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1 – 10 of over 8000Sundeep Sahay and Esther N. Landen
The purpose of this paper is to understand how digital interventions are mediating the identity work of community health workers (CHWs) in the context of two African countries.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand how digital interventions are mediating the identity work of community health workers (CHWs) in the context of two African countries.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper analyzes the everyday work of CHWs in two low- and middle-income country (LMIC) contexts (Uganda and Malawi) and seeks to understand changes in collective identity and the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in mediating this “identity work”. As CHWs conduct their everyday tasks of care giving, data reporting and maintaining social interactions, they play two primary roles. One is the care giving role oriented towards the community, and two, is reporting and administrative work by virtue of them being affiliated with the Ministry of Health, either in formal or voluntary capacity. The ambivalence which they experience as they move back and forth between these two worlds of work is significantly now mediated through ICTs. The paper analyzes these dynamics and identifies three key sets of ambivalence in identity work: (1) role embracing-institutional distancing; (2) conformist-resistant and (3) dramaturgical-transformative. The paper makes unique contributions to information systems (IS) and ICT for development (ICT4D) studies in that it focuses on a nonprofessional group, which plays a fundamental role in providing care to underserved populations and also conducts data work which provides the foundation of the national health information system. This contrasts with dominant research in the field which focuses on professional groups, largely based in Western business organizations.
Findings
The paper identifies identity related tensions that emerge with the mediation of digital technologies in the work world of CHWs. These include tensions of conformist-resistant; and (3) dramaturgical-transformative. These findings are relevant and unique to the field of IS and ICT4D studies in that it focuses on a nonprofessional group, which plays a fundamental role in providing care to underserved populations and also conducts data work which provides the foundation of the national health information system.
Research limitations/implications
While acknowledging identity construction and negotiation is a function of both work and social lives, in this paper we could only focus on the work lives.
Practical implications
As digital interventions in the health sector of low and middle income countries is becoming increasingly widespread, often the focus is more on the supply side (the supply of the technology) rather than on the demand side (users experiences and aspirations). Identity becomes a lens to understand these demand side dynamics, which helps provides practical guidance on implementation approaches to ensure that the technology adds value to user work processes and there is a seamless and not a disruptive transition.
Social implications
CHWs are the most neglected cadre in the health system of low and middle income countries, even though they provide the cutting edge in care provision work to the most marginalized populations, living in rural and underserved areas. By focusing on how technologies can be more effectively implemented to support these care processes, the paper provides important social implications both for practice and research.
Originality/value
Analysis of identity construction and negotiation of informal groups in the unorganized sector of low and middle income countries has not received adequate attention in IS research. The paper seeks to fill this important gap.
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Allison Traylor, Julie Dinh, Chelsea LeNoble, Jensine Paoletti, Marissa Shuffler, Donald Wiper and Eduardo Salas
Teams across a wide range of contexts must look beyond task performance to consider the affective, cognitive and behavioral health of their members. Despite much interest in team…
Abstract
Purpose
Teams across a wide range of contexts must look beyond task performance to consider the affective, cognitive and behavioral health of their members. Despite much interest in team health in practice, consideration of team health has remained scant from a research perspective. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues by advancing a definition and model of team health.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors review relevant literature on team stress, processes and emergent states to propose a definition and model of team health.
Findings
The authors advance a definition of team health, or the holistic, dynamic compilation of states that emerge and interact as a team resource to buffer stress. Further, the authors argue that team health improves outcomes at both the individual and team level by improving team members’ well-being and enhancing team effectiveness, respectively. In addition, the authors propose a framework integrating the job demands-resources model with the input-mediator-output-input model of teamwork to illustrate the behavioral drivers that promote team health, which buffers teams stress to maintain members’ well-being and team effectiveness.
Originality/value
This work answers calls from multidisciplinary industries for work that considers team health, providing implications for future research in this area.
