Search results

1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 1 June 2001

Iain L. Mangham

This paper considers the utilisation of theatre as a means of exploring management and organising. It focuses upon Shakespeare’s Henry V and explores the alternative readings…

Abstract

This paper considers the utilisation of theatre as a means of exploring management and organising. It focuses upon Shakespeare’s Henry V and explores the alternative readings, performances and interpretations of this central character. In particular, it considers issues of power, leadership, identity, dissemblance and dissimulation.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 29 August 2022

Aaditeshwar Seth

Abstract

Details

Technology and (Dis)Empowerment: A Call to Technologists
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-393-5

Book part
Publication date: 24 September 2018

Gabija Didžiokaitė, Paula Saukko and Christian Greiffenhagen

The existing literature on fatness has critically discussed meanings and morals associated with body weight and explored people’s experiences of weight loss attempts. However…

Abstract

The existing literature on fatness has critically discussed meanings and morals associated with body weight and explored people’s experiences of weight loss attempts. However, little attention has been paid to the practices of dieting – how it is ‘done’. Based on an interview study involving 31 participants, who shared their self-tracking experience of using the MyFitnessPal calorie counting app, we focus on the practices of ‘doing’ calories. First, we discuss the practices of temporality of logging food, showing that the use of MyFitnessPal not only has to be fitted into daily routines but can also transform them. Then, we look at the practices of precision or users’ various ways of turning the ‘messiness’ of food into precise numbers. Lastly, we explore users’ practices of adjustments – their attitudes to adherence to their daily calorie goal and ways of dealing with going above it. Based on our findings we suggest calorie counting is not a straightforward data collection, but one that involves constant practical strategies and negotiations, and can both influence and be influenced by other everyday practices.

Book part
Publication date: 24 January 2022

Eleonora Pantano and Kim Willems

After having drawn lessons from the recent COVID-19 pandemic for retailers in the previous chapters, in this last chapter we provide an outline on retailing over a longer time…

Abstract

After having drawn lessons from the recent COVID-19 pandemic for retailers in the previous chapters, in this last chapter we provide an outline on retailing over a longer time horizon. We start with projections of how the phygitalization trend in retailing will further evolve and what role data plays as a basis for a competitive advantage – on the condition of smart and ethical use. Besides looking at customers (downstream), we address the upstream in the value delivery network, focusing on how to succeed in balancing between efficiency and sustainability in the retail supply chain. Retailers face huge challenges. This chapter contributes to setting the scene for retailers to thrive in the brand-new post-pandemic aftermath.

Article
Publication date: 16 March 2022

Umer Zaman, Laura Florez-Perez, Mahwish Anjam, Muddasar Ghani Khwaja and Noor Ul-Huda

Failures in both followership and leadership become inevitable as mega construction projects are directed and controlled by toxic leaders. Consequently, team member's desire for…

1651

Abstract

Purpose

Failures in both followership and leadership become inevitable as mega construction projects are directed and controlled by toxic leaders. Consequently, team member's desire for knowledge hoarding silence is triggered and goal alignment between the leader and team members suddenly fades away to realize success in mega projects. Considering the growing importance of these rarely examined constructs and fragmented literature on toxic leadership (TL), team silence and mega project success (PS) in the global construction industry, the present study aimed to examine the effects of TL and project team member's silence (PTMS) on the success of mega construction projects. Moreover, the mediating influence of PTMS to link TL and mega construction PS has also been explored.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on survey data of 326 project professionals directly associated with mega construction projects worth US$62bn under the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the conceptual model was tested with covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) using Mplus program. Scales were adapted from previous research to measure TL (with its five-dimensions including abusive supervision, authoritarian leadership, self-promotion, narcissism and unpredictability), PS (with its three-dimensions including project management success, project ownership success and project investment success) and project team members' silence. Reflective–formative second order assessments were specifically applied to measure the multi-dimensional nature of TL and PS, respectively.

Findings

Mplus estimations revealed that TL negatively influences PS, besides forcing a culture of silence among project team members. Interestingly, the relationship between TL and PS is also negatively mediated by the PTMS.

Research limitations/implications

The present study's findings are derived from data of project professionals (N = 326) to examine success in megaprojects under the CPEC. Hence, these findings may be re-validated through future studies on similar megaprojects (e.g. China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) worth US$8tn) that may also be predicated by TL tendencies, silent cultures and high-stakes involved to seize PS.

