Clive Nancarrow, Jason Vir and Andy Barker
The purpose is to examine the insights gained from applying Ritzer's thesis of McDonaldization to international qualitative marketing research, in particular the four pillars of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose is to examine the insights gained from applying Ritzer's thesis of McDonaldization to international qualitative marketing research, in particular the four pillars of McDonaldization: efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control.
Design/methodology/approach
The factors influencing choice of qualitative method in practice are examined drawing on the literature, the authors' observations based on experience (a team of practitioners) and a qualitative research study, using a mix of interviews and a workshop with those who co‐ordinate international research or who are subject to the co‐ordination.
Findings
The research suggests McDonaldization or “factory farming” may be a reality in some quarters in the qualitative marketing research industry and examples of how the four pillars of McDonaldization bear on the industry are examined.
Research limitations/implications
There is a need to determine and monitor the extent of the McDonaldization phenomenon and at the same time explore across different cultures two key interfaces that can be adversely affected by McDonaldization, namely the respondent‐researcher interface and the researcher‐researcher interface when the researchers come from different cultures.
Practical implications
Management may now reflect on whether their practices increase or decrease the likelihood of gleaning qualitative insights and the case for considering developing a more eclectic research philosophy.
Originality/value
This paper provides a new framework for evaluating applied qualitative marketing research.
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Anti‐reductionist social theory is a relatively ‘new’ but methodically eclectic body of theory which analyses the complexity of the tripartite theory, policy and practice. The…
Abstract
Anti‐reductionist social theory is a relatively ‘new’ but methodically eclectic body of theory which analyses the complexity of the tripartite theory, policy and practice. The work of Roger Sibeon (1996, 1999 and 2004) has contributed to a sensitising frame work in regard to a sociology of knowledge: generating epistemic narratives for theoretical construction and re‐construction, contrasting to a substantive sociology for knowledge based upon methodological generalisations for empirical or practical use: although the of/for distinction is not inflexible as there are circumstances when they form a process of what Powell and Longino (2001) call ‘articulation’: a united or connected analysis of/for theorising and practice.
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Eldene Braaf and Nicolette Roman
Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) and wellness practitioners (WPs) are the first line of support for employees returning from substance use rehabilitation. However, many…
Abstract
Purpose
Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) and wellness practitioners (WPs) are the first line of support for employees returning from substance use rehabilitation. However, many workplaces need more guidance and support provisions to address these needs effectively. The purpose of this paper is to present a 10-week aftercare intervention programme that EAPs and WPs can use to support employees returning to work after a period of substance use rehabilitation.
Design/methodology/approach
The qualitative methodological approach involved two distinct stages of data collection and consensus search activities. Stage 1 involved three data collection activities with three stakeholder groups, and Stage 2 consisted of two consensus-seeking engagements with the intended audience of the intervention programme.
Findings
Participants in the consensus-seeking activities endorsed the inclusion of content in the proposed intervention programme and structural and organisational arrangements. Specific recommendations were made, namely, increased reliance on faith-based and spiritual support, the need to include community support structures and ensuring that workplace interventions include counselling, skills training and motivational speakers.
Practical implications
Those working in the EAP environment are offered a systematic and holistic plan for managing and supporting employees recovering from substance abuse disorders (SUDs) to maintain their recovery and return to productive work.
Originality/value
Implementing the intervention programmes can reduce the ad hoc nature of current approaches to workplace aftercare. The WPs are placed in a central role while stressing the valuable input of other key role players within the workplace or part of the family and community networks of the employee.
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There has been little thought given in science to the impact of direct brain‐machine interfacing upon the future development of human consciousness. Even less thought has been…
Abstract
There has been little thought given in science to the impact of direct brain‐machine interfacing upon the future development of human consciousness. Even less thought has been given to the possibilities for both optimizing and thwarting development in the cyborg child. A neurocognitive model of the evolution of cyborg consciousness is summarized, and from this model grounded speculations are offered pertaining to the future development of the higher cognitive functions in the cyborg child. It will be shown that cybernetic implants are “multistable”; that is, the artificial intelligence (AI) component of the cyborg brain‐machine linkage may function to condition development along ideological lines (the brain conditioned by the “ideological chip”), or may operate to open up neurocognitive development to new and heretofore unrealized limits (the brain’s development optimized by the “guru programme”). Development of the cyborg child may be conditioned in the interests of ideological concerns, or may lead to a consciousness that easily transcends all forms of ideology. Application of the guru programme may foster the emergence of new levels of cognitive complexity and information processing (à la Piagetian and neo‐Piagetian theory) that in turn allows new strategies of adaptation previously beyond human comprehension. The ethical and regulatory problems raised by cyborg technologies are addressed.
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Mark Bertram and Jason L. Powell
This article deconstructs the hagiography surrounding British mental health policy and provides a critical analysis of the ‘New Labour’ Government reforms of the Mental Health Act…
Abstract
This article deconstructs the hagiography surrounding British mental health policy and provides a critical analysis of the ‘New Labour’ Government reforms of the Mental Health Act 1983 grounded in Foucauldian insights. Smart (1985) suggests that a Foucauldian perspective deconstructs “common sense assumptions” that lie at the heart of policies formulated by the State. A cogent discussion grounded in Foucault’s work can illustrate how surveillance and discourses of power impact on the positioning of service users as objects of control, domination and subordination.
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This article argues in favor of using motion picture screens as a medium for the presentation of advertising messages. The concept and history of cinema screen advertising is…
Abstract
This article argues in favor of using motion picture screens as a medium for the presentation of advertising messages. The concept and history of cinema screen advertising is examined, previous and contemporary audience research on cinema ads is presented, and an argument favoring the adoption of cinema screen advertising is offered. Virtually all of the American mass media are characterized as commercial in the sense of being largely advertising supported. The most commonplace and pervasive media‐newspapers, television, radio, and magazines—all share this characteristic. Cinema, however, is and has been supported almost entirely by patrons. Moreover, today there is much discussion as well as research on how new communications technologies might be employed to meet advertising and marketing needs. This article examines a mass communications technology which has been present for a century but has been virtually untapped as an advertising and marketing medium for reaching American consumers. Few individuals think of theatrically exhibited motion pictures as a likely medium to be supported by advertising. Introductory mass communications, advertising, and marketing texts regularly omit mention of this notion. This article argues that in an age of new communications technologies, use of this older technology for advertising and marketing carries many of the same advantages as does use of the emerging ones. This article explores the concept of cinema advertising, presents previous and contemporary audience research on cinema ads, and argues that today, especially, this long‐neglected medium should be adopted for the dissemination of information by the consumer marketing and advertising industries.