Search results

1 – 5 of 5
Article
Publication date: 7 December 2022

Qing-Wen Zhang, Pin-Chao Liao, Mingxuan Liang and Albert P.C. Chan

Quality failures in grid infrastructure construction would cause large-scale collapses in power supply and additional expenditures by reworks and repairs. Learning from quality…

Abstract

Purpose

Quality failures in grid infrastructure construction would cause large-scale collapses in power supply and additional expenditures by reworks and repairs. Learning from quality failures (LFQF) extracts experience from previous quality events and converts them into preventive measures to reduce or eliminate future construction quality issues. This study aims to investigate the influence factors of LFQF in the construction of grid infrastructure.

Design/methodology/approach

The related factors of LFQF, including quality management (QM) practices, quality rectification, and individual learning, were identified by reviewing literature about organizational learning and extracting experience from previous failures. A questionnaire survey was distributed to the grid companies in North, Northeast, Northwest, East, Central, and Southwest China. 381 valid responses collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the influence of these factors on LFQF.

Findings

The SEM results support that QM practices positively affect individual learning and LFQF. Quality rectification indirectly impacts LFQF via individual learning, while the results did not support the direct link between quality rectification and LFQF.

Practical implications

The findings strengthen practical insights into extracting experience from poor-quality issues and continuous improvement. The contributory factors of LFQF found in this study benefit the practitioners by taking effective measures to enhance organizational learning capability and improve the long-term construction quality performance in the grid infrastructure industry.

Originality/value

Existing research about the application of LFQF still stays at the explorative and conceptual stage. This study investigates the related factors of LFQF, including QM practices, quality rectification, and individual learning, extending the model development of learning from failures (LFF) in construction QM.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 October 2023

Lisa Ferrara

The purpose of this study was to investigate how library staff understand disability and attitudinal barriers and how they use their knowledge of attitudinal barriers when…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate how library staff understand disability and attitudinal barriers and how they use their knowledge of attitudinal barriers when planning programs and services for individuals with disabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

This study took a generic qualitative approach to examining how library staff understand disability and attitudinal barriers. Participants were recruited through emails to professional library associations throughout the United States of America. Emails directed participants to a screening questionnaire, and 15 respondents were selected to participate in semi-structured interviews.

Findings

The results of the study showed that participants were aware of attitudinal barriers, but attitudinal barriers were not often considered during the planning and implementation of library programs and services.

Originality/value

This study is one of a limited body of work examining library staff's understanding of attitudinal barriers to library services for individuals with disabilities.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 52 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2024

Yasmine Chahed, Robert Charnock, Sabina Du Rietz Dahlström, Niels Joseph Lennon, Tommaso Palermo, Cristiana Parisi, Dane Pflueger, Andreas Sundström, Dorothy Toh and Lichen Yu

The purpose of this essay is to explore the opportunities and challenges that early-career researchers (ECRs) face when they seek to contribute to academic knowledge production…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this essay is to explore the opportunities and challenges that early-career researchers (ECRs) face when they seek to contribute to academic knowledge production through research activities “other than” those directly focused on making progress with their own, to-be-published, research papers in a context associated with the “publish or perish” (PoP) mentality.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing broadly on the notion of technologies of humility (Jasanoff, 2003), this reflective essay develops upon the experiences of the authors in organizing and participating in a series of nine workshops undertaken between June 2013 and April 2021, as well as the arduous process of writing this paper itself. Retrospective accounts, workshop materials, email exchanges and surveys of workshop participants provide the key data sources for the analysis presented in the paper.

Findings

The paper shows how the organization of the workshops is intertwined with the building of a small community of ECRs and exploration of how to address the perceived limitations of a “gap-spotting” approach to developing research ideas and questions. The analysis foregrounds how the workshops provide a seemingly valuable research experience that is not without contradictions. Workshop participation reveals tensions between engagement in activities “other than” working on papers for publication and institutionalized pressures to produce publication outputs, between the (weak) perceived status of ECRs in the field and the aspiration to make a scholarly contribution, and between the desire to develop a personally satisfying intellectual journey and the pressure to respond to requirements that allow access to a wider community of scholars.

Originality/value

Our analysis contributes to debates about the ways in which seemingly valuable outputs are produced in academia despite a pervasive “publish or perish” mentality. The analysis also shows how reflexive writing can help to better understand the opportunities and challenges of pursuing activities that might be considered “unproductive” because they are not directly related to to-be-published papers.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 January 2023

Syed Masroor Hassan and Zillur Rahman

This paper aims to investigate the role of personal and affective factors in curbing unethical consumer behaviour (UCB). Specifically, this study scrutinizes how religiosity…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the role of personal and affective factors in curbing unethical consumer behaviour (UCB). Specifically, this study scrutinizes how religiosity, consumer ethical beliefs (CEBs) and anticipated guilt influence UCB.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a survey-based approach, the author distributed offline and online questionnaires among students enrolled in a public university in Roorkee, India and analysed the data using structural equation modelling.

Findings

The results provide evidence that intrinsically religious individuals develop strong ethical beliefs, which can help them to refrain from unethical behaviour and adopt ethical conduct. Also, individuals prone to experiencing anticipated guilt show less inclination to commit unethical behaviour.

Research limitations/implications

This research presents significant theoretical and practical implications to facilitate academic understanding and managerial decision-making in the context of consumer ethics.

Originality/value

This research is one of the few empirical studies in the Indian context that simultaneously examines the antecedents and consequences of CEB.

Details

International Journal of Ethics and Systems, vol. 40 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9369

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 September 2023

Alireza Moghayedi, Kathy Michell, Dylan Hübner, Karen Le Jeune and Mark Massyn

This study investigates the barriers and drivers of using green methods and technologies (GMTs) in supportive educational buildings (SEBs) in South Africa, and assesses their…

1219

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates the barriers and drivers of using green methods and technologies (GMTs) in supportive educational buildings (SEBs) in South Africa, and assesses their impact on the circular economy (CE) in achieving net-zero carbon goals. While there has been extensive literature on green building technologies, there is limited research on the barriers and drivers of using GMT in SEBs, as well as their impact on the circular economy (CE) in achieving net-zero carbon goals.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts an interpretivist approach with an ontological basis, using an overarching case study of a SEB at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Semistructured interviews were conducted with executive UCT management, and a field survey of a UCT supportive education building was performed.

Findings

At UCT, multiple GMTs have been installed across various buildings to enhance monitoring and management of water and energy consumption. Moreover, initiatives to positively influence student behavior, such as water and energy-saving campaigns around UCT premises, have been introduced. The findings further indicate that UCT has recently emphasized the implementation of GMTs, resulting in improved resource efficiency, CE practices and progress toward achieving net-zero carbon targets for supportive education buildings and the university as a whole.

Originality/value

This research highlights the positive impact of GMTs on a SEB’s CE and net-zero carbon operations. As a result, facility managers should consider incorporating GMTs when planning the development or refurbishment of SEBs.

Details

Facilities , vol. 42 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

1 – 5 of 5