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Book part
Publication date: 27 October 2020

Joanne Sopt

This study takes the position that the concept of fraud is socially constructed. Moreover, it asks why and how different understandings of fraud have emerged. Insights from the…

Abstract

This study takes the position that the concept of fraud is socially constructed. Moreover, it asks why and how different understandings of fraud have emerged. Insights from the work of Lakoff and Johnson (1999, 2003; Lakoff, 2002, 2004, 2009) are used to analyze language revealing dominant worldviews and metaphors regarding fraud. The research method is a case study (Yin, 2014), and the analytical approach used parallels the one described in O’Dwyer (2004). The research setting is a report issued by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which provides a context to study different understandings of fraud due to the report’s divided nature. The analysis reveals three alternative worldviews, representing different assumptions about reality, that are at the root of the different understandings of fraud. These worldviews also lead to the usage of different conceptual metaphors which allow the commissioners to interpret facts in a manner that supports each worldview’s assumptions. The paper also concludes by providing a nuanced and critical examination of the results of the commission concerning its understanding of fraud.

Article
Publication date: 19 April 2022

Sanghee Lee

Architectural history is the fundamental resource that informs the essence of architecture and design thinking; however, education does not appear to link history to design…

Abstract

Purpose

Architectural history is the fundamental resource that informs the essence of architecture and design thinking; however, education does not appear to link history to design thinking. A study of architectural history textbooks reveals the inadequacy of relying on the modern paradigm and architecture's typology of styles and periods. Instead, conceptual metaphor theory is recommended as the framework for understanding architectural history from an experiential approach. This study aims to complement architectural history by a new understanding of embodied cognition in generating paradigm change.

Design/methodology/approach

This study reviewed architectural history through changing body metaphors in terms of embodied experience. The study examined three different metaphorical structures of the body – nature, machine and neural network – projected on the built environment and experienced in accordance with three periods of architectural history, which are categorized as before modern, modern and after modern.

Findings

As a result of the case study, ancient pyramids can attain more empirical meaning as playful spaces than abstract forms, Greek temples as social spaces than symbolic spaces, medieval churches as atmospheric spaces than visually-centric spaces, modern residential buildings as unsustainable machines and contemporary parks as raising awareness of sustainable environment.

Originality/value

Therefore, this article contributes to understandings and knowledge of how built environments are experienced from the perspective of a neural network, to the development of a pedagogical alternative to traditional architectural history, to linking architectural history to design and practice to re-establish the importance and vitality of architectural history and finally to creating a sustainable didactic.

Details

Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-6862

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Daniel Andriessen

To analyse common metaphors used in the intellectual capital (IC) and knowledge management literatures to conceptualise knowledge, in order to study the nature of the intellectual…

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Abstract

Purpose

To analyse common metaphors used in the intellectual capital (IC) and knowledge management literatures to conceptualise knowledge, in order to study the nature of the intellectual capital concept.

Design/methodology/approach

A textual analysis methodology is used to analyse texts from The Knowledge‐Creating Company by Nonaka and Takeuchi, Working Knowledge by Davenport and Prusak and “Brainpower” by Stewart, in order to identify underlying metaphors.

Findings

Over 95 per cent of the statements about knowledge identified are based on some kind of metaphor. The two dominant metaphors that form the basis for the concept of intellectual capital are “knowledge as a resource” and “knowledge as capital”.

Research limitations/implications

Metaphors highlight certain characteristics and ignore others, so the IC community should ask itself what characteristics of knowledge the “knowledge as a resource” and “knowledge as capital” metaphors ignore.

