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Article
Publication date: 1 December 2020

Swen Koerner, Mario S. Staller and André Kecke

The study compares the impact of two different pedagogical approaches in police training by assessing the knife defense performance of German police recruits against different…

Abstract

Purpose

The study compares the impact of two different pedagogical approaches in police training by assessing the knife defense performance of German police recruits against different types of knife attacks. Linear or nonlinear – which pedagogical approach leads to more efficient knife defense performance?

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 20 German state police recruits (w = 5, m = 15) were assigned to linear and nonlinear groups. The linear and nonlinear groups' performance on knife defense was assessed in a pretest, after a three-week training intervention in a posttest and eight weeks thereafter in a retention test, utilizing a mixed-method design (Sendall et al., 2018).

Findings

Quantitative data on knife defense performance suggest a lastingly better performance of the nonlinear group: in the retention test, participants of the nonlinear group were hit less (p = 0.029), solved the attack faster (p = 0.044) and more often (81.8%) than participants of the linear group (55.6%). In contrast, qualitative data reveal that, despite of evidence for a high level of perceived competence, the nonlinear teaching of knife defense skills has been accompanied by considerable uncertainties, affected by the lack of techniques and the focus on principles and operational parameters only.

Originality/value

It is the first study assessing the impact of different pedagogical approaches in police training. For the practice of police trainers, the results provide empirical orientations for an evidence-based planning of and reflection on pedagogical demands within their training (Mitchell and Lewis, 2017).

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 44 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 March 2023

Gillian Bartle

This research investigated how students are becoming teachers of primary school (ages 5–11) physical education (PE), using a physical literacy (PL) approach (Whitehead, 2010)…

Abstract

Purpose

This research investigated how students are becoming teachers of primary school (ages 5–11) physical education (PE), using a physical literacy (PL) approach (Whitehead, 2010). Primarily methodological, the purpose was to disrupt how to investigate this topic since research highlights that the philosophy underpinning PL makes the concept difficult to operationalize (Shearer et al., 2018).

Design/methodology/approach

PE settings are inherently lively, and the author retained this in the analytic insights from what she called a “methodological meshwork” (Law, 2004; Ingold, 2006). Informed by phenomenology, posthumanism and sociomaterialism, data gathering included observations, interviews with artefacts, with humans, and tweets as part of the methodological meshwork. Diagrammatic presentations accompany written text, whilst also doing work in themselves (Decuypere and Simon, 2016). The author followed the actors (Adams and Thompson, 2016), thus entered the middle of data, such as lesson plan or physical education equipment.

Findings

Onto-epistemological entanglements (Barad, 2007) are presented in an interweaving format. Thus, theory is discussed alongside the empirical and shows that a PL informed approach to PE is evident in multiple places-spaces.

Originality/value

Broader issues are raised about methodological assumptions that inform investigations of PL and practice generally. It is hoped that these may be relevant to a wider professional audience as well as those in physical and teacher education.

Details

Qualitative Research Journal, vol. 23 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1443-9883

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 November 2014

Bernard Scott and Abhinav Bansal

The purpose of this paper is to explain some phenomena observed in the acquisition of motor skills: the loss of conscious access to knowledge of the structure of a skill and the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain some phenomena observed in the acquisition of motor skills: the loss of conscious access to knowledge of the structure of a skill and the awareness that an error has been made prior to the receipt of knowledge of results. Although there are rich descriptive accounts of skill acquisition in the literature, there are no satisfactory explanatory models of the cognitive processes involved. The paper provides such a model.

Design/methodology/approach

In the 1970s, the first author implemented a computer program model of the cognitive processes involved in learning and skill acquisition, based on a series of empirical investigations. Recently, with assistance from the second author, the model has been reviewed, updated and re-implemented. The paper sets this work in the broader context of a theory of learning and teaching, conversation theory.

Findings

The model provides a constructivist account of skill acquisition and associated phenomena. The model provides theoretical foundations for conversation theory.

Practical implications

The model adds to the understanding of motor skill acquisition and to the understanding of processes of learning and teaching in general.

Originality/value

The model and its interpretation are an original contribution to the skills acquisition literature.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 43 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 July 2015

Laura Senier, Matthew Kearney and Jason Orne

This mixed-methods study reports on an outreach clinics program designed to deliver genetic services to medically underserved communities in Wisconsin.

Abstract

Purpose

This mixed-methods study reports on an outreach clinics program designed to deliver genetic services to medically underserved communities in Wisconsin.

Methodology/approach

We show the geographic distribution, funding patterns, and utilization trends for outreach clinics over a 20-year period. Interviews with program planners and outreach clinic staff show how external and internal constraints limited the program’s capacity. We compare clinic operations to the conceptual models guiding program design.

