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1 – 8 of 8The impact of mankind on the environment and the usage of natural resources might be influenced by spirituality, through the consciousness of creating an improved moral sense…
Abstract
Purpose
The impact of mankind on the environment and the usage of natural resources might be influenced by spirituality, through the consciousness of creating an improved moral sense regarding the consequences of human activities and the necessity to alter these to achieve sustainable development. However, the spiritual element in the form of ecospirituality (ES) has not been sufficiently considered in pro-environmental studies as it relates to the influence of green training (GT) on voluntary workplace green behaviour (VWGB) in the construction sector. This study aims to determine the effect of GT on VWGB and the mediating effect of ES on the relationship between GT and VWGB on construction projects.
Design/methodology/approach
This study’s data were gathered through a questionnaire survey of construction site managers and project managers by adopting the probability sampling method. 249 appropriately completed questionnaires were returned. The data obtained were analysed by means of the partial least squares structural equation modelling technique (PLS-SEM).
Findings
The outcomes of the study show that GT has a significant positive impact on VWGB, while ES has a significant mediating effect on the relationship between GT and VWGB, both supporting the study’s hypotheses.
Practical implications
These findings point to the fact that the hitherto conflicting results reported in earlier studies on the GT–VWGB relationship can be attributed to the lack of consideration given to ES. Hence, special attention should be given to ES.
Originality/value
This research presents actions to enhance the transformation of GT into VWGB by giving due consideration to ES, which was not taken into account in previous studies.
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Juma James Masele and Elia Daud
This study aims to assess the sources of COVID-19 information respondents relied for COVID-19 pandemic information access and use, forms of misinformation and their influence on…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess the sources of COVID-19 information respondents relied for COVID-19 pandemic information access and use, forms of misinformation and their influence on COVID-19 vaccine uptake hesitancy among frontline workers.
Design/methodology/approach
A Google Form developed questionnaire, distributed conveniently through link shared through WhatsApp groups was used to collect data from frontline workers from Dar es Salaam and Dodoma cities. Analysis was done using a binary regression analysis.
Findings
It was found that it was not the source that mattered for one to be hesitancy or not on COVID-19 vaccination, but the extent to which the information the source channels was manipulated or false.
Research limitations/implications
Relying only Google Form questionnaire sent through a link on WhatsApp may have compromised the quality of information gathered and the quality of conclusion. Another study may have conducted through researcher administered questionnaire to a bigger sample to increase conclusion reliability and validity.
Practical implications
This study urges that to increase the COVID-19 vaccine uptake, it is important to ensure that the quality of information from the revealed dependable sources is checked to avoid possible consequential disquiet resulting from misinformation.
Originality/value
As the world is striving toward combating the COVID-19 or at least lessening its effects, this paper is of its own kind, using the theory of informative fictions to guide the assessment of the sources of information and the extent to which they influence misinformation on COVID-19 vaccine uptake hesitancy.
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Muhammad Irfan, Omar Khalid Bhatti and Ali Osman Ozturk
Female managers have numerous vulnerabilities related to their reputation and career progression in addition to social, sexual and discriminatory vulnerabilities. In…
Abstract
Purpose
Female managers have numerous vulnerabilities related to their reputation and career progression in addition to social, sexual and discriminatory vulnerabilities. In organizational settings, antagonized subordinates, peers or superiors can exploit their vulnerabilities through negative use of social media. For optimal performance and inclusion in organizational activities, it is essential to protect female managers against exploitation. Social media can be used for this purpose and dictates an investigation into it as an agent to reduce vulnerabilities and enhance inclusion of female managers.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative data collected through 25 in-depth semi-structured interviews from respondents belonging to five different organizations has been used in this exploratory study. Thematic analysis was done to reach the underlying structures of subjective responses of female managers.
Findings
This study finds that positive use of social media is effective in reducing vulnerabilities and female managers feel more included and protected against exploitation in inclusive organizations. The study presents a holistic view of vulnerabilities of female managers, various forms taken by negative use of social media, mechanics of positive use of social media and pathways to inclusive organization through reduction of vulnerabilities.
