Tomasz J. Spyt, Pamela A.C. Watt, Maria C. Boehm and Paul R. Stafford
A survey of cardiac patients, their relatives and friends and local GPs was conducted to establish whether there is a need for an online patient support system. In November 2000…
Abstract
A survey of cardiac patients, their relatives and friends and local GPs was conducted to establish whether there is a need for an online patient support system. In November 2000, 859 patients, 360 relatives and 160 friends attending cardiac out‐patients completed a questionnaire, 159 GPs were contacted by postal survey. Participants were asked if they use e‐mail and the World Wide Web and if obtaining relevant health information via an online support system would be beneficial. Participants were also asked to select preferred subject options. The survey showed clear interest in the provision of a Web‐based support service for cardiac patients and a pilot would be pursued.
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Gustavo Adolfo Yepes-López, José Luis Camarena, Julián Mauricio Cruz-Pulido, Luz Jeannette Quintero-Campos, Virginia Lasio, Jorge Rodriguez, Jack Zambrano-Vera, Consuelo Adelaida García de la Torre, María Matilde Schwalb-Helguero, María Ángela Prialé, José Solís-Sierra, Maruzella Rossi-Undurraga, Roberto Carvajal-Ramos, Pedro Javier Martinez, Victoria González-Gutiérrez, Rogelio Sánchez-Reyna, Griselda Lassaga and Nicolás Beltramino
This article aims to report on the development and validation of a bribery measurement index for the business sector, which, based on institutional theory, seeks to overcome the…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to report on the development and validation of a bribery measurement index for the business sector, which, based on institutional theory, seeks to overcome the limitations of traditional measurements, recognizing the dynamics that originate the phenomenon and identifying process components.
Design/methodology/approach
To construct the index, correlational and principal component analysis techniques were used, as well as rigorous statistical tests, validating the instrument in a sample of 2,963 companies in Latin America, including Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru.
Findings
The result was an instrument composed of two dimensions: (1) anti-bribery game rules, composed of regulations knowledge and anti-bribery efforts, and (2) bribery as a perceived habit, allowing an objective representation of reality due to its internal consistency, concurrent and discriminant validity.
Practical implications
This instrument is one of the few that focuses on measuring bribery in the business sector in terms of corrupt practices, applicable for both public and private institutions to promote game rules against bribery. Additionally, the proposed theoretical model can be used to measure other phenomena with similar characteristics.
Originality/value
This article empirically highlights different variables that make bribery possible. The results can be helpful in the design of strategies to prevent this type of behavior. It also highlights the importance of designing mechanisms to record information related to bribery and the different expressions of corruption in order to explain its different nuances.
Propósito
Este artículo informa sobre el desarrollo y validación de un índice de medición de soborno para el sector empresarial, que, basado en la teoría institucional, busca superar las limitaciones de las mediciones tradicionales, reconociendo las dinámicas que originan el fenómeno e identificando los componentes del proceso.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
Para la construcción del índice se utilizaron técnicas de análisis correlacional y de componentes principales, así como rigurosas pruebas estadísticas, validando el instrumento en una muestra de 2.963 empresas de América Latina, entre ellas Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, México y Perú.
Hallazgos
El resultado fue un instrumento compuesto por dos dimensiones: (1) reglas de juego antisoborno, compuestas por conocimiento normativo y esfuerzo antisoborno (2) soborno como hábito percibido, permitiendo una representación objetiva de la realidad debido a su consistencia interna, validez concurrente y discriminante.
Originalidad/Valor
Este artículo pone en evidencia empírica diferentes variables que hacen posible el soborno. Los resultados pueden ser útiles en el diseño de estrategias para prevenir este tipo comportamiento, también destaca la importancia de diseñar mecanismos para registrar la información relacionada con la lucha contra el soborno.
Implicaciones prácticas
Este instrumento es uno de los pocos que se enfoca en medir el soborno en el sector empresarial en términos de prácticas de corrupción, útil para instituciones tanto públicas como privadas para promover mejores reglas de juego en contra del soborno. Adicionalmente el modelo teórico propuesto puede ser utilizado para medir otros fenómenos con características similares.
