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1 – 10 of 331Donna M. Smith and Edward A. Holdaway
Explores the perceptions of junior high‐school principals aboutconstraints on their leadership effectiveness and the overalleffectiveness of their schools. Data were collected in…
Abstract
Explores the perceptions of junior high‐school principals about constraints on their leadership effectiveness and the overall effectiveness of their schools. Data were collected in Alberta, Canada, using a questionnaire completed by 87 per cent of the 108 junior high principals and an interview conducted with ten principals. The most frequently listed constraints on leadership effectiveness were inadequate funding, time taken dealing with problem students, and inadequate physical facilities, while the most frequently listed constraints on school effectiveness were financial support by the province, financial support by the school system, and ineffective provincial leadership. Different perceptions of constraints on effectiveness were associated with selected demographic variables including the number of years served as principal and the number of years the school had been in operation. Several constraint‐resolution strategies were recommended by respondents, including redistribution of budget allocations.
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Nkosivile Welcome Madinga, Jo Blanckensee, Lauren Longhurst and Nqobile Bundwini
In the wake of lockdown regulations and limited mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic, dining habits shifted towards usage of food delivery apps to avoid physical interaction…
Abstract
Purpose
In the wake of lockdown regulations and limited mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic, dining habits shifted towards usage of food delivery apps to avoid physical interaction. Nonetheless, it is unknown whether the COVID-19 pandemic had an influence on the adoption of food delivery apps. Therefore, this study examined factors influencing the adoption of food delivery apps during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the moderating effects of education and age.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 282 food delivery application users in South Africa using a web-based survey. Partial least square structural equation modelling analysis was used to test the hypotheses, while partial least squares multigroup analysis was used to examine the moderating effect of education level and age.
Findings
The results indicated that perceived ease of use has a significant impact on perceived usefulness and attitudes, perceived usefulness has an impact on attitudes and continuous intention, attitude influences continuous intention and social pressure and convenience influence attitudes. The perceived COVID-19 threat had no impact on attitudes, and education and age had no significant impact on any relationships. The findings are imperative for restaurants and mobile application designers, as they enable more effective strategic management planning.
Originality/value
This study is the first paper to empirically employ technology acceptance model to analyse the adoption of food delivery applications during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its uniqueness is in examining situational influence associated with the pandemic such as social pressure, perceived COVID-19 threat and convenience.
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Donna Smith, Jenna Jacobson and Janice L. Rudkowski
The practice of frontline employees articulating their brand voice and posting work-related content on social media has emerged; however, employee brand equity (EBE) research has…
Abstract
Purpose
The practice of frontline employees articulating their brand voice and posting work-related content on social media has emerged; however, employee brand equity (EBE) research has yet to be linked to employees’ social media activity. This paper aims to take a methods-based approach to better understand employees’ roles as influencers. As such, its objective is to operationalize and apply the three EBE dimensions – brand consistent behavior, brand endorsement and brand allegiance – using Instagram data.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative research uses a case study of employee influencers at SoulCycle, a leading North American fitness company and examines 100 Instagram images and 100 captions from these influential employees to assess the three EBE dimensions.
Findings
Brand consistent behavior (what employees do) was the most important EBE dimension indicating that employees’ social media activities align with their employer’s values. Brand allegiance (what employees intend to do in the future) whereby employees self-identify with their employer on social media, followed. Brand endorsement (what employees say) was the least influential of the three EBE dimensions, which may indicate a higher level of perceived authenticity from a consumer perspective.
Originality/value
This research makes three contributions. First, it presents a novel measure of EBE using public Instagram data. Second, it represents a unique expansion and an evolution of King et al.’s (2012) model. Third, it considers employees’ work-related content on social media to understand employees’ role as influencers and their co-creation of EBE, which is currently an under-represented perspective in the internal branding literature.
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In recent years, the employment of peer providers (PPs) has grown with the wider acceptance of lived experience expertise in recovery-oriented service provision. Although its…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, the employment of peer providers (PPs) has grown with the wider acceptance of lived experience expertise in recovery-oriented service provision. Although its effectiveness, theoretical foundations and factors influencing outcomes have been studied, a framework accounting for the dynamics of the PP–peer relationship has yet to be formulated. The purpose of this paper is to employ a qualitative approach to explore the journeys undertaken by PPs with their peers and form it into a cohesive framework of understanding.
