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1 – 10 of over 10000Anita Nigam and Carole Janisch
To facilitate teacher–researcher collaboration in order to implement an informational writing research project using the framework of Browse, Collect, Collate, and Compose…
Abstract
Purpose
To facilitate teacher–researcher collaboration in order to implement an informational writing research project using the framework of Browse, Collect, Collate, and Compose embedded within the writing workshop.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted using a qualitative (Merriam, 1998) method of inquiry, more specifically, case study research design. A researcher and a practitioner came together to explore problems related to authentic use of expository genre and collaborated to help fourth graders write informational books.
Findings
The development of an authentic informational book was in contrast to the inauthentic purposes whereby students studied expository writing as preparation for statewide testing of student writing achievement. The study advocates the usage of authentic literacy contexts where students can enjoy writing for personal purposes.
Practical implications
Collaboration between classroom teachers of writing and researchers contributes to the theoretical and practical knowledge base of the teacher and researcher. Overall literacy development is enhanced when students read and write out of their own interest. Students use trade books as mentor texts to compose and create their informational books. The value of seeing fourth graders as researchers and making an informational book serves the authentic purpose of writing.
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Duwaraka Murugadas, Stefanie Vieten, Janina Nikolic and Agnes Mainka
The Department of Information Science of the Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf is currently conducting a research project on Informational World Cities – the prototypical…
Abstract
Purpose
The Department of Information Science of the Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf is currently conducting a research project on Informational World Cities – the prototypical cities of the knowledge society, which have been growing in the twenty-first century. In total, 31 potential Informational World Cities were identified and a set of criteria was developed to evaluate the degree of informativeness of a city through coherent criteria. The purpose of this paper is to investigate London.
Design/methodology/approach
The investigation was based on the Grounded Theory, ethnographic field research, interviews, bibliometrics, patentometrics, official statistics and the analysis of web content. During the stay in London, eight semi-standardised interviews according to SERVQUAL were conducted.
Findings
The characteristics of an Informational World City are well-marked in most cases, especially London’s knowledge infrastructure. Furthermore London places value on smart innovations and tries to adapt public transport to the growing population. This includes, next to an enhancement of the train capacities, information and communication technology, since the digital infrastructure keeps gaining importance. The ethnic/cultural diversity as well as the international connectivity and the creative infrastructure are also distinguishing marks of London. Nevertheless, especially the digital and smart infrastructure require enhancement. London’s government is ambitioned, though, to make progress and pursues plans which are of benefit to the city’s informativeness.
Social implications
This paper gives insight into the characteristics of the prototypical city of the upcoming knowledge society.
Originality/value
This paper follows an interdisciplinary approach and combines information science, urban studies and sociology to analyse cities of the knowledge society. Furthermore it is the first time that London is considered an Informational World City in an empirical study.
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The purpose of this study is to investigate traditional freshmen value attitudes towards the secondary research process.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate traditional freshmen value attitudes towards the secondary research process.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilized a single‐question qualitative survey, which asked the open‐ended two‐part question: “Do you like research? Why or why not?” The survey was administered to first semester freshmen communication classes where the students were able to write freely about their feelings towards the research process. These results were then contextualized through the lens of Krathwohl, Bloom, and Masia's Affective Domain.
Findings
Based on a content analysis of the written responses, three groups, which comprised eight themes, emerged. A substantial contingent of students (33 percent) described their motivations for conducting research as solely extrinsic in nature and maintained adverse emotions and attitudes towards the process, while a smaller number of students (16 percent) were both intrinsically and extrinsically driven to participate in the research process and reported no negative emotions. The majority of participants (49 percent), however, resided on what could be considered an intellectual borderland where the value of secondary research was entirely dependent on the specific topic of study.
Originality/value
The study adds to the well‐established macro research thread examining the relationship between information literacy and the affective domain and the less‐established micro research thread describing student emotional predispositions towards the academic library. As a result of this study, librarians will be better able not only to understand the attitudes freshmen students “carry” with them regarding the value of secondary research but also to consciously incorporate affective components into their work in order to craft more impactful library sessions.
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Sumreen Masood Khattak, Muhammad Zahid Iqbal, Malik Ikramullah and Muhammad Mustafa Raziq
This study examines the relationship between employees' perceptions of informational fairness and project performance. Furthermore, it examines if this relationship is…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the relationship between employees' perceptions of informational fairness and project performance. Furthermore, it examines if this relationship is sequentially mediated by (1) knowledge sharing and role clarity and (2) communication openness and role clarity.
Design/methodology/approach
Data are collected from 302 full-time employees of seven project-based construction organizations in Pakistan. Data are analyzed through variance-based structural equation modeling technique and the Preacher and Hayes' bootstrapping procedure.
Findings
Results indicate that project employees' perceptions of informational fairness positively predict project performance. Moreover, this relationship is sequentially mediated by (1) communication openness and role clarity and (2) knowledge sharing and role clarity.
