Elina Late, Carol Tenopir, Sanna Talja and Lisa Christian
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of reading in scholarly work among academics in Finland. This study analyzes readings from a variety of publication types…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of reading in scholarly work among academics in Finland. This study analyzes readings from a variety of publication types including books, conference proceedings, research reports, magazines, newspapers, blogs, non-fiction and fiction.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was developed and distributed in Finland in 2016–2017 (n=528). Participants were asked their finding and use of scholarly information resources of all types.
Findings
Scholars read from a variety of publications. Different types of publications are read and used differently. Reading also varies between disciplines, ranks, work responsibilities and type of research performed.
Research limitations/implications
The study was a nationwide study of researchers in Finland; therefore, all findings are within the context of researchers in a single country. All results are self-reported; therefore, the authors assume but cannot be sure that respondents accurately recollect the specifics of their use of scholarly information.
Practical implications
The results of this study are relevant to publishers, research librarians, editors and others who serve consumers of scholarly information resources, design information products and services for those scholars, and seek to better understand the information needs and use of a variety of types of scholarly publications.
Originality/value
This study replicates previous studies in a variety of countries and provides a more up-to-date and single-country contextualized overview of how researchers find and use scholarly information in their work.
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Lisa Ruth Oakley and Kathryn Susan Kinmond
The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a ground-breaking survey into people's experiences of church and Spiritual Abuse (SA), in a context of issues of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a ground-breaking survey into people's experiences of church and Spiritual Abuse (SA), in a context of issues of safeguarding and policy.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey was delivered online between April 2011 and December 2012.
Findings
The findings showed many people had encountered negative church experiences. Most respondents had very limited knowledge and understanding of SA and related support and intervention.
Research limitations/implications
This survey represents the views of a small percentage of those who attend, or have attended, church and further more extensive research is required to provide a more comprehensive understanding. Additionally research is required within other faiths and cultural contexts.
Practical implications
It is evident that there is clearly a need to strengthen current safeguarding policy and practice with regards to SA.
Originality/value
This paper offers an initial insight into the challenges for safeguarding together with some suggested intervention strategies.
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Christian Scholz and Lisa-Dorothee Grotefend
Generation Z in Germany – born after 1995 – follows in many ways similar trends to be seen in other countries. Contrary to Generation Y, it is less career-focussed, less keen on…
Abstract
Generation Z in Germany – born after 1995 – follows in many ways similar trends to be seen in other countries. Contrary to Generation Y, it is less career-focussed, less keen on financial rewards and less willing to work flexible in a competitive world with total work–life blending. They look for structure, security and feeling good. What is different: Germany is one of the few countries in the world in which Generation Z in many cases can live up to their dreams. Germany has a prospering economy, a stable society and still a good educational system. Most important, for young people, it has an unemployment rate of virtually zero per cent. Therefore, companies definitely must engage in the war for talents and provide Generation Z with a fitting employer value proposition: Generation Z looks for meaningful and exciting work but seeks also meaning and excitement in private lives. In particular, they demand a clear separation of their private lives from their job. All this stands in contrast to the ambitions of the industrial sector in Germany promoting a more Generation Y-type environment with flexibility, agility and work–life blending. This conflict is not dealt with in an open way, since politics and media stand on the side of the large companies. Still, the power of Generation Z is not to be underestimated. Therefore, the chapter leaves it for the future to find out whether the Generation Z or other forces will win.
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Lisa Oakley, Kathryn Kinmond and Justin Humphreys
A previous publication in this journal reported the findings of a 2013 survey into people’s experiences of membership of a Christian church in the UK (author citation removed for…
Abstract
Purpose
A previous publication in this journal reported the findings of a 2013 survey into people’s experiences of membership of a Christian church in the UK (author citation removed for the purposes of review). A major finding of this survey was that many people said they had been “harmed” by their experience with some labelling it as “Spiritual Abuse” (SA). Respondents in the 2013 study also stressed the importance of developing safeguarding policy and practice in this area. The purpose of this paper is to explore the findings of a more extensive survey conducted in 2017 which aims to identify people’s understanding of SA some four years after the initial work and within a context of some discussion and uncertainty around the term itself. The study also aims to assess the current status of safeguarding policy and practice in SA perpetrated against individuals in the Christian church in the UK. A secondary aim of the study is to ascertain how far understandings, policy and practice have developed since the initial survey was conducted. It is emphasised that the authors do not assert that SA is perpetrated solely in the Christian church. However, as this is their personal religious background it is the focus of this work.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed methods online survey of Christians, Church attendees and members of Christian organisations was conducted in 2017. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, inductive thematic and content analysis.
Findings
A clear definition of SA is required. There is an ongoing need to develop policy and practice in the area of SA in order to respond effectively to those who have these harmful experiences.
Research limitations/implications
This work has been conducted within the Christian faith community and thus, represents only this faith context. Accordingly, it is research with a specific group. The work would usefully be expanded to other faith contexts.
Practical implications
People are still being harmed by experiences in the Christian church. Safeguarding policy and practice in the area of spiritual abuse needs to be developed in the immediate future.
Social implications
Those working in statutory agencies, faith and community contexts need to develop an understanding of SA.
Originality/value
This is the largest survey conducted on the topic of SA in the Christian faith to date in the UK.
