Matteo Villa and Venke Frederike Johansen
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of trans-contextual processes of implementation and governance in the transformation of social and labor inclusion policies in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of trans-contextual processes of implementation and governance in the transformation of social and labor inclusion policies in Norway and Italy, including research and practical implications.
Design/methodology/approach
It combines qualitative case studies with a framework that makes them comparable, namely, the Logics of Welfare.
Findings
Differences and similarities are related to regimes’ path dependencies as well as interactions between bottom-up and top-down dynamics of implementation. Their shifting logics and patterns enhance or hinder the local actors’ agency and enactment, and the systems’ capability to reduce the risks of exclusion. Results and the ways in which they are achieved are different, although in both cases the inclusion in the labor market remains a contended issue.
Research limitations/implications
The comparison is based on two case studies. A further development of in-depth comparative analysis may improve our understanding of the role of contexts in the implementation of policy reforms.
Practical implications
Reforms have limited capacity to achieve the expected outcomes, including due to a limited understanding of context-based factors. Practitioners and policy makers should take greater account of the latter and their active role in modifying them.
Social implications
This paper provides a deeper comprehension on how policy practices affect citizens’ hard pathways toward inclusion.
Originality/value
Through a comparative context-based analysis, the paper shows important differences, similarities and shifting modes of operation in activation policy as well as the role of socio-organizational contexts and bottom-up mobilizations. It looks forward to the possible added value derived from a wider testing of such approaches.
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Stefania Sabatinelli and Matteo Villa
The dote system is the most recent and only way to finance and deliver services in the training and labour policy field in Lombardy (Italy), strengthening the regional…
Abstract
Purpose
The dote system is the most recent and only way to finance and deliver services in the training and labour policy field in Lombardy (Italy), strengthening the regional quasi-market approach. The purpose of this paper is to analyse its logic and highlight the implications for the policy system.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative case-study including preliminary documentation, analysis of administrative data, in-depth interviews with stakeholders and practitioners.
Findings
The dote system is based on a strongly pre-structured and pure performance logic. It predefines forms, ways and steps towards people’s “autonomy”, further categorising the policy system and establishing a combination of individualisation without personalisation. The strict regulation makes it difficult to design accessible, high-quality and tailor-made interventions. Dote could represent an interesting innovation for high-profile measures, but as a universal equivalent it often fails to match the needs of people and the labour market.
Research limitations/implications
The self-funded research is limited to a regional context, analysed against the background of European welfare transformations. Greater effort in qualitative research could improve the knowledge about the implications of NPM and quasi-markets.
Practical implications
Regional centralism is strengthened; local authorities and private bodies are excluded from planning; freedom of choice is limited. A marriage of convenience between providers and users increases the level of stress and the dispersion of resources.
Originality/value
Dote is a particular experiment in the panorama of activation. It works in a unique way, impacting on governance and activation modes. The paper is addressed to researchers, practitioners and policy makers interested in gaining better understanding of the implications of quasi-markets and NPM.
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Stuart William Flint, Daniel Plumley and Robert Wilson
The purpose of this paper is to highlight and encourage consideration of the ethical and in some instances legal implications of managerial change in the English Premier League…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight and encourage consideration of the ethical and in some instances legal implications of managerial change in the English Premier League (EPL) which often gets overlooked and sidestepped by clubs.
Design/methodology/approach
Extant literature relating to managerial change is identified and discussed to provide the foundations of the discussion of whether managerial change in the EPL which is primarily focused on performance outcome, is neglecting ethical and legal issues.
Findings
The loophole that exists in the Employment Rights Act (1996) allows clubs to instantly dismiss a manager and consequently not see out their notice period as agreed in their contract or the statutory notice period. Whilst legally clubs are at will to act in this manner, the instability of EPL management evident today appears to have taken away the rights of an employee.
Research limitations/implications
Greater consideration of the current managerial change practices in EPL from an ethical and legal perspective appears warranted. The incomparable rights that a player and a manger have relating to their tenure at a club seem somewhat unfair.
