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1 – 10 of over 12000The purpose of this paper is to reveal those attributes of owners and managers that influence knowledge flows between owners and managers in a tourism destination network. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reveal those attributes of owners and managers that influence knowledge flows between owners and managers in a tourism destination network. The research question relates to whether homogeneity and/or heterogeneity attributes of the owners and managers are associated with the flow of information within a knowledge network.
Design/methodology/approach
Owners and managers of tourism and hospitality businesses in the Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch conurbation were surveyed regarding their receipt of information from each other. Social network analysis (SNA) was applied to understand how job position, type of business, gender and education attributes influence the information flows within a knowledge network.
Findings
It was revealed that the ties or flows of information were influenced through the heterogeneity of the type of education attribute of a business owner or manager. Other attributes such as type of business, job position or gender were not associated with the receipt of information.
Research limitations/implications
The contribution of the paper relates to increasing the understanding of an underlying attribute that influences information flows between owners and managers of tourism and hospitality businesses within a tourism destination.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the understanding of a heterogeneous attribute that influences the flow of information within a tourism destination network.
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To determine the differences, as represented by information horizons mapping, in the health information-seeking behavior from a group of participants between March 2019 and April…
Abstract
Purpose
To determine the differences, as represented by information horizons mapping, in the health information-seeking behavior from a group of participants between March 2019 and April 2020 of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
In March 2019, the author conducted a study on health information-seeking behavior in which 149 participants drew information horizons maps in a health-related context. They also took health and information literacy assessments. This exact study was replicated using the same population in April 2020 to determine the differences in what the participants drew on their maps and how these changes interacted with their health and information literacy, their age and their education.
Findings
There is a statistically significant difference in the increased number of sources and the ranked quality of the sources that people used during the pandemic. Participants were much more likely to use credible sources and news sources, especially if they were older, more educated and had higher literacy levels – both health and information. They also relied heavily on social media. The participant group in the pandemic had a much heavier reliance on sources that are often used in a passive encountering way but engaging with them in an active information-seeking manner. The health information-seeking behavior in this study did not adhere to other research that found issue with information overload, avoidance and cyberchondria in response to crisis situations.
Originality/value
This article utilizes information horizons methodology to explore pre- and post-pandemic information-seeking. It is completely unique in this approach.
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Heather O’Brien, Devon Greyson, Cathy Chabot and Jean Shoveller
The purpose of this paper is to utilize McKenzie’s two-dimensional model of information practices to situate child feeding practices as complex, socially situated information…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to utilize McKenzie’s two-dimensional model of information practices to situate child feeding practices as complex, socially situated information practices. Further, the authors examined a host of contextual factors (financial, physical, and social) that enabled and constrained information practices within the tightly controlled environment that defines the lives of young parents (YPs).
Design/methodology/approach
Methods of investigation were ethnographic in nature and data collection methods included naturalistic observation and interviews in two communities in British Columbia, Canada over a period of several years. Data collection and analysis was ongoing. During the initial stages of data analysis, a conventional approach to content analysis was used to identify key concepts, preliminary themes, and illustrative examples. Working within the broader category of child feeding practices, the authors used a constant comparative process of directed content analysis to identify sub-themes, namely, distinct physical, social, and financial influences on child feeding practices.
Findings
The YPs in this study described negotiating breastfeeding, formula feeding, and the introduction of solid foods within a heavily surveilled atmosphere with different and conflicting levels of support and information. The findings demonstrated that active seeking by YPs was often discouraged by authorities, and more passive practices of information encountering and receipt of information from proxies were accepted and expected.
Research limitations/implications
This study used McKenzie’s two-dimensional model to paint a richer picture of YPs’ information practices and their physical, geographical, financial, and social contexts.
Practical implications
These findings suggests that child feeding informational support should, rather than being prescriptive, take into account the complexities of YPs’ relationships and daily lives, as well as the social structures that shape their experiences as parents.
Social implications
Child feeding practices are influenced by a host of physical, financial, and social factors, and are situated within familial and education environments, as well as broader social and policy discourses.
Originality/value
This research utilized McKenzie’s two-dimensional model of information practices with a sample of YPs. Evidence suggested that child feeding practices were informed by active seeking, active scanning, non-directed monitoring, and by proxy, but these manifested differently for YPs than for the older expectant mothers upon whom McKenzie’s original model was derived. Using ethnographic methods, the authors situated child feeding practices as complex information practices that are informed by conflicting information, physical, social, and financial factors and intensive parenting ideologies. This reinforces the need for information science researchers to understand contextual factors that influence practices.
