Organisations are flooded with information of all kinds, generated electronically and otherwise. Increased use of computers and networks, and access to global networks compound…
Abstract
Organisations are flooded with information of all kinds, generated electronically and otherwise. Increased use of computers and networks, and access to global networks compound the problem, while inadequate management results in an ever‐increasing loss of time and information. Experts claim that each manager wastes an average of four weeks per year just in searching for documents, which translates to a conservative cost of R25 000 per executive per year. It is even estimated that 7.5% of documents are lost forever. So the information professional is faced with an increasingly important challenge, namely to manage this diverse and rapidly growing collection effectively. Several approaches have been suggested to manage the intellectual assets in an organisation: for example, using shared file servers to store the online objects, or storing copies of documents in image format, or using PC‐based file‐finding software. These approaches have advantages and shortcomings. We propose an integrated solution which we call the Corporate Memory to maintain all active and historical information that is worth sharing, managing and preserving, which may even include information that is usually intangible, such as the ideas and experience of staff. Our approach involves handling each Corporate Memory object, be it physical or electronic, in the way most suited to the type of object. We propose the use of specialised tools, such as MS Word, which already exist throughout an organisation for data capture and object storage. These tools should be linked to a central hub of information, responsible for indexing and managing the objects, which allows for a high level of control as well as offering a single point of access to the objects. To be effective, the system must handle diverse data, cope with ever‐changing requirements and answer unpredictable requests. Managing the Corporate Memory is essentially an information task and not a computing task. It is not only logical but also critical that this should be left in the hands of information experts.
Ye (Sandy) Shen, Michael Lever and Marion Joppe
Destination management organizations deliver travel-related information through visitor guides to build destination awareness and attract potential tourists. Therefore, this…
Abstract
Purpose
Destination management organizations deliver travel-related information through visitor guides to build destination awareness and attract potential tourists. Therefore, this research aims to investigate how people read such a guide, understand their attitudes and to provide recommendations on enhancing its design.
Design/methodology/approach
This research used eye-tracking technology in tandem with surveys and in-depth interviews. Eye-tracking technology uncovered the elements of a visitor guide that attracted particular attention, whereas surveys and interviews provided deeper insights into people’s attitudes toward them.
Findings
People do not spend attention equally on each page of a visitor guide. Instead, they look at the reference points (i.e. photo credits, photos, headings and bolded words) and then read the adjacent areas if the information triggers their interest. The characteristics of the attractive components of a visitor guide were discussed and suggestions on designing a more appealing guide were provided.
Research limitations/implications
The triangulated approach not only generated objective and insightful results but also enhanced research validity. This exploratory sequential mixed method can usefully be applied to test other stimuli and assess attention.
Practical implications
To be deemed appealing, a visitor guide should avoid ads unrelated to the destination, include more photos, use the list format and bolded words, add stories or selected comments from social media and provide well-designed maps.
Originality/value
This research fills a gap in the literature by using a triangulated approach including eye-tracking, survey and interviews to examine a 68-page visitor guide. The concept of reference-point reading behavior is proposed. Practical implications are discussed to improve the design of a visitor guide.
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English chartered companies began to trade with both the Ottoman and the Mughal states in the last decade of the sixteenth century. In India, as recent work has shown, the…
Abstract
English chartered companies began to trade with both the Ottoman and the Mughal states in the last decade of the sixteenth century. In India, as recent work has shown, the rudiments of an English polity were established very early and eventually metastasized into a sizeable colonial empire. In Turkey, on the other hand, no “company-state” ever took root. This paper endeavors to explain this divergence from the perspective, not of the highly “successful” East India Company, but of the “failed” (and much less well-studied) Levant Company, which, with short interruptions, maintained a monopoly English trade with the Ottoman Empire from 1592 until 1803. The paper offers an account of this divergence that emphasizes the importance of an independent overseas administrative apparatus, something that the EIC had but that the Levant Company lacked. The Levant Company lost control of its overseas administration in the 1630s, when the Crown began to regard the Ottoman Empire as too diplomatically important to leave England’s representation there to “mere merchants.” Thereafter, the company was at a competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis rival commercial organizations that, because they had established a territorial base, could control and cheapen production in the colonial sites with which they traded.
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The issue of the existence and persistence of a labour aristocracy in advanced capitalist countries is connected with the emergence and persistence of an extremely unequal…
Abstract
The issue of the existence and persistence of a labour aristocracy in advanced capitalist countries is connected with the emergence and persistence of an extremely unequal international economic order. The emergence of that order is the direct result of capitalist colonialism. That colonialism helped garner and control resources for the pioneering capitalist countries, which also emerged as the top imperialist countries of the world. The colonial resources were used to support and augment the profits of the capitalist class, but after the immiserizing phase of industrialization had passed, they also helped increase the incomes of workers in the advanced capitalist countries. Workers’ struggles and the threat of such struggles in some phases of development of capitalism led to increases in their incomes. However, there are instances in which the ruling class in the USA and UK deliberately used the lure of private property or acquisition of colonies to try and get their support. Thus, the debate between Post and Cope can only be resolved by invoking the complexities of the patterns of exploitation and governance under actually existing capitalism.
