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1 – 10 of over 10000The current exploration and inclusion of spirituality across disciplines has, up to this point, focused largely on defining spirituality and creating practice and assessment…
Abstract
Purpose
The current exploration and inclusion of spirituality across disciplines has, up to this point, focused largely on defining spirituality and creating practice and assessment tools. Little has been done in building the foundational structures at the level of paradigm, theory, methods, measures and research methodology. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a section of findings resulting from a comprehensive qualitative research program using the process of meta-triangulation, which explored spiritual perspectives from paradigm to practice.
Findings
The results of this research begin to address gaps at these levels through the articulation of spiritual ways of knowing and the methods and measures that stem from them. Once articulated, it was possible to explore the parallels and differences between spiritual and physical ways of knowing, their methods and measures.
Originality/value
It is acknowledged that such research may be resisted by some factions as they attempt to maintain positions of power and privilege. Thus, this paper presents the research within this contested and turbulent landscape.
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This paper engaged in theory-building from social movement and knowledge management (KM) theories and applied the case study method to explore the role of knowledge complexity in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper engaged in theory-building from social movement and knowledge management (KM) theories and applied the case study method to explore the role of knowledge complexity in administration–society collaborations on knowledge. Complex knowledge is a kind of knowledge that consists of many interdependent elements, some of which are tacit. Complex knowledge creates challenges when external social groups attempt to transfer their knowledge to public organizations. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the following question: how do social groups acting as knowledge agents transfer their knowledge if it is complex?
Design/methodology/approach
A single-case study methodology informs the theory-building in this paper. The paper examined a case of collaboration between the natural childbirthing social movement and state maternity hospitals in Russia and Ukraine. The case was constructed from interviews, primary sources and secondary sources.
Findings
Social movement and KM theories were used in a case analysis to formulate theoretical propositions about the complexity of social movement knowledge, why and how movements transfer their knowledge through collaborations with the state, and how administrators assess movement knowledge and its transfer. The case suggests that administrators’ lack of capacity to recognize and deal with complex knowledge results in the underutilization of social groups’ knowledge. In particular, administrators treat complex knowledge as simple, and they misunderstand and underestimate its effects on collaboration.
Originality/value
To the best of this author’s knowledge, this paper is the first attempt in public administration to engage in theory-building from social movement and KM theories.
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Thao Thi Nguyen and Sarah Neal
In this study, the authors determined the prevalence of contraceptive use among Pakistani women and assessed factors influencing the utilization of contraception with a particular…
Abstract
Purpose
In this study, the authors determined the prevalence of contraceptive use among Pakistani women and assessed factors influencing the utilization of contraception with a particular focus on the experience of gender-based violence.
Design/methodology/approach
The dataset used in this study was the Pakistan Demographic Health Survey 2018, which includes married women only. Bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were used to investigate the association between contraceptive use and a number of explanatory variables including experience of gender-based violence.
Findings
From 2006 to 2018, the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) and the use of modern contraceptive methods increased slowly. The findings of this study demonstrated that higher educational level and wealth index increased the likelihood of contraceptive uptake and the use of modern contraception. Media exposure to family planning and spousal communication were protective factors that encouraged women to use contraception, including modern contraception, to avoid unwanted pregnancy. Women who experienced gender-based violence (GBV) were more likely to use contraception than women who did not experience GBV.
Research limitations/implications
The use of secondary data limited the variety of important variable that should be investigated including knowledge of women on SRH, the attitude of women toward SRH and family planning, the skills of a healthcare provider on counseling family planning, and other barrier variables such as transportation and willingness to pay for contraceptive methods. 10;The sensitivity of the topic is considered as another challenge when collecting data. Women might be hesitant to share about their GBV experience. The experience to GBV is also hard to define and depends on the feeling of each person, especially emotional violence.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the very few studies to examine the association between GBV and contraceptive use, and thus is valuable in opening up debate about the links between these two factors.
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In 2022, the new normal era began to experience an increase in the number of tourists visiting Bali. Even though spiritual tourism was optimistic in attracting foreign visitors…
Abstract
Purpose
In 2022, the new normal era began to experience an increase in the number of tourists visiting Bali. Even though spiritual tourism was optimistic in attracting foreign visitors, most tourists come from nearby nations like Australia, indicating that the visits had a brief duration in this new era. To sustain the income of spiritual tourism advocates, it is possible to overcome the brief visit. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the collaboration of digitalized spiritual tourism activities in 2022. Data were collected through literature study, observation and in-depth interviews to determine the spiritual tourism hybrid business. The result showed that the digitalization of spiritual tourism builds an on-off hybrid method in marketing and products, thus developing a theory of the characteristics. This on-off hybrid provides a touch of experience for tourists to visit directly. Therefore, digitalization builds the resilience of spiritual tourism in the new normal era through marketing and service of hybrid products.
