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The purpose of this article is twofold: to identify the characteristics of research on organisation and management in Arab countries and to find out whether research results…
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The purpose of this article is twofold: to identify the characteristics of research on organisation and management in Arab countries and to find out whether research results support the cultureâfree hypothesis or not. A thorough search of sixteen journals, research monographs, books and theses produced only 35 empirical studies. Most of these studies were exploratory, descriptive, and used small convenient samples. Although some findings supported the cultureâbound hypothesis, major conceptual and methodological weaknesses in these studies throw doubt upon the validity of their results.
This theoretical paper provides an analytical review of a number of existing tourist typologies developed from a sociological perspective. Although current approaches to…
Abstract
This theoretical paper provides an analytical review of a number of existing tourist typologies developed from a sociological perspective. Although current approaches to classification have contributed considerably towards an understanding of the tourist, they are still open to some salient criticisms. First, many of the typologies reviewed are based upon the unsystematic observations and/or a priori theoretical assumptions of their creators. Second, these taxonomies tend to focus on the individual (i.e., tourist), thereby neglecting social and cultural influences. Third, several of these typologies are constructed along just one or very few dimensions, such as number of tourists. In order to overcome these weaknesses, it is suggested that future research should adopt an ernic approach, focus on the home society and culture that the tourist inhabits, and finally, use several dimensions in the attempt to construct a tourist typology that provides explanation in addition to understanding.
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Edgar Krau and Liora Ziv
Traditionally, the process of choosing a vocation has been presented as the matching of a person's interests and aptitudes with occupational requirements. Maintaining the…
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Traditionally, the process of choosing a vocation has been presented as the matching of a person's interests and aptitudes with occupational requirements. Maintaining the individual's role as an agent in the process of âselfâselection into an occupationâ (Krech, Crutchfield and Ballachey, 1962), one ought to give attention not only to the pushâ but also to the pullâ factors, i.e. to the occupational appeal which embodies the occupation's motivational âvalenceâ (to use the term coined for a social context by Lewin, Dembo, Festinger and Sears, 1944).
The purpose of this paper is to explore how notions of disciplinary power manifest themselves in audit regulatory developments. When it comes to research on the relationship…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how notions of disciplinary power manifest themselves in audit regulatory developments. When it comes to research on the relationship between audit quality and regulation, much of the prior scholarly work has kept to the positivist tradition of quantitative analysis under the guise of âeconomic rationalityâ. In contrast, this research takes an interpretive approach to provide an alternate and unique perspective, using motifs of Foucauldian power and control to illuminate the operation of external regulation in a South African setting. The paper examines what may be loosely described as a mandatory whistle-blowing duty imposed on external auditors.
Design/methodology/approach
Detailed interviews with some of South Africa's leading corporate governance experts are used to highlight the disciplinary effect of an auditor's duty to bring reportable irregularities to the attention of an independent regulator.
Findings
Blowing the whistle on irregularities contributes, not only to increasing the information made available to stakeholders, but to creating a valid expectation of auditors serving the public interest by enhancing a sense of transparency and accountability. Elements of resistance to panoptic-like control are, however, also present suggesting that, in part, the regulation may simply be creating the illusion of active reporting.
Research limitations/implications
The research relies on a relatively small sample of subject experts and does not provide a complete account of regulatory developments taking place in South Africa and abroad. Additional research on the role of whistle-blowing in an external audit setting is needed focusing particularly on similarities and variations in interpretations of reporting by auditors from the perspective of more diverse stakeholder groups.
Practical/implications
Mandatory reporting of irregularities by auditors can provided additional useful information for stakeholders and may contribute to demands for more effective reporting by auditors.
Social implications
Arms-length regulation of the audit profession should not be seen only as a means of improving audit quality and the utility of audit reports. Powerful social forces are also. This research demonstrates how laws and regulations have a potential disciplinary effect on the audit profession that contributes to a restoration of confidence in the audit process after it is best by scandals, even if motifs of power and control are somewhat illusionary.
Originality/value
This research addresses the need for more detailed analysis of precisely how mechanisms of accountability and transparency operate in the broader corporate governance arena. The paper also contributes to the calls for more detailed, context-specific studies of audit. Finally, this paper is one of the first to employ a critical theoretical perspective on audit in an African setting, responding to the need for contextual, methodological and theoretical eclecticism in the area of corporate governance research.
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Anita Schrader-McMillan and Elsa Herrera
The purpose of this paper is to identify elements of success in the family reintegration of children with street connections who have experienced chronic violence and loss in the…
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Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify elements of success in the family reintegration of children with street connections who have experienced chronic violence and loss in the context of poverty. This paper outlines the application of complex trauma theory into a practice model developed by the JUCONI Foundation in Puebla, Mexico to help children and families prepare and manage reintegration.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a 15-month qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with families and boys at three stages: preparing for return, in the first three months of reintegration and successfully reintegrated. The study comprises interviews with frontline workers and focus group discussions with the project team. In addition, six youths who did not return to their families were interviewed.
Findings
The study focuses on an attachment and trauma-based approach to family reintegration of street-connected children outside parental care. The findings highlight the need for careful preparation of both child and families (including siblings/extended family) prior to reunification. Preparation needs to focus on resolving the underlying problems that have led to the child being on the street and âphasedâ reintegration (beginning with visits to the family) is recommended. Follow-up visits/family work by staff are usually essential to ensure that child/youth and family adjust to each other. The theoretical framework and rationale behind the use of the tools and strategies described needs to be understood, so that they are used intentionally and consistently.
