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1 – 10 of 10Joshua Jie Feng Lam, Amanda Yun Yee Ng, Emily Shu Ting Ng, Josephine Wei Ting Ng and Teem-Wing Yip
There are over 300,000 male migrant workers in Singapore. Around 600 major workplace injuries are reported in Singapore each year, mainly in the manufacturing and construction…
Abstract
Purpose
There are over 300,000 male migrant workers in Singapore. Around 600 major workplace injuries are reported in Singapore each year, mainly in the manufacturing and construction injuries. Migrant workers who are affected by workplace injuries often face many challenges, including not being able to work and thus may be repatriated to their home countries, which affects their financial status and that of their families, whom they support. This research aims to explore the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of injured migrant workers in Singapore, towards disability and vocational rehabilitation.
Design/methodology/approach
Fifteen male migrant workers, from Bangladesh, China and India, who had acquired disabling injuries in their workplaces in Singapore, were identified through purposive sampling. They were interviewed by a male interviewer, either in Mandarin Chinese or with the assistance of interpreters for Bengali-English and Tamil-English. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, translated to English, then analysed thematically.
Findings
The interviewees generally had a pessimistic outlook on their disability, which often impacted negatively on their self-worth and familial relationships. Many of them also had little knowledge of vocational rehabilitation and had not yet seriously considered future job prospects.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no similar studies exploring the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of injured migrant workers in Singapore towards disability and vocational rehabilitation.
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Emmanuel Asare, De-Graft Owusu-Manu, Joshua Ayarkwa and David John Edwards
The concept of working capital management (WCM) has been a fundamental financial accounting term that has evolved in financial theory for centuries. Given that the construction…
Abstract
Purpose
The concept of working capital management (WCM) has been a fundamental financial accounting term that has evolved in financial theory for centuries. Given that the construction industry (CI) is financially dynamic, there is an imperative need to understand its WCM practices. The call for the industry players to adhere to efficient financial management practices as a result of a huge financing gap requires consented effort. This study aims to explore the trend of practices of WCM in the CI and elicit a broader polemic dialogue about this crucial theme.
Design/methodology/approach
The source of information for the study was secondary mainly from referenced journals and international conference papers published on WCM relating to the CI. A three-step sample selection strategy was adopted to identify the range and scope of publications on WCM in the CI based on the systematic literature review method.
Findings
The CI cannot boost of enough empirical WCM research to gain in-depth understanding of its practical trend. The developing economies are failing to produce insightful peer-reviewed papers on WCM to assist in bridging the infrastructural financing gap through apposite strategies. Gaining appropriate knowledge of the short-term financial operations through a conceptualization of WCM practices in the CI may lead to better strategies formulated for smooth operations.
Originality/value
This is a pioneering paper in developing economies that have taken stock of WCM knowledge of the practical trend in the CI. Future research prospects in which WCM matters can use it as a reference point.
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Teik Aun Wong, Kevin Tee Liang Tan, Sheila Rose Darmaraj, Joshua Teck Khun Loo and Alex Hou Hong Ng
The first objective is to investigate and determine the social capital development of students in online education. The second objective is to analyze the influence of social…
Abstract
Purpose
The first objective is to investigate and determine the social capital development of students in online education. The second objective is to analyze the influence of social capital on students’ academic success and educational satisfaction. The third objective is to generate recommendations to foster social capital development.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative research approach is employed, with 264 respondents comprising students from colleges and universities in Malaysia. The data gathering instrument is an online questionnaire administered with the informed consent of participants. Data analysis is performed using structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
The results show that the faculty capital and peer capital components of social capital have not been compromised in online education, but the family capital component has declined. As such, it is concluded that there is a general decline in overall social capital in online education. These findings form the basis for recommendations on promoting social capital development among students in colleges and universities internationally.
Research limitations/implications
This study focused on study periods during the COVID-19 pandemic where online learning and communication were strictly enforced, providing a unique opportunity to explore how students adapted their social capital development. However, this is not meant to be a representation of scenarios where students are given the option of either physical or online education or a combination of both.
