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Article
Publication date: 28 September 2021

Risa F. Isard and E. Nicole Melton

The purpose of this research was to examine the role of intersectionality (multiple marginalized identities) in narratives used within online media coverage of women's sports. The…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research was to examine the role of intersectionality (multiple marginalized identities) in narratives used within online media coverage of women's sports. The authors adopted an intersectionality lens and drew from sports media literature to explore the representation of Black athletes in women's sport.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a quantitative content analysis of online articles from ESPN, CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated from the 2020 WNBA Season. The authors coded the number of times an athlete was mentioned in an article, the athlete's race, publicly disclosed sexual orientation and gender expression. The authors used hierarchical regression to examine the relationship between an athlete's social identities and frequency of media mentions.

Findings

Within mainstream online sport media, Black WNBA athletes receive less media attention than white WNBA athletes. Black athletes who do not present in traditionally feminine ways receive the least amount of media attention, while white athletes have the freedom to express their gender in a variety of ways and still capture media interest. Within league press releases, however, there is no difference in media mentions based on race, sexual orientation or gender expression.

Practical implications

The findings in this research are important for sport media professionals who write stories and player-activists who are pursuing racial justice. Outlets should commit to antiracist storytelling practices. Players, player agents and players' associations—all of whom have shown their power to create change for a more equitable industry and society—should also advocate for and organize around practices that create more equitable media coverage.

Originality/value

This study is one of the few empirical investigations of women's professional sport that examines the influence of intersecting social identities.

Details

Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-678X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 July 2020

Mariarosaria Coppola, Maria Russolillo and Rosaria Simone

This paper aims to measure the financial impact on social security system of a recently proposed indexation mechanism for retirement age by considering the Italian longevity…

219

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to measure the financial impact on social security system of a recently proposed indexation mechanism for retirement age by considering the Italian longevity experience. The analysis is motivated by the progressive increase in life expectancy at advanced age, which is rapidly bringing to the fore noticeable socio-economic consequences in most industrialized countries. Among those, the impact on National Social Security systems is particularly relevant if people live longer than expected; this will lead to greater financial exposure for pension providers.

Design/methodology/approach

Referring to the Italian population for illustrative purposes, the authors contemplate different scenarios for mortality projection methods and for the implementation of pension age shift while accounting for gender and cohort gaps and model risk. Synthetic indicators to measure the impact of the indexation mechanism on social security system are introduced on the basis of pension cash flows.

Findings

An indexation policy that manages gender gap while adjusting retirement age for varying life expectancy is proposed. As a result, sustainability of public retirement expenditure is improved.

Originality/value

The paper is a concise scenario analysis of the reduction of costs and risks that pension providers would have if the system resorted to link retirement age to life expectancy. The ideas fostered by the paper follow a recent proposal of the Authors on a flexible retirement scheme that deals with model risk for mortality projection and accounts for gender gap in mortality rates.

Details

The Journal of Risk Finance, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1526-5943

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 July 2021

Robert Bogue

This paper aims to illustrate the growing importance of surgical robots by providing a short historical background and details of a selection of today’s products and their…

324

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to illustrate the growing importance of surgical robots by providing a short historical background and details of a selection of today’s products and their applications.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a short introduction, this first provides an historical perspective. It then discusses systems used in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). This is followed by examples of products aimed at other surgical applications and, finally, brief concluding comments are drawn.

Findings

The concept of robotic surgery arose in the 1960s and trials commenced in the 1980s. The business is now in a highly dynamic phase with numerous recent product launches and a growing number late-stage developments. MIS systems are attracting much interest but robotic technology is also being applied to many additional surgical procedures.

Originality/value

This provides an insight into the emergence and commercialisation of robotic surgical systems.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 48 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 October 2017

Cristina Simone, Antonio La Sala and Marta Maria Montella

The purpose of this paper is to examine peer production (P2P) conceived as an ecosystem for value co-creation. First, this paper provides information on the specific P2P method…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine peer production (P2P) conceived as an ecosystem for value co-creation. First, this paper provides information on the specific P2P method for value co-creation, which is based on distributed technologies, cognitive slack and search for quality, to provide outputs that are open to continuous improvement. Second, aiming to fill the extant literature gap, this paper discusses the efficient dimension of P2P, providing a framework for the net benefit analysis of the economies and diseconomies that affect the value co-creation processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper identifies three main literature clusters that are focused on P2P, namely, economical, sociological and organizational clusters, and integrates them with the economics of organizational perspective to elicit information on the efficient dimension of P2P. This efficient dimension is expressed by a net benefit analysis of the economies and diseconomies that affect the P2P value co-creation processes.