Originality/value
Presents thought-provoking information relating to managerial change in the EPL which appears to have been overlooked in the literature to date which primarily focuses on the impact of change on performance.
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Jonida Carungu and Matteo Molinari
This paper explores the stereotype of the accountant in Florentine medieval popular culture based on literary works and from a historical perspective. It aims to highlight how…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the stereotype of the accountant in Florentine medieval popular culture based on literary works and from a historical perspective. It aims to highlight how stereotypes change with time and represent the cultural and historical evolution of a society. This research challenges Miley and Read (2012), who stated that the foundation of the stereotype was in Commedia dell'arte, an Italian form of improvisational theatre commenced in the 15th century.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors applied a qualitative research method to examine the accountant from a medieval popular culture perspective. The analysis consists of two phases: (1) categorisation of the accountant stereotype based on accounting history literature and (2) thematic analysis of The Divine Comedy (1307–1313) and The Decameron (1348–1351). The authors explored a synchronic perspective of historical investigation through a “cross-author” comparison, identifying Dante Alighieri as the first key author of medieval popular culture. During his imaginary journey through The Divine Comedy, Dante describes the social, political and economic context of the Florentine people of the 14th century. Then, with its various folkloristic elements, The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio becomes the “manifesto” of the popular culture in the Florentine medieval times.
Findings
This study shows the change of the accountant stereotype from the medieval age to the Renaissance. The Divine Comedy mainly connotes a negative accountant stereotype. The 14th century's Florentine gentlemen (“i galantuomini”) are apparently positive characters, with an ordered and clean aspect, but they are accused of being usurers. Dante Alighieri pictures the accountant as a “servant of capitalism”, “dishonest person, excessively fixated with money”, “villain and evil” and “excessively rational”. Giovanni Boccaccio mainly portrays a positive accountant stereotype. The accountant is increasingly more reliable, and this “commercial man” takes a more prestigious role in the society. In The Decameron, the accountant is depicted as a “hero”, “gentleman”, “family-oriented person with a high level of work commitment” and “colourful persona, warm, and emotional”. Overall, the authors provided new evidence on the existence of the accountant stereotype in the Florentine medieval popular.
Originality/value
This study engages with accounting history literature accountants' stereotypes in an unexplored context and time period, providing a base for comparative international research on accounting stereotypes and popular culture. Additionally, it addresses the need for further research on the accountant stereotype based on literary works and from a historical perspective. Therefore, this research also expands the New Accounting History (NAH) literature, focussing on the investigation of the accountant stereotype connotations in the 14th century.
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Pasquale Caponnetto, Marilena Maglia, Roberta Auditore, Marta Bocchieri, Antonio Caruso, Jennifer DiPiazza and Riccardo Polosa
Cognitive dysfunctions are a common clinical feature of schizophrenia and represent important indicators of outcome among patients who are affected. Therefore, a randomized…
Abstract
Cognitive dysfunctions are a common clinical feature of schizophrenia and represent important indicators of outcome among patients who are affected. Therefore, a randomized, controlled, monocentric, single-blind trial was carried out to compare two different rehabilitation strategies adopted for the restoration and recovery of cognitive functioning of residential patients with schizophrenia. A sample of 110 residential patients were selected and, during the experimental period, a group of 55 patients was treated with sets of domain-specific exercises (SRT+CRT), whereas an equal control group was treated with sets of non-domain-specific exercises (SRT+PBO) belonging to the Cogpack® software. The effects on the scores (between T0 and T1) of the variables treatment and time and of the interaction time X treatment were analyzed: for the total BACS, the main effect of the between-factors variable treatment is statistically significant (F=201.562 P=0.000), as well as the effect of the within-factors variable “time” (F=496.68 P=0.000).The interaction of these two factors is also statistically significant (F=299.594 P=0.000). The addition of cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) to a standard treatment of metacognitive training (MCT) resulted in a significant improvement in global neurocognitive functioning and has reported positive effects with regard to the strengthening of verbal and working memory, selective and sustained attention at T1. A relevant result is the statistically significance of “time X treatment” for all the tests administered: we can assume that the domain-specific cognitive training amplifies the effects of SRT, as the primary and secondary goals of the present study were achieved.
