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Article
Publication date: 12 October 2012

Stefan Larsson, Måns Svensson, Marcin de Kaminski, Kari Rönkkö and Johanna Alkan Olsson

The purpose of this study is to understand more of online anonymity in the global file sharing community in the context of social norms and copyright law. The study describes the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to understand more of online anonymity in the global file sharing community in the context of social norms and copyright law. The study describes the respondents in terms of use of VPN or similar service related to age, gender, geographical location, as well as analysing the correlation with file sharing frequencies.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is to a large extent descriptively collecting data through a web‐based survey. This was carried out in collaboration with the BitTorrent tracker The Pirate Bay (TPB), allowing the authors to link the survey from the main logo of their site. In 72 hours the authors received over 75,000 responses, which gives the opportunity to compare use of anonymity services with factors of age, geographical region, file sharing frequency, etc.

Findings

Overall, 17.8 per cent of the respondents use a VPN or similar service (free or paid). A core of high frequency uploaders is more inclined to use VPN or similar services than the average file sharer. Online anonymity practices in the file sharing community are depending on how legal and social norms correlate (more enforcement means more anonymity).

Research limitations/implications

The web‐based survey was in English and mainly attracted visitors on The Pirate Bays' web page. This means that it is likely that those who do not have the language skills necessary were excluded from the survey.

Practical implications

This study adds to the knowledge of anonymity practices online in terms of traceability and identification. This means that it shows some of the conditions for legal enforcement in a digital environment.

Social implications

This study adds to the knowledge of how the Internet is changing in terms of a polarization between stronger means of legally enforced identification and a growing awareness of how to be more untraceable.

Originality/value

The scale of the survey, with over 75,000 respondents from most parts of the world, has likely not been seen before on this topic. The descriptive study of anonymity practices in the global file sharing community is therefore likely unique.

Details

Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, vol. 6 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7122

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 1995

Rod Gerber, Colin Lankshear, Stefan Larsson and Lennart Svensson

The understanding that theorists and practitioners hold ofself‐directed learning can vary depending on the context in which theyfind themselves. In an effort to understand these…

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Abstract

The understanding that theorists and practitioners hold of self‐directed learning can vary depending on the context in which they find themselves. In an effort to understand these variations, attempts to synthesize theoretical understandings of the concept of self‐directed learning in the workplace. Includes an empirical study involving 21 white‐collar employees in four Australian businesses. Reveals six variations in the workers′ conception of the experience of self‐directed learning in their jobs. Provides a brief comparative discussion of the results of synthesis of the literature and those from the empirical study.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 37 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

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Article
Publication date: 1 October 1998

Rod Gerber

It is often assumed by management in different workplaces that the people who work there acquire their training before they take up a job or that they are trained in their job…

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Abstract

It is often assumed by management in different workplaces that the people who work there acquire their training before they take up a job or that they are trained in their job. Learning is a lifelong process that should be embraced by all workers. Increasing interest is being placed on companies as learning organisations in which the employees collectively contribute to the improvement of the workplace enterprise. However, modest attention has been paid to the ways by which people learn in their work. This article indicates, based on considerable worksite research, that how people learn in their work is a complex process characterised by a range of variations. Management in different worksites needs to understand the diversity of approaches by workers to learning in their jobs and offer opportunities for such activities to be continuous, reflective, individualised and/or collective. A more effective workforce will result if the workers can maximise learning in their work.

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 July 2020

Rene Kaiser, Stefan Thalmann and Viktoria Pammer-Schindler

This paper aims to report an interview study investigating knowledge protection practices in a collaborative research and innovation project centred around the semi-conductor…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to report an interview study investigating knowledge protection practices in a collaborative research and innovation project centred around the semi-conductor industry. The authors explore which and how knowledge protection practices are applied and zoom in on a particular one to investigate the perspective of three stakeholders which collaborate: the SUPPLIER of a specialised machine, the APPLIER of this machine and a SCHOLAR who collaborates with both, in an effort to develop a grey-box model of the machine and its operation.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 33 interviews have been conducted in two rounds: 30 interviews explore knowledge protection practices applied across a large project. Qualitative content analysis is applied to determine practices not well covered by the research community. A total of three follow-up interviews inspect one specific collaboration case of three partners. Quotes from all interviews are used to illustrate the participants’ viewpoints and motivation.

