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1 – 10 of 268Luiz Antonio Joia and Gustavo Marchisotti
This study aims to identify the social representation of cloud computing from the perspective of Information Technology (IT) professionals in emerging countries, comparing it with…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the social representation of cloud computing from the perspective of Information Technology (IT) professionals in emerging countries, comparing it with the extant literature on this subject.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from IT professionals in Brazil, which was used as a proxy for the emerging countries’ context related to cloud computing. Social Representation Theory was then applied to analyze the data.
Findings
Mismatches between theory and practice on cloud computing make it clear that most of the current scientific literature on cloud computing is, to a great extent, based on the context of developed countries rather than on the context of emerging ones.
Research limitations/implications
Errors of inference may have been made during the categorization of the words evoked. Furthermore, Brazil was used as a proxy for the emerging countries’ context related to cloud computing.
Practical implications
IT professionals in emerging countries have quite an operational view of cloud computing. Thus, companies in these countries have to align cloud computing better with new business models and corporate strategies in order to take advantage of the transformational impacts of cloud computing.
Originality/value
IT professionals in emerging countries have failed to notice the strategic value of cloud computing, the new business models enabled by same, the privacy issues related to it and the impact cloud computing adoption can have on the IT costs of an organization. Moreover, mobility can be a paramount issue related to cloud computing in emerging countries – a fact thus far overlooked by academia.
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Luiz Antonio Joia and Marcela Melon
The purpose of this paper is to unveil the perception of information technology (IT) professionals in Brazil regarding the success of IT projects.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to unveil the perception of information technology (IT) professionals in Brazil regarding the success of IT projects.
Design/methodology/approach
By using the social representation theory and the words evocation technique, data were collected from IT professionals in Brazil, being subsequently processed so as to identify the central nucleus of the social representation of the success of IT projects for IT professionals in Brazil.
Findings
IT professionals in Brazil perceive the central core of the social representation of the success of IT projects as formed by “satisfaction” and “scope.” Furthermore, while a considerable amount of IT professionals in Brazil still consider cost, quality and time as relevant factors for the success of IT projects, they do not consider them the most important factors. Moreover, these professionals overlook the financial dimension of the success of IT projects.
Research limitations/implications
Errors of inference may have been made during the categorization of the words evoked. Furthermore, the sample adopted refers exclusively to IT professionals in Brazil, which limits the universality of the work.
Practical implications
Organizations and project management associations must take into account the utmost importance of customer satisfaction for the success of IT projects. Besides, these associations must develop IT project success criteria that account for the financial, business and strategic impact of the success of IT projects in organizations.
Originality/value
IT project success is perceived by IT professionals in Brazil merely from the adherence to scope and customer satisfaction dimensions, leaving aside the importance of project profitability and the strategic impacts of same in the performance of organizations, as well as their future.
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Christiano França da Cunha, Maurilio Barbosa de Oliveira da Silva and Thelma Lucchese Cheung
Edible insects are increasingly recognized as great food resources of the future. Entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, has a predicted market by 2030 of nearly $8 billion…
Abstract
Purpose
Edible insects are increasingly recognized as great food resources of the future. Entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, has a predicted market by 2030 of nearly $8 billion. But this market could grow even more with the acceptance of insects as food by Western consumers, as an alternative to conventional protein sources. In this context, the authors aim to collect and analyze information about consumers' perception of insects as food in Brazil, through the word association task.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 751 participants agreed to complete the word association task in relation to entomophagy through an online questionnaire. They had to write down the first five words or terms that came to their minds when they thought of eating insects.
Findings
Individual mentions were categorized according to their similarities and/or proximity. Based on this grouping the authors identified six dimensions, with emphasis on “hedonic attitudes and feelings”, “cultural aspects” and “exotic”. The study concludes that Brazilians see insect consumption as belonging to another culture, not Western.
Originality/value
Few studies have explored the association of words in relation to entomophagy, especially in Brazil. This article aims to fill this gap, using this methodology applied to the Brazilian public.