Practical implications

Policymakers, construction practitioners and other key stakeholders (e.g. departmental heads/supervisors) can take advantage of this new evidence to better interpret the success paradox in mega projects, and to reduce the spread and long-term damage of TL on team members and eventually create opportunities for PS.

Originality/value

The present study's novelty is manifested within this first empirical evidence on TL that breeds team silence in underperforming mega projects. Notably, present study offers alarming evidence on mega projects that can be easily derailed from success, as they continue to suffer from team silence and TL.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 30 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 April 2022

Yuebin Zhang, Xin Yi, Shuangshuang Li and Hui Qiu

This study aims to reduce the construction safety accidents of prefabricated building (PB) projects, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of safety supervision by government…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to reduce the construction safety accidents of prefabricated building (PB) projects, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of safety supervision by government departments, and provide theoretical reference for improving the safety supervision system of PB construction.

Design/methodology/approach

Considering the information asymmetry between government supervision departments and construction contractors and the interactive relationship between the two parties under bounded rationality, we propose an evolutionary game model for the construction safety dynamic supervision of PBs and analyze the evolutionary strategy of the game. The system dynamics (SD) method is used to simulate and analyze the evolutionary game process under a dynamic supervision strategy and the adjustment of external variables.

Findings

The cost difference between the government's strong and weak supervision, the construction contractor's additional expenditure for strengthening safety management, and other factors affect system stability. The government can dynamically adjust the penalties based on the construction contractor's subjective willingness to ignore safety management and further adjust their rate of change based on the completion of the supervision goals to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of construction safety supervision.

Originality/value

This study makes contributions in two areas. Through a combination of SD and an evolutionary game, it provides new insights into the strategic choice of the main body related to PB construction safety. Additionally, considering the nonlinear characteristics of construction safety supervision, it provides useful universal suggestions for PB construction safety.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 30 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 April 2019

Juliane Jarke

The purpose of this paper is to review interventions/methods for engaging older adults in meaningful digital public service design by enabling them to engage critically and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review interventions/methods for engaging older adults in meaningful digital public service design by enabling them to engage critically and productively with open data and civic tech.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper evaluates data walks as a method for engaging non-tech-savvy citizens in co-design work. These were evaluated along a framework considering how such interventions allow for sharing control (e.g. over design decisions), sharing expertise and enabling change.

Findings

Within a co-creation project, different types of data walks may be conducted, including ideation walks, data co-creation walks or user test walks. These complement each other with respect to how they facilitate the sharing of control and expertise, and enable change for a variety of older citizens.

Practical implications

Data walks are a method with a low-threshold, potentially enabling a variety of citizens to engage in co-design activities relating to open government and civic tech.

Social implications

Such methods address the digital divide and further social participation of non-tech-savvy citizens. They value the resources and expertise of older adults as co-designers and partners, and counter stereotypical ideas about age and ageing.

Originality/value

This pilot study demonstrates how data walks can be incorporated into larger co-creation projects.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 43 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 December 2016

Raimondo Maria Pavarin, Francesca Emiliani, Stefano Passini, Consuelo Mameli and Laura Palareti

The purpose of this paper is to describe the relationship between migratory status, the use of legal and illegal psychoactive substances and psychological disorders perceived in a…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the relationship between migratory status, the use of legal and illegal psychoactive substances and psychological disorders perceived in a sample of minors.

Design/methodology/approach

A transversal multicentre study was carried out with interviews with young people aged 13-16 years recruited from middle and high schools in Italy.

Findings

The results show the implementation of a process of normalization in terms of the presence of legal and illegal psychoactive substances in the living contexts of the minors, of their widespread early use and of a substantial indifferentiation in the reasons for use (e.g. pleasure, curiosity, fun). Youths born in Italy with at least one non-native parent are noteworthy for an elevated prevalence of perceived psychological disorders and for particular lifestyles linked to the use of marijuana, alcohol abuse and the intensive consumption of tobacco. Second-generation minors show symptoms of psychological malaise, anxiety and depression before which the use of substances appears to realize a particular form of self-cure.

Research limitations/implications

This study presents some objective limits that indicate prudence in generalizing the results: only those who obtained consent from their parents were interviewed and the information communicated in the interviews could have been influenced by various factors, including the situation and the location. The authors used a standard definition of binge-drinking (Valencia-Martín et al., 2008). Actually, different criteria (i.e. number of drinks, time of consumption, etc.) and formulations of the question are used in different surveys, showing that there is as yet no consensus definition of binge-drinking. Nevertheless, the term has become somewhat confusing as it is often used as a synonym of drunkenness, making cross-cultural comparisons difficult (Beccaria et al., 2014). These are aspects that limit the generalizability of the results to the interviews alone and do not allow for prevalence estimates. Nevertheless, the results offer useful indications for future prevention projects specifically oriented to early adolescence.