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Rafael Kruter Flores, Steffen Bōhm and Maria Ceci Misoczky
This paper aims to introduce the special issue “Extractivism and the Links between International Business and People’s Struggles,” which is part of our joint research efforts…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to introduce the special issue “Extractivism and the Links between International Business and People’s Struggles,” which is part of our joint research efforts oriented to advance critical knowledge on the impacts and strategies of extractive transnational corporations and social struggles against them.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents and discusses contemporary aspects of extractivism and their impacts on nature and livelihood. In a second moment, it introduces and reflects on the four articles that compose the special issue “Extractivism and the Links between International Business and People’s Struggles”.
Findings
Extractivism is destructive of nature and livelihoods. As reaction to its destructive logic, millions of people have organized to struggle against extractivist projects around the world. The publication of this special issue is part of authors’ joint research efforts oriented to advance critical knowledge on the impacts and strategies of extractive corporations and social struggles against them. The lessons that the authors learned in their research and their experiences in these struggles were the key motivating factors that led them to organize this special issue, exploring radical alternatives to extractivism, alternatives that have as fundamental criterion the production and reproduction of life.
Originality/value
The value of this introduction is to present and discuss the four articles of the special issue “Extractivism and the Links between International Business and People’s Struggles,” which compose a rich mosaic of themes that emerge in the struggles against extractive projects worldwide, creating a relevant picture of the main defies imposed by extractivism and its negative impacts, from political corporate social responsibility to discourses, from relational ontology to the relations among state, corporations and social movements.
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Maria Ceci Misoczky, Guilherme Dornelas Camara and Steffen Böhm
Coparenting is a complex construct showing the quality of parental beliefs, motives, and actions related to cooperation in the child-rearing process. Its important role has been…
Abstract
Coparenting is a complex construct showing the quality of parental beliefs, motives, and actions related to cooperation in the child-rearing process. Its important role has been proven in child development and in shaping parents’ quality of life outcomes or marital satisfaction. This chapter presents the results of a study aimed at exploring the significance of selected parenting and child-related variables for the various components of coparenting in families with a child with disabilities. Material was collected in a group of 118 parenting couples using The Coparenting Relationship Scale. It was found that fathers scored higher in Coparenting Undermining and Endorse Partner Parenting. The variable of education was significant: parents with higher education showed the highest parental compatibility, and mothers also showed relatively highest satisfaction with the division of responsibilities. Parental age, age, and gender of the child with a disability were not significant. Difficult behaviors in the child correlated negatively with favorable coparenting components in parents and positively with unfavorable ones. Functional status was negatively associated with Coparenting Agreement and Endorse Partner in fathers. The complementarity of parental roles must be taken into account in the process of specialized support from psychologists, school counselors, social workers, etc.
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Daniel Obregon Valencia and María R. Sun Kou
The goal of this paper is to model the activated carbon adsorption capacity of cadmium using a polynomial regression model. The properties that influence the removal of heavy…
Abstract
Purpose
The goal of this paper is to model the activated carbon adsorption capacity of cadmium using a polynomial regression model. The properties that influence the removal of heavy metals by activated carbon must be taken into consideration in order to synthesize materials specific to the characteristics of the pollutant.
Design/methodology/approach
Multivariable analysis applications allow a comprehensive description of the relationship between activated carbon surface properties and heavy metal adsorption.
Findings
The authors use a second-grade polynomial regression model to determine the influence of porosity and surface acidity in cadmium adsorption by activated carbon.
Originality/value
The authors propose a statistic analysis to correlate the carbon properties with its cadmium adsorption capacity. Model coefficient analysis will give a better comprehension of the influence of activated carbon porosity and surface acidity of cadmium removal.
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Maria Jose Tonelli, Jussara Pereira, Vanessa Cepellos and João Lins
This paper aims to show which factors influence the perception of human resources professionals about managers over 50 years old and which factors guide the age management…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to show which factors influence the perception of human resources professionals about managers over 50 years old and which factors guide the age management practices adopted in the surveyed companies.
Design/methodology/approach
To this end, a survey was conducted with 140 companies accessed from a database of a human resources association. Through the answers obtained through the online questionnaire, an exploratory factor analysis was made with the aid of Software R.
Findings
Thus, it was possible to identify four factors that explain the work posture of professionals 50 years of age and older (company expectations, performance, morality and knowledge and professionalism) and three factors that guide the adoption of age management practices in organizations (recruitment & selection and integration, retention and continuity in the company, adaptation to the needs).
