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1 – 4 of 4Camilla Hällgren and Åsa Björk
This conceptual paper takes identity, digital technology, young people and education as a combined starting point and suggests how to research young people’s identity practices in…
Abstract
Purpose
This conceptual paper takes identity, digital technology, young people and education as a combined starting point and suggests how to research young people’s identity practices in and out of school. Today’s young people form their identities in a world that is increasingly imbued by digital technologies. What is evident too is that these technologies and the use of them are not restricted to one single context. Rather, digital technologies mediate multiple contexts simultaneously – to an extent where they collapse. This means that school and leisure time, public and private, digital and analog, virtual and material, time and place, social contexts and audiences, through digital technology, merge in various ways in young people’s identity practices and everyday life.
Design/methodology/approach
Little is known about what identity practices in collapsing contexts means to young people in their lives and how educators and others can support them. Most studies to date investigate digital technology use as a discrete phenomenon and few studies concern young people’s identity practices in contexts, as they occur. In an increasingly digital world, where dependency on digital technologies continues this forms an urgent knowledge gap to bridge. In particular to guide educators, and others, who support young people as they live and learn through interconnected spaces in and out of school. The conceptual approach of this paper is of importance to better understand how to bridge this gap.
Findings
This paper suggests a research approach that extends previous research at the intersection of identity, young people, digital technology by outlining extended ways for thinking about identity in a digital world that can be useful for investigating identity as an existential practice, extending beyond identity representations, in conditions mediated by contemporary digital technologies and in collapsing contexts. What is also included are methodological considerations about researching young people, identity and technology as dynamic research objects, rendering a holistic approach.
Research limitations/implications
It is a conceptual paper that addresses identity, digital technology, young people and education as a combined starting point to outline further research.
Originality/value
The Guided Tour Technique and Social Media Research is suggested as possible methodologies for holistic and ethically sensitive, empirical research on identity, digital technology, young people and education.
Details
Keywords
John M. Violanti, Ja K. Gu, Luenda E. Charles, Desta Fekedulegn and Michael E. Andrew
This study is a mortality assessment on police officers (68-years, 1950–2018) and includes all causes of death.
Abstract
Purpose
This study is a mortality assessment on police officers (68-years, 1950–2018) and includes all causes of death.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors investigated 1,853 police deaths (1950–2018) using sources of mortality that included the National Death Index, NY State, and available records from the Buffalo NY police department. Standardized Mortality Ratios were calculated. Death codes were obtained from 8th and 9th International Classification of Disease revisions in accordance with the year of death.
Findings
Compared to the US general population, white male police officers from 1950–2018 had elevated mortality rates for some causes of death, including diseases of the circulatory system, malignant neoplasms, cirrhosis of the liver, and mental disorders. Black and female officers had lower mortality rates for all causes of death compared to the general population.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of elevated risk for chronic disease among police need to be studied in relation to stress, lifestyle, and exposure to chemical and physical agents. There is a special need to further study officers from minority populations as larger samples become available.
Practical implications
The results of this study will provide police and occupational health practitioners with objective evidence to determine the health impact of work on law enforcement officers.
Originality/value
This study is longest running mortality assessment on police officers ever conducted (1950–2018) and includes white, black, and female officers.
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Keywords
Kunio Shirahada and Alan Wilson
Given the importance of senior volunteers in an ageing society, this study aims to deepen the understanding of how seniors create well-being by volunteering as service providers…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the importance of senior volunteers in an ageing society, this study aims to deepen the understanding of how seniors create well-being by volunteering as service providers in terms of motivations for volunteer participation and value co-creation/co-destruction in service provision.
Design/methodology/approach
Focussing on senior volunteers acting as service providers in the tourism sector, this study conducted a programme of qualitative research with 15 senior volunteer tour guides in Japan and the UK through the purposive sampling method. The data were analysed by the Gioia method to identify data structure and create a conceptual model.
Findings
Seniors start with a mixture of different motivations, not only symbolic and health ones. However, after a certain period of training, they become more aware of their volunteer role as service providers and may strive to maximise the benefits to their clients. The overall performance of such a role supports their well-being. They may also experience episodes of value co-destruction; such negative experiences may be overcome by building good relationships with their colleagues in the organisation.
Practical implications
The paper identifies organisational support ideas for senior service provider volunteers aimed at overcoming negative experiences and achieving well-being, in terms of training and improved communication between organisation members.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the transformative service research literature by constructing a model to showcase the relationship amongst expectations of volunteering as a service provider, service delivery and well-being creation. This paper also discusses the positive and negative effects of volunteer service delivery on senior volunteers' well-being.
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