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1 – 10 of over 55000The chapter introduces the reader to select language of human sexuality and the definitions and characteristics of some key terms related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender…
Abstract
The chapter introduces the reader to select language of human sexuality and the definitions and characteristics of some key terms related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning/queer (LGBTQ+), identifies different theoretical perspectives of human sexuality and sexual orientation, and discusses select LGBTQ+ theories and concepts in a historical context that library and information science (LIS) professionals should consider while performing their roles related to information creation–organization–management–dissemination–research processes. It helps better understand the scope of what is LGBTQ+ information and traces its interdisciplinary connections to reflect on its place within the LIS professions. The chapter discusses these implications with the expectation of the LIS professional to take concrete actions in changing the conditions that lack fairness, equality/equity, justice, and/or human rights for LGBTQ+ people via the use of information. Important considerations in this regard include the need for an integrative interdisciplinary LGBTQ+ information model, growth of a diversified LGBTQ+ knowledge base and experiences, holistic LGBTQ+ information representations, LGBTQ+ activism, and participatory engagement and inclusion of LGBTQ+ users.
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Yaw Owusu-Agyeman and Gertrude Amoakohene
Following recent calls for partner institutions to address the seeming weaknesses in transnational education (TNE) delivery especially in host institutions, this article was…
Abstract
Purpose
Following recent calls for partner institutions to address the seeming weaknesses in transnational education (TNE) delivery especially in host institutions, this article was developed to generate new insights into how student engagement could explain perceived gains in TNE in a host university in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative research design was used to gather and analyse data from students (n = 197) who were enrolled in different masters' programmes with three different TNE partners from Europe. We relied on a survey to collect data from participants who were sampled by way of simple random sampling method. Consequently, the data was analysed using structural equation modelling.
Findings
Results revealed that the psychological, behavioural and sociocultural perspectives of student engagement have positive effect on students' perceived gains in TNE. Across the findings, student–lecturer engagement, student' assessment, students' sense of belonging and peer engagement demonstrated strong positive effect on students' perceived gains in TNE. The study further revealed that a supportive campus environment and cross-cultural interaction among students enhance students' sense of belonging.
Originality/value
The findings of this article add to an emerging body of literature that suggest that student engagement provides rich information for enhancing the experiences of students who enrol in TNE programmes. Additionally, by integrating supportive campus environment as part of the multidimensional construct which has not been addressed in previous TNE student engagement literature, this shows the significance of institutional structures and commitment to supporting student engagement.
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Jasenko Ljubica, Romie Frederick Littrell, Gillian Warner-Søderholm and Inga Minelgaite
The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the relationships between societal culture value dimensions and employee preferences for empowerment behaviors by…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the relationships between societal culture value dimensions and employee preferences for empowerment behaviors by managerial leaders across societal cultures. To do this, the authors synthesize the extant literature to underpin this study and to set the research agenda for future empirical work.
Design/methodology/approach
Using field survey research method, the authors obtain and analyze data from ten samples in eight geographically and culturally diverse societies from a global longitudinal study of preferred managerial leader behavior.
Findings
Cultural value dimension predictor variables affect employee preferences for leader empowerment behaviors in the societies studied. Some significant effects of gender and organizational factors on these relationships were found.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should expand upon variations in the meaning of employee empowerment across cultures, consider other cultural models and theories, and a more extensive set of personal, organizational and relational factors.
Practical implications
Employee preferences for leader empowerment behaviors are more likely the result of the interplay, exchange and trade-offs between cultural, personal and organizational values. The effectiveness of employee empowerment is contingent upon well-designed training programs aligning management and worker values, goals and tasks.
Originality/value
The authors offer more realistic, objective and evidence-based insights into the cultural influences on the effectiveness of empowerment and employee cognitions towards it than the extant, conceptually and methodologically compromised, strategic cross-cultural studies.
