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1 – 10 of 56Rocco Agrifoglio, Paola Briganti, Luisa Varriale, Concetta Metallo and Maria Ferrara
Building upon the practice-based framework, this paper aims to focus on working practices for understanding how knowledge is transferred among health-care professionals within…
Abstract
Purpose
Building upon the practice-based framework, this paper aims to focus on working practices for understanding how knowledge is transferred among health-care professionals within hospitals.
Design/methodology/approach
Using an ethnographic and interpretative approach, the authors conducted preliminary research based on a quali-quantitative methodology within one of the largest hospitals in Southern Italy.
Findings
This study allowed to achieve several results that could be significant and relevant within the health-care sector. First, this paper identified some of the main working practices and their associated activities in health care. Moreover, this paper identified the main organizational forms and/or tools enabling hospital personnel to share and learn the various types of knowledge for each of the prior identified practices.
Practical implications
Hospital managers should develop strategies and policies that take into account the nature and typology of knowledge-sharing processes among health-care professionals in terms of practices.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to practice-based studies identifying identified some of the main working practices, as well as the main tools for sharing and learning of the various types of knowledge.
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Marcello Russo, Filomena Buonocore and Maria Ferrara
The purpose of this paper is to explore antecedents, namely reasons for/against error reporting, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control, of nurses’ intentions to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore antecedents, namely reasons for/against error reporting, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control, of nurses’ intentions to report their errors at work.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured equation model with cross-sectional data were estimated to test the hypotheses on a sample of 188 Italian nurses.
Findings
Reasons for/against error reporting were associated with attitudes, subjective norms and perceived control. Further, reasons against were related to nurses’ intentions to report errors whereas reasons for error reporting were not. Lastly, perceived control was found to partially mediate the effects of reasons against error reporting on nurses’ intentions to act.
Research limitations/implications
Self-report data were collected at one point in time.
Practical implications
This study offers recommendations to healthcare managers on what factors may encourage nurses to report their errors.
Social implications
Lack of error reporting prevents timely interventions. The study contributes to documenting motivations that can persuade or dissuade nurses in this important decision.
Originality/value
This study extends prior research on error reporting that lacks a strong theoretical foundation by drawing on behavioral reasoning theory.
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This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Design
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
The study identified the major organisational forms and tools that enable various types of knowledge to be shared.
Originality
The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
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Michele Bigoni, Enrico Deidda Gagliardo and Warwick Funnell
Informed by the work of Laughlin and Booth, this paper aims to analyze the role of accounting and accountability practices within the fifteenth century Roman Catholic Church, more…
Abstract
Purpose
Informed by the work of Laughlin and Booth, this paper aims to analyze the role of accounting and accountability practices within the fifteenth century Roman Catholic Church, more specifically within the Diocese of Ferrara (northern Italy), in order to determine the presence of a sacred‐secular dichotomy. Pope Eugenius IV had embarked on a comprehensive reform of the Church to counter the spreading moral corruption within the clergy and the subsequent disaffection with the Church by many believers. The reforms were notable not only for the Pope's determination to restore the moral authority and power of the Church, but also for the essential contributions of “profane” financial and accounting practices to the success of the reforms.
Design/methodology/approach
Original fifteenth century Latin documents and account books of the Diocese of Ferrara are used to highlight the link between the new sacred values imposed by Pope Eugenius IV's reforms and accounting and accountability practices.
Findings
The documents reveal that secular accounting and accountability practices were not regarded as necessarily antithetical to religious values, as would be expected by Laughlin and Booth. Instead, they were seen to assume a role which was complementary to the Church's religious mission. Indeed, they were essential to its sacred mission during a period in which the Pope sought to arrest the moral decay of the clergy and reinstate the Church's authority.
Research limitations/implications
The paper shows that the sacred‐secular dichotomy cannot be considered as a priori valid in space and time. There is also scope for examining other Italian dioceses where there was little evidence of Pope Eugenius' reforms.
Originality/value
The paper presents a critique of the sacred‐secular divide paradigm by considering an under‐researched period and a non‐Anglo Saxon context.
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Alessandra Borrelli, Giulia Giantesio and Maria Cristina Patria
This paper aims to analyze the steady two-dimensional stagnation-point flow of an electrically conducting Newtonian or micropolar fluid when the obstacle is uniformly heated.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the steady two-dimensional stagnation-point flow of an electrically conducting Newtonian or micropolar fluid when the obstacle is uniformly heated.
