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1 – 10 of 13Joan Harvey, Helen Bolam, David Gregory and George Erdos
An attitude survey developed by Harvey et al. was used to measure responses from employees in the nuclear industry before and after a safety training intervention which all…
Abstract
An attitude survey developed by Harvey et al. was used to measure responses from employees in the nuclear industry before and after a safety training intervention which all employees attended in their work teams. The first administration of the survey yielded 417responses, and the second, administered 16 months later following the training intervention, yielded 460 responses, representing response rates of over 69 per cent in both cases. Using six factors derived earlier from the survey, significant improvements in attitudes and beliefs were found for two of the factors (and a further three factors showed rises in the same direction) for management/professional employees. For shop floor employees, only one factor showed a significant change, which was a reduction in job satisfaction over the same time period. It was concluded that the hypotheses that management would respond to the safety initiative but that shop floor would not were supported. A further hypothesis concerning grade differences in culture and attitudes was also supported. These findings are discussed in terms of culture and risk, risk taking and training, where the implications for safety training are crucial.
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Nikolaos Korfiatis, Marios Poulos and George Bokos
The purpose of this research is to address the need for a definition of metadata descriptors for use in enhancing the accuracy of bibliometric instruments of scholarly evaluation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to address the need for a definition of metadata descriptors for use in enhancing the accuracy of bibliometric instruments of scholarly evaluation, such as the impact factor.
Design/methodology/approach
A semantic vocabulary – COAP – is constructed, deployed on top of the Resource Description Framework (RDF), by extending the Friend‐of‐a‐Friend (FOAF) schema.
Findings
An extension of the FOAF vocabulary is considered as the ability to describe a publication record such as this paper in terms of scholar contributions and participations. In order to achieve that, the FOAF vocabulary is extended.
Practical implications
The application of this semantic vocabulary could be used as a way of enhancing the accuracy of source data for bibliometric evaluation instruments.
Originality/value
The paper discusses how metadata descriptors can contribute to the improvement of already established scholar evaluation instruments such as the impact factor. It will be of use in the development of digital libraries.
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George Acheampong, Raphael Odoom, Thomas Anning-Dorson and Patrick Amfo Anim
The study aims to determine the resource access mechanism in inter-firm networks that aids SME survival in Ghana.
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to determine the resource access mechanism in inter-firm networks that aids SME survival in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collect census data on a poultry cluster in Ghana and construct a directed network. The network is used to extract direct and indirect ties both incoming and outgoing, as well as estimate the structural holes of the actors. These variables are used to estimate for survival of SMEs after a one-year period using a binary logit model.
Findings
The study finds that out-indirect ties and structural hole have a significant influence on SME survival. This works through the global influence and the vision advantage that these positions and ties offer the SMEs.
Originality/value
The study offers SMEs a choice of whom to collaborate with for information (resources) in the form of outgoing and incoming ties at both the global and local level.
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This chapter explores the recent trend in libraries: that of the establishment of spaces specifically set aside for creative work. The rise of these dedicated creative spaces is…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter explores the recent trend in libraries: that of the establishment of spaces specifically set aside for creative work. The rise of these dedicated creative spaces is owed to a confluence of factors that happen to be finding their expression together in recent years. This chapter examines the history of these spaces and explores the factors that gave rise to them and will fuel them moving forward.
Methodology/approach
A viewpoint piece, this chapter combines historical research and historical/comparative analyses to examine the ways by which libraries have supported creative work in the past and how they may continue to do so into the 21st century.
Findings
The key threads brought together include a societal recognition of the value of creativity and related skills and attributes; the philosophies, values, and missions of libraries in both their long-standing forms and in recent evolutions; the rise of participatory culture as a result of inexpensive technologies; improved means to build community and share results of efforts; and library experience and historical practice in matters related to creativity. The chapter concludes with advice for those interested in the establishment of such spaces, grounding those reflections in the author’s experiences in developing a new creative space at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Originality/value
While a number of pieces have been written that discuss the practicalities of developing certain kinds of creative spaces, very little has been written that situates these spaces in larger social and library professional contexts; this chapter begins to fill that gap.
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Gabor Kelemen and Monika Andrea Mark
Since the Jellinekian Foundation of modern alcohol studies 75 years ago, no one has yet systematically studied the role of his ethnographic studies, his university attendance and…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the Jellinekian Foundation of modern alcohol studies 75 years ago, no one has yet systematically studied the role of his ethnographic studies, his university attendance and engagement in psychoanalytic work leading to the birth of his first book (published in 1917), which applied an ethnographic approach. The purpose of this paper is to uncover and show the ethnographic, experimental psychological and psychoanalytic roots in Jellinek’s different models of alcohol problems, from the conventional medical one, though the Alcoholics Anonymous-inspired concept, to the species of alcoholism theory.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the data from their research in the archives of Budapest, Berlin, Leipzig and Grenoble, the authors examine Jellinek’s scientific output in alcohol studies. They focus on data related to Jellinek’s activity in statistics, ethnography including field work and the business model of psychoanalysis.