Practical implications
Academic and institutional management implications are evident, and recommendations are made based on the findings.
Social implications
The findings and subsequent recommendations have considerable social implications in terms of social sustainability of education practices and policies.
Originality/value
The COVID-19 pandemic that started in March 2020 and subsequent prolonged periods of physical lockdowns in many countries have forced colleges and universities that customarily practice classroom education to shift to online education temporarily. This situation created a novel “natural experiment” when classes or programs from the same college or university that are customarily conducted in classrooms (in person) were conducted online during the pandemic, thus contributing to the originality of the findings.
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John C. Pruit, Carol Rambo and Amanda G. Pruit
This performance autoethnography may or may not be interpreted as a continuation of a conversation regarding the experiences of those with devalued statuses in academic settings…
Abstract
This performance autoethnography may or may not be interpreted as a continuation of a conversation regarding the experiences of those with devalued statuses in academic settings. The authors rely on “strange accounting” to consider their experiences in the academy from various standpoints: before and after promotion, before and after leaving academia. While reflecting on our past experiences, we introduce the concept of “everyday precariousness” as a way of explaining the normalization of instability, insecurity, and negative affect that is part of everyday life for those with devalued statuses in academic settings and beyond. Everyday precariousness is an embodied experience for those in vulnerable positions. Normalized exposure to risks, such as discrimination, harassment, bullying, or structural instability, produces an undercurrent of threat that permeates academic culture. Our stories of everyday precariousness span race, ethnicity, class, academic roles, and gender boundaries (among many others). Analyzing these experiences furthers previous work on the uses of strange accounting as well as the dynamics of status silencing. In the final analysis, unresisted and unabated, everyday precariousness and status silencing can lead to institutional failure and resonance disasters.
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Paul Adjei Kwakwa and Solomon Aboagye
The study examines the effect of natural resources (NRs) and the control of corruption, voice and accountability and regulatory quality on carbon emissions in Africa. Aside from…
Abstract
Purpose
The study examines the effect of natural resources (NRs) and the control of corruption, voice and accountability and regulatory quality on carbon emissions in Africa. Aside from their individual effects, the moderation effect of institutional quality is assessed.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 32 African countries from 2002 to 2021 and the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) regression methods were used for the investigation.
Findings
In the long term, the NRs effect is sensitive to the estimation technique employed. However, quality regulatory framework, robust corruption control and voice and accountability abate any positive effect of NRs on carbon emissions. Institutional quality can be argued to moderate the CO2-emitting potentials of resource extraction in the selected African countries.
Practical implications
Enhancing regulation quality, enforcing corruption control and empowering citizens towards greater participation in governance and demanding accountability are essential catalyst to effectively mitigate CO2 emissions resulting from NRs.
Originality/value
The moderation effect of control of corruption, voice and accountability and regulatory quality on the NR–carbon emission nexus is examined.
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Robin Bourgeois, Kwamou Eva Feukeu and Geci Karuri-Sebina
L'objectif visé est de nourrir les réflexions sur la colonisation du futur dans le présent en mettant particulièrement l’accent sur le continent africain. Nous visons à explorer…
Abstract
Objectif
L'objectif visé est de nourrir les réflexions sur la colonisation du futur dans le présent en mettant particulièrement l’accent sur le continent africain. Nous visons à explorer comment la recherche participative, et plus particulièrement la recherche-action anticipatoire, peut contribuer au processus de décolonisation effective.
Conception/méthodologie/approche
Considérant le futur comme un bien public, nous mobilisons une réflexion sur les processus coloniaux qui l’ont transformé, à bien des égards, en bien de club ou en bien privé. Nous faisons ensuite appel aux notions de production participative de connaissances et de recherche-action locale comme moyens de décoloniser le futur et de libérer l'imagination. Nous revisitons ensuite les principes de la recherche-action participative pour atteindre cet objectif et nous examinons les principales caractéristiques d'une recherche-action anticipatoire non coloniale dans le contexte des futurs de l'Afrique.
