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1 – 10 of 39Patricia Gooding, Rebecca Crook, Melissa Westwood and Sarah Peters
Understanding ways to foster wellbeing in postgraduate-research students (PGRs) requires focus especially with respect to positive relationship formation with supervisory teams…
Abstract
Purpose
Understanding ways to foster wellbeing in postgraduate-research students (PGRs) requires focus especially with respect to positive relationship formation with supervisory teams. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore six different ways of nurturing wellbeing; perceptions of positive relationships with supervisory teams; and interactions between these factors.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 155 PGRs completed questionnaires at baseline and six months. The predictor variables were six ways of nurturing wellbeing; the outcome variable was psychological wellbeing appraisals overall; and the moderator variables were positive perceptions of relationships with key staff.
Findings
The most effective ways of nurturing wellbeing were Noticing and Being Aware; Discovering and Learning; Connecting with Others; and Being Healthy and Safe. Over time, Noticing and Being Aware predicted psychological wellbeing appraisals overall. Positive relationships with supervisors, co-supervisors and work peers were associated with wellbeing appraisals. Furthermore, positive relationships with co-supervisors most convincingly strengthened the relationships between wellbeing appraisals and Noticing and Being Healthy cross-sectionally, and Giving longitudinally.
Research limitations/implications
It is concerning that PGRs are often overlooked when developing policies and strategies to combat mental health problems. Rather than simply focusing on diminishing mental health problems, the current work evidences ways of optimizing positive aspects of PGR experiences by actively nurturing wellbeing in tandem with enhancing relationships with supervisory team members. However, such initiatives have to be an investment at institutional, as well as individual levels.
Originality/value
Examining the interactions between nurturing positive wellbeing in PGRs and positive relationships with supervisory team members is under-researched.
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Patricia Gooding, Rebecca Crook, Melissa Westwood, Claire Faichnie and Sarah Peters
This study aims to examine the following across a six-month period in post-graduate research (PGR) students: mental health and well-being; the effect of academic pressures on…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the following across a six-month period in post-graduate research (PGR) students: mental health and well-being; the effect of academic pressures on depression, anxiety and well-being; and the extent to which psychological resilience buffered against academic pressures.
Design/methodology/approach
This was a longitudinal questionnaire study with predictor variables of six types of academic pressure, outcome variables of depression, anxiety and well-being, and a moderator of resilience.
Findings
Well-being significantly worsened across the six-month timeframe, but levels of depression and anxiety remained relatively stable. Negative perceptions of academic challenges at baseline significantly predicted anxiety, but not depression or well-being, six months later. Negative appraisals of relationships with supervisors, other university staff and work peers were not predictors of anxiety. Social support resilience which was present at baseline buffered the relationship between perceived academic challenges and anxiety.
Practical implications
Higher education institutions have a duty of care towards PGR students, many of whom struggle with the escalating interactions between mental health problems and academic pressures. Actively nurturing psychological resilience related to social support is key at the level of individual students and the PGR community but more broadly at an institutional level.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effects of negative perceptions of multiple facets of academic life on depression, anxiety and well-being longitudinally. Additionally, it is the first study to investigate, and demonstrate, the extent to which psychological resilience can lessen the relationship between academic challenges and anxiety over time.
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Rebecca Crook, Patricia Gooding, Chloe Whittaker, Dawn Edge, Claire Faichnie, Melissa Westwood and Sarah Peters
This study aimed to address three key gaps in existing knowledge about postgraduate researchers’ (PGRs) well-being. It investigated 1) the frequency and nature of depression…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to address three key gaps in existing knowledge about postgraduate researchers’ (PGRs) well-being. It investigated 1) the frequency and nature of depression, anxiety and well-being amongst PGRs, and relatedly, characteristics that convey vulnerability, 2) factors that impact PGR well-being, and 3) factors that influence help-seeking.
Design/methodology/approach
The mixed-methods design comprised quantitative and qualitative approaches. Using opportunity sampling, 585 PGRs registered at a large UK University completed an online survey. The perspectives of a purposive sample of academic and Professional Services staff (n = 61) involved in supporting PGRs were sought through in-depth focus groups and semi-structured interviews, which were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive thematic analysis.
Findings
PGRs scored lower on measures of well-being and higher on measures of anxiety and depression than aged-matched groups in the general population. PGR well-being was positively affected by personal and professional relationships, and negatively affected by academic challenges and mental health problems. Academic supervisors were the primary source of support for students experiencing well-being difficulties. Thematic analysis revealed four domains that impact upon PGR well-being: postgraduate researcher identity; pressures and expectations of postgraduate research; complexity of the supervisor role; and pinch points in postgraduate research. Each domain had associations with help-seeking behaviours.
