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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 14 September 2020

Deborah Scott, Paula McIver Nottingham and Tony Wall

428

Abstract

Details

Journal of Work-Applied Management, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2205-2062

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 December 2017

Deborah Scott

The purpose of this paper is to offer a response to expressions in the literature concerning the limitations of critical reflection, using Rancière’s exposition of the role of…

2559

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer a response to expressions in the literature concerning the limitations of critical reflection, using Rancière’s exposition of the role of values and reasonableness to examine how forms of negotiated work-based learning can support learners’ pathways to impact in their organisation. The implications for work applied management in terms of enabling these employees to make an impact are considered.

Design/methodology/approach

Vignettes illuminate and articulate Rancière’s (1991, 2010) ideas, the vignettes constructed through events experienced and narrated, perhaps imagined, tutorial conversations, assignments and work practices. Such construction of “multiple layers of fiction and narrative imaginings” draws on Sparkes (2007, p. 522). They consider individuals’ negotiation of working practices using ideas developed during their studies, and personal and professional development prompted by unexpected insights into their capabilities, interests, and possible roles.

Findings

Negotiated work-based learning appears to offer the individual opportunity to take responsibility for action in his/her learning and in his/her workplace, but effect depends on several factors, and can be perceived in different ways. Students’ encounter with autonomy in their studies resonates with Rancière’s belief in equality. In the workplace (becoming “citizens” alongside “reasonable” individuals) their agency might, at best, lead to “reasonable moments”, as they encounter both negative and positive challenges of work applied management.

Practical implications

Successful utilisation of agency in learning prompts expectations of responsibility and equality in the workplace. Such equality can lead to diverse, unpredicted insights and consequent opportunities for changes in practice.

Originality/value

This is the first paper to utilise Ranciére’s ideas to offer a critical consideration of both learning provision and workplace practice. Consideration of his profound stance on individuals’ freedom and agency provides rich (but challenging) prompts for analysis of one’s own practice, and the potential for impact when the manager is “ignorant”.

Details

Journal of Work-Applied Management, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2205-2062

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 July 2020

Deborah Scott

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of creativity in work-based research and practice to yield deeper understanding of practice situations. Unexpected insights…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of creativity in work-based research and practice to yield deeper understanding of practice situations. Unexpected insights can lead one (or a team) to identify new approaches, tackling workplace issues differently, leading to unexpected outcomes of long-term impact.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on work conducted for a doctoral thesis, investigating the impact of work-based learning for recent masters graduates of a work-based learning programme. Fiction was incorporated into analysis of the data, creating play scripts to represent key aspects of the researcher's perceptions and interpretations for each participant.

Findings

Research participants experienced personal, professional and organisational impact, although there was considerable variability between individuals. Additionally, societal impact was wished for and/or effected. The approach to representation of analysis, which involved fictionalising participants' experiences, created a strong Thirdspace liminality. This appeared to deepen awareness and understanding.

Research limitations/implications

Such approaches can transform the researcher's perspective, prompting insights which lead to further adventure and development in work-based research and practice.

Practical implications

Managers and employees taking creative approaches in the workplace can prompt wide-ranging development and, with professional judgement, be constructive.

Social implications

Managers and employees taking creative approaches in the workplace can prompt wide-ranging development and, with professional judgement, be constructive.

Originality/value

The creation of play scripts, representing an interpretation of participants' stories about their work-based learning experience, is an innovative feature of this work.

Details

Journal of Work-Applied Management, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2205-2062

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 June 2015

Adam Fletcher, Natasha Fitzgerald-Yau, Meg Wiggins, Russell M. Viner and Chris Bonell

The purpose of this paper is to explore the process of involving students and staff on school action groups, and staff and student experiences of reviewing local data and…

4319

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the process of involving students and staff on school action groups, and staff and student experiences of reviewing local data and initiating school-level changes, to address bullying and other aggression.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw on qualitative, process data collected at four purposively sampled pilot intervention schools in England via semi-structured interviews with school managers, action group members and facilitators (n=33), focus groups with students (n=16) and staff (n=4), and observations.

Findings

School staff used multiple methods to recruit a diverse range of students onto school action groups. Locally tailored data reports were an important catalyst for action groups to identify priorities and plan whole school change – both through the process of “validation” (whereby existing concerns were confirmed) and “discovery” (whereby new problems were identified). An unexpected benefit of providing schools with these data was that it triggered analyses of other data sources, including routine monitoring data. External facilitators were important in promoting student voice and ensuring the intervention retained integrity as a whole-school restorative approach.

Practical implications

It was feasible to involve young people using action groups, and there was evidence of school-level actions led by students, including in disadvantaged school contexts. Future Health Promoting Schools interventions could incorporate this approach to support locally appropriate, school-level change.