Résultats
Nous mettons en évidence les défis issus de la relation entre les efforts d'anticipation axés sur la recherche-action, la création d'une intelligence collective et la co-conception (codesign), dans le but d'encourager le processus de décolonisation. Cette démarche inclut des principes de conception, établit les bases pour un processus anticipatoire, potentiellement décolonial et envisage une possible réaction du système dominant à l’encontre de ce processus de décolonisation.
Implications/limitations
Il s’agit d’un travail conceptuel, qui ne fournit pas d’éléments testés sur le terrain. Toutefois, nous espérons que cela constituera un apport permettant de concevoir des méthodologies qui préviendront la colonisation du futur lors de la participation à des activités de recherche tournées vers les futurs en Afrique et ailleurs.
Originalité/valeur
Nous proposons une approche intégrale de la colonisation du futur, comme renouvellement d’une question ancienne. Nous articulons également cette démarche autour d’une réflexion sur la nature de ce que pourrait être une recherche-action anticipatoire décoloniale.
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Robin Bourgeois, Geci Karuri-Sebina and Kwamou Eva Feukeu
The purpose of this paper is to nurture reflections on the colonization of the future in the present with a particular focus on Africa. This paper aims at exploring how…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to nurture reflections on the colonization of the future in the present with a particular focus on Africa. This paper aims at exploring how participatory research and particularly anticipatory action research can contribute to a decolonising process.
Design/methodology/approach
Considering the future as a public good, this paper develops a reflection on the colonization processes that can turn it into a club or a private good. This paper mobilizes the notions of participatory knowledge production and local action research as a way to decolonize the future and empower imagination. This paper revisits the tenets of participatory action research as a means to achieve this objective and discusses the main features of a non-colonial anticipatory action research in the context of African futures.
Findings
This paper highlights the challenges associated with connecting anticipatory endeavours focusing on action research, the creation of collective intelligence and co-design, with the intention of encouraging the decolonisation process. It includes design principles and anticipates a possible process of counter-decolonization.
Research limitations/implications
This is a conceptual paper, which does not provide field-tested evidence. Yet, the authors hope it serves as an input enabling to design methodologies that will prevent the colonisation of the future when engaging in future-oriented research activities in Africa and elsewhere.
Originality/value
This paper provides an integral approach to the colonisation of the future, as a renewed old question. This paper also connects this process with a reflection on the nature of what could be non-colonizing anticipatory action research.
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Charunayan Kamath and Sivakumar Alur
The growth of social media globally has led to brands adopting memes as a tool for communication. They have influenced digital culture, politics and marketing. This study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The growth of social media globally has led to brands adopting memes as a tool for communication. They have influenced digital culture, politics and marketing. This study aims to highlight the research gap in meme literature by profiling and science mapping.
Design/methodology/approach
This study has performed a bibliometric analysis of research papers on memes from the Scopus database. The authors profiled the literature and found the most relevant journal, author and document. Science mapping techniques such as thematic analysis, thematic evolution and co-citation of papers with content analysis were used.
Findings
Profiling of literature revealed that the most relevant journal, based on a number of papers and citations, is New Media and Society. The top researcher on memes is Shiffman L (seven papers), and the most cited author is Menczer F (717 citations). The paper titled “Towards A Unified Science of Cultural Evolution” has the highest number of citations (402). Thematic mapping revealed “Social Movements” and “Twitter” are the currently trending themes. The co-citation analysis clustered the literature into two. The first cluster elucidates the theoretical underpinnings of memes, while the second cluster explicates the various contexts in which memes are studied.
Practical implications
This study will be vital to researchers hoping to study internet memes by providing directions for future research. Furthermore, the insights from this study will enable social media managers to use memes effectively.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study seems to be the first to use bibliometric analysis to profile and map meme literature. This study provides a new perspective for meme researchers to explore memes and suggests marketers implement novel meme-based strategies in their marketing communications.
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