Victoria Catterson, Angela Robb and Catriona Semple
Presents the three winning entries from the 1998 Scottish Schools Essay Competition, organized by the University of Paisley Library and sponsored by John Smith & Son Bookshops…
Abstract
Presents the three winning entries from the 1998 Scottish Schools Essay Competition, organized by the University of Paisley Library and sponsored by John Smith & Son Bookshops Ltd. Victoria Catterson’s first prize winning entry discusses Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit which explores the major themes of the novel: self‐identity, love and betrayal. Angela Robb discusses the theme of avariciousness, and the misfortunes that befall a family as a result of it, from John Steinbeck’s The Pearl. Catriona Semple discusses Jostein Gaarder’s The Solitaire Mystery where a Magic Island, Rainbow Fizz, the indigenous dwarfs and a pack of cards are found to be more akin to life on earth than you might at first expect.
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Robert Lloyd, Daniel Mertens, Ashley Adams, Christianna Pruden and Angela Bates
The purpose of this paper is to establish a supported and validated reference point for understanding how Nicodemus, Kansas warrants significant inclusion in both the history of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish a supported and validated reference point for understanding how Nicodemus, Kansas warrants significant inclusion in both the history of management and current entrepreneurship education.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper consists of a literature review to identify the salient historical and theoretical importance of the community of Nicodemus, Kansas. The research was conducted by reviewing and couching the research in this context.
Findings
Nicodemus, born out of an entrepreneurial spirit of newly liberated Black Americans, is the surviving entrepreneurial force for the African-American efforts in the western US expansion efforts in the later 1800s. The community, courage and cooperative views of the settlers were instrumental in overcoming a variety of hardships inherent in the location, society and time period to not only survive but also deliver growth and success. Nicodemus personified cultural pride and self-reliance, which fueled personal and commercial success.
Practical implications
The cooperative advantage is justified to be included in discussions of American management history, taught in the entrepreneurship curriculum and used by practitioners.
Social implications
Collective courage and cooperative advantage used by Nicodemus carries implications for how modern Black communities can advance their economic and social agendas.
Originality/value
Coverage of Black contributions management and entrepreneurship is scant, but a Black Enlightenment period has recently changed that scholars have recently begun to cover these significant moments in the literature (Prieto and Phipps, 2019). We argue that Nicodemus as an entrepreneurial community serves as a case study that needs contextualization in this Black Enlightenment era and holds pertinent implications for modern Black communities.
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Raushan Aman, Reem Alothmany, Maria Elo and Julie Emontspool
The issues of women empowerment and gender equality have gained the increased attention of scholars and policymakers in Western societies. Gender diversity and the professional…
Abstract
The issues of women empowerment and gender equality have gained the increased attention of scholars and policymakers in Western societies. Gender diversity and the professional participation of women are increasingly acknowledged as transversal drivers for economic development. However, in less developed countries, research and evidence are still accumulating. Thus, this study aims to explore actors and factors empowering female talent to work and achieve managerial positions and run their businesses in two countries with patriarchal social and cultural norms, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan. Based on the qualitative interview data collected from 15 female managers and entrepreneurs working in the healthcare sector, we explore the conditions under which women can start their businesses and get promoted to managerial positions in the organizations. Our findings indicate that individual agencies and structural factors in female talent capacity building and empowering women to achieve higher hierarchical positions in organizations form together important dynamics that foster more inclusive practices and internalized schemes. Furthermore, the findings also demonstrate the importance of female talent empowerment in achieving gender diversity in managerial positions in healthcare organizations. Hence, by stating that increased female talent participation in the upper-echelons of the organization and entrepreneurship contributes to the decent employment of women in countries with male-dominated social and cultural norms and promotes the more inclusive and sustainable economic growth of these countries, our research contributes to United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) #5.5, #8.5 and #10.2.
