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In this section, we will highlight three overlapping concepts that are currently used in both the motivation and emotion literatures: goals, agency and expectancy. We recognize that there are other potential overlapping constructs (e.g. interest); however, we focus on these three.

With a departure point in the Schutzian concept of “The stranger”, the aim of the article is to examine the usefulness of the concept as a tool for understanding information seeking practices from an outsider perspective in the context of leaving school and planning to apply to a university programme in Sweden.

The paper draws on the phenomenological sociology of Schutz together with narrative theory. In this study stories of information seeking gathered in interviews are related to a discourse of nationality and analysed using the concept of cognitive authority together with the concept of the stranger.

The findings reveal the effort required for young people with roots in other countries or from non‐academic homes to connect and interact with potentially valuable sources of information and that the concept of the stranger can be employed to render visible implicit dimensions of information seeking.

The article is based on an in‐depth study of the information seeking activities of one young person in a specific national, political and cultural context. It is particular and personal but at the same time can be related to wider issues in contemporary society through narrative analysis. The stories of information seeking taken up exemplify the social nature of barriers of access to information and may be of help in the planning of research projects on a larger scale.

In a time when a discourse of nationality is pervasive and integration policies are under question in Europe this study provides insight into the individual experience from the perspective of library and information science.

Our concern in this article is with the feeding back of sociological descriptions to those whom these descriptions purport to be about. This in particular is what we mean in our title by the ‘retrieval of sociological description’. We would like to consider here some of the issues surrounding any attempt on the part of the sociologist to offer his account for inspection by his research respondents, why one may attempt such an exercise and, tentatively, what any such exercise might look like. In particular, we wish to link such ‘feeding back’ of the sociologist's descriptions to the related issue of the validation of social research. Conventionally, validation of sociological research is thought to consist in internal methodological procedures, e.g. triangulation, random allocation, etc., but validation by respondents may represent a feasible alternative to such procedures. By respondent validation is meant here any attempt on the part of the researcher to establish a

The paper will concentrate on the Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM) from the point of view of the contemplative social sciences (CSS). It will analyze how the mind is engaged in the construction of concept and what the role is of the consciousness of the mind's work in creating a theory that is based on the analysis of empirical data. We will review the research and analytical methods that could be inspirations for Contemplative Grounded Theory (CGT): constructivist grounded theory, classic grounded theory, transformational grounded theory, sociological introspection, holistic ethnography, mindful inquiry and transformational phenomenology, and contemplative qualitative inquiry.

We can find in many classical books from grounded theory (GT) some seeds of contemplative thinking, and we can reconstruct them (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Glaser, 1978; Strauss, 1987). We would like to develop the inspirations more and perhaps change the sense of GT after the contemplative turn. We would like to show the possibilities of using CGT in research and also its limitations. Some empirical examples from research and analysis will be given to show how contemplation could be used in GT.

People subjectively engage in the production and reproduction of what constitutes “feeling normal.” Objective standards of normalcy for the able-bodied are created and maintained by institutions (e.g., medicine, the state, business, the mass media, and family), and these standards are learned by individuals who socialize the next generation in a continuous cycle. Having a disability does not exempt a person from standards and values of “able-bodied normalcy,” nor does it prevent her/him from reproducing these standards for future generations. Thus, it is possible, if not probable, that persons with disabilities live in and reproduce the able-bodied lifeworld, sustaining, what is for the person with a physical disability, an unattainable standard of normalcy. Approximating and ultimately achieving “normalcy” in this situation or at least the presentation of “normalcy” (Goffman, 1959, 1963) may occupy a sizeable portion of everyday life. More importantly here, “feeling normal” emerges when the social constructions of reality allows the person with a physical disability to be part of a generation and everyday life. There is, in other words, a “frame” for defining normality, and physical disability is a key to changing this frame (Goffman, 1974).

Purpose: Economic development agendas usually drive innovation, and it is an essential tool for government institutions to promote economic growth. The Quadruple Helix Model of Innovation captures the process by integrating and overlapping knowledge and technology, forming an aggregate output invested in producing more products and services, innovation, and technology. This chapter focuses on how the quadruple helix supports the linkage between knowledge creation, innovation output, and enhancing regional and national competitiveness.

Design/methodology/approach: The chapter also illustrates the triple helix concept and then the quadruple helix model of innovation, focusing on the four main aspects, i.e., Government, Universities, Industry, and Civil society. The authors aim to simulate the economic significance of evolving, rapidly adaptive, and interdisciplinary knowledge and innovation ecosystems.

Findings: The findings and examples stated in several different MENA regions can boost the economy as various platforms provide digital transformation, encourage culture awareness in schools, encourage youth empowerment, and support tech start-ups. They can drive forward the index of creativity and innovation within entrepreneurs and the general members of society. Recommendations include a further study to modify the model and customize it based on the country’s needs.

Originality/value: This chapter of the book focuses on the four main aspects of the quadruple helix model of innovation with specific examples in several countries. The chapter would be beneficial for the upcoming entrepreneurs and students who progress in developing tech start-ups and digitization.

The purpose of this study is to elaborate on how analytics capability develops within the PSM function. This study is an in-depth exploration of how analytics capability develops within the purchasing and supply management (PSM) function.

A multiple case study was conducted of the PSM function of six case firms, in which primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews with PSM analytics stakeholders. The data were analyzed based on an analytics capability framework derived from the literature. Cases were chosen based on them having advanced PSM practices and ongoing analytics projects in the PSM area.

The findings shed light on how the firms develop their analytics capability in the PSM functional area. While we identify several commonalities in this respect, the authors also observe differences in how firms organize for analytics, bringing analytics and PSM decision-makers together. Building on the knowledge-based view of the firm, The authors offer a theoretical explanation of our observations, highlighting the user-driven side of analytics development, which has largely been unrecognized by prior literature. The authors also offer an explanation of the observed dual role that analytics takes in cross-functional initiatives.

The exploratory nature of our study limits the generalizability of our results. Further, our limited number of cases and interviewees indicate that there is still much to explore in the phenomenon of developing analytics capability.

Our findings can help firms gain a better understanding of how they could develop their analytics capability and what issues they need to consider when seeking leveraging data through analytics for PSM decisions.

This paper is, to the best knowledge of the authors, the first empirical study of analytics capability in PSM.

Does education affect economic outcomes, and if so, how? Does education finance interact with public policy? And how does education finance policy contribute to the development of a new strategic planning for the next generation, if at all? This chapter reviews recent conceptual and methodological developments in the field of economics and finance of education. The review covers these two major topics and is divided into three sections. First is an overview of the field, including current trends in economics of education in both developed and developing countries. This section incorporates themes such as returns to investment in education, costs of education, education and economic growth, and education market, choice, and incentives. The second section focuses on finance of education and current debates on equality, equity, and efficiency in educational finances. The third section presents summary and discussion. The discussion will bring to light the issues, challenges, opportunities, and future directions of the field. Where appropriate, examples and empirical evidence from both developing and developed countries are presented.