scholarly journals Value co-production through external communication consulting

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 455-470
Author(s):  
Helena Kantanen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the prerequisites of value co-production by a communication consultant and workshop participants during a communication improvement programme carried out in a medium-sized family firm. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws from a socio-constructivist view of learning that emphasises participatory processes. It utilises the value co-production concept, referring to collaborative, dialogic activities between the consultant and the client. The theoretical framework includes the transcoder, re-interpreter, and free creator roles of a consultant as realised in a consultancy process characterised by dialogic interaction and equity. The approach is qualitative, and the data come from the expectations of the management team, a video recording of a communication improvement workshop, insights produced in the workshop, and a research journal. Findings The roles of a consultant were found to be those of organiser, transcoder, re-interpreter, and co-creator. Additionally, a dialogue facilitator role was highlighted as a central prerequisite of value co-production. The importance of a positive spirit in consultancy sessions was questioned because problems can thereby be hidden behind positivity. The value of confusing or even destructive episodes was emphasised as a source of new perspectives. Research limitations/implications There are limitations related to the quality of the video recordings, and that the company employees did not yet evaluate the value gained in the long run. Practical implications This paper shows that a communication consultant gains insights from company representatives’ insider views in conflict-management situations, and that these conflicts can be useful for organisational learning. Originality/value This study contributes to research into strategic communication because it provides new knowledge about the consultant-client interface, particularly in value co-production, in the few studies conducted in the context of SMEs. The study utilises the novel research methodology of video analysis.

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 238-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Shoecraft ◽  
Bev Flückiger

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the practical use of video cameras during a study with young children. Design/methodology/approach This paper investigates the use of video cameras in a research study of young children’s utilisation of semiotic tools to communicate during play interactions in a Francophone preschool classroom in British Columbia. It examines the practical in-the-moment decision making of the researcher to support children’s accommodation of the video camera in their play space and ensure rich data were recorded. Findings Children accommodated the video cameras in four distinct ways. These included: curiosity and investigation of the video cameras; engagement in the video recording process with the researcher; incorporation of the video cameras into their play; and disregard of it. Practical implications The findings suggest that video recordings can be an effective method of data collection with young children and provide rich sources of data of the children and their learning through play when the researcher is flexible and responsive and supports children’s accommodation of it. Originality/value Recent advances in recording technology have resulted in the increased use of video recordings as a resource for gathering empirical data in qualitative research. Whilst the ethical considerations related to the use of video recordings as data for analysis in research with young children have been the subject of some discussion (Flewitt, 2005), the practical experience of using video cameras has received less attention.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Toni Ryynänen ◽  
Visa Heinonen

Purpose Temporal consumption experiences have been conceptualised as universal, subjective or practice-based experiences. Little research, though, addresses such experiences in conjunction with the repeated and situational consumption events that bring them about. The purpose of this paper is to extend current knowledge by examining how the temporal and situational intertwine during consumption events. For this purpose, the concept of a consumption timecycle based on the research data is constructed. Design/methodology/approach The paper takes a longitudinal and researcher-led approach to study temporal consumption experiences. The data was collected through participant observations, video recordings and personal subjective introspections during three consecutive annual Nordic motorcycle consumer trade shows (2014–2016). The data was analysed using an interpretive approach. Findings The results demonstrate five temporalities that characterise a consumption timecycle as follows: emerging, core, intensifying, fading and idle-time temporalities. The features of these temporal experiences are presented in the conclusions section of the paper. Research limitations/implications Recalled temporal experiences are mediated experiences and they differ from lived experiences. The transferability or generalisability of the results might be limited, as the case is situated in the Nordic context. Originality/value The paper presents the novel concept of a consumption timecycle that extends current debates about consumer time. The consumption timecycle is contrasted with established temporal concepts in consumer and marketing research.


1984 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30
Author(s):  
Donald S. Martin ◽  
Ming-Shiunn Huang

The actor/observer effect was examined by Storms in a 1973 study which manipulated perceptual orientation using video recordings. Storms' study was complex and some of his results equivocal. The present study attempted to recreate the perceptual reorientation effect using a simplified experimental design and an initial difference between actors and observers which was the reverse of the original effect. Female undergraduates performed a motor co-ordination task as actors while watched by observers. Each person made attributions for the actor's behaviour before and after watching a video recording of the performance. For a control group the video recording was of an unrelated variety show excerpt. Actors' initial attributions were less situational than observers'. Both actors and observers became more situational after the video replay but this effect occurred in both experimental and control groups. It was suggested the passage of time between first and second recording of attributions could account for the findings and care should be taken when interpreting Storms' (1973) study and others which did not adequately control for temporal effects.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Raluca Tanasa

