Almut Beringer, Tarah Wright and Leslie Malone
The purpose is to ascertain the state of sustainability in higher education (SHE) in Atlantic Canada (sustainability education/curriculum; research and scholarship; operations;…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose is to ascertain the state of sustainability in higher education (SHE) in Atlantic Canada (sustainability education/curriculum; research and scholarship; operations; faculty/staff development and rewards; community outreach and service; student opportunities; and institutional mission, structure and planning).
Design/methodology/approach
All Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) member institutions in Atlantic Canada were sampled in 2005/2006 to examine sustainability performance. Data were collected using the sustainability assessment questionnaire (SAQ) and were triangulated with document, webpage, and additional survey research.
Findings
The majority of higher education institutions in Atlantic Canada are engaged in sustainable development work, most notably in the area of curriculum. Sustainability research and scholarship is spread amongst faculty and students; many institutions have inter‐ or multi‐disciplinary research structures to address sustainability questions across campus and in collaboration with community partners. Much unrealized potential remains within physical operations, faculty/staff development and rewards, and student opportunities. No single university emerges as the Atlantic Canadian SHE leader; Acadia University (Wolfville, Nova Scotia), St Francis Xavier University (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) and Mt Allison University (Sackville, New Brunswick) excel in a regional peers comparison.
Research limitations/implications
The Atlantic Canada study commences a series of five regional SHE assessments in Canada.
Practical implications
The study strengthens ongoing efforts for creative institutional solutions to reduce the ecological footprint of higher education institutions. It contributes to SHE knowledge transfer and capacity‐building.
Originality/value
The study is the first regional SHE performance assessment in Canada. It serves as a pilot study and strategic planning tool.
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Ashley Sanders-Jackson, Christopher Clemens and Kristen Wozniak
Purpose: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) young adults smoke at rates much higher than the general population. Young adults, in general, are less likely to seek medical help for…
Abstract
Purpose: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) young adults smoke at rates much higher than the general population. Young adults, in general, are less likely to seek medical help for smoking cessation and LGB individuals are less likely to seek health care generally. Alternative methods to encourage smoking cessation are necessary. This research seeks to establish whether LGB young adults in California would be willing to use social media for smoking cessation.
Approach: We conducted 41 qualitative interviews among LGB young adults in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles in Fall 2014.
Findings: The results suggest that our participants were interested in a LGB-focused social media intervention, as long as the intervention was private or anonymous and moderated. Further, across topical areas our participants spoke extensively about the import of social connections. We may be able to leverage these connections to encourage cessation.
Research Limitations: This is a qualitative, non-generalizable dataset from a fairly limited geographic area.
Public Health Implications: Online smoking cessation interventions aimed at young adults would benefit from further testing with LGB young adults to ensure efficacy among this population. In addition, states and localities concerned about young adult LGB smoking might benefit from investing in an online socially mediated cessation forum. Online interventions could be scalable and might be useful for other groups who regularly face discrimination, stigma, or other stressors that make successful smoking cessation difficult.
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Eva Kaltenthaler, C.Jane Morrell, Andrew Booth and Ron L. Akehurst
Diabetic foot ulcers are associated with considerable morbidity, mortality and costs to the NHS. This paper describes a review of publications reporting randomised controlled…
Abstract
Diabetic foot ulcers are associated with considerable morbidity, mortality and costs to the NHS. This paper describes a review of publications reporting randomised controlled trials examining the clinical effectiveness of interventions for diabetic foot ulcers for 1986–1996. Only 23 studies were identified that described randomised controlled trials and, of these, only 4 fulfilled three criteria shown to influence reliability of results: adequate description of randomisation, double blinding and description of withdrawals and drop‐outs. No cost‐effectiveness studies conducted alongside trials were identified from the searches. This shortage of rigorous trials highlights the need for more well designed research in the prevention and treatment of diabetic foot ulcers to determine clinical effectiveness as well as relative cost‐effectiveness.