Originality/value

The micro-level processes that were observed, whereby action groups interrogated feedback reports and collected additional data, suggest the responsiveness of such youth-involvement interventions to local needs. Contrary to many public health interventions, implementation appeared to be facilitated rather than hindered by features of the secondary-school “market” whereby parents have some choice between schools.

Article
Publication date: 15 May 2017

Deborah Agostino and Yulia Sidorova

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how centres of calculation, now emerging in connection with social media, impact on the process of acting on distant customers…

2583

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how centres of calculation, now emerging in connection with social media, impact on the process of acting on distant customers. Specifically, the authors are interested in exploring how the distance between the organization and its customer is affected and how knowledge is accumulated within this centre.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study in an Italian telecommunication company was conducted over a time horizon of two years, analysing data sources in the form of interviews, documents and reports, corporate website, social media platforms and participants’ observations. With the adoption of social media, the company configured a new centre of calculation, called monitoring room, in the attempt to accumulate knowledge about its customers. The authors unpacked the activity of the centre of calculation discussing its ability to perform action upon a distant periphery and the process of knowledge accumulation inside the centre itself.

Findings

The results highlight the implication of social media for “action at a distance”. On the one hand, social media blurs the distinction between the centre and a periphery giving rise to a de-centring, and stimulating a joint control activity between the customer and the organization. On the other hand, social media was found vulnerable in providing a unique knowledge about customers: accumulation cycles that exploit social media data can be replicated by users with skills in data analytics and the knowledge they provide might conflict with knowledge provided by traditional data.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to an emergent stream of literature that is investigating accounting implications derived from social media, by underlying the controversial effects connected with centres of calculation enacted by social media data. The authors suggest that, while social media data provide the organization with huge amount of information real time, at the same time, it contributes to de-centring allowing customers and external actors to act upon the organization, rather than improving knowledge inside the centre.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 30 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1991

Scott G. Burgh

In prior articles in both volume 8 (number 4) and volume 10 (numbers 3/4) of Collection Building, bibliographies of U.S. government publications on AIDS were covered. The first…

Abstract

In prior articles in both volume 8 (number 4) and volume 10 (numbers 3/4) of Collection Building, bibliographies of U.S. government publications on AIDS were covered. The first bibliography covered both executive branch and legislative branch materials from 1981 to September 1986. The second bibliography covered only legis‐lative materials from 1986 to 1989. This article complements the second bibliography in its coverage of executive branch materials from 1986 to 1989 and also updates the first work. While 1986 to 1989 is the framework, some items inadvertently omitted from the earlier work are included here.

Details

Collection Building, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1992

Deborah Mongeau and Pamela Stoddard

As the 1960s drew to a close, Congress found itself grappling with an increasing array of complex technological issues that it was ill equipped to analyze and that could be the…

Abstract

As the 1960s drew to a close, Congress found itself grappling with an increasing array of complex technological issues that it was ill equipped to analyze and that could be the cause of costly blunders if acted upon incorrectly. To alleviate this situation, the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) was created in 1972 under Public Law 92–484 in order to advise Congress on issues in science and technology so that relevant information would be available when pertinent legislation was being developed. Under the leadership of its director John Gibbons, OTA has earned the distinction of providing Congress, that most political of bodies, with timely and objective information without becoming mired in political skirmishes. Despite this distinction, OTA is one of the smallest government agencies, with a budget of twenty million dollars and a staff of 140. Its organization is remarkable for its simplicity. A bipartisan congressional Technology Assessment Board governs the agency overall but appoints the director who has full responsibility for running it. The nine agency divisions are organized according to scientific disciplines and report to the director with little or no intervening bureaucracy. Outside expert advice is available from the Technology Assessment Advisory Council. The result is an organization that is equally balanced politically and scientifically, that is streamlined and efficient, and that allows input from its governing members. This structure also allows great flexibility in the research and production of assessment reports. To do an assessment, OTA deploys its experts to go out and gather the information needed on the wide‐ranging topics it has been commissioned to research. The topics are chosen according to the need and interest of both houses and both political parties. Outside experts are sometimes called upon to do research but OTA exercises the final responsibility over their reports. Factual conclusions and options are presented but opinions are never given. The manner in which the information is acted upon is always left to Congress, a major reason for OTA's success.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Article
Publication date: 26 January 2021

Mohamed Chakib Kolsi, Riham Muqattash and Ahmad Al-Hiyari

This paper aims to highlight the relationship between the attributes of external auditor companies and voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures of audited firms…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to highlight the relationship between the attributes of external auditor companies and voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures of audited firms using a sample of Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX)-listed companies.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a sample of 410 firm-year observations for the period 2010–2016, this study first computes an eight-item CSR disclosure index, then ran a multivariate regression analysis between CSR disclosure scores and external auditor attributes, along with client firm characteristics and additional control variables. Finally, this paper performs various additional robustness checks.

