Lluís Solé, Laia Sole-Coromina and Simon Ellis Poole
Creativity is nowadays seen as a desirable goal in higher education. In artistic disciplines, creative processes are frequently employed to assess or evaluate different students'…
Abstract
Purpose
Creativity is nowadays seen as a desirable goal in higher education. In artistic disciplines, creative processes are frequently employed to assess or evaluate different students' skills. The purpose of this study is to identify potential pitfalls for students involved in artistic practices in which being creative is essential.
Design/methodology/approach
Three focus groups involving Education Faculty members from different artistic disciplines allowed for the identification of several constraints when creativity was invoked. This initial study used a quantitative approach and took place in the “Universitat de Vic” (Catalonia, Spain).
Findings
Findings suggest a correlation with existing literature and simultaneously point at some nuances that require consideration: emerging aspects embedded in creative processes that may help decrease some limiting effects that being creative can generate.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitations of this research derive from the very nature of the methodological approach. Focus group has been the single used source. Other means of collecting data, such as the analysis of programs, could be used in the future.
Originality/value
This case study, while culturally specific, offers a useful insight into the potential of further work in non-artistic disciplines but crucially across disciplines. It has tremendous value for the development of intercultural understanding in the higher education sector, specifically in terms of assessment.
Details
Keywords
As an exploration of how “impact” might be reconsidered, the purpose of this paper is to suggest that current contemporary understandings of “impact” fail practice and research by…
Abstract
Purpose
As an exploration of how “impact” might be reconsidered, the purpose of this paper is to suggest that current contemporary understandings of “impact” fail practice and research by obscuring the space for reflexive criticality that is crucial for an individual or organisation to flourish. That it thus leads to an already predefined enculturated understanding of “impact”.
Design/methodology/approach
Offering some interrogation and folkloristic analogy of the meaning of “impact”, three brief expositions of differing arts-based práxes concerned mainly with reflection and connection, are then discussed through the lens of Ricœur’s et al. (1978) conflation of the hermeneutical process with phenomenology.
Findings
It is suggested that the implications of restoring, refreshing, or representing “impact” give license to a personal/professional revitalisation, and that reformulating an understanding of “impact” through re/search might offer a potential pedagogic tool, and alternative organising feature.
Originality/value
Through the introduction of inter-disciplinary thinking and práxes, the paper offers novel autoethnographic arts-based methods for personal, professional and organisational development and growth.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to inform readers of the cultural and scientific basis of the Mediterranean diet.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to inform readers of the cultural and scientific basis of the Mediterranean diet.
Design/methodology/approach
This review was compiled using peer reviewed articles and with the support of Oldways, the non‐profit organisation responsible for designing the Mediterranean diet pyramid in association with Harvard School of Public Health. It is designed to create a resource, which could be disseminated within the food industry to stimulate debate and an understanding of the commercial opportunities for products based on the Mediterranean diet.
Findings
From the review of information on the subject there is compelling evidence of the benefits of a Mediterranean diet having a beneficial effect on health status with a reduction in conditions such as coronary heart disease and cancers.
Research limitations/implications
This is a literature review based on large studies of the Mediterranean diet and is not an intervention study.
Practical implications
It is hoped that the food industry can consider the scientific and market research evidence presented and, through innovation and new brand development, offer the possibility of products, which will promote choice and access to increasingly healthy foods.
Social implications
The compilation of evidence citing the benefits of the Mediterranean diet supports an easily adapted and flavourful diet with numerous health benefits. For the food industry it provides an original concept designed to support the research and development of new initiatives to promote healthy food products.
Originality/value
The benefits of the Mediterranean diet are shown to have significant benefits on health and are easily implemented.
Details
Keywords
Janet Mawby, Allen Foster and David Ellis
The purpose of this paper is to describe one of the preliminary results from interviews conducted as part of a PhD study into examining the role of peer and family influences on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe one of the preliminary results from interviews conducted as part of a PhD study into examining the role of peer and family influences on information-seeking behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
The principal method of data collection was 38 semi-structured critical incident interviews, based on an interview guide and a short questionnaire to collect factual data. Some social network analysis of interviewees’ information sources is considered. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis were used to code the interview transcripts. A naturalistic approach to everyday information seeking is taken.
Findings
One of the preliminary findings of this research is that the notion of a new type of information has emerged – disposable information. A new type of information-seeking behaviour is also suggested here for disposable information – disposable information seeking. Disposable information is task specific and likely to only be required by an individual on a one-off basis, causing different everyday life information seeking (ELIS) patterns to emerge. Ultimately, people are only prepared to expend effort to get quality information if they perceive a value or further, continued use of that information.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the research location and participant population, the results may lack transferability. Further research into this area is advised.
