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1 – 10 of 384YouthBuild programs are uniquely designed to address the status of unemployed and uneducated young men and women who are disconnected from work and education. This study, on…
Abstract
Purpose
YouthBuild programs are uniquely designed to address the status of unemployed and uneducated young men and women who are disconnected from work and education. This study, on YouthBuild Las Vegas (YBLV), aims to fill the call for more research on transformative service research, specifically related to education, poverty and well-being. The program educates “opportunity youth” in construction skills while also encouraging progression toward a GED/HiSet or high school diploma. Service providers can better understand how to increase and support reconnection and well-being, especially among low-income individuals in communities with great needs for support services.
Design/methodology/approach
This yearlong qualitative research study intended to better understand transformative service within the context of former high school dropouts previously without a path to a productive future. YBLV was an ideal single-site case study because it was bound by space, people, organization and time. The study followed one YBLV class from admission through graduation; the qualitative work with the organization started prior to the students’ enrollment and continued after the students graduated. Primary data collections were interviews and observations. Additional data collection occurred in the forms of written documents, as well as photos and videos.
Findings
YBLV succeeded because of service providers’ attention to the funds of knowledge of the student population and adapting the format and structure of programs to adult learners, developing mentors for consumers and acknowledging the context and layers of knowledge that consumers brought to the program. The students were able to experience reconnection and increased well-being because of the service providers’ impact throughout the program.
Research limitations/implications
Transformative service research (TSR) research has focused on areas as diverse as health care and homelessness, whereas the lens of funds of knowledge has primarily been applied within educational settings. It would be worthwhile to apply funds of knowledge framework beyond education yet still within the TSR agenda. There are also opportunities to apply the theory to other vulnerable populations. Broadening the scope of reconnection and well-being TSR research far beyond YouthBuild may identify additional or other synergies between these areas.
Practical implications
The growing body of research on TSR suggested a gap in understanding how service providers can support consumers in poverty and a need for greater well-being. This study on YouthBuild highlighted the phenomenon among low-income, undereducated, urban young adults and while the goal of qualitative research is not to be generalizable, specific examples such as adapting programs and structures to low-income consumers, developing mentors to model wanted behavior and goal-setting and acknowledging the funds of knowledge that consumers bring to situations, can be generic ingredients for future transformative service projects.
Social implications
Research has demonstrated that public investment in programs that assist youth toward a positive trajectory and greater well-being is much more beneficial than disciplinary measures such as increased spending on policing and prisons. Employment and educational training programs have led to measurable success and when disconnected youth have greater vocational training and high school completion, they and the broader economy experience improved outcomes. Therefore, from a policy perspective, YouthBuild and programs like it emphasize growth, development and well-being for undereducated and low-income individuals.
Originality/value
The funds of knowledge theoretical framework are new to the Journal of Services Marketing (JSM). That framework coupled with the population of former high school dropouts in a second-chance school and a focus on service providers and well-being within a poverty context, all contribute to the paper’s originality. Reconnection is also a relatively new concept for readers of JSM. These three areas: funds of knowledge, reconnection and TSR are the backbone of this research.
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Within the strategy as practice field several studies have recently paid attention to organizational arenas like meetings, workshops and away‐days. There has, however, been a…
Abstract
Purpose
Within the strategy as practice field several studies have recently paid attention to organizational arenas like meetings, workshops and away‐days. There has, however, been a tendency to focus on what happens “inside” separated organizational arenas. The aim of the paper is to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between the separated organizational arenas and other organizational activities in the strategizing process.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is conceptual. The framework rests on Niklas Luhmann's social systems theory and draws on recent empirical studies.
Findings
The main contribution of the article is the presentation of a theoretically well‐founded framework that further specifies and problematizes the relationships of separated organizational arenas. By focusing and conceptualizing the conditions for separation and reconnection, a foundation for analyzing the interconnectedness between different arenas is provided.
Practical implications
The paper contributes to our understanding of phenomena like meetings and work‐shops in the strategic process.
