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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 April 2022

Niklas Rönnberg, Rasmus Ringdahl and Anna Fredriksson

The noise and dust particles caused by the construction transport are by most stakeholders experienced as disturbing. The purpose of this study is to explore how sonification can…

1169

Abstract

Purpose

The noise and dust particles caused by the construction transport are by most stakeholders experienced as disturbing. The purpose of this study is to explore how sonification can support visualization in construction planning to decrease construction transport disturbances.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents an interdisciplinary research project, combining research on construction logistics, internet of things and sonification. First, a data recording device, including sound, particle, temperature and humidity sensors, was implemented and deployed in a development project. Second, the collected data were used in a sonification design, which was, third, evaluated with potential users.

Findings

The results showed that the low-cost sensors used could capture “good enough” data, and that the use of sonification for representing these data is interesting and a possible useful tool in urban and construction transport planning.

Research limitations/implications

There is a need to further evolve the sonification design and better communicate the aim of the sounds used to potential users. Further testing is also needed.

Practical implications

This study introduces new ideas of how to support visualization with sonification planning the construction work and its impact on the vicinity of the site. Currently, urban planning and construction planning focus on visualizing the final result, with little focus on how to handle disturbances during the construction process.

Originality/value

Showing the potentials of using low-cost sensor data in sonification, and using sonification together with visualization, is the result of a novel interdisciplinary research area combination.

Details

Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6099

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 October 2022

Loubna A. Youssef

This paper aims to shed light on how children's literature in Africa deserves to be studied because African writers “decolonize” the minds of African children and children and…

1241

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to shed light on how children's literature in Africa deserves to be studied because African writers “decolonize” the minds of African children and children and adults around the world.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper defines children's literature from an African perspective and the “decolonization of the mind.” This is done to examine how two African writers provide narratives for children inspired by their cultures. They deal with themes, characters and symbols that interest children and adults.

Findings

Achebe and Youssef crossed many borders: the world of children and adults, animals and humans, vice and virtue, supernatural and real. Their stories take the reader on journeys that involve enriching, engaging and inspiring adventures.

Research limitations/implications

Youssef and Achebe are prolific writers. Providing a survey of what is available in Arabic and Nigerian literature for children, is beyond the scope of this paper.

Practical implications

This paper sends a message to those in charge of the curriculum in schools in Egypt, the Arab countries, Africa and the world at large: decolonize the syllabi in schools because the world is not black and white. Literature for children that encourages critical thinking is available by African writers in Egypt, Nigeria and elsewhere.

Social implications

The works discussed show that African writers are creative, and their works inspire the African child with pride in his/her identity, culture and heritage.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, no one has compared Egyptian and Nigerian literature for children before. Youssef and Achebe provide evidence that “Good literature gives the child a place in the world … and the world a place in the child.” – Astrid Lindgren.

Details

Journal of Humanities and Applied Social Sciences, vol. 5 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2632-279X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 April 2023

Giovanni Lucero-Romero and Leopoldo G. Arias-Bolzmann

This study experimentally aims to determine the degree of influence that mindfulness training exerts on learning capacity at the university level and contrasts it with previous…

1568

Abstract

Purpose

This study experimentally aims to determine the degree of influence that mindfulness training exerts on learning capacity at the university level and contrasts it with previous observational or relational studies that have shown contradictory results.

Design/methodology/approach

A quasi-experiment was carried out to measure the variation of six academic learning abilities – a) self-efficacy, b) organization of and attention to studies, c) stress control due to time pressure and the environment, d) involvement with college activity, e) emotional satisfaction, and f) class communication – which together comprise the research questionnaire called the college learning effectiveness inventory (CLEI). The CLEI questionnaire was administered before and after the participants were trained in the mindfulness technique. The study was conducted in Ecuador, and the participants were selected from among the graduate students of a local university.

Findings

The learning ability measured by the CLEI was improved by a statistically significant margin in the two groups.

Research limitations/implications

The treatment groups consisted of graduate students who did not have opportunities for full-time activities on campus, as they were limited to attending regular classes at specific times, usually at night. The dropout rate was 14% due to inconveniences caused by the pandemic. These conditions could have affected the study results both positively and negatively. In addition, the pandemic limited academic interactions, which are required to evaluate the learning results after applying the research instrument. This limitation was especially critical for people who had experienced online classes only.

