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11 – 19 of 19Sandra Mathers, Kathy Sylva, Naomi Eisenstadt, Elena Soukakou and Katharina Ereky-Stevens
The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on young children's learning at home and in early childhood settings, in order to identify key caregiving practices which…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on young children's learning at home and in early childhood settings, in order to identify key caregiving practices which support the learning and development of children under three.
Design/methodology/approach
Starting with well-known reviews carried out in England, the USA, Australia and New Zealand, the authors searched the literature for evidence of the developmental needs of babies and toddlers. They then drew on the psychological and educational literatures to identify key practices supporting physical development, learning and communication, using expert review to build on the scientific research in areas where evidence was sparse.
Findings
The review explores three key areas of practice: play-based activities and routines; support for communication and language; and opportunities to move and be physically active.
Research limitations/implications
This review is not systematic or exhaustive, but aims to integrate current evidence within these three key areas in a succinct and accessible manner. The authors recognise that there are many other dimensions of effective practice, many of which are addressed elsewhere in this special edition, as well as myriad other influences on children's development, including social, family and environmental factors.
Originality/value
Worldwide, growing numbers of children under three are experiencing non-parental care in early childhood settings. In comparison to evidence for preschool children, the literature on effective practice for under-threes is sparse. Given the urgent need for information to guide policy and practice, this paper provides a starting point and calls for a multi-source approach to strengthening the evidence base.
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A growing number of human rights NGOs have placed international volunteers in conflict zones from Guatemala and Colombia to Palestine and Iraq. This study samples from…
Abstract
A growing number of human rights NGOs have placed international volunteers in conflict zones from Guatemala and Colombia to Palestine and Iraq. This study samples from contemporary high-risk transnational activists and highlights the variation in biographical steps taken toward the shared outcome of participation in human rights work (HRW). Data was collected through 6 weeks of participant observation in Israel-Palestine, 21 in-depth interviews, and 28 shorter focused interviews with human rights workers (N=49). Oversampling from the International Solidarity Movement reveals how the unique constraints and opportunities presented by a particular conflict zone and NGO culture impacts self-selection into HRW. Grounded theory and Boolean methodology aided in identifying four main pathways (the nonviolent activist, peace church, anarchist, and solidarity pathways) to HRW as well as biographical patterns and complexities that have been underemphasized in the existing literature. These include the salience of transformative events and attitude changes in the process of constructing a cosmopolitan identity and committing to high-risk transnational activism.
Eyyub Can Odacioglu, Lihong Zhang, Richard Allmendinger and Azar Shahgholian
There is a growing need for methodological plurality in advancing operations management (OM), especially with the emergence of machine learning (ML) techniques for analysing…
Abstract
Purpose
There is a growing need for methodological plurality in advancing operations management (OM), especially with the emergence of machine learning (ML) techniques for analysing extensive textual data. To bridge this knowledge gap, this paper introduces a new methodology that combines ML techniques with traditional qualitative approaches, aiming to reconstruct knowledge from existing publications.
Design/methodology/approach
In this pragmatist-rooted abductive method where human-machine interactions analyse big data, the authors employ topic modelling (TM), an ML technique, to enable constructivist grounded theory (CGT). A four-step coding process (Raw coding, expert coding, focused coding and theory building) is deployed to strive for procedural and interpretive rigour. To demonstrate the approach, the authors collected data from an open-source professional project management (PM) website and illustrated their research design and data analysis leading to theory development.
Findings
The results show that TM significantly improves the ability of researchers to systematically investigate and interpret codes generated from large textual data, thus contributing to theory building.
Originality/value
This paper presents a novel approach that integrates an ML-based technique with human hermeneutic methods for empirical studies in OM. Using grounded theory, this method reconstructs latent knowledge from massive textual data and uncovers management phenomena hidden from published data, offering a new way for academics to develop potential theories for business and management studies.
