Kevin Downing, Flora Ning and Kristina Shin
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of problem‐based learning (PBL) in higher education based on a large sample of first‐year undergraduates from two…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of problem‐based learning (PBL) in higher education based on a large sample of first‐year undergraduates from two programmes at a Hong Kong University (n=132). One programme uses an entirely problem‐based approach to learning, whilst the other uses traditional methods.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) as a measure of metacognition, differences in metacognitive development are explored between each group of students between the beginning and end of their first 15 months in each programme.
Findings
Despite significantly weaker entry scores on the LASSI, the mean final scores, taken after 15 months and three semesters of study in the different curriculum environments demonstrate dramatic improvements in metacognition for the PBL group. In addition, analysis of student learning experience measured at the end of the programme revealed that the PBL group reported significantly higher scores in their overall course satisfaction and generic skills development.
Practical implications
The paper argues that, in addition to the formal learning context, everyday challenges emerging from the additional new social contexts provided by problem‐based curricula provide fertile environments for the development of metacognition and enhancement of the learning experience. The implications of PBL environments on fostering constructivist learning and enhancing student experience are discussed.
Originality/value
This research is original in its use of the LASSI inventory as a pre‐ and post‐measure of metacognitive development in undergraduates. This is an online questionnaire administered to two groups of students following similar programmes except one is problem based and the other more traditional, and the results are strikingly significant.
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Shem Wambugu Maingi and Hildah Mumbi Wachira
Kenyan Small and Medium-sized Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) have been highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the tourism workforce had to face lockdowns and travel…
Abstract
Purpose
Kenyan Small and Medium-sized Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) have been highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the tourism workforce had to face lockdowns and travel restrictions. In order to maintain business and operational continuity, the tourism workforce had to leverage on internet technologies and digitalisation as a means of enabling business continuity and providing value addition in their supply chains. This study sought to investigate on the extent to which digital skills aid in the tourism recovery process as well as improve the employees' well-being amid the COVID-19 pandemic among SMTEs in Nairobi City County.
Methodology
The study took a qualitative approach based on constructivist grounded methodological approaches that emphasised specifically on the discovery of emerging trends and patterns in behaviour as well as development of new theory. The aim was to understand the tourism workforce recovery process using digital skills. The process involved data gathering from interview participants, qualitative emic and etic coding, analytical memo writing, theoretical sampling and reconstructing theory.
Findings
The findings of the study showed that due to losses attributed to the lockdowns and travel restrictions, prospective digital business models have been formulated for tourism stakeholders during the lockdown period. The changing technological landscape globally showed that digital skills will continue to be in great demand to meet the needs of the marketplace. Further, the use of social digital tools to build a mental health response to COVID-19 was instrumental to the recovery process. Technological resilience is a key factor that will play a role in reviving the sector.
Research Implications
A structured vision, roadmap and tourism strategy for mainstreaming digital skills and developing technological resilience within the tourism and hospitality sector is important towards coping and adaptive strategies for the SMTEs in the Kenyan context.
Originality/Value
This study examines how digital skills are vital for tourism recovery especially for the SMTEs within the developing countries context.
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Patrick Richard, Kristina D. West, Peter Shin, Mustafa Z. Younis and Sara Rosenbaum
In 2010 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act boosted the expansion of community health centers (CHCs) with $11 billion in mandatory funding from 2011 to 2015. This study…
Abstract
In 2010 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act boosted the expansion of community health centers (CHCs) with $11 billion in mandatory funding from 2011 to 2015. This study used data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and the North Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to assess the cost savings associated with the use of community health centers compared to other primary care providers. After controlling for various demographic, socioeconomic characteristics and health conditions, we found savings at an average of $3,437 in total expenditures and $1,211 in ambulatory care expenditures. These results suggest that continuing investment in health centers are important during times of budget cuts in order to improve access to care and to generate cost savings to the healthcare system.
Mehri Yasami, Kullada Phetvaroon, Mayukh Dewan and Kristina Stosic
The onset of a health crisis has substantially crippled the hotel industry, causing employees' fears of an imminent job loss. This study investigates how hotel employees'…
Abstract
Purpose
The onset of a health crisis has substantially crippled the hotel industry, causing employees' fears of an imminent job loss. This study investigates how hotel employees' perceived job insecurity affects work engagement and psychological withdrawal behavior. Additionally, it explores the mediating role of work engagement between job insecurity and psychological withdrawal behavior, along with examining the moderating effects of employee resilience on the links between job insecurity, work engagement and psychological withdrawal behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting simple random sampling, a total of 357 completed questionnaires by Thai frontline hotel employees in 36 four- and five-star international hotel chains in Phuket, Thailand, were analyzed. Data analyses were undertaken by SPSS version 25.0 and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) version 4.0.9.1.
