Shanthi Johnson, Juanita Bacsu, Tom McIntosh, Bonnie Jeffery and Nuelle Novik
Social isolation and loneliness are global issues experienced by many seniors, especially immigrant and refugee seniors. Guided by the five-stage methodological framework proposed…
Abstract
Purpose
Social isolation and loneliness are global issues experienced by many seniors, especially immigrant and refugee seniors. Guided by the five-stage methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley and more recently Levac, Colquhoun and O’Brien, the purpose of this paper is to explore the existing literature on social isolation and loneliness among immigrant and refugee seniors in Canada.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a literature search of several databases including: PubMed; MEDLINE; CINAHL; Web of Science; HealthStar Ovid; PschyInfo Ovid; Social Services Abstracts; AgeLine; Public Health Database, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library. In total, 17 articles met the inclusion criteria.
Findings
Based on the current literature five themes related to social isolation and loneliness emerged: loss; living arrangements; dependency; barriers and challenges; and family conflict.
Research limitations/implications
Given the increasing demographic of aging immigrants in Canada, it is useful to highlight existing knowledge on social isolation and loneliness to facilitate research, policy and programs to support this growing population.
Practical implications
The population is aging around the world and it is also becoming increasingly diverse particularly in the high-income country context. Understanding and addressing social isolation is important for immigrant and refugee seniors, given the sociocultural and other differences.
Social implications
Social isolation is a waste of human resource and value created by seniors in the communities.
Originality/value
The paper makes a unique contribution by focusing on immigrant and refugee seniors.
Details
Keywords
Looks at the challenges facing higher education in the future. Highlights the combined problem of unprecedented student demand for places and the acceleration in the retirement of…
Abstract
Looks at the challenges facing higher education in the future. Highlights the combined problem of unprecedented student demand for places and the acceleration in the retirement of existing professors that is facing North American higher education. Suggests that this problem has been at least in part addressed through the use of part‐time or adjunct professors. However, it is argued that these models create administrative problems and re not to the advantage of the professors or the standards of education. Explores the tension between academics and university administrators.
Details
Keywords
William S. Compton, Don T. Johnson and Robert A. Kunkel
This study seeks to examine the market returns of five domestic real estate investment trust (REIT) indices to determine whether they exhibit a turn‐of‐the‐month (TOM) effect.
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to examine the market returns of five domestic real estate investment trust (REIT) indices to determine whether they exhibit a turn‐of‐the‐month (TOM) effect.
Design/methodology/approach
A test is carried out for the TOM effect by employing a battery of parametric and non‐parametric statistical tests that address the concerns of distributional assumption violations. An OLS regression model compares the TOM returns with the rest‐of‐the‐month (ROM) returns and an ANOVA model examines the TOM period while controlling for monthly seasonalities. A non‐parametric t‐test examines whether the TOM returns are greater than the ROM returns and a Wilcoxon signed rank test examines the matched‐pairs of TOM and ROM returns.
Findings
A TOM effect in all five domestic REIT indices is found: real estate 50 REIT, all‐REIT, equity REIT, hybrid REIT, and mortgage REIT. More specifically, the six‐day TOM period, on average, accounts for over 100 per cent of the monthly return for the three non‐mortgage REITs, while the ROM period generates a negative return. Additionally, the TOM returns are greater than the ROM returns in 75 per cent of the months.
Research limitations/implications
The data are limited to five‐years of daily returns and five different indices. Thus, the results could be biased on the selected time period.
Practical implications
These results are important to REIT portfolio managers and investors. Domestic REIT markets experience a TOM effect from which investors and portfolio managers can benefit.
Orginality/value
The daily returns of all five major domestic REIT indices are examined. Data are evaluated which include daily returns after the passage of the REIT Modernization Act of 1999 that resulted in numerous changes for REITs. Whether the TOM effect can be detected with both parametric and non‐parametric tests is examined.
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Details
Keywords
Sara E. Green, Rosalyn Benjamin Darling and Loren Wilbers
This chapter reviews qualitative research on parenting children with disabilities published over the last 50 years to explore whether shifts in academic discourse and changes in…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter reviews qualitative research on parenting children with disabilities published over the last 50 years to explore whether shifts in academic discourse and changes in professional training have affected research on parenting and/or the experiences of parents who are the subject of such research.
Methodology/approach
An extensive literature search was conducted, and 78 peer-reviewed, qualitative studies on the experience of parenting a child with a disability were included in the sample. Themes were extracted from the reviewed literature and compared across decades.
Findings
The findings of the present review suggest that some aspects of the parenting experience have changed very little. In particular, parents continue to experience negative reactions such as stress and anomie, especially early in their children’s lives, and socially imposed barriers such as unhelpful professionals, and a lack of needed services continue to create problems and inspire an entrepreneurial response. In addition, stigmatizing encounters with others continue to be a common occurrence. In contrast to earlier decades, studies conducted in more recent years have begun to use the social model of disability as an analytic frame and also increasingly report that parents are questioning and challenging the concept of “normal” itself.
Social/practical implications
Additional improvements are needed in professional education and services to reduce the negative reactions experienced by parents of children with disabilities.
Originality/value of chapter
The findings of this meta-analysis can serve as a guide to future research on parenting children with disabilities.
Details
Keywords
Sarah Kayongo, Marilyn Tom and Lars Mathiassen
The purpose of this paper is to understand how microfinance initiatives (MFIs) are organized and orchestrated to serve internal and external stakeholders.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand how microfinance initiatives (MFIs) are organized and orchestrated to serve internal and external stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative case study of three international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)–CARE, Oxfam and Grameen Foundation–provided insights into how they each organize and orchestrate MFIs. We used Pettigrew's (1987, 1990) contextual inquiry framework to guide our data collection and analysis of 20 interviews to understand how capacity building, technology adaptation and outcome measurement interact with content, context and process.
