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Article
Publication date: 4 May 2018

Elizabeth Garland, Abigail Watts, John Doucette, Mary Foley, Araliya Senerat and Sadie Sanchez

Sedentary behavior is linked to health risks, and prolonged sitting is prevalent among office workers. Adjustable workstations (AWS) promote health by allowing transitions between…

Abstract

Purpose

Sedentary behavior is linked to health risks, and prolonged sitting is prevalent among office workers. Adjustable workstations (AWS) promote health by allowing transitions between sitting and standing. Stand Up to Work compares workers with AWS to traditional desks (TD). The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Employees were randomly selected from one office floor to receive AWS, two identical floors maintained TD. Participants received workplace wellness and ergonomic training, completed self-administered questionnaires, and responded to repeated micropolling at baseline (T0), 3 (T1), 6 (T2), and 12 (T3) months in Atlanta, 2015-2016. Groups were compared using two-sample t-tests and nonparametric Wilcoxon tests.

Findings

Compared to TD (n = 24), participants with AWS (n = 24) reported significantly less sedentary behavior at T1 and T2 after AWS installation (p<0.05), with a retention rate at T2 of 80 and 65 percent for the AWS and TD group, respectively. In all, 47 percent of participants with AWS reported decline in upper back, shoulder, and neck discomfort (p=0.04); 88 percent of AWS participants reported convenience to use, 65 percent reported increased productivity, and 65 percent reported positive impact outside the workplace. Individuals with normal or underweight body mass index (BMI) reported a significantly greater decline in percent of time sitting compared to participants with overweight or obese BMI at all three time points.

Originality/value

AWS are beneficial in reducing sedentary behavior in and outside the workplace. Behavioral changes were sustained over time and associated with less self-reported muscle pain, more self-reported energy, and awareness of standing. When considering total worker health, employers should include options for AWS to promote reducing sedentary behavior.

Details

International Journal of Workplace Health Management, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8351

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 November 2016

Guido Caniglia, Beatrice John, Martin Kohler, Leonie Bellina, Arnim Wiek, Christopher Rojas, Manfred D. Laubichler and Daniel Lang

This paper aims to present an experience-based learning framework that provides a bottom-up, student-centered entrance point for the development of systems thinking, normative and…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present an experience-based learning framework that provides a bottom-up, student-centered entrance point for the development of systems thinking, normative and collaborative competencies in sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

The framework combines mental mapping with exploratory walking. It interweaves mapping and walking activities with methodological and theoretical inputs as well as with reflections and discussions. The framework aligns experiential activities, i.e. mental mapping and walking, with learning objectives, i.e. novice-level sustainability competencies. The authors applied the framework for student activities in Phoenix/Tempe and Hamburg/Lüneburg as part of The Global Classroom, a project between Arizona State University in the USA and Leuphana University of Lüneburg in Germany.

Findings

The application of the experience-based learning framework demonstrates how students started developing systems thinking (e.g. understanding urban systems as functional entities and across different domains), normative (e.g. using different sustainability principles) and collaborative (e.g. learning across disciplinary, social and cultural differences) competencies in sustainability.

Originality/value

The experience-based learning framework contributes to the development of curricular activities for the initial development of sustainability competencies in introductory-level courses. It enables students from different disciplinary, social and cultural backgrounds, e.g. in international education, to collaboratively start developing such competencies. The framework can be adapted to different educational contexts.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 17 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 March 2021

Chad J.R. Walker, Mary Beth Doucette, Sarah Rotz, Diana Lewis, Hannah Tait Neufeld and Heather Castleden

This research considers the potential for renewable energy partnerships to contribute to Canada's efforts to overcome its colonial past and present by developing an understanding…

Abstract

Purpose

This research considers the potential for renewable energy partnerships to contribute to Canada's efforts to overcome its colonial past and present by developing an understanding of how non-Indigenous peoples working in the sector relate to their Indigenous partners.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is part of a larger research program focused on decolonization and reconciliation in the renewable energy sector. This exploratory research is framed by energy justice and decolonial reconciliation literatures relevant to the topic of Indigenous-led renewable energy. The authors used content and discourse analysis to identify themes arising from 10 semi-structured interviews with non-Indigenous corporate and governmental partners.

Findings

Interviewees’ lack of prior exposure to Indigenous histories, cultures and acknowledgement of settler colonialism had a profound impact on their engagement with reconciliation frameworks. Partners' perspectives on what it means to partner with Indigenous peoples varied; most dismissed the need to further develop understandings of reconciliation and instead focused on increasing community capacity to allow Indigenous groups to participate in the renewable energy transition.

Research limitations/implications

In this study, the authors intentionally spoke with non-Indigenous peoples working in the renewable energy sector. Recruitment was a challenge and the sample is small. The authors encourage researchers to extend their questions to other organizations in the renewable energy sector, across industries and with Indigenous peoples given this is an under-researched field.