Practical implications

Knowledge has no referent in the real world and requires metaphor to be defined, conceptualised, and acted upon. When using such metaphors we should become aware of their limitations as they steer us in certain directions and this may happen unconsciously. The paper concludes by asking whether we need new metaphors to better understand the mechanisms of the knowledge economy, hence allowing us to potentially change some of the more negative structural features of contemporary society.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to highlight that intellectual capital is a metaphor and that the metaphorical nature of the concept has far reaching consequences.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

Evi Sifaki and Annabelle Mooney

The purpose of this paper is to document the conceptual metaphors (Lakoff and Johnson, 2003) found in the talk of Greek and Australian adults to describe how people think about…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to document the conceptual metaphors (Lakoff and Johnson, 2003) found in the talk of Greek and Australian adults to describe how people think about money. As money becomes increasingly abstract, understanding money, dealing with debt and encouraging financial literacy become more problematic.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews of a small sample (n = 7) are analysed using Lakoff and Johnson’s model of metaphor to map the underlying conceptual structures of money.

Findings

This paper argues that the abstraction of money has led people to search for a conceptual object. The forms and features of this object are recovered by tracing the metaphors, their presuppositions and entailments. This shows that people think about money as a physical object that needs to be carefully managed to avoid bodily harm and personal physical discomfort. Specifically, money is an object with weight that physically constrains the body, a substance that can be addictive albeit with the agentive capacity of sentient beings.

Social implications

While the physical and corporeal nature of money implicitly underpins existing money management techniques (e.g. “jam jar” accounts), a detailed understanding of money as a (conceptual) object provides detailed discursive, lexical and persuasive resources for promoting sound financial behaviour and perhaps informing both economic and social policies.

Originality/value

While metaphor has been studied in economics texts, very little attention has been paid to the language that ordinary people use to talk about money. This research gives a clear picture of money as a metaphorically physical object.

Details

On the Horizon, vol. 23 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1074-8121

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Rewriting Leadership with Narrative Intelligence: How Leaders Can Thrive in Complex, Confusing and Contradictory Times
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-776-4

Book part
Publication date: 3 August 2020

Nicholas J. Shudak and Yasuko Taoka

The operational paradigms guiding leadership strategies and practices, and their related policies, are archaic, and neither varied nor flexible. Arguably, many institutions of…

Abstract

The operational paradigms guiding leadership strategies and practices, and their related policies, are archaic, and neither varied nor flexible. Arguably, many institutions of higher education still operate on an economized production paradigm of product-profit. The unintended consequence of such a paradigm is the continued dehumanization and objectification of all those involved.

This chapter challenges the particular uses of metaphors in higher education that, on our view, continue the reified product-profit paradigm. By crafting an alternative conceptual metaphor for higher education as a learner rather than debtor, we help those in higher education begin to make institutions more socially responsible and more democratic simply by calling upon those within higher education to reduce the amount of human commodification occurring through the language we use. We do this by sketching the history of the institution as debtor, making clear and transparent the consequences and impact of this metaphor, and by providing an alternative metaphorical paradigm for institutions of higher education.

Details

Leadership Strategies for Promoting Social Responsibility in Higher Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-427-9

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2017

Maria Lindh and Jan Michael Nolin

The purpose of this paper is to explore persuasive rhetoric by critically scrutinizing metaphorical devices utilized by leaders of the cloud industry. This paper introduces a…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore persuasive rhetoric by critically scrutinizing metaphorical devices utilized by leaders of the cloud industry. This paper introduces a critical approach to the promotion of cloud technology.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 13 video clips from YouTube were analyzed, containing presentations and talks delivered by leaders of Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon – four of the most influential companies within the information technology industry, sometimes referred to as GAFA. With the help of conceptual metaphor theory, often-repeated metaphors for cloud technologies reveal what properties were promoted and hidden.

Findings

GAFA mainly used the same persuasive metaphors to promote cloud computing’s positive aspects. Potentially negative or complex issues were mostly avoided. Cloud technology was uniformly described in metaphors of control, empowerment, transformation and automation. Implicitly, GAFA exerts power through the extensive dissemination of their metaphors and these are used in order to negotiate and overcome doubts about cloud computing and related technologies.