Practical implications

The results of the study, on the one hand, document the growing use of legal and illegal proactive substances among minors and the relative cultural trend in this particular age band, testified to by the high number of those who have been present in situations of consumption to whom the substances were offered; on the other, they evidence a subpopulation of youths born in Italy with at least one non-native parent (i.e. second generation of immigrants). These youths stand out for an elevated prevalence of perceived psychological disorders and for their particular lifestyles connected to the use of marijuana, alcohol abuse and the intensive consumption of alcohol. This is also the group with the highest percentage of mothers alone in the family.

Social implications

A group of adolescents living in a monoparental family, that is, with the mother alone emerges, and as the literature has shown, family structure and poverty are linked (Landale et al., 2011; Svensson and Hagquist, 2009). In fact, such mothers, even those with a high level of education, are mostly unemployed. Adolescents with a single parent often not only face resource deficits but also other risk factors, such as high family stress, inadequate supervision, multiple family transitions and frequent residential moves. Specifically, these second-generation adolescents are female and they manifest sensation-seeking behaviours, but without drug abuse.

Originality/value

The results of the study show new and little-known aspects of the multicultural Italian society that is changing profoundly that should be explored in more detail by targeted research that also focussed on structural factors relatable to specific social positions. In this framework, a particular subgroup, i.e. the second-generation minors, shows symptoms of psychic malaise, anxiety and depression in terms of which substance use seems to realize a form of self-cure.

Details

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-9894

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 August 2017

David G. Hendry, Jill Palzkill Woelfer and Thuy Duong

Addressing the question, how might socio-technical systems help homeless young people to succeed broadly in employment, the purpose of this paper is to present a future vision…

Abstract

Purpose

Addressing the question, how might socio-technical systems help homeless young people to succeed broadly in employment, the purpose of this paper is to present a future vision, the U-District Job Co-op, where youth take on “mini-jobs” offered by neighborhood stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on value sensitive design, design-based, and qualitative research methods, the Job Co-op is explicated by reporting on three linked studies.

Findings

First, based on empirical research with varied neighborhood stakeholders, barriers and possible solutions to employment for homeless young people are presented. Second, three design insights for shaping a solution space of socio-technical systems for job search are presented and used analytically to examine six existing systems. Third, findings from a co-design study in which homeless young people expressed their understandings for web-based job services explicate the vision of the Job Co-op.

Social implications

This study offers a socio-technical approach, grounded in the neighborhood context, for supporting homeless young people in job search and related activities.

Originality/value

The studies reported in this paper demonstrate how methods for information system design can be used to generate and clarify opportunities for human benefit and for the development of socio-technical systems that account for human values.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 January 2022

Stephen C. Rea

This paper aims to offer practical guidance on teaching about digital extremism – defined here as the intersection of digital disinformation campaigns with political extremism …

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to offer practical guidance on teaching about digital extremism – defined here as the intersection of digital disinformation campaigns with political extremism – by highlighting four pedagogical challenges: the danger of unintentionally “redpilling” students; the slippery slope to false equivalency and “bothsidesism” in turbulent partisan waters; the difficulty of separating empirical analyses from prescriptive debates circulating in popular media; and the trouble of getting students to understand digital extremism as a sociotechnical problem rather than as a social-or-technical problem. The conclusion proposes opportunities for educators to integrate practical approaches to confronting digital extremism with digital civics curricula.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reviews pedagogical challenges and outlines a curricular program for teaching about digital extremism drawn from the author’s experience designing undergraduate courses and open teaching modules between 2016 and 2021.

Findings

Educators should shift focus from the substance of digital extremism to its tools – social media platforms’ surveillance and data-gathering methods, advertising technologies and monetized user-generated content, personalized recommendation algorithms and media manipulation strategies that amplify some narratives while suppressing others – and the media and political institutions that benefit most from it. Proposed lessons include: how digital extremists manipulate social media metadata; engagement with data creation and targeting practices; and analysis of information production, circulation and consumption exploring media manipulation tools and their effects.

Originality/value

This paper’s added values are the insights and practical recommendations for undergraduate educators teaching on a topic of urgent contemporary concern: digital extremism.

Details

Information and Learning Sciences, vol. 123 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5348

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 1000