humanitarian situations as experienced by Myanmar Rohingya refugees living in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. This study aims to assess knowledge, practice and influencing factors for MHM among Rohingya refugee adolescent girls of 14–18 years.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used both quantitative (a cross-sectional survey with 340 adolescent girls through a structured questionnaire) and qualitative (7 in-depth interviews with adolescent girls and 2 focus group discussions with the mothers) approaches. Quantitative data, analyzed using STATA version 13.0, were supported by qualitative data, grouped into themes and presented as matrix.
Findings
Around 51% adolescent girls learned about menstruation after menarche, at the mean age of 12 years, from their mothers and older sisters. About 75% used sanitary pads as absorbents which they got mostly as relief material or bought from local stores (83%); the rest used cloths and other materials (25%). About 57% of the respondents disposed of their absorbent by burying. Those who used reusable absorbents washed them with soap and water (40%) and mostly dried them indoors (17%). Factors influencing healthy MHM practice included the use of absorbent, privacy, disposal, washing and drying of clothes, physical activities, hygiene and pain management. Adolescents with secondary or higher education were four times more likely to have better MHM practice (odds ratio = 4.27; confidence interval = 1.19–15.31) than those with no formal schooling.
Originality/value
This paper is based on a research undertaken as part of academic requirement.
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Maria Charalampous, Christine Anne Grant and Carlo Tramontano
This paper aimed to revise and further validate the published e-work life (EWL) scale. The EWL scale was originally developed to assess theoretically relevant aspects of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aimed to revise and further validate the published e-work life (EWL) scale. The EWL scale was originally developed to assess theoretically relevant aspects of the remote e-working experience related to four main areas: organisational trust, flexibility, work–life interference and productivity.
Design/methodology/approach
A number of changes were implemented to the scale (i.e. including new items, rewording of existing items) following a recent qualitative study conducted by the authors. The two studies outlined in this paper, conducted within discrete remote e-working populations, resulted in a validated and adjusted 20-item version of the scale.
Findings
Study 1 performs confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on data from a sample of 399 remote e-workers (57.9% female) in UK to check the factor structure of the revised version of the EWL scale and the reliability of the posited dimensions. Results provided support for a 20-item scale, replicating the factorial structure of the original version. Study 2 tests and confirms the factorial structure of the final 20-item EWL scale in an independent sample of 366 remote e-workers (48.6% female) in UK. Study 2 provides further evidence of EWL scale's reliability and validity, with the four factors of the scale being significantly correlated with positive mental health, detachment from work and technostress.
Originality/value
The EWL scale is a very timely and important tool which provides an overall framework of the key areas that are affecting remote e-workers’ life; whose greater understanding may better prepare organisations to adapt work arrangements and introduce support policies and guidance.
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