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1 – 10 of 105Over its almost 25 years of existence (1964–1988), the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS, or Centre) was chronically understaffed, at times thriving academically and…
Abstract
Over its almost 25 years of existence (1964–1988), the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS, or Centre) was chronically understaffed, at times thriving academically and politically, and all too often on the edge of closure. It however left a tangible trace in the history of academia and political activism, not only by laying the groundwork for a new research field, that of cultural studies, but also by having been a place of nearly constant pedagogical freedom and experimentation. By being a space of cooperation and confrontation both within and without, the Centre has been deeply influenced by political events and university reforms alike. It became a democratic space: guarding the walls of an unstable academic praxis, reinventing itself over and over, redefining its aims and objects, publishing ground-breaking research in the realm of social science and doing field work in constant relationship to left wing politics. This paper aims at situating the CCCS and analysing the ways in which it has invested the concept of fragmented powers: first, by replacing the Centre in the wider context of British post-war politics, then by retracing its steps alongside the evolution of the British university system over the second half of the 20th century and finally by examining its administrative, pedagogical and publishing practices, as so many instances of fragmented powers inside a university research study.
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Claire Johnson, Jérémie B. Dupuis, Wendjie Robichaudb, Edwige Kamwa Pone and Caroline P. LeBlanc
This study aims to examine whether inmate’s social support network is related to changes in anthropometric data among individuals in Canadian correctional facilities.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine whether inmate’s social support network is related to changes in anthropometric data among individuals in Canadian correctional facilities.
Design/methodology/approach
Methods: A total of 754 participants in federal correctional facilities who had been incarcerated for at least six months responded to the questionnaire by interview regarding their social support network. Chi-square tests and non-parametric tests for median comparison were used to measure changes in anthropometric data [weight and body mass index (BMI)] between the date of admission into custody and the date of the interview. Subsequently, a multivariate regression analysis for BMI change was conducted to adjust for covariates such as sex, age and ethnicity.
Findings
Results: Participants who received more than two visits per month had significantly lower weight gain (2.6 kg) than those who received less than one visit per month (7.1 kg, p = 0.02). Similar results were observed for the average change in BMI (p = 0.01). The influence of an external social support network on BMI change remained significant after adjusting for covariates. Conclusions: An individual's external social support network (outside the prison environment) may protect against weight gain in correctional facilities. Given how social support will vary based on the prison context by country and jurisdiction, individual and organizational strategies should be considered to maintain a healthy social support network and increase the number of visits (at every stage of incarceration) to counteract this weight gain and its adverse health consequences.
Originality/value
The social support network outside the prison environment may protect against weight gain in correctional facilities. Strategies should be considered to maintain a healthy social support network and increase the number of visits to counteract this weight gain and its adverse health consequences.
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Richard W. Puyt, Finn Birger Lie and Dag Øivind Madsen
The purpose of this study is to revisit the conventional wisdom about a key contribution [i.e. strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis] in the field of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to revisit the conventional wisdom about a key contribution [i.e. strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis] in the field of strategic management. The societal context and the role of academics, consultants and executives is taken into account in the emergence of SWOT analysis during the 1960–1980 period as a pivotal development within the broader context of the satisfactory, opportunities, faults, threats (SOFT) approach. The authors report on both the content and the approach, so that other scholars seeking to invigorate indigenous theories and/or underreported strategy practices will thrive.
Design/methodology/approach
Applying a historiographic approach, the authors introduce an evidence-based methodology for interpreting historical sources. This methodology incorporates source criticism, triangulation and hermeneutical interpretation, drawing upon insights from robust evidence through three iterative stages.
Findings
The underreporting of the SOFT approach/SWOT analysis can be attributed to several factors, including strategy tools being integrated into planning frameworks rather than being published as standalone materials; restricted circulation of crucial long-range planning service/theory and practice of planning reports due to copyright limitations; restricted access to the Stanford Research Institute Planning Library in California; and the enduring popularity of SOFT and SWOT variations, driven in part by their memorable acronyms.
Originality
In the spirit of a renaissance in strategic planning research, the authors unveil novel theoretical and social connections in the emergence of SWOT analysis by combining evidence from both theory and practice and delving into previously unexplored areas.
