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This study seeks to assess how a humane leadership style affects customer service orientation among casual employees of financial service institutions in Ghana. Using job satisfaction as a moderator, this study predicts that a humane leadership style influences casual employees’ customer service orientation.

Survey data were obtained from 328 frontline casual employees of financial service firms. The structural equation modelling technique of partial least squares was used to test the hypothesised relationships.

The study found that a humane leadership style positively and significantly drives customer service behaviour. Job satisfaction also had a positive effect on customer service orientation among casual employees.

The study appears to be the first of its kind to explore the moderating role of job satisfaction in the connection between humane leadership and customer service orientation from the perspective of casual employees. The study highlights insightful practical implications for corporate managers, HR practitioners and marketing academics.

This chapter considers the challenges of applying engineering practices to knowledge. Knowledge cannot be managed like other forms of capital because it is tacit and intangible. Research has identified economic properties and behaviors that set it apart from physical and financial capital. The authors translate the economic typology of human, structural, and relational capital to Blackler’s four forms of characterizations: embrained, embodied, embedded, and encultured. Knowledge elicitation techniques are discussed, and aligned with Blakely’s four forms of characterizations.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore how high school social studies teachers perceive and address controversial topics in politically polarized suburban classrooms. Research indicates that political polarization significantly affects both teachers and students, with suburban communities being some of the most politically divided in the U.S. By examining the experiences of teachers in these suburban settings and their approaches to handling controversial topics, this study aims to shed light on how the political climate influences teaching practices, discussions of controversial issues and teachers' curriculum-related decisions.

This is a qualitative research study. I interviewed six suburban Long Island high school social studies teachers over the 2021–2022 school year. Each teacher was interviewed twice, with interviews ranging from one to two hours. The interviews were semi-structured and asked the teachers about the purposes of teaching social studies, their communities, their experiences teaching controversial political topics, obstacles around teaching controversial political topics and the ways in which their communities received the teaching of controversial political topics. I used thematic analysis to analyze the interviews. Each interview was analyzed inductively and deductively and coded over three iterative cycles.

These “controversial” topics come with both explicit and implicit pressure to avoid discussion and deliberation in the classroom. The first finding in this section centers on explicit and implicit pressure on teachers to avoid controversial topics. The second finding highlights the consequences of that pressure on teacher curricular decision making. The third and fourth findings are focused on participants' responses to explicit and implicit pressures to avoid controversial topics. The third finding articulates on the role of tenure in approaching controversial topics in polarized communities. The final finding defines and explores teacher use of political opaqueness.

This work adds to the existing literature on social studies education by providing an analysis of how controversial topics are understood and enacted in the suburban environment. By adding the specificity of context to my research I examine the ways in which controversial topics are defined part by their environment, and teacher interpretation of that environment. Further, this work adds to the literature on deliberative pedagogies and controversial topics by considering the roles that contemporary local and national politics play in enacting controversial topics, and the consequences on the classroom and teaching.

In this chapter, the authors explore how the academic work on VR has defined presence to better understand what elements of that theoretical mire are practically useful for designers. The authors scope out the word ‘presence’ as distinct from related terms like immersion and embodiment. The authors unpack the layers of what it means to be present in an experience, connecting that theory to practice with case studies of three games – Assetto Corsa, Dungeons of Eternity and A Fisherman's Tale. The goal of this analysis is to integrate academic insights with practical design strategies, offering a comprehensive approach to enhancing player experience in VR. Presence in VR is a multifaceted concept encompassing self, physical and social dimensions. This chapter aims to translate these academic insights into actionable design principles. By examining how different types and layers of presence manifest in actual games, the authors provide a framework that designers can use to create more engaging and immersive VR experiences. The analysis of the selected games highlights the importance of narrative coherence, realistic interactions and player agency in fostering a sense of presence. Ultimately, this chapter bridges the gap between theory and practice, helping designers to craft VR games that not only engage but also deeply immerse players in their virtual worlds.

Immigrant youth face both unique and disproportionate barriers to sexual health. Targeted sexual health education to redress these disparities requires creative and inclusive approaches that consider personal and community challenges and strengths. This study piloted a novel intervention: SExT: Sex Education by Theatre, a theatre-based, culturally-relevant, participatory action research programme delivered in an immigration destination neighbourhood in Toronto, Canada.

Nineteen youth were trained as peer educators. They participated in theatre-based workshops on sexual health topics which culminated in a performance for local peers. Mixed methods evaluation included surveys which investigated changes in personal and social development over three time-points (pre, post, 4-month follow-up). The impact of the intervention on peer educators was explored in greater depth using qualitative peer interviews and focus groups.

Quantitative study findings indicated that peer educators experienced significant improvements in personal growth, social inclusion and social engagement after participating in SExT and these improvements were maintained at follow-up. Thematic qualitative analysis further indicates that meaningful involvement in a sex education theatre intervention may protect against adverse outcomes and promote self-actualization, connection and active citizenship.

This research stands out for its innovative approach to addressing sexual health disparities among immigrant youth in Toronto using culturally relevant theatre-based peer education. SExT may serve as a model for sexual health interventions for newcomer youth and other priority groups in diverse contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an explicit decision-making structure that aligns with the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Many academic and non-profit organizations aiming to advance workplace DEI maintain traditional hierarchies and decision-making structures that can impede DEI principles. Formal consensus decision-making (FCDM) is an alternative decision-making model that aligns with the values of DEI and may benefit groups undertaking workplace DEI efforts.

The authors are members of a voluntary workgroup formed to promote workplace DEI. In this paper, we offer reflections and insights from group members regarding FCDM and how this practice can contribute to DEI efforts.

Based on group members’ reflections on using FCDM, we provide three main insights about how FCDM can contribute to organizational DEI efforts: (1) Group dynamics, which include greater psychological safety, increased collaboration and power sharing and reduced competition, (2) Group outputs, including clearer decisions and implementation plans and high-quality products and activities and (3) Challenges and tensions of FCDM, including the time needed for FCDM processes, the learning curve associated with a new way of making decisions and internal cognitive tensions when deciding on proposals.

We recommend organizations consider FCDM as a process that may promote DEI by providing an explicit structure through which to share power and foster deliberative group processing.

Our insights from practice represent a novel conceptualization of FCDM as a strategy for promoting DEI within organizations. We also offer considerations for groups seeking to adopt this form of decision-making.