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Article
Publication date: 4 July 2023

Jessica Lichy, Daniella Ryding, Edyta Rudawska and Gianpaolo Vignali

The purpose of this study is to draw from sustainable social innovation theory and the Consumer styles inventory (CSI) instrument to examine secondhand clothing consumption habits…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to draw from sustainable social innovation theory and the Consumer styles inventory (CSI) instrument to examine secondhand clothing consumption habits for Russia. The secondhand market is the logical outcome of efforts to adopt resale as a facet of sustainable social innovation, with which to drive sustainable decision-making and socially responsible marketing in the secondhand high-end clothing market. Resale represents the cornerstone of business model innovation (BMi) for the retail sector, offering substantial opportunities for retailers who understand changes in consumption behaviour. More cost-effective and arguably greener, the sale of secondhand clothing is expected to be double the volume of fast fashion by 2030 but it remains an understudied field of research in the literature relating to the fashion industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Hypotheses are developed from the existing literature. Survey methodology is used to collect data from 250 Russian consumers in the city of Petersburg. The objective is to test the veracity of CSI shopper orientations, focusing on nascent motivations for high-end branded secondhand clothing, to examine sustainable social innovation and resale in an emerging market.

Findings

Four new shopping orientations are identified. Based on the empirical data, the authors suggest that five (out of the original eight CSI shopping orientations) are of internal statistical relevance, and that our new orientations are relevant for not only this market, but for neighbouring Eastern European countries too. The findings reflect postmodern evolution in behavioural motivations for Russian consumers, that can inform retail strategy in terms of BMi consumer for harnessing opportunities offered by sustainable social innovation and resale.

Originality/value

Whilst the CSI has been widely used, research for Eastern Europe is limited. Understanding the shopping orientations for sustainable alternatives to newly produced clothing has theoretical and practical implications for improving circularity, post-war entry strategies and countries facing economic downturn. This study contributes novel insights by examining consumer decision-making and shopping orientations in an emerging market.

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 April 2024

Dirk H.R. Spennemann, Jessica Biles, Lachlan Brown, Matthew F. Ireland, Laura Longmore, Clare L. Singh, Anthony Wallis and Catherine Ward

The use of generative artificial intelligence (genAi) language models such as ChatGPT to write assignment text is well established. This paper aims to assess to what extent genAi…

Abstract

Purpose

The use of generative artificial intelligence (genAi) language models such as ChatGPT to write assignment text is well established. This paper aims to assess to what extent genAi can be used to obtain guidance on how to avoid detection when commissioning and submitting contract-written assignments and how workable the offered solutions are.

Design/methodology/approach

Although ChatGPT is programmed not to provide answers that are unethical or that may cause harm to people, ChatGPT’s can be prompted to answer with inverted moral valence, thereby supplying unethical answers. The authors tasked ChatGPT to generate 30 essays that discussed the benefits of submitting contract-written undergraduate assignments and outline the best ways of avoiding detection. The authors scored the likelihood that ChatGPT’s suggestions would be successful in avoiding detection by markers when submitting contract-written work.

Findings

While the majority of suggested strategies had a low chance of escaping detection, recommendations related to obscuring plagiarism and content blending as well as techniques related to distraction have a higher probability of remaining undetected. The authors conclude that ChatGPT can be used with success as a brainstorming tool to provide cheating advice, but that its success depends on the vigilance of the assignment markers and the cheating student’s ability to distinguish between genuinely viable options and those that appear to be workable but are not.

Originality/value

This paper is a novel application of making ChatGPT answer with inverted moral valence, simulating queries by students who may be intent on escaping detection when committing academic misconduct.

Details

Interactive Technology and Smart Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-5659

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2022

Jessica Aquino and Kathleen L. Andereck

This paper aims to examine volunteer tourism (VT) experiences of three stakeholder groups in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The guiding research question is: how does VT influence…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine volunteer tourism (VT) experiences of three stakeholder groups in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The guiding research question is: how does VT influence marginalized communities from the perspectives of different stakeholders? This study was developed to address a need for further research that critically looks at the social impacts of VT in vulnerable communities and analyze the nature of VT by reviewing concepts related to sustainable tourism and social representation theory (SRT).

Design/methodology/approach

Using a phenomenological approach, this study is founded on SRT to understand the lived experiences of VT and the perceptions of its impacts on favela (slum) communities. This paper describes and interprets these meanings with a high degree of depth and richness using interviews, observation and document analysis. The experiences of community residents, voluntourists and non-governmental organization (NGO) staff are considered.