Research implications
Caution is advised for scholars who examine the discrete time frame of 1960–1980 through mere bibliometric techniques. This study underscores the risks associated with gathering incomplete and/or inaccurate data, emphasizing the importance of triangulating evidence beyond scholarly databases. The paradigm shift of strategic management research due to the advent of large language models poses new challenges and the risk of conserving and perpetuating academic urban legends, myths and lies if training data is not adequately curated.
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This paper investigates whether resilience capabilities influence manufacturing performance dimensions. Specifically, it empirically analyses how supply chain agility, alertness…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates whether resilience capabilities influence manufacturing performance dimensions. Specifically, it empirically analyses how supply chain agility, alertness, adaptability and preparedness affect manufacturing firms’ operational and sustainable (economic, social and environmental) performance aspects.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employed a deductive approach and an explanatory design. It gathered survey data from 285 managers in 5,329 Ghanaian manufacturing firms and analysed it using structural equation modelling.
Findings
The study found resilience capabilities comprising agility, alertness and adaptability to significantly and positively predict changes in manufacturing firms’ sustainable (environmental, economic and social) and operational performance. However, the preparedness capability positively impacts the firms’ operational and environmental performance, not economic and social.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is restricted to Ghana’s manufacturing industry. Underpinned by the dynamic capabilities theory and extensive empirical reviews, the model was developed with four resilient capabilities and four manufacturing performance dimensions.
Practical implications
The study highlights the relevance of resilience in today’s highly disruptive manufacturing environment for achieving sustainable and operational performance. It encourages manufacturing firms to prioritise heavy investments in alertness, adaptability and agile capabilities to overcome supply chain disruptions and enhance sustainable and operational excellence. It also offers significant insights for policymakers, managers and industry players to advance resilience capabilities and swiftly detect and recover from emerging disturbances in manufacturing supply chains, leading to higher performance.
Social implications
The study contributes to resource conservation and a more sustainable future by projecting resilient capabilities in today’s disruptive environments. The shift towards SCR can influence public attitudes and opinions toward manufacturing and contribute to firms’ sustainability goals.
Originality/value
This study is the first to investigate the linkages between resilient capabilities and performance aspects simultaneously in less developed economies like Ghana. In these economies, manufacturing supply chains often face varying risks that continue to disrupt their operations and sustainability goals.
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Jared Van and Richard M. Kubina
This paper aims to discuss how precision teaching holds great promise in enhancing the skills of occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to discuss how precision teaching holds great promise in enhancing the skills of occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists. Precision teaching plays a significant role in developing fluency in foundational motor and speech skills, leading to improved performance in complex skills.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews research focusing on precision teaching’s effectiveness in enhancing oral motor and fine motor skills, such as the Big 6 + 6, and its potential application in related skills.
Findings
Precision teaching provides a measurable and efficient approach to skill development, assisting therapists in improving the daily living and communication abilities of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Originality/value
The broader implications of precision teaching’s application in therapeutic settings are discussed.
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The combination of previously unassociated terms in a metaphor can helpfully illustrate particular characteristics of a person, phenomenon or practice. However, it can also…
Abstract
The combination of previously unassociated terms in a metaphor can helpfully illustrate particular characteristics of a person, phenomenon or practice. However, it can also obfuscate because the focus on some elements may come at the expense of others. The metaphor of the landscape is somewhat ubiquitous in academic literature, and this paper is specifically interested in the ‘higher education landscape’, which is widely used in scholarly – as well as media and policy – writing. By applying thematic analysis to a sample of publications which invoke the term, this paper comprises what Haslanger calls a descriptive and ameliorative approach to investigate both how and why this metaphor is used. By considering these publications cumulatively, we can identify that the higher education landscape enables scholars to simultaneously acknowledge higher education's temporal, social and political positioning, its state of what can feel like permanent and wide-ranging flux, and its diverse cast of interrelated actors. In this way, it serves as a useful and evocative container metaphor for higher education's activities and constituents and the interrelationships and tensions between them. At the same time, its somewhat indiscriminate and indeterminate use can conflate and mask the detail and nature of these dynamics, and it is possible to discern in its application a collective sense of nervousness and uncertainty about higher education more generally.
