Samantha Marie Walkden and Kirstie Turner
Individuals with severe mental illness (SMI), such as schizophrenia, frequently experience public stigma, which can be further enhanced if the individual has an offending history…
Abstract
Purpose
Individuals with severe mental illness (SMI), such as schizophrenia, frequently experience public stigma, which can be further enhanced if the individual has an offending history. This study aims to examine how perceiver attributes, including empathy and endorsement of right-wing views, can impact perceptions and attitudes towards individuals with schizophrenia who offend.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used an online survey method, recruiting an international public sample (N = 396), with an age range of 18–71 years (M = 33.15, SD = 11.42). Participants’ level of contact with mental illness, empathy and right-wing views were measured and considered in relation to their impact on reported stigma.
Findings
Results highlighted that a greater level of contact with individuals with schizophrenia, and increased levels of empathy, were strong predictors of decreased levels of stigma towards individuals with schizophrenia who offend. Whereas stronger endorsement of right-wing attitudes were associated with increased stigma towards this population.
Originality/value
This research offers a unique contribution by considering a variety of perceiver attributes that contribute towards stigma directed at this population. The theoretical and practical implications of this research are considered, thus contributing to the limited literature on perceptions of individuals with schizophrenia who offend. The discussion highlights limitations and makes suggestions for future research.
Details
Keywords
Jitendra Yadav, Kuldeep Singh, Nripendra P. Rana and Denis Dennehy
Social media has played a pivotal role in polarizing views on Russia–Ukraine conflict. The effects of polarization in online interactions have been extensively studied in many…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media has played a pivotal role in polarizing views on Russia–Ukraine conflict. The effects of polarization in online interactions have been extensively studied in many contexts. This research aims to examine how multiple social media sources may act as an integrator of information and act as a platform for depolarizing behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
This study analyzes the communications of 6,662 tweets related to the sanctions imposed on Russia by using textual analytics and predictive modeling.
Findings
The research findings reveal that the tweeting behavior of netizens was depolarized because of information from multiple social media sources. However, the influx of information from non-organizational sources such as trending topics and discussions has a depolarizing impact on the user’s pre-established attitude.
Research limitations/implications
For policymakers, conflict mediators and observers, and members of society in general, there is a need for (1) continuous and consistent communication throughout the crisis, (2) transparency in the information being communicated and (3) public awareness of the polarized and conflicting information being provided from multiple actors that may be biased in the claims being made about the conflict crisis.
Originality/value
While previous research has examined Russia–Ukraine conflict from a variety of perspectives, this is the first study to examine how social media might be used to reduce attitude polarization during times of conflict.
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Chima Mordi, Babatunde Akanji and Hakeem Ajonbadi
Given the debilitating ways the COVID-19 global crisis altered peoples’ work–life affairs, this paper explores the effect of technology-related stress that UK academics…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the debilitating ways the COVID-19 global crisis altered peoples’ work–life affairs, this paper explores the effect of technology-related stress that UK academics encountered working from home during the lockdown. Drawing on boundary management theory, the study uncovered how the extreme deluge of teleworking heightened technostress that made it challenging to either segment or integrate work–life boundaries as both domains became exceedingly blurry, which necessitated a novel experience conceptualised as boundary violations with negative outcomes ensuing.
Design/methodology/approach
The dataset consists of semi-structured interviews with 32 academics in the UK. We rely on the interpretative paradigm using a qualitative research method.
Findings
The results reveal how the proliferation of technostress paved the way for a rising loss of boundary identity between professional and private affairs, morbidity and techno-isolation, which reinforced work–family conflict. The study’s findings highlight the processes involved in boundary disruption, as both domains were eroded in the wake of the unprecedented level of telework, which resulted in boundary violations (conceived as instances in which actions, conditions or situations either breach or neglect desired boundary management practices).
Research limitations/implications
The challenges involved in teleworking have seldom been the focus of work-life studies using role boundary management constructs in relation to the coronavirus pandemic. Hence, our study provides novel contributions to the contextually limiting conditions that have thwarted the well-established segmentation and integration processes of boundary management by conceptualising the boundary violations orchestrated by the invasive tendencies of virtual working environments and rising technostress caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Originality/value
While research on teleworking has consistently established more positive outcomes for both employees and organisations, the novelty of the present study is its contributions to the negative implications of remote working during the coronavirus pandemic, one of which is technostress. The study further discusses work–life implications for future research on the factors that made remote working particularly challenging during the coronavirus crisis.