Search results
1 – 4 of 4Josep Llados-Masllorens and Elisabet Ruiz-Dotras
This study aims to determine the contribution of financial skills to entrepreneurial intentions among women involved in university education.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to determine the contribution of financial skills to entrepreneurial intentions among women involved in university education.
Design/methodology/approach
Clustering and logistic regression analyses were used to infer the determinants and motivators of entrepreneurial intention in a sample of women students at a Spanish online university.
Findings
Financial and numerical skills could play a significant role in boosting entrepreneurial culture, overcoming reticence and increasing awareness of business opportunities, particularly when women are motivated to increase their autonomy and income. The study offers meaningful implications for policymakers.
Research limitations/implications
Further research will be needed before these conclusions may be inferred to other settings and circumstances. Comparison with a similar sample of potential male entrepreneurs may also be necessary to deduce the influence of gender.
Practical implications
The introduction of certain financial content into the education system by governments and policymakers would produce remarkable results on entrepreneurship intention among women.
Social implications
Relational capital and positive social influences also contribute to mitigating the effects of risk aversion, one of the main barriers for potential female entrepreneurs.
Originality/value
The role of financial literacy in entrepreneurial intention among women has scarcely been addressed in academic research. The literature also has paid little attention to the analysis of what motivates women into entrepreneurship, and whether women who decide to embark on a business venture show different profiles. The aim of this study is to contribute to closing these gaps, exploring the effect of cognitive skills, personality traits, contextual factors and motivations.
Details
Keywords
Josep Lladós-Masllorens, Eduard Aibar, Antoni Meseguer-Artola, Julià Minguillón and Maura Lerga
The purpose of this paper is to explore which personal and contextual factors affect the use of Wikipedia as a teaching resource in higher education institutions.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore which personal and contextual factors affect the use of Wikipedia as a teaching resource in higher education institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
This research question is approached by investigating faculty perceptions and attitudes in two large Spanish universities. For this purpose, a comprehensive empirical study has been employed, based on an online survey to faculty members and the inclusion of a decision-making model in the analysis.
Findings
Data provide evidence that a combination of cultural, social and subjective factors influences the decision to use Wikipedia. This decision is not only associated with lecturers’ individual characteristics, but mostly with surrounding influences. Teaching uses are more frequent when academics have close reference models and when they perceive that Wikipedia is being positively valued by their colleagues.
Research limitations/implications
The present study provides a creative framework to analyze the main determining factors of Wikipedia usage by faculty. The inclusion of both internal and external factors in the decision process has proved to be a valuable novelty.
Practical implications
The study detects the main factors affecting the negative or reluctant attitude toward Wikipedia and provides some recommendations to overcome these barriers.
Originality/value
The study widens the scope of previous investigations supplying a new research framework and including, for the first time, a prominent online university in the analysis in order to discard the potential effects of digital and information illiteracy among students and faculty members.
Details
Keywords
Eduard Aibar, Josep Lladós-Masllorens, Antoni Meseguer-Artola, Julià Minguillón and Maura Lerga
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate university faculty perceptions and practices of using Wikipedia as a teaching resource.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate university faculty perceptions and practices of using Wikipedia as a teaching resource.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on a large survey to all faculty members in two large public universities. A total of 913 valid responses were collected through an online questionnaire with 9 control variables and 41 Likert-scaled questions.
Findings
The results do not support an overwhelming sceptical attitude among faculty towards Wikipedia. The overall quality of Wikipedia articles is highly valued and most faculty are regular users, just as students are. Though most faculty show a positive view on the teaching usefulness of Wikipedia, few of them actually use it for teaching purposes. A certain conflict has been detected between standard academic procedures of knowledge building and the open collaborative model on which Wikipedia rests. In the end, two important factors play a role in shaping faculty views: their colleagues’ perceived opinions and practices, and academic disciplines.
Research limitations/implications
The survey has only been conducted in two universities. More institutions are needed to broaden the scope.
Originality/value
The authors have gathered a greater number of answers than those collected in previous studies. The questionnaire is also very extensive. The survey has been addressed to all faculty members at one online university and at one standard brick-and-mortar university.
Details
Keywords
Alba Viana-Lora and Marta Nel-lo-Andreu
This paper aims to analyse Barcelona City Council's tourism policy documents to detect how, through the influence of research, different pathways are produced to achieve social…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyse Barcelona City Council's tourism policy documents to detect how, through the influence of research, different pathways are produced to achieve social impact.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the case study approach, a qualitative content analysis is applied to review 31 tourism policy documents of Barcelona City Council.
Findings
The results show that the influence of tourism research on Barcelona City Council's policy documents occurs through the following pathways that drive potential social impact: the development of shared research programmes, joint projects, the creation of information exchange platforms, support for academia, the creation of debates, the founding of institutes, the referencing of scientific articles and studies commissioned directly by the City Council from higher education bodies for implementation in the city.
Originality/value
The originality of this paper is to highlight the social relevance of research and to contribute to raising awareness among researchers. The social impact of research is an under-explored topic in the field of tourism. Moreover, there is little research that conducts this analysis through policy documents.
Details