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Nea North and Cornelia (Connie) Pechmann
Circumstances such as pandemics can cause individuals to fall into a state of need, so they turn to donation services for assistance. However, donation services can be designed…
Abstract
Purpose
Circumstances such as pandemics can cause individuals to fall into a state of need, so they turn to donation services for assistance. However, donation services can be designed based on supply-side considerations, e.g. efficiency or inventory control, which restrict consumer choice without necessarily considering how consumer vulnerabilities like low financial or interpersonal power might cause them to react to such restrictions. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine service designs that limit the choices consumers are given in terms of either the allowable quantity or assortment variety and examine effects on consumer perceptions of justice and satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Three experiments are reported, including one manipulating the service design of an actual food pantry.
Findings
When consumers have low financial or interpersonal power, meaning their initial state of control is low, and they encounter a donation service that provides limited (vs. expanded) choice that drops control even lower, they perceive the situation as unjust and report lower satisfaction.
Practical implications
Donation service providers should strive to design services that allow for expanded consumer choice and use interpersonal processes that empower beneficiaries so they perceive the service experience as just and satisfying. Collecting feedback from beneficiaries is also recommended.
Originality/value
While researchers have started to look at the service experiences of vulnerable populations, they have focused primarily on financial service designs. The authors look at donation service designs and identify problems with supply-side limits to choice quantity and assortment.
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Peter Choate and Dorothy Badry
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a scoping review of the literature to explore the many ways stigma affects people with FASD and to highlight the disciplines and places…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a scoping review of the literature to explore the many ways stigma affects people with FASD and to highlight the disciplines and places where discourse on FASD and stigma is taking place.
Design/methodology/approach
Searches were conducted in PubMed, ERIC, Family & Society Studies Worldwide, Families Studies Abstracts and Google Scholar between 2008 and 2018. Search terms focused on stigma, shame and the connection to FASD with a view to looking across social and medical science literature.
Findings
Searches identified 39 full text manuscripts, 13 of which were included in the scoping review. Stigma toward people with FASD exists in multiple professional forums across disciplines. The relationship between mother’s use of alcohol and the lasting impact on the child is a focus in the articles identified from a public health perspective. The review showed there was limited cross-disciplinary discussion evident. In total 13 articles were selected for inclusion in this review.
Research limitations/implications
Negative discourses predominate with little attention being paid to possible areas of success as well as cases of lower FASD impacts. There is a significant void in work focusing on positive outcomes for people with FASD. Such discourse would support a better understanding of pathways to more positive outcomes.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the issue of FASD and stigma through identification of relevant literature and expands the conversation to offer insights into the challenging terrain that individuals with FASD must navigate. The issue of stigma is not linked only to individuals with FASD but also their support systems. It is critical to recognize the multiple attributions of stigma to FASD in order to effectively take up conversations across and between disciplines to promote new discourses focused on de-stigmatization.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the pattern of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) by Irish MNCs, and more specifically, to investigate their approach to human capital…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the pattern of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) by Irish MNCs, and more specifically, to investigate their approach to human capital development and how these correspond to foreign MNCs in Ireland. In particular, it seeks to investigate training and development expenditure, adoption of succession planning, use of formal development programmes for senior management “potential”, and also the presence of a specific “key group” development programme.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained through the largest, most representative study ever conducted on multinational companies (MNCs) in Ireland. The most senior human resources practitioner in these firms completed a questionnaire, through the personal interview medium, on various facets of their human resource management (HRM) practices. In total 260 usable interviews were completed equating to an overall response rate of 63 per cent. This represents a 78 per cent response rate for Irish MNCs, the primary focus of this paper, and 60 per cent for foreign MNCs.
Findings
Overall, Irish MNCs tend to compare favourably with their foreign counterparts in terms of the human capital development mechanisms examined. Only one statistically significant association was found regarding differences between Irish and foreign owned MNCs, Irish MNCs were found to be significantly less likely to have formal management development programmes.
Originality/value
The study is the first large scale, representative survey to be conducted on MNCs in Ireland helping to address the research lacuna on Irish owned MNCs.
