The purpose of this paper is to identify teachers’ conceptions of learning study in order to provide the basis for an application of phenomenography/variation theory (PVT) to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify teachers’ conceptions of learning study in order to provide the basis for an application of phenomenography/variation theory (PVT) to the improvement of teachers’ learning about learning study.
Design/methodology/approach
A phenomenographic study based on semi-structured interviews with 18 beginner teachers of business and economics in England taking part in a learning study during their initial teacher education.
Findings
The study identified five conceptions of learning study and five associated critical aspects. Results raise questions about the relationship between the process and instructional design elements of learning study.
Originality/value
The study offers a framework for exploring differences in the quality of learning studies and the relationship between teacher conceptions of learning study and the degree of conceptual change in students in a learning study. It also enables facilitator/researchers to design and manage interventions to develop teacher understanding of learning study that are consistent with the principles of PVT.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyze common emplotments of interpretations of the financial crisis of 2007‐2010.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze common emplotments of interpretations of the financial crisis of 2007‐2010.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a text analysis.
Findings
The paper finds that the same “strong plots” are commonly used to explain financial crises to the general public.
Originality/value
The paper provides useful information on interpretations of financial crises.
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Ummaha Hazra and Asad Karim Khan Priyo
While online classes have enabled many universities to carry out their regular academic activities, they have also given rise to new and unanticipated ethical concerns. We focus…
Abstract
Purpose
While online classes have enabled many universities to carry out their regular academic activities, they have also given rise to new and unanticipated ethical concerns. We focus on the “dark side” of online class settings and attempt to illuminate the ethical problems associated with them. The purpose of this study is to investigate the affordances stemming from the technology-user interaction that can result in negative outcomes. We also attempt to understand the context in which these deleterious affordances are actualized.
Design/methodology/approach
We obtain the data from narratives written by students at a top private university in Bangladesh about their experiences of online classes and exams and from focus group discussions with them. We use the lens of affordance theory to identify the abilities that goal-oriented actors – primarily students – obtain from the technology-user interactions, which result in negative outcomes. We also attempt to understand the contextual actualization of those affordances through the lens of Routine Activity Theory (RAT).
Findings
We find three deleterious affordances and three associated deviant outcomes. Non-monitorability which results in academic dishonesty, disguiseability which results in cyber-truancy, and intrudeability which results in embarrassment and harassment. Our findings reveal a deeper underlying problem with the existing educational approach in the universities of Bangladesh and suggest that there is a need to introduce more modern teaching techniques focused on issues such as student engagement and interactive learning.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that combines affordance theory with RAT to identify unethical practices observed in online class settings in the context of a least developed country like Bangladesh and to examine the environmental components that give rise to the pre-conditions for the unethical practices to surface.
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To provide a list of non‐fictional books, as published, for the use of Librarians and Book‐buyers generally, arranged so as to serve as a continuous catalogue of new books ; an…
Abstract
To provide a list of non‐fictional books, as published, for the use of Librarians and Book‐buyers generally, arranged so as to serve as a continuous catalogue of new books ; an aid to exact classification and annotation ; and a select list of new books proposed to be purchased. Novels, school books, ordinary reprints and strictly official publications will not be included in the meantime.
Heidi Winklhofer, Kathryn Houghton and Thomas Chesney
Despite the much publicised advantages of a website for SME exporters, the level of website sophistication, as well as the factors which inhibit or stimulate exporting SMEs to…
Abstract
Despite the much publicised advantages of a website for SME exporters, the level of website sophistication, as well as the factors which inhibit or stimulate exporting SMEs to develop their website beyond a basic level of sophistication, are still unknown. The literature is prone to discuss website establishment and development simultaneously, splitting firms into adopters and non-adopters, yet websites may be established and then neglected, or be continually developed. This paper introduces an instrument for measuring website sophistication within an export marketing context, and proposes and empirically tests a model that depicts factors impacting on perceived advantages of a website and website sophistication levels. The results identify export diversity and environmental pressure as key determinants of perceived advantage of a website which in turn is a good predictor of website sophistication. The firm internal resources, i.e. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) knowledge and time, in conjunction with entrepreneurship orientation also determine an SME exporter's website sophistication level.
A. Lynn Matthews and Meike Eilert
Authenticity is a complex character that is valued in service contexts. Frontline service employees (FSEs), as both brand representatives and individuals who interact with…
Abstract
Purpose
Authenticity is a complex character that is valued in service contexts. Frontline service employees (FSEs), as both brand representatives and individuals who interact with clients, can signal their authenticity to customers. The purpose of this study is to investigate how FSEs signal their authenticity to customers. The authors investigate authenticity signal themes and develop a typology of how FSEs use these signals in the workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses a multi-method approach: qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with FSE and customers and quantitative data were collected in a follow-up survey using a sample of financial planners.
Findings
Findings from both studies show that FSE can use signals reflecting the display of client-centricity, positive emotions, transparency and disclosure of personal information. A latent profile analysis reveals three authenticity signal profiles, differing in the extent to which FSE uses each of these signals.
Research limitations/implications
This study identifies how FSEs can shape perceptions of authenticity in a service context, thus expanding theory by integrating both personal and brand authenticity perspectives. The findings further demonstrate that authenticity can be signaled on multiple dimensions, reflecting the complex nature of this construct.