Throws and catches in rhythmic gymnastics represent one of the fundamental groups of apparatus actuation. They represent for the hoop actions of great showmanship, but also elements of risk. The purpose of this paper is to improve the throw execution technique through biomechanical analysis in order to increase the performance of female gymnasts in competitions. The subjects of this study were 8 gymnasts aged 9-10 years old, practiced performance Rhythmic Gymnastics. The experiment consisted in video recording and the biomechanical analysis of the element “Hoop throw, step jump and catch”. After processing the video recordings using the Simi Motion software, we have calculated and obtained values concerning: launch height, horizontal distance and throwing angle between the arm and the horizontal. Pursuant to the data obtained, we have designed a series of means to improve the execution technique for the elements comprised within the research and we have implemented them in the training process. Regarding the interpretation of the results, it may be highlighted as follows: height and horizontal distance in this element have values of the correlation coefficient of 0.438 and 0.323, thus a mean significance of 0.005. The values of the arm/horizontal angle have improved for all the gymnasts, the correlation coefficient being 0.931, with a significance of 0.01. As a general conclusion, after the results obtained, it may be stated that the means introduced in the experiment have proven their efficacy, which has led to the optimisation of the execution technique, thus confirming the research hypothesis.


Author(s):  
Robin Pla ◽  
Thibaut Ledanois ◽  
Escobar David Simbana ◽  
Anaël Aubry ◽  
Benjamin Tranchard ◽  
...  

The main aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and the reliability of a swimming sensor to assess swimming performance and spatial-temporal variables. Six international male open-water swimmers completed a protocol which consisted of two training sets: a 6×100m individual medley and a continuous 800 m set in freestyle. Swimmers were equipped with a wearable sensor, the TritonWear to collect automatically spatial-temporal variables: speed, lap time, stroke count (SC), stroke length (SL), stroke rate (SR), and stroke index (SI). Video recordings were added as a “gold-standard” and used to assess the validity and the reliability of the TritonWear sensor. The results show that the sensor provides accurate results in comparison with video recording measurements. A very high accuracy was observed for lap time with a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) under 5% for each stroke (2.2, 3.2, 3.4, 4.1% for butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle respectively) but high error ranges indicate a dependence on swimming technique. Stroke count accuracy was higher for symmetric strokes than for alternate strokes (MAPE: 0, 2.4, 7.1 & 4.9% for butterfly, breaststroke, backstroke & freestyle respectively). The other variables (SL, SR & SI) derived from the SC and the lap time also show good accuracy in all strokes. The wearable sensor provides an accurate real time feedback of spatial-temporal variables in six international open-water swimmers during classical training sets (at low to moderate intensities), which could be a useful tool for coaches, allowing them to monitor training load with no effort.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-56
Author(s):  
Ahmet Özçam

Purpose An aggregate production function has been used in macroeconomic analysis for a long time, even though it seems that it is conceptually confusing and problematic. The purpose of this paper is to argue that the measurement problem related to the heterogenous capital input that exists in macroeconomics is also relevant to microeconomic market situations. Design/methodology/approach The author constructed a microeconomic market model to address both the problems of the measurement of the physical capital and of substitutability between labor and capital in the short run using two types of technologies: labor neutral and labor reducing. The author proposed that labor and physical capital inputs are complementary in the short run and can become substitutes only in the long run when the technology advances. Findings The author found that even if the technology improves at a fast rate over time, there are then diminishing returns of profits to technology and an upper limit to profits. Moreover, the author showed that under the labor-reducing technology, labor class earns more initially as technology improves, but their incomes start declining after some threshold level of passage of time. Originality/value The author cautioned the applied researcher that the estimated labor and capital coefficients of generalized Cobb–Douglas and constant elasticity of substitution of types of production functions could not be interpreted as partial elasticities of labor and capital if in reality the data come from fixed-proportions types of processes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Shai Rudin

Purpose This study aims to examine the responses and perceptions of Israeli Arab teachers toward multicultural and educational issues concerning Jewish–Arab relations. Design/methodology/approach This study is a qualitative research. The study included 44 novice Arab teachers, who teach Hebrew in the Arab sector and are currently studying toward their masters’ degree at a teacher education college in northern Israel. The teachers were asked to read the novel Nadia by Galila Ron Feder–Amit. Published in 1985, the novel describes the complex integration of Nadia, an Arab village girl, into a Jewish boarding school, and it is narrated in first person. After having read the novel, the teachers were requested to answer the writing task, which addressed the character of the protagonist, the issue of teaching the novel in the Jewish and Arabic educational systems and the anticipated responses of Jewish and Arab students to the novel. Findings Phenomenological analysis of the teachers’ responses found that the reading experience was complex and resulted in a variety of responses toward the protagonist. Some were based on identification and appreciation, while others on criticism and judgment of the heroine’s restraint vis-a-vis the racism that she was experiencing. However, most of the teachers demonstrated moral courage and thought that the novel should be taught, as they viewed it as a bridge leading to understanding between the two nations. The teachers anticipated conflicting responses of Jewish and Arab students to the novel, according to the students’ political views and values. Practical implications These findings indicate that the educational system should include political texts relating to the Jewish–Arab schism, especially texts that voice the Palestinian narrative. This view differs from the current situation in both sectors, whereby the tendency is to avoid political texts while ignoring the Palestinian narrative. Originality/value The study shows that the reading experience of a political novel affords various and often contrasting responses with the teachers facing the didactic challenges. The teachers who participated in the study anticipated complexity of the reading and teaching process, yet were not deterred by it, particularly in view of the novel’s messages – striving to understand the “other” and to bridge a discourse between the nations.


