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1 – 8 of 8Charlene Elliott and Kirsten Ellison
The purpose of this paper is to explore the teenager perspectives of the meaning of food safety, and the implications of those meanings.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the teenager perspectives of the meaning of food safety, and the implications of those meanings.
Design/methodology/approach
Five focus groups were conducted with students (aged 12–14) from Calgary, AB. Participants were asked what food safety means to them and probed about their views on the relationship between food safety and packaged foods. Grounded theorizing informed the analysis.
Findings
Food safety was described as located within the system, located within the individual and located within the edible. Key to these teenagers’ understanding of food safety is the theme of food deception – a deception promulgated by food producers, manufacturers and advertisers who lack transparency about what they are actually selling. Teenagers draw attention to the risks associated with living in an industrialized food environment, and to the tension between safety and the industry-driven motive to sell.
Originality/value
Individuals start to make independent decisions around food preparation and consumption as teenagers; as present and future consumers, it is valuable to learn their perspectives and knowledge about food safety. More importantly, food safety is not only simply a health-related issue but also a semantic one. This study moves beyond the knowledge deficit approach characterizing most research on the topic. Instead, it probes the range of meanings associated with food safety and how they are worked out, revealing that the teenagers’ construction of food as “risk objects” reveals different links to harm than the food safety interventions typically directed to them.
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Kirsten Ellison, Emily Truman and Charlene Elliott
Despite the pervasiveness of teen-targeted food advertising on social media, little is known about the persuasive elements (or power) found within those ads. This research study…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the pervasiveness of teen-targeted food advertising on social media, little is known about the persuasive elements (or power) found within those ads. This research study aims to engage with the concept of “visual style” to explore the range of visual techniques used in Instagram food marketing to teenagers.
Design/methodology/approach
A participatory study was conducted with 57 teenagers, who used a specially designed mobile app to capture images of the teen-targeted food marketing they encountered for seven days. A visual thematic analysis was used to assess and classify the advertisements that participants captured from Instagram and specifically tagged with “visual style”.
Findings
A total of 142 food advertisements from Instagram were tagged with visual style, and classified into five main styles: Bold Focus, Bespoke, Absurd, Everyday and Sensory.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to an improved understanding about how the visual is used as a marketing technique to capture teenagers’ attention, contributing to the persuasive power of marketing messages.
Originality/value
Food marketing is a significant part of the young consumer’s marketplace, and this study provides new insight into the sophisticated nature of such marketing – revealing the visual styles used to capture the attention of its brand-aware audience.
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Elke Greifeneder, Sheila Pontis, Ann Blandford, Hesham Attalla, David Neal and Kirsten Schlebbe
The purpose of this paper is to better understand why many researchers do not have a profile on social networking sites (SNS), and whether this is the result of conscious…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to better understand why many researchers do not have a profile on social networking sites (SNS), and whether this is the result of conscious decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
Thematic analysis was conducted on a large qualitative data set from researchers across three levels of seniority, four countries and four disciplines to explore their attitudes toward and experiences with SNS.
Findings
The study found much greater scepticism toward adopting SNS than previously reported. Reasons behind researchers’ scepticism range from SNS being unimportant for their work to not belonging to their culture or habits. Some even felt that a profile presented people negatively and might harm their career. These concerns were mostly expressed by junior and midlevel researchers, showing that the largest opponents to SNS may unexpectedly be younger researchers.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this study was that the authors did not conduct the interviews, and therefore reframing or adding questions to specifically unpack comments related to attitudes, feelings or the use of SNS in academia was not possible.
Originality/value
By studying implicit attitudes and experiences, this study shows that instead of being ignorant of SNS profiles, some researchers actively opt for a non-use of profiles on SNS.
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Postemotionalism, nostalgia for authentic emotional experiences, can be observed in every aspect of popular culture, particularly social media and reality television. Viewers are…
Abstract
Purpose
Postemotionalism, nostalgia for authentic emotional experiences, can be observed in every aspect of popular culture, particularly social media and reality television. Viewers are driven by the need to find the balance between individuality, expressed through “legitimate” emotions, insights and acceptance by their peer group on social media.
Methodology/approach
I use the program, “Catfish: The TV Show” to explore how postemotionalism operates in reality television.
Findings
This paper examines the new experience of dramatized emotions as they are portrayed in reality television and reflected on social media. I offer a theorization of social media users’ response to the search for authenticity on television through an analysis of a series of Twitter interactions surrounding “Catfish: The TV Show.”
Originality/value
The interactions on Twitter reveal that postemotionalism makes it difficult for viewers to distinguish between genuine, emotional interactions and projected, managed identities.
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Sebastian Oliver, Ben Marder, Laura Lavertu, Kirsten Cowan, Ana Javornik and Elena Osadchaya
Everyday users of professional networks such as LinkedIn are flooded by posts presenting the achievements of their connections (e.g. I got a new job/award). The present research…
Abstract
Purpose
Everyday users of professional networks such as LinkedIn are flooded by posts presenting the achievements of their connections (e.g. I got a new job/award). The present research takes a self-discrepancy perspective to examine the mixed-emotional and behavioral consequences of viewing such idealized self-promotional content on professional networks.