Design/methodology/approach
The gap between word-of-mouth marketing habits, direct product service and the tendency to digitize creates adaptation problems that take time. These problems make a practical contribution to building marketing and spiritual tourism products. The theoretical contribution is to build integrated marketing and spiritual tourism digital product concepts. A qualitative research method was adopted because the population of spiritual tourism is very limited. Therefore, it needs to be explored through experienced and knowledgeable informants. Literature study, observation and in-depth interviews were used to collect data. The literature study technique collects data from written sources, namely books, articles and internet sources. Observations were made by analyzing non-participants by recording various marketing activities and services for spiritual tourism products. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with informants about digitalization in the new normal era.
Findings
The result showed that the digitalization of spiritual tourism builds an on-off hybrid method in marketing and products, thus developing a theory of the characteristics. This on-off hybrid provides a touch of experience for tourists to visit directly. Therefore, digitalization builds the resilience of spiritual tourism in the new normal era through marketing and service of hybrid products.
Originality/value
The method has successfully built digital and direct visit products. Digital products share knowledge, while direct visit products serve to gain hands-on experience. These products provide income for spiritual tourism actors. However, direct visit products are more emphasized to spread income, such as hotels, restaurants and souvenirs. This development provides a theoretical implication that the characteristics of tourism products can be enjoyed at the service provider’s premises and the area of origin of tourists with digital technology. Therefore, digitalization has changed the theory of the characteristics of tourism products from having to be enjoyed by service providers (Yoeti, 1991).
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The purpose of this research is to enable the examination of sensemaking mechanisms, inherent in the discourse of organizational spirituality (OS), which embed meanings this…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to enable the examination of sensemaking mechanisms, inherent in the discourse of organizational spirituality (OS), which embed meanings this discourse creates. In order to achieve this goal the paper explores the pivotal notion of “spirituality” in OS, examines the conditions of emergence of its main characteristics, and inquires into OS participants' mental processes which help to sustain it. Thus, the conceptual space is critically explored in which organizational actors make their commitments to attain goals by spiritual means and in which the alleged causal mechanisms operate.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach taken is a critical analysis of literature and empirical material.
Findings
The logic of OS conceptual framework is vastly inconsistent with rationalism, which underpins typical functionalist assertions of OS proponents. The central OS notion – spirituality – lacks concrete and independent characteristics. It can be perceived as a mere classification tool which groups together certain “positive” phenomena, perspectives or outcomes. The legitimacy of this operation within the discourse is guaranteed by its episteme – the set of rules, which makes certain moves possible and excludes some others. It may easily enforce or preclude the particular interpretations of organizational reality or validity of certain initiatives. The latter hints at the political dimension of OS.
Research limitations/implications
Potential researchers should be sensitive to the issues of logical circularity of OS discourse and its degree of incoherence with rationalist assumptions. The design of research on OS should attempt to delve into meanings created by OS discourse profiting from proximity to research subjects ensured by careful application of qualitative methods. Research could focus more on the political dimension: issues of power relations; methods of exerting influence; gaining support, etc., instead of contemplating more vague territories which OS studies seem inclined to explore. These results refer to a limited number of participants and organizations and are not fully generalizable, which is inevitable in qualitative research. The geographical concentration of the research sample might have affected the results to some extent, however this fact is innocuous to the overall validity of this study.
Originality/value
Beyond the scope of many recent papers that emphasize the positive role of organizational spirituality as a means of attaining particular objectives, the paper offers an alternative approach in which OS makes such calculations very difficult, and yet creates conditions which are conducive to advancing OS participants' political agendas.
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Patient‐defined spiritual aspects of mental health care are an understudied and potentially important aspect to non‐pharmaceutical treatments. A review of this area will lead to…
Abstract
Purpose
Patient‐defined spiritual aspects of mental health care are an understudied and potentially important aspect to non‐pharmaceutical treatments. A review of this area will lead to improved rigorous research and better patient outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to examine the public health implications of spiritual healing practice, in conditions such as depression.
Design/methodology/approach
The current research into spiritual healing was reviewed, and in particular its use in depression. Scientific and anecdotal evidence was considered, and areas of improvement were identified.
