THE Vector Measuring Machine (VMM) has been used successfully for many years as a part shape development tool; however, inspection departments have hesitated on giving up their…
Abstract
THE Vector Measuring Machine (VMM) has been used successfully for many years as a part shape development tool; however, inspection departments have hesitated on giving up their inspection fixtures and using their VMMs as an accepted inspection instrument. The reason that Vector Measuring Machines have not been widely accepted in the bent tube industry as an inspection tool can be summed up in one word. Accuracy.
Seth Ketron and Kelly Naletelich
Although vanity sizing has often been conceptualized as “smaller is better” in apparel sizing, this perspective is limited in that many products would be more negatively perceived…
Abstract
Purpose
Although vanity sizing has often been conceptualized as “smaller is better” in apparel sizing, this perspective is limited in that many products would be more negatively perceived if viewed as smaller in size. In such scenarios, “larger is better” would be a more appropriate heuristic. Thus, vanity sizing should be redefined as a practice in achieving social desirability in size labeling. Namely, vanity sizing actually seeks to induce feelings of either smallness or largeness depending on the context. The purpose of this paper is to address this redefinition.
Design/methodology/approach
The current research provides initial empirical support of this redefinition with two studies that utilize a blended qualitative/quantitative approach and a hypothetical product scenario in which “larger is better” (bras).
Findings
Study 1 indicates that consumers seek to feel smaller and larger across different bodily areas. Further, study 2 found that compared to consumers of larger cup sizes, consumers of smaller cup sizes react more favorably to larger-than-typical cup sizes, forming more positive cognitive/affective reactions. Further, these cognitive/affective reactions influence purchase intentions, confirming findings of prior literature concerning attitudes and purchase intentions. Overall, the findings support the need to redefine vanity sizing.
Originality/value
The present conceptualization of vanity sizing is too narrow and limits understanding of the implications of vanity sizing across all sizing situations. Thus, this paper redefines vanity sizing and furnishes empirical evidence that such redefinition is warranted.
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Caroline White and Elisabeth Alton
General practitioners (GPs) play an important role in adult safeguarding. However, their experiences of this role have received scant attention in the UK and internationally. This…
Abstract
Purpose
General practitioners (GPs) play an important role in adult safeguarding. However, their experiences of this role have received scant attention in the UK and internationally. This study aimed to explore their experiences of safeguarding within care homes (CHs) for older adults where, as they are among the practitioner groups most frequently visiting, they are well-positioned to contribute to bringing abuse and neglect to light.
Design/methodology/approach
This study involved qualitative methods. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 12 GPs to explore their experiences of safeguarding in CHs. This included the issues that prompted their concerns, actions taken in response, difficulties and dilemmas experienced, CH safeguarding during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thematic analysis was undertaken, taking an inductive approach to the analysis.
Findings
GPs seldom witnessed what they considered clear signs of abuse/neglect, but instead more frequently observed “softer”, more ambiguous signs. They undertook a range of actions in response to these, in addition to formally reporting concerns. They experienced difficulties and dilemmas in respect of the hidden nature of abuse, uncertainty about the legitimacy of their concerns and thresholds for reporting, as well as dilemmas associated with the need to preserve essential working relationships with CHs, yet avoiding collusion with staff.
Originality/value
Although GPs play an important role in identifying signs of abuse/neglect, this role has been little explored to date. Their safeguarding role within CHs has been especially neglected, and the authors are aware of no other studies that have explored GPs’ roles and experiences in this context, within or outwith the UK.
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Amanda Beatson, Udo Gottlieb and Katrina Pleming
By applying social practice theory to green consumption, this paper extends our understanding of consumer insight on green consumption processes beyond linear decision-making. The…
Abstract
Purpose
By applying social practice theory to green consumption, this paper extends our understanding of consumer insight on green consumption processes beyond linear decision-making. The purpose of this paper is to provide knowledge about how best to mitigate perceived barriers to green consumption processes including the purchase and disposal of household products and to contribute to current discourse about widening social marketing research beyond a predominant focus on individuals’ behaviours.
