Pakistani prison libraries: an assessment of services and challenges

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 47-59
Author(s):  
Tauseef Hussain ◽  
Syeda Hina Batool ◽  
Saira Hanif Soroya ◽  
Nosheen Fatima Warraich
Keyword(s):  
Professional Staff ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Main Role ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Rehabilitation Programs ◽  
Access To Books ◽  
Unique Study

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to examine the current status of prison libraries, their role, services and collection in Pakistani context. It also attempts to highlight the main problems faced by selected libraries. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative research approach was adopted to achieve the study objectives. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews to find out respondents’ views about libraries in prison. Findings Findings of the study confirmed that inmates’ library queries are mostly related to the legal matters, and it is quite natural. One of the significant services of the Pakistani prison libraries is to help prisoners in their education. The main role of the library caretaker was to educate and offer rehabilitation programs. Unavailability of library space, lack of professional staff, limited collections, poor budgetary situation and censorship issues are the major challenges that Pakistani prison libraries are facing. Social implications The study findings further implicate that open libraries and access to books would promote positivity within society and reduce criminal and immoral acts. Originality/value It is the first of its kind and unique study that presents the current situation of prison libraries in the Pakistani context. The study has practical implications for policymakers to give importance to prison libraries in terms of finance, professional staff and the availability of information sources.

scholarly journals Situated rationalities and management control change – an empirical note on key actors, situated rationalities and generalised practices

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Bertz ◽  
Martin Quinn
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Style ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Service Organisation ◽  
Control Change ◽  
Empirical Note

Purpose This paper aims to offer an incremental contribution, augmenting the notion of situated rationality as proposed by terBogt and Scapens (2019). Through insights from empirical data, the authors explore the role of situated rationalities of key individual actors in processes of management control change. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach was adopted with qualitative data collected in a single public service organisation through face-to-face interviews, organisation documentation and observations. Findings The findings present the important role of key individual actors in bringing about a new situated rationality in a housing department. External austerity forces combined with actors’ experience rationalities acted as a stimulus to change existing management control practices in the management of public services. Originality/value The paper conceptualises “experience” rationality, capturing the experiences of a key actor, including elements of leadership style. Drawing on a story of a complex process of management control change, this paper thus reveals interactions between generalised practices and situated rationalities which were not highlighted by the extended framework of terBogt and Scapens.

The role of learning management in agile management for consensus culture

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 364-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aytac Tokel ◽  
Gokmen Dagli ◽  
Zehra Altinay ◽  
Fahriye Altinay
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Education ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Technology And Learning ◽  
Learning Management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the formation of a consensual culture of agile management used in schools where school administrators and teachers work. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on a qualitative research approach that highlights social phenomena and explores the environment in which they belong. In this context, five managers and seven teachers working in six vocational education institutions were asked semi-structured questions during face-to-face interviews. Findings The research revealed that technology has a great impact on foster learning management and the development of school culture based on consensus. Research limitations/implications The data of the research is limited to the participants who are Five managers and seven teachers working in six vocational education institutions within Nicosia context. Practical implications The school gained awareness on the uses of technology for learning and development. Social implications Merits of technology for consensus culture were examined in this paper. Originality/value The paper is original in that it gives insights for the education system on the technology and learning.

