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1 – 10 of 124Moses Asori, Emmanuel Dogbey, Solomon Twum Ampofo and Julius Odei
Current evidence indicates that humans and animals are at increased risk of multiple health challenges due to microplastic (MP) profusion. However, mitigation is constrained by…
Abstract
Purpose
Current evidence indicates that humans and animals are at increased risk of multiple health challenges due to microplastic (MP) profusion. However, mitigation is constrained by inadequate scientific data, further aggravated by the lack of evidence in many African countries. This review therefore synthesized evidence on the current extent of MP pollution in Africa and the analytical techniques for reporting.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature search was undertaken in research databases. Medical subject headings (MeSH) terms and keywords were used in the literature search. The authors found 38 studies from 10 countries that met the inclusion criteria.
Findings
Marine organisms had MPs prevalence ranging from 19% to 100%, whereas sediments and water samples had between 77 and 100%. The most common and dominant polymers included polypropylene and polyethylene.
Practical implications
This review shows that most studies still use methods that are prone to human errors. Therefore, the concentration of MPs is likely underestimated, even though the authors’ prevalence evaluations show MPs are still largely pervasive across multiple environmental matrices. Also, the study reveals significant spatial disparity in MP research across the African continent, showing the need for further research in other African countries.
Originality/value
Even though some reviews have assessed MPs pollution in Africa, they have not evaluated sample prevalence, which is necessary to understand not only concentration but pervasiveness across the continent. Secondly, this study delves deeper into various methods of sampling, extraction and analysis of MPs, as well as limitations and relevant recommendations.
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David Philippy, Rebeca Gomez Betancourt and Robert W. Dimand
In the years following the publication of A Theory of Consumption (1923), Hazel Kyrk’s book became the flagship of the field that would later be known as the economics of…
Abstract
In the years following the publication of A Theory of Consumption (1923), Hazel Kyrk’s book became the flagship of the field that would later be known as the economics of consumption. It stimulated theoretical and empirical work on consumption. Some of the existing literature on Kyrk (e.g., Kiss & Beller, 2000; Le Tollec, 2020; Tadajewski, 2013) depicted her theory as the starting point of the economics of consumption. Nevertheless, how and why it emerged the way it did remain largely unexplored. This chapter examines Kyrk’s intellectual background, which, we argue, can be traced back to two main movements in the United States: the home economics and the institutionalist. Both movements conveyed specific endeavors as responses to the US material and social transformations that occurred at the turn of the 20th century, notably the perceived changing role of consumption and that of women in US society. On the one hand, Kyrk pursued first-generation home economists’ efforts to make sense of and put into action the shifting of women’s role from domestic producer to consumer. On the other hand, she reinterpreted Veblen’s (1899) account of consumption in order to reveal its operational value for a normative agenda focused on “wise” and “rational” consumption. This chapter studies how Kyrk carried on first-generation home economists’ progressive agenda and how she adapted Veblen’s fin-de-siècle critical account of consumption to the context of the household goods developed in 1900–1920. Our account of Kyrk’s intellectual roots offers a novel narrative to better understand the role of gender and epistemological questions in her theory.
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The paper provides a detailed historical account of Douglass C. North's early intellectual contributions and analytical developments in pursuing a Grand Theory for why some…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper provides a detailed historical account of Douglass C. North's early intellectual contributions and analytical developments in pursuing a Grand Theory for why some countries are rich and others poor.
Design/methodology/approach
The author approaches the discussion using a theoretical and historical reconstruction based on published and unpublished materials.
Findings
The systematic, continuous and profound attempt to answer the Smithian social coordination problem shaped North's journey from being a young serious Marxist to becoming one of the founders of New Institutional Economics. In the process, he was converted in the early 1950s into a rigid neoclassical economist, being one of the leaders in promoting New Economic History. The success of the cliometric revolution exposed the frailties of the movement itself, namely, the limitations of neoclassical economic theory to explain economic growth and social change. Incorporating transaction costs, the institutional framework in which property rights and contracts are measured, defined and enforced assumes a prominent role in explaining economic performance.