Colleges and universities in the United States are common sites of social movement activism, yet we know little about the conditions under which campus-based movements are likely…
Abstract
Colleges and universities in the United States are common sites of social movement activism, yet we know little about the conditions under which campus-based movements are likely to meet with success or failure. In this study, I develop the concept of educational opportunity structures, and I highlight several dimensions of colleges and universities' educational opportunity structures – specifically, schools' statuses as public or private, secular or religious, highly or lowly ranked, and more or less wealthy – that can affect the outcomes of campus-based movements. Analyzing a religious freedom movement at Vanderbilt University, which mobilized from 2010 to 2012 to demand the ability of religious student organizations to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and religious belief, I argue that Vanderbilt's status as a private, secular, elite, and wealthy university ensured that conservative Christian activism at that school was highly unlikely to succeed. The findings hold important theoretical implications for the burgeoning literature on student activism.
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Lisa Ruth Oakley, Lee-Ann Fenge, Simon Bass and Justin Humphreys
The purpose of this paper is to report the findings from a study exploring the understanding of vulnerability and adult safeguarding within Christian faith-based settings. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report the findings from a study exploring the understanding of vulnerability and adult safeguarding within Christian faith-based settings. The paper concludes with recommendations for practitioners involved in safeguarding adults in faith-based Christian settings.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper considers a survey (n=3,182) into understanding of vulnerability and adult safeguarding for individuals who attend Church regularly or work in a Christian organisation
Findings
This study is the first to be undertaken with a UK sample and highlights a range of factors informing adult safeguarding practice within Christian organisations. This includes: complexity linked to understanding vulnerability and its role in safeguarding activity; lack of clarity about what to do with a safeguarding adult concern; and the need for safeguarding training pertinent to the particular needs of faith-based settings.
Research limitations/implications
As there is currently a dearth of research in this area this paper makes a valuable contribution to the developing knowledge base around safeguarding and vulnerability within faith-based organisations.
Practical implications
Professionals need to develop increased understanding of the complexities involved in safeguarding activity, and specifically how those working in the wider context of supporting vulnerable adults make sense of safeguarding processes and procedures.
Social implications
It is important that all organisations, including faith-based settings, working with adults have an understanding of their roles and responsibilities with respect to safeguarding those at risk of harm.
Originality/value
This paper is the first UK study to consider safeguarding adults at risk of harm in Christian faith contexts.
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The law-oriented short stories and novels of lawyer/English professor John William Corrington are receiving increasing attention from legal scholars. However, no one has analyzed…
Abstract
The law-oriented short stories and novels of lawyer/English professor John William Corrington are receiving increasing attention from legal scholars. However, no one has analyzed the science fiction screenplays he co-wrote with his wife, Joyce, from a legal perspective. This article analyzes two such screenplays and concludes that they are “Socratic” texts whose narrative structures and epistemological processes work in much the same way that the traditional participatory exchange works in law school. My analysis explores the links between law, allegory and science fiction as intersecting methods to imagine the possibilities for the future.
This paper explores the role of accounting in a religious setting and evaluates the sacred‐secular divide developed by Laughlin and Booth who suggested that accounting is…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the role of accounting in a religious setting and evaluates the sacred‐secular divide developed by Laughlin and Booth who suggested that accounting is antithetical to religious values, embodying the secular as opposed to the sacred. Yet Christian thinkers such as Wesley and Neibuhr reject this position and indicate the accounting and financial issues do not necessarily conflict with religious values.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper explores narratives drawn from the Church of Scotland, the life and practices of Charles Wesley and the Christian doctrine of stewardship as a way of determining the verisimilitude of the “accounting as secular” claim.
Findings
These accounts and individual perceptions drawn from the Church of Scotland were more consistent with the concept of a jurisdictional conflict between accountants and clergy than a sacred‐secular divide. The life of John Wesley and the doctrine of stewardship show that accounting can be part of practices of spirituality. Sacred or secular accounting was found to be an issue of perception.
Research limitations/implications
There is scope for future research into perceptions of accounting and the role(s) of accounting in sacred spaces.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the sacred role and aspects to accounting.
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Lisa Marie Borghoff, Carola Strassner and Christian Herzig
Organic food processing must include organic principles to be authentic. This qualitative study aims to understand the processors' understanding of organic food processing quality.
Abstract
Purpose
Organic food processing must include organic principles to be authentic. This qualitative study aims to understand the processors' understanding of organic food processing quality.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on semi-structured expert interviews with eight employees of six purely or partly organic dairies from Germany and Switzerland. Interview themes are (1) quality of organic milk processing in general, (2) assessment of specific processing techniques, (3) product quality of organic milk and (4) flow of information between producer and consumer. The interviews have been audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed.
Findings
(1) Experts prefer minimal processing; some prefer artisanal processing, whilst others stress the advantages of mechanisation. (2) High temperature short time (HTST) pasteurisation and mechanical processing techniques are accepted; ultra-high-temperature (UHT) milk processing is partly rejected. (3) Traditional taste and valuable ingredients should be present in the final product. Natural variances are judged positively. (4) Consumers' low level of food technology literacy is challenging for communication.
Research limitations/implications
The results cannot be generalised due to the qualitative study design. Further studies, e.g. qualitative case analyses and studies with a quantitative design, are necessary to deepen the results.
Practical implications
The paper shows which processing technologies experts consider suitable or unsuitable for organic milk. The paper also identifies opportunities to bridge the perceived gap between processors' and consumers' demands.
Originality/value
The study shows the challenges of processors in expressing the processors' understanding of process quality.