Design/methodology/approach
In-depth interviews were conducted with PPs who were employed specifically to use their lived experience in supporting someone through mental distress. These interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded using a framework approach. To enhance rigour, this framework was verified with the latter author and three other participants recruited after data analysis.
Findings
A stepped model of peer provision practice was crafted to capture the non-linearity of recovery, as well as the PP–peer relationship. This model is founded upon trust in the milieu of shared experience and involves: creating a safe place – a stage of building trust and rapport to a point where a PP is given permission to enter into their peer’s headspace; a working partnership – stage of setting and working towards goals collaboratively; and stepping out – a stage marked by the termination of the PP–peer relationship.
Originality/value
This paper proposes a tangible framework underpinning the dynamics of peer provision practice, which furthers our understanding and complements current practice models in peer provision services.
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Sheranne Fairley and Donna M. Kelly
The purpose of this paper is to explore how non-host cities strategically plan to leverage pre-Games training for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games to maximize benefits to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how non-host cities strategically plan to leverage pre-Games training for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games to maximize benefits to the city.
Design/methodology/approach
Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with key tourism and government stakeholders involved in developing leveraging strategies for pre-Games training in a non-host city. Interviews were conducted a little over 18 months before the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Findings
A model of the strategic planning of leveraging pre-Games training is presented. Pre-Games training was positioned as a leverageable resource. The non-host city was well positioned to host pre-Games training given its existing sport focus and facilities and its proximity to the host city and its similar climate. Opportunities, objectives, means, and considerations were constantly developed. The city strategically targeted teams to maximize the use of the training facilities and make the most of the value of well-known athletes, while being cautious of overcrowding. The teams had to be secured before strategies were devised to achieve other opportunities and objectives. Short-term benefits included generating tourism through visiting teams and entourages and integrating visiting teams into the local community through education and sport programming. Long-term benefits included building the destination’s capacity and reputation as a place for elite training camps and tourism.
Practical implications
Understanding how to develop strategies to leverage pre-Games training can inform those responsible for developing and implementing pre-Games training strategies and lead to maximizing the benefits to a city or region.
Originality/value
Limited research has examined the strategic planning process used to develop tactics to leverage mega-events. This study provides insight into the strategic planning process of non-host cities to increase short- and long-term benefits by leveraging pre-Games training.
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Sarah Levine, Mary Hauser and Michael W. Smith
This study aims to explore the authentic questioning practices of English Language Arts teachers. Although language arts (LA) education emphasizes the value of authentic questions…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the authentic questioning practices of English Language Arts teachers. Although language arts (LA) education emphasizes the value of authentic questions in discussions about literature, teachers still tend to ask known-answer questions that guide students toward one literary interpretation. However, outside their classrooms, teachers talk about literary texts from stances of openness and curiosity. Helping teachers recognize and draw on their out-of-school literary practices might help them disrupt entrenched known-answer discourses. The authors studied how the same teachers asked questions about literature in different settings. The authors asked: To what degree and in what ways did teachers’ questions about literature change when they took on different roles in discussions of literature?
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on theories of classroom discourses and everyday practices, this study compared and analyzed types of questions asked by high school teachers as they took on three roles: teacher in the high school classroom, discussion leader in a professional development and everyday reader in discussion.
Findings
Analysis showed that as participants moved further away from their teacher role, they were more likely to ask authentic, curiosity-driven questions that engaged fellow readers in exploratory, dialogic interpretation. They were less likely to attempt to maintain authority over students’ interpretations.
Research limitations/implications
The authors hope researchers will build on these explorations of teacher stances and language in different roles, so we can work toward disrupt entrenched known-answer discourses in the classroom.
Practical implications
Drawing on this study’s findings about questioning practices of participants in their role as reader (as opposed to discussion leader or classroom teacher), the authors suggest that teachers and teacher educators consider the following: First, teachers need to understand the power of interpretive authority and known-answer discourses and compare them explicitly to their own everyday practices through rehearsals and reflection. Second, teachers might focus less on theme and more on exploration of individual lines, patterns and unusual authorial moves. Finally, when preparing to teach, if teachers can reconnect with the stance and language of uncertainty and curiosity, they are likely to ask more authentic questions.