Vanessa K. Bohns, Daniel A. Newark and Erica J. Boothby
We explore how, and how accurately, people assess their influence over others’ behavior and attitudes. We describe the process by which a person would determine whether he or she…
Abstract
Purpose
We explore how, and how accurately, people assess their influence over others’ behavior and attitudes. We describe the process by which a person would determine whether he or she was responsible for changing someone else’s behavior or attitude, and the perceptual, motivational, and cognitive factors that are likely to impact whether an influencer’s claims of responsibility are excessive, insufficient, or accurate.
Methodology/approach
We first review classic work on social influence, responsibility or blame attribution, and perceptions of control, identifying a gap in the literature with respect to understanding how people judge their own responsibility for other people’s behavior and attitudes. We then draw from a wide range of social psychological research to propose a model of how an individual would determine his or her degree of responsibility for someone else’s behavior or attitude.
Practical implications
A potential influencer’s beliefs about the extent of his or her influence can determine whether he or she engages in an influence attempt, how he or she engages in such an attempt, and whether he or she takes responsibility for another person’s behavior or beliefs.
Originality/value of paper
For decades, scholars researching social influence have explored how one’s behavior and attitudes are shaped by one’s social environment. However, amidst this focus on the perspective of the target of social influence, the perspective of the influencer has been ignored. This paper addresses the largely neglected question of how much responsibility influencers take for the impact their words, actions, and presence have on others.
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Leslie W. Young and Robert B. Johnston
There are a number of traditional business strategy theories that have been used to discuss business‐to‐business (B2B) e‐commerce strategy: Transaction Cost Economics…
Abstract
There are a number of traditional business strategy theories that have been used to discuss business‐to‐business (B2B) e‐commerce strategy: Transaction Cost Economics, Resource‐Based View, Porter’s Market Forces Theory, and Channel Theory. However, there currently exists no comprehensive framework linking these theories into a method to rigorously assess value delivery strategies, and in particular to determine how to maximise the impact of the Internet as a value delivery channel. This paper answers this shortcoming by introducing a framework that draws together the main theories of strategic choice in a systematic fashion. In particular, the paper examines how different ways of delivering the same form of value (rather than particular products) from producer to customer may allow exploitation of the desirable features of the Internet to different degrees. By using a novel distribution business model from a real‐life case study to illustrate this framework, the paper uncovers several novel ways the Internet can enhance B2B strategy. The main contribution of the paper is the development of a formal, semi‐quantitative model of value delivery strategy evaluation, which can be used as a starting point for practical evaluation of strategy choices in particular settings, and also as a theoretical tool for discussing the role of the Internet in B2B e‐commerce in a more rigorous way.
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Pielah Kim, Hua Chang, Rajiv Vaidyanathan and Leslie Stoel
Increasing industry interest in visual artists and commercial brand collaborations has heightened the need for research on exactly how visual art can add meaning to brands in ways…
Abstract
Purpose
Increasing industry interest in visual artists and commercial brand collaborations has heightened the need for research on exactly how visual art can add meaning to brands in ways that enhance brand value to existing consumers and potentially reach new consumers. Consumers are known to select brands on the basis of how well these brands reflect their own personalities. The purpose of this research is to understand whether brand alliances with artists exhibiting distinct personalities can make brands more attractive to consumers whose personalities do not currently match the brand.
Design/methodology/approach
Two experiments are used to examine the impact of artists’ personality (in)congruence on consumers’ perceptions of the brand and purchase intentions of the brand’s products.
Findings
The results show that consumers whose personalities do not match the brand’s current personality are likely to alter their view of a brand when the brand partners with an artist whose personality matches with that of the consumers’. This happens without negatively affecting the brand personality perceptions of current consumers who already identify with the brand.
Practical implications
When seeking to attract a new target segment, brands can ally with visual artists who convey a personality that matches that of the new target segment.
Originality/value
This paper adds to a nascent literature on the power of artist–brand alliances, and demonstrates that these partnerships need not only be between artists and brands with consistent personalities but can also effectively be used to target new consumers.