Findings
Results indicate that perceived job insecurity diminishes work engagement and leads to psychological withdrawal behavior. Work engagement is found to partially mediate the connection between job insecurity and psychological withdrawal behavior. Furthermore, employee resilience lessens the impact of job insecurity on work engagement while reinforcing the link between work engagement and psychological withdrawal behavior.
Practical implications
The study findings offer valuable practical implications, illustrating how Thai hospitality firms can cultivate effective talent management practices to develop and enhance employees' skills, engagement and enthusiasm in their work. These practices can assist employees in coping with and managing their perceptions of job insecurity during turbulent times and uncontrollable crises.
Originality/value
This study creates a compelling framework to elucidate the connections among COVID-19-intensified job insecurity, work-related outcomes and personal factors. It introduces a previously underexamined perspective that enriches the authors' theoretical comprehension of how personal resources, like employee resilience, serve as protective factors, shaping employee behavior and performance amidst job insecurity. Moreover, the study advocates for a synthesizing approach, emphasizing the integration of various theoretical perspectives and past literature, particularly when research gaps cannot be sufficiently addressed by a single theory.
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Amin Nazifi, Dahlia El-Manstrly, Angela Tregear and Kristina Auxtova
This paper empirically examines the direct and indirect effects of perceived termination severity on customers' behavioral reactions via betrayal and justice. It also examines the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper empirically examines the direct and indirect effects of perceived termination severity on customers' behavioral reactions via betrayal and justice. It also examines the moderating effects of attitude toward complaining (ATC).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper employs a quantitative method approach using a scenario-based experiment in a banking setting.
Findings
The results show that a more severe termination approach results in higher customer negative reactions. Betrayal is shown to be a key driver of customers' behavioral reactions, and ATC moderates these effects.
Research limitations/implications
Future studies should examine the effects of different termination strategies in markedly different cultures and should also examine other boundary conditions such as prior warning, relationship quality and service importance in influencing customers' negative behavioral responses.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the service termination literature by shedding light on the impact of termination severity on customers' reactions. It also unveils the mechanism that explains customers' reactions to service termination. Further, it reveals that ATC moderates customers' public (but not private) complaining behaviors.
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Hamed Ahmadinia, Kristina Eriksson-Backa and Shahrokh Nikou
Immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees living in Europe face a number of challenges in accessing or using health information and healthcare services available in their host…
Abstract
Purpose
Immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees living in Europe face a number of challenges in accessing or using health information and healthcare services available in their host countries. To resolve these issues and deliver the necessary services, providers must take a comprehensive approach to better understand the types of health information and healthcare services that these individuals need, seek and use. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop that comprehensive approach.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed publications was performed, with 3.013 articles collected from various databases. A total of 57 qualifying papers on studies conducted in Europe were included in the review after applying the predefined inclusion and exclusion requirements, screening processes and eliminating duplicates. The information seeking and communication model (ISCM) was used in the analysis.
Findings
The findings revealed that while many health information and healthcare services are accessible in Europe for immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees, many of these individuals are unaware of their existence or how to access them. While our findings do not specify what health-related information these groups need, use or seek, they do suggest the importance and value of providing mental health, sexual health and HIV, as well as pregnancy and childbirth information and services. Furthermore, according to our results, health information services should be fact-based, easy to understand and raise awareness about healthcare structure and services available in Europe for this vulnerable population.
Practical implications
This study has a range of practical implications, including (1) highlighting the need for mental health and behavioural health services and (2) stressing the value of addressing cultural context and religious values while investigating (health) information seeking of people with foreign background.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to systematically review and examine the behaviour of immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees in relation to health information and healthcare services in the European context.
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Kristina Haberstroh, Ulrich R. Orth, Tatiana Bouzdine-Chameeva, Justin Cohen, Armando Maria Corsi, Roberta Crouch and Renata De Marchi
Extending research on cultural differences in aesthetic appreciation, the purpose of this paper is to show how a more interdependent self-construal, a cultural and individual…
Abstract
Purpose
Extending research on cultural differences in aesthetic appreciation, the purpose of this paper is to show how a more interdependent self-construal, a cultural and individual difference variable related to one’s social self, impacts the influence of visual harmony on consumer evaluations of marketing artifacts’ attractiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained via three studies from a total of 1,498 consumers in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, and Italy. Marketing visuals included the design of products, packages, typefaces, and logos. Self-construal was both measured and manipulated.
Findings
The results indicate that a person’s self-construal moderates the effect of visual harmony on attractiveness. Specifically, the positive effect of visual harmony on attractiveness – through self-congruity – is more pronounced with consumers possessing a more interdependent self-construal, and with products that are more hedonic than utilitarian.