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Richard J. Hughbank and Leland C. Horn
The concept of leadership is an oft-discussed issue among practitioners and scholars alike without regard to culture, background, or organizational affiliation. Based on our…
Abstract
The concept of leadership is an oft-discussed issue among practitioners and scholars alike without regard to culture, background, or organizational affiliation. Based on our international experiences, leadership is an art that is traditionally taught as a science which is impacted via various psychological concepts. It is both a natural phenomenon and a learned attribute that is planted, nurtured, developed, and tested over time. Certain leadership approaches are formal, only succeeding in formal settings and environments while others are dependent upon conditioning of the leader. Regardless of one’s leadership style and characteristics, it is critical that both leaders and followers define and understand the variances between failure and success within an organization. This chapter addresses international leadership styles and the psychological theories that support differing approaches assisting the reader to more clearly understand and identify the subtle differences in the development of a successful leader and organization from global perspectives.
Mark J. Martinko and Scott C. Douglas
The high failure rate for expatriate leaders is well documented. One major cause of these failures has been identified as the incongruencies in the perceptions of expatriate…
Abstract
The high failure rate for expatriate leaders is well documented. One major cause of these failures has been identified as the incongruencies in the perceptions of expatriate leaders and the host members that they manage. This article describes theory and research which suggests that a potential explanation for at least some of these perceptual incongruencies is that they are a result of culturally‐based attributional biases interacting with self‐serving and actor‐observer attributional biases. Although not all of the interactions of these biases result in incongruent perceptions, some interactions appear to be particularly prone to result in incongruent perceptions such as when leaders from highly individualistic and low context cultures interact with members from highly collectivistic and high context cultures. Suggestions for research and interventions designed to reduce incongruent attributions between leaders and members are discussed.
Ernst Graamans, Kjeld Aij, Alexander Vonk and Wouter ten Have
This case study aims to shed light on what went wrong with the introduction of new surgical suture in a Dutch hospital operating theatre following a tender. Transition to working…
Abstract
Purpose
This case study aims to shed light on what went wrong with the introduction of new surgical suture in a Dutch hospital operating theatre following a tender. Transition to working with new surgical suture was organized in accordance with legal and contractual provisions, and basic principles of change management were applied, but resistance from surgeons led to cancellation of supplies of the new suture.
Design/methodology/approach
Researchers had access to all documents relevant to the tendering procedure and crucial correspondence between stakeholders. Seventeen in-depth, 1 h interviews were conducted with key informants who were targeted through maximum variation sampling. Patients were not interviewed. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed by discourse analysis. A trial session and workshop were participatively observed. A cultural psychological perspective was adopted to gain an understanding of why certain practices appear to be resistant to change.
Findings
For the cardiothoracic surgeons, suture was more than just stitching material. Suture as a tactile element in their day-to-day work environment is embedded within a social arrangement that ties elements of professional accountability, risk avoidance and direct patient care together in a way that makes sense and feels secure. This arrangement is not to be fumbled with by outsiders.
Practical implications
By understanding the practical and emotional stakes that medical professionals have in their work, lessons can be learned to prevent failure of future change initiatives.
Originality/value
The cultural psychological perspective adopted in this study has never been applied to understanding failed change in a hospital setting.
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Clyde A. Warden, Stephen Chi-Tsun Huang, Wan-Hsuan Yen and Judy F. Chen
Collectivism in service research is so bound with Asian cultures as to risk being overly deterministic. Contesting this stereotype, this paper surfaces the individualistic…
Abstract
Purpose
Collectivism in service research is so bound with Asian cultures as to risk being overly deterministic. Contesting this stereotype, this paper surfaces the individualistic consumption facets of consumers within a collectivist cultural setting, describing the compensating role servicescapes may play and the service marketing opportunities they present.
Design/methodology/approach
Within a Chinese cultural research frame, a qualitative grounded approach is adopted that surfaces subconscious metaphors of private consumption through photo elicitation, deep psychological metaphor elicitation and triangulated with field observation.