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Anna Farmaki, Elias Hadjielias, Hossein Olya, Babak Taheri and Maria Hadjielia Drotarova
The purpose of this study is to analyze the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication of the Fortune top-100 companies during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyze the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication of the Fortune top-100 companies during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Specifically, the authors examine the messages of international companies' CSR communication to customers during the pandemic, focusing particularly on the companies' posts on Twitter. In addition to identifying what international companies communicate, the authors determine the motives of companies' COVID-19-related CSR communication as well as how companies strategically approach CSR communication.
Design/methodology/approach
Using Nvivo, the authors carried out content analysis of the COVID-19-related tweets of the Fortune top-100 companies using Twitter's ‘advanced search’ tool. The analysis included tweets posted between 1 February 2020 and September 2021, a period that represents the peak of the pandemic.
Findings
Study findings indicate that COVID-19-related CSR responses of international companies are driven by commitment to organizational values, attainment of recognition for timely response to COVID-19, altruistic motives to combat COVID-19 and congruence with social movements that create expectations from customers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most companies adopt a response strategy to CSR communication, by informing customers of their COVID-19 responses in relation to several issues such as alterations in companies' processes and the impacts of the pandemic on health.
Practical implications
The study suggests that the CSR practices of companies should be strategically embedded in organizations' international marketing plans and not remain just on-off responses to crises should marketing-related benefits be obtained. Several recommendations are made to strengthen companies' adoption of a proactive, engagement-oriented approach to CSR communication.
Originality/value
The CSR communication of international companies during external crises has not been sufficiently studied in relation to international marketing, as most studies considered internal corporate crises. Focusing on an external crisis (COVID-19 pandemic) with global impacts, this study advances existing knowledge on international companies' CSR communication to their customers. Additionally, this study offers new insights on the role of integrated, coordinated and consistent CSR messages and strategies, which are targeted to the needs and expectations of domestic and international customers in response to COVID-19 pandemic.
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Hong-Youl Ha, Jang-Gyem Kim and Yongkyun Chung
The purpose of this paper is to select the best model among alternative models explaining the relationship maintenance in mediation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to select the best model among alternative models explaining the relationship maintenance in mediation.
Design/methodology/approach
Four alternative models are employed in order to select best fit model through the test of each construct using Korean and Indonesian firm data.
Findings
The settlement model out of four alternative models is the best fit model in both Korea and Indonesia. The nexus of experience-settlement is not similar between Korea and Indonesia. The nexus of cost-saving-settlement is similar between two countries.
Practical implications
The field manager and policy maker get useful information from the findings. In particular, Korea and Indonesia belong to different cultural clusters.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the mediation literature through the suggestion of hypothesized model of relationship maintenance intention in mediation.
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Duane M. Nagel, J. Joseph Cronin Jr and Richard L. Utecht
Despite the recent growth of the do-it-yourself market, very little is known as to how or why individuals actually choose to engage in prosumption behavior. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the recent growth of the do-it-yourself market, very little is known as to how or why individuals actually choose to engage in prosumption behavior. The purpose of this study is to specifically examine the decision process of actors when determining the level of resource commitment and integration necessary to prosume or consume a service, thus offering insights to both managers and academics alike.
Design/methodology/approach
A multi-method study using both qualitative and quantitative research examines the decision of actors to consume or prosume a service. A conceptual model is presented and tested.
Findings
The results identify the primary drivers individuals considered when evaluating the resource commitment necessary for a make or buy decision. This research offers empirical support for the application of transaction cost analysis as an appropriate theoretical explanation of how actors decide to prosume or consume a service. The authors further suggest, based on these findings, that transaction cost analysis is a viable middle-range theory to explain the commitment and sharing of resources between actors engaged in co-production within the perspective of a service-dominant logic.
Research limitations/implications
Future research is needed to identify opportunities for hybrid models that consider the appropriateness of these findings within larger service networks, as well as potential moderating or mediating influences of the direct effects identified and investigated.
Originality/value
This study offers an initial attempt to provide a theoretical explanation for the resource integration decisions (e.g. make or buy) faced by individuals in a growing segment of the economy. The findings enable better informed strategies to be identified by both service providers and retailers.
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