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Albert D. Ritzhaupt, Angela Marie Kohnen, Christine Wusylko, Xiaoman Wang, Kara Dawson and Max Sommer
The purpose of this study is to explore the role skepticism plays among adolescents’ online information literacy skills.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the role skepticism plays among adolescents’ online information literacy skills.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors provide the conceptual grounding to operationalize and measure the notion of skepticism in an online information literacy context. Inspired by an existing measure known as the Skepticism Scale (Hurtt, 2010), the authors made substantial revisions to the scale to target middle school and high school students’ skepticism in six distinct, but related factors: questioning mind; search for knowledge; suspension of judgment; self-esteem; interpersonal understanding; and autonomy. The authors provide preliminary evidence of validity and reliability of the revised Skepticism Scale using Exploratory Factor Analysis and performed multiple linear regression using the Skepticism Scale measures to predict an adolescents’ online information literacy skills.
Findings
The Skepticism Scale was found to produce internally consistent constructs for all six measures. Three of the six measures were related to online information literacy skills, including the search for knowledge, interpersonal understanding and questioning mind.
Originality/value
This paper attempts to examine the potentially positive role of skepticism in information literacy skills among adolescents.
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María del Mar Alonso-Almeida and Kerstin Bremser
– The purpose of this paper is to explore management decisions during the ongoing financial crisis from a gender perspective.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore management decisions during the ongoing financial crisis from a gender perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical analysis was conducted using a sample of 132 personal surveys involving managers of independent small travel agencies. Findings were extracted using a logistic regression analysis.
Findings
This paper finds some significant gender differences in strategic management decisions in crisis times and in strategic choices. Nevertheless, no differences were found in organizational performance.
Research limitations/implications
The research covers travel agencies in Madrid, Spain. Thus, findings might be restricted to this specific sector or geographic area.
Practical implications
The findings provide useful empirical evidence for leadership development and strategic management that will enhance leadership effectiveness from a gender viewpoint and facilitate advances in women business management theory.
Originality/value
This paper compares strategic managerial decisions in crisis times from a gender viewpoint and analyzes their impact on performance. According to our knowledge no study has currently been found that analyzes decision making in companies led by women and contrasts their actions to those taken by men faced with an identical situation.
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This concurrent mixed methods study aims to collect quantitative data indicating current levels of podcast usage, demographics of those using podcasts, technologies used and…
Abstract
Purpose
This concurrent mixed methods study aims to collect quantitative data indicating current levels of podcast usage, demographics of those using podcasts, technologies used and perceptions of the podcasts. It also aims to collect qualitative data providing an expanded understanding on perceptions of the podcasts and suggestions for future enhancements.
Design/methodology/approach
Six sample podcasts were recorded and made available via New Zealand's UCOL – Universal College of Learning – web site in MP3 format. The target population was staff and students of UCOL. A web‐based survey instrument was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data with 86 complete responses received.
Findings
Results showed that there were differences found between the groups surveyed in perceptions and use of the library instructional podcasts. The majority of respondents thought the podcasts were “very good” with 71.1 per cent in favour of them. The most helpful podcast topics were identified, suggestions for future podcast topics were made, device ownership and required technologies were investigated, preferred times and places for listening to podcasts was ascertained and advantages and disadvantages were determined. The conclusion reached was that podcasting for library instruction does provide benefits and should be pursued.
Research limitations/implications
Participants were self‐selected on a non‐random basis. For these reasons and also due to the low response rate it was not possible to stratify the sample set or generalise results. This method of selection may also have caused a bias in answers towards those already interested in podcasting technology.
Originality/value
As podcasting is a new phenomenon for libraries, little is known about its usage and perceived benefits especially in New Zealand. This research offered an opportunity to fill a small gap in the knowledge of the usage and perceptions of podcasting and future potential as a medium for library instruction. This study was intended as an intermediary step and further research is therefore needed to gain a full picture.
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Ali Coles and Tom Elliott
This paper aims to describe service user experiences of an art psychotherapy group which drew on occupational therapy perspectives to help adults with severe and enduring mental…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe service user experiences of an art psychotherapy group which drew on occupational therapy perspectives to help adults with severe and enduring mental health difficulties move forward in their recovery.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study approach incorporating outcome data was used. The data gathered comprised attendance, facilitators’ clinical notes, photographs of participant artworks, the Psychological Outcome Profiles questionnaire (PSYCHLOPS: www.psychlops.org), a post-therapy feedback form, discussion at post-therapy individual review sessions and participants’ achievements post-group.