Practical implications
The paper has implications about how people may search for and use information in certain situations where information is perceived as relevant to a particular task but unlikely to be needed in the future.
Originality/value
This paper introduces the new concept of disposable information and disposable information-seeking behaviour.
Details
Keywords
Kwang-Ho Lee and Sunghyup Sean Hyun
This study aims to examine the relationships between three styles of conflict management [cooperative conflict management (COP), competitive conflict management (COM) and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the relationships between three styles of conflict management [cooperative conflict management (COP), competitive conflict management (COM) and avoidance conflict management (AVO)], the subjective relational experience, perceived insider status, organization-based self-esteem and employees’ service innovation behavior in the airline industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Through both offline and online survey methods, a total of 304 Korean employees of eight airline firms in Asia were asked to complete the questionnaire. A structural equation modeling analysis was conducted to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
COP and AVO had significant positive effects on the subjective relational experience, and COM had a significant negative effect on the subjective relational experience. In the subsequent process, the subjective relational experience had a significant positive effect on the perceived insider status but not on organization-based self-esteem and employees’ service innovation behavior. Finally, the perceived insider status and organization-based self-esteem had significant positive effects on employees’ service innovation behavior.
Social implications
The results have important practical implications for developing human resource management (HRM) practices in airline firms. More specifically, airline firms should provide management training courses that encourage team leaders to create environments in which employees can form an attitude of “we are in it together”, collect conflict issues from employees in a unanimous manner and then resolve them smoothly without further problems and avoid treating conflicts as win-lose contests. These guidelines may help employees unwind from conflict situations and maintain positive relationships with their colleagues.
Originality/value
Previous studies have paid little attention to effects of conflict management styles on employees’ service innovation behavior through positive psychological experiences based on a holistic model. The results offer new insights into the extended model and have valuable implications for HRM practices in the airline industry.
Details
Keywords
D.E. Santos‐Reyes and T. Lawlor‐Wright
The demand for more stringent environmental regulation on product end‐of‐life and production processes is enhanced by customer concerns for environmental protection. This has…
Abstract
The demand for more stringent environmental regulation on product end‐of‐life and production processes is enhanced by customer concerns for environmental protection. This has increased the need for industry to address environmental issues in the product design process. The emergence of international standards for environmental management, such as the ISO 14000 series, has also created a strong incentive for manufacturers to promote environmentally conscious products and processes. Considerable progress has been made in design for the environment (DFE). However, there is still a need for a structured approach to DFE that addresses environmental concerns in a coherent way. This approach should also support an environmental management system (EMS). This paper describes an organised process to address the problem of integrating environmental concerns into an early product design process that is consistent with such international standards as ISO 14001 EMS. This approach may help to improve the environmental performance of a product and to support an organisation’s EMS.
Details
Keywords
Gunilla Ölundh Sandström and Johan Tingström
The purpose of this paper is to explore the driving forces for taking environmental considerations to a higher level in a project involving radical innovation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the driving forces for taking environmental considerations to a higher level in a project involving radical innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative case study is based on ten in‐depth interviews with respondents from the development team for the DryQ project at ABB.
Findings
In order to achieve substantial environmental benefits, radical product development is essential. Radical product development has attributes that differ from those of incremental product development. It is important that these differences be acknowledged when preparing to manage environmental challenges in development projects. In radical product development, environmental considerations should be taken into account very early on, at the strategic level of the design process. Setting challenging environmental targets and rewarding environmental improvements was crucial to the outcome of the project presented in this paper.
Research limitations/implications
The research presented here describes one case in one manufacturing company. Readers can, however, learn from this case and apply the insights gained to their own research or use the findings to promote new thinking in their own organisation.
Practical implications
Suggestions are made about how to manage environmental considerations in radical product development.
Originality/value
Few studies combine ecodesign and radical innovation theories, as is done here. Yet this is not a theoretical paper but an industry‐based study of eco‐innovation, from which researchers and practitioners can learn.
Details
Keywords
Fabien Brones, Eduardo Zancul and Marly M. Carvalho
This study discusses the application of Insider Action Research to the systematic integration of an environmental perspective into industrial product innovation processes and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study discusses the application of Insider Action Research to the systematic integration of an environmental perspective into industrial product innovation processes and projects. Applying Insider Action Research, it aims at a broader integration between top-down and bottom-up and soft and hard perspectives in the intersection of ecodesign and innovation and project management disciplines.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design is based on action research and specificities from Insider Action Research to capture the change and transition aspects involving two main action research cycles. The longitudinal five-year research was carried out within a Brazilian cosmetics company. The outcomes of these cycles are analysed including customisation of ecodesign tools and related application, and views of different stakeholders of the challenge for the transition.