Originality/value
The results suggest that, even considering the high performance of older managers, perceived by HR professionals, the adoption of age management practices is still insufficient, making it difficult for these professionals to enter and remain in organizations. Moreover, it can be inferred that such posture indicates biases of discrimination and age stereotypes.
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Érica Maria Calíope Sobreira, Clayton Robson Moreira da Silva and Cláudia Buhamra Abreu Romero
Given that slow fashion is a movement that develops a comprehensive understanding of sustainable fashion and it is little explored in the Brazilian academic field, this study aims…
Abstract
Purpose
Given that slow fashion is a movement that develops a comprehensive understanding of sustainable fashion and it is little explored in the Brazilian academic field, this study aims to analyze the influence of empowerment and materialism on slow fashion consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected via an online survey, and quantitative methods were applied to analyze the sample of 306 clothing consumers from Fortaleza, the 5th largest Brazilian city and capital of the State of Ceará, which ranks fifth in the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Chain Billing Ranking.
Findings
In general, empowerment had a positive influence on slow fashion consumption. On the other hand, materialism positively influenced only one orientation toward slow fashion (exclusivity).
Research limitations/implications
As a limitation of the study, the lack of a specific scale to measure consumer empowerment stands out. In addition, the sample was restricted to consumers from Fortaleza, thus results might differ for different locations.
Practical implications
The study provides managerial implications related to how strategies of empowerment can be incorporated by slow fashion companies into their marketing programs, such as more active consumer involvement in product co-creation processes.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the construction of theoretical and empirical knowledge on slow fashion, from its association with constructs such as empowerment and materialism. Furthermore, a conceptual model involving all relations found between the factors of the three constructs has been proposed.
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Claudia Presti, Federica De Santis and Francesca Bernini
This paper aims to propose an interpretive framework to understand how machine learning (ML) affects the way companies interact with their ecosystem and how the introduction of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose an interpretive framework to understand how machine learning (ML) affects the way companies interact with their ecosystem and how the introduction of digital technologies affects the value co-creation (VCC) process.
Design/methodology/approach
This study bases on configuration theory, which entails two main methodological phases. In the first phase the authors define the theoretically-derived interpretive framework through a literature review. In the second phase the authors adopt a case study methodology to inductively analyze the theoretically-derived domains and their relationships within a configuration.
Findings
ML enables multi-directional knowledge flows among value co-creators and expands the scope of VCC beyond the boundaries of the firm-client relationship. However, it determines a substantive imbalance in knowledge management power among the actors involved in VCC. ML positively impacts value co-creators’ performance but also requires significant organizational changes. To benefit from VCC via ML, value co-creators must be aligned in terms of digital maturity.
Originality/value
The paper answers the call for more theoretical and empirical research on the impact of the introduction of Industry 4.0 technology in companies and their ecosystem. It intends to improve the understanding of how ML technology affects the determinants and the process of VCC by providing both a static and dynamic analysis of the topic.
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Oghenemaro Anuyah, Ashlee Milton, Michael Green and Maria Soledad Pera
The purpose of this paper is to examine strengths and limitations that search engines (SEs) exhibit when responding to web search queries associated with the grade school…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine strengths and limitations that search engines (SEs) exhibit when responding to web search queries associated with the grade school curriculum
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employed a simulation-based experimental approach to conduct an in-depth empirical examination of SEs and used web search queries that capture information needs in different search scenarios.
Findings
Outcomes from this study highlight that child-oriented SEs are more effective than traditional ones when filtering inappropriate resources, but often fail to retrieve educational materials. All SEs examined offered resources at reading levels higher than that of the target audience and often prioritized resources with popular top-level domain (e.g. “.com”).
Practical implications
Findings have implications for human intervention, search literacy in schools, and the enhancement of existing SEs. Results shed light on the impact on children’s education that result from introducing misconception about SEs when these tools either retrieve no results or offer irrelevant resources, in response to web search queries pertinent to the grade school curriculum.
Originality/value
The authors examined child-oriented and popular SEs retrieval of resources aligning with task objectives and user capabilities–resources that match user reading skills, do not contain hate-speech and sexually-explicit content, are non-opinionated, and are curriculum-relevant. Findings identified limitations of existing SEs (both directly or indirectly supporting young users) and demonstrate the need to improve SE filtering and ranking algorithms.