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Article
Publication date: 8 April 2024

Joe Campbell, Kylienne Shaul, Kristina M. Slagle and David Sovic

Prior research suggests that collaboration is key to sustainable community development and environmental management, and peer-to-peer learning (P2PL) may facilitate community…

Abstract

Purpose

Prior research suggests that collaboration is key to sustainable community development and environmental management, and peer-to-peer learning (P2PL) may facilitate community building and collaborative learning skills. This study aims to examine the effect of P2PL on the enhancement of environmental management and sustainable development skills, community building and social capital (i.e. connectedness) and understanding of course learning objectives.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative and qualitative longitudinal survey data was collected in a sustainable development focused course offered at a large American public university that uses P2PL to explicitly facilitate community building and collaborative skills. Safety precautions and changing locational course offerings due to the COVID-19 pandemic in years 2020, 2021 and 2022 provided an opportunity to evaluate the impact of P2PL on these skills during both virtual and in-person formats. Additionally, this study compared in-course student evaluations with students taking other sustainable development-related courses with collaborative learning aspects to understand the wider effectiveness of this course structure.

Findings

This study finds that course format (virtual vs in-person) overall made no difference in either connectedness or conceptual understandings, and that students in both formats felt more connected to others than students taking other courses with P2PL. Scaffolding P2PL and supplemental peer support can yield improved connectedness and learning among students taking environmental coursework.

Originality/value

Sustainable development requires group collaboration and partnership building skills. Issues are consistently raised about the challenges to teaching these skills in higher education. The students and instructors in this research study identify P2PL strategies to address these challenges for in-person and virtual classroom settings.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 April 2023

Mehreen Azam and Khurshid Ahmad

This paper aims to measure the adoption of big data analytics (BDA) to achieve sustainability in services being offered in university libraries in Pakistan.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to measure the adoption of big data analytics (BDA) to achieve sustainability in services being offered in university libraries in Pakistan.

Design/methodology/approach

The study applied a unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) as a framework and used quantitative data collection and analysis method. In total, 246 university library professionals were surveyed using a questionnaire consisting of UTAUT factors. The gathered data were analyzed using partial least structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

The results showed that performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE) and social influence (SI) significantly impacted the behavioral intention (BI) to adopt BDA. Facilitating conditions (FCs) have a statistically significant influence on the adoption of big data in libraries, while BDA has a statistical influence on the sustainability of library services (SLS).

Practical implications

BDA assists libraries in making better decisions about demand-driven collection creation, library space management, usage tracking, and quality maintenance in routine and repetitive library tasks such as cataloging, indexing, archiving, administration, preservation and representation. BDA supports libraries in making more cost-effective, innovative, user-oriented services, resource transferring, social identity, resource utilization, healthier user experience, strategic planning, informed decision-making and state-of-the-art infrastructure.

Originality/value

The foundation of this study is based on information gathered from various sources and university libraries in Punjab to better understand the challenges associated with using BDA for the SLS in Pakistan.

Details

Library Hi Tech, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-8831

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 October 2023

Ding Ning, Kalimullah Bhat, Ghulam Nabi and Ren Yinong

This study aims to examine the impact of boardroom diversity on the financial stability of Chinese financial listed firms. Boardroom diversity is quantified in the following…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the impact of boardroom diversity on the financial stability of Chinese financial listed firms. Boardroom diversity is quantified in the following aspects: relation-oriented diversity and task-oriented diversity.

Design/methodology/approach

Panel data on Chinese financial listed firms between 1998 and 2017 are used in this study. Panel regression is used to analyze the firm data for fixed effects and robust standard errors.

Findings

Task-oriented diversity of the board increases financial stability. Regarding the impact of boardroom diversity on firm risk, the results reveal that task-oriented diversity of the board reduces firm risk, which supports the predictions of this research. Regarding the moderating effect of state ownership on the relationship between boardroom diversity (task- and relation-oriented diversity) and financial stability, the results show that state ownership enhances the positive impact of the board’s task-oriented diversity on financial stability.

Practical implications

Task-oriented diversity of the board enhances the financial stability of Chinese financial listed firms. As existing studies on bank boards in China are limited, the findings of this research can be used when crafting policy initiatives to enhance financial stability.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the effect of boardroom diversity, particularly task- and relation-oriented diversity, on financial stability. It provides empirical support that boardroom diversity positively affects the financial stability of Chinese financial listed firms. This research also offers empirical evidence that state ownership enhances the positive impact of the board’s task-oriented diversity on financial stability.

Details

Pacific Accounting Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0114-0582

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 April 2023

Florian Magnani, Ali Siadat, Emmanuel Caillaud and Olivier Gaudichau

Previous research has managed to clearly define lean technical competencies. However, the behavioral competencies remain underestimated, and the roles of lean experts are not…

Abstract

Purpose

Previous research has managed to clearly define lean technical competencies. However, the behavioral competencies remain underestimated, and the roles of lean experts are not clearly stated: are they teachers, facilitators or technical experts? The present paper investigates lean behavioral competencies and their relationship to lean experts' roles.

Design/methodology/approach

This article serves as an exploratory study built on interviews, observations and focus groups conducted during a three-year longitudinal study accompanied by a three-year follow-up. The case takes place in an international automotive company in partnership with Toyota in which lean adoption was part of a consistent strategy over a period of 20 years.

