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1 – 10 of 62Carl Edlund Anderson and Rosa Dene David
This paper aims to present a theoretical model for restructuring Colombia’s educational initiatives in response to current socioeconomic needs. More equitable and decolonized…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a theoretical model for restructuring Colombia’s educational initiatives in response to current socioeconomic needs. More equitable and decolonized education could help learners decouple their capacities to imagine the future from colonialized paradigms, thereby opening spaces for more active engagement in their own futures.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors take a critical, postmodern approach focused on empowering people to transcend constraints from a colonial past and recognizing that the purpose of knowledge, although reflecting power and social relationships, is to help people improve society. Notions of situated and futures literacies nourish an approach toward a decolonized and glocalized educational model.
Findings
The current Colombian educational system tends to favor a single focus – local, national or international – at the expense of the others. The authors argue that educational policy and planning should account for three realms of knowledge: locally situated literacies, nationally situated literacies and globally situated literacies.
Originality/value
Deconstructing obsolete and colonized methodologies could not only help prepare Colombian learners for active engagement both within and beyond their modern-day borders but could also help transform other educational systems originally designed to support societies and economies that no longer exist, including those of the Global North.
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Asmund Rygh and Carl Henrik Knutsen
Recent international business research finds that state-owned multinational enterprises (SOMNEs) invest relatively more in politically risky host countries than do privately-owned…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent international business research finds that state-owned multinational enterprises (SOMNEs) invest relatively more in politically risky host countries than do privately-owned multinational enterprises (MNEs). This study aims to investigate theoretically and empirically whether state ownership mitigates the impact of host-country political risk on subsidiary economic risk.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors link theoretical arguments on state ownership to arguments from non-market strategy literature to outline mechanisms whereby state ownership can buffer subsidiaries from political risk, weakening the link between host-country political risk and earnings volatility in subsidiaries. Using a data set on Norwegian MNEs’ foreign subsidiaries across almost two decades, the authors test this prediction using both matching methods and panel regressions.
Findings
While standard panel regressions provide empirical support only for the infrastructure sector and for the highest political risk contexts, nearest-neighbour matching models – comparing only otherwise similar private- and SOMNE subsidiaries using the full sample – reveal more general support for the political risk mitigation hypothesis.
Originality/value
The study presents the first comprehensive analysis of whether state ownership can mitigate the effect of political risk on subsidiary economic risk.
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Raunaq Chawla, Eric Soreng and Avinash Kumar
A prime objective of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA; Clean India Mission) is to motivate people to segregate their household waste. The purpose of this study is to assess the…
Abstract
Purpose
A prime objective of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA; Clean India Mission) is to motivate people to segregate their household waste. The purpose of this study is to assess the ground reality of waste management behaviour of Delhi residents with the help of a modified Value–Belief–Norm (VBN) model. Past researches point the need to include cost as a variable in the VBN model. This study fulfils this need and tests cost as one of the variables on the gathered data.
Design/methodology/approach
The research data were gathered by interacting with the people and the civic staff in the jurisdiction of the three Delhi municipalities through a stratified sampling technique (N = 250). The structural equation modelling was used to analyse the collected data.
Findings
The modified VBN model explains the waste management behaviour, but the variables do not follow the exact causal chain. Values, awareness of consequences, ascription of responsibility and personal norms all explain the resident's waste management behaviour. However, cost limits the resident's waste management behaviour.
Research limitations/implications
The study could only achieve a moderate model fit; its sample size was small; and data were collected through self-reported questionnaire.
Practical implications
Three main practical implications of the study are: (1) While designing waste management solutions, due importance must be given to the cost to be borne by people for adopting these solutions. (2) Design such interventions that target residents' values to convince them to make the desired behavioural change. (3) People need be educated about the ways to sort waste and made aware of the importance of waste segregation in eradicating the urban waste mess.
Originality/value
The paper is an original contribution to testing a modified VBN model in predicting waste management behaviour. The modified model includes cost as a variable missing in the previous research. This research is useful in the backdrop of the SBA and provides suggestions for policymakers and pro-environment researchers.
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Himal Suranga Jayasena, Niraj Thurairajah, B.A.K.S. Perera and Mohan Siriwardena
Successful adoption of building information modelling (BIM) by early adopters is crucial for its effective diffusion. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework of…
Abstract
Purpose
Successful adoption of building information modelling (BIM) by early adopters is crucial for its effective diffusion. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework of understanding that supports contextualized understanding of BIM adoption decisions in a BIM infant industry. The framework bridges the gap in current knowledge in terms of the absence of such a framework, which has hindered the structured understanding of the BIM decision of an adopter, curtailing the appropriate strategizing of their BIM adoption.
Design/methodology/approach
The study focuses on a BIM infant industry, where early adopters begin using BIM, allowing insights into this crucial initial stage of adoption. Identifying affordances as a versatile concept that could effectively represent not only what an adopter perceives and expects from BIM implementation, but also, what the adopter, in fact, can achieve from it, an affordance-led framework of understanding (AFU) was developed to comprehensively capture varying dynamics of BIM decision process. The study took a qualitative retroductive approach to theory with semi-structured interviews to gather necessary data from a sample of BIM adopters purposively selected to maximize the breadth and depth of data.
