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This article explores the benefits to older people of participation in formal study, and considers these in the context of the general debate about the constituents of quality of…
Abstract
This article explores the benefits to older people of participation in formal study, and considers these in the context of the general debate about the constituents of quality of life. It is based on a study of older students who attended extra‐mural type classes at a London University college. The findings of a postal questionnaire survey are presented as context for a discussion of in‐depth interviews with a selection of participants. Illustrative case studies are presented, highlighting the discourses related to the benefits of study and their meanings in the different lives of the individuals. The second part of the analysis links these findings to issues related to the measuring of quality of life. It is argued that while the emotionally based concerns of individuals often figure most highly in their definition of quality of life, their need to spend time meaningfully is an additional, important dimension. Thus, formal study ‐ through the process itself as well as its outcomes ‐ plays an important role in contributing to the quality of life of older learners, giving them a feeling of ‘time well spent’.
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The story of the management by objectives technique is presently one of uncertainty. After being hailed as the key to executive efficiency on its inception, there has followed a…
Abstract
The story of the management by objectives technique is presently one of uncertainty. After being hailed as the key to executive efficiency on its inception, there has followed a period of quiet reappraisal. Now, Richard Stokes lists reasons for its fallibility.
This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the knowledge that Beer's viable system model helps when applied to the study of change processes in organisations.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the knowledge that Beer's viable system model helps when applied to the study of change processes in organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper develops a case study constructed on interviews and shared reflections by the author and a key player in the company. Aspects of the case study are then seen with an epistemological lens.
Findings
While it is apparent that ideas, purposes, values or policies depend on resources to happen, this paper argues that it is necessary their embodying in effective relations to succeed creating and producing desirable meanings.
Research limitations/implications
Some forms of embodiment are more effective than others. The viable system model offers embodiment criteria to increase the chances of a successful production of ideas, purposes, values and policies, and the case study shows that for this purpose a limitation is transforming long‐established relationships.
Originality/value
This paper uses a particular and unique situation to illustrate through the viable system model some of the general difficulties that organisations face in achieving desirable transformations.
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Sadiq and Muhammad Salman Ahmad
The aim of this empirical study is to examine how religiosity, animosity and ethnocentrism interact to influence judgment about US products and purchase actions of young consumers…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this empirical study is to examine how religiosity, animosity and ethnocentrism interact to influence judgment about US products and purchase actions of young consumers in a conservative Islamic country like Pakistan. Many studies have been conducted before in progressive Islamic countries such as Malaysia, Jordan, Turkey and Tunisia but not in conservative Islamic countries like Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach
A validated questionnaire derived from literature is used for data collection. Data were collected from 381 college students in four provincial capital cities of Pakistan (Karachi, Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar). Structural equation modeling is used to test the framework.
Findings
This study reveals key significant cause and effect relationships like consumers religiosity on foreign product judgment, consumers animosity on foreign product judgment, consumers religiosity on ethnocentric tendencies of consumers, consumers ethnocentric tendencies on foreign product judgment and foreign product judgment on purchase action of consumers.
Originality/value
This study attempts to add value to the existing literature on consumer behavior, especially the role of religiosity, animosity and ethnocentrism in young consumers. This study is the first of its kind on examining religiosity, animosity and ethnocentrism among young consumers in Pakistan. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study will guide the marketing managers to formulate appropriate strategies when targeting young consumers, especially when they decide to boycott US products.
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The purpose of this paper is to develop Triple Finite Volume Method (tFVM), the author discretizes incompressible Navier-Stokes equation by tFVM, which leads to a special linear…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop Triple Finite Volume Method (tFVM), the author discretizes incompressible Navier-Stokes equation by tFVM, which leads to a special linear system of saddle point problem, and most computational efforts for solving the linear system are invested on the linear solver GMRES.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, by recently developed preconditioner Hermitian/Skew-Hermitian Separation (HSS) and the parallel implementation of GMRES, the author develops a quick solver, HSS-pGMRES-tFVM, for fast solving incompressible Navier-Stokes equation.
Findings
Computational results show that, the quick solver HSS-pGMRES-tFVM significantly increases the solution speed for saddle point problem from incompressible Navier-Stokes equation than the conventional solvers.
Originality/value
Altogether, the contribution of this paper is that the author developed the quick solver, HSS-pGMRES-tFVM, for fast solving incompressible Navier-Stokes equation.
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Michael Beverland and Lawrence S. Lockshin
The essence of entrepreneurship is “effectual action”. Researchers at the entrepreneurial/marketing interface suggest that small firms adapt marketing theory to their needs…
Abstract
The essence of entrepreneurship is “effectual action”. Researchers at the entrepreneurial/marketing interface suggest that small firms adapt marketing theory to their needs, undertaking a range of emergent actions in response to day‐to‐day events and problems, without recourse to formal planning or research. By way of contrast, brands require guided action, in order to build a sustainable position in the marketplace, while research also reveals that small specialist firms increase their chance of failure if they undertake a range of unguided actions that lead to niche drift. Based upon an in‐depth case study, identifies that SMEs do benefit from constant actions, but only if guided by a strong set of positioning values, which are diffused into an organisational culture, primarily via the actions of the leader.
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