With the proliferation of environmental science literature during the past two decades, librarians find it increasingly difficult to determine which sources of information are…
Abstract
With the proliferation of environmental science literature during the past two decades, librarians find it increasingly difficult to determine which sources of information are relevant to their clientele. This difficulty is compounded for the non‐science librarian by a lack of familiarity with journals currently available and the decidedly technical language of most environmental science publications. There are, however, a wide range of periodicals which are appropriate for informed readers at academic university libraries and public libraries that offer a wealth of information on the environmental sciences. It is this type of publication that will be identified in this annotated bibliography. As with all selected bibliographies, it does not attempt to identify all environmental science journal titles that may be used in an academic university library or public library. Titles selected will be those thought to be appropriate for the informed reader.
Life studies are a rich source for further research on the role of the Afro‐American woman in society. They are especially useful to gain a better understanding of the…
Abstract
Life studies are a rich source for further research on the role of the Afro‐American woman in society. They are especially useful to gain a better understanding of the Afro‐American experience and to show the joys, sorrows, needs, and ideals of the Afro‐American woman as she struggles from day to day.
Paul A. Griffin and Estelle Y. Sun
This study examines the relation between voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and the local religious norms of firms’ stakeholders. Little is known about how…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the relation between voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and the local religious norms of firms’ stakeholders. Little is known about how these local norms (measured at the county level) affect firms’ disclosure practices and firm value, especially voluntary disclosure on climate change and environmental and social responsibility.
Design/methodology/approach
Poisson regression models test for a significant relation between firms’ voluntary CSR disclosure intensity and the local religious norms of firms’ stakeholders. Also, an event study tests whether the local religious norms affect investment returns. The data analyzed are extracted from the archive of CSRwire, a prominent news organization that distributes CSR news to investors and the public worldwide.
Findings
The study finds that firms in high adherence (high churchgoer) locations disclose CSR activities less frequently, and firms in high affiliation (a high proportion of non-evangelical Christian churchgoers) locations disclose CSR activities more frequently. The study also finds that managers make firm-value-increasing CSR disclosure decisions that cater to the religious and social norms of the local community.
Practical implications
The results imply that managers self-identify with the local religious norms of stakeholders and appropriately disclose less about CSR activities when religious adherence is high and when religious affiliation (the ratio of non-evangelicals to evangelical Christians) is low. The authors find this noteworthy because religious bodies often call for greater CSR involvement and disclosure. Yet, at the firm level, it would appear that local community religious norms also prevail, as it is shown that they significantly explain firms’ CSR disclosure behavior, implying that managers cater to local religious norms in their disclosure decisions.
Social implications
The findings suggest that managers vary the timing and intensity of voluntary CSR disclosure consistent with stakeholders’ local religious and social norms and that it would be costly and inefficient if the firms were to expand CSR disclosure without considering the religious norms of their local community.
Originality value
This is the first large-sample study to show that local religious norms affect CSR disclosure behavior. The study makes use of a unique and novel data set obtained exclusively from CSRwire.
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By highlighting the real world experiences of cause lawyers who work on behalf of HIV-infected prisoners (e.g., “activist prisoner lawyering”), this article reports on the…
Abstract
By highlighting the real world experiences of cause lawyers who work on behalf of HIV-infected prisoners (e.g., “activist prisoner lawyering”), this article reports on the often-difficult negotiations over roles (litigator v. activist) that such actors face. The article investigates through the stories of activist prison lawyers, in the words of one such respondent, how “different approaches need to be taken in different settings.” For activist prison lawyers, when a client's life literally hangs in the balance litigation may be the only option. In other instances, using a case to bring public awareness to broader movement objectives may be chosen as a proper course of action. The article elucidates how such negotiations often entail the dilemma of balancing broader goals of the prisoner rights movement with the immediate, indeed sometimes life and death, circumstances facing the individuals and communities they represent. The article concludes with a call for future work on cause lawyers and social movements in other contexts to problematize law as a static, dichotomous variable that either does or does not bring desired institutional or societal change. Viewing law as a dichotomous variable masks the politically significant effects litigation may have for influencing both institutional arrangements and social consciousness over time. Furthermore, the dichotomous conception of law as a catalyst/not a catalyst for social change also glosses over the importance of the meso-level of analysis. By paying attention to the demands of a specific legal context, the immediate circumstances of a specific situation, and the way the former and the latter may be inextricably linked, future studies can make important and nuanced contributions to our understanding of the complex relationship between law, and social change.
Estelle van Tonder and Daniël Johannes Petzer
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of source credibility (expertise and trustworthiness) on perceived value (perceived usefulness (PU)), as well as the latter’s…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of source credibility (expertise and trustworthiness) on perceived value (perceived usefulness (PU)), as well as the latter’s impact on sub-dimensions of customer citizenship behaviour (helping and advocacy intentions (AIs)) in an electronic banking services setting.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 439 respondents who use at least one form of electronic banking service and who have previously received positive messages about electronic banking services from other customers were approached to complete a self-administered structured questionnaire.
Findings
Source credibility dimensions have a positive and significant relationship with PU. PU in turn has a positive and significant relationship with helping intentions and AIs as forms of customer citizenship.
Research limitations/implications
The findings advance understanding of the extent to which customers rely on the perceptions of other customers in determining the usefulness of a service as well as their willingness to advocate the benefits of the service and help other customers.
Practical implications
The findings may guide retail banks in obtaining a greater understanding of the customer citizenship behaviour process and the extent to which banks can rely on customers to convince other customers of the benefits of electronic banking services.