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Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar, Isabella Rosas, Mariela Saenz, Janelly Macias-Martinez and Sandy Magaña
As the Latinx population continues to increase in the United States, so has the number of families who experience disability. Latinx families of children and youth with…
Abstract
As the Latinx population continues to increase in the United States, so has the number of families who experience disability. Latinx families of children and youth with disabilities face unique challenges as they navigate services and systems to advocate for the rights of their children. These challenges impact their health and wellbeing. Grounded in the Social Ecological Model (SEM), in this chapter, the authors discuss the challenges, support systems, and resources available to Latinx families of children and youth with disabilities across levels of influence, including the individual/family, interpersonal, community, and societal/systems levels. The authors highlight empowerment-focused interventions designed to promote advocacy efforts and the health and wellbeing of Latinx families of children and youth with disabilities, and the authors close with recommendations for future research, practice, and policy.
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Shima Shademani, Payam Zarafshan, M. Khashehchi, M.H. Kianmehr and S.M. Hashemy
This paper aims to present a solution to dredging the irrigation canals using a robotic system. Considering the importance of irrigating water, the waste within the water canals…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a solution to dredging the irrigation canals using a robotic system. Considering the importance of irrigating water, the waste within the water canals should be avoided. Irrigation canals are artificial linear structures in the landscape that are used for transporting the water. One important problem in water transferring is the waste materials flow inside the water, and in some areas, they block the main stream, reducing the effective capacity of the canal. Among the waste materials, aquatic plants are grown on the surface of the canal that needs to be removed from the canal. This removal operation is conducted using chemical, biological, ecological and physical methods with complex supply systems. In addition, robotic systems are used as such complex systems. So, a robotic system is proposed to dredging the irrigation canals. The assumed robot was manufactured in AGRINS laboratory of Tehran University.
Design/methodology/approach
Design procedure, dynamic modelling and simulation of this robotic system are studied. To validate the system design before its construction, ADAMS software is used to perform simulations. Finally, performance evaluation of the dredger robot in the canal is studied based on the experimental data.
Findings
Results show that the design procedure has been correctly fitted to the real condition. Therefore, the designed robot could be easily used to dredging irrigation canals.
Practical implications
The assumed robot was manufactured in AGRINS laboratory of Tehran University.
Originality/value
Performing a dredging operation in the canals could be conducted by a new technique considering both free sides of the canal. Therefore, in this paper, a conceptual design of a 3-wheels stair dredger robot is numerically and experimentally studied.
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Sarah Dodds, Sandy L. Bulmer and Andrew J. Murphy
This paper aims to explore consumer experiences of spiritual value and investigates whether it is distinct from ethical value within a large and growing private sector health-care…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore consumer experiences of spiritual value and investigates whether it is distinct from ethical value within a large and growing private sector health-care setting. Understanding consumers’ experiences of spiritual value versus ethical value has important implications for corporate social responsibility as increasingly, consumers want their spiritual needs met.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopts an exploratory case study approach using in-depth interviews with 16 consumers who use complementary and alternative medicine health-care services. Drawing on consumer value frameworks, a thematic analysis identified dimensions of spiritual and ethical values co-created during their consumption experiences.
Findings
From a consumer’s perspective, spiritual value is distinct from ethical value. The key finding is that participants talked about spiritual value predominantly in reactive terms (apprehending, appreciating, admiring or responding), whereas ethical value was referred to as active (taking action).
Research limitations/implications
This paper enhances the understanding of spiritual value and provides evidence that people want their spiritual needs met in a private health-care context. Furthermore, this study provides insights into the consumption experience of spiritual value that can be considered, with further research, in other health-care and service contexts.
Originality/value
This paper offers a new view on corporate social responsibility by taking a consumer’s perspective, and identifying that consumer experiences of spiritual value are important and distinct from ethical value.
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Yu-Shan (Sandy) Huang, Xiang Fang and Ruping Liu
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how and when used by employees influences witnessing customers’ willingness to spread positive word of mouth (WOM).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how and when used by employees influences witnessing customers’ willingness to spread positive word of mouth (WOM).
Design/methodology/approach
This research used a qualitative method to develop a typology of necessary evil using two pilot studies and an experimental study to test the theoretical model.
Findings
The results show that the necessary evil used by employees to manage dysfunctional customers positively influences witnessing customers’ perceptions of distributive, procedural and interactional justice and their subsequent deontic justice perceptions, resulting in their willingness to spread positive WOM. Moreover, the positive influence of necessary evil on witnessing customers’ responses is strengthened when dysfunctional customer behavior (DCB) targets another customer as opposed to an employee.
Practical implications
This research offers service providers a better understanding of how to manage DCBs.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the existing literature by introducing necessary evil to the service literature, proposing a new typology of employee response strategies to DCB based on necessary evil and examining how necessary evil drives positive customer responses. Additionally, it is among the first to examine the relationship between deontic justice and traditional justice mechanisms.
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Sandy Bond, William N. Kinnard, Elaine M. Worzala and Steven D. Kapplin
While numerous studies have been carried out in the US to determine the character and scope of the effects of contaminated, threatened or “stigmatized” properties on the terms and…
Abstract
While numerous studies have been carried out in the US to determine the character and scope of the effects of contaminated, threatened or “stigmatized” properties on the terms and availability of debt financing, little appears in the published literature dealing with the attitudes, policies and requirements of equity investors. Hence, the extent of opposition from both institutional lenders and equity investors toward contaminated property is still uncertain. This paper summarises the results of parallel studies undertaken within New Zealand (NZ) and the USA to answer the question of how those who lend on, and invest in, property affected or impacted by contamination perceive the risks associated with this type of investment and evaluate its impacts. Of particular interest are the perceived effects of on‐site contamination on property investment and its financing.