Findings

The P2P ecosystem is characterized by the intensive interaction among cognitive slack and distributed technologies. This complex interaction presents interesting implications in terms of efficiency that, until now, have not been analyzed in the literature. Aiming to fill the extant literature gap, this paper provides a consistent analytical framework that simultaneously takes into account the economies of knowledge integration and potential diseconomies, that is, the costs of coordination and loss of control that arise from the adoption and diffusion of distributed technologies.

Originality/value

This paper provides an original explanation of P2P as an emergent ecosystem that serves as a service logics amplifier of value co-creation. In this regard, analysis of the key features of P2P not only sheds new light on P2P, but also allows for the reflection on the ecosystem’s framework, which promotes a virtuous interaction between the conceptual speculation and understanding of reality. Moreover, the proposed framework for the net benefit analysis of the P2P value co-creation model draws the attention of managers and decision makers as they consider the following issue: value co-creation jointly considers not only its benefits, but also its associated costs.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 29 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of acai pulp consumption on biometric parameters and inflammatory biomarkers (sCD40L, CCL5, TNF-a and CRP) in apparently healthy women.

Design/methodology/approach

Nutritional intervention was performed with women who consumed 200 g of acai pulp daily during 30 consecutive days. Firstly, they were divided into two groups: normal weight and overweight related to BMI. Then, such volunteers were subdivided into other two groups according to values below or above the median of sCD40L.

Findings

sCD40L (ρg/mL) concentrations increased in overweight volunteers post-consumption of acai (964 ± 542) compared with the same volunteers pre-consumption of acai (633 ± 187, p = 0.03), and the CCL5 concentrations (ρg/mL) decreased in volunteers with sCD40L concentrations below median after the treatment (4.1 ± 1.5) when compared in same volunteers before the treatment (5.8 ± 1.8, p = 0.02). Protein consumption (g) reduced in volunteers with sCD40L concentrations below median after the intervention (96.6 ± 44.5), when compared before the intervention (96.7 ± 33.8, p = 0.03).

Originality/value

This paper concluded that the acai consumption can modulate the inflammatory profile in both stratified volunteers according to the BMI and the sCD40L marker median.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science , vol. 50 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 November 2022

Robert Bogue

This paper aims to trace the technological and commercial developments in robotics over the last 50 years, from 1973, the year in which this journal was founded, to the present…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to trace the technological and commercial developments in robotics over the last 50 years, from 1973, the year in which this journal was founded, to the present day.

Design/methodology/approach

Following an introduction, this identifies key robot developments on a decade-by-decade basis and considers research, products, applications and corporate activity and also highlights many of the enabling technologies. Brief conclusions are draw.

Findings

The robot industry has changed beyond all recognition during the last half century. Enabled by developments in microelectronics, computing, sensors, imaging technologies, data communication and power sources, today robots satisfy a multitude of applications and play a role in almost every sphere of human activity.

Originality/value

This provides a detailed review of robotic developments during the last 50 years.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 50 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 November 2018

Silvia de Simone, Daniela Putzu, Diego Lasio and Francesco Serri

Despite the ongoing increase of women in the top positions, they are still underrepresented in politics. The studies that primarily focus on women’s underrepresentation in…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the ongoing increase of women in the top positions, they are still underrepresented in politics. The studies that primarily focus on women’s underrepresentation in politics neglect the role of gender as a category that structures and makes sense of social practices. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mechanisms that regulate the contemporary gender order in politics through discourse analysis and the contribution of the critical feminist perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on 30 biographical interviews with Italian politicians and focuses on the account of their political experiences and on the meanings attributed to these.

Findings

The results of this paper underline the tendency to either absolve or blame women for gender inequality in politics through different interpretative repertoires: “Women’s disinterest toward politics,” “Politics as masculine context” and “Politics–family unbalance.” The analysis allowed to unravel the way in which the discursive practices create and reproduce the hegemonic gender order in politics.

Research limitations/implications

The research is limited to 30 qualitative interviews, and so results cannot be generalized.