2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (9) ◽  
pp. 3023-3034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-Jie Tang ◽  
Wei Zhao ◽  
Hong-Mei Li

ABSTRACTAccording to the structure of podophyllotoxin and its structure-function relationship, a novel tandem biotransformation process was developed for the directional modification of the podophyllotoxin structure to directionally synthesize a novel compound, 4-(2,3,5,6-tetramethylpyrazine-1)-4′-demethylepipodophyllotoxin (4-TMP-DMEP). In this novel tandem biotransformation process, the starting substrate of podophyllotoxin was biotransformed into 4′-demethylepipodophyllotoxin (product 1) with the demethylation of the methoxyl group at the 4′ position byGibberella fujikuroiSH-f13, which was screened out from Shennongjia prime forest humus soil (Hubei, China). 4′-Demethylepipodophyllotoxin (product 1) was then biotransformed into 4′-demethylpodophyllotoxone (product 2) with the oxidation of the hydroxyl group at the 4 position byAlternaria alternataS-f6, which was screened out from the gatheredDysosma versipellisplants in the Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Finally, 4′-demethylpodophyllotoxone (product 2) and ligustrazine were linked with a transamination reaction to synthesize the target product 4-TMP-DMEP (product 3) byAlternaria alternataS-f6. Compared with podophyllotoxin (i.e., a 50% effective concentration [EC50] of 529 μM), the EC50of 4-TMP-DMEP against the tumor cell line BGC-823 (i.e., 0.11 μM) was significantly reduced by 5,199 times. Simultaneously, the EC50of 4-TMP-DMEP against the normal human proximal tubular epithelial cell line HK-2 (i.e., 0.40 μM) was 66 times higher than that of podophyllotoxin (i.e., 0.006 μM). Furthermore, compared with podophyllotoxin (i.e., logP= 0.34), the water solubility of 4-TMP-DMEP (i.e., logP= 0.66) was significantly enhanced by 94%. For the first time, the novel compound 4-TMP-DMEP with superior antitumor activity was directionally synthesized from podophyllotoxin by the novel tandem biotransformation process developed in this work.


2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (11/12) ◽  
pp. 2071-2104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Vanharanta ◽  
Alan J.P. Gilchrist ◽  
Andrew D. Pressey ◽  
Peter Lenney

Purpose – This study aims to address how and why do formal key account management (KAM) programmes hinder effective KAM management, and how can the problems of formalization in KAM be overcome. Recent empirical studies have reported an unexpected negative relationship between KAM formalization and performance. Design/methodology/approach – An 18-month (340 days) ethnographic investigation was undertaken in the UK-based subsidiary of a major US sports goods manufacturer. This ethnographic evidence was triangulated with 113 in-depth interviews. Findings – This study identifies how and why managerial reflexivity allows a more effectively combining of formal and post-bureaucratic KAM practices. While formal KAM programmes provide a means to initiate, implement and control KAM, they have an unintended consequence of increasing organizational bureaucracy, which may in the long-run hinder the KAM effectiveness. Heightened reflexivity, including “wayfinding”, is identified as a means to overcome many of these challenges, allowing for reflexively combining formal with post-bureaucratic KAM practices. Research limitations/implications – The thesis of this paper starts a new line of reflexive KAM research, which draws theoretical influences from the post-bureaucratic turn in management studies. Practical implications – This study seeks to increase KAM implementation success rates and long-term effectiveness of KAM by conceptualizing the new possibilities offered by reflexive KAM. This study demonstrates how reflexive skills (conceptualized as “KAM wayfinding”) can be deployed during KAM implementation and for its continual improvement. Further, the study identifies how KAM programmes can be used to train organizational learning regarding KAM. Furthermore, this study identifies how and why post-bureaucratic KAM can offer additional benefits after an organization has learned key KAM capabilities. Originality/value – A new line of enquiry is identified: the reflexive-turn in KAM. This theoretical position allows us to identify existing weakness in the extant KAM literature, and to show a practical means to improve the effectiveness of KAM. This concerns, in particular, the importance of managerial reflexivity and KAM wayfinding as a means to balance the strengths and weaknesses of formal and post-bureaucratic KAM.


2014 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 1341-1343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan P. Wiederhold ◽  
Laura K. Najvar ◽  
Annette W. Fothergill ◽  
Rosie Bocanegra ◽  
Marcos Olivo ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTWe evaluated thein vitroandin vivoactivities of the investigational arylamidine T-2307 against echinocandin-resistantCandida albicans. T-2307 demonstrated potentin vitroactivity, and daily subcutaneous doses between 0.75 and 6 mg/kg of body weight significantly improved survival and reduced fungal burden compared to placebo control and caspofungin (10 mg/kg/day) in mice with invasive candidiasis caused by an echinocandin-resistant strain. Thus, T-2307 may have potential use in the treatment of echinocandin-resistantC. albicansinfections.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document