Findings

Study findings indicate that the different groups expressed several benefits and obstacles to VT. Voluntourists had a difficult time interpreting what influences VT has in general for the community focusing more inwardly on their personal experiences. Community residents experienced VT differently than the other groups. They identified the most benefits from VT and felt that they had the ability to create representations of themselves and of their community overall. NGOs expressed positive aspects of VT such as more community participation but noted concerns with voluntourists’ commitment.

Originality/value

This study is one of few to consider and compare the VT perceptions of three different stakeholder groups in vulnerable communities.

Details

International Journal of Tourism Cities, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-5607

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 April 2024

Nicole Ann Amato

The purpose of this paper is to explore teacher candidates’ response to young adult literature (prose and comics) featuring fat identified protagonists. The paper considers the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore teacher candidates’ response to young adult literature (prose and comics) featuring fat identified protagonists. The paper considers the textual and embodied resources readers use and reject when imagining and interpreting a character’s body. This paper explores how readers’ meaning making was influenced when reading prose versus comics. This paper adds to a corpus of scholarship about the relationships between young adult literature, comics, bodies and reader response theory.

Design/methodology/approach

At the time of the study, participants were enrolled in a teacher education program at a Midwestern University, meeting monthly for a voluntary book club dedicated to reading and discussing young adult literature. To examine readers’ responses to comics and prose featuring fat-identified protagonists, the author used descriptive qualitative methodologies to conduct a thematic analysis of meeting transcripts, written participant reflections and researcher memos. Analysis was grounded in theories of reader response, critical fat studies and multimodality.

Findings

Analyses indicated many readers reject textual clues indicating a character’s body size and weight were different from their own. Readers read their bodies into the stories, regarding them as self-help narratives instead of radical counternarratives. Some readers were not able to read against their assumptions of thinness (and whiteness) until prompted by the researcher and other participants.

Originality/value

Although many reader response scholars have demonstrated readers’ tendencies toward personal identification in the face of racial and class differences, there is less research regarding classroom practices around the entanglement of physical bodies, body image and texts. Analyzing reader’s responses to the constructions of fat bodies in prose versus comics may help English Language Arts (ELA) educators and students identify and deconstruct ideologies of thin-thinking and fatphobia. This study, which demonstrates thin readers’ tendencies to overidentify with protagonists, suggests ELA classrooms might encourage readers to engage in critical literacies that support them in reading both with and against their identities.

Details

English Teaching: Practice & Critique, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1175-8708

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2023

Hope Ameh and Jessica Lamond

The purpose of this paper is to explore flood-prone area residents' preferences of flood-resilient housing technologies (HTs), to understand the factors influencing their choices…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore flood-prone area residents' preferences of flood-resilient housing technologies (HTs), to understand the factors influencing their choices. Flood-resilient HTs can reduce damage and disruption at a household level, particularly in areas where large-scale community schemes are not available or feasible. People’s perception of floods and their preferences of flood-resilient HTs are among many very important factors influencing the adoption of these technologies. Therefore, these perceptions and preferences must be well understood before implementation of these technologies can occur. However, studies on these two important factors are lacking in literature, particularly in the sub-Saharan African context.

Design/methodology/approach

Nigerian residents’ preferences of flood-resilient HTs were explored by focusing on five frequently flooded areas around the Niger and Benue river basins in Kogi State, Nigeria. Thirty-eight chat, video and voice call interviews were conducted with participants across five case study areas: Lokoja, Idah, Bassa, Ajaokuta and Koton Karifi. The interviews, informed through an illustrated brochure, covered residents’ experiences and perceptions of floods. This was done to gain an understanding of the factors influencing the choice of flood-resilient HTs adopted and those preferred.

Findings

This study confirms that residents in these five focus areas show similar characteristics to other floodplain residents as encapsulated in protection motivation theory. The flood-resilient HTs discussed in this study include flood-avoidance, flood-recoverability and flood-resistance strategies, as well as neighbourhood-scale approaches. Flood-resistance and flood-recoverability strategies rated highly in terms of suitability and envisaged efficiency in mitigating flooding in Kogi State. Although the measures were mostly agreed to be potentially effective and successful on a household scale, there were concerns as to flood mitigation on a neighbourhood scale.

