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1 – 10 of 32This article describes the third part of a three-stage study investigating the information behaviour of fans and fan communities, the first stage of which is described in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This article describes the third part of a three-stage study investigating the information behaviour of fans and fan communities, the first stage of which is described in the study by Price and Robinson (2017).
Design/methodology/approach
Using tag analysis as a method, a comparative case study was undertaken to explore three aspects of fan information behaviour: information gatekeeping; classifying and tagging and entrepreneurship and economic activity. The case studies took place on three sites used by fans–Tumblr, Archive of Our Own (AO3) and Etsy. Supplementary semi-structured interviews with site users were used to augment the findings with qualitative data.
Findings
These showed that fans used tags in a variety of ways quite apart from classification purposes. These included tags being used on Tumblr as meta-commentary and a means of dialogue between users, as well as expressors of emotion and affect towards posts. On AO3 in particular, fans had developed a practice called “tag wrangling” to mitigate the inherent “messiness” of tagging. Evidence was also found of a “hybrid market economy” on Etsy fan stores. From the study findings, a taxonomy of fan-related tags was developed.
Research limitations/implications
Findings are limited to the tagging practices on only three sites used by fans during Spring 2016, and further research on other similar sites are recommended. Longitudinal studies of these sites would be beneficial in understanding how or whether tagging practices change over time. Testing of the fan-tag taxonomy developed in this paper is also recommended.
Originality/value
This research develops a method for using tag analysis to describe information behaviour. It also develops a fan-tag taxonomy, which may be used in future research on the tagging practices of fans, which heretofore have been a little-studied section of serious leisure information users.
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Individuals with disabilities may not be aware of their communicative, academic, social, and/or vocational needs. Over the last 20 years, self-advocacy has been referred to as a…
Abstract
Individuals with disabilities may not be aware of their communicative, academic, social, and/or vocational needs. Over the last 20 years, self-advocacy has been referred to as a goal for education, a civil rights movement, and a component of self-determination (Test, Fowler, Wood, Brewer, & Eddy, 2005). As a measurable skill, self-advocacy can be specifically defined as a skill that helps “individuals communicate their needs and stand up for their own interests and rights” (Yuan, 1994, p. 305). Individuals diagnosed with a variety of disabilities (learning disabilities, cognitive impairments, language disorders, etc.) experience difficulty in achieving success in situations where they are required to communicate their needs and stand up for their rights. Test et al. (2005) documented 25 definitions of self-advocacy that were published between 1977 and 2002. The most recent definition focused on self-advocacy in the realm of social change and civil rights; the enablement of individuals with disabilities to make decisions, speak for themselves, and stand up for their rights.
The purpose of this paper is to reduce the potential for litigation by improving valuers’ awareness of water risks. As part of a valuer’s due diligence, the paper provides…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reduce the potential for litigation by improving valuers’ awareness of water risks. As part of a valuer’s due diligence, the paper provides guidance as to how to identify such risks by explaining the different types and examining how online search tools can be used in conjunction with more traditional methods to evaluate the probability of these risks occurring.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper builds on prior research, which examined the impact of water to and for valuations. By means of legal/doctrinal analysis, this paper considers relevant issues from the perspective of managing client expectations and needs. In so doing it identifies online tools available to assist in identifying at risk properties and better informing clients.
Findings
While the internet provides a variety of tools to gain access to relevant information, this information most commonly is only provided subject to disclaimer. Valuers need to ensure that blind reliance is not given to use of these tools but that the tools are used in conjunction with individual property inspections.
Research limitations/implications
Although the examples considered primarily are Australian, increasing water risks generally make the issues considered relevant for any jurisdiction. The research will be of particular interests to practitioners in coastal or riverine areas.
Practical implications
Valuation reports are sought for a variety of purposes from a variety of clients. These range from the experienced, knowledgeable developer looking to maximise available equity to the inexperienced, uneducated individual looking to acquire their home and thinking more often than not with their heart not their head. More informed practices by valuers will lead to valuation reports being more easily understood by clients, thus lessening the likelihood of litigation against the valuer for negligence.
Originality/value
The paper highlights the issue of water risks; the need for valuers to properly address potential and actual risks in their reports; and the corresponding need to undertake all appropriate searches and enquiries of the property to be valued. It reinforces the importance of access to the internet as a tool in the valuation process.