Design/methodology/approach
Thematic content analysis exploring the lived experiences of participants’ green consumption was undertaken by conducting 20 in-depth interviews of Australian consumers. These interviews were analysed through a social practice lens.
Findings
The research identified six emergent social practice themes of green consumption. By using social practice theory, a different paradigm of social research than the linear models of behaviour is used. This unconventional investigation into the green consumption process, including the purchase and disposal of household products, extends literature past the attitude–behaviour gap and highlights the importance of aligning green consumption processes with social practice.
Originality/value
By integrating social practice theory into the marketing discipline, this paper explores consumption as part of sustainable marketing and provides suggestions about how best to mitigate perceived barriers to green consumption processes. These insights have relevance to micro-, meso- and macro-levels of social marketing, and can help alter consumption practices making them more sustainable.
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Shlomo Ben‐Hur, Nikolas Kinley and Karsten Jonsen
The purpose of this paper is to present a systemic approach to understanding the challenges facing executive teams in making good decisions and propose a simple framework for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a systemic approach to understanding the challenges facing executive teams in making good decisions and propose a simple framework for addressing these challenges.
Design/methodology/approach
Having identified Groupthink as a useful framework for understanding the challenges facing decision‐making groups, the paper reviews research into potential solutions and leverages case studies to propose a new model for tackling the challenges inherent in decision making.
Findings
The suggested model incorporates previously proposed process‐ and insight‐based solutions and adds a broader focus on information flow and how decision‐making behaviour is influenced and informed by the context in which it occurs.
Practical implications
The paper emphasises the role of a trusted, expert coach in implementing the proposed solutions and describes how coaches can leverage an understanding of the systemic nature of decision‐making behaviour to improve decision‐making ability in both teams and individuals.
Research limitations/implications
Areas for future research are identified and potential limitations to the model are discussed, in particular the impact of geographical and organisational cultural issues.
Originality/value
The paper questions the predominantly individual‐based approach to tackling the challenges of decision making and highlights additional interpersonal processes that can both cause and be the source of solutions to Groupthink.
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John A. James and David F. Weiman
The increased use of checks in nonlocal payments at the end of the nineteenth century presented problems for their clearing and collection. Checks were required to be paid in full…
Abstract
The increased use of checks in nonlocal payments at the end of the nineteenth century presented problems for their clearing and collection. Checks were required to be paid in full (at par) only when presented directly to the drawn-upon bank at its counter. Consequently, many, primarily rural or small-town, banks began to charge remittance fees on checks not presented for collection in person. Such fees and the alleged circuitous routing of checks in the process of collection to avoid them were widely criticized defects of the pre-Federal Reserve payments system. As the new Federal Reserve established its own system for check clearing and collection, it also took as an implicit mandate the promotion of universal par clearing and collection. The result was a bitter struggle with non-par banks, the numbers of which initially shrunk dramatically but then rebounded. A 1923 Supreme Court decision ended the Fed’s active (or coercive) pursuit of universal par clearing, and non-par banking persisted thereafter for decades. Not until the Monetary Control Act of 1980 was universal par clearing and true monetary union, in which standard means of payment are accepted at par everywhere, achieved.
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Siti Hasnah Hassan and Harmimi Harun
The purpose of this paper is to develop a method to understand the predictors of hijab fashion consciousness and consumption. Muslim women in developing countries have evolved…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a method to understand the predictors of hijab fashion consciousness and consumption. Muslim women in developing countries have evolved from living a traditional to a modern lifestyle, as more women become more educated, work and earn their own money. As modern sophisticated Muslim women, they have transformed themselves in the way they dress and don their hijab while adhering to the Shariah-compliant dress code. As a result, hijab fashion among hijabistas “Muslim women who wear fashionable outfits with matching fashionable headscarves” is flourishing.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected using questionnaires distributed to Muslim women who visited the Kuala Lumpur International Hijab Fashion Fair 2014 using the convenience sampling method. A total of 345 final useable data were used for data analysis using SmartPLS.