Findings
The study concludes by identifying and defining pertinent affordances as a new concept and a compulsory state for BIM adoption. Findings further demonstrate that existing theories can be linked to the AFU to strategically direct the affordances dynamics towards the pertinent state.
Originality/value
The AFU enables a deeper contextualizable view of innovation adoption that was absent in existing innovation studies. It significantly enhances the precision of strategizing BIM adoption compared to previous approaches, enabling adopters to plan and implement BIM in a manner that aligns well with their expectations and specific conditions.
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Research on artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential effects on the workplace is increasing. How AI and the futures of work are framed in traditional media has been examined…
Abstract
Purpose
Research on artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential effects on the workplace is increasing. How AI and the futures of work are framed in traditional media has been examined in prior studies, but current research has not gone far enough in examining how AI is framed on social media. This paper aims to fill this gap by examining how people frame the futures of work and intelligent machines when they post on social media.
Design/methodology/approach
We investigate public interpretations, assumptions and expectations, referring to framing expressed in social media conversations. We also coded the emotions and attitudes expressed in the text data. A corpus consisting of 998 unique Reddit post titles and their corresponding 16,611 comments was analyzed using computer-aided textual analysis comprising a BERTopic model and two BERT text classification models, one for emotion and the other for sentiment analysis, supported by human judgment.
Findings
Different interpretations, assumptions and expectations were found in the conversations. Three subframes were analyzed in detail under the overarching frame of the New World of Work: (1) general impacts of intelligent machines on society, (2) undertaking of tasks (augmentation and substitution) and (3) loss of jobs. The general attitude observed in conversations was slightly positive, and the most common emotion category was curiosity.
Originality/value
Findings from this research can uncover public needs and expectations regarding the future of work with intelligent machines. The findings may also help shape research directions about futures of work. Furthermore, firms, organizations or industries may employ framing methods to analyze customers’ or workers’ responses or even influence the responses. Another contribution of this work is the application of framing theory to interpreting how people conceptualize the future of work with intelligent machines.
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Suhaib Hussain Shah, Naimat Ullah Shah and Akira Jbeen
The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate/review the skills required for library and information science (LIS) professionals in the 21st century and to propose an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate/review the skills required for library and information science (LIS) professionals in the 21st century and to propose an alternative approach as the suggested key skills.
Design/methodology/approach
Twenty-two LIS professionals from Pakistan were interviewed, and 10 LIS professionals were from abroad, including two from the USA; six respondents were from Saudi Arabia; one from Canada; and one from Malaysia. In-depth interviews with faculty members were conducted to ascertain their perceptions of the knowledge and skills necessary to be competent in delivering quality education to the future information breed.
Findings
The findings emphasise the importance of a variety of competencies for librarians and information educators, including subject knowledge and skills; information technology knowledge and skills; instructional skills; research skills; and managerial, leadership and social skills. Additionally, it was noted that LIS professionals require a diverse set of skills that should be fostered by educators and employers. By promoting these in the broader community, the author can encourage the next generation of LIS professionals to consider LIS as a viable career option.
Originality/value
The findings presented in this paper provide a unique window into the country’s workforce needs. Though the study was conducted from a Pakistani perspective, the findings may have implications for other countries with comparable circumstances, including social impact. It also provides a new analysis of the selected generic and LIS skills that can be communicated in an innovative manner to prospective LIS employees, employers and educators.
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Wagdi Rashad Ali Bin-Hady, Arif Ahmed Mohammed Hassan Al-Ahdal and Samia Khalifa Abdullah
English as a foreign langauge (EFL) students find it difficult to apply the theoretical knowledge they acquire on translation in the practical world. Therefore, this study…
Abstract
Purpose
English as a foreign langauge (EFL) students find it difficult to apply the theoretical knowledge they acquire on translation in the practical world. Therefore, this study explored if training in pretranslation techniques (PTTs) (syntactic parsing) as suggested by Almanna (2018) could improve the translation proficiency of Yemeni EFL students. Moreover, the study also assessed which of the PTTs the intervention helped to develop.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a primarily experimental pre- and posttests research design, and the sample comprised of an intake class with 16 students enrolled in the fourth year, Bachelor in Education (B.Ed), Hadhramout University. Six participants were also interviewed to gather the students' perceptions on using PTTs.
Findings
Results showed that students' performance in translation developed significantly (Sig. = 0.002). All the six PTTs showed development, though subject, tense and aspect developed more significantly (Sig. = 0.034, 0.002, 0.001 respectively). Finally, the study reported students' positive perceptions on the importance of using PTTs before doing any translation tasks.
