K.M. Millar, S.M. Tomkins, R.P. White and T.B. Mepham
The aim of this postal survey (n = 5,000 : 19.3 per cent response) was to evaluate attitudes to two dairy technologies, bovine somatotrophin (bST) and automatic milking systems…
Abstract
The aim of this postal survey (n = 5,000 : 19.3 per cent response) was to evaluate attitudes to two dairy technologies, bovine somatotrophin (bST) and automatic milking systems (AMS), as part of a wider study of the role of ethical analysis in technology assessment. The survey indicated that awareness of the technologies was associated with the respondents’ attitudes in contrasting ways. Thus, those with greater awareness of bST considered it was less acceptable (p<0.05) while those with more awareness of AMS had more positive attitudes towards it (p<0.05). The use of bST was considered to be “ethically acceptable” by only 9.1 per cent of respondents, and 59.7 per cent believed bST should not be licensed for use in the EU, whereas 38.3 per cent considered AMS use to be “ethically acceptable”. Respondents also identified labelling and animal welfare as important issues. Thus, respondents differentiated between “acceptable or unacceptable” aspects of the technologies rather than simply expressing general attitudes to biotechnologies.
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This article examines the impact of the 1919 influenza pandemic on the life and culture of Australian universities, and the curious absence of sustained discussion about the…
Abstract
Purpose
This article examines the impact of the 1919 influenza pandemic on the life and culture of Australian universities, and the curious absence of sustained discussion about the crisis in university magazines. It considers two contexts, from the perspective of the general university population, and from the particular focus of medical students.
Design/methodology/approach
The primary source for this analysis is based on detailed reading of university magazines across three universities, as well as other primary and secondary literature. The article was written during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, which has limited access to some other magazines held in library collections, but the corpus of material is more than sufficient.
Findings
This article shows that the pandemic further deferred the resumption of university life after a hiatus during the First World War. The failure to identify the causal agent limited technical discussion in medical school magazines.
Originality/value
This is one of the first dedicated studies of the effect of the 1919 influenza pandemic on Australian universities. It joins a growing body of work considering the effect of the influenza on different community groups.
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This paper aims to explore the beliefs and attitudes of young mothers in relation to smokefree homes and passive smoke in Guernsey, and to encourage them to contribute to the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the beliefs and attitudes of young mothers in relation to smokefree homes and passive smoke in Guernsey, and to encourage them to contribute to the designing of a smokefree home leaflet and pack aimed at young mothers.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 11 participants (aged 17‐23 years).
Findings
Most participants were smokers, however, they all knew what passive smoke was and asserted that their homes were smokefree. Even if they were unable to list specific impacts of second hand smoke on children, they all agreed that children should be protected. A few of them described the difficulties in telling people not to smoke around their children in other people's homes and in cars. Moreover, some young mothers said that they found it hard to persuade their partners not to smoke around the children.
Originality/value
This paper presents the respondents ideas for promoting and supporting smokefree homes for young mothers and informing a smokefree home leaflet and home pack: providing information about passive smoking during parenting sessions, preferably after the baby has been born; giving parents a pack with giveaways linked to smokefree homes; encouraging parents to be assertive to friends and family who try to smoke around children; and getting both partners involved.
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Hans Kaushik, Rohit Rajwanshi and Artee Bhadauria
The global research evidences indicate that the technology adoption in case of agribusiness has a potential to enhance the performance and bring operational efficiency. India is…
Abstract
Purpose
The global research evidences indicate that the technology adoption in case of agribusiness has a potential to enhance the performance and bring operational efficiency. India is the world’s largest producer as well as consumer of milk but struggles with yield per cattle, overall productivity, low rate of technology acceptance and adoption, health detection of milching units, animal data recording and presence of dairy products in the global market. The purpose of this study is to focus on identifying the challenges of technology adoption in dairy farms and constructing a hierarchical model using soft systems methodology.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses nominal group technique-based discussion with domain experts and personal interviews with dairy farm owners/managers for the identification of challenges, fuzzy interpretative structural modeling as well as FMICMAC to develop a hierarchical model of challenging elements and to divide the identified elements into four categories based on the dominance of driving-dependence power.
Findings
This research has developed a list of 12 challenges affecting the technology adoption in a dairy farm business unit, identified through the personal interviews with 60 dairy farms across three highest milk-producing states of India in terms of annual milk output – Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Lack of government support followed by lack of educational opportunities in dairy-based education were found as the most crucial and high driving challenges, whereas high cost, huge investment and low acceptance of decision-maker were found as the most dependent challenges of technology adoption.
Research limitations/implications
This research is one step ahead of interpretive structural modeling that considers the fuzzy-based dominance in the model to showcase the degree of relationship along with its existence, but it lacks to statistically validate the findings using techniques like SEM.