Originality/value

This paper is an early look at the way non-Indigenous “partners” working in renewable energy understand and relate to topics of reconciliation, Indigenous rights and self-determination. It highlights potential barriers to reconciliation that are naïvely occurring at organizational and institutional levels, while anchored in colonial power structures.

Details

Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, vol. 16 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5648

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 July 2015

Sonya Remington-Doucette and Sheryl Musgrove

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a classroom assessment aimed at determining the extent to which five key sustainability competencies develop in students…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a classroom assessment aimed at determining the extent to which five key sustainability competencies develop in students during an introductory transdisciplinary sustainability course. University sustainability programs intend to provide integrated education that fosters the key competencies students need to solve real-world sustainability problems. Translating sustainability competencies into effective pedagogical practice in integrated academic programs is not straightforward. This work builds on a previous study by both expanding the competencies evaluated and considering additional demographic characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper summarizes previously identified key sustainability competencies and describes teaching methodologies used to foster these competencies in students. Development of competencies in students during a semester-long course is assessed using a pre-/post-test based on two case studies. The implications of the findings for teaching practice and overall program structure are discussed.

Findings

Based on the assessment methods used here, four of the five sustainability competencies evaluated in this study developed differently in students according to gender, disciplinary affiliation and age. Females improved interpersonal competence more than males. Systems thinking competence improved for students associated with the three disciplinary affiliations considered in this study: sustainability major, sustainability minor and business major. Anticipatory competence improved for sustainability and business majors only, but not for students minoring in sustainability and majoring in other disciplines. Finally, normative competence improved for younger students only.

Research limitations/implications

Insights for teaching practice and overall program structure are based on assessment of one introductory transdisciplinary sustainability course. Much additional work is needed to draw strong conclusions about general teaching practices and program structure for sustainability education. This study provides a flexible and field-tested rubric for further evaluative work in other sustainability courses or degree programs.

Practical implications

Universities incorporate sustainability into their undergraduate curricula in many ways, ranging from certificates to entire degree programs focused on sustainability. The results of this study suggest that educators pay attention to gender diversity, classroom teaching practices, disciplinary perspectives and student attitudes and developmental stages as they figure out how to make sustainability part of undergraduate education. This information may help create more effective sustainability courses and academic programs, which may maintain the viability of current sustainability programs and promote the institutionalization of sustainability in higher education.

Originality/value

This research contributes to undergraduate sustainability education by providing insight into how sustainability education might thoughtfully be integrated into academic programs. It also offers an assessment approach for use by other sustainability educators to evaluate effectiveness of teaching practice and overall program structure based on five key sustainability competencies commonly cited in the literature.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 November 2009

Thani Jambulingam, Ravi Kathuria and John R. Nevin

The purpose of this paper is to understand how fairness garners loyalty by breeding trust in the pharmaceutical wholesaler‐pharmacy relationship. Specifically, the paper seeks to…

2298

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how fairness garners loyalty by breeding trust in the pharmaceutical wholesaler‐pharmacy relationship. Specifically, the paper seeks to understand if the two dimensions of fairness – procedural and distributive – contribute differently in fostering the two types of trust – credibility and benevolence. The paper further aims to examine how the two dimensions of trust mediate the fairness‐loyalty relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from 156 retail pharmacies on their relationship with the pharmaceutical wholesalers are used to test the hypotheses. The mediation models are tested using the Barron and Kenny procedure.

Findings

The findings of this paper show the importance of both procedural and distributive aspects of fairness on the part of pharmaceutical wholesalers as perceived by the pharmacies. Each aspect of fairness plays a more prominent role for fostering a particular type of trust, which, in turn, leads to loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

Future research may investigate the antecedents to fairness to unearth additional insights as to how organizations can manage their customers' perceptions of fairness and thereby enhance their trust and loyalty.

Practical implications

Pharmaceutical wholesale is a competitive business to retain pharmacies by building loyalty thus balancing pharmacies' dependence on the more powerful pharmaceutical manufacturers in the pharmaceutical supply chain. Given the intense competition, the wholesaler that does a superior job in creating a competitive advantage leveraging fairness to engender trust will get to benefit in recruiting and retaining more pharmacies.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the fairness‐trust‐loyalty stream of literature by examining the mediation effects at the sub‐dimension level of the fairness and trust constructs. The paper also has practical implications, especially given the low gross margins for pharmaceutical wholesalers and the growing threat of direct distribution of pharmaceuticals or disintermediation by the manufacturers using third party logistics companies, such as united parcel service. The paper shows how wholesalers may be able to build loyalty with the pharmacies by signaling fairness and fostering trust.

Details

International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, vol. 3 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6123

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 September 2023

John Chung-En Liu and Ting-Yu Kan

This study aims to evaluate the current situation of education for sustainable development, climate change education and environmental education in a nationwide context…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to evaluate the current situation of education for sustainable development, climate change education and environmental education in a nationwide context. Methodologically, this study calls for more research to go beyond case studies and take a similar approach to examine university curricula and facilitate cross-country comparisons.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper examines the status of climate and sustainability curricula in Taiwan’s higher education system. Using the course catalog for the 2020–2021 academic year, the authors constructed a unique data set that includes 1,827 courses at 29 major universities in Taiwan. In each institution, the authors search for course titles that include “climate,” “sustainable/sustainability” and “environment/environmental” as keywords and code the courses according to their disciplines.