Research limitations/implications
Availability of limited time, resources and a single cultural context were few limitations. The study highlights an important area for further research indicating psychological trauma of victimized female managers forcing them to feel excluded from the organization.
Practical implications
This study will enhance understanding of practitioners about vulnerabilities of female managers and its likely accentuation through negative use of social media. In addition, they can learn the use of social media for reducing vulnerabilities and enhancing inclusion of female managers. This study also shed light on methodology to handle the situation in the face of all forms of negative use of social media.
Social implications
Female managers are highly vulnerable to exploitation through use of social media by antagonized groups and individuals who can easily attack their reputation and image. This study is an effort to reduce vulnerabilities of business women. Additionally, it is also aimed at enhancing inclusion of females in organizational activities to counter their isolation and discrimination on the basis of gender.
Originality/value
The issue of negative use of social media has not received attention of scholars. Being a research gap, exploratory study based on qualitative responses has been conducted to explore different facets of the issue. In-depth interviews have been conducted to collect primary data.
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Md Zillur Rahman, Farid Ullah and Piers Thompson
Previous studies have shown how the nature of businesses and the strategies pursued by their owners are affected by the personality traits of their owners. These personality…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous studies have shown how the nature of businesses and the strategies pursued by their owners are affected by the personality traits of their owners. These personality traits can be formed in the early stages of life due to experiences and the surrounding context, where religion is a particularly important aspect of this context. This study aims to explore how religion affects entrepreneurial activities through the personality traits created.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses interviews with 43 Muslim entrepreneurs in Scotland to examine the role played by religion. This ensures that the national institutional context is kept consistent but also allows an in-depth examination of relationships, which are likely to be interlinked and recursive.
Findings
The traits created influence the nature of the entrepreneurial activities undertaken with the potential to harm and support the entrepreneurial endeavours. It is the combination of personality traits that are formed which have the greatest effect. As such, it is found that Muslim entrepreneurs display less openness and creativity associated with new ideas, but this does not reflect risk aversion rather hard work in itself is valued, and patience combined with an external locus of control mean entrepreneurial behaviours are not altered to boost poorly performing business activities.
Originality/value
For Muslim entrepreneurs in Scotland, their traits explain why growth may not be a foremost consideration of these entrepreneurs rather they may value hard work and meeting the ideals of formal and informal institutions associated with religion. For those seeking to support minority groups through the promotion of entrepreneurship, either they must seek to overcome these ingrained traits or alter support to complement the different objectives held by Muslim entrepreneurs.
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This paper aims to use the origin story of Dalhousie’s Faculty of Management as a foil for unpacking the tensions between deep disciplinary specialization and liberal education in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to use the origin story of Dalhousie’s Faculty of Management as a foil for unpacking the tensions between deep disciplinary specialization and liberal education in business schools in Canada and the USA. Ultimately, the paper reveals that those tensions are not irreconcilable, and that through the fortunes of historical contingencies and deliberate decision-taking, a faculty can embrace the benefits of both breadth and depth.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper proposes a critical organizational history of management education through a case study. By drawing on secondary literature and archival sources, the authors focus on moments in business education, such as the founding of the Wharton School of Business, the release of the Carnegie and Ford Reports and the trend towards increased specialization to situate a case study of Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Management.
Findings
The authors find that the evolution of business education in North America from its broad, liberal origins towards narrow, specialization has come at a cost to some of the benefits of business and management education. An alternative approach, one reflected in the design of Dalhousie’s Faculty of Management, its programme offerings and its interconnection with other disciplines, enables the advantages of deep disciplinarity to co-exist (and cross-inform) with the advantages of liberal approach to knowledges.
Originality/value
The Dalhousie model offers business schools an example of a faculty that balances the rich insights of liberal interdisciplinarity with the need for sophisticated approaches to more granular, often disciplinary, topics. In addition, the paper offers the story of a multidisciplinary management faculty, some explanation for how that faculty was maintained despite pressures towards specialization; and in doing so, contributes to the limited historical research of management education, particularly in Canada, post-2000.
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Sanjna Sebastian Thoppil and Sanjay Pandy
This study explores the relevance of film texts in Indian social studies classrooms for students at the upper primary level. It examines how different types of visual texts can…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the relevance of film texts in Indian social studies classrooms for students at the upper primary level. It examines how different types of visual texts can facilitate awareness, critical thinking, discussion and action.
