Donna Gardiner, David McMenemy and Gobinda Chowdhury
This paper aims to study information behaviour of academics in the digital age. Compares information behaviour of British university academics in three disciplines – computer and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study information behaviour of academics in the digital age. Compares information behaviour of British university academics in three disciplines – computer and information sciences, business/management, and English literature.
Design/methodology/approach
Discusses information behaviour of academics in the digital age.
Findings
English academics make higher use of printed information resources, such as text and reference books, than academics of any other discipline included in this study; they generally tended to be the least frequent users of electronic resources such as full‐text databases, indexing and abstracting databases, search engines, and internet sites. CIS academics generally tended to make greatest use of electronic‐based information resources, and the least use of print‐based information resources, and business/management academics fell somewhere in between these two disciplines. CIS academics were generally the most enthusiastic about the benefits of electronic resources, whereas English academics were the least enthusiastic about them. Nearly a quarter of English academics disagreed to some extent that electronic information was easier to use than printed resources, which might go some way to explain their lower use of electronic materials, and higher use of printed materials.
Research limitations/implications
Results of the quantitative study should have been supported and substantiated by quantitative analyses. Similar studies involving users from many more disciplines could show better discipline‐wise differences in user behaviour.
Originality/value
This is a research paper based on a nation‐wide survey of academics in British universities.
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Today many young people are choosing to become vegetarian. Others are finding meatless meals appetising and attractive as they make a conscious effort to eat more healthily. So…
Abstract
Today many young people are choosing to become vegetarian. Others are finding meatless meals appetising and attractive as they make a conscious effort to eat more healthily. So this year the Kraft Nutrition Award judges asked senior competitors to imagine they were having a vegetarian friend to stay and to plan a day's meals of breakfast, a packed lunch and special occasion meal for the evening. The twelve finalists were then invited to the Kraft kitchens in Cheltenham to prepare a few of their chosen dishes and to answer questions to test their overall knowledge of food, nutrition and healthy eating.
Sheranne Fairley and Donna M. Kelly
The purpose of this paper is to explore how non-host cities strategically plan to leverage pre-Games training for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games to maximize benefits to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how non-host cities strategically plan to leverage pre-Games training for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games to maximize benefits to the city.
Design/methodology/approach
Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with key tourism and government stakeholders involved in developing leveraging strategies for pre-Games training in a non-host city. Interviews were conducted a little over 18 months before the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Findings
A model of the strategic planning of leveraging pre-Games training is presented. Pre-Games training was positioned as a leverageable resource. The non-host city was well positioned to host pre-Games training given its existing sport focus and facilities and its proximity to the host city and its similar climate. Opportunities, objectives, means, and considerations were constantly developed. The city strategically targeted teams to maximize the use of the training facilities and make the most of the value of well-known athletes, while being cautious of overcrowding. The teams had to be secured before strategies were devised to achieve other opportunities and objectives. Short-term benefits included generating tourism through visiting teams and entourages and integrating visiting teams into the local community through education and sport programming. Long-term benefits included building the destination’s capacity and reputation as a place for elite training camps and tourism.
Practical implications
Understanding how to develop strategies to leverage pre-Games training can inform those responsible for developing and implementing pre-Games training strategies and lead to maximizing the benefits to a city or region.
Originality/value
Limited research has examined the strategic planning process used to develop tactics to leverage mega-events. This study provides insight into the strategic planning process of non-host cities to increase short- and long-term benefits by leveraging pre-Games training.
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Donna M. Kelly and Sheranne Fairley
Event portfolios promote synergies among events and stakeholders within a destination in order to maximise resources. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of…
Abstract
Purpose
Event portfolios promote synergies among events and stakeholders within a destination in order to maximise resources. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of relationships in the creation and maintenance of an event portfolio using the four stages of Parvatiyar and Sheth’s (2000) process model of relationship marketing: formation, management and governance, performance evaluation, and evolution.
Design/methodology/approach
Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with tourism and government stakeholders involved in the creation and maintenance of an event portfolio within a single destination.
Findings
The destination outlined clear strategic goals through an event strategy. An Events Board was established to bring together key stakeholders from tourism, events, and government to oversee the development of an event portfolio. The Events Board gave advice to relevant tourism and government stakeholders on which events they should provide funding. Developing relationships was not a stated objective, but the Events Board realised the importance of relationships to create and maintain the destination’s event portfolio. Long-term funding contracts were used as a mechanism to establish relationships and were an impetus for interaction. Relationships were also maintained through dedicated staff who managed the relationships between the destination stakeholders and the events.
Practical implications
Understanding factors that contribute to the successful creation and maintenance of event portfolios can inform destination stakeholders who are responsible for generating tourism through events.
Originality/value
Limited research has examined the creation and maintenance of event portfolios. This study provides insight into the central importance of relationships in creating and maintaining an event portfolio.
