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1 – 10 of over 1000Elizabeth Shepherd, Jenny Bunn, Andrew Flinn, Elizabeth Lomas, Anna Sexton, Sara Brimble, Katherine Chorley, Emma Harrison, James Lowry and Jessica Page
Open government data and access to public sector information is commonplace, yet little attention has focussed on the essential roles and responsibilities in practice of the…
Abstract
Purpose
Open government data and access to public sector information is commonplace, yet little attention has focussed on the essential roles and responsibilities in practice of the information and records management professionals, who enable public authorities to deliver open data to citizens. This paper aims to consider the perspectives of open government and information practitioners in England on the procedural and policy implications of open data across local public authorities.
Design/methodology/approach
Using four case studies from different parts of the public sector in England (local government, higher education, National Health Service and hospital trust), the research involved master’s level students in the data collection and analysis, alongside academics, thus enhancing the learning experience of students.
Findings
There was little consistency in the location of responsibility for open government data policy, the range of job roles involved or the organisational structures, policy and guidance in place to deliver this function. While this may reflect the organisational differences and professional concerns, it makes it difficult to share best practice. Central government policy encourages public bodies to make their data available for re-use. However, local practice is very variable and perhaps understandably responds more to local organisational strategic and resource priorities. The research found a lack of common metadata standards for open data, different choices about which data to open, problems of data redundancy, inconsistency and data integrity and a wide variety of views on the corporate and public benefits of open data.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to England and to non-national public bodies and only draws data from a small number of case studies.
Originality/value
The research contributes to the debate about emerging issues around the complexities of open government data and its public benefits, contributing to the discussions around technology-enabled approaches to citizen engagement and governance. It offers new insights into the interaction between open data and public policy objectives, drawing on the experience of local public sectors in England.
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Learning and development occur in many spaces both within and outside formal education settings. This chapter explores progress and possibilities of a knowledge exchange programme…
Abstract
Learning and development occur in many spaces both within and outside formal education settings. This chapter explores progress and possibilities of a knowledge exchange programme with a third sector organisation involved with community development, playwork and youth work in an urban area of the East Midlands. Theoretical concepts draw on a growing international interest in intergenerational play (Graves, 2002) and ‘cultural circles’ (Gill, 2020) as a method of challenging power and communication barriers between practitioners and families from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Using Foucault, post-structuralist feminism and autoethnography, as well as insight from a knowledge exchange partnership – the chapter offers a critique of a national initiative aimed at addressing ‘holiday hunger’ and community engagement. Practitioners in international contexts may benefit from the chapter’s attempt to address a series of co-constructed questions that include:
How do we raise the profile of children’s play as a non-negotiable starting point for universal service provision to children and young people?
What can be done to ‘connect’ diverse communities living in close proximity and sharing amenities within urban areas?
How can we celebrate differences whilst designing universal services, which promote social cohesion through play and leisure spaces?
How do we raise the profile of children’s play as a non-negotiable starting point for universal service provision to children and young people?
What can be done to ‘connect’ diverse communities living in close proximity and sharing amenities within urban areas?
How can we celebrate differences whilst designing universal services, which promote social cohesion through play and leisure spaces?
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The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of some health‐related effects of creative and expressive writing.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of some health‐related effects of creative and expressive writing.
Design/methodology/approach
Reviews some of the main research studies exploring links between expressive writing and aspects of health, including two new experimental studies showing effects of poetry on mood and immune system indices.
Findings
Research studies have involved standard writing tasks and have shown a good range of physiological and behavioural benefits. Example findings include improvements in health and well‐being and enhanced levels of host defences in immune system functioning. Other notable findings include reduced severity of symptoms in arthritis and asthma sufferers. However, writing disclosure may also have negative effects on clients with post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The cognitive‐behavioural bases of “writing therapy” include the informative function of emotions, self‐regulation, re‐framing, and dealing more effectively with negative feelings.
Originality/value
Provides health professionals with an overview of research into health‐related effects of creative and expressive writing, and may encourage sensitive approaches which include writing therapy. The studies of poetry and immune function report some of the first empirical biological evidence for the poetry‐health link.
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In light of Facebook-based viral marketing and social commerce, the purpose of this paper is to test the moderating role of social identification with the Facebook profile owner…
Abstract
Purpose
In light of Facebook-based viral marketing and social commerce, the purpose of this paper is to test the moderating role of social identification with the Facebook profile owner (celebrity as aspirational reference group vs ingroup member (college student, same school) vs outgroup member (college student, different school)) in Facebook-based fashion brand marketing and management.
