Leslie R. Morris and Sharon F. Cramer
The enneagram (pronounced any‐a‐gram, a Greek word for a nine‐sided shape) is a psychological theory that was introduced to the USA in the 1960s. Use of the enneagram for the…
Abstract
The enneagram (pronounced any‐a‐gram, a Greek word for a nine‐sided shape) is a psychological theory that was introduced to the USA in the 1960s. Use of the enneagram for the study of personality types provides the opportunity to learn about oneself and others. The enneagram has become increasingly popular in the last decade, and there are over 30 recent books devoted to the enneagram and its uses. The enneagram is a diagram of each person’s personality. Areas revealed include motives, fears, desires, strengths and weaknesses. This psychological model divides people’s behaviour into nine distinct types. Each type, usually referred to by its number, is unique. Knowledge of the enneagram will enable you to predict a person’s response in various situations. The authors have adapted common responses to library situations.
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Special education teachers and paraeducators who generated and analyzed metaphors to describe their relationships uncovered insights into how they perceive their roles and…
Abstract
Special education teachers and paraeducators who generated and analyzed metaphors to describe their relationships uncovered insights into how they perceive their roles and responsibilities, and identified models for a more effective collaboration. The metaphors generated by 67 special education teachers and paraeducators indicate that they value relationships characterized by compatibility (e.g., “peanut butter and jelly”) and coordination of effort (e.g., “well-oiled machine”) and have diverse views on the relative contributions paraeducators make to the instructional program (e.g., “my right arm” vs. “icing on the cake”). Notably absent is acknowledgment of the teacher’s critical role as team leader, responsible for directing the work of paraeducators; metaphors like “two peas in a pod” far outnumber those like “architect and builder.” The chapter includes a description of a process that teachers and paraeducators can use to generate and analyze metaphors to serve as models for a more effective collaboration; examples are provided.
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Marian Makkar and Sheau-Fen Yap
The purpose of this paper is to address the following questions: how do consumers construct meaning around their inconspicuous luxury fashion experiences? What desires do…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address the following questions: how do consumers construct meaning around their inconspicuous luxury fashion experiences? What desires do inconspicuous consumers strive to fulfill? What sentiments do they associate with their inconspicuous luxury fashion consumption?
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory research begins with a netnographic study of 11 online luxury blogs followed by in-depth interviews and home observations of ten luxury consumers with inconspicuous preferences in Dubai.
Findings
Inconspicuous choices are not simply for associative or dissociative motivations but several symbolic consumption schemas come into play. A typology of inconspicuous luxury fashion consumers has emerged: fashion influencers, trendsetters, fashion followers, and luxe conservatives.
Practical implications
The findings have potential to yield important managerial implications for fashion retailers and brand communications. The typology of inconspicuous consumers provides a basis for developing a more targeted relationship marketing program for luxury fashion brands.
Originality/value
This research advances luxury knowledge in fashion and consumer behavior research by unveiling how consumers construct meanings around their inconspicuous consumption. The typology developed in this study marks the starting point for further extensions to explore the complexities of inconspicuous luxury consumers, which are grounded in the roles they take on in society, how they plan their luxury consumption journey and how they eventually use these possessions for self-identification and communication to others.
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…the astonishing struggle that lasts foreverFrancine Du Plessix Gray (2000).…the simultaneous sound of…both harmonies and dissonancesKurt Lüscher (2000).I wanted to watch my…
Abstract
…the astonishing struggle that lasts forever Francine Du Plessix Gray (2000). …the simultaneous sound of…both harmonies and dissonances Kurt Lüscher (2000). I wanted to watch my father die because I hated him. Oh, I loved him… Sharon Olds (1992).The concept of absolute absence or presence is not meaningful for adult children when an elderly parent’s mind is slipping away. This is a time of increased ambiguity in the family boundary, in which the status and roles of the demented elder are no longer clear, and often not agreed upon. Not knowing if a parent is absent or present, the potential for ambivalence in the adult children is high. Within this intergenerational context, the main thesis of this paper is that the ambiguous loss of a parent with dementia provides fertile ground for increased ambivalence in intergenerational relations (Boss, 1999, 2002). The heightened ambiguity and resulting ambivalence may or may not be problematic, depending on cognitive awareness and family processes.
Casey P. Mainsbridge, Dean Cooley, Sharon P Fraser and Scott J Pedersen
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of a workplace intervention designed to interrupt prolonged occupational sitting time (POST) and its impact on the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of a workplace intervention designed to interrupt prolonged occupational sitting time (POST) and its impact on the self-reported health of a cohort of desk-based employees.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 43 participants received an interactive computer-based software intervention for 26 weeks. For the first 13 weeks the intervention passively prompted the participants to interrupt POST and perform brief bouts of non-purposeful movement. The second 13 weeks involved the passivity of the intervention being removed, with the intervention only accessible voluntarily by the participant. This approach was adopted to determine the sustainability of the intervention to change workplace health behaviour.
Findings
ANOVA results revealed a significant interaction between group and test occasion, F(2, 42)=2.79, p < 0.05, such that the experimental group increased their total health from pre-test to post-test (13 weeks), and to second post-test (26 weeks) with a medium effect size of Cohen’s d=0.37.
Research limitations/implications
An action research approach was implemented for this study, and hence the participants were organised into one group. Based on a communitarian model, the intervention aimed to monitor how desk-based employees adapted to specific health behaviours, and therefore a control group was not included.
Practical implications
Passively prompting desk-based employees to interrupt POST and perform non-purposeful movement at work improved self-reported health. Participant perceptions of health were maintained following the removal of the passive feature of the intervention.