Findings
This paper describes an action research application aiming at faster learning loops in the field of sustainable innovation management. As a second contribution, an Ecodesign Transition Framework (ETF) is proposed, combining both technical and soft sides. The proposed framework is structured in three levels (strategic, tactical and operational), with two complementary perspectives of a mature ecodesign pattern and a transition pathway.
Practical implications
The action research led to the intended outcomes both on the applied side, with increased diffusion of ecodesign in the company, and on the research side, with the ETF formulation and application. Practitioners interested in sustainable innovation can follow the ETF procedures, challenges faced, lessons learnt and conclusions.
Originality/value
The Insider Action Research addressed the literature gap to better relate the recommendations in the field to business reality. The resulting ETF brings a novel perspective for integrating environmental considerations in the product innovation process of a company. It organises the soft issues to be considered for the necessary transition towards such integration, consolidating and advancing previous theoretical views of ecodesign, with associated new practical implications.
Details
Keywords
Jill Bamforth, Charles Jebarajakirthy and Gus Geursen
The money management behaviour of undergraduates is a noteworthy study for many stakeholders, as these students are more likely to carry forward this behaviour into later life…
Abstract
Purpose
The money management behaviour of undergraduates is a noteworthy study for many stakeholders, as these students are more likely to carry forward this behaviour into later life. The literature on student money management behaviour heavily focuses on financial literacy. However, economic, social and psychological factors also affect undergraduates’ money management behaviour. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to empirically investigate how undergraduates respond to and account for these factors in their money management behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was carried out in Australia. This study adopted a qualitative exploratory approach. The data were collected using six focus group discussions (FGDs) held in one Australian university, in which 40 undergraduates participated.
Findings
The key themes identified from the thematic analysis include undergraduates’ understanding of money management and managing economic, social and psychological aspects relating to undergraduates’ money management behaviour. Several subthemes were identified under each theme, which specifically showed how undergraduates manage and respond to each of these factors relating to their money management behaviour.
Research limitations/implications
This study was conducted with the data collected from a relatively small sample of respondents and was limited only to undergraduates. Moreover, this study was conducted in Australia, indicating that some of the results might be specific to the Australian context.
Practical implications
The authors have suggested promoting multiple payment methods and internet usage to undergraduates, and providing them with stress management programmes will help them maintain prudent money management behaviour.
Originality/value
The extant literature on undergraduates’ money management behaviour tends to focus on financial literacy. This study extends the scope of the literature beyond financial literacy and has shown how undergraduates respond to economic, social and psychological aspects relating to money management behaviour. This study has applied a qualitative exploratory approach, in contrast to quantitative methods which have generally been applied for studies relating to undergraduates’ money management behaviour.
Details
Keywords
Jill Bamforth, Charles Jebarajakirthy and Gus Geursen
The money management behavior of undergraduates determines their smooth transition into adulthood. Economic, social and psychological factors also affect undergraduates’ money…
Abstract
Purpose
The money management behavior of undergraduates determines their smooth transition into adulthood. Economic, social and psychological factors also affect undergraduates’ money management behavior. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how undergraduates manage and respond to economic, social and psychological factors affecting their money management behavior, and to examine whether this response changes as they make progress in their degree.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting a qualitative exploratory approach, this study examined Australian undergraduates as they face many challenges to their money management behavior. The data were collected using six focus group discussions, held in three Australian universities, in which 47 undergraduates participated.
Findings
The findings have shown that their approach to manage spending, income, saving, peer relationships and stress changes as they make progress in their degree. However, they shared similar approaches to investment, followed parental money management advice and used technology for cost reduction, irrespective of the progress in their degree.
Research limitations/implications
This study was conducted with the data collected from a relatively small sample of respondents and was limited only to undergraduates. Moreover, this study was conducted in Australia, indicating that some of the results might be specific to the Australian context.
Practical implications
The findings of this study can be utilized by governments, financial institutions, educational institutions and parents who are interested in inculcating prudent money management behavior in undergraduates.
Originality/value
This study extends the scope of the literature beyond financial literacy, and has shown how undergraduates respond to economic, social and psychological aspects relating to money management behavior and how these responses vary as they make progress in their degree. This study has applied a qualitative exploratory approach, in contrast to quantitative methods which have generally been applied for studies relating to undergraduates’ money management behavior.