Design/methodology/approach
The governing boundary layer equations are transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations using appropriate similarity transformations. Some analytical considerations about existence and uniqueness of the solution are obtained. The system is then solved numerically using the bvp4c function in MATLAB.
Findings
If the temperature of the obstacle Tw coincides with the environment temperature T0, then the motion reduces to the usual orthogonal stagnation-point flow; if Tw = T0, then it is necessary to include in the similarity function describing the velocity an oblique part due to the temperature. Also, the presence of a uniform external magnetic field orthogonal to the obstacle is examined. In all cases, the motion is reduced to a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations with boundary conditions, whose solution is discussed numerically when the Prandtl and the Hartmann number varies.
Originality/value
The present results are original and new for the problem of magnetohydrodynamic mixed convection in the plane stagnation-point flow of a Newtonian or a micropolar fluid over a vertical flat plate. At infinity, the motion approaches the orthogonal stagnation-point flow of an inviscid fluid; the effect of an uniform external magnetic field is considered, and the obstacle has a uniform temperature.
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Alessandra Borrelli, Giulia Giantesio, Maria Cristina Patria, Natalia C. Roşca, Alin V. Roşca and Ioan Pop
This paper aims to consider the influence of the temperature and of an external magnetic field on the steady oblique stagnation-point flow for a Boussinesquian nanofluid past a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to consider the influence of the temperature and of an external magnetic field on the steady oblique stagnation-point flow for a Boussinesquian nanofluid past a stretching or shrinking sheet.
Design/methodology/approach
The flow is reduced through similarity transformations to an ordinary boundary value problem, which is solved numerically in MATLAB using the bvp4c function. The behavior of the solution is discussed physically, and some analytical considerations concerning existence of the solution and the occurrence of dual solutions are drawn.
Findings
The study of the influence of an external magnetic field on the oblique stagnation-point flow of a Buongiorno's Boussinesquian nanofluid is carried out. The fluid clashes on a vertical stretching or shrinking sheet. Dual solutions appear for suitable values of the parameters.
Originality/value
The present results are new and original.
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Alessandro Bigi, Fabio Cassia and Marta Maria Ugolini
A food tourism destination can fully exploit its competitiveness if food-related attributes are consistently highlighted both in its promotion and in user-generated content…
Abstract
Purpose
A food tourism destination can fully exploit its competitiveness if food-related attributes are consistently highlighted both in its promotion and in user-generated content. However, in the context of food tourism research, a possible image incongruence has not yet been studied. Tourism destination image incongruence occurs when different travel information sources reflect inconsistent representations of a destination's attributes. This study addresses this gap, focusing on Italian food and wine as drivers to attract visitors. This study examines whether food-related attributes are present in online travel-related conversations and are perceived differently by people with and without knowledge about the destination.
Design/methodology/approach
Content analysis based on a Bayesian machine-learning technique utilizing Leximancer software was applied to analyze questions and answers posted on TripAdvisor forums by potential and past visitors of four destinations in Italy (Naples, Florence, Parma and Ferrara). Questions and answers expressed by people with different knowledge in Italian and English were analyzed separately to gain deeper understanding.
Findings
Contrary to expectations, food-related themes were almost completely absent in the conversations analyzed, with only a few exceptions in Italian question sections. This situation depicts a sort of “cannibalism”, in the sense that the centrality of food-related attributes is engulfed by other, less sensorial, enjoyable and memorable aspects of the travel experience.
Research limitations/implications
Analysis suggests that hype may exist in food tourism promotion related to destination image incongruence. However, while based on a large volume of conversations, the analysis covers only four Italian cities.
Practical implications
Destination management organizations (DMOs) should develop their strategy and communication considering internal and external elements: their marketing targets on one side and the local culture and attractions' perceptions on the other. Standard marketing processes (segmenting, targeting, positioning) and theories should be put in place. The application of standard marketing dynamics and studies should push the DMOs to understand that the internally perceived cultural values of the touristic destinations could not be known or joint univocally by the global external customers and that a local promotional activity should start with branding and not commercial activities.
Originality/value
This is the first study to suggest the existence of hype in food tourism promotion of Italian destinations and to provide evidence supporting this argument.
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The purpose of this paper is to propose a simple, fast, and effective method for detecting measurement errors in data collected with low-cost environmental sensors typically used…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a simple, fast, and effective method for detecting measurement errors in data collected with low-cost environmental sensors typically used in building monitoring, evaluation, and automation applications.