Practical implications

Offering graduate students the opportunity to learn about and adopt a mindfulness practice helps to improve their academic outcomes, as reflected through the statistical measurement of the CLEI indicator.

Social implications

This study is especially relevant within the context of sanitary conditions due to the pandemic and the intensive use of technology for managing academic interactions, both of which have replaced physical contact between participants.

Originality/value

The main contributions of this study are related to the determination of the practical effects of mindfulness training in postgraduate university settings and the identification of the mechanisms involving participants' reflecting upon, learning and understanding the importance of perfecting their soft skills to facilitate their learning processes and face today's uncertain environments.

研究目的

本研究採用實驗方法、來釐定正念認知對在大學水平上的學習能力的影響程度,並對比於以往顯示了相互矛盾的研究結果的觀察性研究或關係研究。

研究設計/方法/理念

研究人員進行準實驗、來量度六個學術學習能力的變化。這六個學習能力為:(一) 自我效能, (二) 學習的組織能力和注意力,(三) 控制因時間壓力和環境因素而產生的壓力, (四) 大學活動的參與,(五) 情緒方面的滿足、及 (六) 課堂之溝通。這六個學習能力合起來就構成本研究的調查問卷,我們稱之為大學學習效能清單。問卷調查工作分別於研究參與者接受正念認知技巧訓練之前及之後進行。本研究是在厄瓜多爾進行的,而參與者則選自當地一間大學的研究生。

研究結果

研究結果顯示、根據大學學習效能清單的測量,有關的兩個組別均顯示明顯數據差額範圍上的學習能力提昇。

實務方面的啟示

若為研究生提供學習正念認知技巧的機會,並讓他們應用這技巧,他們的學習成果將會得到提昇,這正是透過數據上量度有關的大學學習效能清單指標所顯示的現象。

社會方面的啟示

本研究的結果,就現時的衛生狀況而言特具意義。這是由於大流行病的發生,以及在管理學術互動上大量使用應用技術,參與者之間的身體接觸也不需要了。

研究的原創性/價值

本研究的主要貢獻為、研究結果確認了在大學研究院的學習環境裡,正念認知的培訓是有其實用效果的;研究亦找出了參與者應如何有效地反省思考和學習提昇其軟技能的方法,並了解其重要性,以能增強他們的學習能力,以及更能應對今天不明確的環境。

Details

European Journal of Management and Business Economics, vol. 32 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2444-8451

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 20 December 2022

Giovanna Centorrino, Valeria Naciti and Daniela Rupo

The study aims to investigate the impact of technological innovation, such as blockchain, in the music field from a value co-creation perspective, highlighting how it is…

4437

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to investigate the impact of technological innovation, such as blockchain, in the music field from a value co-creation perspective, highlighting how it is determining a radical change in the business model and value creation process.

Design/methodology/approach

To shed light on how blockchain adoption is reconfiguring the music industry, the authors adopted a qualitative-based approach based on a case study, allowing us to investigate value co-creation at three levels (macro, meso and micro) through exchange and integration of multi-actor resources.

Findings

The authors found that blockchain adoption in the music industry can singularly shape the business model, representing a powerful tool to enhance inter-organizational cooperation in value creation. It effectively deals with operational and business issues, besides financial transactions, profoundly impacting both the creation and distribution of value within the supply chain.

Research limitations/implications

The research contributes to a better understanding of innovation adoption in a specific setting, the music industry, giving support and guidance for players working in this ecosystem. The blockchain-music link helps close the gap between music and society through technology, thus providing a foundation for future research.

Originality/value

The paper provides new insights into the antecedents and mechanisms of value co-creation, spanning macro-, meso-, and micro-levels of context. It also illustrates the factors underpinning Bitsong viability to embed the value co-creation perspective in designing the business model within a value network.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 26 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 24 May 2023

Matthew D. Marmet

This study was designed to assess the efficacy of pedagogical and relationship-building strategies employed to foster student engagement and success. Also, it was meant to…

1211

Abstract

Purpose

This study was designed to assess the efficacy of pedagogical and relationship-building strategies employed to foster student engagement and success. Also, it was meant to demonstrate the importance of faculty to engagement and success, and emphasize a faculty member's role in lessening the power divide that can exist in classrooms.