Originality/value
One of the recurrent errors that can be noticed in Yemeni EFL students' production is their inability to transfer the grammatical elements of sentences from L1 (Arabic) into L2 (English) or the visa versa. The researchers thought though translation is more than the syntactic transmission of one language into another, analyzing the elements of sentences using syntactic and semantic parsing can help students to produce acceptable texts in the target language. These claims would be proved or refuted after analyzing the experiment result of the present study.
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Li Ge, Chun-Hung (Hugo) Tang, Carl Behnke and Richard Ghiselli
This study (1) assessed restaurant consumers' perceived importance of better food quality versus larger portion sizes, (2) classified restaurant consumers into different segments…
Abstract
Purpose
This study (1) assessed restaurant consumers' perceived importance of better food quality versus larger portion sizes, (2) classified restaurant consumers into different segments based on their perceived importance of seven food quality attributes (taste, texture, aroma, appearance and the use of natural, local and organic ingredients) relative to portion size and (3) compared the identified market segments.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey assessed 613 USA adult participants' perceived importance of seven food quality attributes relative to portion size. A K-means cluster analysis classified participants into different segments based on their perceptions.
Findings
Five restaurant consumer segments were identified: sensory-oriented consumers, taste-oriented organic food consumers, local and natural food consumers, quantity-oriented consumers and quality-oriented consumers. In general, quality-oriented consumers were the least likely to visit fast-food restaurants, had the highest average per-meal spending and were the least likely to eat out alone. Local and natural food consumers and taste-oriented organic food consumers had higher total restaurant spending than other groups. Quantity-oriented and sensory-oriented consumers visited fast-food restaurants more often and had lower total restaurant spending and per-meal spending than other groups. Age, sex and income were significantly associated with the segmentation outcomes.
Practical implications
Findings suggest promising opportunities for restaurants to enhance consumer perceptions of value by prioritizing the factors that hold the greatest significance to their target customers.
Originality/value
This study is the first attempt to segment restaurant consumers based on their perceived importance of food quality attributes relative to portion size, effectively identifying five distinct consumer segments.
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Corinna Grindle, Louise D. Denne, Emily J. Roberts-Tyler, Suzi Jayne Sapiets, Magda M. Apanasionok, J. Carl Hughes, Richard P. Hastings, Nick Gore, Peter Baker and Claire McDowell
With a historic lack of attention to synthesis methods such as systematic review and meta-analysis and a lack of randomised controlled trials, the evidence base for behavioural…
Abstract
Purpose
With a historic lack of attention to synthesis methods such as systematic review and meta-analysis and a lack of randomised controlled trials, the evidence base for behavioural interventions for children and adults who are autistic or are diagnosed with developmental disabilities is patchy. The Sharland Foundation Developmental Disabilities Applied Behavioural Research and Impact Network (SF-DDARIN), a network of like-minded researchers and practitioners across the UK, aims to address this. The purpose of this paper is to describe the network’s work and provide the context for the remaining articles in the special issue that exemplify network projects.
Design/methodology/approach
In this case study paper, the authors describe how the SF-DDARIN works and is resourced, detailing the process used to maximise research opportunities by facilitating network members working together. The authors outline the progressive research steps that the SF-DDARIN has identified are needed to develop and improve the evidence base for behavioural interventions systematically and, with examples, describe how the network delivers these steps.
Findings
Since its establishment in 2016, the SF-DDARIN network members have collectively worked on more than 53 projects involving over 50 researchers, had over 120 special schools contribute to projects and have recruited over 500 participants. This has been achieved through funding from the Sharland Foundation, primarily to cover the staffing costs of a small support team and internship partnerships with external organisations. Some projects have attracted external funding.
Originality/value
SF-DDARIN may provide an innovative, effective and resource-efficient model for other groups seeking to develop and extend their evidence base in developmental disability research.
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Pia Borlund, Nils Pharo and Ying-Hsang Liu
The PICCH research project contributes to opening a dialogue between cultural heritage archives and users. Hence, the users are identified and their information needs, the search…
Abstract
Purpose
The PICCH research project contributes to opening a dialogue between cultural heritage archives and users. Hence, the users are identified and their information needs, the search strategies they apply and the search challenges they experience are uncovered.
Design/methodology/approach
A combination of questionnaires and interviews is used for collection of data. Questionnaire data were collected from users of three different audiovisual archives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with two user groups: (1) scholars searching information for research projects and (2) archivists who perform their own scholarly work and search information on behalf of others.
Findings
The questionnaire results show that the archive users mainly have an academic background. Hence, scholars and archivists constitute the target group for in-depth interviews. The interviews reveal that their information needs are multi-faceted and match the information need typology by Ingwersen. The scholars mainly apply collection-specific search strategies but have in common primarily doing keyword searching, which they typically plan in advance. The archivists do less planning owing to their knowledge of the collections. All interviewees demonstrate domain knowledge, archival intelligence and artefactual literacy in their use and mastering of the archives. The search challenges they experience can be characterised as search system complexity challenges, material challenges and metadata challenges.
Originality/value
The paper provides a rare insight into the complexity of the search situation of cultural heritage archives, and the users’ multi-facetted information needs and hence contributes to the dialogue between the archives and the users.
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