Design/methodology/approach
The method combines two unsupervised learning techniques: a distance-based anomaly detection algorithm analyzing temporal patterns in data, and a density-based algorithm comparing data across different spatially related sensors.
Findings
Results of tests using 60,000 observations of temperature and humidity collected from 20 sensors during three weeks show that the method effectively identified measurement errors and was not affected by valid unusual events. Precision, recall, and accuracy were 0.999 or higher for all cases tested.
Originality/value
The method is simple to implement, computationally inexpensive, and fast enough to be used in real-time with modest open-source microprocessors and a wide variety of environmental sensors. It is a robust and convenient approach for overcoming the hardware constraints of low-cost sensors, allowing users to improve the quality of collected data at almost no additional cost and effort.
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Laura Maran, Warwick Funnell and Monia Castellini
The purpose of this paper is to understand the enduring, fundamental contributions of accounting practices in the pursuit of decentralization by governments, with an examination…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the enduring, fundamental contributions of accounting practices in the pursuit of decentralization by governments, with an examination of Peter Leopold’s reform of the municipalities in the late eighteenth century in Italy.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive textual analysis of the very comprehensive collection of primary sources of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany during the de’ Medici and Hapsburg-Lorraine’s rule identified the reasons for Peter Leopold’s decision to decentralize his government’s authority and responsibilities. A systemic comparison of the 1765–1766 and 1775–1776 financial reports of the Municipality of Castrocaro and Terra del Sole disclosed the importance of the micro-practices of accounting and reporting for the reform.
Findings
In the context of the eighteenth century enlightenment, Peter Leopold legitimized his reform by the introduction of a modern style of government based on the rationalization of the municipal administrative system and decentralization of central authority and responsibility. The reform was made feasible by the substitution of a birth right principle with an economic discourse which linked tax payments to property ownership. This had the unintended consequence of increased taxes, higher municipal expenditures and possible inequalities between municipalities.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of the study are dependent on the resources which have survived and are now preserved in the official archives of Galeata and Florence. This work contributes to the extant literature on administrative reforms in a crucial period for the redefinition of sovereignty by the ruling classes, with the rise of the modern State. It extends historical understanding of the public sector with a focus on local government in the eighteenth century in a non-Anglo-Saxon context.
Practical implications
The examination of the reform of Peter Leopold contributes to an enhanced understanding of present-day decentralization by governments in the context of the new public management (NPM). It provides to NPM advocates a broader temporal and contextual understanding of the impact of current decentralization reforms.
Originality/value
Few accounting studies have considered the micro-aspects of decentralization reforms at the municipal level and tried to identify their impact on the wealth of the population. Moreover, Peter Leopold’s reform is considered one of the most innovative and enlightened of the eighteenth century, while the remainder of Europe was still overwhelmingly committed to the centralization of administrative apparatuses. Finally, this study relates to the multi-disciplinary debate about the recognition, qualification and accountization of the impact of decentralization of responsibility for the delivery of government services.
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Michele Bigoni, Valerio Antonelli, Warwick Funnell and Emanuela Mattia Cafaro
The study investigates the use of accounting information in the form of a confession as a tool for telling the truth about oneself and reinforcing power relations in the context…
Abstract
Purpose
The study investigates the use of accounting information in the form of a confession as a tool for telling the truth about oneself and reinforcing power relations in the context of the Roman Inquisition.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts Foucault's understanding of pastoral power, confession and truth-telling to analyse the accounting practices of the Tribunal of the Inquisition in the 16th century Dukedom of Ferrara.
Findings
Detailed accounting books were not simply a means for pursuing an efficient use of resources, but a tool to force the Inquisitor to open his conscience and provide an account of his actions to his superiors. Accounting practices were an identifying and subjectifying practice which helped the Inquisitor to shape his Christian identity and internalise self-discipline. This in turn reinforced the centralisation of the power of the Church at a time of great crisis.
Research limitations/implications
The use of accounting for forcing individuals to tell the truth about themselves can inform investigations into the use of accounting records as confessional tools in different contexts, especially when a religious institution seeks to reinforce its power.
Social implications
The study documents the important but less discernible contributions of accounting to the formation of Western subjectivity at a time which Foucault considers critical in the development of modern governmental practices.
Originality/value
The study considers a critical but unexplored episode in Western religious history. It offers an investigation of the macro impact of religion on accounting practices. It also adds to the literature recognising the confessional properties of written information by explicitly focusing on the use of financial information as a form of confession that has profound power implications.
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