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Debolina Dutta and Vasanthi Srinivasan
There is an emerging interest in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) inclusion among researchers and practitioners. However, the interplay of macro-, meso- and…
Abstract
Purpose
There is an emerging interest in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) inclusion among researchers and practitioners. However, the interplay of macro-, meso- and micro-level factors that influence the behavior of various agencies, systems, structures and practices in different national, cultural and social contexts still needs to be researched. This paper aims to examine how organizations meaningfully engage with the marginalized and underrepresented workforce, especially the LGBTQ community, to promote diversity and inclusion through comprehensive policies and practices, thereby developing a sustainable inclusivity culture.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting a practice theory lens and using a case study design, including multilevel interviews with 28 different stakeholders, this study examines how organizations institutionalize LGBTQ inclusion practices in an emerging market context with a historically low acceptance of the LGBTQ community.
Findings
Findings indicate that macro influences, such as regulatory, societal and market pressures and adopting international standards and norms, impact meso-level structures and practices. At the organizational level, leadership evangelism and workforce allyship serve as relational mechanisms for institutionalizing LGBTQ-inclusive practices. Furthermore, collaboration, partnerships and enabling systems and processes provide the structural frameworks within which organizations build an LGBTQ-inclusive culture. Lastly, at the micro level, cisgender allyship and the LGBTQ micro work environments provide the necessary psychological safety to build trust for authentic LGBTQ self-expressions. This study also indicates that organizations evolve their LGBTQ inclusion practices along a trajectory, with multiple external and internal forces that work simultaneously and recursively to shape HRM policies and practices for building an inclusive culture.
Originality/value
This study addresses the significant gaps in diversity and inclusivity research on LGBTQ employees and contributes to the literature in three significant ways. First, this study examines the diversity management mechanisms at the organizational level and explicates their interplay at the micro, meso and macro levels to create congruence, both internally and externally, for engaging with LGBTQ talent. Second, this study adopts a practice theory lens to examine the behavior of various actors, their agencies, the “flow” of underlying and emerging structures and processes, the continuous interplay between structure and action and how they enable inclusive culture for the LGBTQ community as a whole. Last, it addresses the call by diversity researchers for context-specific multilevel research design, including qualitative research, focusing on national, cultural and institutional contexts, where socio-organizational and historical factors and interactions among them shape diversity practices. Much of the literature on LGBTQ inclusion has, thus far, been within the Western context. By examining the emergence of inclusion practices in emerging markets like India, this study contributes to diversity and inclusion research.
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Florence Yean Yng Ling and Kelly Kai Li Teh
This study investigated what are the effective leadership styles and practices that boost employees’ work outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of facilities…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigated what are the effective leadership styles and practices that boost employees’ work outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of facilities management professionals (FMPs).
Design/methodology/approach
Three predominant leadership styles (transformational, transactional contingent reward and disaster management) were operationalized into 38 leadership practices (X variables) and 8 work outcomes (Y variables). The explanatory sequential research design was adopted. Online questionnaire survey was first conducted on FMPs who managed facilities during the critical periods of COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore. In-depth interviews were then carried out with subject matter experts to elaborate on the quantitative findings.
Findings
During the pandemic, FMPs were significantly stressed at work, but also experienced significant job satisfaction and satisfaction with their leaders/supervisors. Statistical results revealed a range of leadership practices that are significantly correlated with FMPs’ work outcomes. One leadership practice is critical as it affects 4 of the 8 FMPs’ work outcomes - frequently acknowledging employees’ good performance during the pandemic.
Research limitations/implications
The study explored 3 leadership styles. There are other styles like laissez faire and servant leadership that might also affect work outcomes.
Practical implications
Based on the findings, suggestions were provided to organizations that employ FMPs on how to improve their work outcomes during a crisis such as a pandemic.
Originality/value
The novelty is the discovery that in the context of a global disaster such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the most relevant leadership styles to boost employees’ work outcomes are transactional contingent reward and disaster management leadership. The study adds to knowledge by showing that not one leadership style is superior – all 3 styles are complementary, but distinct, forms of leadership that need to work in tandem to boost FMPs’ work outcomes during a crisis such as a pandemic.
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Sabeen Hussain Bhatti, Beata Gavurova, Adeel Ahmed, Maria Rosaria Marcone and Gabriele Santoro
Remote working has brought forward many challenges for employees as the phenomenon is still new for most employees across the globe. Some of these challenges may be addressed by…
Abstract
Purpose
Remote working has brought forward many challenges for employees as the phenomenon is still new for most employees across the globe. Some of these challenges may be addressed by the recent adoption of digital technologies by organizations. In this vein, our study explores the impact of digital platform capability on the creativity of employees through the mediating mechanism of explicit and tacit knowledge sharing.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were gathered from higher education institutes (HEIs) in a developing country, Pakistan which recently saw a major disruption during the Covid-19 pandemic. The proposed hypotheses were tested through Structural Equational Modeling (SEM) and the results confirmed our hypotheses.