Originality/value
This study provides evidence that the PGR experience is perceived to be distinct from that of other students, and this helps understand sources of stress and barriers to help-seeking. It provides a steer as to how higher education institutions could better support the PGR learning experience.
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Tjaša Štrukelj, Sabina Taškar Beloglavec, Daniel Zdolšek and Vita Jagrič
Purpose: This chapter focuses on the enterprise’s ethics and social responsibility, which are interdependently resulting in an enterprise’s credibility and better performance. The…
Abstract
Purpose: This chapter focuses on the enterprise’s ethics and social responsibility, which are interdependently resulting in an enterprise’s credibility and better performance. The authors provide a comprehensive tool that can help enterprises and humankind to find a better way toward new economic and social conditions, thus society’s transformation, beginning with the enterprise-level innovation of decisions that originate from the (key) stakeholders’ personal level innovation of decisions. The purpose is to show a possible path toward requisitely holistic enterprises’ governance, management and practice.
Method: The authors use a qualitative methodological approach, based on three relations (the law of requisite holism, the law of hierarchy of succession and interdependence, and the law of entropy) and three elements (10 guidelines defining the subjective starting points and objectives, and 10 guidelines on assuring the agreed policy to survive in latter steps of working process) of Dialectical systems theory. This chapter methodologically also follows the ethics of interdependence. Based on the research, the authors propose to use the supplemented credibility strategy as a possible methodological way of introducing enterprise ethics into practice.
Findings: The authors introduce a supplemented model of the strategy of an enterprise’s credibility. The authors propose using this new model to develop an enterprise’s social responsibility and ethics in a broader sense. The authors focus is on financial institutions’ governance and credibility. The main finding of this chapter is that strong regulation of the financial sector contributes positively to all four dimensions in the strategy of an enterprise’s credibility – if it is requisitely holistic rather than one-sided and short-term.
Originality and Significance of Findings: The strategy of an enterprise’s credibility could be used as a practical implementation tool for (key) stakeholders. They can use the strategy of an enterprise’s credibility to innovate its behavior toward appropriate holistic behavior and sustainable development stimulating. This new tool can lead enterprises toward (more) social responsibility, enterprise ethics and credibility. In applying this theory to financial institutions, the authors find that such financial regulation (and supervision) significantly strengthens multiple dimensions of enterprise credibility. In this regard, the authors find it favorable and encourage such regulation in all enterprises engaged in financial services, including non-bank institutions. Besides, to add to more comprehensive social benefits, the authors find it favorable to encourage similar development in other economic sectors, not the opposite, deregulation.
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Arthur Sserwanga, Rebecca Isabella Kiconco, Malin Nystrand and Rachel Mindra
– The purpose of this study was to explore the role social entrepreneurship has played in post conflict recovery in Gulu district in northern Uganda.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to explore the role social entrepreneurship has played in post conflict recovery in Gulu district in northern Uganda.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory and qualitative research design was used to examine the role of social entrepreneurship in post conflict recovery in the Gulu community located in Uganda. A sample of five social entrepreneurs and 15 beneficiaries were interviewed.
Findings
The findings revealed that there is an association between active social entrepreneurship and post conflict recovery. Social entrepreneurship was found to create opportunity recognition, networking and innovation at both an individual and societal level.
Research limitations/implications
The generalization of the findings was limited by sample and method. A cross-sectional design that was used does not allow for a long-term impact study and limited empirical published research done.
Originality/value
This in-depth richness provides a clearer appreciation of the role social entrepreneurs’ play in post conflict recovery.
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Rebecca Loudoun and Keith Townsend
The purpose of this paper is to identify possible agents and levers to trigger the development and implementation of work place health promotion programs (WHPPs) in the Australian…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify possible agents and levers to trigger the development and implementation of work place health promotion programs (WHPPs) in the Australian construction industry. Unlike most large workplaces and most high-risk workplaces, these programs are rarely found in the construction sector.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative interviews with 80 trades workers and site-based and off-site construction managers are used to reveal perceptions of the impact of WHPPs and ill-health and poor health behaviors on site activities with a view to identifying leverage points to introduce WHPPs in construction.
Findings
Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors are seen as impacting on sites in three main ways: productivity (broadly defined), safety and interpersonal relations. Results also reveal specific roles and levers for different actors in the supply chain and a clear desire for a collective, industry-based response to identified health problems.
Practical implications
High levels of chronic diseases in the construction industry means firms within the sector must make a concerted attempt to change patterns of behavior or face significant long-term health implications for their workforce. Reducing levels of health and longevity of the workforce, mean work performance, productivity and participation is likely to decline.
Originality/value
Although construction workers are recognized as one of the workforces at most risk for life limiting diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, relatively little work has investigated health and well-being considerations for construction workers. This study contributes by investigating possible levers and agents to create healthier workplaces in construction.
