Alexia Polillo, Nick Kerman, John Sylvestre, Catherine M. Lee and Tim Aubry
Foreign-born families face challenges following migration to Canada that may impact their well-being and lead them to homelessness. Yet, there is limited research on the…
Abstract
Purpose
Foreign-born families face challenges following migration to Canada that may impact their well-being and lead them to homelessness. Yet, there is limited research on the experience of homelessness in this population. The purpose of this paper is to examine the health of foreign-born families staying in the emergency shelter system in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and compare their experiences to Canadian-born homeless families who are also living in shelters.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews were conducted with 75 adult heads of families who were residing in three family shelters. This study focused on mental and physical health functioning, chronic medical conditions, access to care and diagnoses of mental disorders.
Findings
Foreign-born heads of families reported better mental health than did Canadian-born heads of families with a significantly lower proportion of foreign-born participants reporting having been diagnosed with a mental disorder. Foreign-born heads of families also reported fewer chronic medical conditions than did Canadian-born heads of families.
Research limitations/implications
This study relied on self-reported health and access to healthcare services. Data were drawn from a small, non-random sample.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first studies to examine the health and well-being of homeless foreign-born heads of families. Moreover, this paper also focuses on disparities in health, diagnoses of mental disorders, and access to healthcare services between foreign-born and Canadian-born families – a comparison that has not been captured in the existing literature.
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Bushra Rafique, Mudassir Iqbal, Tahir Mehmood and Muhammad Ashraf Shaheen
This review aims to focus on recent reported research work on the construction and function of different electrochemical DNA biosensors. It also describes different sensing…
Abstract
Purpose
This review aims to focus on recent reported research work on the construction and function of different electrochemical DNA biosensors. It also describes different sensing materials, chemistries of immobilization probes, conditions of hybridization and principles of transducing and amplification strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
The human disease-related mutated genes or DNA sequence detection at low cost can be verified by the electrochemical-based biosensor. A range of different chemistries is used by the DNA-based electrochemical biosensors, out of which the interactions of nanoscale material with recognition layer and a solid electrode surface are most interesting. A diversity of advancements has been made in the field of electrochemical detection.
Findings
Some important aspects are also highlighted in this review, which can contribute in the creation of successful biosensing devices in the future.
Originality/value
This paper provides an updated review of construction and sensing technologies in the field of biosensing.
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Richard Elliott and Natalia Yannopoulou
The paper seeks to explore empirically the lived experience of trust in consumer brands and to develop a model focusing on functional and symbolic brands.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper seeks to explore empirically the lived experience of trust in consumer brands and to develop a model focusing on functional and symbolic brands.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents an exploratory, grounded theory approach and the study conducted in‐depth interviews.
Findings
The findings reveal that when consumers are facing buying choices of functional brands that do not involve much risk and the price is low, familiarity is sufficient for their action. When risk and price levels increase, consumers seek a safe purchase choice regarding functional brands through confidence and dependability, while in the case of symbolic brands consumers have to trust the brand in order to make a purchase choice.
Research limitations/implications
By exploring the concept of trust within the consumer domain and in particular in relation to functional and symbolic brands, this study offers insights into an area that has received noticeably limited research up to today. Furthermore the development of the psychosocial model of trust in brands offers opportunities to theoreticians for further research regarding the factors that influence trust in each stage, as well as ways to restore or transfer trust when needed.
Practical implications
The study presents a tool to marketing practitioners, which will assist them in building and preserving long‐term trusting customer relationships.
Originality/value
The value of our research lies in the development of a psychosocial model of trust in brands by drawing on both social theory and on the psychology of human relationships.
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Tim Clifton, Jonathan Clifton and Natalia Velikova
The purpose of this paper is to explore how gendered wine-drinker identities are constructed through stories of wine consumption in Kenya.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how gendered wine-drinker identities are constructed through stories of wine consumption in Kenya.
Design/methodology/approach
The data comes from a corpus of 19 in-depth semi-structured interviews collected in Nairobi, Kenya. Taking a narrative approach, this paper uses positioning theory as a fine-grained linguistic methodological tool to analyze stories of gendered wine consumption.
Findings
A key finding of the study is that wine consumption can enact, and be enacted by, wider normative societal gendered discourses of what men and women should and, should not, be drinking. In short, in some societies (Kenya being an example here) men drinking wine is subject to the normative gaze of their peers; and if men drink wine, they are not considered “real men.” This is so even when chatting up women, in which case male wine-drinkers are ascribed to the subordinate male identities of either the “new man” or the romantic man. However, male wine-drinkers can retain a real man identity if they are wealthy (and powerful) enough not to care what other men think.
Practical implications
The study provides new insights for targeting consumers in emerging export markets. Wine companies need to be aware that the purchase drivers in established markets may not be central to consumers in developing markets. In developing markets, wine consumption may be influenced by the normative gaze of peers which enacts, and is enacted by, societal gendered discourses. Crucially, a thorough understanding of consumer behavior leads to a more critical consideration for focused marketing strategies aimed at establishing relationships with customers in developing markets.
Originality/value
The study offers an original contribution to the barely existent body of knowledge on wine consumption in sub-Saharan Africa and gendered wine-drinking identity construction. Additionally, from a methodological perspective, no previous study on wine consumption has used a narrative identity approach to the fine-grained linguistic analysis of transcripts of stories elicited during research interviews.