Fatima Pirbhai‐Illich, K.C. Nat Turner and Theresa Y. Austin
The purpose of this paper is to examine how digital technologies were introduced in a collaborative literacy intervention to address a population long underserved by traditional…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how digital technologies were introduced in a collaborative literacy intervention to address a population long underserved by traditional schools: the Aboriginals of Canada.
Design/methodology/approach
Situated within a critical ethnographic project, this paper examines how digital technologies were introduced. The questions focused on: how can critical multiliteracies be used to engage students, in both academic and digital literacies development? In what ways does participation in multimodal media production provide evidence of teachers and students' critical literacy development?
Findings
Digital literacies as a part of multiliteracies were developed in teaching contexts where learning is challenged by many factors.
Research limitations/implications
The paper reports on the achievement and the struggles that remain. Implications for further research and teacher education are also drawn from the experience of implementing a broader definition of literacy in academic settings with Aboriginal students of Canada.
Originality/value
The inclusion of a digital curriculum provides possibilities for greater academic success for marginalized students in both mainstream and alternative schools.
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Theresa A. Kirchner, Linda L. Golden and Patrick L. Brockett
This longitudinal research examines US symphony orchestra sector organizations to determine individual efficiencies in allocating resources (donations, governmental/private…
Abstract
Purpose
This longitudinal research examines US symphony orchestra sector organizations to determine individual efficiencies in allocating resources (donations, governmental/private funding, etc.) for desirable outputs (concerts, educational programs, community outreach). It provides researchers and managers with a tool for identifying, assessing and mitigating organizational inefficiencies.
Design/methodology/approach
This study assesses relative efficiencies in performing arts organizations using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a widely-used nonparametric data-intensive benchmarking technique that determines an optimal “production frontier” of best-practice organizations among their peers and assesses their abilities to turn multivariate inputs into multivariate desired outputs.
Findings
This analysis highlights efficiency differences in a wide range of orchestras in converting available resources into performance-related outputs. It provides individual arts organizations with useful results for developing practical benchmarks to achieve organizational efficiency improvement.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides constructive benchmarking guidance for improving efficiencies of relatively-inefficient organizations. Future analysis can expand the scope to utilize a two-stage DEA model to provide more specific guidance to arts organizations.
Practical implications
This pragmatic analysis enables arts/culture institutions to assess their organizational efficiencies and identify opportunities to optimize resources in producing social outputs for their target markets.
Social implications
Efficiency improvements enable performing arts organizations to provide additional artistic/social services, with fewer resources, to larger audiences.
Originality/value
This research demonstrates the abilities of DEA analysis to assess both a sector and its individual organizations to determine efficiencies, identify sources of inefficiencies and assess longitudinal efficiency trends.
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Mukesh Kondala, Sai Sudhakar Nudurupati and Raja Phani Pappu
The circular economy (CE) represents an industry-wide transition from linear to circular processes. There has been a proliferation of literature on CE in the last decade. However…
Abstract
Purpose
The circular economy (CE) represents an industry-wide transition from linear to circular processes. There has been a proliferation of literature on CE in the last decade. However, the existing studies on the adaption of CE in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are scarce. This study aims to develop a research agenda and the way forward for future researchers focusing on the adoption of CE.
Design/methodology/approach
This article analyses the CE concepts through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). Coding and content analysis are performed to generate emergent themes with the help of “Atlas.ti” software.
Findings
The authors uncovered the contemporary significance of adopting CE and the state-of-the-art literature on CE. The study's findings fall into four broad themes: Technical know-how, resource and process optimization, reverse practices and technology and innovation. Ten thought-provoking questions were identified in the four themes that researchers can explore further in embracing CE to achieve sustainability in SMEs.
Practical implications
The study has highlighted the importance of CE adoption and CE's benefits to stakeholders across all three dimensions, i.e. social, economic and ecological. Practitioners can use the agenda in four themes to strengthen the practitioners' existing practices in SMEs to promote CE.
Originality/value
The study's uniqueness is the supply of current knowledge from diverse literature and practical consequences for SMEs. This study opens new lines of inquiry to adopt CE in SMEs, streamlining the existing literature into four themes to focus future research.
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Gary Davies, José I. Rojas-Méndez, Susan Whelan, Melisa Mete and Theresa Loo
This paper aims to critique human personality as a theory underpinning brand personality and to propose instead a theory from human perception, and by doing so, to identify…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to critique human personality as a theory underpinning brand personality and to propose instead a theory from human perception, and by doing so, to identify universally relevant dimensions.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of published measures of brand personality, a re-analysis of two existing data bases and the analysis of one new database are used to argue and test for the dimensions derived from perception theory.
