scholarly journals “Obviously in the cool group they wear designer things”

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 1460-1483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnes Nairn ◽  
Fiona Spotswood
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cognitive Capacity ◽  
Single Element ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Limited Effectiveness ◽  
Commercial World ◽  
Catchment Areas

Purpose – This paper aims to propose the lens of social practice theory (SPT) as a means of deepening insights into childhood consumer culture. Design/methodology/approach – The data comprise four qualitative interviews and ten focus groups with 58 8-13 year olds in six diverse schools across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Transcripts were coded with NVIVO10. Analysis was guided by the three elements of SPT: materials, meaning and competence. Findings – Branded technology products and clothes consistently combined with both the socially sanctioned objective of achieving and maintaining a place in the peer hierarchy and also the three skills the authors have labelled “social consumption recognition”, “social consumption performance” and “social consumption communication” in regular, predictable ways to produce an ordered and, thus, reproducible nexus of actions. Analysis of the inter-relationship between these elements showed that children’s consumption is a specific practice, embedded in their everyday routines. Consumption is also linked inextricably to social position; children’s variable performance of it links with their degree of social acceptance and popularity. Research limitations/implications – Although the study included a broad cross-section of school catchment areas, they cannot be said to represent all British children. Nonetheless, SPT provides an alternative theoretical perspective on children’s consumption by shifting the focus away from the child, the social context or even the products, thus ceasing to privilege the notion that consumption is something external to children that they learn to be socialised into; or to consciously use for their own symbolic or other purposes; or that they have to be protected from. Social implications – Consumption practice is deeply embedded in children’s relationships and is inextricably linked to their well-being. Policies seeking to tackle any single element of the practice, such as media literacy training, are only likely to have limited effectiveness. This research implies that responsible marketing measures need to concentrate on the links between all the elements. Originality/value – This SPT analysis of children’s consumption makes three contributions. First, it provides a much-needed new theoretical perspective beyond the dominant but limited “consumer socialisation” research paradigm that confines analysis of children’s consumption to the functioning of their individual cognitive capacity. Second, it suggests new research methodologies for understanding the interaction between children and the commercial world. Third, it offers a different approach to policymakers tasked with the controversial issue of regulating marketing to children.

scholarly journals Experiences with a universal mindfulness and well-being programme at a UK medical school

2018 ◽  
Vol 118 (4) ◽  
pp. 304-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Stewart-Brown ◽  
Mizaya Cader ◽  
Thomas Walker ◽  
Sabah Janjua ◽  
Emma Hanson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Evaluation Studies ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Graduate Entry ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Mental Well Being

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the evaluation of a universal, mental well-being and mindfulness programme in a UK graduate entry medical school. Design/methodology/approach Mixed methods used in the paper were the measurement of mental well-being and mindfulness in two cohorts at three time points over 15 months; descriptive, regression and repeated measures analysis with post hoc pairwise comparisons; qualitative interviews with purposive sample of 13 students after one year analysed thematically; and spontaneous anonymous feedback on the course. Findings The course was a surprise to students, and reactions were mixed. Respect for its contents grew over the first year. Most students had actively implemented a well-being strategy by the end of the course, and an estimated quarter was practicing some mindful activity. In the context of an overall decline in well-being and limited engagement with mindfulness practice, increases in mindfulness were protective against this decline in both cohorts (p<001). A small minority of students thought that the course was a waste of time. Their attitudes influenced engagement by their peers. The mindfulness and well-being practices of the facilitators were evident to students and influenced perceived effects. Research limitations/implications The uncontrolled nature of this observational study and low response rates to the survey limit conclusions. Further research in other medical education settings is needed. Practical implications Results are encouraging, suggesting modest benefit in terms of changing attitudes and practices and a modest protective effect on the well-being of students who engaged. Originality/value This is the first study of a universal well-being and mindfulness programme in a UK medical school. Universal programmes are rare and evaluation studies are scarce.