Originality/value
In the early 1970s, North adopted a naive theory of institutions and property rights still grounded in neoclassical assumptions. Institutional and organizational analysis is modeled as a social maximizing efficient equilibrium outcome. However, the increasing tension between the neoclassical theoretical apparatus and its failure to account for contrasting political and institutional structures, diverging economic paths and social change propelled the modification of its assumptions and progressive conceptual innovation. In the later 1970s and early 1980s, North abandoned the efficiency view and gradually became more critical of the objective rationality postulate. In this intellectual movement, North's avant-garde research program contributed significantly to the creation of New Institutional Economics.
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Jurgita Banytė and Christopher Mulhearn
This article seeks to offer an answer. It explores the criteria on which commercial property market participants can develop strategies in hugely challenging circumstances. For…
Abstract
Purpose
This article seeks to offer an answer. It explores the criteria on which commercial property market participants can develop strategies in hugely challenging circumstances. For this purpose, a survey-based approach was developed with work conducted with property-market professional in the United Kingdom (UK), France, Germany and Sweden to produce a criteria-based tool supporting adaption to changing market circumstances.
Design/methodology/approach
The data have been analyzed using statistical analysis. The data's statistical analysis included Cronbach's alpha's application to evaluate the respondents' replies' reliability. A entral tendency test was used to identify the means of relevance of the criteria. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to determine potential material differences between the UK and other countries with Bonferroni corrections applied to minimize type-I errors.
Findings
Thirty characteristics have been identified that impact the dynamics of the commercial property market. Their relevance to the commercial property market was determined using a survey. The literature analysis showed that the researchers paid more attention to quantitative criteria and their comparison. The survey showed that the relevance of criteria to the commercial property market dynamics is unequal. However, the survey results showed that it is most important to pay attention to emotional criteria to adapt to uncertainty changing conditions. The problem of the environment has been on the agenda for the last four decades. Therefore, the fact that the results of the study showed that the environmental criteria are the least significant is unexpected.
Research limitations/implications
The study involved economically developed countries of Europe. Extending the study's geographical scope would be valuable in revealing whether the same differences exist in other geographical areas (such as Australia or the USA).
Practical implications
The practical implication of the analysis may be to facilitate the decision-making process of either selecting a country for commercial property investment or selecting the most sensitive and relevant criteria for the decision-making.
Originality/value
Criteria for commercial property market performance which promote successful property investment have been developed. Moreover, the criteria affecting the commercial property market have been weighted by their relevance to the market and their sequence of relevance has been established. And finally, the developed criteria have been placed into five groups that could serve as a foundation for a macro-level assessment of commercial property market dynamics.
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Subook Samridhi and Yali Leanne Windl
This chapter examines the limitations of the Western world view in Australia and its influence on the built environment. The dominant narrative of colonialism has disregarded…
Abstract
This chapter examines the limitations of the Western world view in Australia and its influence on the built environment. The dominant narrative of colonialism has disregarded alternative ways of being in the world, resulting in a lack of inclusivity for First Nations peoples. To address this issue, there is potential in embracing an alternative world view through design thinking and co-design to develop more culturally and environmentally suitable places through holistic ways of understanding the world to influence future design strategies for knowledge dissemination. This chapter’s contribution is in promoting an alternative perspective that can challenge the dominant world view and create more inclusive and culturally sensitive spaces that reflect the diversity of the community. This is particularly relevant in the current political climate, where there is a growing advocacy for change and a motivation to look to other cultural perspectives, such as those of First Nations peoples. It calls for a paradigm shift in how we think about and synthesise architecture in Australia. This chapter advocates for the acceptance and engagement with First Nations peoples’ world views, particularly in the fields of architecture, design and places that focus on cultural records.
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Despite the fact that online is predicted to become the major channel for luxury purchases by 2025, there is scant literature related to online luxury buying behavior, mainly in…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the fact that online is predicted to become the major channel for luxury purchases by 2025, there is scant literature related to online luxury buying behavior, mainly in the context of Generation Y (Gen Y) consumers in emerging societies like India. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to empirically test the theoretical framework developed to assess the factors influencing luxury consumers' online shopping behavior based on the stimulus-organism-response model and technology acceptance model (TAM).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 233 Gen Y luxury consumers in India via purposive sampling method. The study used AMOS and PROCESS SPSS Macro to establish the overall fit of the measurement model and examine the hypotheses.
