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1 – 10 of 18
Article
Publication date: 5 March 2019

Sadie King, Matt Gieve, Giorgia Iacopini, Anna Sophie Hahne and Heather Stradling

The purpose of this paper is to explore the wider context in which the national evaluation of the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) was delivered and raise concerns about the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the wider context in which the national evaluation of the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) was delivered and raise concerns about the sustainability of the early outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper briefly summarises the outcomes of a two-year mixed-methods evaluation. This included a two-wave postal survey (n=792) and follow-up (n=481), an online survey of adopters (n=586) and professionals (providers n=50, local authority staff n=124) and in-depth family interviews. The focus of the discussion on sustainability is drawn from the qualitative research of 10 local authority case studies based on 86 interviews with adoption teams and 33 providers and the perspectives of parents.

Findings

Whilst the ASF showed modest early outcomes for families in terms of improved mental health and wellbeing without the scaffolding of wider support of services able to understand the complex lifelong needs of adoptive children and their families, the sustainability of the benefits of therapeutic support is questioned. Adoption teams struggled with the increased burden of administration of the fund, their knowledge of therapeutic interventions, an evidence base and quality of provision from a market that is difficult to regulate. In a society that is failing to meet the mental health and wellbeing needs of children generally, how can a single intervention meet the needs of a very vulnerable group?

Research limitations/implications

Research and evaluation on interventions in children’s social care could be more systems aware and instead of narrowly focusing on outcomes pay attention to the complex network of services that interlink to support vulnerable children and their families and the restraints on resources that they are working with.

Social implications

To prevent adoption breakdown and increase recruitment of adopters, support for adoptive families needs to be improved beyond the current scope of the ASF. A wide range of services are required to support adopted children particularly as they grow into adolescence. While families have the right to live independently of social services, the awareness of their needs throughout public organisations should be raised particularly in schools.

Originality/value

This paper represents the views of the evaluators at TIHR of the ASF beyond the scope of the original evaluation. It reflects on the wider context of the role out of the Fund and raises important questions about the failure to support the mental health and wellbeing needs of the most vulnerable children in society. It is an organisation reflection drawing on early research in children’s social care from its archive.

Details

Journal of Public Mental Health, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5729

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 April 2011

Oscar Ricci

Celebrity‐spotters actively pursue celebrities in order to take photographs of them. This often involves extensive travelling, sometimes to remote destinations. The purpose of…

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Abstract

Purpose

Celebrity‐spotters actively pursue celebrities in order to take photographs of them. This often involves extensive travelling, sometimes to remote destinations. The purpose of this paper is to analyse this new type of tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to understand this new type of tourism, the authors used a textual analysis of Italian celebrity‐spotting web sites and 31 in‐depth interviews with celebrity‐spotters.

Findings

The main characteristics of the celebrity‐spotters can be outlined: they practise a sort of “precision tourism”, characterised by close attention to the news in order to know where to go, flexibility for changing locations at the last moment, and a natural predisposition for new technologies. Celebrity‐spotting is not just an observational tourism, but rather a performing one; they must take photographs, gain access to the right places and ambush their targets.

Practical implications

Knowing the characteristics of celebrity‐spotters can help to better understand this new type of tourism, which has yet to be exploited by the tourism industry.

Originality/value

The paper presents an in‐depth analysis of a rather unknown and unexplored type of tourist.

Details

Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, vol. 3 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-4217

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 November 2023

Elif Tanrikulu and Ibrahim Taylan Dortyol

Social exclusion is a complicated psychological phenomenon with behavioral ramifications that influences consumers' lifestyles and behaviors. In contrast, anthropomorphism is a…

Abstract

Purpose

Social exclusion is a complicated psychological phenomenon with behavioral ramifications that influences consumers' lifestyles and behaviors. In contrast, anthropomorphism is a phenomenon that marketing strategists employ and that occurs in customers' lives as a result of social isolation. The literature discusses these two complicated structures as ones that require investigation based on consumer judgments. The purpose of the current study is to understand the fundamental motivations that underlie the propensity for anthropomorphizing in people who suffer social isolation through their pets.

Design/methodology/approach

To look into the motivations driving these themes, a study technique with three distinct components was created. Cyberball was employed as a technique to manipulate social exclusion in the initial stage of this research methodology. Two scenarios, one of which had an anthropomorphizing tendency and the other of which did not, were presented to participants who had suffered social exclusion and advanced to the second phase in order to determine the anthropomorphizing tendency. The Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS), which Johnson et al. (1992) created based on the social support provided by pets, was utilized while creating the scenarios. The Zaltman method was applied as an interviewing technique in the third stage of the research design, with the interviewees being guided by visuals that reflected their emotions and thoughts.