Originality/value

This is the first study aimed at understanding the persuasive rhetoric of GAFA, seen as a uniform object of study.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 73 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 1996

L. Melissa Walters‐York

The more orthodox versions of our discipline as well as other social sciences are grounded in the common presupposition that science and philosophy be expounded by an especially…

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Abstract

The more orthodox versions of our discipline as well as other social sciences are grounded in the common presupposition that science and philosophy be expounded by an especially true level of language characterized by precision and absence of ambiguity. For this reason, tropological linguistic forms such as metaphor are often held to be illicit, as unimportant or nonessential frills, deviant and parasitic on normal usage, for use by none but the poet. Argues that metaphor, far from being a mere stylistic device, is an indispensable, and indeed inseparable ingredient of all discourses whether literary, scientific, philosophical, or accounting. Draws heavily on Black’s (1962, 1978, 1993) interaction account of metaphor as a basis for explicating the poetic and rhetorical roles that metaphor may play in accounting discourse. Through presentation of three primary propositions with supporting metaphoric illustrations, suggests that metaphor is very much a part of the way in which accountants create and disseminate meaning about the world as both part of mundane accounting discourse and extensions of discursive practices.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 9 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 August 2024

Edicleia Oliveira, Serge Basini and Thomas M. Cooney

This article explores women entrepreneurs' lived experiences in their interactions with government enterprise support agencies. It investigates the relationship between gendering…

Abstract

Purpose

This article explores women entrepreneurs' lived experiences in their interactions with government enterprise support agencies. It investigates the relationship between gendering and Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO), as a normative orientation adopted at the institutional level and justified by an economic rationale. It also explores how women entrepreneurs articulate their experiences through embodied metaphors and image schemas, shedding light on how they navigate the institutional entrepreneurial space.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is framed within the concept of Phenomenological Orientation as conceptualised in feminist phenomenology. It applies Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, a qualitative methodology focused on interpreting accounts of first-person lived experiences of a phenomenon. It combines IPA with Conceptual Metaphor Theory to understand women's articulation of their embodied relationship within the entrepreneurial space.

Findings

Findings reveal that the entrepreneurial orientation functions as a gendering process within entrepreneurial institutions, reinforcing masculine hegemonic ideals and marginalising women entrepreneurs. Women's phenomenological orientations often diverge from the normative entrepreneurial orientation, highlighting the need for a more inclusive framework in institutional entrepreneurial spaces.

Research limitations/implications

This article contributes to women's entrepreneurship literature by underlining the temporal dimension of entrepreneurship and the tension that underpins their interactions with government support bodies. It calls for inclusive policies and procedures to match the heterogeneity of orientations. While highlighting its limitations, it also suggests future research directions to deepen the understanding of entrepreneurship and inform more suitable support structures for all entrepreneurs.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by shedding light on the nuanced interplay between gendering, entrepreneurial orientation, and women entrepreneurs' lived experiences. It extends previous research by framing “orientation” within a temporality framework, offering a novel perspective on the gendering of entrepreneurial spaces.

Details

International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-6266

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 11 July 2006

Annamma Joy, Michael Hui, Tsong-Sung Chan and Geng Cui

This study examines subject and self-metaphors in Cantonese in order to understand the impact of self-conceptualization on self-giving in Hong Kong. The bifurcation of the…

Abstract

This study examines subject and self-metaphors in Cantonese in order to understand the impact of self-conceptualization on self-giving in Hong Kong. The bifurcation of the individual in Hong Kong signals the importance of the subject and the relational self in Chinese culture. The word for person (rén) is written as two individuals interacting with each other, so communication between the subject and the relational self has a significant impact on self-giving as evidenced by the most prevalent type of gift – the puritanical one. The mental accounting in this instance reflects the importance given to the consideration of others prior to or simultaneously with rewarding oneself for the successful achievement of a personal goal. Both whimsical and therapeutic gifts are fairly rare and justified in a more elaborate fashion. Indulging oneself by purchasing consumer goods or services for special occasions is acceptable when they are not provided by relevant others, such as close friends or family. Purchasing clothes and shoes for Chinese New Year is not necessarily viewed as a self-gift because this occasion is an auspicious one, requiring the wearer to attire herself in new outfits in order to attract good fortune. Finally, the presence of self-gifts in Hong Kong justifies its inclusion in the gift continuum.

Details

Research in Consumer Behavior
Type: Book
ISBN: 0-7623-1304-8

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