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1 – 10 of 14The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of a collaborative workshop, aimed to support teacher educators in embedding a “global outlook” in the curriculum on their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of a collaborative workshop, aimed to support teacher educators in embedding a “global outlook” in the curriculum on their perceived professional development.
Design/methodology/approach
The workshop included working sessions, during a period of 13 months, and was structured as participatory action research, according to which volunteer academics designed, developed and evaluated global education projects in their course units. Data were gathered through a focus group session, conducted with the teacher educators at a final stage of the workshop, and analyzed according to the principles of thematic analysis.
Findings
Results of the analysis suggest that the workshop presented a meaningful opportunity for teacher educators to reconstruct their knowledge and teaching practice to (re)discover the importance of collaborative work and to assume new commitments to themselves and to others.
Originality/value
The study addresses a gap in the existing literature on academic staff development in internationalization of the curriculum, focusing on the perceptions of teacher educators’, whose voices have been largely silent in research in the field. The study concludes with a set of recommendations for a professional development program in internationalization of the curriculum.
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Marcelo H.S. Pacheco, Erick Almeida Esmerino, Carla S.C. Capobiango, Adriano G. Cruz, Ludmila Salerno Leddomado, Tatiana Colombo Pimentel, Irineu Machado Benevides Filho and Monica Queiroz de Freitas
The purpose of this paper is to determine the classic (static) and dynamic sensory profile of different bottled mineral water samples, and to evaluate the consumer’s liking of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the classic (static) and dynamic sensory profile of different bottled mineral water samples, and to evaluate the consumer’s liking of the products.
Design/methodology/approach
Classic quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) and temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) were applied to four brands of bottled mineral water and the liking of the products was evaluated by consumers.
Findings
The dissolved mineral concentration is highly correlated to the liking and influences the sensory profile of the samples in a substantial way. The higher the mineral content, the lowest is the liking. Refreshing, residual plastic taste, musty, metallic taste, medicine taste and viscosity were relevant attributes to the samples differentiation through the static evaluation, while refreshing and viscosity were dominant in the dynamic monitoring. Some information might have been lost by the nature of the TDS method, based on dominance concept. Sweet taste contributed positively and musty taste negatively to the acceptance.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrated that TDS can be used as a complementary tool to the QDA, contributing to a deeper comprehension of the differences among samples, even in products with low differences, such as bottled mineral water.
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Matteo Rossi, Giuseppe Festa, Salim Chouaibi, Monica Fait and Armando Papa
This study aims to examine the potential effect that business ethics (BE) in general and corporate social responsibility (CSR) more specifically can exert on the voluntary…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the potential effect that business ethics (BE) in general and corporate social responsibility (CSR) more specifically can exert on the voluntary disclosure (VD) of intellectual capital (IC) for the ethically most engaged firms in the world.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design is based on an inductive approach. As part of the global quantitative investigation, the authors have analyzed the impact of BE and CSR on the transparent communication of the IC. The data under analysis have been investigated using multiple linear regression.
Findings
Based on a sample of 83 enterprises emerging as the most ethical companies in the world, the results have revealed that the adoption of ethical and socially responsible approach is positively associated with the extent of VD about IC. This finding may help attenuating the asymmetry of information and the conflict of interest potentially arising with corporate partners. Hence, IC-VD may stand as an evidence of ethical and socially responsible behaviors.
Practical implications
Global and national regulators and policymakers can be involved by these results when setting social reporting standards because they suggest that institutional and/or cultural factors affect top management's social reporting behavior in the publication of the IC information.
Social implications
Direct and indirect stakeholders, if supported by ethical and socially responsible behaviors of the company, could assess more in detail the quality of the disclosed information concerning the IC.
Originality/value
Most of the studies that have been conducted in this field have examined the effect of BE and CSR on the firm's overall transparency, neglecting their potential effect on IC disclosure. This study is designed to fill in this gap through testing the impact of ethical and socially responsible approaches specifically on IC-VD.
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Barbara de Lima Voss, David Bernard Carter and Bruno Meirelles Salotti
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in…
Abstract
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.