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The purpose for this paper is to encourage teachers to change the way they approach teaching literature to proficient and accelerated readers or alliterates. With class time…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose for this paper is to encourage teachers to change the way they approach teaching literature to proficient and accelerated readers or alliterates. With class time devoted to quiet reading, student-selected materials, meaningful discussions and quality assessment, a change can be made about in students who avoid reading.
Design/methodology/approach
In the selection, several ideas are discussed: cognitive and social needs of students that may affect why they do not read and three scenarios common to a high school English classroom of high-achieving students. A problem is introduced through each scenario, and a solution is suggested to improve the situation, ultimately resulting in students being engaged in reading.
Findings
Through experimenting with several methods of encouraging students to read, the author has discovered three elements that truly reach non-readers: consistent coaching for difficult text, class time to read the text and higher-order assessment that requires first-hand engagement with the text.
Research limitations/implications
The nature of the narrative as reflection leans toward practical methods and incorporates researched elements as support. No formal research studies were conducted in the classroom, but many years’ experience is infused in the discussion.
Practical implications
Teachers with limited technology, in particular, can benefit from the ideas presented. Rather than requiring students to have access to the internet, etc., which many students in rural public schools do not have, for example, the essay focuses more on slowing down and using the quiet moments in the classrooms as time for reading.
Originality/value
The following narrative outlines these scenarios along with commentaries and strategies the author has discovered through her last several years of teaching. The author believes that those who avoid reading can be assisted through varied classroom techniques and reflective, meaningful moments with the students.
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Despite burgeoning self-initiated expatriation (SIE) research, little attention has been given to the personal development that occurs as a result of the SIE. The authors address…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite burgeoning self-initiated expatriation (SIE) research, little attention has been given to the personal development that occurs as a result of the SIE. The authors address this gap, exploring how the SIE undertaken by older women contributes to their longer-term life-path goals. As personal development has barely featured in the SIE literature, the authors must draw from a range of other global mobility experiences as a base for identifying the personal development of the older women.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs narrative inquiry methodology, drawing on in-depth life story interviews with 21 women aged 50 or more, both professional and non-professional, who had taken a SIE. A five-step narrative process using a story-telling approach was the method of analysis.
Findings
The findings indicate that the existing focus on SIE and the work context in the literature needs to become more holistic to incorporate personal change experienced through the SIE. For these older women, the construct of “career” was increasingly irrelevant. Rather, participants were enacting a “coreer” – a life path of individual interest and passion that reflected their authentic selves. The SIE presented an opportunity to re-focus these women's lives and to place themselves and their values at the core of their existence.
Originality/value
The contributions highlight the need for a broader focus of career – one that moves outside the work sphere and encompasses life transitions and the enactment of more authentic “ways of being”. The authors identify a range of personal development factors which lead to this change, proposing the term “coreer” as one that might shift the focus and become the basis for career research in the future. Further, through the inclusion of a group of older women who were not exclusively professionals, the authors respond to calls to expand the focus of SIE studies.
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Natalia G. Vidal, Wellington Spetic, Simon Croom and Donna Marshall
This study examines the relationship between supply chain stakeholder pressure from customers and suppliers for the adoption of social and environmental sustainable supply chain…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the relationship between supply chain stakeholder pressure from customers and suppliers for the adoption of social and environmental sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices given the simultaneous conditional effects of both entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and sustainability orientation (SO).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a survey of US firms focused on their relationship with their top supplier or buyer by spend. This study used conditional process analysis to measure the relationship between stakeholder pressure and adoption of SSCM practices as well as the double moderation effects of EO and SO on this relationship.
Findings
The results show that both EO and SO simultaneously function as moderators of the effect of supply chain stakeholder pressure on the adoption of social and environmental SSCM practices. However, EO will only get firms so far in the adoption of SSCM practices. Once a strong SO takes effect, higher practice adoption ensues but the effect of stakeholder pressure weakens.
Practical implications
For those firms that have lower levels of SO, EO and supply chain stakeholder pressure are still essential drivers for the adoption of SSCM practice. The results of this study suggest that focal firms should work closely with suppliers to increase their levels of SO while also maintaining pressure for the adoption of SSCM practices.
Originality/value
This study shows the concurrent effect of two organizational level drivers on the adoption of SSCM practices, indicating that efforts in developing a strong SO are more likely to prepare firms for the adoption of SSCM practices.
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Jiju Antony, Vijaya Sunder M., Chad Laux and Elizabeth Cudney
Eric E. Otenyo and Earlene A. S. Camarillo
This essay explores the reactions within police departments toward sexual harassment scandals. The study describes and analyzes reported cases of sexual harassment and misconduct…
Abstract
This essay explores the reactions within police departments toward sexual harassment scandals. The study describes and analyzes reported cases of sexual harassment and misconduct in police departments to discern citizen narratives and political consequences for elected officials. This assessment hypothesizes that political leadership is an essential element in establishing organizational cultures that combat sexual harassment in local governments. The article contributes to the knowledge about possible gaps in agenda setting, especially for a policy area in which knowledge and problem definitions continue to evolve.