Jayne Bryant, James Ayers and Merlina Missimer
Transformative learning and leadership are key leverage points for supporting society’s transition towards sustainability. The purpose of this study was to identify the outcomes…
Abstract
Purpose
Transformative learning and leadership are key leverage points for supporting society’s transition towards sustainability. The purpose of this study was to identify the outcomes of transformational learning within an international sustainability leadership master’s program in Sweden. The study also prototypes a typology for transformative learning (TTL) in the context of sustainability leadership education.
Design/methodology/approach
Alumni spanning 15 cohorts provided answers to a survey, and the responses were used to identify the outcomes of the program. Graduates were asked to describe what transformed for them through the program. Empirical data was coded prototyping the use of the TTL in sustainability education context.
Findings
Graduates of the Master’s in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability program, described transformation with regards to their Self-in-relation to Others and the World, their Self-knowledge, sense of Empowerment/Responsibility; their Worldview became More Comprehensive or Complex, and they gained New Awareness/New Understandings which transformed their Worldview. Many described transformations in their general Ways of Being in the world. Findings suggest the TTL learning as a good basis for analysis in the education for sustainable development (ESD) context. Suggestions for the TTL include further development of the process that articulates the relational, interdependent and perhaps a priori relationships between elements that transform.
Research limitations/implications
This study presents the outcomes of transformational learning within an international sustainability leadership master’s program. It prototypes the use of a TTL within the ESD context using empirical data. This combination provides practical insights to a dynamic, often theoretical and hard to articulate process.
Originality/value
This study presents the outcomes of transformational learning within an international sustainability leadership master’s program. It prototypes the use of a TTL in the ESD context and assesses the outcomes of a sustainability leadership program using empirical data. This combination provides practical insights to a dynamic, often theoretical and hard to articulate process.
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Jayne Bryant, James Ayers, Merlina Missimer and Göran Broman
Transformative learning (TL) and leadership are key leverage points for supporting society’s transition toward sustainability. The purpose of this study is to identify essential…
Abstract
Purpose
Transformative learning (TL) and leadership are key leverage points for supporting society’s transition toward sustainability. The purpose of this study is to identify essential components of TL within an international sustainability leadership master’s program in Sweden that has been described by many students as life-changing, empowering and transformational.
Design/methodology/approach
Alumni spanning 15 cohorts provided answers to a survey and the responses were used to map components of TL as experienced by the students.
Findings
The survey confirms the anecdotal assertions that the program is transformational. The findings suggest that community, place, pedagogy, concepts and content, disorientation and hope and agency are essential components, combined with the synergy of those into an integrated whole that support transformational change according to many respondents.
Originality/value
This study provides program designers and educators with suggested components and emphasizes their integration and synergy, to support TL experiences for sustainability leaders.
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Kayte Jayne Rowe, Sarah Bailey, Bonnie Teague, Kevin Mattless and Caitlin Notley
Approximately 3.5% of the workforce is diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). With a greater risk of work-related stress and absences, work-based social…
Abstract
Purpose
Approximately 3.5% of the workforce is diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). With a greater risk of work-related stress and absences, work-based social interactions and environments are significant factors. The purpose of this study was to identify the professional challenges and benefits of living with ADHD in healthcare settings.
Design/methodology/approach
Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to explore how employees with ADHD both experience and make sense of their employment and professional relationships. Participants self-identified from two NHS trusts and participated in semi-structured interviews.
Findings
A total of seven interviews contributed to the final analysis. A total of four themes emerged: social environment (relationships), physical environment, behaviour and work tasks. Complex interactions were observed between individuals’ internal constructs and overall employment experience.
Practical implications
The findings can be used to inform local NHS management frameworks for supporting workforce with ADHD.
Originality/value
This is a novel study that explores the psychodynamic and physical presentations of ADHD providing a unique perspective on the challenges and strengths of employees with ADHD.
