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1 – 10 of 19
Open Access
Article
Publication date: 20 September 2024

Michael Joseph Hosken and Sharon L. O'Sullivan

The a priori identification and development of army personnel competencies are necessary to enable effective and efficient responses to rapidly changing climate conditions…

Abstract

Purpose

The a priori identification and development of army personnel competencies are necessary to enable effective and efficient responses to rapidly changing climate conditions. Accordingly, this study aims to identify the performance requirements of a military flood responder and the competencies (knowledge, skills and abilities) required to perform it.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an abductive approach, the authors conducted both secondary and primary research to generate a validated framework of performance criteria and competencies for army personnel responding to floods. This literature review integrated both the peer-reviewed academic literature and public sector grey literature. Using the critical incident technique, the authors then conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who had previously been tasked with flood response operations. Participants were asked about the tasks required while conducting flood response operations. Interview transcripts were then content analysed to identify themes regarding those tasks, and the competencies needed to perform those tasks were then extracted and contrasted with the literature review findings. Inter-rater reliability for the analysis was established via iterative discussion between the two co-authors.

Findings

The primary data reinforced and expanded the list of performance expectations that the authors deductively identified from the integrated literature review, adding granularity to each. It also identified competencies (including both hard and soft skills) and highlighted previously neglected contextual antecedents of military flood response effectiveness.

Research limitations/implications

though knowledge saturation was achieved from the 15 interviews conducted, further research with larger samples could more deeply ground the evidence discovered in this study. Nevertheless, the competencies identified in this paper could serve as a starting guide to staffing and/or training interventions targeted at improving these competencies for personnel responding to flood scenarios.

Practical implications

The theoretical findings also have immediate practical relevance to training for flood response operations. In particular, the subtle challenges in competency crossover from military operations to flood response operations may facilitate not only more efficient, targeted training (that could improve the effectiveness of army personnel involved in humanitarian roles), but could be applied to the selection of army personnel as well. This study may also help provincial/municipal operators and emergency planners by better communicating the strengths and limitations of army personnel in addressing civilian military cooperation for humanitarian operations. Thus, the findings of this research study represent an important first step in prompting attention to the strategic human resource planning studies required to make all responders more efficient and effective in their respective division of labour within the humanitarian domain.

Social implications

Peering a little beyond these research findings, human-induced climate change is expected to continue increasing the frequency of such events (IPCC, 2021), and a timely, national force is likely to be increasingly required for Canadians impacted by major disasters stemming from natural hazards when local resources become overwhelmed. Yet, there is some concern from the CAF that increasing responsiveness to disaster operations will affect their military readiness (Leuprecht and Kasurak, 2020). One can indeed envision a paradox whereby the CAF is both a “force of last resort” while increasingly becoming a “first choice for domestic disaster and emergency assistance”. The practical implications from this research also suggest that military personnel, while fully capable of successfully conducting flood response operations, may become overburdened and less able to adopt yet greater capacity and training for other additional humanitarian work. Nevertheless, the competencies highlighted by participants can help inform the next flood response operation in Canada.

Originality/value

Most literature in the field of emergency response focuses on cooperation between civilian and military resources and other strategic-level themes. The findings address critical granularity missing at the operational and tactical levels of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief research. The authors also draw implications beyond the military context, including for local/regional governmental players (operators and emergency planners) as well as for volunteers in flood response roles.

Details

Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 January 2024

Michael Stoica and Thomas M. Hickman

This paper aims to assess retail shopping avenues for young consumers based on the type of guidance and assistance they pursue (social media vs professional service provider) in…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to assess retail shopping avenues for young consumers based on the type of guidance and assistance they pursue (social media vs professional service provider) in purchasing situations judged to be important. Young consumers consider themselves pet parents and pets represent an extension of self. Thus, pet-related products, by their importance, represent an excellent area of analysis for this inquiry.

