Janelle R. Thomas and Robert P. Holley
In this paper the authors aim to examine ways to motivate staff whose job assignments include repetitive library tasks such as shelving, copy cataloguing, circulation, and other…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper the authors aim to examine ways to motivate staff whose job assignments include repetitive library tasks such as shelving, copy cataloguing, circulation, and other similar functions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors review the appropriate management literature and build upon the extensive management experience of the second author.
Findings
Ways to increase employee motivation including enriching the work experience, effective communication, appropriate incentives, and treating each employee as an individual. Sharing tasks among staff and maintaining an ergonomic workspace are also important. Library automation and eliminating unneeded tasks can reduce repetitive tasks but can also lead to a reduction in staff.
Practical implications
The paper provides practical steps for managers to take to keep staff motivated when faced with repetitive tasks.
Originality/value
This paper summarizes the management literature on this topic to provide practical guidance for library managers.
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L. Janelle Dance, Dae Young Kim and Thomas Bern
Urban sociological research posits a strong correlation between social isolation and the growth in illicit activities of street culture, namely the drug trade and violent gang…
Abstract
Urban sociological research posits a strong correlation between social isolation and the growth in illicit activities of street culture, namely the drug trade and violent gang activities. However, in this article we offer an explanation for why, even in the absence of extreme poverty and social isolation from mainstream institutions, youths in Cambridge, Massachusetts feel vulnerable to illicit street cultural activities. We also offer an explanation for why these youths perceive the effects of social dislocation to be similar to that experienced by youths from larger central cities. As we will elaborate below, some students in Cambridge are affected by illicit street cultural activities because: (1) social dislocation is a relative phenomenon and not merely an absolute phenomenon as described by William J. Wilson; (2) there is a social dislocation spill‐over effect from larger central cities that intensifies or amplifies the experiences of youths in the relatively poorer neighborhoods of Cambridge; (3) and some youths, from stable working‐class or wealthier neighborhoods in Cambridge, view involvement in the illicit activities of street culture as a reputable means of gaining peer respect through status group affiliation.
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Vidar Halldorsson, Thorolfur Thorlindsson and Michael A. Katovich
This chapter explores the role of informal sport in the development of top-level Icelandic athletes. The approach is explorative and intended to develop an empirically grounded…
Abstract
This chapter explores the role of informal sport in the development of top-level Icelandic athletes. The approach is explorative and intended to develop an empirically grounded theory. We conducted semistructured interviews with 10 Icelandic elite athletes. Our analysis suggests that the development of free play may be of central importance to the development of elite athletes. Free play offers the opportunity to foster intrinsic motivation, mastery of skills, flow, craftsmanship, and aesthetic experience. We suggest that these qualities are important in the development of top athletes, especially in their early sport career. Our analysis also highlights the importance of unsupervised informal peer interaction. A pool of unsupervised peer networks can serve as a prerequisite for the development of informal sport that may promote qualities that are desirable for the development of top-level athletes. Our analysis further suggests that the contribution of informal sport depends on how it interacts with other elements in the social context and its relationship to formal sport.
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Ruth Banomyong and Thomas E. Fernandez
The purpose of this paper is to assess the logistics performance of national trade corridors in Myanmar based on a theoretical portrayal of multimodal transport in logistics…
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to assess the logistics performance of national trade corridors in Myanmar based on a theoretical portrayal of multimodal transport in logistics chains combined with the real-time operation of such chains. A cost-time-distance model was used as the core theoretical framework for the discussion. Empirical data related to cost, time and distance was obtained to evaluate national trade corridors in Myanmar. The study explored the performance of trade corridor in the pulses and beans sector from the largest sown and harvest areas to the main seaports in Myanmar. The pulses and beans sector was selected because the country is the 2nd highest exporter in the world and would benefit from improved access to its national seaports. Under the cost-time-distance model used, it was observed that physical infrastructure, institutional environment as well as limited capability of local providers hindered the overall performance of the trade corridors under study.