Design/methodology/approach

First, archival survey data were explored that provide a baseline for student perceptions of the interactions with faculty that have been shown to impact student engagement. Second, an in-depth description of the course taught by this author is provided, along with the relationship-building and pedagogical strategies employed to promote student engagement and learning. Finally, a mixed-methods approach was utilized to capture whether improved engagement and learning occurred. Both qualitative data, in the form of student opinionnaires, and quantitative data gathered from the institution's assessment instrument were reviewed.

Findings

A review of the qualitative survey data found that students believe faculty should be very intentional about building relationships with them. Student opinionnaires confirmed the efficacy of the relationship-building tactics employed by the instructor. Additionally, data analysis of the learning assessment tool yielded an 18% increase in performance, lending further support to the classroom strategies utilized during this time.

Originality/value

The results of this study add to the body of literature addressing the impact faculty have on student engagement. Additionally, these results can be used to help inform institutional strategies, such as faculty development seminars, to improve retention as a result of an engaged student body.

Details

Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2397-7604

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 2 October 2023

Marta Olmo-Extremera, Lucía Fernández-Terol and Diana Amber Montes

This study aims to describe and evaluate various visual and creative tools for supporting the in-depth biographical interview aimed at analyzing educational communities and their…

1007

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to describe and evaluate various visual and creative tools for supporting the in-depth biographical interview aimed at analyzing educational communities and their stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

Researching educational spaces today requires new ways of understanding, analyzing and studying. The complex characteristics, functions and realities demand research that responds to educational singularities. It is a matter of deeply understanding the educational phenomenon's peculiarities. For these purposes, instruments and research paradigms are needed to extract data and reach information saturation regarding the data obtained from the proposed objects of study. With this in mind, the following paper suggests reflecting on data collection tools that can complement the interview and biographical-narrative research approach. The authors highlight the use of photo-elucidation, the biogram-based timeline, the organigram and the flight of the geese, all of which are instruments endowed with a visual character that allows a deeper understanding of the object studied.

Findings

The main contribution of this paper is to unpack the uses and applications of four visual tools that support the interview technique. First, photo-elucidation is presented as a sensory strategy to stimulate the narrative during the dialogical exchange of the interview. Next, the timeline is described as a visual concretization of the traditional biogram widely used in educational research. Next, the authors unravel the uses of the organizational chart in educational research, which, due to its nature and utility, provides a glimpse of the organizational functioning of an institution and is particularly suitable for research in institutional frameworks. Finally, the tool known as the flight of the geese is presented. This tool is recommended for use in educational leadership and teamwork studies due to its simplicity and high representativeness of the hierarchy of roles and functions.

Originality/value

Researching educational spaces today requires new ways of understanding, analyzing and studying. The complex characteristics, functions, and realities demand research that responds to educational singularities. It is a matter of deeply understanding the educational phenomenon's peculiarities. For these purposes, instruments and research paradigms are needed to extract data and reach information saturation regarding the data obtained from the proposed objects of study. With this in mind, the following paper invites us to reflect on data collection tools that can complement the interview and biographical-narrative research approach. The authors highlight the use of photo-elucidation, the biogram-based timeline, the organigram, and the flight of the geese, all of which are instruments endowed with a visual character that allows a deeper understanding of the object studied.

Details

Qualitative Research Journal, vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1443-9883

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 March 2023

Rufai Haruna Kilu, Mohammed-Aminu Sanda and Ana Alacovska

There is growing scholarly discourse towards COVID-19 pandemic and creative entrepreneurship in the perspectives of Global South. Extant literature lacks sufficient empirical…

Abstract

Purpose

There is growing scholarly discourse towards COVID-19 pandemic and creative entrepreneurship in the perspectives of Global South. Extant literature lacks sufficient empirical evidence on the subject matter. This paper therefore provides insights into business models and business model shifts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic among creative entrepreneurs in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

In working towards achieving the purpose of the study, a qualitative design was deployed. Four artistic communities in three regions were understudied. The study conducted working interviews, Focus Group Discussions and field observations on the creative entrepreneurs.