Beekeeping as a family artisan entrepreneurship business

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veland Ramadani ◽  
Robert D. Hisrich ◽  
Leo-Paul Dana ◽  
Ramo Palalic ◽  
Laxman Panthi
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Transition Economy ◽  
Rural Families ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose Throughout Macedonia, beekeeping is becoming popular regardless of ethnicity. Studying ethnicity, the purpose of this paper is to determine what beekeepers in Macedonia thought in their own words about their beekeeping entrepreneurship. The objective is to identify whether motivations of ethnic Albanian beekeepers in Macedonia were the same or different compared to those of ethnic Macedonians in the same country, and if different, how. Design/methodology/approach To accomplish this objective, in-depth interviews were conducted with 40 beekeepers in Macedonia. A total of 29 interviews were conducted face-to-face and the other 11 by phone. The first set of interviews took place between December 2016 and February 2017, followed by more interviews in June 2017. In total, 27 respondents said they were ethnic Albanians, and 13 identified themselves as ethnic Macedonians. Also, ten respondents were women. While eight were full-time beekeepers, 32 were part-time beekeepers. Findings The results indicated that beekeeping businesses play a significant role in the transition economy of Macedonia. Beekeeping provides additional earnings that support rural families and keeps them financially stable. The majority of both Albanians and Macedonians understood that beekeeping on a part-time job basis provided a needed supplement to their income. Some part-time beekeepers are also working as auto-mechanics, locksmiths, medical doctors, restaurant/cafeteria owners, and tailors. A few in the sample were retired from their jobs or full-time beekeepers. An important difference between ethnic Albanian beekeepers and ethnic Macedonians in Macedonia is that the majority of ethnic Albanian participants see beekeeping as following in “my father’s footsteps”, while most Macedonians were motivated by the perceived opportunity of having a good business. Research limitations/implications Limitations of the research are twofold. First, financial data of family beekeeping are not available, which would be useful in determining the contribution made to economic development. It is common, especially in transition economies such as the western Balkans, that financial results are very sensitive to their owners. Second, unavailable databases for beekeepers make any quantitative approach difficult, if not impossible, resulting in most research using the qualitative research approach. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to treat beekeeping as a form of artisan entrepreneurship, which also contributes to the understanding of family business. As in other countries, the important and operation of the family business among family members in Macedonia is passed from generation to generation. The results of this research revealed the value of networking, which was found to be very important to income. For beekeepers to develop, grow, and be branded in the community, networking is an important ingredient.

Employee's lying behavior and the role of self-awareness

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirk Chang ◽  
Sylvain Max ◽  
Jérémy Celse
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Deductive Reasoning ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Laboratory Setting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Employee’s lying behavior has become ubiquitous at work, and managers are keen to know what can be done to curb such behavior. Managers often apply anti-lying strategies in their management and, in particular, the role of self-awareness on lying intervention has drawn academic attention recently. Drawing on multi-disciplinary literature, this study aims to investigate the efficacy of self-awareness in reducing lying behavior. Design/methodology/approach Following the perspectives of positivism and deductive reasoning, a quasi-experimental research approach was adopted. Employees from Dijon, France were recruited as research participants. Based on the literature, different conditions (scenario manipulation) were designed and implemented in the laboratory, in which participants were exposed to pre-set lying opportunities and their responses were analyzed accordingly. Findings Unlike prior studies which praised the merits of self-awareness, the authors found that self-awareness did not decrease lying behavior, not encouraging the confession of lying either. Employees actually lied more when they believed other employees were lying. Practical implications This study suggests managers not to rely on employee’s self-awareness; rather, the concept of self-awareness should be incorporated into the work ethics, and managers should schedule regular workshops to keep employees informed of the importance of ethics. When employees are regularly reminded of the ethics and appreciate its importance, their intention of lying is more likely to decrease. Originality/value To the best of the atuhors’ knowledge, the current research is the first in its kind to investigate lying intervention of employees in the laboratory setting. Research findings have brought new insights into the lying intervention literature, which has important implication on the implementation of anti-lying strategies.

The role of team leadership in achieving LEED certification in a green building project

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sepani Senaratne ◽  
Prasanna Rajitha Hewamanage
Keyword(s):  
Green Building ◽  
Team Leadership ◽  
Project Team ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Building Projects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Leed Certification ◽  
Certification Procedure ◽  
Building Project

