Martin Fontanari and Alexandra Kern
No tourist segment is at present marked by such a massive expansion of offers like the ones of spa tourism. Today, only in Germany more than 350 medicinal baths and spas try to…
Abstract
No tourist segment is at present marked by such a massive expansion of offers like the ones of spa tourism. Today, only in Germany more than 350 medicinal baths and spas try to position themselves on the market highly demanded “self‐payers” (see Deutscher Heilbäderverband 2002, p. 257–573.). Even outside the spas, the offer of health‐tourism develops dynamically. The demand‐side oft he market for health‐tourism services is very promising and has initiated a world‐wide mobilization health‐conscious tourists. To be actually perceived in this very growing market, suppliers — particularly medicinal baths and spas — which have a rather “traditional” image — must distinguish themselves with a clear profile. Moreover, capital projects or business promotions require clear decisive factors towards specialization and how to position oneself in the long‐term. Last but not least it remains to be answered how medicinal baths and spas should be presented on the market at the level of tourism destinations or countries in order to differ from other spa destinations. Of course, these questions are not only a challenge for medicinal baths and spas in the German‐speaking countries. Particularly in Eastern Europe where today huge amounts of money are invested into the infrastructure of health‐tourism, a basis for long‐term support factors as well as for decision taking factors are required to align the specific offer with the needs of selected target groups. For this complex setting of tasks the European Tourism Institute (ETI) has developed a well‐aligned instrument for data‐collection, data‐evaluation and data‐analysis which makes possible consistent decisions on product development and product positioning for the individual spas well as for marketing on the regional or state level. Therefore, the comparative analysis of spas takes into consideration the needs of the market as well as the specific design of offers and the attractiveness of locations.
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Alexandra Schnabel and Clem Bastow
From the authors’ personal and professional experiences, they have observed that autistic women are uniquely at risk of interpersonal trauma. Given the tendency for autistic women…
Abstract
Purpose
From the authors’ personal and professional experiences, they have observed that autistic women are uniquely at risk of interpersonal trauma. Given the tendency for autistic women to be overlooked in research and practice, this study aims to rectify this by exploring the relevant literature and including the voices of autistic women throughout this paper.
Design/methodology/approach
This study completed a literature review of quantitative and qualitative data relating to exposure to interpersonal trauma in autistic women. This study also reviewed relevant discursive evidence available on in memoirs and reports. This study also included dialogue between us as authors from an auto/“Autie”-ethnographic position.
Findings
Both clinical literature and discursive evidence support the idea that autistic women are uniquely at risk of interpersonal trauma, in particular, sexual victimisation. Explanatory factors are considered. Studies exploring rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were less consistent. Further evidence is required to better understand how autistic women experience and express PTSD and to inform assessment and treatment modifications.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to integrate clinical literature and discursive evidence on the topic of interpersonal trauma in autistic women. It provides useful insights into the experiences of autistic women in this space, directions for urgently needed future research and modifications to clinical practice.
Alexandra Frank and Dalena Dillman Taylor
Post-COVID-19, public K–12 schools are still facing the consequences of the years of interrupted learning. Schools serving minoritized students are particularly at risk for facing…
Abstract
Purpose
Post-COVID-19, public K–12 schools are still facing the consequences of the years of interrupted learning. Schools serving minoritized students are particularly at risk for facing challenges with academics, behavior and student social emotional health. The university counseling programs are in positions to build capacity in urban schools while also supporting counselors-in-training through service-learning opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
The following conceptual manuscript demonstrates how counselor education counseling programs and public schools can harness the capacity-building benefits of university–school partnerships. While prevalent in fields like special education, counselor educators have yet to heed the hall to participate in mutually beneficial partnership programs.
Findings
Using the multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) and the components of the university–school partnerships, counselor educators and school stakeholders can work together to support student mental health, school staff well-being and counselor-in-training competence.
Originality/value
The benefits and opportunities within the university–school partnerships are well documented. However, few researchers have described a model to support partnerships between the university counseling programs and urban elementary schools. We provide a best practice model using the principles of university–school partnerships and a school’s existing MTSS framework.