Social implications
Interventions predicated on a social ecological model that modify how employees interact with the workplace environment might provide a framework for health behaviour change in populations where sitting is customary.
Originality/value
The passive approach used in this study removed the individual decision-making process to engage in health behaviour change, and established a sustainable effect on participant health.
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Kirsten Russell, Fiona Barnett, Sharon Varela, Simon Rosenbaum and Robert Stanton
The mental and physical health of those residing in Australian rural and remote communities is poorer compared to major cities. Physical health comorbidities contribute to almost…
Abstract
Purpose
The mental and physical health of those residing in Australian rural and remote communities is poorer compared to major cities. Physical health comorbidities contribute to almost 80% of premature mortality for people living with mental illness. Leisure time physical activity (LTPA) is a well-established intervention to improve physical and mental health. To address the physical and mental health of rural and remote communities through LTPA, the community’s level of readiness should be first determined. This study aims to use the community readiness model (CRM) to explore community readiness in a remote Australian community to address mental health through LTPA.
Design/methodology/approach
Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted using the CRM on LTPA to address mental health. Quantitative outcomes scored the community’s stage of readiness for LTPA programmes to address mental health using the CRM categories of one (no awareness) to nine (high level of community ownership). Qualitative outcomes were thematically analysed, guided by Braun and Clark.
Findings
The community scored six (initiation) for community efforts and knowledge of LTPA programmes and seven (stabilisation) for leadership. The community’s attitude towards LTPA and resources for programmes scored four (pre-planning), and knowledge of LTPA scored three (vague awareness).
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first Australian study to use CRM to examine community readiness to use LTPA to improve mental health in a remote community. The CRM was shown to be a useful tool to identify factors for intervention design that might optimise community empowerment in using LTPA to improve mental health at the community level.
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Peyman Rafiee, Golta Khatibi and Michael Zehetbauer
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the major reliability issues of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) under mechanical and environmental loading conditions…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the major reliability issues of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) under mechanical and environmental loading conditions. Furthermore, a comprehensive study on the nonlinear behavior of silicon MEMS devices is presented and different aspects of this phenomenon are discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
Regarding the reliability investigations, the most important failure aspects affecting the proper operation of the MEMS components with focus on those caused by environmental and mechanical loads are reviewed. These studies include failures due to fatigue loads, mechanical vibration, mechanical shock, humidity, temperature and particulate contamination. In addition, the influence of squeeze film air damping on the dynamic response of MEMS devices is briefly discussed. A further subject of this paper is discussion of studies on the nonlinearity of silicon MEMS. For this purpose, after a description of the basic principles of nonlinearity, the consequences of nonlinear phenomena such as frequency shift, hysteresis and harmonic generation and their effects on the device performance are reviewed. Special attention is paid to the mode coupling effect between the resonant modes as a result of energy transfer because of the nonlinearity of silicon. For a better understanding of these effects, the nonlinear behavior of silicon is demonstrated by using the example of Si cantilever beams.
Findings
It is shown that environmental and mechanical loads can influence on proper operation of the MEMS components and lead to early fracture. In addition, it is demonstrated that nonlinearity modifies dynamic response and leads to new phenomena such as frequency shift and mode coupling. Finally, some ideas are given as possible future areas of research works.
Originality/value
This is a review paper and aimed to review the latest manuscripts published in the field of reliability and nonlinearity of the MEMS structures.
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This paper aims to evaluate children’s literature that focuses on body size issues for elementary readers.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate children’s literature that focuses on body size issues for elementary readers.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper used an evaluative tool based on three categories: content, audience and other considerations.
Findings
The evaluative tool was used to evaluate six children’s books identified as critical literature supporting body image. The books evaluated focused on body image but were also tied to other themes such as body positivity, body neutrality, self-love, acceptance, diversity and inclusivity. All books acknowledged and celebrated the uniqueness of varied body types.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the number of books evaluated, the evaluative results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to evaluate other critical children’s literature focused on body image.
Practical implications
The paper offers recommendations for parents, teachers and schools.
Originality/value
This paper encourages the need for parents, teachers and schools to help children embrace body positivity and neutrality so that they would love their skin.
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José O. Maldifassi and Javier Chacón Caorsi
– The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that could help differentiate between successful and unsuccessful small- and medium-sized exporter firms.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that could help differentiate between successful and unsuccessful small- and medium-sized exporter firms.
Design/methodology/approach
A causal model of the exporting process was developed from the literature, from which a set of hypotheses was posed and a questionnaire was made. A sample of 37 small and medium exporter firms in Chile was subject to the questionnaire. From the data collected, the critical aspects that could help differentiate between successful and unsuccessful exporting organizations were statistically identified.
Findings
The following aspects are the ones that could allow the statistical differentiation of successful and unsuccessful exporter firms: incentives at the firm level for increasing output, improved operations planning, international quality assurance certification, large percentage of sales devoted to innovation, highly frequent innovations, qualified and innovative workers, local alliances for innovation, and the possession of strategic allies at destination
Research limitations/implications
The results of this research can be useful for intending small and medium exporter firms in Chile, as well as for firms in other developing countries. The results are based on a rather small sample of exporting firms in Chile; therefore, the generalizability of the results cannot be assured
Originality/value
A detailed model of the exporting process of small and medium firm (SMF) was developed that is a contribution of the theoretical framework related to SMFs’ exports. The findings could be used by government agencies to offer better guidance to SMF intending to become exporters