Findings

SCHOLAR and APPLIER communicate using a data-centric knowledge protection practice, in that concrete parameter values are sensitive and hidden by communicating data within a wider parameter range. This practice balances the benefit that all three stakeholders have from communicating about specifics of machine design and operations. The grey-box model combines engineering knowledge of both SUPPLIER and APPLIER.

Practical implications

The line of thought described in this study is applicable to comparable collaboration constellations of a SUPPLIER of a machine, an APPLIER of a machine and a SCHOLAR who analyses and draws insights out of data.

Originality/value

The paper fills a research gap by reporting on applied knowledge protection practices and characterising a data-centric knowledge protection practice around a grey-box model.

Details

VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems, vol. 51 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5891

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 March 2020

Yvonne Lagrosen and Stefan Lagrosen

The purpose of this paper is to examine gender differences regarding the experience of workplace health and quality management. In this context, we include some factors of work…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine gender differences regarding the experience of workplace health and quality management. In this context, we include some factors of work environment that have previously been shown to be related to health such as workplace learning, stress, flow and sense of coherence.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire based on previous research was constructed. It was delivered to a population of Swedish upper secondary school teachers. Three hundred eleven responses were returned. They were analysed for gender differences with t-tests and chi-square tests.

Findings

The results show that women's experience of their health is worse than men's despite having a generally better experience of the quality management values, workplace learning and flow. Moreover, women experience more stress, and they are more often subjected to sexual harassment while men more frequently had been exposed to physical violence.

Research limitations/implications

The study has implications for research in that it indicates that although women have better experiences of many of the factors that previous research has shown to be related to workplace health, their health is actually worse. A limitation is that the response rate was low.

Practical implications

The findings should be useful for managers attempting to improve the workplace health of their staff. The finding that women report less health than men even though experiencing quality management values more, means that women's health need a particular focus in secondary schools.

Originality/value

The connection between health and quality management has not been previously studied from a gender perspective.

Details

International Journal of Workplace Health Management, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8351

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Article
Publication date: 18 June 2019

Yvonne Lagrosen and Stefan Olof Lagrosen

In previous research, quality management practices have been found to be related to better health for employees. Dimensions of health-promoting quality leadership have been…

Abstract

Purpose

In previous research, quality management practices have been found to be related to better health for employees. Dimensions of health-promoting quality leadership have been defined. The purpose of this study was to identify dimensions of workplace health in the wellness industry and relate them to the dimensions of health-promoting quality leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical study involving seven leading spa-hotels in Sweden has been carried out. The first part of the study consisted of quality cafés carried out at each of the hotels. The quality café is a novel method, which has the World Café-method as its basis, combined with quality management techniques. Based on the findings from the quality cafés, an employee survey was developed.

Findings

The findings from the study include a definition of five major health dimensions for the employees, namely, happiness, kinship, respect, physical health conditions and control. The dimensions were found to be statistically consistent and correlated with the self-reported health of the respondents.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are related to health promotion theory and the dimensions of health-promoting quality leadership. A framework for health leadership in the wellness industry is proposed. The study was only carried out in one country.

Practical implications

The framework and the findings should be useful for managers, particularly in the wellness sector, when designing their operations and health promotion activities.

Originality/value

Workplace health in the wellness sector, which is growing worldwide, is very scarcely researched.

Details

International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-669X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 August 2008

Stefan Olander and Anne Landin

The public activity of controlling land use is exerted through the planning process. The purpose of this paper is to examine how housing developers perceive different aspects of…

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Abstract

Purpose

The public activity of controlling land use is exerted through the planning process. The purpose of this paper is to examine how housing developers perceive different aspects of the planning process, and if these perceptions might act as a constraint for the development of new housing projects.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey, based on a questionnaire, has been conducted with housing development companies having at least one project initiated during the period 2001‐2004 and with municipal housing companies with responsibility for providing affordable rental housing. The study focused on the assertions contained in the questionnaire, which were measured statistically with a t‐test, to establish if the respondents agreed with the stated assertions. Additional information was achieved from factual and open questions to the respondents of the survey.