Findings

The results of the data analysis were evaluated in light of social psychology. A more thorough expression of the complex relationship between anthropomorphism and those who experience social exclusion has been made. The findings showed that when people anthropomorphize their pets in response to feelings of social exclusion, the motivations that emerge include pure love, loyalty, animals' need for a human, living creature and embracing. The study emphasizes that these ideas will be helpful in customers' interactions with anthropomorphic objects.

Practical implications

As a contribution to the literature, the study findings offer the five major motivations underpinning these beliefs. These findings may help marketing scientists comprehend social exclusion and anthropomorphism, thereby benefiting the individual and society.

Originality/value

The majority of research in the literature (Chen et al., 2017; Epley et al., 2008; Eyssel and Reich, 2013; Waytz et al., 2019) verified that people who were socially excluded would use anthropomorphism, but no studies were discovered about the motivations outlined in the current study. The results of this investigation should add to the body of knowledge in this area. The pet was employed as an anthropomorphism tool in the current study because it is the object that a person chooses to anthropomorphize deliberately and independently. It adds to the study's originality by explaining in the individual's own terminology how he will feel as a result of his social isolation, how he will make up for it and potential responses he may have. In addition to all of these contributions, the study's primary goal of analyzing the motivations behind anthropomorphism yields significant findings that are relevant to both industry and academic research.

Details

Qualitative Research Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1443-9883

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 17 December 2003

Gregory R Maio, Frank D Fincham, Camillo Regalia and F.Giorgia Paleari

Parents and children can drive each other mad. At one moment, a parent may be encouraging and affectionate toward the child; in the next, the parent may be sending the child to…

Abstract

Parents and children can drive each other mad. At one moment, a parent may be encouraging and affectionate toward the child; in the next, the parent may be sending the child to his or her bedroom. Similarly, a child who seems helpful and cooperative can suddenly turn belligerent. Parents and children may partly resolve the mixture of negative and positive feelings they experience in such situations by remembering their basic love for each other. Nevertheless, the conflicting sentiments will be stored in the memory of both parties, contributing to a long-lasting melange of conflicting beliefs, feelings, and behaviors. What are the psychological consequences of this state of affairs in relationships?

Details

Intergenerational Ambivalences: New Perspectives on Parent-Child Relations in Later Life
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76230-801-9

Article
Publication date: 8 July 2020

Paola Paoloni, Giuseppe Modaffari and Giorgia Mattei

The aim of this work is to identify and analyze the main areas on which researchers have focused in relation to intellectual capital (IC) and its management in the university…

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this work is to identify and analyze the main areas on which researchers have focused in relation to intellectual capital (IC) and its management in the university context. This review will also analyze how these researchers carried out their work to understand future research directions.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis was conducted through a structured literature review (SLR) of 866 research contributions (articles, book chapters and books). An analysis of the content was performed to identify the main topics discussed and to ascertain how these studies were carried out.

Findings

This paper highlights how the management of knowledge resources (as IC) has been discussed in the literature, focusing specifically on how universities report the information, which is fundamental for allowing stakeholders to understand the value created by these kinds of organizations.

Research limitations/implications

The manual analysis of the results of the SLR can be considered a limitation of this work. Another limitation of the work is represented by the use of only one database.

Originality/value

This SLR makes several useful contributions for both practitioners and scholars. First, it suggests strengthening the relationship with the external stakeholders to assure the survival of universities. Second, it enables others to replicate scientific research, thanks to its clear and transparent process. It also allows scholars to identify which issues their work should address, as well as suggesting possible future research areas.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 22 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Digital Feudalism: Creators, Credit, Consumption, and Capitalism
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-769-3

Article
Publication date: 12 January 2010

Toyoko Sato

Examining aspects of organizational identity, this paper revisits McLuhan's media theory in connection with W.R. Scott's insight that organizations themselves are the medium. The…

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Abstract

Purpose

Examining aspects of organizational identity, this paper revisits McLuhan's media theory in connection with W.R. Scott's insight that organizations themselves are the medium. The purpose of this paper is to consider the history of the Tokyo‐based urban developer/media organization Parco Co., Ltd, which emerged from a department store bankruptcy in 1969.

Design/methodology/approach

Through exploring the process of how a bankrupted department store transformed into Parco, a harbinger of Japan's consumer culture, the identity of Parco is sought in connection to its marketing strategies and managerial discourses.