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Sharon-Marie Gillooley, Sheilagh Mary Resnick, Tony Woodall and Seamus Allison
This study aims to examine the phenomenon of self-perceived age (SPA) identity for Generation X (GenX) women in the UK. Squeezed between the more ubiquitous “boomer” and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the phenomenon of self-perceived age (SPA) identity for Generation X (GenX) women in the UK. Squeezed between the more ubiquitous “boomer” and “millennial” cohorts, and now with both gender and age stigma-related challenges, this study looks to provide insights for understanding this group for marketing.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts an existential phenomenological approach using a hybrid structured/hermeneutic research design. Data is collected using solicited diary research (SDR) that elicits autoethnographic insights into the lived experiences of GenX women, these in the context of SPA.
Findings
For this group, the authors find age a gendered phenomenon represented via seven “age frames”, collectively an “organisation of experience”. Age identity appears not to have unified meaning but is contingent upon individuals and their experiences. These frames then provide further insights into how diarists react to the stigma of gendered ageism.
Research limitations/implications
SDR appeals to participants who like completing diaries and are motivated by the research topic. This limits both diversity of response and sample size, but coincidentally enhances elicitation potential – outweighing, the authors believe, these constraints. The sample comprises UK women only.
Practical implications
This study acknowledges GenX women as socially real, but from an SPA perspective they are heterogeneous, and consequently distributed across many segments. Here, age is a psychographic, not demographic, variable – a subjective rather than chronological condition requiring a nuanced response from marketers.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first formal study into how SPA identity is manifested for GenX women. Methodologically, this study uses e-journals/diaries, an approach not yet fully exploited in marketing research.
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Colin J. Beck and Mlada Bukovansky
While oft-ignored, grievances remain a central part of revolutions. We argue that the theorization of grievances requires conceptually unpacking specific complaints and relating…
Abstract
While oft-ignored, grievances remain a central part of revolutions. We argue that the theorization of grievances requires conceptually unpacking specific complaints and relating them to mobilizing mechanisms. We thus focus on one set of grievances – corruption – that is especially prevalent in 21st century revolutionary episodes. Drawing on prior conceptualizations of corruption, we hypothesize that four different configurations of corruption influence five different mechanisms of contention. First, everyday street-level corruption creates the potential for sudden and spontaneous protest and creates the basis for widespread, coalitional mobilization. Second, institutional corruption focuses attention on the regime to make it a target of revolutionary claims. Third, competition among elites creates the potential for cross-class alliances but may forestall durable sociopolitical change and, in some cases, even allow for authoritarian consolidation of power through anti-corruption drives. We illustrate these dynamics through one clearly successful case of revolution in Tunisia in 2011, one case of mixed results from political revolution in Ukraine from 2004 to 2014, and a negative case of revolution in China since 2013.
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To explore academics’ experiences of using information and communication technologies (ICTs) for teaching and learning.
Abstract
Purpose
To explore academics’ experiences of using information and communication technologies (ICTs) for teaching and learning.
Design/methodology/approach
Analysis of three discipline‐specific focus group discussions held with academics based in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) that use ICTs for teaching their students.
Findings
The most common use of ICTs in all subjects was to provide students with access to a range of online resources. Academics’ motivations for using ICTs included: enhancing the educational experience for their students; to compensate for some of the changes occurring in higher education, such as the rise in student numbers and demand for flexible learning opportunities; and personal interest and enjoyment. The difficulties academics encountered when using these technologies for teaching included: a lack of time; dissatisfaction with the software available; and copyright.
Research limitations/implications
This is a small scale, exploratory study. Further research is required that is sampled in such a way as to ensure that the findings can be generalized to all academics in all institutions in the UK.
Practical implications
The institutional, middle managerial, staff and student level all need to be considered when encouraging the further adoption of new technologies for teaching and learning in higher education. Institutional level strategies must also account for the diversity of ways ICTs may be used in teaching in different contexts across the institution.
Originality/value
Research exploring academics’ experiences of using ICTs for teaching and learning is scarce. Further work is required to ensure the successful development and implementation of future technological and policy developments in this area.
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Up until the turn of the millennium, there had been very little positive representation of women and women in action characters in the action film genre. Two notable exceptions…
Abstract
Up until the turn of the millennium, there had been very little positive representation of women and women in action characters in the action film genre. Two notable exceptions were Ellen Ripley in the Alien movies and Sarah Connor in the Terminator franchise. Whilst this has certainly changed over the last 20 years, one action/horror/science fiction heroine remains neglected: Project Alice in the six Resident Evil films. Portrayed by Milla Jovovich, and loosely based on the platform game character, Project Alice is strong, driven, motivated and tough. This chapter will, through detailed analysis of character, her physical presence through the clothing she wears, psychogeographical aspects, her use of weapons and narrative arc, clearly demonstrate the importance of Project Alice to the horror genre.
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