Findings

The study shows that the housing developers do perceive the planning process as a factor of uncertainty in the development of new housing projects. Responsibility for making the planning process less uncertain lies both with planning officials and housing developers. However, housing developers cannot directly affect how the planning process is organised and controlled. Thus, housing developers need to decrease the uncertainty by performing stakeholder and risk analysis before acquisition of land.

Originality/value

The study has found that there is evidence of reasonable concern on the part of housing development companies that should be taken seriously by planning authorities. The findings imply that greater transparency in the process would go hand‐in‐hand with a more consistent approach and thus more certain outcomes.

Details

International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, vol. 1 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8270

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Article
Publication date: 1 April 2004

Per Granath, Stefan Alariksson and Sverker Axelsson

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) is in the process of transition from paper‐based to electronic administration. This process includes the…

Abstract

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) is in the process of transition from paper‐based to electronic administration. This process includes the introduction of new methods that are based on routines and functions for electronic document management. The electronic administration is adapted to the legal requirements of the Swedish public sector and also includes the agency’s register of incoming and outgoing mail and archives. In the article the authors present the operational concept behind the major process of change being implemented by Sida and its anticipated effects together with the consequences of the change for archives work. Finally, an explanation of the Swedish principle of public access to official records and other legal aspects that affect Sida’s project for an electronic administration is provided.

Details

Records Management Journal, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-5698

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Article
Publication date: 4 February 2019

Sofia Garcia-Torres, Laura Albareda, Marta Rey-Garcia and Stefan Seuring

This paper aims to examine how companies enact traceability in their global supply chains (SCs) to achieve sustainability goals and how this so-called traceability for…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how companies enact traceability in their global supply chains (SCs) to achieve sustainability goals and how this so-called traceability for sustainability (TfS) can contribute to (sustainable) supply chain management ([S]SCM). For this, the paper focuses on the paramount example of the apparel industry.

Design/methodology/approach

This study presents an integrative and systematic literature review of 89 peer-reviewed journal articles on the confluence of traceability and sustainability in global apparel SCs. It comprises content analysis and abductive category-building based on previous literature.

Findings

A conceptual framework emerges to describe TfS as an evolving cycle, comprising three dimensions: governance, collaboration and tracking and tracing. Resources and capabilities literature set the foundations for conceiving TfS as a distinctive meta-capability construct. Hence, besides being associated to increased performance, risk management and SC process transformation, TfS ultimately blurs boundaries and integrates non-traditional SC actors into the same ecosystem with important implications for sustainability and (S)SCM. This study refers to the industrial upgrading potential of global SCs to explain how leveraging enabling technologies for TfS may help to improve the triple-bottom-line (TBL) performance of the actors in the broad ecosystem while reducing the risks associated to those technologies. Thus, TfS can contribute to (S)SCM and to TBL sustainability within and beyond SC boundaries.

Originality/value

This study conceptually frames (S)SCM exploring TfS as a meta-capability and contributes to the underexplored question of how to achieve sustainability in global SCs.

Details

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-8546

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Article
Publication date: 9 February 2015

Rudolf R. Sinkovics, Noemi Sinkovics, Yong Kyu Lew, Mohd Haniff Jedin and Stefan Zagelmeyer

The purpose of this paper is to examine operational-level implementation issues regarding mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in general, and resource combination and integration at…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine operational-level implementation issues regarding mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in general, and resource combination and integration at the functional marketing level in particular.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper introduces four factors (i.e. collaboration, interaction, marketing synergy, and the realignment of marketing resources) that support successful M&A marketing integration and enhance overall M&A performance.

Findings

The results indicate that marketing synergy and the realignment of marketing resources contribute significantly to the extent of integration. At the same time, the authors find a significant but negative relationship between the interaction dimension and the speed of integration.

Originality/value

The cultural integration of firms that feature different management styles and organizational cultures has been recognized as a particularly challenging aspect of cross-border M&As. This study explains factors that contribute to effective marketing integration in M&As.

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

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