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Monica Bernardi and Ezio Marra
This chapter examines three Italian cities that have experienced a transition from “Fordism to tourism”: Genoa, Turin, and Milan. After an industrial crisis, they have invested in…
Abstract
This chapter examines three Italian cities that have experienced a transition from “Fordism to tourism”: Genoa, Turin, and Milan. After an industrial crisis, they have invested in culture and tourism as alternative ways of development. This transition is examined using the theoretical framework of urban regimes highlighting five development trends: the city as a growth machine, the Fordist city, the creative city, the city as entertainment machine, and the blue-green city. By adopting this theoretical framework, the evidence shows how academic institutions, tour operators, and public authorities may or may not work together for the tourism development of their cities.
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Teresa Rebelo, Paulo Renato Lourenço and Isabel Dórdio Dimas
This paper is focused on team learning, the fourth discipline proposed by Senge (1990) in his seminal book The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is focused on team learning, the fourth discipline proposed by Senge (1990) in his seminal book The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. This paper aims to provide a reflection upon the journey that this construct has made since this book’s publication, in terms of conceptualization, research and its link to organizational learning and learning organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a review of Senge’s (1990) conceptualization of team learning and on a literature review of team learning research that has been produced since then.
Findings
Since the first edition of Senge’s book in 1990, team learning has been growing as an autonomous research topic with numerous papers centered on learning at this level of analysis. Senge’s proposals concerning team learning remain present in the way team learning is now conceptualized, but this research stream has led to advancements in its conceptualization and on the understanding of its antecedents and consequences. Nevertheless, the authors observed a lack of research centered on the link between team learning and organizational learning, as well as between team learning and the concept of the learning organization.
Originality/value
This paper offers a review of research on team learning, suggesting some avenues for further research on this topic and its contribution to learning organizations. As teams are nowadays the building blocks of most organizational structures, and learning is a key process for effectiveness, research on learning at this level of analysis will remain valuable.
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Melchior Gromis di Trana, Fabrizio Bava and Pietro Pisoni
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the economic impact of a shift toward a more sustainable model in the wine industry. In particular it aims to identify the business…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the economic impact of a shift toward a more sustainable model in the wine industry. In particular it aims to identify the business activities which are more involved in this process under an economic perspective, as well as the strategies applied to guarantee profits.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is based on a single case study: Casa E. di Mirafiore e Fontanafredda. It is one of the main wine producers in Italy as well as one of the main drivers for the diffusion of a sustainable culture in the region.
Findings
The company value chain in the short time is negatively influenced by these changes, but at the same time they are strategic investments able to provide new opportunities for sales and cost reductions.
Research limitations/implications
The work uses a sole case study approach. As theoretical implications the study highlights how the “green shift” may be supported under an economic perspective. And it also shows the need to extend the evaluation over the sole company.
Practical implications
This research reduces an information gap concerning the economic effect produced by a sustainable conversion. It may inspire other companies to perform this evolution.
Originality/value
The research explores how Fontanafredda performed a conversion of its business model toward sustainability. This analysis is performed on the value chain but also over it.
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Facing the aging workforce but older workers’ vulnerability in the labor market, this chapter empirically explores factors and policy implications to enhance older workers’…
Abstract
Facing the aging workforce but older workers’ vulnerability in the labor market, this chapter empirically explores factors and policy implications to enhance older workers’ entered employment rates (EER) after exiting the national workforce program. After reviewing older workers’ attributes and the unique methods to train them, the chapter examines demographic, socioeconomic, and program attributions to older workers’ EER, controlling for cyclical changes in the labor market. The chapter relies on three sets of models including logistic regression, multi-level mixed-effect regression, and multilevel mixed effect logistic regression models, as well as longitudinal Workforce Investment Act Standardized Record Data and Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment data. Older dislocated workers and older adults are examined separately. Some Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act training and related service combinations are identified to contribute to older adults and older dislocated workers’ EER and to inform strategic decision-making about future allocations of funds and policy efforts to serve older workers.
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