Findings
Existing work on brand personality suggests 16 separate dimensions for the construct, but some appear common to most measures. When non-orthogonal rotation is used to re-analyse existing trait data on brand personality, three dimensions derived from signalling and associated theory can emerge: sincerity (e.g. warm, friendly and agreeable), competence (e.g. competent, effective and efficient) and status (e.g. prestigious, elegant and sophisticated). The first two are common to most measures, status is not.
Research limitations/implications
Three dimensions derived from signalling and associated theory are proposed as generic, relevant to all contexts and cultures. They can be supplemented by context specific dimensions.
Practical implications
Measures of these three dimensions should be included in all measures of brand personality.
Originality/value
Prior work on brand personality has focussed on identifying apparently new dimensions for the construct. While most work is not theoretically based, some have argued for the relevance of human personality. That model is challenged, and an alternative approach to both theory and analysis is proposed and successfully tested.
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Theresa Hilliard and Presha E. Neidermeyer
Changing workplace demographics reflect a rising number of women in the traditionally male-dominated field of business. The purpose of this study is to investigate how upwardly…
Abstract
Purpose
Changing workplace demographics reflect a rising number of women in the traditionally male-dominated field of business. The purpose of this study is to investigate how upwardly mobile women may impact the commission and type of white-collar crime, contributing to the scarce literature on gender distinctions in criminal behavior while comparing criminal trends globally. Women’s increased representation in positions of power in business provides them with increased fraud opportunities prompting the authors to ask: in their areas of opportunity, do women and men commit the same types of white-collar crime and at the same rates, and how does this phenomena vary globally?
Design/methodology/approach
Using a database from the Institute for Fraud Prevention, 5,441 fraud cases are examined from 93 nations for the annual periods from 2002 until 2011. Ordinal logistic regression methods are used to test for differences in gendered criminal behavior by fraud offense type controlling for age, position, education, compensation level and country context.
Findings
Internationally, results from the study indicate that female fraudsters are three times more likely than male fraudsters to commission crimes of asset misappropriation in the workplace. Upon further investigation, stratifying the data by geographical region, findings from the study demonstrate that female fraudsters are more likely than male fraudsters to commit asset misappropriation in the following geographical regions: Africa (three times as likely), Asia (twice as likely), Canada (three times as likely), China (five times as likely), Europe (twice as likely), the Middle East (four times as likely), Oceania (four times as likely), the United Kingdom (eight times as likely) and the United States of America (twice as likely).
Originality/value
Evidence from this study should be of importance to multinational enterprises, auditors and fraud examiners, as asset misappropriation constitutes 87 per cent of all fraud cases globally. Further, these findings prompt the need for researchers to develop this area of research.
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Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are…
Abstract
Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.
Wan Nailah Abdullah and Roshima Said
The chapter focuses on the personal characteristics of top executives in companies involved in corporate financial crime as well as the introduction of human governance as one of…
Abstract
The chapter focuses on the personal characteristics of top executives in companies involved in corporate financial crime as well as the introduction of human governance as one of the mechanisms in preventing corporate misbehaviour. This chapter discusses directors’ and top management teams’ personal characteristics – in the context of corporate governance – that may influence the occurrence of corporate financial crime. The study further proposes the human governance factor as a possible mechanism to improve corporate governance in preventing such misbehaviour. This chapter highlights the personal characteristics of top executives, which may become the indicators of corporate financial crime, as well as human governance, which is shown to be one of the most important mechanisms of corporate governance for corporate financial crime prevention.
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Theresa M. Floyd and Wookje (UJ) Sung
Post-merger integration (PMI) success depends heavily on the social and cultural integration of the two legacy organizations. Given that organizational members work and exchange…
Abstract
Post-merger integration (PMI) success depends heavily on the social and cultural integration of the two legacy organizations. Given that organizational members work and exchange information through social relationships, social network analysis can serve as a useful tool to identify key actors, address areas of concern, and measure PMI success. However, few PMI studies have employed a social network perspective or social network analysis. In this chapter, the authors review the current literature on PMI and organizational change, including the few studies that use social networks approach. The authors also identify recent developments in social networks and organizational change research that can improve our understanding of PMI processes and propose promising avenues for future research. Further, the authors identify obstacles for social network research on PMI and provide practical advice for overcoming them.