Findings

Our findings show that state health officials had to scale back financial support for outreach clinic activities while healthcare providers faced increasing pressure from administrators to reduce investments in charity care. These external and internal constraints led to a decline in the overall number of patients served. We also find that redistribution of clinics to the Milwaukee area increased utilization among Hispanics but not among African-Americans. Our interviews suggest that these patterns may be a function of shortcomings embedded in the planning models.

Research/Policy Implications

Planning models have three shortcomings. First, they do not identify the mitigation of health disparities as a specific goal. Second, they fail to acknowledge that partners face escalating profit-seeking mandates that may limit their capacity to provide charity services. Finally, they underemphasize the importance of seeking trusted partners, especially in working with communities that have been historically marginalized.

Originality/Value

There has been little discussion about equitably leveraging genetic advances that improve healthcare quality and efficacy. The role of State Health Agencies in mitigating disparities in access to genetic services has been largely ignored in the sociological literature.

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1978

N.J. Adnett and A. Tennant

Since the war there has been increased government intervention in the operation of the economy. Its objectives have been those of promoting growth, full employment, price…

Abstract

Since the war there has been increased government intervention in the operation of the economy. Its objectives have been those of promoting growth, full employment, price stability and a favourable balance of trade. The belief that a major reason for the failure of the economy to achieve these objectives was manpower constraints, led to governments intervening into labour markets. One feature of this movement has been the particular concern with the supply of skilled workers. This concern stemmed from the belief that the skilled labour market was characterised by persistent shortages and large cyclical fluctuations in the training of skilled workers.

Details

Journal of European Industrial Training, vol. 2 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0590

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2024

Helene Langbein

This study aims to analyze the effect the liberalization of industrial relations in Germany has had on trade unions’ influence on companies’ decisions. Particular attention is…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the effect the liberalization of industrial relations in Germany has had on trade unions’ influence on companies’ decisions. Particular attention is given to European measures of flexibilizing company law and how they affect industrial relations in Germany.

Design/methodology/approach

After presenting a theoretical basis regarding industrial relations and corporate governance, the paper then demonstrates, via a case study, the effects of the flexible European company law. It examines the strategic avoidance of trade union activity at SAP, a case that ended up before the European Court of Justice.

Findings

The flexibility of European company law allows companies to limit the influence of trade unions on company decisions. Limiting trade unions' internal participation weakens their position overall. Precautionary measures to protect employees’ rights help to reduce the dangers of this process.

Originality/value

The influence of European law brings a new perspective to the transformation of the German industrial relations model. The analysis of the strategy of using the legal type of the European company (Societas Europaea) to limit the internal activity of trade unions demonstrates the connection between institutional settings and corporate governance.

Details

Critical Perspectives on International Business, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2012

Pérsio Penteado Pinto Martins, João Maurício Gama Boaventura, Adalberto Americo Fischmann, Benny Kramer Costa and Renata Giovinazzo Spers

This article aims to describe a qualitative, exploratory study with the objective of developing scenarios for the road freight transport industry in Brazil and evaluating the

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Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to describe a qualitative, exploratory study with the objective of developing scenarios for the road freight transport industry in Brazil and evaluating the effectiveness of the method applied, which used the stakeholders of said industry as a means to identify the variables of the scenarios.

Design/approach/methodology

According to the classification scheme developed by Huss and Honton, the authors' method fits into the intuitive logics approach to scenarios, employing concepts of stakeholder analysis as proposed by Freeman. Primary data collection was conducted through key informant interviews, as outlined by Fetterman. The use of the method of intuitive logics combined with the stakeholder analysis evaluates the consistency of experts' opinions on the characteristics of stakeholders. Four environmental scenarios, distinct but equally plausible, were generated for the road freight transport industry as it was felt that more than four scenarios tends to be too complex.

Findings

The method applied produced scenarios distinctive enough to classify them as contrasting, accounting for macroenvironmental variables and variables determined by influential stakeholders in the analyzed industry. Organized and connected, these variables produced precise end states that warrant consideration in the policies and strategies of industry players. The characteristics of the scenarios produced reveal that the method was effective. The authors found the most influential stakeholders in the industry to be the government, shipping clients, end consumers, logistics service providers, and trade associations. The industry's main uncertainties are tied to how the actions of government, shippers, and logistics service providers will unfold.

Research limitations/implications

Some limitations could be identified in the method. One refers to the absence of procedures to govern the chronology of events at the time of preparation of scenario plots. Another shortcoming is the third and final stage of the research; the authors observed some weakness in the method when defining a variable that is independent because it can be independent of the variables selected for the last step but dependent on others considered but not selected.

Practical implications

The results of the study can stimulate reflection of stakeholders on factors that will affect their decision making, stimulate understanding of the conditions for sustainability of the industry, and identify business opportunities and necessary strategic resources for the success of organizations in the future.

Social implications

The transport industry plays a vital role in factors that are paramount for the economical development of a country, such as exploration of resources and mass production, and, in Brazil, road freight transport is of particular importance. The research can guide public policy in regulating and investing in industry, since the plots facilitate the understanding of the consequences of causal relationships as well as the final states resulting from these. The scenarios reveal causal relationships strongly influenced by the stakeholder “government”, especially regarding investment in infrastructure, regulation and supervision of the industry.