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Paul Blessner, Thomas A. Mazzuchi and Shahram Sarkani
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the relationship between ISO 9001 conformance of suppliers and the quality of products they provide, within a procurement…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the relationship between ISO 9001 conformance of suppliers and the quality of products they provide, within a procurement system of a manufacturer operating under contracts with the US Department of Defense.
Design/methodology/approach
Chi‐square tests of independence were performed to compare the receipt acceptance rate of material provided by ISO 9001‐conforming suppliers to that of non‐ISO 9001‐conforming suppliers, for more than 46,000 receipts representing 21 material commodity groups provided by almost 800 suppliers. Acceptance of receipts required conformance to both hardware and paperwork requirements. Tests were also performed on data subsets, to determine the impact of ISO 9001 conformance on product quality for each of the 21 material commodity groups, for manufacturers versus distributors, and for two material control levels.
Findings
For the overall data set, and for the majority of data subsets analyzed, the product quality of non‐ISO 9001‐conforming suppliers was significantly better than that of ISO 9001‐conforming suppliers. When only hardware non‐conformances were considered to cause rejections, the results were similar, but effect sizes were generally smaller.
Research limitations/implications
The quantities of receipts and suppliers included in this investigation were very large; however, care should be exercised in generalizing the results, because of the potential influence of the defense industry‐related requirements imposed upon the material and the suppliers.
Originality/value
This is believed to be the first paper to investigate the impact of ISO 9001 conformance on product quality using a large quantity of actual product data, for both ISO 9001‐conforming and non‐ISO 9001‐conforming suppliers, in contrast to numerous assessments of quality impact performed using interview and survey data.
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To date, health information behaviour (HIB) models have not been applied to an exploration of Wikipedia as a consumer health information resource. Wikipedia has been situated and…
Abstract
Purpose
To date, health information behaviour (HIB) models have not been applied to an exploration of Wikipedia as a consumer health information resource. Wikipedia has been situated and is well established as a valuable resource for the general layperson wishing to learn more about their health or the health of a loved one. This paper aims to identify an approach to exploring the role of Wikipedia in consumer health information behaviour (CHIB) that is grounded in a conceptual framework from the library and information science (LIS) discipline.
Design/methodology/approach
The author draws on current HIB models and relevant theories from existing LIS literature and applies them to propose a new definition of CHIB. The author uses this definition to frame Wikipedia as an unexplored consumer health information resource in the LIS scholarship and suggests future directions for placing such investigations within a conceptual framework from LIS.
Findings
The paper finds that Longo's expanded conceptual model of health information-seeking behaviour (ECMHISB) could be valuable and useful for the exploration of CHIB in relation to Wikipedia's health and medical content. Due to Wikipedia's online nature, research framed by these models must acknowledge and take under consideration the digital divide phenomenon and various factors that influence an individual's place within it.
Research limitations/implications
This work builds a foundation upon which future research into the role of Wikipedia's health and medical content in CHIB can be grounded. Using Longo's model, future research might provide insight into who Wikipedia is helping and who it has left behind. LIS scholars, practicing health librarians and perhaps health workers stand to gain a deeper understanding of the potential influence of Wikipedia's health information on its consumers.
Originality/value
For LIS scholars, this paper is novel in the fact that a HIB model has not yet been applied to the study of Wikipedia's health content. This paper provides a foundation for this research.
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Chad Albrecht, Conan Albrecht and Shay Tzafrir
The purpose of this paper is to present and explain the identity theft cycle. The identity theft cycle explains how a perpetrator goes through various stages of confidence and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present and explain the identity theft cycle. The identity theft cycle explains how a perpetrator goes through various stages of confidence and experimentation when stealing an individual's identity.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper takes a conceptual approach by first describing identity theft in detail and then discussing the seriousness of identity theft for consumers today. The paper then presents and explains the identity theft cycle in greater detail including the stages of discovery, action, and trial.
Findings
The paper provides evidence to suggest that if identity theft is detected early, consumers can protect themselves from the vast and difficult consequences of identity theft.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills an important area of research by providing basic information about the nature of identity theft. This paper also discusses the various ways that perpetrators steal consumers' information, as well as teaches consumers how to proactively protect themselves from identity theft.
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Yue Zhang, Derek Baker and Garry Griffith
This paper aims to address the association between the quality and quantity of information in supply chains and the costs and benefits of generating, using and sharing it.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to address the association between the quality and quantity of information in supply chains and the costs and benefits of generating, using and sharing it.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors’ conceptual framework draws on multiple disciplines and theories of the value and use of product information. Controllable aspects of information, its quality and quantity, are the focus of the study as drivers of firm and chain performance. Structural equation models of constructs at two stages of the Australian red meat supply chain are employed, using data from a survey of 81 sheep and cattle breeders and commercial producers.