Design/methodology/approach

Data collection was completed in a way that is contextually relevant and gives the results ecological validity with the assistance of a major supplier of pet food. A total of 470 Gen Z owners of small companion animals were obtained. The partial least squares structural equation modeling testing method is considered appropriate for the model analysis due to the structure and homogeneity of the sample and due to the precision of the method.

Findings

Results indicate that, in accordance with social media engagement (SME) theory, high SME elevated social commerce purchase intentions while professional advice seekers reported increased brick-and-mortar shopping. Thus, context-dependent, young consumers may purchase from brick-and-mortar sites.

Originality/value

This paper draws on SME and Advice Response Theory and proposes an original model explaining channel selection preferences for young consumers based on the type of advice sought for important purchasing decisions. The model represents a steppingstone to investigate the mechanism that translates information search sources into buying through different channels.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 25 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Sociological Thinking in Contemporary Organizational Scholarship
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83549-588-9

Article
Publication date: 9 September 2024

Katia Osso and Michael Halinski

While work-life policies (WLPs) are tools that employees may draw on to better manage and balance their work and life demands, there is growing evidence that suggests the usage of…

Abstract

Purpose

While work-life policies (WLPs) are tools that employees may draw on to better manage and balance their work and life demands, there is growing evidence that suggests the usage of WLPs may negatively impact other employees. Drawing from the theory of role dynamics and social role theory, we examine the indirect effect of co-workers taking childcare leave (CTCL) on work anxiety via work-role overload, as well as the impact of gender on this indirect relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

We used Prolific Academic to recruit 236 employees to participate in a three-wave study. These data were analyzed as a hypothesized structural equation modelling (SEM) using SPSS AMOS.

Findings

Findings reveal: (1) CTCL positively relates to work anxiety via work-role overload, and (2) gender moderates this indirect effect such that this positive relationship is stronger for men than women.

Practical implications

Work-life policy makers should take note of the “hidden costs” associated with work-life policy usage on other employees. Managers should work with policy users to mitigate the negative effects of policy usage on others.

Originality/value

In contrast to broader WLP research, which focuses on the benefits of policy usage on the policy user, this research shows the negative implications of work-life policies on others’ work anxiety via work-role overload. In doing so, it becomes the first study to showcase a crossover effect of CTCL on employees’ work anxiety.

Details

Career Development International, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 23 September 2024

Leopold Ringel

Organizational sociology and organization studies have a long history together, while also sharing a proclivity to self-diagnose crises. Instead of taking these assessments at…

Abstract

Organizational sociology and organization studies have a long history together, while also sharing a proclivity to self-diagnose crises. Instead of taking these assessments at face value, this paper treats them as an object of study, asking what conditions have fueled them. In the case of organizational sociology, there are indications of a connection between rising levels of discontent and community building: self-identified organizational sociologists have progressively withdrawn from general debates in the discipline and turned their attention to organization studies, which, they suspect, has seen dramatic levels of growth at their expense. Organization studies, on the other hand, are still haunted by “a Faustian bargain”: leaning heavily on the authority of the social sciences, business school faculty were able to facilitate the emergence of a scholarly field of practice dedicated to the study of organizations, which they control. However, in doing so, they also set organization studies on a path of continued dependence on knowledge produced elsewhere: notably, by university disciplines such as sociology.

Details

Sociological Thinking in Contemporary Organizational Scholarship
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83549-588-9

Keywords

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the role of bullying victimization in predicting psychopathology, encompassing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), risk of developing prodromal psychosis and emotional and behavioural problems, among in-school Nigerian adolescents.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 351 junior secondary students (n = 173 males, 178 females; age range: 9–17 years) were recruited from five randomly selected public secondary schools in Nigeria. Students completed a variety of self-report measures, including a socio-demographic questionnaire, the prodromal questionnaire – brief version, the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) and the multidimensional peer victimization scale. They were also interviewed using the PTSD module of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview-Kid Version.

Findings

Although bullying victimization was not found to predict the presence of PTSD, it predicted the risk of developing prodromal psychosis. All SDQ subscales also held significant positive associations with bullying victimization. This indicates that higher levels of victimization are associated with increased behavioural and emotional difficulties among adolescents.