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Jordi de San Eugenio Vela, Joan Nogué and Robert Govers
The purpose of this paper is to propose an initial, exploratory and tentative theoretical construct related to the current consumption of landscape as a key symbolic and physical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose an initial, exploratory and tentative theoretical construct related to the current consumption of landscape as a key symbolic and physical element in territorial representation and evocation, and for the deployment of place branding strategy. It constructs a line of argument to support what shall be referred to as “landscape branding”, that is, the paradigmatic role of landscape in place branding. It is, therefore, of interest to define the value of landscape as a social and cultural construction, which is why the paper awards importance to the specific analysis of their capacity for visual and/or aesthetic evocation within the context of a general branding strategy for geographical spaces.
Design/methodology/approach
To develop a sufficient proposal for sustaining “a theory of landscape branding”, the paper deploys a meta-analysis, that is, an extensive review and interpretation of the literature related to visual landscape and place branding, to propose a tentative initial approach to landscape-infused place branding theory.
Findings
The relationship existing between landscape images and texts and their possible situating and subsequent interpreting within the context of the political, cultural and economic logics of contemporary society give rise to a renewed analytical framework for cultural geographies (Wylie, 2007). At this point, place branding becomes a recurring argument for the consumption of carefully staged places, representing, to use Scott’s terms (2014), the arrival of a cognitive-cultural capitalism characteristic of post-Fordism.
Practical implications
From a practical perspective, the landscape branding approach provides several benefits. First of all, regardless of the fact that many commentators have argued that logos, slogans and advertising campaigns are relatively ineffective in place branding, practitioners still seem to be focussed on these visual design and advertising tools. The landscape branding approach facilitates an identity-focussed perspective that reconfirms the importance of linking reality with perception and hence reinforces the need to link place branding to policy-making, infrastructure and events.
Social implications
Landscapes’ imageability facilitates visual storytelling and the creation of attractive symbolic actions (e.g. outdoor events/arts in attractive landscape and augmented reality or landscaping itself). This is the type of imaginative content that people easily share in social media. And, of course, landscape branding reiterated the importance of experience. If policymakers and publics alike understand this considerable symbolic value of landscape, it might convince them to preserve it and, hence, contribute to sustainability and quality of life.
Originality/value
The novelty lies not in the familiar use of visual landscape resources to promote places, but in the carefully orchestrated construction of gazes, angles, representations, narratives and interpretations characteristic of geographic space, which somehow hijack the spontaneous gaze to take it to a certain place. Everything is perfectly premeditated. According to this, the visual landscape represents a critical point as a way of seeing the essence of places through a place branding strategy. In this sense, that place branding which finds in visual landscape a definitive argument for the projection of aspirational places imposes a new “way of seeing” places and landscape based on a highly visual story with which to make a particular place desirable, not only for tourism promotion purposes but also with the intention of capturing talent, infrastructures and investment, among other objectives.
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Wafa Khlif, Sami El Omari and Helmi Hammami
In accounting, several studied Arab countries are keen to acquire the dominant Western thinking categories that justify and normalize the exerted domination, especially when it…
Abstract
Purpose
In accounting, several studied Arab countries are keen to acquire the dominant Western thinking categories that justify and normalize the exerted domination, especially when it comes to globalized practices. This paper aims to challenge this assumption by examining the dynamics of globalization and its effects through new theoretical perspectives and through new empirical terrain.
Design/methodology/approach
It builds on the concept of “globalization from below”, which emerges from the network of individual development of daily routines, systems and practices, far from international institutions pressure. It uses social representation theory to inform the centrality of a particular social group. The study uses a survey, which was on a sample group of 214 Tunisian public accountants and uses the hierarchical evocation method and an attitudinal scale.
Findings
The results are twofold: first, Tunisian public accounts lack a stable and common understanding to globalization; second, there are ambivalent positive/negative attitudes towards globalization among accounting professionals.
Originality/value
The dynamic Tunisian context, along with the absence of a stable collective meaning to the concept of globalization among accountants, shows the complexity of such cases, vacillating between international institutions’ domination and the emergence of emancipatory accounting practices inspired by and developed for local socioeconomic entities, if supported by specific factors.