Design/methodology/approach
The emotional and behavioral consequences following viewership of idealized self-promotional content on LinkedIn are explored through one pilot study (N = 109) and one online experiment (N = 714), which is evaluated using structural equation modeling.
Findings
Viewership of idealized self-promotional content on professional social networking sites acts as an emotional double-edged sword for LinkedIn users. Users feel both dejection and symhedonia (i.e. happiness for others), dependent on their reported career-based self-discrepancy. We find the experience of symhedonia to be bound by the relational closeness of the poster (acquaintance vs close friend). Furthermore, we show how resultant emotions drive self-regulatory compensatory IT-use behaviors (i.e. direct resolution, fluid compensation, dissociation, and escapism).
Originality/value
We offer four distinct contributions. Firstly, we disentangle inconsistent findings of mixed emotions by introducing symhedonia to IT literature. Secondly, we investigate the boundary condition of relational closeness. Thirdly, we extend our findings by investigating compensatory-consumption behaviors that stem from mixed-affective outcomes. Finally, we do so in the context of professional networks, which are greatly understudied and are distinctive from personal networks. Practical implications are discussed.
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This paper aims to describe the impact of the labor market on the integration of Africa into the global supply chain (GSC).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the impact of the labor market on the integration of Africa into the global supply chain (GSC).
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis of trends and comparison of data for 55 nations and territories in Africa using existing data from the World Bank and International Labor Organization, and government and nongovernment reports took place using qualitative content analysis methodology.
Findings
Africa’s labor market enhances the continent’s integration into the GSC despite challenges in other areas, with three pillars identifying the labor market’s strategic sourcing decisions.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis is limited to trends analysis, some of which may have changed during the study.
Practical implications
The findings will enable the global business industry and governments to envision the potential and design Africa’s labor market competitiveness across the African continent. The findings also establish the necessity and opportunity for enhanced infrastructure to attract additional foreign direct.
Social implications
The social implication of this paper is beyond the potential of Africa’s labor market. The paper illustrates how the African is setting to become the next sourcing hub for the global supply chain, allowing scholars to close any prevailing global sourcing gap in research.
Originality/value
This paper describes the potential of Africa’s supply of low-cost labor market and its integration in the GSC.
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Sara Mannheimer, Scott W.H. Young and Doralyn Rossmann
In this paper, faculty librarians at an academic institution explore the ethical dimensions of conducting research with user-generated social networking service (SNS) data. In an…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, faculty librarians at an academic institution explore the ethical dimensions of conducting research with user-generated social networking service (SNS) data. In an effort to guide librarian-researchers, this paper first offers a background discussion of privacy ethics across disciplines and then proposes a library-specific ethical framework for conducting SNS research.
Design/methodology/approach
By surveying the literature in other disciplines, three key considerations are identified that can inform ethical practice in the field of library science: context, expectation, and value analysis. For each of these considerations, the framework is tailored to consider ethical issues, as they relate to libraries and our practice as librarian-researchers.
Findings
The unique role of the librarian-researcher demands an ethical framework specific to that practice. The findings of this paper propose such a framework.
Practical implications
Librarian-researchers are at a unique point in our history. In exploring SNSs as a source of data to conduct research and improve services, we become challenged by conflicting and equally cherished values of patron privacy and information access. By evaluating research according to context, expectations, and value, this framework provides an ethical path forward for research using SNS data.
Originality/value
As of this paper’s publication, there is no existing ethical framework for conducting SNS research in libraries. The proposed framework is informed both by library values and by broader research values, and therefore provides unique guidelines for the librarian-researcher.
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Doralyn Rossmann and Scott W.H. Young
Social Media Optimization (SMO) offers guidelines by which libraries can design content for social shareability through social networking services (SNSs). The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Social Media Optimization (SMO) offers guidelines by which libraries can design content for social shareability through social networking services (SNSs). The purpose of this paper is to introduce SMO and discuss its effects and benefits for libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
Researchers identified and applied five principles of SMO. Web analytics software provides data on web site traffic and user engagement before and after the application of SMO.
Findings
By intentionally applying a program of SMO, the library increased content shareability, increased user engagement, and built community.
Research limitations/implications
Increasing use of SNSs may influence the study results, independent of SMO application. Limitations inherent to web analytics software may affect results. Further study could expand analysis beyond web analytics to include comments on SNS posts, SNS shares from library pages, and a qualitative analysis of user behaviors and attitudes regarding library web content and SNSs.
Practical implications
This research offers an intentional approach for libraries to optimize their online resources sharing through SNSs.
Originality/value
Previous research has examined the role of community building and social connectedness for SNS users, but none have discussed using SMO to encourage user engagement and interactivity through increased SNS traffic into library web pages.
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