Findings
The findings confirmed that the digital platform capabilities impact both tacit and explicit knowledge sharing among these remote employees. Likewise, the results also supported the mediating role of both explicit and tacit knowledge sharing on the creativity of these remote workers.
Originality/value
Our results are significant as they confirm the impact of digitalization on remote workers’ creativity predisposition. We thus advance the academic debate on the problems of knowledge sharing in remote working. We prove that digital capabilities outweigh the challenges created due to new forms of work driven by the pandemic. It further highlights the important areas to focus on while planning human resource policies in the new normal.
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Ahmed Mohammed Jasim Shuwaili, Reza Hesarzadeh and Mohammad Ali Bagherpour Velashani
In recent decades, managerial desire to use internal audit services to promote well-controlled organizational processes has significantly increased in the public sector. Yet…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent decades, managerial desire to use internal audit services to promote well-controlled organizational processes has significantly increased in the public sector. Yet, there is rare information on how internal audits may effectively be implemented in the public sector. The present research aims to design a comprehensive internal audit effectiveness model for the public sector.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is an applied mixed-methods (qualitative–quantitative) and descriptive survey study. The research population in both qualitative and quantitative sections included all internal and external audit managers and staff of Iraqi public organizations. The study sample of the qualitative section included 28 audit managers and staff selected using purposive sampling, and the study sample of the quantitative section included 399 individuals selected using convenience sampling. The data collection instruments in the qualitative and quantitative sections included semi-structured interviews and questionnaires, respectively. Data analysis was carried out using thematic analysis in Atlas.ti software in the qualitative section. Quantitative analysis and model validation were also performed using path analysis and structural equation modeling in Smart-PLS software in the quantitative section.
Findings
The results of the qualitative section led to the identification of 38 effectiveness factors among seven main categories, which were finally presented in the form of a comprehensive model. The main categories included the communication between internal and external auditors, granting independence and authority to internal auditors, providing specialized human resources, providing technological resources, developing management support, strengthening organizational culture and developing audit plans. In the qualitative section, the model was validated and confirmed. Quantitative results further showed that the compilation of audit plans and the development of management support were the most important factors.
Originality/value
The present study contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive framework on internal audit with an emphasis on resource-based theory and reducing the research gap in the field of agents influencing internal audit efficacy in the public sector of developing countries. Further, the study provides insights into an under-studied developing country, Iraq.
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Aida López-Urbaneja, Sergio Escribano-Ruiz, Ainara Cortés-Avizanda, Álvaro Gutierrez Ilabaca, Juan José Aramburu Lasa, Mikel Garai Lopez, Kepa Castro Ortiz de Pinedo, Alberto García Porras and Agustin Azkarate Garai-Olaun
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, UNESCO Landscapes and World Heritage sites have faced unstable situations. Both at the sites themselves and in the research centres…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, UNESCO Landscapes and World Heritage sites have faced unstable situations. Both at the sites themselves and in the research centres, universities and even the homes of the people involved, they have acted and responded to the best of their ability. In this context, the aim of the comparative analysis of different cases carried out here is to understand the main effects of the pandemic in the short term. On the one hand, the purpose is to determine what the general response trends have been and, on the other, to measure the resilience capacity in each case.
Design/methodology/approach
Up to eight cases studies representing different and diverse kinds of Heritage and Protected Natural sites from Southern Europe and America are compared.
Findings
In a context of uncertainty, new responses, unique opportunities and hitherto unseen weaknesses have arisen in research and management of natural and cultural heritage. In general terms, the dialogue between officials, technicians and researchers that have put together this article underlines the need to work towards a governance model that engages everyone in dialogue. Discrepancies between overlapping strategies and plans, which is the main conflict detected, should be avoided while a decentralisation of policies could be more operational. In this sense, situated knowledge may be of help in configuring practical management tools.
Originality/value
This paper compares and contrasts for first time the effects of the pandemic in Europe and Latin America. This exercise has provided a valuable diagnostic for present and future heritage management.
