Daniel Rupert du Plooy, Anthony Lyons and Emiko S. Kashima
This paper aims to examine the relationship between migrants’ psychological well-being and the extent to which they keep in touch with people in their country of origin.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the relationship between migrants’ psychological well-being and the extent to which they keep in touch with people in their country of origin.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey completed by 1,328 Australian migrants from 4 cultural groups (Anglo, Southern Asian, Confucian Asian and other European) assessed 2 facets of well-being, namely, flourishing and psychological distress and the use of 3 modes of online communication, namely, social media, messaging services and phone/video services.
Findings
Overall, keeping in touch with family and friends in their country of origin was associated with more flourishing and less distress amongst migrants. Nonetheless, the preferred modes of communication and how those usages relate with well-being varied considerably across cultural groups. In the Anglo group, communicating through messaging and phone/video services was associated with lower distress and communicating in all modes was associated with higher flourishing. Furthermore, the latter link was accounted for by having a meaningful conversation.
Originality/value
These findings suggest that the psychological well-being of migrant populations may be supported by an understanding of the distinct roles played by specific communication modes that are used to stay in touch with family and friends back home.
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The never‐ending Guinness saga has been given a fresh turn of events with the Home Office's decision to refer the cases of Anthony Parnes, Gerald Ronson, Jack Lyons and Ernest…
Abstract
The never‐ending Guinness saga has been given a fresh turn of events with the Home Office's decision to refer the cases of Anthony Parnes, Gerald Ronson, Jack Lyons and Ernest Saunders to the Court of Appeal, on the grounds of non‐disclosure by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) prosecution of evidence material to the defence in Guinness I, in 1990. The Guinness convictions, once proclaimed as the SFO's finest victory, could now turn out to be a political minefield for a Government and criminal justice system already embarrassed by a series of unsafe verdicts. Comparisons with the Guildford Four, however, ring hollow, and the Guinness defendants could yet give new meaning to the phrase ‘travesty of justice’, with potential compensation claims of £30–40m for loss of liberty, earnings and reputation, if they are successful. Only the anger and disbelief of the general public are testimony to the fact that not all of us are prone to severe memory lapse.
Stephen E. Lanivich, Laci M. Lyons and Anthony R. Wheeler
Social cognitive theory suggests that entrepreneurs' characteristics affect entrepreneurial outcomes through interaction with their environment. This study examines the…
Abstract
Purpose
Social cognitive theory suggests that entrepreneurs' characteristics affect entrepreneurial outcomes through interaction with their environment. This study examines the relationship between entrepreneurs' characteristics and performance in the context of entrepreneurial nascence.
Design/methodology/approach
This study investigated lagged-panel responses from a sample of 100 confirmed nascent entrepreneurs. Data collected on three separate occasions included core self-evaluations, commitment, fear of failure and success. PLS analysis was used to assess mediation of commitment on the self-evaluation – success relationship.
Findings
Core self-evaluations are an important predictor of entrepreneurial success in nascent-stage entrepreneurs participating in pre-venture assistance programs; positively affecting success and commitment, while negatively affecting fear of failure.
Research limitations/implications
This investigation contributes to a fuller understanding of social cognitive theory as it pertains to nascent entrepreneurship. Furthermore, contrary to general expectations found in the entrepreneurship literature, the authors uncover a context where entrepreneurs' characteristics are relevant predictors of early entrepreneurial outcomes.
Practical implications
Results showed core self-evaluations as a robust predictor of perceived success in nascent entrepreneurs. Administrators of pre-venture assistance programs should consider screening applicants to programs designed to assist nascent entrepreneurial opportunity development for signs of high core self-evaluations.
Originality/value
This study advances theory by (1) demonstrating the value of assessing nascent entrepreneurs' core self-evaluations as a specific predictor of early-stage entrepreneurial outcomes, (2) suggesting social interaction amidst participation in pre-venture assistance programs makes commitment a salient part of perceived success and (3) providing evidence that entrepreneur-level characteristics need consideration in the context of nascent entrepreneurship and pre-venture assistance programs.