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Tony Wall, Jayne Russell and Neil Moore
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the role of positive emotions in generating workplace impacts and examine it through the application of an adapted appreciative inquiry…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the role of positive emotions in generating workplace impacts and examine it through the application of an adapted appreciative inquiry process in the context of a work-based project aimed at promoting integrated working under challenging organisational circumstances.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts a case study methodology which highlights how an organisation facing difficult circumstances (such as austerity measures, siloed cultures, constant threats of reorganisation, and requirement to work across occupational boundaries) adapted an appreciative inquiry intervention/method.
Findings
This paper found, first, that the utilisation of appreciative inquiry in the context of an adapted work-based project in difficult organisational circumstances generated positive emotions manifest through a compelling vision and action plans, second, that the impacts (such as a vision) can become entangled and therefore part of the wider ecological context which promotes pathways to such impact, but that, third, there are a various cultural and climate features which may limit the implementation of actions or the continuation of psychological states beyond the time-bound nature of the work-based project.
Practical implications
The paper illustrates how an organisation adapted a form of appreciative inquiry to facilitate organisational change and generated outcomes which were meaningful to the various occupational groupings involved.
Originality/value
This paper offers new evidence and insight into the adaptation of appreciative inquiry under challenging circumstances in the context of a work-based learning project. It also provides a richer picture of how positive emotion can manifest in ways which are meaningful to a localised context.
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Marlini Bakri, Jayne Krisjanous and James E. Richard
Despite the growing number of studies surrounding user-generated content (UGC), understanding of the implications, potential and pertinence of user-generated images (UGI), the…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the growing number of studies surrounding user-generated content (UGC), understanding of the implications, potential and pertinence of user-generated images (UGI), the visual form of UGC, on brand image in services is limited. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept and a comprehensive framework of image word of mouth (IWOM), which identifies UGI as visual articulations of service experiences that result in consumer judgment of service brand image. The framework takes a consumer-focussed approach and covers key branding issues relevant to services marketers such as identifying and linking valued services dimensions, made evident through IWOM, to ideas and thoughts inferred by consumers (viewers) of the brand image and consequent consumer intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews and synthesises current services, marketing and branding literature surrounding electronic word of mouth (WOM) and UGC, where it highlights the need to consider interpretations of UGI as persuasive forms of visual WOM or IWOM, as well as a critical stimuli of brand image.
Findings
The paper illuminates the importance of adopting a visual perspective that applies constructs developed in cognitive psychology, to decode how viewers (consumers) interact and form associations of brand image via IWOM.
Originality/value
The paper examines, integrates and adds to extant literature surrounding WOM, UGC, visual images and brand image within services.
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Layla Jayne Branicki, Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor and Sarah Rachael Livschitz
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how entrepreneurial behaviors support small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) resilience, refine the concept of entrepreneurial…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how entrepreneurial behaviors support small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) resilience, refine the concept of entrepreneurial resilience, and identify how SME resilience might be promoted.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative data were collected in the UK via 11 focus groups which provided a sub-sample of 19 SME participants.
Findings
Because of their experience operating in uncertain environments, their direct experience of adversity, and the informal organizational settings they inhabit, entrepreneurs are often highly resilient and possess capabilities that enable SMEs to be resilient. Entrepreneurial resilience provides a basis for SME resilience that differs significantly from best practices as understood in larger firms.
Research limitations/implications
Exploratory qualitative research on a small sample (n=19) limits the generalizability of this work. Further research could quantitatively test the paper’s findings and/or examine the link between entrepreneurial resilience and the resilience of larger firms.
Practical implications
Rather than encouraging formal planning and redundancy, policy and practice designed to promote the resilience of SMEs should pay greater attention to building capacities to cope with uncertainty, generating and leveraging personal relationships, and activating the ability to experiment and think creatively in response to crises.
Originality/value
This paper draws on organizational psychology research to refine understanding of entrepreneurial resilience and to empirically examine and inductively theorize the multi-level relationships between entrepreneurial resilience and SME resilience.
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Gurpinder Lalli, Kim Smith, Jayne Woodside, Greta Defeyter, Valeria Skafida, Kelly Morgan and Christopher Martin
The purpose of this paper is to provide a snapshot of secondary school food policy (SSFP) across the devolved nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) to offer…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a snapshot of secondary school food policy (SSFP) across the devolved nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) to offer insights into a growing area of policy concern. The selected context of research is school food policy (SFP), an area of research which has received little attention in terms of policy approaches. The review is focused on 2010 to 2022.