Findings

The results showed a unique business model that captured ministries, agencies and departments; traditional authorities, foreigners and the diaspora community as key creative partners. The creative entrepreneurs equally proposed value via quality deliveries, attractive pattern mix, pure handy crafts, mart finishing, imbibing culture into productions and symbolic meanings. Their key activities include cutting and gluing, sewing and coloring, sketching and prototyping, annual Kente festivals, film shooting and editing. The creatives stream revenue through sales, advances, profit margins, contracts, gate proceeds, loans, friends and family support. The results also point at a regime of business model shifts among the creatives, deploying digitalization and diversification in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research limitations/implications

The research by design is limited to the qualitative tradition; despite knowing well about the quantitative approach that could have provided a wider scope and coverage for effective generalizability. Certainly, it would be of future research interest to design a comparative mix-method study to achieve a wider coverage feat. Indeed, the paper does achieve the goal of providing an original empirical account, hence making a valid contribution to knowledge in the area of study.

Practical implications

The knowledge on demystified business models relative to the Ghanaian creative entrepreneurs has practical implications for practice: first, it generates a ground-up knowledge as to what creative entrepreneurial business models are, why they exist and exactly how to create one in a Global South perspective.

Social implications

These creative business models and the COVID-19 induced model shifts among the Ghanaian creative entrepreneurs imply continuous creative livelihoods, sustainable business models and assurance for innovation in creative entrepreneurship space.

Originality/value

The study is of high scientific value, creative entrepreneurial essence and public interest to better demystify creative entrepreneurial business models and theoretically framed them. It offers strong empirical evidence on COVID-19 induced business model shifts. These creative business models and the COVID-19 induced model shifts among the Ghanaian creative entrepreneurs imply continuous creative livelihoods, sustainable business models and assurance for innovation in creative entrepreneurship space.

Details

African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-0705

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 July 2023

Songming Feng, Adele Berndt and Mart Ots

Building on Kavaratzis and Hatch’s (2013) identity-based place branding model, this paper aims to explore the spatial and social dimensions of the place brand identity formation…

1496

Abstract

Purpose

Building on Kavaratzis and Hatch’s (2013) identity-based place branding model, this paper aims to explore the spatial and social dimensions of the place brand identity formation process and how residents used social media to participate in the process of shaping a city brand during a crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

Adopting an interpretive and social constructionist approach, this study analyses a sample of 187 short videos created and posted by Wuhan residents on the social media app Douyin during a COVID-19 lockdown. The authors read the videos as cultural texts and analysed underlying social processes in the construction of place brand identity by residents.

Findings

This study develops an adapted conceptual model of place identity formation unfolding in four sub-processes: expressing, impressing, mirroring and reflecting, and each sub-process subsumes two dimensions: the social and the spatial. In addition, this study empirically describes how residents participated in place branding processes in two ways, namely, their construction of city brand identity via communicative practice and their exertion of changes to a city brand during a crisis. The model reveals how place brands emerge and can be transformed.

Originality/value

This paper amplifies Kavaratzis and Hatch's (2013) identity-based place branding model by testing it in an empirical study and highlighting the social and spatial dimensions. This paper contributes to research about participatory place branding by exploring how residents participated in the place branding process. This study analysed short videos on social media, a new communication format, rather than textual narratives dominating past studies.

Details

Journal of Place Management and Development, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8335

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 21 November 2023

Silvia Sacchetti and Alberto Ianes

This study aims to address the question of what coordination mechanism can be used for cultural production and, in particular, for the governance of music culture production. The…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to address the question of what coordination mechanism can be used for cultural production and, in particular, for the governance of music culture production. The authors locate their reflection within the specific institutional innovations introduced in Italy in 2017, focusing on the idea of shared administration and the public–private collaboration instituted in Trentino (a province located in northern Italy) in support of its cultural policy.

Design/methodology/approach

This study focusses on the Trentino’s music school system. This includes 13 organisations (musicians’ cooperatives as well as associations of musicians and students, plus one municipal school which do not overlap with the public school system). To analyse shared administration features, the authors rely on selected information from 50 interviews with Trentino Music Schools (TMS) teachers and administrators, and on the proceedings of the 1994 music school conference organised by the schools at the time when this novel educational system was created.