Research limitations/implications

Pre-existing flood-resilient HTs were not extensively discussed in the literature review but were included to have a sense of the participants’ mitigation behaviour, as well as their potential to adopt (or not) new measures after adopting previous ones.

Originality/value

The results provide supporting evidence of the factors influencing the choice of and/or intention to adopt flood-resilient HTs, highlighted in literature. Results also contribute to literature by providing further insight into flood-resilient measures already adopted by residents, as well as their preferred HTs from the options presented. The implications of these findings and methodological considerations in this research are fully discussed in this paper.

Details

International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-5908

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 February 2024

Júlia Quintino Sant’Ana, Linda Jessica De Montreuil Carmona and Giancarlo Gomes

This study aims to answer the following research question: What are the opportunities for future research concerning the Frugal Innovation (FI) phenomenon? To address this, the…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to answer the following research question: What are the opportunities for future research concerning the Frugal Innovation (FI) phenomenon? To address this, the authors propose a novel approach to literature review on the topic. They do so in view of synthesising scholars’ recommendations for subsequent studies. They also advocate that it is time to contribute to the establishment of the FI field by mapping the future of this approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) to connect past and future research on FI. After the screening process of the documents extracted from multiple databases, they performed a bibliometric analysis to provide an overview of the field. Furthermore, the lexical analysis and descending hierarchical analysis were generated through the IRAMUTEQ software to identify the clusters for future research on FI.

Findings

This research not only demonstrates the current state of the art of FI literature but also identifies a research agenda with six categories of opportunities for further studies on the topic: frugal consumer behaviour; establishment of the field; sustainable impact; approaches to different contexts; implementation processes; and challenges for value creation.

Originality/value

The FI phenomenon is receiving increasing attention from scholars in the management field due to its socioeconomic and managerial implications, especially after the Covid-19 outbreak. Therefore, the findings benefit scholars striving to expand the scope of FI research, as well as entrepreneurs, managers and organisations aiming to enhance their social responsibility to reduce their environmental impact.

Details

International Journal of Innovation Science, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-2223

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 December 2023

Tamas Lestar and Jessica Clare Hancock

This paper analyses children's experiences of school or family visits to Hare Krishna eco-farms in Europe. The article evaluates the extent to which these encounters enable…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper analyses children's experiences of school or family visits to Hare Krishna eco-farms in Europe. The article evaluates the extent to which these encounters enable retention and recollection of memories and, consequently, trigger change towards more sustainable behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

Participatory research, qualitative observations and theories of childhood memory are used to explore the nature of children's environmental encounters on Hare Krishna eco-tours.

Findings

Findings reveal that Krishna eco-tours offer a conducive environment for cerebral registering and future reminiscing through the following components: experiential learning of sustainable practices which are radically different to mainstream alternatives, sensory experiences, nature play and entertainment and freedom from everyday constraints.

Originality/value

The emerging literature on children's eco-tourism has largely focussed on market-related aspects and farmers' needs. In contrast, the authors’ conceptual framework, based on contemporary research in childhood memories, offers a tool to evaluate the impacts of eco-tourism from a more holistic perspective.

Details

Journal of Organizational Ethnography, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6749

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 April 2024

Jessica Rene Peterson, Kyle C. Ward and Michaela Lawrie

The purpose is to understand how farmers in rural American communities perceive crime, safety and policing.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose is to understand how farmers in rural American communities perceive crime, safety and policing.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey, adapted from a version used in Victoria, Australia (Harkness, 2017), was modified and administered through social media and farming organizations throughout three US states. The survey covers topics relating to crime and victimization, feelings of safety or fear in rural areas, policing practices and trust in police in their areas and any crime prevention practices that respondents use.

Findings

With nearly 1,200 respondents and four scales investigated, results indicate that those respondents with more favorable views of law enforcement and the criminal justice system had the highest fear of crime, those who had been prior victims of crime had a higher fear of crime than those who did not, those with higher community involvement had higher fear of crime, and those from Nebraska compared to Colorado had higher fear of crime.

Research limitations/implications

A better understanding of the agricultural community’s perceptions of crime, safety and policing will aid law enforcement in community policing efforts and in farm crime investigation and prevention. Limitations of the study, including the distribution method will be discussed.