Findings
Information quality influences performance more for some product attributes than others and is more influential than is information quantity. Information sharing for many attributes generates benefits only at high cost. Investment in measurement and transmission technologies is supported for intrinsic and extrinsic measures of quality. Differences in respondents' evaluation of information quality are interpreted as evidence of persistent chain failure.
Originality/value
To the authors' knowledge, this is the first attempt at quantifying and comparing the benefits and costs of information sharing across multiple stages of a supply chain and the first to assess quantitatively the role played by information quality and quantity in generating costs and benefits.
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Ka Yan Mok, Geoffrey Qiping Shen and Rebecca Yang
In response to the world’s rising awareness on sustainability, industry players and policymakers are devoting great efforts to bolster green building developments. Every green…
Abstract
Purpose
In response to the world’s rising awareness on sustainability, industry players and policymakers are devoting great efforts to bolster green building developments. Every green building project (GBP) involves numerous stakeholders and potentially incompatible concerns. Despite the associated environmental, economic and social benefits, GBP developments have often confronted managerial barriers which are actually emerged from stakeholders – the actual key determinants of a project. Holistically analyzing the complexity of stakeholders in GBPs is, therefore, crucial to improving GBP management and achieving greater sustainability for all involved. The purpose of this paper is to analyze stakeholder complexity in large GBPs using a holistic framework which integrates both empirical and rationalistic analytical perspectives.
Design/methodology/approach
The complexity of stakeholders in GBPs can be considered from three aspects – identifying stakeholders, assessing stakeholder interactions and analyzing stakeholder concerns. The proposed stakeholder analysis framework uses both empirical methods (e.g. interviews and surveys) and rationalistic methods (e.g. chain referral sampling and social network analysis) to analyze GBP stakeholder complexity. Case study of a lab-enabled commercial GBP in Hong Kong was undertaken to illustrate the framework.
Findings
The framework enables a holistic, objective and effective stakeholder analysis; leading GBP leaders toward a complete understanding of project stakeholder complexity. The case study findings bring managerial insights to GBP leaders on the general SNA-related stakeholder dynamics and the important stakeholder concerns, of large Hong Kong GBPs. The findings diagnose general connectivity structures of GBP stakeholders, identify influential and peripheral actors in GBP information exchange, and suggest clues to improve their dynamics. In addition, ten key stakeholder concerns were identified, including comprehensive governmental standards and procedures, clear sustainability goals at the outset, effective stakeholder engagement, adequate design flexibility, and a “can-do” attitude of contractors and consultants – which are all vital for successful GBP development. The underlying reasons of these concerns and recommendations to addressing them were also discussed.
Originality/value
Many existing GBP stakeholder studies appear to use a single analytical perspective to assess project stakeholder complexity, but this may not gain a full understanding. The holistic stakeholder analysis framework used herein combines empiricism and rationalism. It helps to bring GBP leaders and implementers toward a more informed project decision making, a more thorough understanding of stakeholder complexity, as well as a more effective engagement of stakeholders.
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Materials management is an important and specialised function existing in all industries and utilities. Although the store management and purchasing functions have co‐existed for…
Abstract
Materials management is an important and specialised function existing in all industries and utilities. Although the store management and purchasing functions have co‐existed for a long time, the need to integrate and streamline these functions, as well as planning them on a scientific management basis, is considered increasingly important and urgent. Computers can be used to look after their resources optimally and aggressively. Future trends will see the emphasis shift from the mainframe computer to the microcomputer, from traditional inventory monitoring to materials and capacity planning based on decision support systems, and from centralised processing to distributed processing at the microcomputer level.
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Explores the role of evaluation in a business process re‐engineering initiative and its relationship with organisational learning and innovation. The paper presents the evaluation…
Abstract
Explores the role of evaluation in a business process re‐engineering initiative and its relationship with organisational learning and innovation. The paper presents the evaluation of the implementation of a business process re‐engineering project in three case studies. The implementation of the BPR project was based on an eight‐stage BPR methodology. The participating companies were asked to evaluate the implementation, describe the decisions made in order to adapt to the change process and analyse the potential benefits that they expect in terms of business performance improvement, organisational effectiveness and user acceptability. Discusses the evaluation results of the implementation of business process re‐engineering model in three case studies in order to identify links with organisational learning and innovation.
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