Findings
Results show that dressing style, fashion motivation, fashion uniqueness and sources of fashion knowledge positively influence fashion consciousness and indirectly influence hijab fashion consumption.
Practical implications
Results of this paper will provide insights to the people involved in the fashion industry, such as designers, retailers and marketers, to understand the hijabista market segment. Practitioners can design proper hijab fashion products that are Shariah-compliant to capture the segment of Muslim women with proper marketing strategies.
Originality/value
The fashion of Muslim women, particularly the hijab fashion, has received little attention in the fashion literature. This paper hopes to provide new insights to relevant researchers and industries.
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This study investigates the determinants of eco-buying behavior by incorporating individual attributes such as personality traits and personal values and the theory of planned…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the determinants of eco-buying behavior by incorporating individual attributes such as personality traits and personal values and the theory of planned behavior (TPB). It also explores status consumption’s potential role in motivating eco-fashion purchases.
Design/methodology/approach
Conducted through an online survey with 436 respondents in the UK, the study utilizes structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the data.
Findings
The study contributes to the eco-friendly consumer behavior literature in fashion, revealing that social influence, need for uniqueness, public self-consciousness, green consumption values and prosocial attitudes significantly influence both eco-behavior and status consumption. Interestingly, while no substantial impact of status consumption on eco-behavior was observed overall, a multi-group analysis unveils distinctive perceptions and intentions. A clustering analysis identifies two significant segments (status buyers and eco-savvy fashionistas) exhibiting markedly different relationships between variables necessitating tailored marketing approaches concerning eco-fashion buying.
Research limitations/implications
Theoretically, the study highlights the limitations of the TPB in capturing evolving consumer dynamics, calling for refined models that incorporate personal values and specific motivations to better understand sustainable consumption.
Practical implications
For “Status Buyers,” marketers should focus on their desire for uniqueness and present eco-fashion as a status symbol using social proof and influencer marketing. For “Eco-Savvy Fashionistas,” strategies should highlight environmental benefits, provide educational resources and offer tools to track environmental impact.
Originality/value
This study deepens our understanding of eco-friendly fashion purchases by accounting for the diverse perceptions and values that drive consumer behavior. Recognizing the heterogeneity within the sample reveals previously overlooked nuances in this complex decision-making process.
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Kathryn Brownbridge, Simeon Gill, Sarah Grogan, Sarah Kilgariff and Amanda Whalley
The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the link between underdeveloped and ill-informed sizing practices, fit dissatisfaction and the creation of textiles waste. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the link between underdeveloped and ill-informed sizing practices, fit dissatisfaction and the creation of textiles waste. The literature review identifies: issues that limit the effective development and application of sizing systems, the link between the complexities of consumer fit expectations, body image and self-esteem and maps the link between fit dissatisfaction and the creation of textiles waste.
Design/methodology/approach
Data analysis draws from a wider study designed to investigate women’s experiences of dress fit and body image. In total, 20 women aged 18-45 years were audio recorded while they tried on a number of mass-produced dresses, and were asked to select one dress, which they could keep.
Findings
All the dresses were selected except one style, which failed to satisfy any of the women’s fit requirements. The findings clearly demonstrate why this dress was considered to be unsatisfactory as well as the subsequent link between poor fit and body dissatisfaction.
Social implications
Findings support the theory that women identify with their clothes’ size and when this link is disrupted it causes discomfort and body dissatisfaction, which, in turn, contributed to rejection of the garment increasing the potential for the creation of waste.
Originality/value
This study is the first to link unsatisfactory fashion sizing practice with the production of textiles waste. The process of capturing women’s interactions with high street fashion dresses whilst trying them on enabled a detailed analysis that contributes new evidence to the debate around sizing practice, poor fit and its impact on body image and self-esteem.