Practical implications
Given the pivotal role attractiveness has in influencing consumer behavior, understanding what differences, at the individual and cultural levels, impact the harmony-attractiveness relationship helps marketers to better match the visual design of marketing stimuli to target audiences.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to show how the social-self impacts consumer response to marketing visuals. Further, value stems from adopting a holistic perspective on design, clarifying the process mechanism, and identifying boundary conditions.
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Andrew Smith, Goran Vodicka, Alba Colombo, Kristina N. Lindstrom, David McGillivray and Bernadette Quinn
There are two main aims of this conceptual paper. The first is to explore the issues associated with staging events in public spaces, and to produce a typology of different event…
Abstract
Purpose
There are two main aims of this conceptual paper. The first is to explore the issues associated with staging events in public spaces, and to produce a typology of different event spaces. The second is to explore if and how events should be designed into parks, streets and squares and whether this might reduce some of the negative impacts and associated user conflicts.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyses the history, drivers and effects of using public spaces as venues and examines the reciprocal relationships between events and the spaces that host them. To explain the range and dynamics of contemporary events, a typology of event spaces is developed. This typology highlights nine different types of event spaces which are differentiated by the level of public accessibility (free entry, sometimes free, paid entry), and the mobility of event audiences (static, limited mobility, mobile). Using this typology, the paper discusses ways that public spaces might be adapted to make them better suited to staging events. This discussion is illustrated by a range of examples.
Findings
The paper finds that it makes practical sense to adapt some urban public spaces to make them better equipped as venues, but designing in events presents new issues and does not necessarily resolve many of the problems associated with staging events. Disputes over events are inevitable and constituent features of public spaces.
Originality/value
This paper makes an original contribution by developing a new classification of event spaces and by synthesising ideas from urban design with ideas from the events literature.
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Michaela Lipkin and Kristina Heinonen
This study aims to characterize how ecosystem actors shape customer experience (CX). The study also proposes implications for managers and research regarding the customer…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to characterize how ecosystem actors shape customer experience (CX). The study also proposes implications for managers and research regarding the customer ecosystem, its actors and actor constellations in the context of CXs.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative study is conducted among activity tracker users to identify how actors within their ecosystems shape CXs. Data include 28 in-depth interviews and ten self-reported diaries.
Findings
This study delineates six actor categories in the customer ecosystem shaping CX within and beyond the service. The number of actors and their importance to the focal customer in various actor constellations form individual-, brand- and socially driven ecosystems. These customer ecosystem types show how actors combine to drive CXs.
Research limitations/implications
Researchers should shift their attention to experiences emerging in the customer’s lifeworld. A customer ecosystem highlights the customer-centered actor configuration emergent within the customer’s lifeworld. It is self-constructed based on the customer’s reference point.
Practical implications
Managers should aim to locate, monitor and join the customer’s lifeworld to gain more insight into how CXs emerge in the customer ecosystem based on customer logic.
Social implications
Customers are not isolated actors simply experiencing service; rather, they construct idiosyncratic actor constellations that include various providers, social groups and peers.
Originality/value
This paper extends the theory on CXs by illustrating how the various actors and actor constellations forming the customer ecosystem shape CXs.
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Jonas Tana, Emil Eirola and Kristina Eriksson-Backa
This paper brings focus and attention to the aspect of time within health information behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to critically assess and present strengths and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper brings focus and attention to the aspect of time within health information behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to critically assess and present strengths and weaknesses of utilising the infodemiology approach and metrics as a novel way to examine temporal variations and patterns of online health information behaviour. The approach is shortly exemplified by presenting empirical evidence for temporal patterns of health information behaviour on different time-scales.
Design/methodology/approach
A short review of online health information behaviour is presented and methodological barriers to studying the temporal nature of this behaviour are emphasised. To exemplify how the infodemiology approach and metrics can be utilised to examine temporal patterns, and to test the hypothesis of existing rhythmicity of health information behaviour, a brief analysis of longitudinal data from a large discussion forum is analysed.
Findings
Clear evidence of robust temporal patterns and variations of online health information behaviour are shown. The paper highlights that focussing on time and the question of when people engage in health information behaviour can have significant consequences.
Practical implications
Studying temporal patterns and trends for health information behaviour can help in creating optimal interventions and health promotion campaigns at optimal times. This can be highly beneficial for positive health outcomes.
Originality/value
A new methodological approach to study online health information behaviour from a temporal perspective, a phenomenon that has previously been neglected, is presented. Providing evidence for rhythmicity can complement existing epidemiological data for a more holistic picture of health and diseases, and their behavioural aspects.