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1 – 10 of 25Samuel Elong, Paul Isolo Mukwaya and Caroline Aboda
This paper aims to respond to the need for “socially sustainable settlements for all” and the need for successful integration within the settlements through building strong social…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to respond to the need for “socially sustainable settlements for all” and the need for successful integration within the settlements through building strong social constructs among the settlers.
Design/methodology/approach
Mixed methods were used in this study. A sample size of 332 households in Pagirinya Refugee Settlement was used. The settlement is divided into six blocks, each block is subdivided into clusters. Each cluster comprises of 100 households. Due to variations in the number of households in each settlement block, the authors used a proportional sampling approach to determine the number of respondent households in each settlement block. Data was collected through questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions. Chi-square and an interdependent multivariate statistical analysis were performed to establish the relationship between housing and social sustainability.
Findings
The study finds a significant relationship between housing and social sustainability when considered jointly on the variables of roofs of buildings and how often the refugee respondents meet with neighbours (p = 0.018) and when considered jointly on the variables of the width of access roads and how knowledgeable the refugee respondents are about their neighbours (p = 0.018). The study also finds a significant relationship between housing and social sustainability when considered jointly on the variables of the number of direct access roads to the households and the number of friends of the refugee respondents (p = 0.019).
Originality/value
With limited literature, this is a novel approach. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous studies focused on the specifics of a building and analysed its relationship with the social dynamics, especially in settlement studies.
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COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the nature of support available to new parents. Previously we conducted a study to explore parents' experiences of shifting to…
Abstract
COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the nature of support available to new parents. Previously we conducted a study to explore parents' experiences of shifting to ‘digitalised’ caregiving specifically focussing on parents' access to online parenting groups. That study is re-examined in this chapter, presenting parents' narratives about their attempts to provide the best environment for their children while most of their face-to-face support networks were unavailable. The analysis aims to determine parents' constructions of the ‘COVID baby’, a term introduced by Brown (2021), although never defined in detail. Three themes were identified: ‘Hopes and fears for the babies’ future’; ‘Peaceful and oblivious babies’; ‘Babies as a perceived mirror of parents’ abilities’. Parents in this study depicted a positive portrait in which babies thrived at home; however, they expressed worries about their children’s future, as they lacked opportunities for development and socialisation usually offered by paid or unpaid group activities. To compensate, some parents engaged in extra labour at home in the face of home-made activities, inspired by previously attended group sessions. We argue that new parents, specifically mothers, are often pressured to display ‘intensive mothering’ to provide the best opportunities for development for their babies and fulfil gender and class expectations: such pressure leads to increased consumerism. Limitations of this approach have been emphasised by the simpler life that the lockdown forced on them, with apparent benefits to the babies' well-being. On the other hand, the need for new parents to be connected to nurturing networks of support remains essential.
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Paul Chipangura, Dewald van Niekerk, Fortune Mangara and Annegrace Zembe
This study aimed to address the underexplored domain of organisational vulnerability, with a specific focus on understanding how vulnerability is understood in organisations and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to address the underexplored domain of organisational vulnerability, with a specific focus on understanding how vulnerability is understood in organisations and the underlying pathways leading to vulnerability.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilised a narrative literature review methodology, using Google Scholar as the primary source, to analyse the concepts of organisational vulnerability in the context of disaster risk studies. The review focused on relevant documents published between the years 2000 and 2022.
Findings
The analysis highlights the multifaceted nature of organisational vulnerability, which arises from both inherent weaknesses within the organisation and external risks that expose it to potential hazards. The inherent weaknesses are rooted in internal vulnerability pathways such as organisational culture, managerial ignorance, human resources, and communication weaknesses that compromise the organisation’s resilience. The external dimension of vulnerability is found in cascading vulnerability pathways, e.g. critical infrastructure, supply chains, and customer relationships.
Originality/value
As the frequency and severity of disasters continue to increase, organisations of all sizes face heightened vulnerability to unforeseen disruptions and potential destruction. Acknowledging and comprehending organisational vulnerability is a crucial initial step towards enhancing risk management effectiveness, fostering resilience, and promoting sustainable success in an interconnected global environment and an evolving disaster landscape.
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Tuncay Odabaş and Esra Gökçen Kaygısız
The “VUCA world” is an environment characterized by unprecedented levels of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). In such a turbulent environment, corporate…
Abstract
The “VUCA world” is an environment characterized by unprecedented levels of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). In such a turbulent environment, corporate entrepreneurship is key for all businesses, especially family firms. Corporate entrepreneurship is a concept that enables innovation, growth, and competitive advantage over competitors. It is a driving force for organizations to make changes in their structures and operations to respond to changes by using the limited resources they have in the environments in which they operate and to reduce the negative effects of shortening product life cycles. Family firms, which have an important place in the economies of countries, are indispensable players in economic activities, they need to think more strategically, and innovative and have an entrepreneurial perspective in ensuring their adaptation for competitive and growth purposes. In this study, the relationship between the place of family firms in the VUCA world and corporate entrepreneurship was tried to be established, and the corporate entrepreneurship of family firms was examined in line with their corporate logic. For this purpose, the news on the corporate websites of seven family companies operating in Türkiye and included in the 2023 Family Business Index was analyzed by content analysis method. Data were coded with thematic coding and findings were revealed. Common types of logic in family firms are market logic and efficiency and savings logic, with a hybrid characteristic consisting of a combination of market logic and efficiency and savings logic.