Originality/value
This study provides further insights on the informational fairness and project performance relationship by examining their underlying mechanisms. It draws on the much ignored context of Pakistan, and offers some implications for managers and researchers with regard to how behavioral factors may further enhance project performance.
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The aim of this paper is to establish an original database from fieldwork on microfinance institutions in Cameroon.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to establish an original database from fieldwork on microfinance institutions in Cameroon.
Design/methodology/approach
The main method used for the research involved statistical analysis of an original survey data. The latter fieldwork analysis has enabled us to test the hypothesis of neoclassical and neo‐structuralist economists advocating a significant relationship between microfinance savings and liberalised real bank deposit interest rates.
Findings
The statistical analysis carried out indicated that microfinance savings are associated to variables other than the rate of interest. The failure of a liberalised interest rate policy to cause a significant portfolio shift from microfinance into the banking system does not support the interest responsiveness of savings as advocated by the McKinnon‐Shaw school. This paper supports, therefore, the neo‐structuralist analysis of financial development where microfinance institutions are an important structural feature of financial systems in many developing countries.
Research limitations/implications
It would be interesting to extend statistical analysis undertaken in this paper to other African countries.
Practical implications
The main policy issue affecting microfinance from the empirical analysis is the need to mitigate the extremely high interest rates utilised by microfinance. Banks may be encouraged to undertake a series of measures such as guaranteeing of future loans to their customer by linking savings and loans to attract microfinance members.
Originality/value
The contribution of this paper, therefore, is to provide a unique opportunity to investigate the association between microfinance institution assets and real interest rates in an African country.
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This paper illuminates the distinction between individual and organizational actors in business-to-business markets as well as the coexistence of formal and informal mechanisms of…
Abstract
This paper illuminates the distinction between individual and organizational actors in business-to-business markets as well as the coexistence of formal and informal mechanisms of coordination in multinational corporations. The main questions addressed include the following. (1) What factors influence the occurrence of personal contacts of foreign subsidiary managers in industrial multinational corporations? (2) How such personal contacts enable coordination in industrial markets and within multinational firms? The theoretical context of the paper is based on: (1) the interaction approach to industrial markets, (2) the network approach to industrial markets, and (3) the process approach to multinational management. The unit of analysis is the foreign subsidiary manager as the focal actor of a contact network. The paper is empirically focused on Portuguese sales subsidiaries of Finnish multinational corporations, which are managed by either a parent country national (Finnish), a host country national (Portuguese) or a third country national. The paper suggests eight scenarios of individual dependence and uncertainty, which are determined by individual, organizational, and/or market factors. Such scenarios are, in turn, thought to require personal contacts with specific functions. The paper suggests eight interpersonal roles of foreign subsidiary managers, by which the functions of their personal contacts enable inter-firm coordination in industrial markets. In addition, the paper suggests eight propositions on how the functions of their personal contacts enable centralization, formalization, socialization and horizontal communication in multinational corporations.
Gihan Anuradha Tennakoon, Raufdeen Rameezdeen and Nicholas Chileshe
The uptake of reprocessed construction materials (RCMs) derived from demolition waste (DW) is limited, which questions the long-term sustainability of DW reverse logistics (RL)…
Abstract
Purpose
The uptake of reprocessed construction materials (RCMs) derived from demolition waste (DW) is limited, which questions the long-term sustainability of DW reverse logistics (RL). To address this gap, the current study focused on identifying informational and structural interventions to promote the uptake of RCMs among Australian construction professionals (CPs).
Design/methodology/approach
Following a qualitative research approach with thirty-one semi-structured interviews, the study explored potential interventions that can drive broader RCM usage. The study's strength lies in the in-depth qualitative insights gathered through extensive interviews with CPs experienced in using RCMs.
Findings
Sixteen informational and structural interventions to promote the uptake of RCMs were identified and mapped against the industry levels at which they should be implemented. RCM suppliers should focus on improving material quality, supply and marketing while minimising material costs. Governments should encourage using RCMs through incentivisation, supportive legislation and approval processes. The significance of awareness building and research was also recognised, which requires the collective efforts of suppliers, governmental and non-governmental bodies and educational institutes.
Originality/value
Despite the talk around sustainable consumption, the actual walk towards this is limited from a construction perspective, as seen through the low uptake of RCMs. This study attempts to bridge this mismatch by outlining informational and structural interventions that would drive CPs to walk the talk and use RCMs for construction applications. While most studies on DW RL have focused on improving waste recovery processes, this study takes a less-trodden path and explores the potential for developing markets for RCMs.