Practical implications
The findings from this research can guide managers in developing workplace policies that enable FSEs to display authenticity in various ways to customers. Managers can further use the insights from this research to identify needs for FSE training and development.
Originality/value
The authors create novel insights into how FSEs signal authenticity to customers given their dual roles as individuals and brand representatives. This study offers nuanced insights into different types of signals and their application in a service context.
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The social sciences are really the “hard sciences” and the physical sciences are the “easy” sciences. One of the great contributors to making the job of the social scientist very…
Abstract
The social sciences are really the “hard sciences” and the physical sciences are the “easy” sciences. One of the great contributors to making the job of the social scientist very difficult is the lack of fundamental dimensions on the basis of which absolute (i.e. ratio) scales can be formulated and in which relationships could be realized as the [allegedly] coveted equations of physics. This deficiency leads directly to the uses of statistical methods of various types. However it is possible, as shown, to formulate equations and to use them to obtain ratio/absolute scales and relationships based on them. This paper uses differential/integral equations, fundamental ideas from the processing view of the brain‐mind, multiple scale approximation via Taylor series, and basic reasoning some of which may be formulated as infinite‐valued logic, and which is related to probability theory (the theoretical basis of statistics) to resolve some of the basic issues relating to learning theory, the roles of nature and nurture in intelligence, the measurement of intelligence itself, and leads to the correct formulation of the potential‐actual type behaviors (specifically intelligence) and dynamical‐temporal model of intelligence development. Specifically, it is shown that the: (1) basic model for intelligence in terms of genetics and environment has to be multiplicative, which corresponds to a logical‐AND, and is not additive; (2) related concept of “genetics” creating its own environment is simply another way of saying that the interaction of genetics and environment is multiplicative as in (1); (3) timing of environmental richness is critical and must be modeled dynamically, e.g. in the form of a differential equation; (4) path functions, not point functions, must be used to model such phenomena; (5) integral equation formulation shows that intelligence at any time t, is a a sum over time of the past interaction of intelligence with environmental and genetic factors; (6) intelligence is about 100 per cent inherited on a global absolute (ratio) scale which is the natural (dimensionless) scale for measuring variables in social science; (7) nature of the approximation assumptions implicit in statistical methods leads to “heritability” calculations in the neighborhood of 0.5. and that short of having controlled randomized experiments such as in animal studies these are expected sheerely due to the methods used; (8) concepts from AI, psychology, epistemology and physics coincide in many respects except for the terminology used, and these concepts can be modeled nonlinearly.
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Anthony Patterson and Steve Baron
The purpose of this paper is to explore poor service encounters from the customer's perspective.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore poor service encounters from the customer's perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Multiple autoethnographic accounts of overwhelmingly dreadful customer experiences at a department store were gathered and analyzed. The writers of the accounts were asked only to chronicle their experiences, and not directed to comment specifically on retail employee behaviour. Thus a different approach to dysfunctional service employee behaviour is offered to complement research on service sabotage, internal marketing and service delivery gaps.
Findings
Department store customers, especially the younger ones, have very low opinions of retail frontline employees. Common to all the autoethnographic accounts was a cynicism towards the actions of such employees that pervaded the customer perceptions of retail service encounters. Overcoming customer cynicism was identified as a key objective of employee training.
Research implications/limitations
The approach, based on multiple autoethnographic accounts, provides insights that can be overlooked with traditional customer satisfaction surveys. It is particularly useful for eliciting constructive feelings of experiences. By its nature, it can be difficult for researchers to forecast the ground that may be covered by the scribes, and therefore to plan a research project around the method.
Practical implications
The findings are relevant to those involved in training retail frontline employees. They strongly suggest that training, through functional scripts and handy customer service tips, is inappropriate for creating successful service encounters with cynical customers, and may even encourage service sabotage behaviours from severely bored employees.
Originality/value
The methodology is novel in the context of retail customer experiences. The findings bring customer cynicism to the fore, and question the viability of continuing with retail formats that require monotonous and uninspiring roles to be played by retail employees.
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Smitha Girija, Devika Rani Sharma and Vaishali Kaushal
In 2020, the world encountered travel restrictions because of pandemic, and the hospitality sector across the globe was one of the most affected industries. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
In 2020, the world encountered travel restrictions because of pandemic, and the hospitality sector across the globe was one of the most affected industries. The purpose of this study is to further explore real-time experiences of guests who stayed in budget hotels and how pandemic has changed the expectations of its customer segment.
Design/methodology/approach
The current study uses netnography to examine customer experience of guests who stayed at budget hotels during the COVID-19 pandemic. A thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo 12 plus on 1,391 customer reviews collected from various travel portals.
Findings
The results suggested personalization and hygiene were the most significant themes that influence customer experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors’ analysis revealed that the use of self-service technologies like contactless services during check-in, checkouts and use of Quick Response codes in restaurants and other services would help reduce the perceived risk of guests and enhance the overall customer experience.
Originality/value
The branded budget hotel sector has pumped in lot of money envisaging growth just before the COVID crises emerged. Therefore, the fast recovery is of paramount importance for the sector. Additionally, majority of the pandemic-related studies in hospitality sector have focused on luxury hotels and failed to address the real-time experiences of customers with respect to budget hotels of a developing country. The outcome of this study will be relevant for the budget hotels and policymakers because they face the crucial task of reviving and sustaining enterprises and the industry at large.