Findings

The study clarifies lean behavioral competencies related to organizational efficiency (nominal management, improvement management and respect for people) and relational efficiency (problem resolution, competencies development and systemic interactions). The study helped create a typology of lean experts' roles related to the maturity level of the environment in which they intervened. Moreover, Lean experts' roles in congruence with the environment seem to positively influence the creation of emerging human relationships that are beneficial to process improvement and competencies development.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to clarify behavioral competencies with respect to lean experts' roles and to study the temporality of the introduction of lean practices. The findings recommend that researchers better acknowledge the influence of lean behavioral competencies during lean adoption and their relationship to contextual factors and organizational performance. A practical methodology is proposed to measure the necessary behavioral adjustments of lean experts or employees.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 October 2022

Robert Hurst and Chathurika Kannangara

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of existing literature on post-traumatic growth (PTG), particularly in the ways that it relates to grief.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of existing literature on post-traumatic growth (PTG), particularly in the ways that it relates to grief.

Design/methodology/approach

This narrative literature review brings together 125 sources and presents them in a readable way.

Findings

There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that PTG can come from grief. This is not always the case, however.

Research limitations/implications

This review presents only a selection of the existing literature – the review is not systematic. However, this allows for a narrative to be crafted, to aid readability.

Practical implications

Suggestions for future research are made throughout, and potential therapeutic applications are mentioned.

Social implications

This paper discusses stigma, in the form of “disenfranchised grief”. In this, social pressures and expectations affect how a person processes their grief psychologically. While movements to increase discourse and reduce stigma are on the rise, more is needed.

Originality/value

This review guides readers through existing literature, providing a wide overview of the topic of PTG in grief.

Details

Mental Health and Social Inclusion, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-8308

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 February 2024

Giammarco Marras, Matteo Opizzi and Michela Loi

The aim of this study is to systematise the entrepreneurial coaching (EC) literature by understanding how the phenomenon has been investigated along four dimensions inspired by…

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to systematise the entrepreneurial coaching (EC) literature by understanding how the phenomenon has been investigated along four dimensions inspired by Gartner’s (1985) conceptualisation of entrepreneurship: entrepreneurial process, context, target and outcomes. In so doing, this study will provide a frame of its multifunctional role and identify relevant gaps and suggestions for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

We conducted a systematic literature review to collect existing works on EC. We analysed 85 selected papers with a qualitative content analysis that allowed us to highlight relevant research themes for the entrepreneurial process, context, outcomes and target.

Findings

Our results demonstrate that EC has a multifunctional role in entrepreneurship that can be summarised in five different typologies, depending on the stage of the entrepreneurial process in which it is applied, the context, the target and the outcomes.

Originality/value

As one of the first attempts to systematise studies on EC, this work extends previous conceptualisation of EC by detailing different typologies of this intervention, thereby contributing to reduced fragmentation and conceptual ambiguity.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 November 2023

Zeenat Hashmi and Ashish Singh

A woman's nutritional status significantly determines her overall well-being. The authors critically examine the trends — including socioeconomic disparities — in undernutrition…

97

Abstract

Purpose

A woman's nutritional status significantly determines her overall well-being. The authors critically examine the trends — including socioeconomic disparities — in undernutrition among Muslim women in India, a notably socio-economically disadvantaged group. The authors also investigate trends and variations across the dimensions of caste, place of residence (rural/urban), education, economic status and geographic regions.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis leverages the nationally representative National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) of India conducted between 1998 and 2021. The authors examined poor–rich ratios, concentration indices, disparity ratios and predicted probabilities of being underweight (captured using Body Mass Index).

Findings

From 1998 to 2021, there has been a decline in undernutrition prevalence among Muslim women. However, stark socioeconomic variations persist. While the prevalence has decreased over time across all socioeconomic groups, disparities — both within and between groups — remain significant and, in many cases, have expanded. For certain socioeconomic subgroups (e.g. Muslim women with no formal education or those in the Central and Northeast regions), the disparity doubled between 1998 and 2021. In regions like the South, where undernutrition prevalence is low or has reduced, disparities remain significant and generally have increased.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, the study is the first to provide a comprehensive examination of the prevalence, trends and socioeconomic disparities in undernutrition among Muslim women in India over the past two decades.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-04-2023-0320

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2024

Rohit Raj, Arpit Singh, Vimal Kumar and Pratima Verma

This study examined the factors impeding the implementation of micro-credentials and accepting it as a credible source of earning professional qualifications and certifications…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examined the factors impeding the implementation of micro-credentials and accepting it as a credible source of earning professional qualifications and certifications necessary for pursuing higher education or other career goals.

Design/methodology/approach

The factors were identified by reflecting on the recent literature and Internet resources coupled with in-depth brainstorming with experts in the field of micro-credentials including educators, learners and employers. Two ranking methods, namely Preference Ranking for Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE) and multi-objective optimization based on ratio analysis (MOORA), are used together to rank the major challenges.

Findings

The results of this study present that lack of clear definitions, ambiguous course descriptions, lack of accreditation and quality assurance, unclear remuneration policies, lack of coordination between learning hours and learning outcomes, the inadequate volume of learning, and lack of acceptance by individuals and organizations are the top-ranked and the most significant barriers in the implementation of micro-credentials.

Research limitations/implications

The findings can be used by educational institutions, organizations and policymakers to better understand the issues and develop strategies to address them, making micro-credentials a more recognized form of education and qualifications.

Originality/value

The novelty of this study is to identify the primary factors influencing the implementation of micro-credentials from the educators', students' and employers' perspectives and to prioritize those using ranking methods such as PROMETHEE and MOORA.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

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