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It is now generally accepted that, since organised crime has become increasingly sophisticated, globalised and well resourced, law enforcement must consequently shift from its…
Abstract
It is now generally accepted that, since organised crime has become increasingly sophisticated, globalised and well resourced, law enforcement must consequently shift from its traditionally reactive approach to investigating crime to a more proactive one. While this has happened in a range of fields, particularly drug trafficking, it does not appear that money‐laundering investigations have developed in accordance with this trend, with the exception of in the USA. This paper examines the features of money‐laundering sting operations carried out in the USA, the jurisdiction with the greatest experience in conducting this type of operation, and considers the current potential for money‐laundering stings in the UK.
Over the last decade, technological and social trends have significantly influenced the relationship between customers and insurers. New buying patterns, price comparison…
Abstract
Purpose
Over the last decade, technological and social trends have significantly influenced the relationship between customers and insurers. New buying patterns, price comparison platforms and the usage of different interaction channels driving single-product purchases and impacting lapses have influenced insurers’ customer portfolios and development. The purpose of this paper is to study the features driving the customer relationship along three areas, namely, customer acquisition, development and retention.
Design/methodology/approach
After defining 14 related hypotheses, the authors use econometric analyses to quantitatively support these hypotheses in the three areas of interest. The authors build on a large-scale longitudinal data set from a Swiss insurance company covering the period from 2005 to 2014 and including 2,757,000 customer-years. The data comprise information on private customers, their contract history, including coverage and losses and the channels used for buying insurance. This analysis focuses on the two most common non-life insurance products, namely, household/liability and car insurance.
Findings
The authors provide descriptive statistics and results from econometric analyses to determine the significant features and patterns affecting customer development and retention. Among the main results, the authors underline the significant influence on cross-selling given by the customer’s age and the interaction channel. Customers from rural regions are more loyal and likely to conduct cross-buying when compared to their peers from urban regions. Car insurance holders are more likely to lapse than household/liability insurance clients. Finally, while newly acquired customers tend to buy only a single product, the authors show the importance of cross-selling for retaining customers. In fact, customer retention is positively influenced by the number of products hold.
Research limitations/implications
This work is relevant for academics and practitioners alike, adding a quantitative basis to the understanding of managing customer relationships and for the development of further prospective models. Further work could investigate or add products, extend the study to other companies and focus on customer development with time.
Originality/value
This study explores a large-scale longitudinal data set. The analyses of customer acquisition, development and retention can support insurers to construct their own models for customer relationship management.
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Research in corporate social responsibility and performance (CSR/CSP) has made very significant advances over the past several decades, yet there is so much more to be done…
Abstract
Research in corporate social responsibility and performance (CSR/CSP) has made very significant advances over the past several decades, yet there is so much more to be done. Research in this area is exceptionally difficult because of corporate opaqueness and secrecy, the lack of a viable guiding theory, and the juxtaposition of CSR/CSP against the prevailing neoclassical economic theory of the firm. Researchers’ choices of topic, domain, theory, variables and their operational surrogates, data, and analytical method have all come a long way but require a great deal more conscious refinement. Pressures on untenured researchers and those not fully promoted are tremendous; thus, senior scholars are in the best position to organize and supervise research projects of serious benefit to CSR/CSP knowledge and understanding.
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The main purpose of this paper is to show how by using very simple concepts and techniques, which I have learned during my training at the Program for Excellence in Teaching (PET…
Abstract
The main purpose of this paper is to show how by using very simple concepts and techniques, which I have learned during my training at the Program for Excellence in Teaching (PET) at the University of Missouri‐Columbia and teaching experience at the same university for six years, the classroom atmosphere can be improved and become more interesting and through which students can learn more. It is not to say that there is no need for new teaching theories and concepts, but I believe we are more in need of knowing how to apply what we already know. The lack of sufficient empirical test is another reason for writing this paper. In this paper I conduct five different statistical tests to show how interactive learning, in which students have active role in developing new/unknown concepts, is more effective than traditional teaching (lecturing), in which students have passive role in learning new materials.
Programmed learning is scrambled books or small steps. Teaching machines are ludicrous. Educational technologists are slide projectionists who like using long words. Training is…
Abstract
Programmed learning is scrambled books or small steps. Teaching machines are ludicrous. Educational technologists are slide projectionists who like using long words. Training is for them; not me. Students these days are different. Why don't they leave us alone! I don't know what the world is coming to. The trouble is that…
Organizing a communications function for a “global” company and focusing its marketing image offer rare opportunities and challenges. Yet it is possible to do so, and to do it…
Abstract
Organizing a communications function for a “global” company and focusing its marketing image offer rare opportunities and challenges. Yet it is possible to do so, and to do it profitably.