Adjo Amekudzi-Kennedy, Prerna Singh, Zhongyu Yang and Adair Garrett
This paper discusses a multifaceted approach to developing specific and general climate resilience in a state transportation system that focuses on organizations and physical…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper discusses a multifaceted approach to developing specific and general climate resilience in a state transportation system that focuses on organizations and physical infrastructure. The paper focuses on resilience building to the dynamically evolving climate-related threats and extreme events in a transportation agency. This paper aims to enable agencies to understand better how their systems are exposed to different hazards and provide the information necessary for prioritizing their assets and systems for resilience improvement.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper leverages long-term climate hazard databases, spatial and statistical analyses and nonprobabilistic approaches for specific and general climate resilience improvement. Spatial and temporal variability assessments were conducted on granular historical records of exposure obtained from Spatial Hazards Events and Losses Database for the United States data set to identify emerging hot spots of exposure. These were then assessed in combination with various asset specific vulnerability parameters, presented with examples of pavements and bridges. Specific metrics were obtained for the various aspects of vulnerability in the context of a given asset to estimate the overall vulnerability. A criticality-vulnerability matrix was then developed to provide a prioritization model for transportation systems.
Findings
This paper provides insights into the evolving nature of exposure, vulnerability and risk assessments and an approach to systematically account for climate change and the uncertainties associated with it in resilience planning. The Multi-Hazards Exposure, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment tool presented in this paper conducts climate hazard exposure, vulnerability and risk analysis on pavements, bridges and culverts and can be applied by any transportation agency.
Research limitations/implications
This study does not address operational aspects of the transportation system nor include future climate scenario data, but uses the historical records available at hand for resilience planning. With better climate projection data available in the future, the approach should be enhanced by leveraging scenario-based planning.
Practical implications
This paper is of potential value to practitioners and researchers interested in developing resilience building capabilities to manage the effects of climate-related hazards and extreme events as well as unknown threats on infrastructure and organizational performance.
Originality/value
This paper bridges an important gap in infrastructure resilience approaches by systematically accounting for the dynamic nature of climate change and the system level context of vulnerability beyond the physical condition of assets.
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Michael Klesel, Frederike Marie Oschinsky, Colin Conrad and Bjoern Niehaves
This study sought to distinguish characteristics of cognitive processes while using information technology. In particular, it identifies similarities and differences between mind…
Abstract
Purpose
This study sought to distinguish characteristics of cognitive processes while using information technology. In particular, it identifies similarities and differences between mind wandering and cognitive absorption in technology-related settings in an effort to develop a deeper understanding of the role that mind wandering plays when using information technology.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was gathered using an online survey including responses from 619 English-speaking adults in 2019. We applied a confirmatory factor analysis and used a robust variant of maximum likelihood estimator with robust standard errors and a Satorra–Bentler scaled test statistic. The data analysis procedure was conducted with the R environment using the psych package for descriptive analysis, and lavaan to investigate the factorial structure and the underlying correlations.
Findings
We discuss the benefits of carefully differentiating between cognitive processes in Information Systems research and depict avenues how future research can address current shortcomings with a careful investigation of neurophysiological antecedents.
Originality/value
To date, mind wandering has been explored as a single phenomenon, though research in reference disciplines has begun to distinguish varieties and how they distinctly impact behavior. We demonstrate that this distinction is also important for our discipline by showing how two specific types of mind wandering (i.e. deliberate and spontaneous mind wandering) are differently correlated with sub-dimensions of cognitive absorption, a well-studied construct.
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Colin Williams and Jan Windebank
The aim of this paper is to evaluate contrasting ways of tackling self-employment in the informal sector. Conventionally, the participation of the self-employed in the informal…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to evaluate contrasting ways of tackling self-employment in the informal sector. Conventionally, the participation of the self-employed in the informal sector has been viewed as a rational economic decision taken when the expected benefits outweigh the costs, and thus enforcement authorities have sought to change the benefit-to-cost ratio by increasing the punishments and chances of being caught. Recently, however, neo-institutional theory has viewed such endeavor as a product of a lack of vertical trust (in government) and horizontal trust (in others) and pursued trust-building strategies to nurture voluntary compliance.
Design/methodology/approach
To evaluate these contrasting policy approaches, data are reported from special Eurobarometer survey 92.1 conducted in 2019 across 28 European countries (the 27 member states of the European Union and the United Kingdom) involving over 27,565 interviews.
Findings
Using probit regression analysis, the finding is that the likelihood of participation in informal self-employment is not associated with the level of expected punishments and chances of being caught, but is significantly associated with the level of vertical and horizontal trust, with a greater likelihood of participation in informal self-employment when there is lower vertical and horizontal trust.
Practical implications
The outcome is a call for state authorities to shift away from the use of repressive policy measures that increase the penalties and chances of being caught and toward trust-building strategies to nurture voluntary compliance. How this can be achieved is explored.
Originality/value
Evidence is provided to justify a shift toward seeking trust-building strategies by state authorities to engender voluntary compliance among the self-employed operating in the informal sector in Europe.