Originality/value
This study offers insight into the antecedents of the advocacy and helping intentions sub-dimensions of customer citizenship behaviour. It also explains how value between customers can be created by considering the elaboration likelihood model and social exchange theories, and customer citizenship behaviour.
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Estelle van Tonder, Daniël J. Petzer, Naomi van Vuuren and Leon T. De Beer
The purpose of this paper is to explore the proposed relationships between perceived usefulness (a dimension of perceived value), the relationship quality factors (competence…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the proposed relationships between perceived usefulness (a dimension of perceived value), the relationship quality factors (competence trust and continuous commitment) and positive word-of-mouth intentions in an electronic banking setting.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted among 511 electronic banking customers.
Findings
Continuous commitment was found to mediate the relationships between perceived usefulness and competence trust with positive word-of-mouth intention, respectively.
Research limitations/implications
The results indicate the role of perceived value and relationship quality in contributing to positive word-of-mouth intention.
Practical implications
The findings could also guide banking institutions in managing their existing electronic banking customers more appropriately and to encourage them to engage in word-of-mouth behaviour that will convince other potential users of the benefits of the service.
Originality/value
Little is known on a mediated model noting the connection between perceived value, the relationship quality factors competence trust and continuous commitment and positive word-of-mouth intention. The findings provide more insight into the matter and accordingly contribute to the developing body of knowledge on perceived value, relationship quality and behavioural intention and their importance to the stream of research on positive word of mouth.
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Molly Smith and Nancy R. Gartner
Purpose – This chapter gives an overview of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on institutional corrections in the United States and the responses correctional…
Abstract
Purpose – This chapter gives an overview of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on institutional corrections in the United States and the responses correctional institutions have taken to lessen those impacts.
Methodology/Approach – A review of the extant literature was conducted to gather information on COVID-19 and the institutional corrections systems within the United States.
Findings – The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on correctional institutions within the United States were more pronounced due to the demographic characteristics of inmates and facility challenges. Responses to outbreaks or potential outbreaks in jails and prisons in the United States included screening measures, restricted inmate movement and visitation, and decarceration efforts.
Originality/Value – This chapter builds upon literature by discussing the challenges posed to correctional institutions in the United States in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and summarizing the measures taken to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on inmates, institutional staff, and community members alike.
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Diana-Maria Cismaru and Raluca Silvia Ciochina
The aim of this research was to identify the importance of trust as a determinant of participants’ behaviour and the weight of different motivational factors that enhance the…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this research was to identify the importance of trust as a determinant of participants’ behaviour and the weight of different motivational factors that enhance the amount and the quality of contribution.
Methodology
Quantitative research methods (online survey of 450 respondents and content analysis of 250 reviews) were applied on a Romanian crowdsourcing platform founded in 2008, with the mission to help potential tourists to take the most informed decision in their travel choices.
Findings
The data collected showed that the majority of the active members have a positive outlook over their experience within the community, admitting its trustworthy characteristics. The findings show that most of the top-rated members of the community were not motivated by material rewards such as money or prizes, but rather by socially related factors or by individual factors (positive feedback through comments or acquiring knowledge).
Research Limitations
The findings cannot be generalised to other crowdsourcing models, which are subject to different task designs, outcomes, local contexts and even functionalities.
Practical Implications
The results of this research can contribute to the design and implementation of customer-centred platforms, which might represent a way of development of organisational communication in the future.
Originality
The research posits that individuals’ experience within colloraborative crowdsourcing communities needs to be meaningful, as participants act based on a reciprocity norm, of giving something back to the community which is useful for fulfilling their own information-seeking purposes.
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This chapter aims to describe the development of the interlending and document supply (DS) service over the past 30 years and to show that this service still has much to offer.
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter aims to describe the development of the interlending and document supply (DS) service over the past 30 years and to show that this service still has much to offer.
Methodology/approach
After a historical introduction, the current environment for researchers is assessed and analysed in the current context of the rapidly changing access to information.
Findings
The interlending and DS service has declined in the last 10 years owing to the dual impact of the ‘Big Deals’ and the growth in open access. However the service retains its value for providing access to the vast amounts of material that is still not freely available or is hidden behind expensive pay walls.
Originality/value
This is the only study that analyses the current global situation regarding the interlending and DS service.
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More research is required into the underlying reasons for passive innovation resistance. This paper aims to propose that consumers who passively resist innovation may merely be…
Abstract
Purpose
More research is required into the underlying reasons for passive innovation resistance. This paper aims to propose that consumers who passively resist innovation may merely be conservative in nature and explore a conceptual framework that could explain and predict such behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
Theories from the political sciences, social psychology and marketing were studied in trying to understand why some consumers are more conservative in nature and how their attitudes may affect their thoughts, feelings and actions in the marketplace.
Findings
Consumers may develop conservative attitudes, such as a need for cognitive closure, nostalgia, authoritarianism, a social dominance orientation, ethnocentrism and an anti-hedonic approach towards life to combat their fear of ambiguous situations and chaos associated with deviance from in-group values. Ultimately, these attitudes may influence consumer behaviour, such as being brand loyal, unwilling to try new options and preferring nostalgic products that would lead to lower levels of ambiguity and less disruption of the status quo. Conservative consumers may also act as authoritarian parents, prefer to purchase durable materialistic products, support locally manufactured goods and refrain from purchasing products for purely hedonic pleasure in an attempt to preserve their in-group values.
Originality/value
The proposed framework offers more insight into the nature and consequences of passive innovation resistance and may serve as a starting point for further exploration on the fundamental characteristics of conservative consumers. The research findings may also assist marketers in managing their new product innovations strategies more successfully.