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Alexandra Gkliati, Anna Saiti, Michael Chletsos and Alexandros Panagiotis Bechlioulis
This study aims to investigate, through employees’ perceptions in Greece’s private sector, the relationship between the minimum wage and employee well-being, job satisfaction and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate, through employees’ perceptions in Greece’s private sector, the relationship between the minimum wage and employee well-being, job satisfaction and work-life balance.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured questionnaire was used consisting of four sections: employees’ personal characteristics, employee well-being, job satisfaction and work-life balance. Due to its normal distribution, correlations, T-test and simple linear regression models were executed to examine the relationships between the variables.
Findings
The main findings were: a) the wage had a significant relationship with job satisfaction and employees’ well-being, b) there is no strong statistical significance between work-life balance and wages, c) the wage was found to be a significant predictor of employees’ well-being and work life balance, and d) there were statistically significant differences between the group of employees who received the minimum wage and the group of employees who received higher wages in terms of employees’ well-being.
Originality/value
The originality of this study is that it combines a purely financial concept, such as the minimum wage, with specific elements of organizational behaviour, such as employee well-being. A better understanding of this relationship will enable companies to increase employee productivity through their willing cooperation.
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The religious tradition of male circumcision has come increasingly under attack across a number of European states. While critics of the practice argue that the problem is about…
Abstract
The religious tradition of male circumcision has come increasingly under attack across a number of European states. While critics of the practice argue that the problem is about children’s rights and the proper relationship between secular and religious traditions, Jews tend to see these attacks within the longer history of attempts to assimilate and remake them according to the norms of the majority. Using the 2012 German legal controversy concerning the issue as my vantage point, I explore how contemporary criticism of male circumcision remains entangled with ambivalence toward Judaism and the Jews as the “other.” Through a close reading of the arguments, I show how opponents use the seemingly neutral language of universal human rights to (re)make Jewish difference according to the norms of the majority. I conclude by arguing that such an approach to this issue runs the risk of turning Jews once again into strangers at a time when cultural anxieties are troubling European societies.
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This article seeks to address differential experiences of the “time squeeze”. It problematises current accounts which explain time pressure as resulting from substantive increases…
Abstract
Purpose
This article seeks to address differential experiences of the “time squeeze”. It problematises current accounts which explain time pressure as resulting from substantive increases in the volume of activities performed in daily life and/or an acceleration of the tempo of daily practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The main data source is in‐depth household interviews, although analysis of data from the 1985 and 1992 Health and Lifestyle Survey and the 1937 “day in the life of diaries” are also examined.
Findings
It is argued that harriedness best captures contemporary temporal experiences. Three forms of harriedness are identified: substantive overload; temporal dis‐organisation; and, temporal density. The latter two forms are characterised by the challenge of coordinating practices within social networks and the difficulty of allocating practices in relation to temporally fixed institutional events.
Originality/value
It is suggested that these two forms of harriedness capture women's experiences more so than men's, and that technologies which facilitate time saving and shifting exacerbate rather than alleviate this temporal conditioning of daily life.
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Yuyan Zhang and Alexandra Luong
The current study aims to examine the antecedents and outcomes of emotional labor strategies (i.e. surface acting and deep acting) among service employees in China. The study…
Abstract
Purpose
The current study aims to examine the antecedents and outcomes of emotional labor strategies (i.e. surface acting and deep acting) among service employees in China. The study proposed employees’ perceived closeness with customers and customers’ socioeconomic status will predict deep acting and surface acting, respectively. It further examined the mediating role of emotional labor between perceived customer attributes and employee well-being (i.e. burnout and job satisfaction).
Design/methodology/approach
One hundred and one employees at a jewelry store in China completed a survey regarding their perceptions of customers, use of emotional labor and well-being (e.g. job satisfaction and burnout). Correlational and regression analyses were conducted to examine the predictors and outcomes of different emotional labor strategies.
Findings
Perceived closeness with the customer group predicted employees’ use of deep acting, whereas perceived customer socioeconomic status did not predict the use of surface acting. Deep acting was negatively related with burnout, whereas surface acting did not predict burnout. Deep acting mediated the relationship between perceived closeness with customers and burnout.
Practical implications
To maintain employee well-being, organizations can promote a service climate to enhance employees’ perceived relationship with customers.
