This article presents a South African's perspective on the possible role of social capital in achieving long‐term sustainable human and economic development in the world. Social…
Abstract
This article presents a South African's perspective on the possible role of social capital in achieving long‐term sustainable human and economic development in the world. Social capital is defined as the presence of effective human networks and social cohesion, which are manifested in effective institutions and processes where people can co‐operate for mutual advantage. This article postulates that social capital can help societies to achieve internal evolution towards sustainable development in a manner that can resolve the problem of the commons. It proposes that three “tipping points” drive socio‐economic development: open society; economic growth; and creative minorities – including an entrepreneurial class. Social capital provides a supportive environment for these tipping points and, in this case, more is better. Ways to create more social capital are discussed with reference to the sources of social capital. These include the freedom to form networks, anti‐corruption measures, sanctions against transgressors, using the budget as well as the potential contribution of social transformation policies.
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My Bui, Anjala S. Krishen and Kenneth Bates
The purpose of this paper is to assess how regret affects consumer satisfaction levels, extent of rumination, and brand‐switching intention. The paper also seeks to examine any…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess how regret affects consumer satisfaction levels, extent of rumination, and brand‐switching intention. The paper also seeks to examine any mediating effects between regret and rumination that can be found due to consumers' negative emotions.
Design/methodology/approach
A purchase‐decision scenario was presented to 125 undergraduate students. A between‐subjects experimental design was conducted and structural equation modelling was utilized to evaluate the model fit.
Findings
The results indicate that regret decreases consumer satisfaction level and increases brand‐switching intention. Negative emotion was found to demonstrate an indirect effect between regret and extent of rumination. The findings also suggest that negative emotion acts as a partially mediating variable between the effect of satisfaction levels on extent of rumination and the effect of regret on satisfaction levels.
Practical implications
This study emphasizes the importance of post‐purchase consumer satisfaction. Marketers must pay particular attention to both regret and negative emotion toward purchase decisions. By understanding how specific recourse can be taken to mitigate regret, negative emotions, and ruminative thinking, firms can potentially enhance a brand's image and instil brand loyalty.
Originality/value
This research further validates existing research regarding regret and consumption, while introducing the concept of rumination into the marketing literature. Marketers will have a better understanding of how regret, negative emotions, and rumination can play a role in post‐purchase consumption behaviours.
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The purpose of this study is to evaluate how social capital is developed in a third sector organisation based in the north-west of England, a small food cooperative run by…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to evaluate how social capital is developed in a third sector organisation based in the north-west of England, a small food cooperative run by volunteers. Social capital comprises the bonds, bridges and linkages that hold together societal members, and it can be considered to be a precursor of economic capital.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative data were collected through interviews with key informants, observations and documents. Data were analysed using either a template or a thematic analysis to identify aspects of social capital development.
Findings
A model of the interactions between and within the three main stakeholder groups involved in the cooperative is presented. This model shows how these interactions can develop social capital, and it discusses how potential deficits in social capital can occur.
Research limitations/implications
The findings have practical and theoretical implications, in that they may better equip third-sector organisations to understand how social capital is developed.
Originality/value
This is one of few practical studies of social capital development in a social enterprise and provides valuable insights into the processes by which this is done.
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As is the case internationally, there is also an increased focus on urban space diversity in South Africa. Is it appropriate to pursue place diversity in South Africa? If so, what…
Abstract
As is the case internationally, there is also an increased focus on urban space diversity in South Africa. Is it appropriate to pursue place diversity in South Africa? If so, what are the design factors that support place diversity and can these be accommodated by the development of medium density mixed housing in the country? Furthermore, could these emerging trends be considered as part of a larger global trend moving towards greater place diversity in cities, or does it only offer local fragments and practices of fashionable international ideas? This paper explores the multiple meanings of place diversity in the country as evident in the development of medium density mixed housing developments and highlights a number of paradoxes that emerge as a result of the context-specific realities.
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Helen Yates, Norma Crombie and Terry Kirk
This pilot study was undertaken to assess whether a deliberate increase in eating frequency would cause an increase in overall energy intake and thus potentially contribute to…
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This pilot study was undertaken to assess whether a deliberate increase in eating frequency would cause an increase in overall energy intake and thus potentially contribute to weight gain. Ten adult male subjects were randomly allocated into two groups. One group consumed a given snack 30 minutes and the other 90 minutes before lunch and evening meals for a two‐week period. After a washout period, the snacking regimes were reversed. Body weights were measured at baseline and at the end of the two intervention periods. Subjects completed a seven day semi‐weighed dietary diary at baseline and a four‐day diary during the second week of the two intervention periods. The insertion of snacks between meals resulted in a reduction in energy consumed at subsequent meals. Surprisingly snacks taken 90 minutes before meals resulted in a reduction in energy consumed at subsequent meals. Moreover, the magnitude of the adjustment was greater at evening meals than at lunch. This study provides preliminary evidence that snacking does not necessarily lead to overconsumption and thus contribute to obesity. However, a full‐scale study is needed with a longer intervention period to thoroughly evaluate this issue.