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Khurram Shahzad, Shakeel Ahmad Khan and Abid Iqbal
This study aims to identify the causes of mental health issues faced by university librarians, to investigate the impact of mental health issues on the job performance of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the causes of mental health issues faced by university librarians, to investigate the impact of mental health issues on the job performance of university librarians, and to know about the health activities to maintain mental and physical health.
Design/methodology/approach
The systematic literature review was applied as the research methodology. Forty-three research papers published in peer-reviewed journals were selected to conduct the study.
Findings
The findings of the study revealed that several factors including socio-economic conditions, work stress, stigma, constant fear, lack of self-efficacy, negative thinking, job security problems, strict organizational climate, poor human relations, lack of required job skills, chronic diseases and global pandemics cause mental problems in library professionals. Mental health issues have a negative impact on the job output of librarians. Different activities including emotional health training sessions, physical and mental exercises, social connections, membership of mental health centres, continuing professional development, and self-care training assist in the stability of the physical and mental fitness of librarians.
Originality/value
The study has a societal impact through the identification of different activities for maintaining mental health. It has offered theoretical implications for the investigators to further conduct studies in the area of mental health and librarians. It has also provided managerial implications for management bodies to take fruitful measures for the sound mental health of librarians so that they might carry out innovative library services.
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This research aims to explore how social media influences the academic performance of university students in Bangladesh and examines the benefits and drawbacks of its usage.
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to explore how social media influences the academic performance of university students in Bangladesh and examines the benefits and drawbacks of its usage.
Design/methodology/approach
We distributed a well-structured questionnaire among students enrolled in various programs at different universities in Bangladesh to collect data. We analyzed the data using factor analysis and regression models to uncover the impact of social media on academic performance.
Findings
Our research findings demonstrate that social media plays a crucial role in facilitating communication, information sharing and content development among university students in Bangladesh. Excessive reliance on social media can lead to dependence and hinder innovation, as students tend to excessively rely on readily available resources.
Research limitations/implications
We relied on self-reported data from a limited sample size, which may affect the generalizability of our findings.
Social implications
This study highlights the need to promote responsible use of social media among university students in Bangladesh to enhance their academic performance. We recommend implementing effective policy measures to control and manage undesired usage patterns, foster an intellectually equipped student body and contribute to the development of a knowledgeable and successful Bangladesh.
Originality/value
This research makes a significant contribution by examining the influence of social media on academic performance among university students in Bangladesh. It proposes practical policy measures to address the drawbacks associated with excessive reliance on social media, thereby contributing to decision-making and intervention strategies for promoting responsible usage.
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Jude Madi, Mohammad Al Khasawneh and Ala' Omar Dandis
The primary aim of this study is to identify and analyze the key factors that impact the intentions of Jordanian tourists to visit and revisit destinations using the Jannah Jo…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary aim of this study is to identify and analyze the key factors that impact the intentions of Jordanian tourists to visit and revisit destinations using the Jannah Jo app.
Design/methodology/approach
A self-administered questionnaires via Google Forms was employed comprising a sample of 401 Jordanian tourists who have the Jannah Jo app. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling approach was applied for hypotheses testing.
Findings
The present investigation has revealed that the constructs of perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived value (PV) exerted a significant and positive impact on electronic word of mouth (e-WOM). Additionally, e-WOM was observed to wield a positive and significant influence on the attitudes of consumers' decision-making, thereby ultimately affecting the intentions of Jordanian tourists with regard to their decisions to visit and revisit destinations. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that the results indicated that neither augmented reality nor content quality exhibited any statistically significant positive relationship with e-WOM.
Practical implications
Tourism agencies striving to encourage the adoption of smart applications must grasp the relevance of e-WOM within the contemporary digital milieu. Additionally, they should acknowledge the significance of tourists' intentions concerning both revisiting and initial visits. This research contends that such agencies ought to take into account the substantial influence exerted by PEU, PU and PV in shaping the favorable e-WOM discourse.
Originality/value
By integrating the technology acceptance model in conjunction with other relevant variables, this research strives to develop a comprehensive model that advances the comprehension of the intricate determinants affecting tourists' engagements with mobile applications. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that this study represents the initial investigation conducted in the Middle East, specifically in Jordan, on this subject matter.
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