Findings
We found that CARE's classical model exemplifies decades of successful MFI service delivery, serving as a benchmark for other NGOs. Oxfam's adaptive model builds on CARE's model to leverage MFIs as platforms for achieving multisectoral outcomes. Finally, Grameen Foundation's innovative model builds on both CARE's classical and Oxfam's adaptive models, using human-centered design and scalable business practices. We also found overlaps between the three models, demonstrating the continuous adaptation of MFI models based on changing contexts, such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Research limitations/implications
Our research focused on three NGOs headquartered in the USA, involving interviews with staff members having microfinance expertise. We offer analytical generalizability while emphasizing that any change in cultural context, institutional setting or operational conditions may produce different outcomes.
Originality/value
We provide exemplary and comparative insights into key issues related to organizing and orchestrating MFIs for NGO practitioners, scholars and policymakers who wish to understand prevailing service delivery models. Finally, we demonstrate the contextual inquiry framework as a viable approach to learn how NGOs organize and orchestrate MFIs through content, context and process.
Details
Keywords
Armand Gilinsky Jr, Julia Mallon and Adele Santana
This case should be paired with textbook chapters that cover the important roles of leadership, staffing and corporate culture in the strategy implementation effort. The case can…
Abstract
Theoretical basis
This case should be paired with textbook chapters that cover the important roles of leadership, staffing and corporate culture in the strategy implementation effort. The case can also be used to review textbook chapters covering competitive and industry analysis, differentiation strategies, goal setting and financial analysis. In advanced courses, readings on leadership and corporate social responsibility should be assigned to inform debates regarding Vasu’s style and his commitment to creating shared value. Alternatively, instructors in retail management courses could assign readings that investigate the linkages of human resource management, service quality and other behaviors to optimal supermarket performance.
Research methodology
The authors revised this case and Teaching Noes from an MBA student case writing project in Fall 2017. The student conducted focus groups with Pacific Market’s consumers, worked with Vasu and his consultant, Tom Scott, a former CEO of a local grocery chain, supplemented with secondary industry research and demographic information about the cities of Sebastopol and Santa Rosa. Meetings to develop the company mission statement and long-term goals took place over Fall 2017. Tom provided the operating information and trade area analysis used in the case, and Vasu provided financial statements and background information.
Case overview/synopsis
After a career as a turnaround specialist for Silicon Valley high-tech startups, Vasudev Narayanan (Vasu) acquired Pacific Market, a two-store chain in Sonoma County, California, in 2013. By Fall 2017, rival local chains had expanded, online vendors threatened in-store shopping, the Amazon-Whole Foods combination threatened disruption, and consumers increasingly insisted on “buying local.” Vasu aimed to grow revenues 50 percent by 2020, and fund Good Karma Foundation, a charity in his native India. Strategies to achieve these objectives included infrastructure investments, employee profit sharing, changing the mix of products and amenities or finding a buyer for the operation.
Complexity academic level
The Pacific Market case is intended for undergraduate or MBA-level strategic management courses. The case pairs well with coverage of how leaders approach the strategy implementation effort, a topic typically introduced toward the end of the course. The case gives students practice in applying strategy formulation concepts and frameworks, e.g. PESTEL analysis, Porter’s industry forces, key industry drivers, strategic group mapping, SWOT analysis, corporate social responsibility and financial ratio analysis. Instructors might also use this case to cover similar material in retail management courses. The case is highly suitable as a written assignment for an examination and/or for team presentations.
Details
Keywords
Millions of children participate in community sports clubs and leagues each weekend across the UK, and other countries. The rates of participation and the cultural significance of…
Abstract
Millions of children participate in community sports clubs and leagues each weekend across the UK, and other countries. The rates of participation and the cultural significance of these sports in different countries are not always matched by recognition or support from governments. Policy interest in sport in the UK has, in recent years at least, tended to focus on elite performance and the hosting of events such as the Olympics and the UEFA European Championships. Commitment to grassroots and community sports has waned, or been limited to how sport and/or physical activity can help to deliver other policy goals. The lack of funding provided to community sports clubs can lead to young people with limited resources being excluded from clubs. Inequalities in participation in sport and physical activity were exacerbated during lockdowns and restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic. This chapter explores some of the contemporary challenges facing grassroots youth sports clubs and highlights the possible advantages of adopting a different approach to them, including consideration of the informal care provided by sports clubs and the role that they can play during critical moments in children and families' everyday lives.
Details
Keywords
Lorraine Brown, John Edwards and Heather Hartwell
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the changes in emotion brought by eating the midday meal. Many aspects of eating out have been studied, yet emotions remain an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the changes in emotion brought by eating the midday meal. Many aspects of eating out have been studied, yet emotions remain an under‐researched area, despite having been shown to play a significant role in food consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports findings from a qualitative study, involving semi‐structured interviews with British undergraduates about changes in their emotional state after eating their lunchtime meal. Data were analysed through the technique of thematic analysis.
Findings
Participants observed a clear relationship between their emotions and eating a meal, with changes noted in concentration, energy and happiness levels. The quality of the food eaten was an issue of concern to participants; access to a healthy meal was seen to be important, given the perceived benefits for emotional and physical health. Finally, eating was deemed to be both a physical and social activity. Eating in company enhanced the emotional experience of dining, as it offered the opportunity to bond with friends. Recommendations for further research are made.
Originality/value
This research addresses a paucity of information on the link between food and emotion, helping to better understand the role of emotions when eating out. Further research into different settings is called for in order to broaden the understanding of the relationship between eating and emotional state, and to find out whether or not similar findings emerge from alternative settings.