scholarly journals Co-creative place innovation in an arctic town

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malin Lindberg ◽  
Åsa Wikberg Nilsson ◽  
Eugenia Segerstedt ◽  
Erik Hidman ◽  
Kristina L. Nilsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Participatory Approach ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Creative Design ◽  
City Center ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Innovation Processes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to shed light on co-creative approaches for place innovation in an Arctic town, based on the relocation of Kiruna’s city center in northern Sweden. Three cases of co-creative innovation processes in Kiruna are investigated and compared: an R&D project about local perceptions and visions of attractive urban environments; an R&D project about norm-creative design principles for inclusive and attractive urban design; and an R&D project about cross-industrial synergies for city center attractiveness. Design/methodology/approach The study’s research design encompasses a comparative and participatory approach. The comparative approach implies investigation and comparison of three cases of co-creative innovation processes in Kiruna. The participatory approach implies joint development of new knowledge by researchers and local actors. The data consists of participatory observations of workshops and qualitative interviews with local actors. Findings The study reveals that the studied processes have harnessed the city center relocation as an opportunity to make Kiruna more attractive to residents and visitors, by using the co-creative approaches of Living Lab, Now-Wow-How and Norm-creative design. These approaches have enabled experts and local actors to jointly identify excluding patterns and norms in the relocation process and to envision inclusive and attractive (re-)configurations and (re-)conceptualizations of the future Kiruna. Research limitations/implications The results add to the academic strand of inclusive urban transformation, by providing insights into co-creative approaches for re-imagining an Arctic town in times of industrial and social change. New insights are provided regarding how the geographical, industrial and cultural identity of an Arctic town can be harnessed to envision new configuration, content and communication that is attractive and accessible for a diversity of residents and visitors. Practical implications The results highlight the potential to harness Arctic and rural characteristics in the promotion of urban attractiveness and public well-being, especially when combined with co-creative identification and transformation of excluding norms and patterns. Originality/value The results provide new insights into how co-creative approaches may facilitate innovative and inclusive renewal of towns and cities in the Arctic and beyond.

Refurbishing services and how services enhance consumer well-being

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey F. Durgee ◽  
Garo Agopian
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Involvement ◽  
Provider Knowledge

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how services might impact a general consumer sense of everyday well-being or life satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach It was decided to focus on the existential benefits of refurbishing services and see how they might impact owner sense of self and overall life satisfaction. A qualitative study was fielded which consisted of analyses of website testimonials of customers of refurbishing services for products such as pianos, watches, boats, bicycles and other durables. Also analyzed were results from one-on-one qualitative interviews of customers of refurbishing services and selected refurbishers of similar products. Findings The study suggests that refurbish services provide a mix of hedonic and eudaimonic benefits. They provide an enhanced sense of self and general well-being insofar, as the newly restored item connects owners to loved ones, to other collectors or fans and to their own personal life histories. It also connects them to the refurbishers and their “magic”. Insofar as refurbishers invite customer involvement in the process, they co-create how the process will proceed, so customers feel a special involvement and gain an understanding of the workings of the item and how to best use it. Practical implications Refurbishing services might offer, like all the new internet-mediated sharing services, a more sustainable alternative to the buy-and-dispose consumption behaviors found in most world economies. Originality value This paper provides insights into the lives of products after purchase and the roles of relevant service providers. It also provides examples of how service providers in general might deepen and facilitate customers’ feelings about themselves and their daily lives. It shows how service providers can enhance customer hedonic and eudaimonic appreciation of provider knowledge, skills and efforts.

Setting limits in uneasy times – healthy diets in underprivileged families

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 225-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kia Ditlevsen ◽  
Annemette Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Weight Control ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Preventive Action ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Parental Feeding ◽  
Migrant Families

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide knowledge on barriers to preventive action on early childhood overweight in non-western migrant families. It investigates the underlying understandings of the parental role in relation to weight control present in health-care professionals and in families. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on qualitative interviews with parents who are engaged in interventions aimed at helping them and their children to adopt a healthier life style, and on interviews with health-care professionals. Findings This study shows that the participating parents, all low SES and living under different forms of insecurity, perceived their parental task for the present as creating well-being for their children, and they were, therefore, reluctant to enforce dietary changes. The health-care professionals, in contrast, considered the need for change through a perspective on future risks. Research limitations/implications The results are based on a rather small sample and the link between insecurity, family dynamics and health practice needs further research. Originality/value The participating parents represented a group that is rarely included in scientific research and the study, therefore, contributes valuable knowledge on health behavior in ethnic minority families. The empirical analysis provides new insights for health professionals regarding the suitability of the universal model of parental feeding styles. It illuminates the implications of implicitly applying this model in health interventions which involve vulnerable categories of parents such as refugees to western societies.

scholarly journals Policy change as institutional work

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-168
Author(s):  
Jenny Svensson ◽  
Klara Tomson ◽  
Egle Rindzeviciute
Keyword(s):  
Policy Change ◽  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Creative Industries ◽  
External Support ◽  
Institutional Work ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Cultural And Creative Industries

Purpose Policy change is frequently framed as resulting from governmental strategy based on explicit preferences, rational decision making and consecutive and aligned implementation. The purpose of this paper is to explore the theoretical perspective of institutional work as an alternative approach to understanding policy change, and investigates the construction of resources needed to perform such work. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a case study of the process wherein the idea of cultural and creative industries was introduced into Lithuanian cultural policy. The main data generating methods are document studies and qualitative interviews. Findings The analysis demonstrates the ways in which the resources needed to perform institutional work are created through the enactment of practice, and through the application of resourcing techniques. Three such techniques are identified in the empirical material: the application of experiences from other fields of practice, the elicitation of external support, and the borrowing of legitimacy. Originality/value The study offers an alternative approach to studies of policy change by demonstrating the value of institutional work in such change. Further, it contributes to the literature on institutional work by highlighting how instances of such work, drawing on a distributed agency, interlink and connect to each other in a process to produce policy change. Finally, it proposes three interrelated resourcing techniques underlying institutional work.