Purpose – Leadership of the project team is vital for green building projects in achieving LEED certification. Literature findings confirm the need for managing green building projects differently from ordinary projects. The team leader should be able to work with the project team to manage the general project activities while following the LEED certification procedure to finally achieve LEED certification. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a research project which was aimed to explore the role of team leadership in achieving LEED certification in a green building project through a case study research approach. Findings – The research findings revealed the importance of utilizing the appropriate leadership roles of project team members in addition to the project leader’s role to achieve LEED certification for green building projects successfully. The research proposed four team leadership processes required to meet the LEED challenges; namely, proactive planning and visualization; collective implementation; teamwork for win-win; and, continuous learning and knowledge sharing. Originality/value – Based on these findings, the research suggests a new project team environment enabled by effective team leadership to meet the LEED challenges. It is argued that the team leadership role of every team member is unique and best suited when used synergistically to achieve LEED certification for the project. The research is original in applying team leadership concepts to green building projects in a real-life setting.

scholarly journals The voice of dwellers – developing a place brand by listening to its residents

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulla Hakala
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Conceptual Development ◽  
Place Branding ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
E Mail

Purpose Listening to the customers has long been a key phrase and success element in product branding. This paper aims to highlight the importance of listening to residents during the branding of a place. The study explores ways of listening to residents to ensure they are heard and also discusses the challenges and benefits related to place branding flowing from having residents participate in decision-making processes. Design/methodology/approach Listening to residents and offering opportunities to participate requires place branders to fully attend to, comprehend and respond to residents’ comments, requests, ideas and feedback. This study reports on how two Nordic cities – Turku and Helsinki – listen to their residents. The data used comprise face-to-face interviews, telephone and e-mail conversations and documentary material. Findings Residents should not be considered as one homogeneous target; participation options and channels should be adapted to the demographics and geographic issues of the different regions and resident groups. Research limitations/implications The role of residents and the importance of listening are crucial features in the emerging concept of inclusive place branding (Kavaratzis et al., 2017); its future conceptual development could benefit from the case examples at hand. Practical implications City authorities should listen to residents and provide them with opportunities to actively contribute to decision-making. Other cities could learn from the examples introduced in the paper. Originality/value This paper documents two Nordic examples of cities putting into practice a policy of listening to the residents, a previously neglected research area.

Does deal size moderate the effects of board faultlines? Evidence from acquisitions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Tidbury ◽  
Steven F. Cahan ◽  
Li Chen
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Instrumental Variable Analysis

Purpose Board faultlines, which reflect intrinsic divisions of board members into relatively homogeneous subgroups, are associated with poor firm performance. This paper aims to extend the existing board faultline research by examining how acquisition deal size moderates the negative implications of board faultlines. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a sample of acquisitions and a quantitative research approach to conduct statistical analysis. Findings Using a sample of acquisitions announced between 2007 and 2016, this paper finds evidence suggesting that strong faultlines are associated with poorer acquisition outcomes in the long-term, but not in the short term. Further, this paper finds that the effect of faultline strength on long-term acquisition outcomes is weaker for larger acquisition deals than smaller acquisition deals. The findings are consistent with deal size moderating the relation between faultlines and acquisition outcomes. Research limitations/implications This paper addresses possible endogeneity through firm fixed effects and instrumental variable analysis. Although this paper provides evidence on the moderating role of deal size in the context of faultlines, future research could examine the role of additional moderators, such as pro-diversity, trust, board leadership and board and task characteristics. Practical implications The findings suggest that boards need to be aware of situations where the negative effects of faultlines are more likely to come to the fore. For example, faultlines are more likely to play a role in more routine, obscure monitoring than for high-profile strategic decisions. Originality/value The study is multidisciplinary as it draws on the management, organizational behaviour and psychology and finance literature. It contributes to the developing literature on faultlines in several important ways. First, this paper supports their view that faultlines have adverse effects on board performance by showing that faultlines negatively impact discrete strategic investment decisions. Second, this paper provides evidence that deals size moderates the faultline-acquisition performance relation, indicating that the role of faultlines is contextual. Third, this paper finds evidence that suggests investors do not factor in board faultlines when responding to acquisition announcements.