Originality/value
The framework is in line with, and expands the theorizing that Hendry and Seidl (2003) initiated about strategic episodes and the theorizing about first and second order observations in strategic processes initiated by Schreyögg and Kliesch‐Eberl (2007).
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Carmen Padin and Göran Svensson
The objective of this paper is to describe a multi‐layer matrix model of sustainable tourism.
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this paper is to describe a multi‐layer matrix model of sustainable tourism.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual discussion and illustration is provided.
Findings
It incorporates multiple layers of a proposed process of sustainable tourism and areas of measurement interconnected through a series of gap and reconnection analyses.
Research limitations/implications
Opportunities for further research are offered.
Practical implications
The paper highlights the importance of linking planning and implementation to evaluation and control, but it also stresses the importance of reconnecting back to ongoing planning and implementation, in order to make necessary revisions in the process of sustainable tourism.
Originality/value
One contribution is that sustainable tourism is not defined as a concept or construct, but as a process, since there are no achievements or progress in sustainable practices without a sequence of inter‐connected and measureable doings in the context of markets and societies. Another contribution is that the process of sustainable tourism is continuous and iterative.
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Göran Svensson and Carmen Padin
The purpose of this study is to examine the role of spinoffs and tradeoffs in business-driven sustainable development in the marketplace based on environmental, economic and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the role of spinoffs and tradeoffs in business-driven sustainable development in the marketplace based on environmental, economic and social constituents. It is based on the insights gathered from a company’s business-driven sustainable development. It can therefore be used as a teaching case.
Design/methodology/approach
An inductive approach based on case study methodology is applied to describe a company’s spinoffs and tradeoffs of business-driven sustainable development in the marketplace.
Findings
The study reports how raw material residuals can be recycled and reused in spinoff processes, and tradeoffs done, to optimize the outcome of business-driven sustainable development in the marketplace.
Research limitations/implications
The study reveals that spinoffs and tradeoffs between constituents and related sub-constituents enable to improve the ultimate outcome of business-driven sustainable development in the marketplace. The study also illustrates how environmental, social and economic constituents and related sub-constituents connect and reconnect to each other as a whole through spinoffs and tradeoffs, to optimize business-driven sustainable development in marketplace.
Practical implications
Business-driven sustainable development requires corporate considerations to connect and reconnect the economic, social and environmental constituents and related sub-constituents. It illustrates the pioneering actions of combining existing solutions of business sustainability in conjunction and gaining synergy effects to optimize business-driven sustainable development.
Originality/value
Contribution is based on the actions of combining existing solutions of business sustainability in conjunction and gaining synergy effects to optimize business-driven sustainable development. This study also makes a contribution illustrating a framework based on a company’s business-driven sustainable development fostering CO2 neutrality and fossil-free fuel in the food and agricultural industries. In addition, it makes a contribution illustrating how raw material residuals are recycled and reused in spinoff processes, so as to optimize the business-driven sustainable development. Furthermore, it makes a contribution illustrating that business-driven sustainable development in the marketplace is neither simplistic nor straightforward, but requires that tradeoffs between constituents and related sub-constituents be made to optimize the ultimate outcome.
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Introduction Sewer rehabilitation encompasses many different aspects of civil engineering. This single term defines all the activities involved, from detection of a lost sewer to…
Abstract
Introduction Sewer rehabilitation encompasses many different aspects of civil engineering. This single term defines all the activities involved, from detection of a lost sewer to reconnection to the existing property, after renovation of the sewer is complete. In this second part of this paper, the renovation techniques will be discussed.
Rachel Duffy, Andrew Fearne and Victoria Healing
This paper reports the findings of a research project that investigated the extent of the information gap that exists between the British agri‐food industry and consumers to help…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reports the findings of a research project that investigated the extent of the information gap that exists between the British agri‐food industry and consumers to help assist the industry in its efforts to re‐connect with consumers and the wider public.