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This study aims to investigate the factors that influence user experience (UX) of eLearning systems implemented in two institutions in Tanzania.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the factors that influence user experience (UX) of eLearning systems implemented in two institutions in Tanzania.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted questionnaire consisting of Nielsen’s heuristics and didactic metrics as pragmatic metrics and hedonic metrics followed by focus group discussions with students.
Findings
The study found that the eLearning system of University of Dar es Salaam had 43 UX problems related to Nielsen’s heuristics and 54 UX problems related to didactic heuristics. The eLearning system of the Open University of Tanzania had 50 UX problems related to Nielsen’s heuristics and 59 UX problems related to didactic heuristics. Moreover, the two systems provided positive UX hedonic quality on identification and evocation dimensions while stimulation was perceived to be neutral.
Research limitations/implications
The study has used learners as evaluators rather than expert evaluators. Learners are not particularly experienced in the learning domain, and therefore, it is difficult for them to identify many didactic violations of the eLearning systems.
Originality/value
The study contributes toward finding the underlying factors for non-use or underuse of the installed eLearning systems in various universities in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Véronique Boulocher-Passet, Peter Daly and Isabelle Sequeira
The purpose of this paper is to encourage initiatives to train large cohorts of undergraduate students for creativity understanding. The authors describe a case study of a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to encourage initiatives to train large cohorts of undergraduate students for creativity understanding. The authors describe a case study of a creativity exercise developed within a corporate setting that accommodates a large cohort and discuss the results of empirical research on this teaching experience at a French Business School. The authors reflect on the transferability of this exercise by other educators to similar educational contexts and the usefulness of training future managers to a structured creativity methodology to be exploited in the workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study explains the features of the exercise. Hard data on students’ perceptions and motivation/satisfaction prior to and after the creativity exercise was collected through an internet self-completed survey instrument. In total, 245 pairs of survey responses from first-year students were analysed using prototypical analysis, paired samples t-test and content analysis.
Findings
The exercise proved an effective tool to help large cohorts of undergraduates to better understand that creativity is a managerial competence that can be trained. The authors particularly underlined the need for fluidity in the organisation of the exercise; use of a clear creativity process and methodology; the necessity to involve an external creativity consultant; and the importance of the chosen topic being non art related. In the workplace, this understanding of creativity methodologies will enable future managers to support, promote and manage creativity endeavours.
Originality/value
This paper encourages initiatives and provides insights into the difficulties of training large cohorts of undergraduate students for understanding the concept of creativity.
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The geographic, economic and social mobility of people today requires that many must be able to adapt or adopt various life styles in accordance with their surroundings and…
Abstract
The geographic, economic and social mobility of people today requires that many must be able to adapt or adopt various life styles in accordance with their surroundings and integrity. Today, many people need to be multi‐cultural so they can succeed and survive in ethnic, commercial and other milieux in rapid sequence, often each day. A Canadian Life Skills programme has been designed to help such people adopt a problem solving approach to managing their lives.
Juan Camilo Carvajal Builes, Idaly Barreto and Carolina Gutiérrez de Piñeres
This study aims to describe and analyze the differences in the linguistic styles of honest and dishonest stories.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to describe and analyze the differences in the linguistic styles of honest and dishonest stories.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a descriptive study with a multivariate analysis of linguistic categories according to the story. The research analyzed 37 honest stories and 15 dishonest stories produced during actual legal proceedings through software Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC).
Findings
The authors find that individuals who engage in deception use a different number of words when they narrate facts. The results suggest a need for additional investigation of the linguistic style approach because of its high applicability and detection accuracy. This approach should be complemented by other types of verbal, nonverbal and psychophysiological deception detection techniques.
Research limitations/implications
Among the limitations, the authors consider length of the stories should be considered and scarce scientific literature in Spanish to compare with outcomes in English.
Practical implications
This research highlights the relevance to include linguistic style in real contexts to differentiate honest and dishonest stories due to objectivity and agility to implement.
Social implications
Understanding deception as a social behaviour and its psychological processes associated are elements that contribute to people and justice to comprehend it.
Originality/value
Analyzing real statements and discriminate differences in linguistic style, contribute to understand deeply this important behaviour to propose new methodologies and theories to explain it.
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