Originality/value
The study specifies the interpersonal context in which employees use different emotional labor strategies; the perceived closeness with customers predicts less burnout via the use of more deep acting. This study also supplements the existing research on emotional labor based on a Chinese sample; deep acting predicts employee well-being.
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Eva Maria Schulte, Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock and Simone Kauffeld
This paper aims to examine the effects of age on counteractive team meeting behaviors (e.g. complaining). Forgiveness is included as a potential buffer against these behaviors. A…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the effects of age on counteractive team meeting behaviors (e.g. complaining). Forgiveness is included as a potential buffer against these behaviors. A multilevel model is developed to test individual and team level age effects.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 313 employees nested in 54 teams completed a forgiveness questionnaire and were videotaped during regular team meetings.
Findings
Multilevel modeling revealed that both individual age and average team age predicted counteractive team meeting behavior. Team level age diversity was linked to decreased counteractive behavior. Forgiveness moderated the negative link between individual age (but not team average age) and counteractive behavior.
Research limitations/implications
This is the first study examining age effects in the context of counteractive meeting behavior. Although the authors' findings need to be substantiated in further research, they show that older team members engage in significantly more counteractive communication – forgiveness can help alleviate this effect.
Practical implications
Teams with older team members should be sensitized to avoid counteractive behavior. Moreover, team composition should target high age diversity. Managerial interventions should also aim to facilitate forgiveness in the work environment, especially among older team members.
Originality/value
Research on dysfunctional team meeting behavior is sparse, and the role of age effects has not been examined in this context. The authors identify a significant link between age and counteractive meeting behavior. This multilevel model shows differential effects of individual age, team average age, and age diversity on counteractive communication. Furthermore, a buffer against these dysfunctional behaviors is identified: forgiveness.
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Waheed Ali Umrani, Imdad Ali Siyal, Umair Ahmed, Ghulam Ali Arain, Hassan Sayed and Sumera Umrani
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the perceptions of faculty members about the influence of family motivation on their self-efficacy and organizational citizenship…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the perceptions of faculty members about the influence of family motivation on their self-efficacy and organizational citizenship behavior-individual (OCBI).
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed model was tested on a sample of 353 faculty members from different public and private universities of Pakistan. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze data.
Findings
Surprisingly, results reveal that family motivation was not positively related to faculty members’ OCBI; instead, this relationship is fully mediated by self-efficacy. The findings suggest that it is employees’ self-efficacy belief through which their family motivation translates to their increased OCBI. This study also finds that supporting the family is a powerful source of motivation to work, offering meaningful practical and theoretical implications for policy-makers, leaders, managers and researchers on the new dynamics of work and family engagements.
Originality/value
The study contributes to human resource management (HRM) and organizational behavior (OB) literatures by providing some useful practical implications for managers and HRM and OB consultants who are interested in understanding the underlying psychological mechanisms (i.e. self-efficacy) through which employees’ family motivation results in the increased OCBI.
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This paper aims to investigate the quality of access to translated fiction published between 2007 and 2011 in six large Canadian public libraries, answering the question about…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the quality of access to translated fiction published between 2007 and 2011 in six large Canadian public libraries, answering the question about what public libraries can do to help acquaint their readers with international translated fiction.
Design/methodology/approach
The article uses the method of bibliographic data analysis based on 2,100 catalog records.
Findings
As the results demonstrate, enhanced bibliographic catalog records deliver a wealth of information about translated fiction titles and facilitate meaningful subject access to their contents. At the same time, promotional activities related to translated fiction have room for improvement.
Practical implications
Despite the fact that the study focuses on public libraries, its findings will be of interest not only to public but also academic librarians, any librarian tasked with the selection and acquisition of translated fiction, reference and readers’ advisory librarians in any type of library, Library and Information Science students and anyone interested in access to translated fiction.
Originality/value
While many recent studies have turned their attention to enhanced catalog records and their role in access, discovery and collection promotion, there are no studies dealing with translated fiction specifically. The article also contributes to seeing an in-depth understanding of bibliographic records and cataloging as part and parcel of reference librarians’ knowledge and skill set, which improves retrieval practices and access provision.