Design/methodology/approach
A randomized between-subjects experiment (celebrity’s Facebook profile vs ingroup member’s Facebook profile vs outgroup member’s Facebook profile vs control condition, n=73) was conducted. The sample was composed of college students recruited from a subject pool in a US university.
Findings
Results of multiple regression analyses indicate that social identification with the Facebook profile owner and ingroup vs outgroup perception moderate the influence of consumers’ materialism, fashion involvement and opinion leadership on interpersonal attraction to the celebrity, wishful identification with the celebrity, emotional quotient, involvement with the ads, advertising believability and willingness to buy the advertised fashion products. Furthermore, the results of structural equation modeling analyses show that source credibility perception (both the celebrity who endorses her own brand and the Facebook profile owner) mediates the relationship between experimental conditions (celebrity as aspirational outgroup vs same school student as an ingroup member vs different school student as an outgroup member) and the outcome variables (interpersonal attraction to the celebrity, involvement with ads, and advertising believability) in viral marketing leveraging a social media platform.
Originality/value
This study makes several theoretical contributions to consumer psychology and provides managerial implications for Facebook-based fashion marketing and fashion brand management.
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This study aims to think critically about collaborative working through the practical application of an ethics of care approach. The authors address the following research…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to think critically about collaborative working through the practical application of an ethics of care approach. The authors address the following research questions: How can the authors embed an ethics of care into academic collaboration? What are the benefits and challenges of this kind of collaborative approach? The contextual focus also incorporates a collective sense making of academic identities over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors focus on the activities of the “Consumer Research with Impact for Society” collective at and around the 2021 Academy of Marketing conference. The authors draw on the insights and labour of the group in terms of individual and collaborative reflexivity, workshops and the development of a collaborative poem.
Findings
First, the authors present the “web of words” as the adopted approach to collaborative writing. Second, the authors consider the broader takeaways that have emerged from the collaboration in relation to blurring of boundaries, care in collaboration and transformations.
Originality/value
The overarching contribution of the paper is to introduce an Ethics of Collective Academic Care. The authors discuss three further contributions that emerged as central in its operationalisation: arts-based research, tensions and conflicts and structural issues. The application of the “web of words” approach also offers a template for an alternative means of engaging with, and representing, those involved in the research.
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Jessica V. Linley and Keith L. Warren
Aftercare is an important predictor of outcomes following treatment for substance abuse. Despite this, there is evidence that the great majority of substance abusing clients…
Abstract
Purpose
Aftercare is an important predictor of outcomes following treatment for substance abuse. Despite this, there is evidence that the great majority of substance abusing clients choose not to participate in aftercare. Aftercare programs that are tied to specific residential treatment facilities, sometimes known as alumni groups or alumni clubs, might increase participation by offering former residents the opportunity to maintain treatment oriented social networks. Therapeutic communities (TCs), which emphasize mutual aid between residents, are ideal candidates for such programs. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 100 randomly chosen former TC residents were randomly surveyed regarding their contact with fellow alumni and their exchange of recovery oriented helping behaviors. A thirty day timeline follow-back methodology was used.
Findings
Contact was primarily through electronic means, particularly phone calls, texts and the alumni club Facebook page. Participants who reported more electronic contact also reported more days in which they offered and received recovery oriented help. Participants who were African American or had spent more time in TC treatment offered and received recovery oriented help on more days.
Research limitations/implications
While this is an exploratory study limited to one TC, this alumni club allows for the maintenance of a mutual aid network after termination. That network primarily consists of electronic forms of contact. A longer time spent in TC treatment may allow for the internalization of the practice of mutual aid. Further research on alumni clubs is warranted.
Originality/value
This is the first survey of TC alumni club members.
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Jessica Blackwell and Trevor Holmes
In 2015, a librarian (Jessica Blackwell) and a course instructor (Trevor Holmes) collaborated to offer experiential opportunities in the archive itself for a large introductory…
Abstract
In 2015, a librarian (Jessica Blackwell) and a course instructor (Trevor Holmes) collaborated to offer experiential opportunities in the archive itself for a large introductory Women’s Studies class. Since then, students from six semesters of the course have worked with primary source materials from the library’s collections. This chapter is a description of practice rather than a formal study. The authors describe design elements from the course, public products of the assignment, and reflections based on observations over time, offering several ways for librarians with access to archival material to co-design assignments with instructors. In the assignment variations, students visit the archive to complete a short transcription or digitization task pre-selected to benefit both the learners’ research skills development and the wider research community. Final products go live online, benefiting the students and the global research community. Then, students link the experience to a course reading in a critically reflective paper. While initially the projects hold barriers for students, in formal and informal reflections they ultimately find it to be a rewarding learning experience. The authors contend that the assignment has significant elements of experiential learning and high-impact practices.
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