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Muhammet Emre Coskun, Thema Monroe-White and Janelle Kerlin
This paper aims to improve upon the initial quantitative assessment of Kerlin’s macro-institutional social enterprise (MISE) framework (Monroe-White et al., 2015) to test for the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to improve upon the initial quantitative assessment of Kerlin’s macro-institutional social enterprise (MISE) framework (Monroe-White et al., 2015) to test for the effect of country-level institutions on the social enterprise sector. Major improvements are the inclusion of the civil society variable and expansion of the culture component in the analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
By following Kerlin’s (2013) original work that draws on the theory of historical institutionalism, this paper employs multi-level regression analysis to test the effect of country-level institutional factors on organizational-level social enterprise across countries. This analysis uses new macro-level data specifically for civil society and culture components.
Findings
The initial assessment of the framework found that several country-level factors had a significant effect on the variance in the size of the social enterprise sector across countries. The analysis provided here additionally shows a significant positive influence of civil society on the size of the social enterprise sector and shows that formal institutions capture the effect of informal cultural institutions when included in the model together.
Practical/implications
This analysis provides policymakers, development actors and researchers with a better understanding of the influence of civil society on social enterprises and the interaction between formal and informal institutional underlying factors.
Originality/value
This paper’s significant contribution is the addition of civil society in the MISE analysis, which was not possible before owing to lack of data, and additional cultural analysis.
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Thema Monroe-White, Janelle A. Kerlin and Sandy Zook
The purpose of this paper is to provide the first large data-set regression analysis to test Kerlin’s (2013) macro-institutional social enterprise framework in relation to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide the first large data-set regression analysis to test Kerlin’s (2013) macro-institutional social enterprise framework in relation to the country social enterprise models that flow from it. Kerlin (2013) offers a conceptual framework for country social enterprise models that allows countries to retain their unique understanding of social enterprise and better understand the factors influencing its development.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on the theory of historical institutionalism and multiple global datasets to test formal hypotheses on the relationship between macro-institutional factors and the size of the social enterprise sector across countries. Social enterprise data were obtained from the 2009 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor dataset. Hypotheses were tested using logistic hierarchical linear modeling.
Findings
Results provide support for the framework at a significant level. Nearly half of the variance in the size of the social enterprise sector can be attributed to countries-level factors. We also find that the size of the social enterprise sector varies by economic competitiveness rank, size of the welfare state and collectivist cultural orientation.
Research limitations/implications
The countries included in this study are not representative of the global landscape. Researchers are encouraged to test the framework with a more representative sample of countries, including those in the Global South.
Practical implications
The paper includes implications for policy makers and researchers seeking to facilitate cross-regional dialogue, the transfer and support of social enterprises and research.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills an identified need to advance the field of social enterprise by quantitatively testing established frameworks.
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This chapter explores the development of the dangerous, sexualized fembot archetype in science-fiction film and television, drawing a line from the robot Maria in Fritz Lang's…
Abstract
This chapter explores the development of the dangerous, sexualized fembot archetype in science-fiction film and television, drawing a line from the robot Maria in Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) to contemporary versions of the archetype.
Primarily, this chapter outlines how this historically villainous trope has been augmented and redefined in twenty-first Century posthuman science-fiction texts Ex Machina (Alex Garland, 2014) and Westworld (Joy et al., 2016 –). Both feature fembot characters who are central to the narrative, and can be defined as both villainous at times, but who also occupy the position of arguable sympathetic protagonists. In part, this redefinition can be argued as more a reflection of a Western hegemonic shift towards feminist values. Nevertheless, there have been criticisms of the male gaze present in both and of the emphasis on female suffering.
As oblique texts for an 18–35 audience, both Ex Machina and Westworld ask more questions than they answer. Through textual analysis and with reference to relevant scholarship, this chapter considers the impact of audience and institution on representation, the interplay between genre conventions and the presentation of the archetype as well as a considering how both offer different treatment of intersectional androids.