Originality/value

Farm- and agriculture-related crimes have serious financial and emotional consequences for producers and local economies. Stereotypes about rural areas being “safe with no crime” are still prevalent. Rural American farmers’ perceptions of crime, safety and police are largely absent from the literature and are important for improving farm crime prevention.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 December 2023

Wejdan Eissa Alhajaj and Syed Zamberi Ahmad

This study examines the impact of perceived human resource management practices on talent turnover intention, with work engagement mediating and self-efficacy moderating the…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the impact of perceived human resource management practices on talent turnover intention, with work engagement mediating and self-efficacy moderating the relationship. It examines how employees' perceptions of pay satisfaction, empowerment, participation and communication are related to their turnover intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 283 valid questionnaires from UAE government employees were used for data analysis. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to examine the proposed hypothesis.

Findings

The results reveal that employees' perceptions of pay satisfaction, empowerment, participation and communication are significant contributors to work engagement. The findings further demonstrate that work engagement significantly negatively affects talent turnover intention and acts as a mediator between employees' perceptions of individual human resource management practices and talent turnover intention. However, the results contradict the hypothesis that self-efficacy moderates the association between work engagement and talent turnover intention.

Originality/value

This study focuses on the impact of perceived human resource management practices on talent turnover intention, an area that has received limited attention in literature. By focusing on perceived human resource management practices, this study illuminates employees' subjective experiences and how they perceive human resource management practices intended to reduce talent turnover intention. The inclusion of the mediating effect of work engagement offers a more profound understanding of how employees' perceptions of human resource management practices influence their turnover intentions. This comprehensive approach to understanding the interplay between these variables provides valuable insights for organizations seeking to improve their human resource management practices and talent turnover intention.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 May 2023

Dawn Joseph and Brendan Hyde

The pandemic presented many new challenges is all spheres of life including faith communities. Around the globe, lockdowns took pace at various stages with varying restrictions…

Abstract

Purpose

The pandemic presented many new challenges is all spheres of life including faith communities. Around the globe, lockdowns took pace at various stages with varying restrictions that included the closure of places of worship which significantly affected the way people serve God and gather as a community. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the wellbeing and resilience of members of Christian faith communities in Melbourne (Australia) who had experienced one of the longest lockdowns in the world.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw on online survey N = 106 collected between November 2021 and May 2021. Participants were over the age of 18 from Catholic, Anglican, Uniting Church, Baptist and Pentecostal/Evangelical faith communities. They employ thematic analysis to analyze, and code open-ended responses from four questions in relation to the research question: In what ways has your wellbeing been impacted during the pandemic?

Findings

Melbourne experienced one of the longest lockdown periods in the world between 2020 and 2021 when blended modes of worship forced people to congregate in new and different ways. The empirical insights of participants express their views in relation to celebrating faith and hope, connecting with community, pursuing leisure activities and pursuing leisure in relation to the PERMA model of wellbeing. The findings may resonate with other faith communities in Melbourne and around the globe. They may also lead to new and innovative ways of planning and envisioning modes of worship that may be helpful in a variety of faith contexts.

Research limitations/implications

The research was limited by its sample size (N = 106) and its geographical restriction of Christian faith communities in the Melbourne metropolitan area. This means that broad generalizations cannot be made. Nevertheless, the findings may resonate with other faith communities in Australian and in other parts of the world.

Practical implications

In highlighting the impact COVID-19 had in Australia and ways people balanced their sense of faith and wellbeing, this study raises concerns about the lack of funding that supports mental health initiatives in faith settings and the wider community. The study recommends that faith community leaders and members use informal communication channels to foster hope building wellbeing and resilience, and that pastoral care networks be established in the wider community to promote leisure activities that nurtures social connection, builds faith and resilience.

Social implications

Whilst the pandemic has provided new openings for members of faith communities to engage with God, the scriptures, each other and leisure, it remains “a balancing act of keeping the faith and maintaining wellbeing”. Such a balancing act may positively enliven a sense of wellbeing and resilience as people continue to navigate the uncertainty inherent in a milieu beginning to be named as “post-Covid”.

Originality/value

This is an original work carried out by the authors. It raises concerns about the lack of funding that supports mental health initiatives in faith settings and the wider community. While much research, news and social media discussed the pandemic's impact on communities, there is an urgent need for ongoing research that encourages, supports and connects people to faith and to leisure activities in order to promote a continued sense of wellbeing as communities begin to transition to a “post-Covid” world. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge about the impact COVID-19 had in Australia and ways people balanced their sense of faith and wellbeing.

Details

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

Keywords

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