Design/methodology/approach
Using multimodal discourse analysis (MDA), this paper critically evaluates five selective films from regional cinemas in India and explores their teaching implications for social studies. The study argues that films are vital multimodal resources that can challenge the prevailing narratives in social studies pedagogy. It conveys how the suggestive revised taxonomy could benefit the students. It proposes a classification system for film analysis with discussion and states how films can bring out interrelated themes and encourage deeper, critical inquiry within the curriculum. The study finds discourse around the films and qualitatively stresses dialogue exchange with sentiment analysis using MAXQDA software. Developed by VERBI software, MAXQDA is a product whose name is inspired by the German Sociologist Max Weber, while the ‘QDA' stands for Qualitative Data Analysis.
Findings
The films act as multimodal texts, navigators, metaphors, communicative circuits and catalysts. The paper concludes that films can improve and expand multimodal learning of social studies in three ways: films help learners connect emotionally with the concepts, films make the learning process more appealing and extend it beyond classroom boundaries and films offer a unique insight into the socio-cultural subtleties that are often limited in textbooks.
Originality/value
This research pioneers an intersectionality-driven framework for film analysis in the curriculum for Indian upper primary social studies, offering innovative pedagogical tools to enrich Indian curriculum insights and bridge existing knowledge gaps.
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of positive autoethnography for the consequences of conversion therapy. Life after conversion therapy is, for many, a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of positive autoethnography for the consequences of conversion therapy. Life after conversion therapy is, for many, a life-changing episode, especially when combined with disfellowship. In recent years, positive autoethnography has grown substantially. The work of Tedeschi and Calhoun (2004), from the school of positive psychology, focuses on posttraumatic growth following a traumatic event or series of events.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative approach of positive autoethnography.
Findings
This innovative case study highlights personal struggles with grief, depression and suicidal ideation. In addition, the time elapsed has enabled a process to juggle with alternative ideas moving forward in salvaging a form of identity.
Research limitations/implications
Treatment as usual psychological therapies (TAUPT) provide many unhelpful triggers due to the same jargon used in both conversion therapy and TAUPT. Away from TAUPT, this writing exercise may help as a stand-alone post-conversion recovery process.
Practical implications
The post-conversion recovery process will offer much-needed help with only a few face-to-face meetings to aid the posttraumatic growth writing exercise.
Social implications
The suicide rates for sexual minority conversion therapy victims are eight times higher than those of other sexual minority groups and isolation levels. A single point of entry pathway for conversion therapy survivors is needed.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, the first of its kind to apply positive autoethnography using the model as a framework to understand the post-conversion therapy experience, looks for growth in five areas: relating to others, new possibilities, personal strength, spiritual change and appreciation of life.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the prejudice and discrimination constructs through the lens of a transcendent knowledge concept.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the prejudice and discrimination constructs through the lens of a transcendent knowledge concept.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper seeks to demonstrate that Spiritism or Spiritist Doctrine (SD) – regarded here as a source of transcendent knowledge – offers compelling arguments and provides suitable explanations (i.e. transcendent ontology) in relation to the issue of discrimination
Findings
Overall, this paper contributes to a better understanding of diversity and inclusive perspectives by examining the antecedents and consequences of discrimination through the insightful lens of SD tenets. In this sense, the findings suggest that the discriminators and prejudiced people may ironically pass through – as a result of the law of cause and effect – the same hard situations (i.e. ordeals or nightmares) – even though in their future lives – that they impose in their current victims to forcefully open their minds, support universal values, enhance their own feelings and spiritual intelligence.
Practical implications
Evidence presented here (although conceptually in nature) could be somewhat integrated into training sections of diversity management. At a minimum, it may encourage the shift of attitudes, revision of embedded values and reflections about the spiritual consequences to the perpetrators of discrimination against minorities.
Originality/value
Taken as a whole, the SD tenets prompt us to understand that the acts of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination engender suffering for their perpetrators, even in their future lives (i.e. reincarnations). Broadly speaking, the SD principles compel us to consider transcendent knowledge even in the context of organizational life.
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