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Gareth James Brennan and MaryBeth Gallagher
Occupational choice describes the process that leads to occupational engagement as a result of intrinsic and extrinsic influences. There has been a considerable amount of research…
Abstract
Purpose
Occupational choice describes the process that leads to occupational engagement as a result of intrinsic and extrinsic influences. There has been a considerable amount of research concerning occupational choice, gender and adolescence. However, this has largely focused on the areas of career choice and engagement in risky health behaviours. This paper aims to expand on the literature by providing a broader scope of occupation more aligned with the concept associated with occupational science. Furthering this, the researcher aims to examine the influence of gender as an extrinsic influence on occupational choice. The researcher aims to explore how contextual influences inform gendered occupational choice.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory qualitative approach was used in the current study. Incorporating photographs as a means of elucidating conversation during the interview process, photo-elicitation interview techniques were used as part of the data collection. This involved using a collection of photographs to prompt participants to discuss their interpretations of various occupations. Six adolescent boys and girls aged 11-14 years participated in the study. Participants were recruited from mixed-gendered sports clubs in the West of Ireland. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. An occupational justice perspective was used to interpret the data.
Findings
Responses suggest that gender informs occupational choice through different mechanisms. These included social systems, physical and institutional opportunities as well as expectations participants held of themselves and others they considered to be within their social grouping. Social systems included groups such as friends and family. The ease of access to physical and institutional resources was another factor that informed choice. Participants projected views of expectations they perceived others held for them informed how the participants made their choices. These factors varied across gender. Despite opportunities being available to both sexes, choices were often restricted to particular occupations.
Originality/value
The findings suggest that factors informing the occupational choices of adolescents included a combination of intrinsic factors such as gender and perspectives, as well as external factors including peers, family and opportunities in the local community. Practical applications of this involve acknowledging and further understanding the contextually situated nature of choice to provide more equitable practice. The results of the study may provide more insight into the factors that enable and inhibit occupation. A further understanding of these influences can redirect how we view adolescent occupations in a way that promotes health.
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Agneta Häll, Stefan Tengblad, Margareta Oudhuis and Lotta Dellve
The purpose of this paper is to critically study the implementation and contextualization of the human resource transformation (HRT) management model within the human resources…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to critically study the implementation and contextualization of the human resource transformation (HRT) management model within the human resources (HR) function of a global industrial company group.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative case study that includes two data collections.
Findings
Implementation of the HRT model led to tensions and conflicting interpretations of the mission of the HR function, and a “tug of war” about the distribution of work both within HR and between HR and line management. Splitting the HR function into three legs made the HR function's learning cycles more difficult. The corporate group had a decentralized and diverse business culture, and contextualization of the HRT model to this setting highlighted the model's embeddedness in the American business culture of centralization and standardization. Implementation of the model also entailed a transition from an employee to an employer perspective within HR.
Research limitations/implications
For an assessment of HR's total work other parts of the HRT model (Ulrich and Brockbank, 2005) need to be involved since HR professionals in the insourced or outsourced shared service center (SSC) and Center of Expertise (CoE) and the e-HR tools are equally important for executing the total HR's mission. Further studies of the problematic human resource business partner (HRBP) role are needed and also what the development of e-HR solutions means for the HR profession.
Practical implications
The authors argue for a continuous development of HR work, along with closer professional contact both with line managers (LMs) and within the HR function, for improved learning cycles and a need for contextualization when implementing management models.
Social implications
The paper discusses the HRT model's impact on HR practitioners’ and LMs’ work practice.
Originality/value
This article shows the need for contextualization when implementing management models. The lack of such contextualization led to severe tensions, and the intentions of an efficient and respected HR function were not achieved. The study contributes an evaluation of the tensions between HRT as a normative and standardized model in business settings accustomed to variety and decentralized decision-making.
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Nadine Strauss and Christopher Holmes Smith
The purpose of this paper is to research how corporate communication regarding a specific corporate event (i.e. Tesla’s tweets about a new product) as well as the framing of both…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to research how corporate communication regarding a specific corporate event (i.e. Tesla’s tweets about a new product) as well as the framing of both the event itself and the market reactions therewith in the news media influence the formation of the share price of the respective company over time. In so doing, the study provides insights into the nature of market-moving information and the role of financial news flows in shaping market reactions in today’s high-frequency news and information environment.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a multi-method case study approach, combining quantitative intraday event studies with a qualitative text analysis of financial online news and tweets by Elon Musk and Twitter, the authors shed light on the complex interaction between market events, financial information and stock market reactions. The analysis covers a period of four days, encompassing the announcement and introduction of the new battery pack for Model S and X by Tesla as well as the accompanying and follow-up reporting by the financial news media.
Findings
Findings show that market reactions are driven by business events and expectations among the market rather than the follow-up reporting by financial news media. Financial online news instead seems to heavily rely on Elon Musk’s attention-triggering news to sustain its 24-h airtime with a variety of reporting tools, keeping the highly demanded audience engaged. Eventually, Twitter accounts of media visible companies and personalities, such as Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk, have been found to be useful market information sources for day traders and shareholders to trade at a profit.
Originality/value
The study is a response to recent discussions about the legitimacy of Twitter communication by CEOs or representatives of listed companies. The findings show that Twitter communication needs to be well considered in light of strict market regulations (e.g. SEC in the USA) regarding insider-trading and the publication of market-relevant information. In addition, corporate financial communication should avoid impetuous communication via social media channels as this could have deterrent effects on the market valuation of a listed company.