Findings
Individuals within a collectivist culture do actively seek private psychic space to regenerate the self and prepare for social obligations heavily influenced by Confucian norms. Servicescapes play an important role in private consumption as they provide both a physical and mental oasis of privacy not easily obtainable in regular life and work.
Practical implications
Service providers could offer East Asian consumers a package that includes the individual aspect of their value system, whenever and however they see suitable. More specifically, servicescapes can be designed to provide services that facilitate consumer restoration by implementing the mental metaphors consumers of have this process.
Social implications
A stereotype of a consumption has grown around Chinese consumers that while not totally false, misses a vital aspect of human values and risks missing profitable market niches. Consideration of the whole person's collective-individualistic cycle benefits both the consumer and the business.
Originality/value
Moving beyond a one-dimensional description of East Asian consumer behavior, focused on collective values, we show the key role servicescapes play in private consumption. A psychological renewal of the self, in preparation to re-enter the collective, show the multiple aspects of Asian consumers.
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The purpose of this paper is to understand the different kinds of health‐promotion activities undertaken by Chinese individuals in managing their disability from multiple…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the different kinds of health‐promotion activities undertaken by Chinese individuals in managing their disability from multiple sclerosis (MS).
Design/methodology/approach
The theory of control behavior was used in this study to understand the different kinds of primary and secondary health‐coping strategies used by participants and their impact on intra‐ and inter‐personal empowerments. Using semi‐structured interviews, interpretive phenomenology was used to elicit and analyze attitudes and behaviors of Chinese participants' management of MS.
Findings
Unlike previous studies which only emphasized the tangible aspects of physical health, the current paper suggests the importance of viewing health benefits in a more holistic manner. It was clear from the Chinese participants that “disability” and “healthy” were not viewed as two separate concepts. Being healthy does not mean an absence of disease but as role functioning, energy and vitality, social relationships, and emotional well‐being. The exploratory paper also found that empowerment outcomes involved an interaction of both the inter‐ and intra‐personal components and, at the same time, were driven by primary and secondary control‐related preferences.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should include individuals with other disabilities and different demographic and socio‐cultural characteristics to confirm the generalizability of the findings uncovered here.
Practical implications
The impact of culture and contextual/situational variables on individual's choice of primary and secondary control strategies has important implications for developing health strategies across different ethnic minority groups.
Originality/value
The results provide support for the view that there are two dimensions to the process of patient empowerment. Rather than emphasizing primary control strategies, individuals can empower themselves by maintaining a balance between primary and secondary control strategies with respect to their health‐related goals.
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Kamal Fatehi, Jennifer L. Priestley and Gita Taasoobshirazi
Most international marketing studies, taking a sociological position, assume homogeneity within and heterogeneity between cultures. Taking a psychological position and based on…
Abstract
Purpose
Most international marketing studies, taking a sociological position, assume homogeneity within and heterogeneity between cultures. Taking a psychological position and based on the Mindscape Theory, the purpose of this paper is to support the hypothesis that there is intra-cultural and intra-market heterogeneity.
Design/methodology/approach
The translated survey for international use has many problems. These problems can greatly be minimized by the use of pictorial/geometric shapes that were used in this study. These shapes were constructed using redundant and non-redundant complexity, and made to be culture neutral.
Findings
Data analysis supported the presence of three of the four Mindscape types as was hypothesized, indicating individual intra-market heterogeneity in the three cultures under investigation. Additionally, the corollary hypothesis of transcultural heterogeneity was confirmed.
Research limitations/implications
It has been proposed that Mindscape types are partly innate and partly learned. What proportions constitute each part? Can the learned aspect be unlearned? Can different marketing strategies appeal to each? What marketing programs are better suited to influence the learned aspect? Future studies could explore these issues.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper have wide applicability and implications for international marketing strategy, including ways of deploying market segmentation, target marketing, positioning strategies, as well as configurations of marketing mix elements.
Originality/value
This paper used a novel and unique way for data collection and analysis. A geometric-pictorial survey was used for data collection. Data analysis was done with factor analysis and cluster analysis combined.
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