Phil Mount, Shelley Hazen, Shawna Holmes, Evan Fraser, Anthony Winson, Irena Knezevic, Erin Nelson, Lisa Ohberg, Peter Andrée and Karen Landman
This chapter explores the relationships between organisational type, rationales and the barriers that prevent community food projects from increasing the scale of their…
Abstract
This chapter explores the relationships between organisational type, rationales and the barriers that prevent community food projects from increasing the scale of their operations. From a broad survey of community food projects, organisations were divided according to their primary rationale (e.g. rural economic development and distribution), and then subdivided – by form – as a non-profit, private business, governmental agency or cooperative. Data from the interviews and surveys were coded using a qualitative grounded theory approach, to reveal the barriers experienced by each. Overall, access to long-term stable income is a recurrent theme across all types of projects. However, income sources dramatically change how these organisations prioritise barriers. Similarly, the organisation’s primary rationale and experiences influence the interpretation and approach to collaboration and education. Despite these differences, our results suggest a large degree of convergence that cuts across organisational forms and rationales, and offer a base for broader regional food system conversations.
Howard S. Schwartz and Larry Hirschhorn
Cross-level analysis is a problem for mainstream approaches to organizational behavior, but not for psychoanalytic theory. The reason is that psychoanalytic theory is not so much…
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Cross-level analysis is a problem for mainstream approaches to organizational behavior, but not for psychoanalytic theory. The reason is that psychoanalytic theory is not so much about behavior as about the meaning of behavior, which is relatively invariant across levels. The Jayson Blair scandal at the New York Times is analyzed at the individual, the group, the intrapsychic, the interpersonal, and the organizational levels. Blair’s behavior and the behavior of the Times toward him are explained in terms of a clash between two ways in which meaning is made: the Oedipal and the anti-oedipal.
Chipo Katsande, Tendai Shelton Muwani, Gracious Mutipforo, Prosper Tafadzwa Denhere, Njodzi Ranganai, Solomon Marime and Allan C. Muzenda
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) means that all people can access quality essential health services, without having to suffer financial hardship. However, this remains a…
Abstract
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) means that all people can access quality essential health services, without having to suffer financial hardship. However, this remains a significant challenge in many parts of Africa, particularly for marginalized populations in hard-to-reach communities as the financial burden continues to be placed on the poor citizens. The rapid advancement of digital technologies has changed the healthcare landscape by introducing new, frugal methods for healthcare delivery, holding the potential to bridge the healthcare gap and enhance access to quality healthcare for marginalized populations. While the notion of frugal innovation (FI) is gaining worldwide traction, the application of digital technologies in driving FIs within African healthcare systems remains largely untapped. With this aim, the research conducted a comprehensive literature review and searched for articles that addressed digital technologies in the medical field and technology-enabled disruptive digital frugal innovations (DFIs), particularly in the healthcare sector in Africa from Scopus indexed journals. In addition, the technologies identified are examined with respect to their innovation characteristics. Inclusion and exclusion criterion were clearly defined. The inclusion criteria considered studies that explored digital technologies and their intervention characteristics and DFIs in healthcare. Articles that were excluded from the study consisted of those not written in English, studies that addressed broader aspects of technology without specific emphasis on DFIs in healthcare.
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Colette Russell and Joanne Meehan
In the UK, major IT public procurement projects regularly fail at significant cost to the taxpayer. The prevalence of these failures presents scholars with a challenge; to both…
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In the UK, major IT public procurement projects regularly fail at significant cost to the taxpayer. The prevalence of these failures presents scholars with a challenge; to both understand their genesis and to facilitate learning and prevention. Functional approaches have revealed numerous determinants of failure ranging from procurement specifications to risk escalation, but true and definitive causes remain elusive. However, since failure is not itself an absolute truth, but rather a concept which is reached when support is withdrawn, the survival of a project depends on there being sufficient belief in its legitimacy. We use critical hermeneutic methods and the conceptual lens of legitimacy to reveal powerful legitimating influences that enable and constrain action, but which are not analysed in the retrospective government inquiries that determine lessons learned.