Glen Joseph, Alex Perry, Lynn Watson and Lynn Vickery
Wheelchair users face particular design and accessibility barriers, both in and around the home and in the wider environment. The majority of homes in England (84%) do not allow…
Abstract
Wheelchair users face particular design and accessibility barriers, both in and around the home and in the wider environment. The majority of homes in England (84%) do not allow someone using a wheelchair to get to and through the front door without difficulty, and only 0.5% of homes are reported to be ‘accessible and adaptable’. Habinteg Housing Association and London South Bank University have undertaken secondary research that presents national and regional estimates of housing need among wheelchair users in England and shows how these figures can be used to produce similar estimates at local authority level. There are three solutions to under‐provision, which should be strategically interlinked: development of new wheelchair standard homes (of all sizes) for both owner‐occupiers and tenants, support for home adaptations across tenures, and more efficient allocation, within social housing, of existing accessible and adaptable homes. This article refers to some of the key issues, results, conclusions and recommendations of the main research report.
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In recent years, many U.S. direct marketers have expanded their efforts into Asia. A few studies of consumers’ attitudes towards direct marketing were conducted outside of the…
Abstract
In recent years, many U.S. direct marketers have expanded their efforts into Asia. A few studies of consumers’ attitudes towards direct marketing were conducted outside of the United States in order to ascertain their attitudes towards direct marketing, privacy, environmental concerns, and trust issues. International direct marketers must take care to respect these issues before entering new countries, such as Taiwan and other emerging markets. The following article reports the results of a survey done in both the U.S. and Taiwan.
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Dawn Joseph, Reshmi Lahiri-Roy and Jemima Bunn
This research is situated at a metropolitan university in Melbourne (Australia) where the authors work in initial teacher education programs within the same faculty. The purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
This research is situated at a metropolitan university in Melbourne (Australia) where the authors work in initial teacher education programs within the same faculty. The purpose of this study is to raise awareness that collegial, collaborative and “co-caring” environments can foster an improved sense of belonging, acceptance and inclusion in the academy. They also argue that communities of practice may foster an improved sense of belonging that enhances empowerment and harmony among all staff in academia in pandemic times and beyond.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors draw on case study methodology as a qualitative approach to understand and illuminate the phenomena under study. Case study methodology provides an in-depth understanding of their trifocal voices, as it allows them to voice their stories through collaborative autoethnography. The authors use self-narratives to unpack their sense of belonging in academic spaces. Collaborative autoethnography (CAE) enabled them to work together as a team of women and as a community of researchers.
Findings
The findings foreground the responsibilities of casual staff while concomitantly articulating the challenges faced by both permanent and casual staff to create a “sense of belonging” in the academy. The authors found that social connection engenders a sense of belonging and inclusion within a space that is often beset by neoliberal ideologies of competitiveness and individual achievement. They articulate their stress, pressure and uncertainty as permanent and as casual academics working supportively to develop and maintain identity in very difficult circumstances. They share how they developed professional relationships which bring unforeseen benefits and personal friendship at a time of especially restrictive practices.
Research limitations/implications
The paper includes three voices, a limitation in itself, thus generalisations cannot be made to other academics or institutions. Employing CAE offers the possibility of delving more deeply into the emotional complexities inherent within this method for further research. They recommend a sense of “co-caring” as a form of pastoral care in the “induction program” for all academics including casual staff. While this may not “strategically” fit in with many because of power imbalances, the journey of co-caring and sharing and building friendships within the academy has a limited presence in the literature and calls for further investigation.
Practical implications
The authors draw attention to the need for higher education institutes to recognise the role permanent staff play when working with casual academics.
Social implications
The authors draw attention to the need to be inclusive and collaborative as a way to improve the divide and strengthen connections between permanent and casual academics at university worksites. This is imperative given the shifting demographics within Australia and its workforce. They also highlight issues of race in the academy.
Originality/value
This is an original work carried out by the authors. It raises concerns about a sense of belonging in the academy, job certainty and the place of people of colour as these issues may also be experienced by other full-time and casual academics.
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Joseph Bashouri and Glen William Duncan
The purpose of this paper is to assess the importance of knowledge and its management in the creative professional service firm (PSF). The other purpose is to explore the role of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the importance of knowledge and its management in the creative professional service firm (PSF). The other purpose is to explore the role of communities of practice (CoPs) in knowledge management (KM) strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
A single-case study approach was adopted with five open-ended semi-structured interviews conducted with middle and senior management having mainly an architectural background. The data were complemented with participant observation and reflection on experience together with conversations with work colleagues.
Findings
The findings suggest that having an appropriately balanced strategy of personalisation/codification of knowledge through CoPs contributes to the competitiveness of the firm.
Research limitations/implications
The paper provides a useful exploration of KM in creative PSFs, but the results may lack generalizability because of the small scale and qualitative nature of the research. The research is limited to one firm in one country. Future research is needed to test the findings in other creative PSFs and in other countries.
Practical implications
The paper provides guidance to managers in creative PSFs on the need for positioning CoPs at the heart of the firm’s KM strategies.
Originality/value
The paper tests a theoretical framework on how to link strategy with KM strategy in creative PSFs.
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This paper aims to explore the journeys of a group of North American Master athletes who travelled to Scotland to compete in the 2014 Masters World Championship Highland Games…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the journeys of a group of North American Master athletes who travelled to Scotland to compete in the 2014 Masters World Championship Highland Games. Conceptualising, the Masters World Championship Highland Games as a unique form of sport heritage tourism, the paper explores how imaginations of the host venue are caught within individual and collective histories, while also being influenced by the socio-political context of contemporary Scotland.
Design/methodology/approach
After detailing the histories of the Highland games and Scottish emigration, the study draws upon a qualitative methodology to explore how such histories impact the imaginations of the Highland region.
Findings
This paper examines the journeys of athletes to the games, how they understood the games venue space and surrounding areas, and also how the Highland region itself was the site of contested meanings. The study concludes with a discussion of the narratives that frame imaginations of the Highlands and Scotland more broadly.
Originality/value
The paper adds to existing knowledge on sport heritage tourism and considers how conceptualisations of Scotland continue to be renegotiated in light of contemporary political developments.