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Over the course of several decades, the field of bilingual special education has found much support in the reform movement that has become known as multicultural education. Born…
Abstract
Over the course of several decades, the field of bilingual special education has found much support in the reform movement that has become known as multicultural education. Born out of the 1960s civil rights movement (Mclaren & Muñoz, 2000), multicultural education “is a field in education that is dedicated to equal opportunity for all students. Even groups who appear to be monocultural are diverse in regards to class, gender, and language” (Ooka Pang, 2005, p. 213). Multicultural education “assumes that race, ethnicity, culture, and social class are salient parts of U.S. society. It also assumes that ethnic and cultural diversity enriches the nation and increases the ways in which its citizens can perceive and solve personal and public problems” (Banks, 2002, p. 1). Thus, multicultural education supports the call for bilingual special education in teacher preparation and in schools. For special educators, in particular, understanding the link between exceptionalities and cultural diversity is fundamental to their professional role (Hallahan et al., 2009). In the context of a multilingual and multicultural country, such as the United States, bilingual special education is no doubt the best way to ensure that a subgroup of our population (i.e., bilingual exceptional children) has real opportunities to succeed. A major concern for any educator, but especially for bilingual special educators who value and seek to implement multicultural education, is to ensure that bilingual exceptional learners are not placed at a disadvantage because of their linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Here the term culture encompasses all the various aspects (subcultures) that contribute to define an individual. These are race, ethnicity, language, exceptionality, sexual orientation, gender, religion, socioeconomic background, and age.
This chapter discusses the contribution of the narrative and interpretive work of Dianne Ferguson (and Phil Ferguson) to the discourse of inclusive education research and…
Abstract
This chapter discusses the contribution of the narrative and interpretive work of Dianne Ferguson (and Phil Ferguson) to the discourse of inclusive education research and practices. The chapter explores the concept of authentic inclusion that accepts a discourse contextualized in a needs-based, individualized focus within a perspective of diversity. The chapter continues to reiterate Ferguson’s call to mesh general and special education even within our present day, and emphasizes the need for a genuinely inclusive yardstick – not only to beat the inclusion drum, but also to focus on what authentic inclusion actually looks like.
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Anthony Tibaingana, Kasimu Sendawula, Faisal Buyinza, Saadat Nakyejwe Lubowa Kimuli, Emmanuel Ssemuyaga, Catherine Tumusiime, Ronny Mulongo and Rita Atukwasa
The purpose of this study is to establish whether all the dimensions of entrepreneurship skills matter for sustainable business start-up among the youths, using evidence from a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to establish whether all the dimensions of entrepreneurship skills matter for sustainable business start-up among the youths, using evidence from a developing economy.
Design/methodology/approach
This was cross-sectional study which utilized a quantitative approach. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire from 254 youths who undertook skills training at the various government-supported business skills training centers in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA), that is to say, Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso. Data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to derive descriptive, correlational and hierarchical regression.
Findings
Study findings indicate that unlike entrepreneurial skills, management, technical and personal maturity skills matter for the sustainability of business start-up of youths in Uganda. However, when all skills are compared, management skills matter most as compared to technical and personal maturity skills.
Originality/value
This study strengthens the existing literature on the sustainable business start-up of youths in Uganda. It is also relevant for policy decision-making and policy reversal because it demonstrates that skilling is pertinent and should be encouraged and rolled out across the country to encourage sustainable youth business start-ups. To increase sustainable business start-up among youths, management skills should be prioritized, together with technical and personal maturity skills, compared to entrepreneurial skills, which should only be emphasized at the idea generation, planning, resource mobilization and business implementation stages.
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Anthony Andrew and Michael Pitt
The paper aims to examine how Scottish facility and estate managers have developed estates and facilities management strategies to ensure that the Scottish government civil estate…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to examine how Scottish facility and estate managers have developed estates and facilities management strategies to ensure that the Scottish government civil estate has remained fit for purpose in a period of rapid social, economic and technological change, and political development covering the devolution period.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines the development of the policy frameworks within which facility mangers have worked and how they have adapted the asset portfolio to meet the demands of modern working practices and the budgetary disciplines resulting from economic change.
