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1 – 10 of 10
Article
Publication date: 26 September 2008

Thomas N. Garavan, John P. Wilson, Christine Cross, Ronan Carbery, Inga Sieben, Andries de Grip, Christer Strandberg, Claire Gubbins, Valerie Shanahan, Carole Hogan, Martin McCracken and Norma Heaton

Utilising data from 18 in‐depth case studies, this study seeks to explore training, development and human resource development (HRD) practices in European call centres. It aims to…

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Abstract

Purpose

Utilising data from 18 in‐depth case studies, this study seeks to explore training, development and human resource development (HRD) practices in European call centres. It aims to argue that the complexity and diversity of training, development and HRD practices is best understood by studying the multilayered contexts within which call centres operate. Call centres operate as open systems and training, development and HRD practices are influenced by environmental, strategic, organisational and temporal conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilised a range of research methods, including in‐depth interviews with multiple stakeholders, documentary analysis and observation. The study was conducted over a two‐year period.

Findings

The results indicate that normative models of HRD are not particularly valuable and that training, development and HRD in call centres is emergent and highly complex.

Originality/value

This study represents one of the first studies to investigate training and development and HRD practices and systems in European call centres.

Details

Journal of European Industrial Training, vol. 32 no. 8/9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0590

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 8 March 2017

Ingrid E. Castro

Exploring the “How?” and “Why?” of children’s agency through the employment of strategies to listen and to participate within parent interviews, this chapter addresses various…

Abstract

Exploring the “How?” and “Why?” of children’s agency through the employment of strategies to listen and to participate within parent interviews, this chapter addresses various “agency routes” children used in the effort to contribute their voices to adult conversations. The generational relationship between children and parents is tempered by children’s ownership claims to shared spaces within the home, which allowed them the room to defy parents’ directives to “Go Away!” Children utilized three different tactics of defiance (overt, quiet, and covert) in the attempt to listen and be heard, and in the process were motivated to participate in five distinct ways, which included: (1) informative, (2) corrective, (3) instructive, (4) investigative, and (5) expressive participation. Concluding with a call to recognize children’s voices as more than merely “background noise” when transcribing interviews, I encourage researchers in childhood studies to potentially revisit data collected in the effort to further theorize children’s agency as situated within generationality, contributing to a recontextualized framework of analysis.

Details

Researching Children and Youth: Methodological Issues, Strategies, and Innovations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-098-1

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 17 September 2018

Valerie Nesset and Mary McVee

Purpose – Introduces the beginning, acting, telling (BAT) model, designed for use in the elementary school classroom and based on the findings of research into information-seeking…

Abstract

Purpose – Introduces the beginning, acting, telling (BAT) model, designed for use in the elementary school classroom and based on the findings of research into information-seeking behavior and information literacy. The BAT model, by its use of visual cues and mnemonic to present stages and actions of the research process helps students to better conceptualize the research process. The BAT model’s identification of cognitive and affective behaviors, and depiction of features of information literacy instruction including the preparation of students to begin actual research and make effective use of the retrieved information, can help pre-service and in-service teachers be aware of strategic consideration of information literacy in the English Language Arts.

Design – The research design of the two studies that informed the model, each involving two classes of third-grade elementary school students, was qualitative. Data were collected via participant observation, interviews, artifacts produced by the students, pre- and post-questionnaires, and journals.

Findings – The visual presentation of the BAT model along with its use of mnemonic helped students to more easily conceptualize and remember a holistic research process where concrete actions and abstract concepts are related to and influence one another. Use of the BAT model within a project-based inquiry learning environment to teach content helped to reinforce research skills to form a foundation upon which to build in the future.

Practical Implications – By presenting the key aspects of the research process in one visual, the BAT model can help students in the earliest grades of elementary school and forward into high school to better conceptualize and navigate the often iterative and complex nature of the research process.

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 28 May 2021

Abstract

Details

Mass Mediated Representations of Crime and Criminality
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-759-3

Article
Publication date: 14 September 2015

Valerie A. Storey, Tom Vitale and M. G. Robinson

The purpose of this paper is to address the following assertions: first, the Laboratories of Practice (LoP) promotes professional growth. Second, the LoP enhances understanding of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the following assertions: first, the Laboratories of Practice (LoP) promotes professional growth. Second, the LoP enhances understanding of program design and delivery. Finally, the LoP has a financial value both to the organization where the LoP took place and to the university. The paper examines the responses of program candidates from two cohorts and the community partners they served to a survey focussed on the LoPs.

Design/methodology/approach

In summer 2012, Cohort 1 students and their mentors completed a survey, a milestone paper, and reflective papers. LoP mentors (critical friends (CF)) were invited to give feedback on the LoP and the program candidate. In summer 2013, data were gathered via online surveys, milestone paper, and reflection papers from two program cohorts who experienced a LoP. In total, 48 students participated in the research.