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Diego Stea, Stefan Linder and Nicolai J. Foss†
The attention-based view (ABV) of the firm highlights the role of decision makers’ attention in firm behavior. The ABV vastly improves our understanding of decision makers’ focus…
Abstract
The attention-based view (ABV) of the firm highlights the role of decision makers’ attention in firm behavior. The ABV vastly improves our understanding of decision makers’ focus of attention; how that focus is situated in an organization’s procedural and communication channels; and how the distribution of the focus of attention among decision makers participating in those procedural and communication channels affects their understanding of a situation, their motivation to act, and, ultimately, their behavior. Significant progress has been made in recent years in refining and extending the ABV. However, the role of individual differences in the capacity to read other people’s desires, intentions, knowledge, and beliefs – that is, the theory of mind (ToM) – has remained on the sidelines. The ToM is a natural complement to the ABV. In this study, we explore how the ToM allows for an understanding of the advantage that organizations have over markets within the ABV.
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Amy L. Hillard, Tamera R. Schneider, Sarah M. Jackson and David LaHuis
Critical mass theory suggests that attaining a certain proportion of a minority group triggers transformation that improves conditions for minority group members. Using faculty…
Abstract
Purpose
Critical mass theory suggests that attaining a certain proportion of a minority group triggers transformation that improves conditions for minority group members. Using faculty gender composition as a continuous rather than categorical predictor, the present research discerns whether the proportion of women influences perceptions among STEM faculty.
Methodology
STEM faculty completed a survey examining perceptions of department climate for women (i.e., advancement and discrimination) and division of work time. The proportion of women in each department was calculated.
Findings
Using multilevel modeling, we found that women (vs. men) faculty perceive less departmental advancement of women, but that a greater proportion of women in a department is related to increased perceptions that the department advances women. We did not find differences in time male or female faculty reported spending on research, teaching, or service; however, as the proportion of women in a department increases, there is a decrease in the amount of time individual male and female faculty spent on research and an increase in time spent on service. Contrary to critical mass theory, we found a linear rather than quadratic effect of proportion of women on perceptions of department climate and division of work time.
Research limitations
These effects may not be attributable to gender proportion alone.
Practical implications
Given our finding of incremental effects of proportion of women, a critical mass is not necessary or sufficient for change. Underlying problems of discrimination and stereotyping need to be addressed while recognizing that each woman hired has a positive impact.
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Matthew Leslie McMillan, Marten Jurg, Martin Leary and Milan Brandt
Additive manufacturing (AM) enables the fabrication of complex geometries beyond the capability of traditional manufacturing methods. Complex lattice structures have enabled…
Abstract
Purpose
Additive manufacturing (AM) enables the fabrication of complex geometries beyond the capability of traditional manufacturing methods. Complex lattice structures have enabled engineering innovation; however, the use of traditional computer-aided design (CAD) methods for the generation of lattice structures is inefficient, time-consuming and can present challenges to process integration. In an effort to improve the implementation of lattice structures into engineering applications, this paper aims to develop a programmatic lattice generator (PLG).
Design/methodology/approach
The PLG method is computationally efficient; has direct control over the quality of the stereolithographic (STL) file produced; enables the generation of more complex lattice than traditional methods; is fully programmatic, allowing batch generation and interfacing with process integration and design optimization tools; capable of generating a lattice STL file from a generic input file of node and connectivity data; and can export a beam model for numerical analysis.
Findings
This method has been successfully implemented in the generation of uniform, radial and space filling lattices. Case studies were developed which showed a reduction in processing time greater than 60 per cent for a 3,375 cell lattice over traditional CAD software.
Originality/value
The PLG method is a novel design for additive manufacture (DFAM) tool with unique advantages, including full control over the number of facets that represent a lattice strut, allowing optimization of STL data to minimize file size, while maintaining suitable resolution for the implemented AM process; programmatic DFAM capability that overcomes the learning curve of traditional CAD when producing complex lattice structures, therefore is independent of designer proficiency and compatible with process integration; and the capability to output both STL files and associated data for numerical analysis, a unique DFAM capability not previously reported.