Design/methodology/approach
The first stage involved an information audit to examine the communication activities of the providers of information about food and farming, which was conducted using desk research and personal interviews. The second stage involved qualitative and quantitative primary research to examine the information needs and knowledge amongst consumers, one of the key target groups identified in the first stage of the project.
Findings
The review of the communication activities of organisations in the agri‐food industry identified an extremely fragmented delivery to consumers and a distinct lack of resources to effectively communicate the information that exists and evaluate its impact on the attitudes, perceptions and behaviour of consumers. The consumer research indicated that, while many are interested in food production issues, the fragmented communication messages that they receive are not giving them a clear reason to consider the implications of their purchases for the British farming industry and the environment.
Research limitations/implications
The information audit, whilst comprehensive, was not exhaustive, and so it is likely that some information providers may have been excluded from the review. In addition, the effectiveness of individual organisations' communication activities has not been evaluated and this presents a useful avenue for future research.
Practical implications
Owing to the limited communication budgets of individual organisations it is suggested that the industry collaborate and pool its resources to develop a co‐ordinated and effective consumer campaign for British agriculture.
Originality/value
This paper is of value to participants in the agri‐food industry as, since the publication of the Policy Commission inquiry into the future of farming and food, the subject of reconnection in the food chain has become very topical, with both industry and government representatives identifying the poor image of farming and consumers' lack of understanding of the link between food and farming as a significant problem for the industry.
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In the marketing literature it is often argued that corporations should pay attention to the needs and wants not only of their own customers, but also to those of their customers'…
Abstract
Purpose
In the marketing literature it is often argued that corporations should pay attention to the needs and wants not only of their own customers, but also to those of their customers' customers. This is often referred to as “the marketing concept”. The objective is to revitalize the marketing concept beyond the traditional levels of manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, customers and consumers in marketing channels.
Design/methodology/approach
Conceptual discussion and approach are undertaken.
Findings
The term “spherical marketing concept” is coined. This term connects the distinct upstream and downstream levels of marketing channels, as well as reconnecting their indistinct subsequent and preceding levels.
Research limitations/implications
The dilemma with the common use of the marketing concept in the literature is that it fails to acknowledge the simultaneous connection of the components and interfaces between the upstream and downstream distinct levels from the start to the end of the marketing channels with the reconnection of the components and interfaces from the subsequent and preceding indistinct levels of the marketing channels. Further research efforts should be dedicated to bridge the start and end of distinct levels of marketing channels by way of the indistinct preceding and subsequent ones. Economic, social and ecological factors should be included.
Practical implications
It is not enough simply to match the supply and demand between the start and the end of marketing channels – a revitalization of the boundaries of the marketing concept towards a total circulation approach is necessary. Best practice tends to be more and more aware and skilful in this respect.
Originality/value
The spherical marketing concept contributes to pin‐point the importance of the seamlessness, sustainability and total circulation of components and interfaces in marketing channels. It also contributes to place current theories and practices in perspective for the future.
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The concept of children's alienation from, and reconnection to, nature has gained international interest. The purpose of this paper is to explore how forest school as a growing…
Abstract
Purpose
The concept of children's alienation from, and reconnection to, nature has gained international interest. The purpose of this paper is to explore how forest school as a growing phenomenon in the UK is promoting this reconnection to nature as well as benefiting children's well-being. At the same time, forest school is providing children and young people with a more divergent learning experience, away from the structural pressures of the neoliberal classroom. With its emphasis on play-based learning in wooded areas, and the freedom to make connections and spatially engage with what is around them at their own pace, such engagement in these “alternative” learning spaces can support the development of a post-human discourse and sensibilities. This is fundamental in developing children's emotional connection in promoting pro-environmental behaviours and their attitudes towards valuing and protecting the non-human.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on field notes documented during forest school leader training undertook by the author from April 2017 to May 2018. Further data were collected in the form of participant observations of forest school sessions in three schools; semi-structured interviews with the head teachers of these schools and two forest school practitioners. Supplementary data will also draw on the experiences of a group of second-year education studies university students after completing a module on forest school and outdoor learning, led by the author.