Work–home conflict, antecedents and outcomes: a life-stage perspective among working parents

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-274
Author(s):  
Liat Kulik
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Preschool Age ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Empty Nest ◽  
Working Parents ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in work interferes with family (WIF) and family interferes with work (FIW) conflicts, their antecedents and their outcomes throughout the parenting life cycle. The following parenting stages were compared: parenthood to preschool-age children, parenthood to school-age children, parenthood to adolescents, parenthood to offspring at the launching stage and parenthood to offspring at the empty-nest stage. Design/methodology/approach The sample included 549 working parents in Israel (270 fathers and 279 mothers). The criterion for inclusion was fulfilling the dual roles of parent and paid worker. The research questionnaires were distributed in workplaces in diverse organizations: high-tech companies, government ministries, factories and business organizations. Findings Levels of WIF and FIW conflicts are highest during the early parenthood stages. Overload peaks during parenthood to adolescents and during the empty-nest stage. The later stages in the parenting life cycle (the launching and empty-nest stages) benefit parents: WIF and FIW conflicts are relatively low, mental well-being is relatively high and the number of roles that parents perform is higher than in earlier stages. Along the entire parenting life cycle, fathers experience higher levels of WIF conflict than mothers, but no gender differences were found in FIW conflict. Practical implications Public policy should encourage employers to develop a family-friendly approach and consider the needs of both parents, based on the understanding that in addition to being breadwinners, fathers and mothers today both participate in housework and in raising children. Originality/value From a theoretical perspective, the research conclusions may provide understandings for how to integrate the parental stage as a key variable in theorizing about the experience of stressors in the work–home interface.

Leading well is not enough

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-180
Author(s):  
Saima Ahmad ◽  
Amrik Singh Sohal ◽  
Julie Wolfram Cox
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ethical Behaviour ◽  
Conservation Of Resources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Unethical Behaviour ◽  
Work Settings ◽  
Management Literature ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose While research on the influence of ethical and unethical behaviour on employee well-being abound, we still know little of how well-being is shaped under the dual positive and negative behavioural influences in the workplace. To address this limitation, this paper aims to investigate the relative effects of ethical behaviour of leadership and unethical bullying behaviour on employee well-being through the application of the conservation of resources theory. Design/methodology/approach This study was conducted in the context of Pakistan by seeking views of 330 employees in academic work settings. Findings The data analysis revealed that occurrence of unethical behaviour plays a more potent role than ethical behaviour in shaping employee well-being. These findings lend support to the conservation of resources theoretical perspective by reiterating the salience of resource loss over resource gain in shaping employee well-being. Originality/value This study offers a new insight into the management literature by highlighting that combating workplace bullying not only conserves employee well-being, but also allows organisations to capitalise more fully on the positive process enabled by leadership.

Res extensa et res cogitans de maqasid as-shari’ah

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 662-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masudul Alam Choudhury
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Critical Discussion ◽  
Cognitive Capacity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Unity Of Knowledge