Practical implications

The findings of this paper highlight the importance of exploring issues relating to the gender gap in politics and stress the need to implement actions to promote gender equality in politics.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to an understanding of women’s underrepresentation in politics and offers causes for reflection on a phenomenon that has profound implications for our society.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 37 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 January 2023

Sirje Virkus, Janika Leoste, Kristel Marmor, Tiina Kasuk and Aleksei Talisainen

Telepresence robots (TPRs) are an emerging field of application and research that have received attention from various disciplines, including computer science, telehealth and…

Abstract

Purpose

Telepresence robots (TPRs) are an emerging field of application and research that have received attention from various disciplines, including computer science, telehealth and education. The purpose of this study is to conduct a bibliometric analysis of publications on TPR in the Web of Science database from 1980 to 2022 to gain a better understanding of the state of research on TPRs and explore the role of pedagogical and psychological aspects in this research.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis of research publications on TPRs was made on the basis of papers published in the Web of Science database from 1980 to 2022. The following research questions were proposed: What are the main tendencies in publication years, document types, countries of origin, source titles, publication authors, affiliations of authors and the most cited articles related to TPRs? What are the main topics discussed in the publications from the perspective of psychology? What are the main topics discussed in the publications from the perspective of educational sciences?

Findings

The results indicate that it is in the computer science where most of the existing research has been conducted, whereas the interest in the psychology and educational science has been relatively low. The greatest regional contributor has been the USA, whereas the effort in the European Union lags behind. Research publications in psychology in the Web of Science database related to TPRs can be grouped into three broad thematic categories: features of TPRs, degree of social presence compared to physical presence or other mediated technologies and opportunities for using TPRs. The results suggest that from the perspective of psychology, TPRs are one of the approaches that could enable greater social presence in remote communication. Most of the analysed papers in educational sciences investigated the opportunities of using TPRs in various educational fields. However, while the findings of the studies indicated significant potential of TPRs for education, their acceptance for wider use is still challenged.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of this research are that this study only analysed research papers in the Web of Science database and therefore only covers a limited number of scientific papers published in the field of psychology and educational sciences on TPRs. In addition, only publications with the term “telepresence robots” in the topic area of the Web of Science database were analysed. Therefore, several relevant studies are not discussed in this paper that are not reflected in the Web of Science database or were related to other keywords.

Originality/value

The field of TPRs has not been explored using a bibliographic analysis of publications in the Web of Science database from the perspective of psychology and educational sciences. The findings of this paper will help researchers and academic staff better understand the state of research on TPRs and the pedagogical and psychological aspects addressed in this research.

Details

Information and Learning Sciences, vol. 124 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 May 2017

Sergio Barile, Cristina Simone and Mario Calabrese

This paper aims to focus on distributed technologies with the aim of highlighting their economic-organizational dimensions. In particular, the contribution first presents a deeper…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on distributed technologies with the aim of highlighting their economic-organizational dimensions. In particular, the contribution first presents a deeper understanding of the nature and the dynamics of the economies and diseconomies that arise from the adoption and diffusion of distributed technologies. Second, it aims to shed light on the increasing tension between the hierarchy-based model of production and peer-to-peer (p2p) production, which involves the pervasive diffusion of distributed technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

Adopting an economic-organizational perspective, which is deeply rooted in the related extant literature, an analytically consistent model is developed to simultaneously take into account the following variables: adoption density independent variable) and economies of knowledge integration and organizational diseconomies (the costs of a loss of control and the costs of organizational decoupling and recoupling) as dependent variables.

Findings

Distributed technologies allow access to a large quantity and a wide variety of cognitive slacks that have not been possible until now. In doing so, they are leading the transition towards p2p. This is an emerging production paradigm that is characterized – with respect to mass production – by a shift in the relative importance of cognitive slack in comparison with tangible slack. Nevertheless, the unrestrainable diffusion of distributed technologies is not neutral for organizations. On the one hand, these technologies allow for the integration of economies of knowledge, and on the other hand, they involve organizational diseconomies that should not be ignored by managers and researchers.

Originality/value

This paper fills a gap in the literature by developing a consistent analytical framework that simultaneously takes into account the economies of knowledge integration and potential organizational diseconomies (the costs of coordination and the loss of control) that arise from the adoption and diffusion of distributed technologies.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 46 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2005

Melissa Tyler

To consider Simone De Beauvoir's account of woman as Other, and particularly the appropriation of sexual difference, with reference to the gendered bifurcation and hierarchical…

4799

Abstract

Purpose

To consider Simone De Beauvoir's account of woman as Other, and particularly the appropriation of sexual difference, with reference to the gendered bifurcation and hierarchical organization of change management.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a review of relevant managerial texts, as well as a discussion of De Beauvoir's The Second Sex and related scholarship, the paper explores some of the ways in which men and women are “situated” within change management discourse.

Findings

Argues that within managerial discourse men are constructed as “effective” managers of change, whereas women are relegated to an “affective” support function, and that this can be understood as an appropriation of women's ascribed Otherness.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the ongoing development of a critical, feminist approach to the study of management. While acknowledging the many limitations of her work, it makes the case for a reappraisal of De Beauvoir's thinking in this respect.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 18 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

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