Findings
Drawing from various traditions of science, Jellinek acquired considerable sources of knowledge with the help of his friends and teachers during his formative years, which later led him to renew and transform his models of alcohol problems. New data on Jellinek’s personal history, a by-product of the archival research, is also presented.
Practical implications
The Jellinekian heritage, including his cross-fertilisation approach, represents a vast reserve for addiction science.
Originality/value
This paper not only adds to the understanding of the history of addiction, but might also lead to a rearranging of our knowledge about the founder of the field.
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Hong Li, Changhong Li and Zhan Wang
The effective transfer of knowledge within an organization is critical for its sustainable competitive advantage. Based on the norm of reciprocity, it can be concluded that…
Abstract
Purpose
The effective transfer of knowledge within an organization is critical for its sustainable competitive advantage. Based on the norm of reciprocity, it can be concluded that individuals’ primary motivation to transfer their treasured knowledge can be summarized as “trust,” that is, the individuals trust their selfless transfer behavior can be reciprocated by the recipients in the future.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, a simulation model based on knowledge transfer behavior and reciprocal trust between individuals is built through agent-based modeling and simulation to investigate the factors that influence the efficiency of knowledge transfer within an organization.
Findings
Experiments are performed to test the impact of reciprocal trust and organizational structure on the efficiency of knowledge transfer.
Originality/value
The results indicate a significant role of key elements of reciprocal trust and organizational structure, which provides relevant practical guidance for both individuals and organization managers in the context of knowledge transfer.
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Alexander Yulievich Chepurenko, Nadezhda Nikolaevna Butryumova, Marina Vyacheslavovna Chernysheva and Anastasia Yevgenyevna Sutormina
This paper deals with types and actors of entrepreneurship in and around academia in Russia, as well as with institutional settings of the entrepreneurial activity of academic…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper deals with types and actors of entrepreneurship in and around academia in Russia, as well as with institutional settings of the entrepreneurial activity of academic faculty.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a series of semi-structured interviews using the purposive snowball method (2022–2023). The respondents are either engaged in different kinds of entrepreneurship in and outside universities in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod or experts in entrepreneurship in and around academia.
Findings
A double mixed embeddedness driven approach to the typology of diverse forms of entrepreneurship in and around academia are shown in the context of the temporality as well as of the micro-, meso- and macro-level institutions, such as the low demand in innovations in the economy; uncertainty of property rights; limited interest of university administration in academic entrepreneurs or its focus solely on students' entrepreneurship; and necessity entrepreneurship motives on the micro-level. The research limitations of the study are the small number of observations and the localisation of the panel in only one country.
Research limitations/implications
The research limitations of the study are the small number of observations and the localisation of the panel in only one country.
Practical implications
The “Special Military Operation” and its consequences would hinder bottom-up academic entrepreneurship in the country, while pushing universities to launch R&D with the big industry, and forcing many faculties to non-academic entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
For the first time, the broad variety of entrepreneurial activities of academic staff including the specifics of non-classical forms of entrepreneurship in and around academia and their embeddedness into different contexts are discussed.
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Stephanie K. Erwin and Maria Cseh
The representation of women throughout all levels of military service and the experiences of women in military service remains a challenge for the U.S. military. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
The representation of women throughout all levels of military service and the experiences of women in military service remains a challenge for the U.S. military. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the gendered experiences of active-duty senior enlisted women in the U.S. military. In particular, this paper addresses gendered misconduct and its implications for training and human resource development.
Design/methodology/approach
Informed by gendered organizations theory, feminist institutional theory and social learning theory, this interpretive qualitative study used document reviews and in-depth interviews with 12 active-duty senior enlisted women representing various occupational specialties within the four branches of the Department of Defense.
Findings
Findings included compelling stories of the gendered experiences of the participants’ related to organizational structures, institutional culture, gendered misconduct and learning to navigate as a woman. Gendered misconduct, to include sexual assault, sexual harassment and sex-based discrimination, particularly reflected the simultaneous visibility and invisibility of women in military service.
Originality/value
The findings of this study are consistent with extant literature and may be used to inform policy and regulatory efforts regarding gendered misconduct in the military. Otherwise, women in the military will remain invisible and yet hypervisible.
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