Kelly Benati, Sophie Lindsay, Jacqueline O'Toole and Juan Fischer
To gather insight into how graduating business students are preparing for the workplace and their future careers and how this has been impacted by COVID-19.
Abstract
Purpose
To gather insight into how graduating business students are preparing for the workplace and their future careers and how this has been impacted by COVID-19.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 144 business students at an Australian university who had recently completed an internship and were nearing graduation took part in the study. Group A was surveyed before COVID-19 had emerged and Group B undertook their internships during a COVID-19 lockdown when the related economic downturn had become apparent. The responses were analysed using career construction theory (CCT).
Findings
This study concludes that graduating students do not generally place greater emphasis on career planning in times of economic downturn. However, they do devote more effort to job search and networking activities. They also display more career decisiveness and are less willing to seek out information about potential careers or their suitability for them. Their confidence in embarking on a career was not impacted.
Research limitations/implications
This enables us to form a more complete picture of how graduating students perceive their work-readiness and the action they feel is important in order to improve their employability.
Practical implications
This has implications for career practitioners and employers of graduates as it adds to the knowledge of employability and the decision-making process in times of economic crisis and is particularly important for the tertiary education sector as it seeks to better target initiatives to aid employability in graduates.
Originality/value
The results increase the understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on early career development and argue that early-career decision-making is a specific area requiring investigation.
Details
Keywords
Downsizing has seriously eroded the loyalty of U.S. workers. The author, who calls for a new kind of corporate culture, describes how two firms have balanced the needs of…
Abstract
Downsizing has seriously eroded the loyalty of U.S. workers. The author, who calls for a new kind of corporate culture, describes how two firms have balanced the needs of employers and employees.
Jacqueline Doumit and Ramzi Nasser
The purpose of this study was to assess nutrient intakes in elderly living in Lebanese nursing homes (NHs).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to assess nutrient intakes in elderly living in Lebanese nursing homes (NHs).
Design/methodology/approach
This cross-sectional study was conducted in 36 long-term care institutions from all over Lebanon. Out of 2,094 residents, 98 (69 women and 29 men) elderly met the inclusion criteria and successfully completed the interview question. Dietary food intake was assessed using the 24-h food recall. The analysis used a Chi-square test and independent samples t-test or Mann–Whitney test, as appropriate.
Findings
A high percentage of elderly (reaching 100 per cent) had a low intake of energy, protein, linolenic acid, linoleic acid, fibers, vitamins and minerals, and the prevalence of nutrient inadequacy was significantly different between sexes for copper intake (p = 0.02). The results of this study highlight the nutrient inadequacies among the majority of elderly living in long-term care institutions and particularly in women and elderly residing in NHs located away from the capital Beirut.
Originality/value
This study is quite original; this is the first study performed nationwide in Lebanon covering not only the largest number of NHs in various locations but also elderly under custodial settings and with diverse backgrounds.
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Jacqueline Leigh, Grant Cairncross and Matthew Lamont
Managing special events which utilise volunteer labour presents unique challenges due to the time-bound and infrequent nature of events, coupled with the non-traditional…
Abstract
Purpose
Managing special events which utilise volunteer labour presents unique challenges due to the time-bound and infrequent nature of events, coupled with the non-traditional employment contractual basis associated with volunteers. Having committed, well-trained volunteers can sometimes be the difference between success and failure for an event. This paper explores factors shaping event managers' decision-making in relation to allocating organisational resources towards training for event volunteers.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilising qualitative methods, a sample of senior event managers practicing within Australia were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. Their attitudes towards, and factors shaping, their decision-making in relation to allocating organisational resources towards training for event volunteers were analysed and discussed through an interpretive lens.
Findings
Six intervening variables which shaped event managers' decisions to resource volunteer training were identified. These six variables both shaped and constrained event managers' decisions to resource and implement volunteer training.
Originality/value
The study highlights factors that need to be considered when considering attaining festival attendance satisfaction with volunteers’ service provision through training. This work also contributes to future discussions about the value of volunteer training to event success.
Details
Keywords
Jacqueline A. Williams and Helen H. Anderson
A theater/drama perspective is used to gain insights into the participatory nature of service creation and to assess the relative importance of service elements across service…
Abstract
Purpose
A theater/drama perspective is used to gain insights into the participatory nature of service creation and to assess the relative importance of service elements across service scenarios.
Design/methodology/approach
Drama production principles are applied to situations where customers co‐create the service offering. Using a theater arts model, elements in service settings can be delineated into director, lead actor, set designer, scriptwriter, supporting cast member, and/or traditional audience roles. To understand the relative importance of the service provider, the customer, and other service encounter elements, three variations of a service setting (educational services) in which the consumer's participatory role moves from passive to proactive are compared.
Findings
As the service context became more participatory‐based, service provider roles significantly decreased in importance rankings while customer roles significantly increased, supporting the paper's hypotheses. The ranking of other service setting elements followed a similar pattern with greater importance being placed on elements as they became more central to the participatory experience.
Research limitations/implications
The model is tested in only one service setting and the procedure for assigning theater roles to a service setting needs further refinement.
Originality/value
By merging theories from theater and services literature, a means of assessing the relative importance of service components across service scenarios is illustrated. Principles in theater arts provide the tactical detail needed to fit service creation elements into analogous roles in a drama setting. The model provides insights on the importance of service creation elements when transitioning from a spectator‐based to a participatory‐based service environment.