Findings

The finding highlights the variations across institutional types and subject matters. Public universities have an average of 4.94 related courses per 1,000 students, whereas private universities have only 3.13. In general, the relevant courses are more concentrated in the STEM and bioscience fields. The curricula, however, are seriously constrained by the disciplinary structure and foster few transdisciplinary perspectives.

Originality/value

The authors seek to go beyond case studies and offer one of the most comprehensive curricula samples at the national level. Taiwan adds an important data point, as the current literature focuses heavily on the USA and Europe.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 25 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2005

Oliver W. Edwards and Vincent E. Mumford

Purpose. This work provides information about households where grandparents assume roles as full‐time surrogate parents to their grandchildren. Social policy implications of these…

1344

Abstract

Purpose. This work provides information about households where grandparents assume roles as full‐time surrogate parents to their grandchildren. Social policy implications of these relationships and potential social policy changes to help these families are presented. Methodology. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted to appropriately represent the phenomenon of grandparents raising grandchildren. Information regarding the functioning of both grandparents and grandchildren are addressed. Findings. Grandparents who raise their grandchildren tend to experience elevated levels of stress that negatively impact their social, emotion, and physical well‐being. Children in these families may encounter problems with psychological development, adjustment, and educational functioning. Grandparents who raise their grandchildren significantly influence the development of these children in the social and educational environments. The children also impact their grandparents’ well‐being. The findings underscore the need to consider social policy implications for these families. Originality/Value. This work emphasises the functioning of not only grandparents in these families, but grandchildren as well. Additionally, information is provided regarding the pejorative impact of certain social policies on grandparents’ social‐emotional well‐being and the grandchildren’s behavioural and educational functioning. Social policy propositions are offered to help these families. The information in this article will likely help professionals in governmental, social service, and educational agencies work better with these families.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 25 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 September 2021

Dena Hale, Ramendra Thakur, John Riggs and Suzanne Altobello

The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a scale to determine the consumer’s level of decision-making self-efficacy for a high-involved service purchase, specifically…

1329

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a scale to determine the consumer’s level of decision-making self-efficacy for a high-involved service purchase, specifically the purchase of medical insurance. One question to ask is how service providers can help consumers purchase the services that best meet their needs? Before interventions can occur, it is necessary to benchmark consumers’ perceptions of their own decision-making control and abilities.

Design/methodology/approach

A scale that measures consumers’ service decision-making self-efficacy was developed using the principles established for scale development validation. A four-study approach was used to reach the research objective.

Findings

The research consisted of four studies designed to: generate items to measure consumer service decision-making self-efficacy (CSDMSE); purify the scale and assess its dimensionality (second-order structure); establish the reliability and validity of the scale; and establish norms to provide details on its usefulness for aiding consumers with service purchases. The scale was found to be a higher-order construct, comprising three lower-order constructs.

Originality/value

Research suggests that consumer self-efficacy may affect their decision-making. The greater the consumer’s self-efficacy for decision-making tasks, the more efficient the decision-making process strategies are expected to be. This is the purpose for which the CSDMSE scale measure was created: to understand how, where and when service professionals can assist consumers with making appropriate service-related decisions and purchases.

Article
Publication date: 12 January 2015

Daniel A. Wren, Regina A. Greenwood, Julia Teahen and Arthur G. Bedeian

This paper aims to highlight myriad accomplishments of C. Bertrand Thompson, who is perhaps most well known as a scientific-management bibliographer and a Taylor disciple, in the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to highlight myriad accomplishments of C. Bertrand Thompson, who is perhaps most well known as a scientific-management bibliographer and a Taylor disciple, in the belief that his contributions as a pioneer management theorist and consultant in Europe deserve to be more widely known and more deeply appreciated.

Design/methodology/approach

Archival, primary and secondary sources were used in the research.

Findings

Thompson was among the first to bring management consulting to Europe. He understood the importance of adapting scientific-management principles to meet the diverse needs of each client for whom he consulted. Thompson’s strong belief and value system remained constant throughout his life.

Practical implications

Understanding the needs of customers or clients and adapting systems to meet those needs is essential in achieving success as a consultant.

Originality/value

By drawing on rarely accessed published and unpublished materials, this paper discusses Thompson’s many contributions to management thought and practice, most of which previously have not been highlighted in the referent literature.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1984

Evelyn S. Meyer

But if, my heart, you would speak of prizes won in the Games, look no more for another bright star by day in the empty sky more warming than the sun, nor shall we name any…

Abstract

But if, my heart, you would speak of prizes won in the Games, look no more for another bright star by day in the empty sky more warming than the sun, nor shall we name any gathering greater than the Olympian.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

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