Findings

In relation to assertion no. 1, both the community partners’ and the students’ experiences with respect to the LoP made clear that the fieldwork has yielded positive outcomes. Students have found that they were able to draw from the classroom learnings to address the problems of practice in the real world setting. They reflected on lessons learned about themselves as well as the process itself, which sometimes resulted in redefining the problem at hand. Finally, the goals that were accomplished by the students during the LoP experience provided them with immense satisfaction, next steps, and, in some cases, the affirmation of their choice to participate in a professional practice doctorate. In relation to assertion no. 2, LoP data have been used by faculty to refine and improve the program and the LoP experience itself. In relation to assertion no. 3, while field mentors (CF) indicate that the services provided by the students during their LoP were invaluable and provided significant insights and improvements in their workplace, it was a challenge to assign a specific financial value to the LoP.

Research limitations/implications

In terms of the internal validity of the study, it is possible that the findings are weakened due to the reliance on doctoral candidates and their mentors from one professional practice doctorate, and the potential for recall bias. In the future, a longitudinal or multiple source research study would have a much stronger internal validity. In terms of external validity, the study can only be reasonably generalized to doctoral students in professional practice doctorates grounded by CPED principles.

Practical implications

While each LoP is highly individual, the process does require the candidates to reflect on their professional practice and their professional growth. CF facilitate reflection and conceptual thought, thereby developing professional practice. LoPs appear to be of value both to the individual and to their organizational context.

Social implications

Students’ and LoP employers’ survey responses, established and/or furthered excellent relationships with many community partners, and provided quantifiable evidence of accomplishments.

Originality/value

Many professional practice doctorates are struggling with what a LoP in the field should and could look like and the benefits of a LoP. This is an innovative paper as it explains the development and learning from one program that is becoming identified with its LoP. It is likely that university faculty will be interested in the design of the LoP and the value of the LoP as indicated by the survey results to the student, mentor, faculty, and program.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2014

Rachel G. Ragland

An investigation of how secondary history teacher education candidates implemented research-based instructional practices for instruction is described as a model of pre-service…

Abstract

An investigation of how secondary history teacher education candidates implemented research-based instructional practices for instruction is described as a model of pre-service teacher preparation for social studies teachers. Cohorts of candidates participated in a five-year project while enrolled in a discipline-specific capstone senior methods course and subsequent student teaching experiences. Candidates were surveyed and interviewed concerning their use of, and feelings about, twelve instructional strategies developed with a focus on authentic history pedagogy. Surveys were administered three times: before the secondary social studies methods course, after the methods course, and after student teaching. A variation on the Concerns-Based Adoption Model was used to measure the levels of use and stages of concern of the candidates. Artifacts of practice, including lesson plans from a model unit plan and actual student teaching, also were analyzed to document use of the strategies. Results indicate an increasingly high level of implementation of and comfort with the strategies, as well as the developmental nature of the process. Implications and recommendations for pre-service activities in history teacher education are presented.

Article
Publication date: 14 December 2018

Valérie Hémar-Nicolas and Pascale Ezan

The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of what well-being means to children in the food context and to formulate recommendations about the way food…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of what well-being means to children in the food context and to formulate recommendations about the way food retailers may take actions to promote children’s food well-being (FWB).

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study based on a child-centric perspective is conducted with 25 French children aged 6–11 years. The data collection and analysis use both verbal and graphic data methods including focus groups and drawings in order to help children express their feelings and thoughts.

Findings

The findings put forward that according to children, the concept of FWB relies on five dimensions: sensory taste, health, commensality, empowerment and altruistic behaviours. Their discourses suggest that food practices contributes to objective, hedonic, eudaemonic and social well-being on the short and long term.

Practical implications

Based on children’s intrinsic needs for pleasure and empowerment, our recommendations highlight how food retailers might rethink their own-label offering, retail environment and communication to take into account young consumers’ FWB.

Originality/value

Drawing upon the concept of FWB and positive psychology, the authors do not only examine children’s food representations through a nutritional lens, but enlarge the scope to show how physical, emotional, psychological and social factors, involved in food context, contribute to different aspects of well-being.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 47 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 June 2019

Marlon Dalmoro, Giuliana Isabella, Stefânia Ordovás de Almeida and João Pedro dos Santos Fleck

This paper aims to investigate how the physical and sensory environmental triggers interact with subjective consumer evaluations in the production of shopping experiences, an…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how the physical and sensory environmental triggers interact with subjective consumer evaluations in the production of shopping experiences, an under-investigated theme, despite its relevance.

Design/methodology/approach

An interpretative multi-method approach was used by combining video observation with camera eyeglasses and in-depth interviews with 30 customers of a department store.

Findings

Results offer a holistic framework with four-dimensional axial combination involving physical comfort, psychological comfort, physical product evaluation and sensorial product evaluation. Based on this framework, results highlight the role of comfort and products in producing shopping experience in ordinary store visits.

Research limitations/implications

The findings contribute both to consumer experience studies and to the retail marketing literature in shading a light on experience production in ordinary store visits. Specifically, we detail these visits not as a static response to a given environment stimulus, but as a simultaneous objective and subjective combination able to produce experience.

Practical implications

The results encourage managers to understand the experience production not just as an outcome of managerially influenced elements, like décor or odor. It involves considering subjective elements in the design of consumers’ physical and sensorial retail experiences.

