The purpose of this study is to investigate characteristics of apparel-related critical incidents that motivate both Generation Z and Y consumers to share electronic word-of-mouth…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate characteristics of apparel-related critical incidents that motivate both Generation Z and Y consumers to share electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) via specific online channels.
Design/methodology/approach
The current research used an exploratory mixed-methods approach.
Findings
Qualitative findings of critical incidents revealed that the main situations that led to the spread of eWOM involved new purchases (49%), product quality (21%), pricing and promotions (19%), complaints (9%) and brand content (48%). Participants were motivated to spread information about the critical incidents by a desire to connect with friends and family (83%), help others (37%), influence others (48%) and express brand loyalty (32%). Quantitative results indicated significant relationships between critical incidents, motivations and eWOM channel choice.
Research limitations/implications
This study has theoretical implications for apparel researchers attempting to gain insight into critical incidents that motivate consumers to engage in eWOM on specific channels in a positive or negative manner.
Practical implications
These findings are important for marketers as it appears that brand content does an efficient job at driving engagement on SM; marketers need to increase efforts to engage with consumers via feedback on websites, as this is an opportunity to counteract negative experiences and retain consumers’ loyalty.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current research is the first to extend theories of communication and motivation to connect critical incidents with situational intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for spreading eWOM via online channels for Millennial and Generation Z consumers.
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The aim of this research is to advance the understanding of multi-channel behaviour in terms of different generational cohorts' usage and spending patterns.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this research is to advance the understanding of multi-channel behaviour in terms of different generational cohorts' usage and spending patterns.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on previous studies on multi-channel behaviour, differences in shopping channel usage and purchase amounts were investigated between baby boomers, Gen X, xennials and millennials.
Findings
There were significant differences found between the generations in terms of multi-channel behaviour regarding purchasing frequency and average purchase amounts via a) mobile phone, b) tablet, c) computer, d) social media and e) brick-and-mortar. Fewer differences were found amongst the generational cohorts in terms of amount spent per channel.
Research limitations/implications
The research was successful in analysing variances in multi-channel behaviour amongst the baby boomer, Generation X, xennial and millennial cohorts, while updating the body of literature to consider generational channel usage of mobile and social media in multi-channel retailing.
Practical implications
Marketers should consider xennials’ channel behaviour and focus on converting sales through integrated programmes based on their channel usage. Retailers should also consider millennials' heavy engagement with social media in their lives but spend lower amounts via the medium, which may be an opportunity to use this medium as a viable stand-alone channel in targeting millennials' shopping dollars.
Originality/value
This study updates the body of research on multi-channel behaviour by considering generation as a factor in channel usage and spend amount.
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Jon Taylor, Catrin Morrissey, Sarah Trout and Charlene Bennett
The purpose of this paper is to describe the profile of community members admitted to the first high secure Therapeutic Community (TC) for males with learning disability and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the profile of community members admitted to the first high secure Therapeutic Community (TC) for males with learning disability and personality disorder.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents descriptive data.
Findings
The characteristics of the men admitted to a TC in the National High Secure Learning Disability Service are likely to present considerable challenges to the development and delivery of the service.
Originality/value
There is very little literature describing interventions for offenders with learning disability and personality disorder. This paper is one of a series that will describe the effectiveness of a TC for men with such difficulties.
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Walter W. Jermakowicz and Carl J. Bellas
This paper examines in some detail the magnitude, structure and patterns of foreign direct investment in Central and Eastern Europe between 1988 and 1993. The authors identify and…
Abstract
This paper examines in some detail the magnitude, structure and patterns of foreign direct investment in Central and Eastern Europe between 1988 and 1993. The authors identify and describe three major forms of investment structuring and three operative investment strategies. Data show the actual flows of capital from their source countries to their countries of investment. These data are used to explain the differences in patterns of investment across the CEE. The number and types of foreign direct investments within individual countries are presented and discussed. The paper concludes by assessing the success to date of FDI.
Kerry Sheldon and Gopi Krishnan
This paper describes the clinical and risk characteristics of patients admitted over the first four years of operation of the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disordered (DSPD…
Abstract
This paper describes the clinical and risk characteristics of patients admitted over the first four years of operation of the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disordered (DSPD) NHS pilot at the Peaks Unit, Rampton Secure Hospital. There were 124 referrals, mainly from Category A and B prisons, resulting in 68 DSPD admissions. Clinically, 29% scored 30 or more on the Psychopathy Checklist. The most common personality disorders were antisocial, borderline, paranoid and narcissistic. There is a high risk of violent/sexual recidivism as measured by the Static‐99, Violence Risk Scale, and the Historical, Clinical and Risk Management Scale.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore Thomas Pynchon's novel Against the Day as a symptomatology of organization and examine the (un)easy relationship between the novel and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore Thomas Pynchon's novel Against the Day as a symptomatology of organization and examine the (un)easy relationship between the novel and organization.
Design/methodology/approach
The novel is explored through three interrelated readings: first, the novel is considered as a representation of the gruesome nature of capitalist ordering; Second, the novel's textual strategies are examined to consider its co‐implication and knotting into the very logic of organization it abhors; Third, the novel is read as a search for other spaces haunting the broken machine of capitalist organizing.
Findings
The paper shows how Pynchon's writing and critique of capitalist organizing occupies an indeterminate space characterised by the ambivalence of ambivalence, where deciding upon its final meaning is a reductivist strategy ill suited to this complex text. Instead the novel functions through a complex process of displacement and emplacement.