Practical implications
This paper has developed a list of challenges in adoption of technology along with their inter-relationships to highlight the required focus challenge that drives or is dependent on the other challenges. The goal is to bring performance improvement and assist Indian dairy farm business stakeholders or decision-makers in formulating strategic and action plans and help policy planners to make favorable policies based on the understanding of contextual relationship between challenges.
Social implications
In Indian context, dairy is an important part of agriculture sector, and milk is an essential item that facilitates income generation to small and rural households and a source item for several other businesses and activities. The results of this research suggested the policy planners and government to ensure subsidized and insured technologies, training support and facilities, educational opportunities and efforts for promotion of technology adoption among dairy farmers. The suggestions are purely on the basis of the relevance of challenges in the hierarchy and can play a significant role in improving the level of technology adoption and can ultimately uplift the social and economic well-being from micro-level of farmers to macro-stage concerning economic development of India.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is purely original and outcome of the research conducted by authors.
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Piritta Lampila and Liisa Lähteenmäki
When new processing technologies are introduced to the food domain, consumer acceptance is one of the key issues for their future success. The purpose of this paper is to study…
Abstract
Purpose
When new processing technologies are introduced to the food domain, consumer acceptance is one of the key issues for their future success. The purpose of this paper is to study whether consumers are ready to accept a new high pressure freezing method for food processing when different benefits are attached to the processing method.
Design/methodology/approach
Consumer attitudes towards high pressure freezing were surveyed in The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Finland (n = 936).
Findings
Generally, attitudes towards high pressure freezing were neutral, even though the term was unfamiliar for most consumers. When given some information about high pressure freezing technology, consumers considered applying this method as appropriate, especially if it had advantageous consequences to the product. Processing method itself was considered less important than price or environmental impact when the relative importance of choice criteria was studied with conjoint analysis.
Practical implications
Not having to raise the price and possible environmental benefits seem to be the most crucial factors for promoting the acceptance of high pressure freezing as a new processing method in food processing.
Originality/value
The paper shows that advantages of high pressure freezing technology, like decreasing the probability of microbial spoilage or improving the quality of products, had the clearest influence on consumers' appropriateness ratings.
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Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are arguably one of the CEOs greatest challenges, and there is a critical need to get these decisions right. It is clear that no single theory is…
Abstract
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are arguably one of the CEOs greatest challenges, and there is a critical need to get these decisions right. It is clear that no single theory is adequate to describe or inform how M&A are evaluated in uncertain conditions, but there are several that offer partial explanations or at least contribute toward our understanding of how managers can deal with the uncertain environment and assess the likely risks associated with M&A. The literature suggests how relevant theories might be aggregated to make sense of strategic investment decision and investment appraisal techniques in an organizational context and considers the implications for further research in this important area of M&A. This chapter focuses on strategic investment appraisal, and draws together a variety of theoretical perspectives, especially from the field of psychology, which may be unfamiliar to both scholars in and practitioners.
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Gudrun Baldvinsdottir, Andreas Hagberg, Inga‐Lill Johansson, Kristina Jonäll and Jan Marton
The purpose of this paper is to provide a structured overview of literature in the nexus of trust and accounting. This can serve as a basis for future research, and thus provide a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a structured overview of literature in the nexus of trust and accounting. This can serve as a basis for future research, and thus provide a framework for asking more precise and focused research questions.
Design/methodology/approach
All papers published in prominent accounting journals during a 15‐year period were examined. Papers pertaining to the field of trust and accounting were categorized and analyzed in more detail, and qualitatively classified in accordance with selected dimensions. The review focused on papers explicitly exploring the link between accounting and trust.
Findings
A large proportion of the papers is in the field of management accounting (MAN). The majority of published papers in the field are based on sociological theory, but there are some economics‐based papers. Sociologically based analysis seems to provide more structure, but is also less paradigmatic in nature than economic theory. Only a small number of papers have an explicit definition of the concept of trust. The authors' conclusion is that the state of research has been developing to become more paradigmatic in recent years.
Originality/value
This is the only literature review that provides a comprehensive overview of research on trust and accounting. Thus, it is an aid to future research in the area.
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The emergence of a multicultural and diverse society in the Republic of Ireland should be reflected in the nation’s justice system. This chapter examines how community policing…
Abstract
The emergence of a multicultural and diverse society in the Republic of Ireland should be reflected in the nation’s justice system. This chapter examines how community policing and restorative justice policy and practice can be developed to reflect these new cultural realities. It focuses on the challenges faced by those training to participate in frontline services in the justice system with an increasingly diverse population. These issues are examined in the context of the trend towards restorative justice initiatives, with a focus on the challenges facing those in the justice system and civil society who must provide a form of training which is cognisant of increased diversity and multiculturalism.