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The House is currently divided into two separately sitting factions, each claiming parliamentary legitimacy. The split began in October over an effort by a ‘Majority Bloc’ to oust…
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB291755
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Richard Huaman-Ramirez, Renaud Lunardo and Jean Pfiffelmann
Brand heritage has gained traction in the B2C literature. However, its effects on the relationship with buyers in a B2B context, as well as the mechanisms for and conditions under…
Abstract
Purpose
Brand heritage has gained traction in the B2C literature. However, its effects on the relationship with buyers in a B2B context, as well as the mechanisms for and conditions under which such effects are observed, remain underexplored. This study aims to examine and provide empirical evidence for perceived quality and identification – two critical determinants of close B2B relationships – as mechanisms that explain the effects of suppliers’ brand heritage on buyer loyalty. Further, this research identifies past time orientation and supplier size as boundary variables for the positive effects of suppliers’ brand heritage.
Design/methodology/approach
Three empirical studies were conducted to test the conceptual model. In Study 1, 211 professional buyers participated in a cross-sectional study by completing an online questionnaire. The data were analyzed through Partial least squares structural equation modeling. In Studies 2 and 3, 235 and 465 individuals, respectively, with professional experience in negotiation participated in experimental studies, providing support for causality across the hypotheses. Moderated mediation and floodlight analysis were performed.
Findings
This research provides consistent evidence for the hypotheses. First, the findings show that suppliers’ heritage positively affects buyer-supplier identification and quality perceptions in B2B markets, these variables mediating the effect of supplier brand heritage on trust. Second, the authors found support for past-time orientation and supplier size as boundary conditions. Specifically, past-oriented buyers tend to be more loyal toward suppliers boasting a heritage, and such heritage prompts stronger buyer-supplier identification for larger (versus smaller) suppliers.
Research limitations/implications
Caution is needed when generalizing the results observed in this research to broader populations. Because the data were collected only in France and the USA and not in a broader set of countries, generalizability to other cultural settings may be limited. In addition, other effects of supplier heritage on buyer perceptions or behavior could be explored in the B2B branding context. For instance, future studies could explore the relationship between B2B brand heritage and legitimacy, a variable of strong interest for company performance.
Practical implications
Supplier – especially those of larger firms – managers should select the facets and episodes from their company’s heritage most likely to elicit identification. In this regard, companies can extol their brands in different ways to enhance buyers’ perception of heritage and, subsequently, identification. Building on the notion that distinctiveness, warmth and memorable experiences are strong drivers of identification, B2B brands would gain in communicating about themselves as having a unique and distinctive heritage through the success or personality of current or past leaders (e.g. CEOs, founders) or the successes of brand products or services over time.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to explore the influence of supplier brand heritage on buyer-supplier relationship and loyalty in the B2B context. Beyond mere quality, this research finds buyer-supplier identification as a mechanism explaining why suppliers’ brand heritage boosts buyers’ loyalty. This research also determines the conditions (i.e. past-time orientation and supplier size) in which the effects of brand heritage are seen in supplier-buyer relationships.
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Yongseok Kim, Richard T. Gretz and Suman Basuroy
This paper examines the application of the latest iteration of the Uppsala model to digital products by empirically investigating the role of app updates in an app’s…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the application of the latest iteration of the Uppsala model to digital products by empirically investigating the role of app updates in an app’s internationalization.
Design/methodology/approach
We align the evolution of apps through updates in a foreign market with the evolutionary process anchored in the latest Uppsala model and empirically test the model using our data of 410 non-Korean apps launched in South Korea. Particularly, we estimate the effect of app updates on an app’s foreign market performance. For the analysis, we employ a multiple fixed-effects regression model utilizing our panel data.
Findings
We present empirical support for the application of the latest Uppsala model to digital products in the context of apps and demonstrate a positive association between app evolution through updates and successful internationalization. We find that one additional app update is associated with a 6.2% increase in the number of monthly active users in the foreign market. We further show that this effect is conditional on time since entry and cultural distance.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to empirically test the latest Uppsala model in a digital context. Specifically, our work contributes to the emerging literature studying the impact of digitization on internationalization. We also provide empirical evidence supporting the strategic use of app updates to facilitate internationalization.
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