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Cesare Amatulli, Matteo De Angelis, Sue Vaux Halliday, Jonathan Morris and Floriana Mulazzi
The purpose of this paper is to enrich country of origin (COO) effect in international marketing theory by adding the understanding of temporal dynamism into COO research.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to enrich country of origin (COO) effect in international marketing theory by adding the understanding of temporal dynamism into COO research.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilizing a qualitative and interdisciplinary phenomenological approach, this paper analyses historical and contemporary sources triangulated with contemporary primary interview data. The example of how perceptions of Italians about the values typical of the British Sixties varied over time periods is presented.
Findings
COO perceptions are both malleable and in evolution. Results show that values from earlier peak periods of appeal can be combined and recombined differently over time due to the varying historical and contemporary resonances of COO values.
Research limitations/implications
This study focuses on COO applied to two product areas, fashion and music, over a limited time period, in a two-country study and so the findings are not fully generalizable, but rather are transferable to similar contexts.
Practical implications
The fact that COO is neither static nor atemporal facilitates a segmented approach for international marketing managers to review and renew international brands. This enriched COO theory provides a rich and variable resource for developing and revitalizing brands.
Originality/value
The major contribution of this paper is that temporal dynamism, never before discussed in international marketing theory, renders COO theory more timeless; this addresses some critiques recently made about its relevance and practicality. The second contribution is the original research design that models interdisciplinary scholarship, enabling a thorough historical look at international marketing.
Details
Keywords
Italy-China relations.
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB242912
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
This paper investigates the evolving landscape of architectural criticism in the digital era, leveraging the enduring interplay between architecture and media. It specifically…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the evolving landscape of architectural criticism in the digital era, leveraging the enduring interplay between architecture and media. It specifically examines the role of social media and public awards in improving user engagement with architectural discourse.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-method approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative analyses, is used to discuss three architecture awards. These are chosen for their different evaluation processes and their capacity to offer diverse opportunities for public interaction and engagement.
Findings
The study emphasises the potential of social media to democratise architectural criticism, while also addressing challenges such as the prominence of non-critical visual material and the presence of algorithmic biases. The findings underline the importance of providing adequate materials for public evaluation and integrating expert juries to support the assessment process. These elements are essential to fostering informed public participation, bridging the gap between professional expertise and popular engagement, and enabling meaningful architectural discourse on social media.
Originality/value
This paper fills a gap in the academic literature by connecting public architectural awards – a relatively unexplored aspect of architectural culture – with the potential of social media as a platform for architectural criticism.
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Between 1860 and 1945, the Chinese port city of Tianjin was the site of up to nine foreign-controlled concessions, functioning side by side. Rogaski defined it as a…
Abstract
Between 1860 and 1945, the Chinese port city of Tianjin was the site of up to nine foreign-controlled concessions, functioning side by side. Rogaski defined it as a ‘hyper-colony’, a term which reflects Tianjin's socio-political intricacies and the multiple colonial discourses of power and space. This essay focuses on the transformation of the Tianjin cityscape during the last 150 years, and aims at connecting the hyper-colonial socio-spatial forms with the processes of post-colonial identity construction. Tianjin is currently undergoing a massive renovation program: its transmogrifying cityscape unveils multiple layers of ‘globalizing’ spatialities and temporalities, throwing into relief processes of power and capital accumulation, which operate via the urban regeneration's experiment. This study uses an ‘interconnected history’ approach and traces the interweaving ‘worlding’ nodes of today's Tianjin back to the global connections established in the city during the hyper-colonial period. What emerges is Tianjin's simultaneous tendency towards ‘world-class-ness’ and ‘China-class-ness’.