Findings
The period 1989-2015 has shown major changes. It commenced with a highly centralised model driven by the Whitehall Department of the Treasury and run by the Property Services Agency. Just before and during devolution, there was administrative decentralisation of activity to agencies and non-departmental public bodies, and this was reflected in decentralised property management first to departments and then to the agencies and non-departmental public bodies. During this time, profound changes occurred in working practices, e-mail, e-records, mobile telephones and open-plan layouts; remote working changed the ways buildings were used. Public sector property was used to promote distribution of jobs to outer areas. Towards the latter end of the period from 2008 onwards, the economic difficulties have led to acute budget pressures, and from 2011 onwards, there has been a trend both in Whitehall, and the Scottish devolved administration towards greater corporate management of the estate to drive down costs and promote more modern ways of working which may lead to a model similar to the one which prevailed at the start of the period.
Research limitations/implications
The paper explains the development of the management framework and changes on the estate itself to inform the debate between policymakers, academic researchers and FM practitioners interested in the efficient use of central government assets.
Practical implications
The paper will help academics and practitioners understand the historic context within which they are working.
Social implications
The paper indicates how the Scottish Government has adapted its property assets to meet the needs of users.
Originality/value
The paper is an historic exposition of how public sector facility managers have adapted the management of the Scottish Government estate in Scotland to meet the needs of central government staff and the public to whom it provides wider services and considers how this illuminates wider FM issues.
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Anthony Roger Bowrin, Lawrence Kickham and Stacie L. Krupp
Naparima Company Limited (NCL) was an importer and wholesaler of grocery and household products in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. Following increasing competition and the…
Abstract
Synopsis
Naparima Company Limited (NCL) was an importer and wholesaler of grocery and household products in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. Following increasing competition and the adoption of more lavish lifestyles by its owners, the company had fallen on hard times. Its banker, First Republic Bank, had called its outstanding loans of $1.412 million and given the company 90 days to repay all sums outstanding. Also, several major creditors had threatened legal action to recover amounts payable. This had forced NCL to explore alternative financing arrangements and to devise strategies that would improve its financial situation.
Research methodology
The authors used both field interviews and secondary data when preparing this case. One of the authors was a consultant to the company as it worked to develop a restructuring plan. The primary data gleaned from that process, which included interviews with all three leaders of NCL and a review of the company's financial statements, was supplemented by the collection of secondary data about the industry and its competitors from interviews with the executive director of industry association, and information about the national economic environment from newspaper articles and library resources.
Relevant courses and levels
This case is suitable for senior-level undergraduate students in a capstone business course, and graduate students in small business management and family business management courses.
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Anthony Alexander, Maneesh Kumar, Helen Walker and Jon Gosling
Food sector supply chains have significant negative environmental impacts, including the expansion of global food commodity production, which is driving tropical deforestation – a…
Abstract
Purpose
Food sector supply chains have significant negative environmental impacts, including the expansion of global food commodity production, which is driving tropical deforestation – a major climate and biodiversity problem. Innovative supply chain monitoring services promise to address such impacts. Legislation also designates “forest-risk commodities”, demanding supply chain due diligence of their provenance. But such data alone does not produce change. This study investigates how theory in performance measurement and management (PMM) can combine with sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and decision theory (DT) via case study research that addresses paradoxes of simplicity and complexity.
Design/methodology/approach
Given existing relevant theory but the nascent nature of the topic, theory elaboration via abductive case study research is conducted. Data collection involves interviews and participatory design workshops with supply chain actors across two supply chains (coffee and soy), exploring the potential opportunities and challenges of new deforestation monitoring services for food supply chains.
Findings
Two archetypal food supply chain structures (short food supply chains with high transparency and direct links between farmer and consumer and complex food supply chains with highly disaggregated and opaque links) provide a dichotomy akin to the known/unknown, structured/unstructured contexts in DT, enabling novel theoretical elaboration of the performance alignment matrix model in PMM, resulting in implications for practice and a future research agenda.
Originality/value
The novel conceptual synthesis of PMM, SSCM and DT highlights the importance of context specificity in developing PMM tools for SSCM and the challenge of achieving the general solutions needed to ensure that PMM, paradoxically, is both flexible to client needs and capable of replicable application to deliver economies of scale. To advance understanding of these paradoxes to develop network-level PMM systems to address deforestation impacts of food supply chains and respond to legislation, a future research agenda is presented.