Research limitations/implications
The study cohort involved only boys and other factors are likely to affect the reintegration of girls. The study took place in Mexico only and methods used by JUCONI need to be tested in other contexts.
Practical implications
The integration of children without parental care into families is an issue of critical interest, but there is currently very limited research or guidance on reintegration of children who have lived on the street, especially in low and middle income countries. The study should be of interest to practitioners interested in assessing whether safe and sustainable reintegration is possible and facilitating this. The paper may be of interest to practitioners working with children growing up without parental care who do not have âstreet connectionsâ, but who have experienced chronic violence and loss.
Originality/value
This is the first study to describe the application of an attachment and trauma perspective to work with children who have lived on the street.
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This paper presents an analysis of interview data and field notes from participant observation collected during a fourâmonth period to discover different workârelated cultural…
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This paper presents an analysis of interview data and field notes from participant observation collected during a fourâmonth period to discover different workârelated cultural assumptions between Chinese and American coâworkers in a multicultural organization. The paper also addresses how those different cultural assumptions which guide the ways Chinese and American workers conceptualize their jobs and job behaviors lead to conflict as the employees go about their daily business. The contrasting cultural assumptions discussed in the paper are (1) Chinese and American views of the role of manager and the practice of âmanaging,â (2) Chinese and American conceptualizations of good service, and (3) Chinese and American perspectives of compensation. Finally, the paper discusses some theoretical and methodological implications of the current study and its research method for future studies of cultural and conflict in multicultural contexts.
Ashley Sanders-Jackson, Christopher Clemens and Kristen Wozniak
Purpose: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) young adults smoke at rates much higher than the general population. Young adults, in general, are less likely to seek medical help for…
Abstract
Purpose: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) young adults smoke at rates much higher than the general population. Young adults, in general, are less likely to seek medical help for smoking cessation and LGB individuals are less likely to seek health care generally. Alternative methods to encourage smoking cessation are necessary. This research seeks to establish whether LGB young adults in California would be willing to use social media for smoking cessation.
Approach: We conducted 41 qualitative interviews among LGB young adults in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles in Fall 2014.
Findings: The results suggest that our participants were interested in a LGB-focused social media intervention, as long as the intervention was private or anonymous and moderated. Further, across topical areas our participants spoke extensively about the import of social connections. We may be able to leverage these connections to encourage cessation.
Research Limitations: This is a qualitative, non-generalizable dataset from a fairly limited geographic area.
Public Health Implications: Online smoking cessation interventions aimed at young adults would benefit from further testing with LGB young adults to ensure efficacy among this population. In addition, states and localities concerned about young adult LGB smoking might benefit from investing in an online socially mediated cessation forum. Online interventions could be scalable and might be useful for other groups who regularly face discrimination, stigma, or other stressors that make successful smoking cessation difficult.
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Jack Hassell, Joana Kuntz and Sarah Wright
While worker well-being is increasingly recognised as a performance driver and marker of socially responsible organisations, workaholism is ubiquitous and remains poorly…
Abstract
Purpose
While worker well-being is increasingly recognised as a performance driver and marker of socially responsible organisations, workaholism is ubiquitous and remains poorly understood. This study aims to uncover workaholism precursors, dynamics and trajectories, and explains how organisations can manage its emergence and impact.
Design/methodology/approach
Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with a diverse sample of self-identified workaholics in New Zealand and analysed through interpretivist phenomenological analysis.
Findings
This study contributes to the workaholism literature by elucidating how the workâidentity link is formed and maintained, the psychophysiological experiences and worldviews of workaholics and the role families, organisations and culture play in workaholism. The findings also elucidate the relationship between workaholism, work addiction and engagement.
Practical implications
The authors outline how leaders and organisations can detect and manage workaholism risk factors and understand its trajectories to develop healthy workplaces.
Originality/value
The retrospective experiential accounts obtained from a diverse sample of workaholics enabled the identification of workaholism precursors, including some previously undetected in the literature, their complex interrelations with environmental factors and workaholism trajectories.
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The purpose of this quantitative study is to explore the differences and relations among how Black science, technology, engineering and mathematics-life and health sciences…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this quantitative study is to explore the differences and relations among how Black science, technology, engineering and mathematics-life and health sciences (STEM-H) and non-STEM-H students develop a sense of belonging and community at a Hispanic serving institution (HSI).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper used findings from a survey that collected both numeric and string data. Surveys were administered via e-mail.
Findings
There were a limited number of significant findings related to STEM-H students believing that faculty would be sensitive to their needs and that they would be part of the community. String data provide more data about positive and negative experiences related to belonging and community.
Research limitations/implications
It was a single-institution study in New Mexico. Therefore, it may not mirror other HSIs across the country. Also, there were only 84 participants. This number is relatively low compared to the 465 Black students identified at the institutions. Thus, it is clear that not all voices are heard in this study. Finally, this study used preexisting scales to measure a sense of belonging and a sense of community. Because of this, the questions were not customized to the region.
Originality/value
This study introduces STEM-H as a viable area of study. It examines Black STEM-H students enrolled at an HSI using two scales for sense of belonging and sense of community.
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