Findings
All but one participant scored the group as “very helpful” or “helpful” and all felt that the group had helped them with the personal aims they had identified. The PSYCHLOPS questionnaire yielded a large average effect size, indicating positive change in terms of problems, functioning and well-being. Participants identified several ways in which the group was helpful, and their artwork and reflections indicate how they used the art making in the group to pursue their recovery goals. The service user experiences and outcomes suggest that this group was effective in facilitating recovery for these adults with severe and enduring mental health difficulties.
Originality/value
This group was innovative in integrating approaches from the different professional specialisms and the findings encourage further investigation into this way of working.
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Margaret Robinson and Lori E. Ross
The purpose of this paper is to outline the use of intersectionality theory in research with gender and sexual minorities – that is, with lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline the use of intersectionality theory in research with gender and sexual minorities – that is, with lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) people, and lesser-studied groups such as two-spirited people.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the paper note the limited way that LGBTQ research has taken up issues of intersecting oppression. The paper outlines why theoretical and methodological attention to overlapping oppressions is important, and why theorists of intersectionality have identified the additive model as inadequate. The paper presents a sketch of current best practices for intersectional research, notes special issues for intersectional research arising within qualitative and quantitative paradigms, and finishes with an overview of how these issues are taken up in this special issue of Ethnicity and Inequalities in Health and Social Care.
Findings
Current best practices for intersectional research include. Bringing a critical political lens to data analyses; contextualizing findings in light of systemic oppressions; strategically using both additive and multivariate regression models; and bringing a conscious awareness of the limitations of current methods to our analyses.
Originality/value
This paper addresses the use of intersectionality theory in research with gender and sexual minorities, highlighting methodological issues associated with qualitative and quantitative paradigms in LGBTQ research.
Asish Saha, Lim Hock-Eam and Siew Goh Yeok
The authors analyse the determinants of loan defaults in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) loans in India from the survival duration perspective to draw inferences that…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors analyse the determinants of loan defaults in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) loans in India from the survival duration perspective to draw inferences that have implications for lenders and policymakers.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use the Kaplan–Meier survivor function and the Cox Proportional Hazard model to analyse 4.29 lakhs MSME loan account data originated by a large bank having a national presence from 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2020.
Findings
The estimated Kaplan–Meier survival function by various categories of loan and socio-demographic characteristics reflects heterogeneity and identifies the trigger points for actions. The authors identify the key identified default drivers. The authors find that the subsidy amount is more effective at the lower level and its effectiveness diminishes significantly beyond an optimum level. The simulated values show that the effects of rising interest rates on survival rates vary across industries and types of loans.
Practical implications
The identified points of inflection in the default dynamics would help banks to initiate actions to prevent loan defaults. The default drivers identified would foster more nuanced lending decisions. The study estimation of the survival rate based on the simulated values of interest rate and subsidy provides insight for policymakers.
Originality/value
This study is the first to investigate default drivers in MSME loans in India using micro-data. The study findings will act as signposts for the planners to guide the direction of the interest rate to be charged by banks in MSME loans, interest subvention and tailoring subsidy levels to foster sustainable growth.
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The purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding on the use of web sites for creating value in industrial buyer‐seller relationships.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding on the use of web sites for creating value in industrial buyer‐seller relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
Through an extensive yet not exhaustive review of previous studies on business‐to‐business (B2B) web site development, the extranet level of a conceptual model (the I‐E‐I framework) is tested in an industrial setting in Sweden. Using four research questions as a guide, a qualitative, case study approach is followed in order to uncover both the industrial sellers' and buyers' perspectives on the true value of an industrial extranet.
Findings
The findings show that, for true value to be created at this level, both the seller and the buyer must not only take value out, but also put it in. Value in this setting focuses on information as the heart of true value creation, and the view that the extranet can indeed be considered the “super‐glue” of such seller‐buyer relationships.
Research limitations/implications
Although the aim of qualitative research is rarely to generalize in any way, it does allow one to probe more deeply and uncover detailed clues and descriptions of what is happening in an area of research that is itself dynamic and constantly changing. What practitioners can take from this study is that extranets can be developed to serve and create true value at the (core) seller‐buyer relationship.
Originality/value
Empirical evidence regarding extranets in such settings has been limited. This study helps to fill this gap and provide a foundation for future research efforts within the area.