Findings
The attitudes of physicians and patients may affect the efficacy of patient‐defined spiritual healing, which is currently lacking in rigorous academic research. A better scientific understanding may aid in a cost‐benefit analysis of such treatments in the future.
Originality/value
This paper should aid those involved in public health‐care planning or who practice psychotherapeutic methods to ensure they utilise all possible methods, whilst working within a rigorous evidence‐based framework.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore one broad question: what do information, information processes, information services, as well as information systems and technology have to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore one broad question: what do information, information processes, information services, as well as information systems and technology have to do with the spiritual?
Design/methodology/approach
The task is accomplished by conducting a literature review of 31 refereed texts in information studies. The paper proceeds by inspecting the manifestation of spirituality in information sources, generic information processes, as well as specific information processes: conceptualizing, seeking, processing, using, storing, describing and providing information.
Findings
A total of 11 relationships between information phenomena and the spiritual are discovered. Based on these, a definition of spiritual information is put forth. There are also some descriptive statistics on the corpus as a whole.
Research limitations/implications
The results are susceptible to limitations imposed by the reviewed studies themselves. Errors of interpretation were a possibility. The article suggests many directions for further research in the context of the spiritual, and discusses how to view spirituality in information science.
Practical implications
Practical implications are only mentioned here and there, because research implications are of primary concern in the investigation.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to synthesize information research in the spiritual domain. Beyond the subject area, the article demonstrates how to classify information processes, and conduct a context‐centric literature review in the field of information studies.
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Reetesh K. Singh and Saumya Singh
The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review of the extant literature of workplace spirituality (WPS) in a manner that helps us trace its emergence in management…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review of the extant literature of workplace spirituality (WPS) in a manner that helps us trace its emergence in management practices in the past twelve years and to identify the gaps to be addressed by researchers in near future.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-step screening process was followed to extract the papers from various databases. The paper reviews one hundred fifty-nine conceptual and empirical articles published in more than fifty journals from 2010 to 2021. Leading databases like EBSCO, Scopus and ProQuest were extensively searched. The papers were analysed and grouped to arrive at the themes and classification criteria.
Findings
Despite numerous studies and extensive research in the past decade, the construct of WPS lacks a conclusive definition and has overlapping dimensions. It is a multidimensional concept having personal, psychological and social aspects. It is a dominant field in organisational behaviour domain.
Research limitations/implications
The review explains the multidisciplinary nature of WPS, having roots in organisational behaviour, psychology and theology. Further, the paper provides a clear picture of the present state of literature and enumerates future research avenues which will enable the researchers to further expand the area of WPS.
Practical implications
The review highlights multiple positive attitudinal outcomes that managers can attain through WPS-related initiatives. Various techniques like prayer breaks, meditation and yoga can be used by the managers for spiritual incorporation process.
Originality/value
This study acquires significance, for, unlike previous studies, it does not propose that inclusion of WPS will always be gainful, rather it also broaches its potential harm, if incorporated sans due caution. Considering the complexity of spiritual beliefs, it will enable managers to weigh the pros-cons of such inclusion. The research gaps identified in the review will help future researchers in furthering the field of WPS.
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The basic idea of this chapter is to utilize spiritual information in empirically exploring how its purported source beings view the impacts of such information upon various…
Abstract
The basic idea of this chapter is to utilize spiritual information in empirically exploring how its purported source beings view the impacts of such information upon various phenomena. This chapter aims at discovering and describing the most central effect dimensions in this context and, by so doing, at building theoretical constructs. The empirical work was done during 2005–2009 in Finland. Because of the relative novelty of the research topic, an inductive approach was applied. The research data were composed of a representative sample of 62 spiritual texts (printed books and articles, as well as Web and e-mail articles). The chapter examines the discovered categories and their subcategories, shows the most salient connections between them and discusses the findings in the context of previous research. The investigation explored two dimensions: the targets and actuality of the impacts of spiritual information. The impact targets were classified as organisms (human individuals, human communities, extraterrestrials, spirits), things (parts of beings, objects, information, situations), processes (events, practices, life) and spaces (areas, Earth, universe). The actuality of the impacts of spiritual information fell under these categories: desired (implicitly desired, intended, explicitly desired, requisitioned) impacts, real (possible, believed, factual, alternative) impacts, nonexistent (hypothetical, no) impacts, as well as conditional (on supernatural sender, information, humans, situation) and unconditional impacts. This inquiry revealed several new varieties of information impact and even built whole new typologies, because quite little was known about both the targets and actuality of the impacts of information before the present study.