Practical implications

The study findings add support to whole system approaches involving relevant stakeholders in health, education, social and criminal justice sectors via protective policies to address the problems of bullying in schools.

Originality/value

The study contributes to evidence demonstrating a need for improved understanding regarding the role of exposure to bullying victimization in predicting various forms of psychopathology. Furthermore, there is specifically a need for research with this focus in developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the Nigerian education system.

Details

The Journal of Forensic Practice, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-8794

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 August 2024

Andreas Walmsley and Ghulam Nabi

The purpose of this paper is to identify entrepreneur mentor benefits and challenges as a result of entrepreneurship mentoring in higher education (HE).

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify entrepreneur mentor benefits and challenges as a result of entrepreneurship mentoring in higher education (HE).

Design/methodology/approach

An entrepreneurship mentoring scheme was developed at a UK university to support prospective student entrepreneurs, with mentors being entrepreneurs drawn from the local business community. A mentor-outcomes framework was developed and applied to guide semi-structured interviews.

Findings

Results supported the broader applicability of our framework, with a revised framework developed to better represent the entrepreneur mentor context. Alongside psychosocial and personal developmental outcomes, mentors benefitted from entrepreneurial learning, renewed commitment to their own ventures and the development of additional skills sets. Enhanced business performance also manifested itself for some mentors. A range of challenges are presented, some generic to the entrepreneur setting and others more specific to the higher education (HE) setting.

Research limitations/implications

The framework offered serves as a starting point for further researchers to explore and refine the outcomes of entrepreneur mentoring.

Practical implications

The findings serve to support those considering developing a mentor programme or including mentoring as part of a formal entrepreneurship education offer, specifically in a university setting but also beyond.

Originality/value

The vast majority of entrepreneurship mentoring studies focus on the benefits to the mentee. By focusing on benefits and challenges for the entrepreneur mentor, this study extends our knowledge of the benefit of entrepreneurship mentoring. It offers an empirically derived entrepreneur mentor outcomes framework, as well as offering insights into challenges for the entrepreneur mentor within an HE setting.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 16 September 2024

Sam Frankel and Daniella Bendo

Abstract

Details

Children as Change Makers
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-713-8

Expert briefing
Publication date: 28 August 2024

In early June, the United States sanctioned three entities -- one Kazakh and two Kyrgyz -- for procuring industrial goods and equipment for Russia’s ultimate benefit, violating US…

Article
Publication date: 27 August 2024

Rehema Namono, Odoch J.P. Hojops and Simon Tanui

The current diversity in organizations requires innovative employees to cope up with the dynamism. A burgeoning body of literature has established the antecedent role of…

Abstract

Purpose

The current diversity in organizations requires innovative employees to cope up with the dynamism. A burgeoning body of literature has established the antecedent role of self-efficacy in employee innovativeness. However, there is a dearth of knowledge regarding the influence of self-efficacy on the different types of innovative work behaviour. The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of self-efficacy on the different types of innovative work behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted an explanatory design to examine the hypothesized relationship between the study variables. Regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between self-efficacy and different types of innovative work behaviour using a sample drawn from public universities in Uganda.

Findings

The study findings reveal that self-efficacy significantly influences the four types of innovative work behaviour. However, the magnitude of the influence is not uniform across the four types of innovative work behaviour. Idea implementation was highly influenced by self-efficacy, followed by generation of ideas. Championing and exploration are the least determinants of self-efficacy.

Originality/value

This research has both empirical and theoretical value. Empirically, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to show a direct relationship between self-efficacy and individual facets of innovative work behaviour in a public university setting in a developing nation like Uganda. Theoretically, the study expands on the applicability of the social cognitive theory by revealing that the influence of an individual's personality characteristics (such as self-efficacy) varies with the type of innovative work behaviour because the tasks involved in the various types of innovative work behaviour differ and are thus affected by self-efficacy differently. The study limitations and areas for further research are discussed.

Details

International Journal of Innovation Science, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-2223

Keywords

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