Purpose – This paper aims to undertake a critical evaluation of the purpose and objective of Islamic Law, namely, maqasid as-shari’ah, as it has evolved in Islamic scholastic experience. But, the greater philosophy and potential of maqasid as-shari’ah within the great design of the monotheistic law, sunnat-Allah, is explained. Such explanation is carried out in the light of the core of Islamic epistemology that directly induces Islamic Law. Design/methodology/approach – This critical evaluation is pursued in the light of the epistemological worldview and its methodical formalism of unity of knowledge contra a differentiated and conflicting view of human experience in rationalism. The episteme of unity of knowledge is Tawhid as the law of everything in the precept of unity as understood by the monotheistic law, sunnat-Allah. In the light of the extendibility of maqasid as-shari’ah across the relationally unifying domain of sunnat-Allah, the potentiality of shari’ah in terms of res extensa (epistemic extension) and res cogitans (cognitive capacity) is discussed. Findings – Various occidental thoughts in this quest for extendibility of the epistemic totality are critically examined by the Tawhidi monotheistic law. The universality of the Tawhidi law of monotheism in respect of its characteristics of res extensa and res cogitans is studied to bring out the potentiality of maqasid as-shari’ah. Thereby, the new vision of inter-systemic extensions across diverse domains of intellection interactively unified together is formalized. This formalism goes beyond the existing limits of maqasid as-shari’ah confined as it is to worldly socioeconomic affairs (muamalat). Research limitations/implications – A much broader investigation is opened up by this paper that can be extended by academic work. Practical implications – The practical support of the criticism against both the idea of shari’ah-compliance and the incomplete implication of maqasid as-shari’ah as presently understood among Islamic scholars is carried out by a detailed empirical work. The extension to the choice of a new financial instrument of Foreign Trade Financing Certificate is introduced. Social implications – The critical discussion launched in reference to the wider meaning, objective and purpose of maqasid as-shari’ah under the epistemology of the Tawhidi methodological worldview results in the substantive understanding of maslaha, well-being. Maslaha as well-being forms the ultimate index of socio-scientific valuation under maqasid as-shari’ah in the light of the Tawhidi epistemological worldview. Thereby, the perspective of socioeconomic development, and more extensively socio-scientific intellection, is brought out as extensively participatory evolutionary process under the principle of unity of knowledge (Tawhidi episteme). Brief examples are invoked to establish this fact. An example of measured multidimensional well-being (maslaha) as the final index of participatory organic relations that maqasid as-shari’ah ought to project in reference to Tawhidi methodological worldview is represented. Originality/value – This is a distinctively original paper in an area that has not been investigated thus far. Besides, much scope for further intellectual investigation is opened up.

scholarly journals Private needs, public responses: vulnerable people’s flood-disrupted mobility

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Christie ◽  
Liza Griffin ◽  
Natalie Chan ◽  
John Twigg ◽  
Helena Titheridge
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Informal Networks ◽  
Strong Response ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transport Services ◽  
Vulnerable People ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Negative Feelings

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of vulnerable people during flood events, impacts of changes in mobility on well-being and the extent to which frontline services, emergency planning officers and other service providers allocate resources for vulnerable members of the community to meet the challenges posed by floods. Design/methodology/approach – In-depth qualitative interviews carried out with 15 vulnerable residents, seven community representatives and eight service providers. Findings – Vulnerable people’s well-being was negatively affected by the disruption to travel caused by floods, though support from the community to some extent redressed these negative feelings. Whilst there seems to be a strong response from both the community and the local authorities to the mobility needs of vulnerable people during floods, what seems to be missing is an equal response from the private sector in terms of provision of transport services to access goods such as food and money. Practical implications – More needs to be done to make sure that communication and support networks are formalised to address the potential unevenness of informal networks. Private companies need to engage more with customers. Improved information and more resilient services such as 4×4 vehicles and doorstep provision of goods and money would directly support vulnerable people who are highly dependent on their services. Originality/value – This study is the first in the UK to explore and compare the private experiences of vulnerable people with the views of stakeholders who could support them during floods.

What older adults do in online communities when they co-create and co-destruct value

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mostafa Kamalpour ◽  
Rebekah Eden ◽  
Rehan A. Syed ◽  
Laurie Buys ◽  
Amina Tariq ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Service Science ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to explain the value co-creation and co-destruction practices of older adults in an online community (OC). Design/methodology/approach Adopting practice theory and service-dominant logic as a theoretical perspective, this paper examined an OC of older adults by conducting an inductive thematic analysis of the interactions of the participants in the community. Findings The analysis revealed older adults engage with three value co-creation plus one value co-destruction practices in the OC including, communal coping practices, happiness creation practices, social capital generation practices and disparaging practices for older adults. Research limitations/implications Illustrated in a conceptual model, this study extends previous work evidencing OCs serve as a platform for value co-creation and value co-destruction activities in the context of older adults. Further, it suggests OCs facilitate resilience of older adults through value co-creation practices. Recognition of value co-destruction in OCs is critical as it is detrimental to the resilience of older adults. This study provides the needed foundation to advance knowledge on the use of OCs by older adults and suggests future research directions. Practical implications Identifying co-creation and co-destruction practices of older adults in OCs enables service providers (e.g. caregivers) to engage better in online value co-creation practices. Further, the findings of this study address one of the main priorities of service science to investigate the impact of value co-creation on well-being. Originality/value Identifying co-creation and co-destruction practices of older adults in OCs enables service providers (e.g. caregivers) to engage better in online value co-creation practices. Further, the findings of this study address one of the main priorities of service science to investigate the impact of value co-creation on well-being.

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