Findings
The findings revealed that perceived usefulness of buying online, perceived ease of buying online, economic benefit and webstore quality have significant impact on online luxury purchase intention. The perceived experiential values and perceived functional values mediate the influence of antecedent variables on online luxury purchase intention. Bandwagon luxury consumption behavior (BLCB) moderates the relationship between perceived functional values and online purchase intention.
Originality/value
This is one of the pioneer studies conducted to understand the influence of BLCB on value–intention relationship in online space among Gen Y luxury consumers. This study will help luxury retailers to create targeted strategies for this segment.
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Anwar Sadat Shimul, Anisur R. Faroque and Isaac Cheah
This research aims to examine the role of consumers' brand trust and attachment on advocacy intention before and after the occurrence of brand misconduct in retail banking. In…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to examine the role of consumers' brand trust and attachment on advocacy intention before and after the occurrence of brand misconduct in retail banking. In addition, the influence of brand attachment on consumers' willingness to switch, advocate for and forgive brands is examined in a post-misconduct scenario.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through a self-administered online survey questionnaire. A total of 304 valid and usable responses from Australian participants were analysed using IBM SPSS 27.0.
Findings
The findings reveal that brand attachment mediates the positive relationship between trust and advocacy intention. Furthermore, brand attachment (1) dilutes consumers' switching intention and (2) strengthens their willingness to forgive the bank after misconduct.
Practical implications
Results suggest that retail banks should create strong brand attachments with their consumers. In addition to brand trust, brand attachment will generate greater advocacy intention among consumers. Moreover, practitioners in retail banking can leverage brand attachment to mitigate the negative impact of brand misconduct.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to examine the impact of brand attachment on the consumer–bank relationship within the context of brand misconduct. The study is also unique in its analysis of the mediating role of brand attachment between brand trust and advocacy. This research further adds to the current literature by suggesting that strong and positive customer connections to the brand facilitate communication and marketing efforts after brand misconduct and that these are effective in maintaining consumer-bank relationship.
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Claire K. Wan and Mingchang Chih
We argue that a fundamental issue regarding how to search and how to switch between different cognitive modes lies in the decision rules that influence the dynamics of learning…
Abstract
Purpose
We argue that a fundamental issue regarding how to search and how to switch between different cognitive modes lies in the decision rules that influence the dynamics of learning and exploration. We examine the search logics underlying these decision rules and propose conceptual prompts that can be applied mentally or computationally to aid managers’ decision-making.
Design/methodology/approach
By applying Multi-Armed Bandit (MAB) modeling to simulate agents’ interaction with dynamic environments, we compared the patterns and performance of selected MAB algorithms under different configurations of environmental conditions.
Findings
We develop three conceptual prompts. First, the simple heuristic-based exploration strategy works well in conditions of low environmental variability and few alternatives. Second, an exploration strategy that combines simple and de-biasing heuristics is suitable for most dynamic and complex decision environments. Third, the uncertainty-based exploration strategy is more applicable in the condition of high environmental unpredictability as it can more effectively recognize deviated patterns.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to emerging research on using algorithms to develop novel concepts and combining heuristics and algorithmic intelligence in strategic decision-making.
Practical implications
This study offers insights that there are different possibilities for exploration strategies for managers to apply conceptually and that the adaptability of cognitive-distant search may be underestimated in turbulent environments.
Originality/value
Drawing on insights from machine learning and cognitive psychology research, we demonstrate the fitness of different exploration strategies in different dynamic environmental configurations by comparing the different search logics that underlie the three MAB algorithms.
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Within North American institutions of higher education, the sociopolitical construct of whiteness comprises an often implicit set of lessons that are reflected not only in policy…
Abstract
Within North American institutions of higher education, the sociopolitical construct of whiteness comprises an often implicit set of lessons that are reflected not only in policy and curricula but also in the teaching practices of faculty. Such lessons perpetuate white centricity and supremacy, at enormous costs to those who have been negatively racialized. Therefore, it is critical for white faculty to engage meaningfully with ongoing processes of self-reflection, self-education, and skill development so that they can contribute positively to the interrogation and disruption of whiteness in higher education. This chapter discusses seven processual considerations for white educators who seek to interrogate and disrupt the problem of whiteness in teaching and learning.
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