Findings

The results reveal that external auditor attributes have a significant impact on shaping the CSR disclosures of ADX-listed firms. Overall, auditor age, size, industry specialisation and portfolio diversification positively affect the level of customers’ CSR disclosures. By contrast, the magnitude of audit fees and auditor experience in the UAE has no impact on the CSR disclosures of ADX-listed firms. This study controls for client firm size, financial leverage, ownership concentration and the proportion of independent directors on companies’ board of directors. The results remain robust to additional sensitivity checks such as audit company CSR practices, extreme quartiles of CSR disclosures and the panel data estimation method.

Research limitations/implications

The research exhibits some limitations. First, this paper uses a simple index to measure CSR disclosures based on previous empirical studies, especially those related to emergent markets, which are not free from bias due to the lack of voluntary disclosure transparency for some companies listed on ADX. Second, although this study uses a seven-year observation period, the total number of observations remains limited due to ADX size. Third, other context-specific disclosures should be included such as cultural and governance variables (royal families ownership).

Practical implications

The study highlights the role of external attributes that can affect companies’ CSR disclosure policy, rather than firm-specific factors. The study also reshapes the concept of auditor quality beyond the dichotomy (“Big Four”/non-Big Four) used in the current literature.

Originality/value

The research adds to the current literature on CSR by revealing the impact of external auditor attributes on client firm CSR disclosure policy in an emerging market, the ADX.

Details

Social Responsibility Journal, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-1117

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 January 2023

Steve Fan, Linda Yu, Deborah Beyer and Scott Beyer

This paper jointly examines how firm size and idiosyncratic risk impact momentum returns.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper jointly examines how firm size and idiosyncratic risk impact momentum returns.

Design/methodology/approach

Using regression analysis, the authors investigate how firm size and idiosyncratic risk impact price momentum. The authors review firm price data in 25 country markets in the Thomson Financial Datastream database from 1979 to 2009.

Findings

This study’s findings suggest price momentum is more significant among stocks with smaller size and higher idiosyncratic risk. The authors find that winner and loser portfolios have significantly smaller size and higher idiosyncratic risk than portfolios in the middle quintiles.

Research limitations/implications

This study’s results are consistent with the notion that firm size matters in price momentum and mispricing is greatest for small firms because of the greater risk potential to arbitrageurs. In addition, this finding that firms with higher idiosyncratic risk have greater price momentum supports the idea that investors underreact to firm-specific information.

Practical implications

This work finds evidence that investors underreact to firm-specific information. As such, these findings are of particular interest for investors looking to exploit opportunities for abnormal returns through price momentum trading.

Originality/value

This paper jointly examines the effects of firm size and idiosyncratic risk on momentum returns. This investigation considers these effects in the global markets. This work adds to the research base by illustrating that both winner and loser portfolios have significantly smaller size and higher idiosyncratic risk than portfolios in the middle quintiles. Also unique to this study, the authors capture the time-variation of expected IdioRisk and the asymmetric effects of volatility by using an exponential general autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic (EGARCH) model to calculate conditional idiosyncratic risk.

Details

Managerial Finance, vol. 49 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4358

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 June 2023

Sakina Dixon, Jera Elizondo Niewoehner-Green, Stacy Smulowitz, Deborah N. Smith, Amy Rutstein-Riley and Trenae M. Thomas

This scoping review aims to examine peer-reviewed literature related to girls’ (age 0–18) and young women’s (age 19–30) leader identity development.

Abstract

Purpose

This scoping review aims to examine peer-reviewed literature related to girls’ (age 0–18) and young women’s (age 19–30) leader identity development.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a scoping review. A research librarian was consulted at the start of the project. Two sets of search terms (one for each age group) were identified and then used to find publications via our selected databases. The search results were uploaded to Covidence and evaluated using the determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The final sample of articles for the review was analyzed using exploratory coding methods.

Findings

From the analysis, four domains were identified that influence girls’ and young women’s leader identity development: relationships, personal characteristics, meaningful engagement and social identities.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to solely explore girls’ and young women’s leader identity development. The factors and domains identified provide useful guidance for future research and practice. The findings reveal considerations about leader identity that can inform the creation of effective leadership development initiatives for girls early in their lifespan. These interventions could provide girls with a strong leadership foundation that could drastically alter their leadership trajectories in adulthood. Previous research has conveyed the advantages of having more women participate in leadership. Thus, this potential not only benefits girls and women but organizations and society at large.

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