Design/methodology/approach
This work combines interdisciplinary perspectives spanning across food policy, public health, psychology, education and sociology. This combination has merit as it offers different perspectives in terms of understanding SFP. The study was conducted between August 2021 and March 2022, using a desk-based review, analysing policies on food in secondary schools. Data collection was conducted through the Web using key search terms. The READ (Read, Extract, Analyse, Distil) approach was used as a systematic procedure to analyse policy and evaluation documents.
Findings
To all levels of government, it is recommended that a coherent policymaking approach be used to tackle SSFP improvements, to progress a whole school approach to food, supported by long-term dedicated resources while engaging children in SSFP development. For education departments, it is recommended that a food curriculum review, connected to school meals alongside a refocus on school food standards monitoring and reporting is crucial in serving the future generations. The current economic crisis has had an impact on public spending. Universal Free School Meals has been said to make an enormous difference to well-being.
Originality/value
The current findings suggest that researching SFP across nations has merit. There is a relative lack of focus on secondary schools, in light of England’s focus on the National Food Strategy (focus on children), post-pandemic, economic crisis – together this makes school food and food policy a topic of real urgency and importance. Lessons can both be learned, particularly in promoting healthier and more educationally inclusive school food practices. Research in this area can inform curriculum design and school food environment and system changes from the perspective of learnings around taking a whole school food approach to education.
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Sally Sims, Peter Dent and Gina Ennis‐Reynolds
The purpose of this paper is to establish whether or not asking price can provide a reliable indication of the impact of a negative externality when transaction data are scarce.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish whether or not asking price can provide a reliable indication of the impact of a negative externality when transaction data are scarce.
Design/methodology/approach
Until recently, transaction data within the UK were either unobtainable or expensive. Subsequently, an analysis of the value impacts of living near negative externalities (such as high voltage overhead power lines (HVOTL)) relies almost entirely on valuer expertise. Since behavioural research suggests that valuers often anchor to asking price which, in theory, is based on the selling agent's opinion of the likely transaction value of a property, the argument is made that “asking price” provides a reliable indication of the impact of a negative externality when transaction data are scarce. This theory is tested through an analysis of the real versus perceived impacts of an HVOTL on proximate house prices.
Findings
The results, whilst providing additional evidence to support the relationship between value diminution and the presence of an HVOTL near residential homes, suggest that agents' marketing price does not capture the true impact of this type of negative externality and should therefore be treated with caution by practitioners seeking to establish the value of this type of property.
Originality/value
The results of this article add additional evidence to support the findings from previous studies in this field.
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Aaron Gazley, Jayne Krisjanous, Kim‐Shyan Fam and Reinhard Grohs
The purpose of this paper is to examine Asian consumers' attitudes towards television advertisements (ads) to provide an insight into the antecedents and consequences of liked and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine Asian consumers' attitudes towards television advertisements (ads) to provide an insight into the antecedents and consequences of liked and disliked ads and the cultural differences that influence these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
A matched sample of young consumers from four Asian cities was asked to nominate ads that they both liked and disliked. They also provided reasons as to why they were liked and disliked and the effect this had on their purchase intentions. The results were analysed using multiple and logistic regression.
Findings
Findings show that ad likeability increases if people feel that advertising provides something to talk about. Conversely, people who find advertising annoying have higher ratings of ad dislikeability. Results also show that a close relationship exists between liking (disliking) television ads and buying more (less) of the advertised products. However, differences exist between Asian cities.
Practical implications
The results suggest that adherence to a standardised regional advertising strategy based on assumptions that close geography and a seemingly sufficiently close culture within the Asian region is appropriate, could lead to disappointing results. The only commonality is that disliked ads reduce intention to purchase.
Originality/value
Previous research does not consider the unique influences of ad likeability and dislikeability in the decision of whether to standardize or adapt advertising within the Asian region.