Findings
This article finds that the more children engage with wooded areas and interact with the natural environment and other creatures within that space, the more it affords meaning to them. This in turn promotes a sense of belonging and environmental stewardship, particularly in relation to non-human creatures. This article also finds that where schools provide forest school opportunities on their sites, such provision is conducive to supporting more creative practices within the “spatialities” of the neoliberal classroom.
Originality/value
Neoliberal education policy with its focus on high stakes testing and performance outcomes increasingly shapes the spatial practices of school life. Consequently, time spent outdoors and its relationship with intrinsic learning has declined in many schools. With many schools placing less importance on outdoor learning, children and young people have become further alienated from engaging in different ways with their environments. Further, data highlighting the link between forest school and children's interest in plants and other animals have not been the subject of much research.
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Marie Häggström, Kenneth Asplund and Lisbeth Kristiansen
Admission to and transfer from an intensive care unit affects not only the patient but also his or her relatives. The authors aimed to investigate relatives' perceptions of…
Abstract
Purpose
Admission to and transfer from an intensive care unit affects not only the patient but also his or her relatives. The authors aimed to investigate relatives' perceptions of quality of care during a patient's transfer process from an intensive care unit to a general ward.
Design/methodology/approach
The study had a mixed method design that included quantitative data and answers to open questions. The participants were 65 relatives of patients who received care in an ICU. They were recruited from two hospitals in Sweden.
Findings
A majority perceived the transfer process as important, but analysis also showed that the participants rated it as an area for improvements. The relatives wanted participation, personal insight and control, respectful encounters, proximity, reassurance, continuous quality, reconnection and feedback. The relatives' participation in the transfer process was perceived as inadequate by 61 per cent, and the support that was received after the ICU discharge was perceived as inadequate by 53 per cent. The patients' length of stay in the ICU affected the relatives' perceptions of the quality of care. Overall, the relatives seemed to desire that the transfer process includes a continuous care, a competent staff, available information throughout the transfer process and personal involvement in the care, both before and after the transfer from the ICU.
Research limitations/implications
The conclusion of this study is that relatives' needs and seeking for a well-planned ICU transitional process organisation with continuous quality before and after transfer, informational strategies that encourage the relatives to be involved and an organisation with competence throughout the healthcare chain are vital for quality.
Practical implications
The conclusion of this study is that relatives' needs and seeking for a well-planned ICU transitional process organisation with continuous quality before and after transfer, informational strategies that encourage the relatives to be involved and an organisation with competence throughout the healthcare chain are vital for quality.
Originality/value
The findings have important implications for nursing and nursing management. A relative's perception of the quality of care before and after transfer from ICU may be a valuable source to evaluate the ICU transitional care.
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Anne-Marie Snider and Naomi Smith
This paper aims to respond to the following question: What does ongoing recovery from depression look like, and what role might spirituality have for individuals’ meanings of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to respond to the following question: What does ongoing recovery from depression look like, and what role might spirituality have for individuals’ meanings of recovery if it has any meaning at all?
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the authors reconceptualize recovery from depression as ritual, as ongoing recovery, or recovery as a process, resonated with many of the 40 participants (all ages) from the study, and much of the sociological literature on recovery from depression (Fullagar and O’Brien, 2012; Garrett, 1997, 1998; Karp, 1994, 1996, 2016; O’Brien, 2012). To explore the interplay between participants’ accounts of recovery as ongoing, and the meanings of spirituality, the authors used a ritual analysis inspired by Collins (2004).
Findings
From the accounts presented in this paper, the authors suggest that participants are, if subconsciously, using objects with a special or spiritual significance to filter through their thoughts and memories as a way to create what Collins (2004) calls an emotional charge. The authors argue that these emotional charges assist people with lived experiences of depression in distancing from, and reconnecting to, certain social ties, including a particular family member, friend or social group, as part of their recovery. The authors are calling this process, ritual distancing.
Originality/value
Recovery from depression includes a process of reconnection to the self and others, and this process sometimes includes a self-defined spirituality (in objects and social connections).
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