Social implications
These findings suggest both the power of entrenched known-answer discourses to constrain and the potential power of making visible and drawing on teachers’ literary reading practices in out-of-school contexts.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no studies have made an empirical comparison of the relationship between the role a teacher takes on during discussion and the kinds of questions they ask about literature. This study offers insight into the value of everyday curiosity and other out-of-school resources that teachers could – but often do not – bring to their facilitations of classroom discussions. The findings suggest that teachers, teacher educators and researchers must recognize and recruit teachers’ everyday practices to the LA classroom.
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Donna J. Wood and Raymond E. Jones
This paper uses a stakeholder framework to review the empirical literature on corporate social performance (CSP), focusing particularly on studies attempting to correlate social…
Abstract
This paper uses a stakeholder framework to review the empirical literature on corporate social performance (CSP), focusing particularly on studies attempting to correlate social with financial performance. Results show first that most studies correlate measures of business performance that as yet have no theoretical relationship (for example, the level of corporate charitable giving with return on investment). To make sense of this body of research, CSP studies must be integrated with stakeholder theory. Multiple stakeholders (a) set expectations for corporate performance, (b) experience the effects of corporate behavior, and (c) evaluate the outcomes of corporate behavior. However, we find that the empirical CSP literature mismatches variables in terms of which stakeholders are relevant to which kind of measure. Second, only the studies using market‐based variables and theory show a consistent relationship between social and financial performance, particularly those showing a negative abnormal return to the stock price of companies experiencing product recalls. Although this paper shows that the CSP construct is not yet well‐specified enough to produce stronger results, recent research suggests that much progress is being made both empirically and theoretically in developing valid and reliable measures of corporate social performance.
Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and…
Abstract
Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and shows that these are in many, differing, areas across management research from: retail finance; precarious jobs and decisions; methodological lessons from feminism; call centre experience and disability discrimination. These and all points east and west are covered and laid out in a simple, abstract style, including, where applicable, references, endnotes and bibliography in an easy‐to‐follow manner. Summarizes each paper and also gives conclusions where needed, in a comfortable modern format.
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Kimberly Underwood, Joy Taylor, Donna Smith and J. Medgar Roberts
This paper aims to provide a critical examination of the career trajectories of Black male educators through the discussion of key issues relevant to the professional development…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a critical examination of the career trajectories of Black male educators through the discussion of key issues relevant to the professional development and advancement of this population.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors approach this paper through the examination of literature related to Black male educators. The authors seek to provide insight into the status of Black male educators through a critical focus of scholarship in the three critical areas of Black male educator recruitment, retention and mobility.
Findings
This examination supports the need to generate sustainable initiatives to diversify our nation’s classrooms and create additional opportunities for Black male representation in school leadership positions. Effectively dismantling the entrenched hurdles many encounter within their teaching careers requires a concerted commitment by advocates, policymakers and school administrators at all levels. Additionally, there is a continued need for stakeholders to keep the diversification of P-12 schools as a key priority in current education reform strategies.
Social implications
This paper serves as an impetus to highlight the continued need for further exploration and consequential action to increase the numbers of Black males in the teaching profession.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the literature surrounding Black male educators by providing a holistic view of their career trajectories of Black male educators and shedding light on the need for ongoing efforts to diversify the P-12 teaching workforce.
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Alicia R. Crowe, Todd S. Hawley and Elizabeth W. Brooks
In this study we explored prospective social studies teachers’ memories of their middle and high school social studies teachers. Our goal was to determine what lessons, if any…
Abstract
In this study we explored prospective social studies teachers’ memories of their middle and high school social studies teachers. Our goal was to determine what lessons, if any, their apprenticeships of observation taught them about teaching. Analysis of interviews with these prospective teachers indicated they talked about five ways of being a social studies teacher: an information giver, a content knowledge expert, a “character”, a caring, committed teacher, and “powerful.” After discussing these five ways of being a social studies teacher we present implications for teacher educators interested in building upon prospective teachers' initial conceptions of powerful social studies teaching and learning.
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