Originality/value

Application of the method proposed by Boaventura and Fischmann to the road freight transport industry generated distinct, but equally plausible scenarios. The method considered the key uncertainties as dichotomous variables. The scenarios were different since combinations of final states of the key uncertainties led to a different logic or rationale. The authors may state that this particular application contributed towards improvement of the method, as it tested the method's logic when applied to a complex environment influenced by many stakeholders.

Details

Foresight, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6689

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2006

Veysel Kula and Ekrem Tatoglu

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between board process attributes and company performance of family‐owned companies within an emerging country context.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between board process attributes and company performance of family‐owned companies within an emerging country context.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey questionnaire was developed and conducted on a sample of privately‐held Turkish companies where a total of 386 usable questionnaires were returned. From the original data set a sub‐sample of 266 firms with majority family ownership was created. Based on the extant literature, a set of 18 directors' collective attributes and 15 directors' individual attributes were identified as potentially relevant for company performance. Relying on the perceptions of the respondents, multiple subjective measures of company performance were adopted.

Findings

Company performance is found to be positively related to the directors' collective and individual attributes which are associated with access to information, effectiveness of board, observance of fiduciary responsibility and performance evaluation.

Practical implications

The essential implication of the study for establishing a desirable board climate is the necessity of having a keen focus on information. Sticking to fiduciary responsibility and application of performance evaluations are also indispensable attributes of high performance companies. These attitudes all combined seem to culminate in effective board process.

Originality/value

While the subject of corporate governance is gaining an increasing attention from both academic and business circles, there is a dearth of research on board process attributes and their impact on company performance. This paper, therefore, aims to fill this lacuna by examining the relationship between board process attributes and company performance within a big emerging country context.

Details

Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society, vol. 6 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-0701

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1999

Béatrice Rumpler and Sylvie Calabretto

This work is the second part of a European project called BAMBI (Better Access to Manuscripts and Browsing of Images). In the initial BAMBI project, we developed a workstation for…

Abstract

This work is the second part of a European project called BAMBI (Better Access to Manuscripts and Browsing of Images). In the initial BAMBI project, we developed a workstation for historians, and more particularly philologists, which allows them to make transcriptions, annotation, indexing, etc. on manuscripts. In this paper, we present the design of the virtual library based on BAMBI, allowing philologists to work on ancient manuscripts within the Internet network. Our approach for the Web implementation of the BAMBI workstation is based on the reuse of the local BAMBI software and on the ActiveX approach.

Details

Library Review, vol. 48 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0024-2535

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 April 2018

Maxime Weigert

This study aims to analyse the business model of Jumia Travel, an innovative online travel agency (OTA) that operates in African markets. Focusing on market conditions and…

1283

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyse the business model of Jumia Travel, an innovative online travel agency (OTA) that operates in African markets. Focusing on market conditions and consumer behaviour in sub-Saharan Africa, where barriers to e-commerce are strong and tourism is viewed as a non-essential activity, the study examines the ways in which Jumia Travel carries out its development objectives in Côte d’Ivoire and revamps the OTA business model in relation to market constraints.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a descriptive-qualitative method based on desk research analysis of corporate sources, including websites, annual reports, public interviews of managers and newspaper articles. It also draws on primary sources collected through interviews with the Jumia Travel Côte d’Ivoire country manager.

Findings

The research shows that the demand- and supply-side constraints of African markets compel Jumia Travel to acquire new skills and competencies to adapt to and capture the Ivorian travel market. In doing so, the company expands the boundaries of the traditional OTA business models found in developed markets, demonstrating the dynamic capabilities that drive OTA business model transformation when deployed in a technologically immature market.

Research limitations/implications

The Jumia Travel venture provides an insight into the constraints faced by an OTA at the bottom of the pyramid and in emerging markets and shows concretely what skills and competencies are required to overcome them. It is also a new experiment still in the early stages of development, and this limits the proper assessment of sustainability of its business model.

Originality/value

This study examines a unique experience: an unconventional OTA that concentrates exclusively on domestic and regional markets in sub-Saharan Africa. The business model lens brings into focus the operational limits and innovation opportunities of developing an e-travel business in the fast-growing markets of Africa, characterised by major supply-side constraints, the predominance of low-income consumers and a poorly structured travel industry. In this context, OTAs’ innovation challenge is no longer to disrupt the travel sector in differentiating from competitors, as was the case in the mature markets of the first world but to develop business processes suitable for operating in the constraint-based environment of emerging markets and capturing the rising demand for travel products. This involves co-creating value in linking African hotel providers and clients and increasing economic returns from this value through various business model adaptations designed for and with local consumers and partners.

Details

Tourism Review, vol. 74 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1660-5373

Keywords

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