Findings

Examining the identity of Parco provides two insights. First, there is a reflexive dynamism between an organizational identity and the organizational strategies. Parco exemplifies this concept as its strategies are defined and articulated by its organizational identity, which is in turn influenced by its organizational strategies. Second, Parco's organizational efficiency is found in its “organizational symbioticity”, a new construct which extends not only within but also beyond the firm.

Practical implications

The Parco case provides an important lesson. The medium that acts as an entrepreneur on the cutting edge can also be the message. For a medium that is ubiquitous, the message is the content of the medium. This appears to be the reason why Parco continues to successfully redefine its identities and strategies.

Originality/value

This paper uses the case study method to exemplify contemporary organizational identity and its marketing strategies. Furthermore, it demonstrates how an understanding of the social significance of the medium shapes consumer culture today.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 March 2020

Niccolò Paoloni, Giorgia Mattei, Alberto Dello Strologo and Massimiliano Celli

This systematic literature review analyzes and identifies research areas where researchers have already studied the role of intellectual capital (IC) in the healthcare sector…

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Abstract

Purpose

This systematic literature review analyzes and identifies research areas where researchers have already studied the role of intellectual capital (IC) in the healthcare sector. This review also analyzes how they carried out their work to understand future research directions.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is conducted through a systematic literature review. Therefore, following systematic literature review protocol, it was possible to select 225 papers. An analysis of the content was done to identify the main topics debated and understand what components of IC are the most studied by scholars.

Findings

The authors highlight how the components of IC (human capital, structural capital and relational capital) in the healthcare sector have not been discussed with the same frequency and intensity by researchers. The research shows that there are already widely discussed areas, such as structural capital, while other components of IC have remained on the shadow, such as relational capital. Human capital is the most undiscussed component.

Research limitations/implications

The manual analysis of the articles can be considered a limitation of this work.

Originality/value

This systematic literature review makes several useful contributions. First, it enables others to replicate scientific research, thanks to its clear and transparent process. Second, it identifies the main areas of research and the main research methods. It enables researchers to identify which issues their work should address and suggests possible areas for future research.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 September 2019

Ciaran B. Trace and Yan Zhang

The purpose of this article is to examine the ways in which self-tracking data have meaning and value in and after the life of the creator, including how such data could become…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to examine the ways in which self-tracking data have meaning and value in and after the life of the creator, including how such data could become part of the larger historical record, curated in an institutional archive. In doing so, the article expands upon existing shared interests among researchers working in the areas of self-tracking, human–computer interaction and archival science.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 18 people who had self-tracked for six months or more were recruited for the study. Participants completed a survey which gathered demographic data and characteristics vis-à-vis their self-tracking behavior. In-person semi-structured interviews were then conducted to ascertain the beliefs of the participants regarding the long-term use and value of personal quantified-self data.

Findings

The findings reveal the value that people place on self-tracking data, their thoughts on proper modes for accessing their archive once it moves from the private to the public space, and how to provide fidelity within the system such that their experiences are represented while also enabling meaning making on the part of subsequent users of the archive.

Originality/value

Today’s quantified-self data are generally embedded in systems that create a pipeline from the individual source to that of the corporate warehouse, bent on absorbing and extracting insight from a totality of big data. This article posits that new opportunities for knowing and for design can be revealed when a public interest rationale is appended to rich personalized collections of small data.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 76 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 February 2015

Marco Ferretti, Giorgia Profumo and Ilaria Tutore

The purpose of this paper is to verify if, in case of a shock event, there are types of corporate announcement that may influence stock price behaviour better than others. The…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to verify if, in case of a shock event, there are types of corporate announcement that may influence stock price behaviour better than others. The authors also try to determine if the communication strategy may be affected by the type of shock event.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the event study analysis, the authors estimate the Cumulative Abnormal Returns associated to the stocks of the selected firms hit by a shock event, in order to visualise the effectiveness of different types of corporate announcements after the event.

Findings

The research confirms the negative effect of shock events on corporate stocks’ value. Moreover, the study envisages that financial market rewards companies that assume consistent and reassuring announcements during the event window. The authors also find that the effectiveness of corporate announcements is related to the shock’s typology.

Research limitations/implications

The study employs a small and unbalanced sample of shock events. Moreover, it does not exist a generally accepted criterion to define and classify corporate announcements and the authors cannot exclude the influence of the media in the categorisation process of the announcements.

Practical implications

Since shock events may threat firms’ survival, by knowing which response strategy fits better a shock situation, a manager can assess the potential effect of his communication options and choose the right type of announcement.

Originality/value

There is a lack of literature on this theme, in particular on the effects that the different corporate announcements following a shock event may have on shareholders’ value.

Details

Journal of Communication Management, vol. 19 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-254X

Keywords

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