Originality/value
Theoretically, the paper extends further the understanding of the relationship between literature and organization, challenging reductivist readings of this relationship to explore how the novel simultaneously emplaces and displaces the reader so that critique, as well as convention, are thoroughly unsettled.
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Anna Matysek and Jacek Tomaszczyk
The quest to discover optimal conditions or amounts has been carried out in many scientific disciplines and practical fields. In astrophysics, biology, medicine, psychology and…
Abstract
Purpose
The quest to discover optimal conditions or amounts has been carried out in many scientific disciplines and practical fields. In astrophysics, biology, medicine, psychology and education, the quest has resulted in finding the right amount of something, a desirable middle between extremes, a balance between conditions or the optimal state of a system. The results are referred to as the Goldilocks principle, which is based on the idea of being “just right”. The aim of our study was to find out if there are any measures in information search that could be identified as Goldilocks ranges.
Design/methodology/approach
We conducted a user experiment in which 68 participants carried out a time-unlimited, topical search task involving finding relevant websites on the basis of which the participants were supposed to prepare a presentation on a given topic. We examined aspects of their search behavior.
Findings
We found that information search Goldilocks ranges can be identified for a length of a search session, number of relevant results, number of queries submitted and number of search engine results pages (SERPs) visited. This preliminary study has resulted in indicating the following dominant ranges: Number of relevant documents found: 5–8; Time spent searching: 21–35 min; Number of queries submitted: 3–7; Number of SERPs viewed: 1–3.
Originality/value
Till now, no one has studied Goldilocks ranges in information retrieval. The Goldilocks ranges have some practical implications for improving the effectiveness of web searching.
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Samaneh Abdoli, Mohammadreza Nili Ahmadabadi, Hashem Fardanesh and Mohammad Asgari
This study aims to identify the most important factors affecting the usability of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and present these factors in the form of a comprehensive and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the most important factors affecting the usability of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and present these factors in the form of a comprehensive and practical framework and validate the framework.
Design/methodology/approach
In this research, a mixed research method and sequential exploratory research design were used. In the qualitative section, the qualitative meta-synthesis method was utilized to extract usability factors from the research literature and formulate the framework of factors, and in the quantitative section, the survey method was employed to validate the framework. In the qualitative section, the research field included the research available in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, and the data collection tool included electronic and printed documents on the usability factors of LMSs. To validate the findings, in addition to citing research literature and theoretical foundations, the audit trail, consensual validity and expert peer review methods were used. Also, to analyze the data, the thematic analysis method and thematic network via MAXQDA 2020 software were used. In the quantitative section, the statistical population was students of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at Allameh Tabatabai University in Iran, and the sample included undergraduate students of this faculty with a volume of 200 people. The tool for collecting information was a researcher-made questionnaire that was provided to students in the first half of the academic year 2022–2023. To validate the findings, content-related validity through Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and Content Validity Index (CVI) and construct validity through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Convergent Validity were examined. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and Composite Reliability (CR) were also used to check reliability. To analyze the data one-sample T-test via SPSS 27 software was used, and the PLS-SEM was utilized via SmartPLS 4 software to validate the framework proposed by the researcher.
Findings
The findings from the qualitative part of this research include basic themes and organizing themes related to the global theme of usability. Based on the findings from the qualitative part, it can be concluded that the factors in terms of frequency in the research literature have the following ranks: interaction (first rank), ease of use and usefulness (second rank), learnability (third rank), navigation (fourth rank), satisfaction and enjoyment, visual design and accessibility (fifth rank), help and assessment and feedback (sixth rank) and content, errors correction and privacy and security (seventh rank). The findings of the quantitative part include the external fit indexes of the framework and the internal fit index of the framework; based on the obtained values, it can be concluded that the framework of LMS usability factors has a good fit.
Research limitations/implications
This research is the first comprehensive study of all theories on the usability of LMSs, in which a framework is proposed that combines the important factors mentioned in the relevant theories and models for the first time. Additionally, practical and applicable suggestions are provided in this study to enhance each of the usability factors of LMS.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research presents a framework for the first time in which all important factors of usability theories and models are combined and prioritizes these factors based on their importance in relevant research. It also provides practical recommendations for enhancing these factors in LMSs for system developers and instructional designers.
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Georgina Capone, Thomas Schroder, Simon Clarke and Louise Braham
The purpose of this paper is to review quantitative research since 1999 evaluating the effectiveness of democratic therapeutic community (DTC) treatment for individuals with…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review quantitative research since 1999 evaluating the effectiveness of democratic therapeutic community (DTC) treatment for individuals with personality disorders (PD) with reference to interpersonal and offending risk outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic search resulted in the review of ten studies. All of the studies investigated DTCs treating PD in community, inpatient residential and forensic settings. Only peer-reviewed, English-language articles employing a quantitative design were included.
Findings
The majority of studies were conducted poorly and of low methodological quality, with limitations located in the representativeness of participants, limited use of control and comparison groups, follow up periods and controls for confounders. Heterogeneity remained in use of measures and limited consideration was given to the validity of interpersonal measures used. While improved interpersonal outcomes post DTC treatment were noted in forensic and residential settings, results were mixed in day and mini TC settings. Inconsistent findings in offending risk outcomes were also indicated. A study with increased methodological rigour indicated residential treatment had limited effects on interpersonal outcomes, when compared to combination treatment (residential TC and step-down treatment).
Originality/value
The study provided an evaluation of the limitations of DTC research across a range of settings and highlighted a combination of residential TC and step-down treatment may achieve superior outcomes to residential TC treatment alone in a community inpatient population. Recommendations are made for future research to contribute to the treatment of PD.