Originality/value

Adopting an innovative method of empirical data collection, results generated a framework that integrates the objective shopping environment and subjective consumer responses. This research considers the role of comfort and product features and quality both physically and sensorially to develop experiences in a holistic manner in ordinary shopping visits.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 53 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 June 2021

Bénédicte Bourcier-Béquaert, Corinne Chevalier and Gaëlle Marie Moal

This study aims to examine how exposure to female models in advertisements can create identity tensions in senior women and how they manage the comparison and develop different…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine how exposure to female models in advertisements can create identity tensions in senior women and how they manage the comparison and develop different adaptation strategies to deal with these tensions.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is based on a qualitative approach involving 27 in-depth interviews with French women aged 60 to 79. Photo-elicitation with choice of models as reference points by respondents was used to capture comparison strategies with regard to models.

Findings

Interviews with senior women confirm that identity tensions due to appearance arise in the context of ageing, particularly when senior women are faced with advertising models. Three reactions of senior women to identity tensions are described, namely, avoiding comparison to protect the self, engaging in comparison despite its resulting devaluation of the self, proceeding to a positive comparison that reinforces their identity. This paper finds that comparison modalities are specific to each strategy.

Research limitations/implications

This research opens the way to further investigation, especially with regard to understanding social comparison mechanisms in an advertising context for senior women targets.

Practical implications

This paper raises awareness of the effects of senior women’s exposure to advertising on their self-perception in the context of ageing. It provides practical guidance to advertising professionals on the use of models in ads when targeting senior women and helps marketing managers in their communication strategies.

Social implications

This research reveals pronounced identity tensions in relation to appearance among senior women in the context of advertising exposure. By providing more diverse models, advertising representations could help to improve the identity perceptions of senior women.

Originality/value

Very few studies have hitherto investigated identity effects on senior female consumers of female model usage in advertising.

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 38 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 June 2016

Damian Tambini and Sharif Labo

Digital intermediaries such as Google and Facebook are seen as the new powerbrokers in online news, controlling access to consumers and with the potential even to suppress and…

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Abstract

Purpose

Digital intermediaries such as Google and Facebook are seen as the new powerbrokers in online news, controlling access to consumers and with the potential even to suppress and target messages to individuals. Academics, publishers and policymakers have raised concerns about the implications of this new power, from the impact on media plurality to implications for democratic discourse, freedom of speech and control over public opinion formation. After reviewing academic literature that has raised this concern and public policy addressing it, this paper aims to examine the empirical foundations for these claims. Through secondary analysis of industry data on referrals of online news traffic, the authors find that intermediaries do have the potential to exert significant influence over distribution of online news. The authors however find that not all news that is filtered through intermediary services is subject to the same shaping and editorial forces, in part, because user agency is also an important factor. The role of intermediaries in news distribution is thus complex; headline numbers do not translate automatically into influence due to the complex interplay and exchange between user agency and the editorial influence of intermediaries.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based mainly on a secondary analysis of publicly available data on news referrals, and some data provided by news publishers along with re-analysis of regulatory data from Ofcom and previously unpublished data from the BBC and SimilarWeb. These data sources are combined for the first time to investigate claims regarding the current controversy about media plurality, algorithmic power and transparency.

Findings

The paper finds that evidence that intermediaries wield concentrated editorial power is mixed. While other, non-intermediated news distribution platforms such as TV and the press remain highly important, online is heading towards being the most important distribution platform, particularly for younger demographics. The authors found that intermediaries such as search and social control access to a significant proportion of online news content. Not all use of intermediaries is indicative of online gatekeeping however. User agency also determines how content is prioritised and thus consumed. The news consumed is therefore a product of a complex interplay between user agency and intermediary influence. In contrast to traditional discussions of media power and its regulation (for example the notion of mass media plurality); it is thus not possible to make inferences on influence simply by noting the market share of intermediaries. The role of intermediaries is much more subtle and opaque.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is mainly based on publicly available data. It is crucial to find out what is possible with such data as regulators with responsibility for monitoring and regulating media plurality are similarly limited to such data. The implications are that further research with a wide range of methods and data sources will be necessary to update research on media plurality and diversity.

Practical implications

The implications of these findings are that independent public authorities should have access to much more revealing data about public opinion formation processes, including referrals and other data currently held only by publishers. The three stage analytical framework will be of use to regulators and policymakers currently looking into these issues.

Social implications

Civil society and public debate about digital intermediaries is currently intensively discussed in policy debate. Taking these debates forward will depend on whether existing public policy frameworks (such as limits on news plurality) are able to accommodate the new challenges such as intermediary influence on news distribution and public opinion formation.

Originality/value

The recent special issue of INFO, including contributions from Mansell and Helberger, raised a range of similar issues with regard to media plurality and intermediaries. These papers did not seek empirically to examine in depth, using all available publicly relevant data, the implications for media pluralism and diversity in one particular media market. The paper is theoretically original, contains some previously unpublished data and an entirely new empirical and theoretical analysis. The models and tables are previously unpublished.

Details

info, vol. 18 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6697

Keywords

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