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Joseph Nockels, Paul Gooding and Melissa Terras
This paper focuses on image-to-text manuscript processing through Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR), a Machine Learning (ML) approach enabled by Artificial Intelligence (AI)…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper focuses on image-to-text manuscript processing through Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR), a Machine Learning (ML) approach enabled by Artificial Intelligence (AI). With HTR now achieving high levels of accuracy, we consider its potential impact on our near-future information environment and knowledge of the past.
Design/methodology/approach
In undertaking a more constructivist analysis, we identified gaps in the current literature through a Grounded Theory Method (GTM). This guided an iterative process of concept mapping through writing sprints in workshop settings. We identified, explored and confirmed themes through group discussion and a further interrogation of relevant literature, until reaching saturation.
Findings
Catalogued as part of our GTM, 120 published texts underpin this paper. We found that HTR facilitates accurate transcription and dataset cleaning, while facilitating access to a variety of historical material. HTR contributes to a virtuous cycle of dataset production and can inform the development of online cataloguing. However, current limitations include dependency on digitisation pipelines, potential archival history omission and entrenchment of bias. We also cite near-future HTR considerations. These include encouraging open access, integrating advanced AI processes and metadata extraction; legal and moral issues surrounding copyright and data ethics; crediting individuals’ transcription contributions and HTR’s environmental costs.
Originality/value
Our research produces a set of best practice recommendations for researchers, data providers and memory institutions, surrounding HTR use. This forms an initial, though not comprehensive, blueprint for directing future HTR research. In pursuing this, the narrative that HTR’s speed and efficiency will simply transform scholarship in archives is deconstructed.
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This study explores the segregated context of Estonian education systems, where Estonian and Russian medium schools coexist. Using the underrepresented theory of liminality in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the segregated context of Estonian education systems, where Estonian and Russian medium schools coexist. Using the underrepresented theory of liminality in sociology, the author examines the vulnerable positions of teachers in Russian-medium schools.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employs a qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews as the main method, the snowball sampling technique of data collection and a hybrid thematic analysis. The sample includes 27 teachers from around Estonia.
Findings
The findings reveal that these teachers experience different forms of liminality, shaped by self-defined, socially constructed and ontological constraints. These liminal moments foster teacher reflexivity, serving as a catalyst for their transformations while navigating the state of “in-betweenness.”
Practical implications
Practically, as Estonia continues to navigate its educational reforms and cultural shifts, recognizing and addressing the liminality of Russian-medium school teachers is crucial for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within the nation’s educational landscape.
Originality/value
The study brings theoretical novelty to the anthropological theory of liminality, combining it with a new empirical case of the Estonian parallel education system, which had been under-explored from the side of the Russian-speaking community (particularly the Russian-medium schools).
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Francesco Bandinelli, Martina Scapin and Lorenzo Peroni
Finite element (FE) analysis can be used for both design and verification of components. In the case of 3D-printed materials, a proper characterization of properties, accounting…
Abstract
Purpose
Finite element (FE) analysis can be used for both design and verification of components. In the case of 3D-printed materials, a proper characterization of properties, accounting for anisotropy and raster angles, can help develop efficient material models. This study aims to use compression tests to characterize short carbon-reinforced PA12 made by fused filament fabrication (FFF) and to model its behaviour by the FE method.
Design/methodology/approach
In this work, the authors focus on compression tests, using post-processed specimens to overcome external defects introduced by the FFF process. The material’s elastoplastic mechanical behaviour is modelled by an elastic stiffness matrix, Hill’s anisotropic yield criterion and Voce’s isotropic hardening law, considering the stacking sequence of raster angles. A FE analysis is conducted to reproduce the material’s compressive behaviour through the LS-DYNA software.
Findings
The proposed model can capture stress values at different deformation levels and peculiar aspects of deformed shapes until the onset of damage mechanisms. Deformation and damage mechanisms are strictly correlated to orientation and raster angle.
Originality/value
The paper aims to contribute to the understanding of 3D-printed material’s behaviour through compression tests on bulk 3D-printed material. The methodology proposed, enriched with an anisotropic damage criterion, could be effectively used for design and verification purposes in the field of 3D-printed components through FE analysis.
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Joseph Quinn and Ashley Harrell
This paper pairs insights from social exchange theory with scholarship on ingroup preferences. We ask: how do the structure and diversity of the exchange network in which an actor…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper pairs insights from social exchange theory with scholarship on ingroup preferences. We ask: how do the structure and diversity of the exchange network in which an actor is embedded at time 1 impact subsequent trust toward an unmet individual at time 2? The goal is to understand whether and how the structures in which people are embedded have lasting, downstream effects on behavior, even toward those whom they might be inclined to distrust.
Methodology/Approach
We randomly assign participants to repeated exchange tasks with different structures (productive, reciprocal, or generalized) with alters who either share or do not share a salient social identity. After a period of interaction in their exchange structure, participants decide whether, and how much, to trust a new alter who either shares or does not share their social identity in a one-shot trust decision.
Findings
Participants embedded in productive exchange networks are more likely than those in generalized or reciprocal exchange networks to trust an unmet interaction partner. Moreover, while trust is higher when the trustee is an ingroup member, this relationship is moderated by the form of exchange. Trust is not lower toward outgroup trustees when the truster was previously embedded in reciprocal exchange.
Social and Theoretical Implications
Our findings collectively suggest that prior exchange structures can affect the extent to which people trust unmet others from different groups. They also imply that extended exposure to, and prosocial interactions with, outgroup others may not be a core prerequisite of intergroup trust.
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