Adoption of students' loan schemes: the contingent role of financial knowledge

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria Ocran ◽  
Livingstone Divine Caesar
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Financial Education ◽  
The Body ◽  
Financial Knowledge ◽  
Relative Advantage ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Behavioural Factors

PurposeDespite the introduction of structural reforms to the students' loan scheme (SLS) in Ghana's higher education sector, patronage is still low. This paper aims to examine the complexity of technological and behavioural factors underpinning the low rate of students' loan adoption in Ghana. It further contributes to the body of knowledge by exploring the moderating role of financial knowledge in the hypothesized relationships.Design/methodology/approachUsing a positivistic research approach, a sample of 700 tertiary students with experience in accessing SLSs were surveyed. An 88% response rate was realized and the data analysed using descriptive statistics, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis.FindingsFour dimensions of technological factors (relative advantage, trialability, observability and compatibility) and two of behavioural factors (attitude and control behaviour) were positively related to adoption of the SLS. Financial knowledge only moderated the relationship between compatibility, attitude, behavioural control and students' loan adoption.Practical implicationsFinancial knowledge plays a critical role in influencing the investment decisions of people. Management of SLSs needs to offer financial education to targeted parents/students to clear misconceptions. It is also imperative that all other technical challenges are addressed to enhance adoption rates for the SLS. Review of guarantor requirements is needed also.Originality/valueThis paper introduces financial knowledge as a moderating variable to investigate the hypothesized relationships. It offers a developing country insight into how technological/behavioural factors and financial knowledge might be impacting adoption of SLSs.

The role of facilities management in green retrofit of existing buildings in the United Arab Emirates

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Mawed ◽  
Vinay Tilani ◽  
Karima Hamani
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Existing Buildings ◽  
Actual Case ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Green retrofitting is acknowledged as an essential strategy toward achieving long-term sustainability in the built environment. To implement this strategy successfully, the role of facility managers cannot be ignored. The purpose of this paper is to investigate present practices that are used in managing the existing facilities, to highlight the elements that govern the process of green retrofitting, and discuss the efforts and contribution of facility managers in enhancing the environmental performance of the existing facilities stock in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Design/methodology/approach This study suggests that an adequate level of awareness of the benefits of green retrofit amongst owners and decision-makers is mostly dependent on facilities management (FM) professionals, who must establish effective communication channel with senior management. FM professionals in the UAE are well equipped and competent in greening existing buildings and can simultaneously lead a building to the path of achieving green building certification. Findings To examine the role of FM in a green retrofit and its current status in the UAE built environment, a two-step qualitative method was adopted. The study started by conducting semi-structured interviews with FM professionals and then assessing the insights obtained from the interviews against an actual case study of a LEED Existing Building certified facility. Research limitations/implications Interviews were limited to FM professionals in the private sector and the results from one case study should be considered cautiously. Originality/value This paper emphasizes the primordial role of FM professionals in promoting green retrofit in the UAE.

scholarly journals Malaysian evidence supporting theoretical integration of roles of non-executive directors

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-14
Author(s):  
Hairul Azlan Annuar
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Executive Directors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Company Directors ◽  
Code Of Corporate Governance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of independent non-executive directors (INEDs) in Malaysian public listed companies (PLCs), other than the control role prescribed by agency theory and reformatory documents such as the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research design, consisting of face-to-face interviews with 27 company directors of Malaysian-owned PLCs, was instigated. Findings The interviews revealed that INEDs do more than just monitor their executive counterparts. Apart from the control role, INEDs of Malaysian companies provide a conduit for mitigating uncertainties in the environment and perform invaluable services to the host companies. Research limitations/implications This research utilized interviews. Generalizations may be an issue when interviews are used as the method of inquiry. Also, the sample is not random as access to many of the interviewed directors depended on recommendations. In addition, respondents were consciously selected in order to obtain various board positions that include independent and non-independent directors. Originality/value There are limited studies using qualitative research design in investigating INEDs’ performing other roles apart from the control role of the board in developing countries. Many of previous studies and literature in this area of corporate governance were predominantly based upon experiences of western economies.

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