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Richard Cull and Tillal Eldabi
The increase in business process management projects in the past decade has seen an increase in demand for business process modelling (BPM) techniques. A rapidly growing aspect of…
Abstract
Purpose
The increase in business process management projects in the past decade has seen an increase in demand for business process modelling (BPM) techniques. A rapidly growing aspect of BPM is the use of workflow management systems to automate routine and sequential processes. Workflows tend to move away from traditional definitions of business processes that can often be forced to fit a model that does not suit its nature. Existing process modelling tools tend to be biased to either the informational, behavioural or object‐oriented aspect of the workflow. Because of this, models can often miss important aspects of a workflow. As well as managing the relationship between the types of model it is important to consider who will be using it, as process models are useful in various ways. The paper aims to address these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports on a case study in a manufacturing company, where users were surveyed to see which are the notations that are most common in modelling based on two main categories (i.e. behavioural and informational).
Findings
The research outcomes showed that there is no prevailing set of standards used for either of these categories, while most users feel the need to use more than one approach to model their system at any given time. Many companies face problems when trying to model the behaviour of human workers in the business processes. Existing techniques are mostly designed at modelling information systems or business processes, and rarely attempt to integrate the two.
Originality/value
This paper proposes the use of a new hybrid modelling methodology, which is an original idea, on existing tools and methodologies. Key authors in the literature recommend against the trend of developing a brand new methodology, so existing tools from each end of the scale were combined to provide a solution which is capable of modelling IS and BP.
Yaokuang Li, Li Ling, Juan Wu, Daru Zhang and Weizhong Fu
This paper aims to investigate the role of informational and relational mechanisms on equity crowdfunding investors' conformity behaviors by focusing on a relational culture of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the role of informational and relational mechanisms on equity crowdfunding investors' conformity behaviors by focusing on a relational culture of China.
Design/methodology/approach
The data of 108 financing projects and 7,688 investment records from a union of Chinese equity crowdfunding platforms are gathered. Lead investors' response to a campaign and follow-investors’ former links explain investors' conformity by social network analysis (SNA) and ordinary least squares (OLS) analysis.
Findings
The results show that informational and relational influences drive conformity in Chinese equity crowdfunding. Moreover, the informational influence weakens in a highly centralized structure of linked investors.
Research limitations/implications
The results add new knowledge to follow-investors’ conformity behaviors in equity crowdfunding and enrich the literature on conformity theory by finding the contextual effect of information-influenced conformity and the adaption of conformity theory to cultural uniqueness. Besides, this preliminary work also suggests opportunities for future research.
Practical implications
The paper inspires new consideration on a strategical use of follow-investors’ conformity mentality to promote successfully financing and reminds platform managers to be alert to the interference of small groups formed based on informal relationships to the normal financing order.
Originality/value
This is the first study that discovers the non-informational influence and the limited influence of information on equity crowdfunding conformity through contextual concerns.
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Mario Saba, Peter Bou Saba and Antoine Harfouche
The purpose of this paper is to focus on an information technology (IT) deployment project in the specific field of agricultural cooperatives. It also aims to underline the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on an information technology (IT) deployment project in the specific field of agricultural cooperatives. It also aims to underline the importance of the IT implementation phase, but also the pre-implementation phase.
Design/methodology/approach
A four-year canonical action research project was conducted within a network of more than 300 agricultural cooperatives. Research was carried out both during the IT implementation and after deployment. Key information was gathered through unstructured and unofficial interviews, observations, field notes, meetings, focus groups, and documentary analysis.
Findings
Despite user resistance behavior, the findings show that information systems (IS) implementation may lead to unexpected results that extend beyond the tool’s initial objectives. Indeed, four hidden facets of the tool were revealed: inductor, symbol, pretext, and reference.
Research limitations/implications
Although the research is limited to one single-case study, it puts the emphasis on in-depth research, vs cross-sectional data collection, to analyze the relationship between IT implementation initiatives and organizational intelligence. Furthermore, the authors argue that while IS literature has separately developed related theories (actor-network theory, competitive intelligence), the authors conceptualize a whole theoretic system interrelating the two above-stated theories.
Practical implications
The implication for IS practitioners is that, by focusing only on experiences that have occurred during IT implementation, one may disregard critical information, behaviors and knowledge from unforeseen effects that have occurred after implementation. In future IT projects, IS managers therefore need to capitalize on post-implementation knowledge, through sociology of translation and competitive intelligence, in order to anticipate potential diversions from the initial objectives. Finally, while most IT implementation methods tend naturally to manage resistance maximize users’ satisfaction and to reduce potential resistance, the authors support an alternative approach. It consists into enhancing resistance in order to anticipate and resolve latent resistance behaviors directly or indirectly related to the project.
Originality/value
Despite widespread literature on resistance, appropriation or acceptance during IT projects, there is little research that addresses the impact of IT projects on organizational intelligence, and the kind of behaviors that lead to its failure or success. In the case, the implemented IT tool revealed hidden structural and organizational roles, which were unanticipated by IT designers and managers.
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