Findings

To offer an innovative educational service, the public actor (Provincia Autonoma di Trento [PAT]) and the schools (TMS) have developed a strong interdependence at the different levels of decision-making: PAT needs organisations that are sufficiently structured and organised to respect requirements of transparency and accountability, as well as educational standards, whereas TMS need public funding to maintain their service accessible for users, good labour conditions and be financially sustainable. Likewise, the success of TMS in educating thousands of students every year, including additional teaching programmes funded by PAT within general public schools, has contributed to decrease the exclusion from music education, raise interest in young people for music and fed enrolment in TMS as well as in the public schools related to the conservatoire filière. Conclusions emphasise the existence of a polycentric system of music culture production which needs to acknowledge the risk of being trapped in a static disequilibrium, while recognising change and the need to support and promote a culture of cooperation among schools and across layered institutional levels over time.

Research limitations/implications

Further research can observe this system of cultural production over time, to appreciate changes and organisational tranformations, while introducing comparative analysis with other systems in different regions.

Practical implications

The relationship between the public and private sectors to design, organise and manage activities of collective interest (in the social, cultural, sporting and other fields) can increasingly become an effective and efficient alternative to the traditional bureaucratic as well as to the competitive method. For this to happen, however, all actors involved must be aware not only of areas of efficiency but also of inefficiency. To remedy the latter, corrective measures will have to be introduced. For example, fostering and improving “co-programmazione” and “co-progettazione” means giving all stakeholders involved the opportunity to actively participate. Should the number of participants increase, more discussion fora could be set up because one alone may not be sufficient to foster maximum involvement, to enhance different points of view, to allow for intersectoral and multidisciplinary interpretations and responses.

Social implications

The system governance based on co-programming and co-design has allowed – despite limitations – to pursue educational purposes and thus well-being for the users, as well as for the teachers and the community as a whole. The continuity of this educational and cultural action has been guaranteed by the economic and financial sustainability of the schools, which is highly dependent on the public actor funding personnel costs, and in turn tied to the number of students (demand) attending each school. Actors embedded in the system need to build awareness of industry and cultural changes and knowledge of how to introduce more adaptive capacity. This points towards the need for strengthening networking capacity and collaboration among schools and other relevant stakeholders.

Originality/value

The case presented is a unique system of music culture production in Italy, and its governance has never been addressed by previous studies. It provides an application of shared administration to which public administrations and communities can learn to improve access to music culture and education. For public and private organisations to take advantage of the method of “co-programmazione” and “co-progettazione”, to make the production of a meritorious good more efficient and to favour its maximum accessibility, this study considers the strengths and weaknesses of this approach, or the areas of efficiency and inefficiency, for which new measures will have to be introduced.

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 January 2024

Bas Becker and Carel Roessingh

Multisited ethnography has primarily been portrayed as a challenge for the following field-worker, with the researcher taking the central role and neglecting research participants…

Abstract

Purpose

Multisited ethnography has primarily been portrayed as a challenge for the following field-worker, with the researcher taking the central role and neglecting research participants also experiencing a multisited nature of their work. The authors argue that literature on multisited ethnography merely discusses multisitedness as a methodological theme. In correspondence, the authors propose to think of multisitedness not just as a methodological theme but also as an empirical theme.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors contend etic and emic perspectives to address multisitedness empirically, which enables researchers to compare and contrast the multisited topic of inquiry in academic “outsider” terms with the etic analysis and considering the perspective of the research participants' multisited experiences using the emic perspective. To show the fruitfulness of discussing multisitedness using the complementary etic and emic analysis, the authors present the example of Mennonite entrepreneurial activities in Belize, a heterogeneous group of migrants that established themselves as successful traders and entrepreneurs.

Findings

Through an etic multisited ethnographic perspective, the authors compare and contrast four communities of Mennonites in terms of their entrepreneurial activities, technology and energy use. Through an emic perspective, the authors demonstrate how Mennonites, while preferring an in-group focus, navigate their multisited entrepreneurial activities, which require interaction with the outside world.

Originality/value

The authors highlight the value of combining etic–emic reflections to acknowledge and include the multisited nature of many social phenomena as experienced by the research participants.

Details

Journal of Organizational Ethnography, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6749

Keywords

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