Investigating active travel to primary school in Ireland

2014 ◽  
Vol 114 (6) ◽  
pp. 501-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Daniels ◽  
Colette Kelly ◽  
Michal Molcho ◽  
Jane Sixsmith ◽  
Molly Byrne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Schools ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Active Travel ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
The West ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Participative Research ◽  
Participative Approach ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Active Travel To School

Purpose – Active travel to school, by walking or cycling, can positively influence children's health and increase physical activity. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the context and promoters and barriers of active travel, and the required actions and actors that need to be involved to address each of these. Design/methodology/approach – Both quantitative and participative research methodologies were employed. The sample consisted of 73 children aged between 11 and 13 years from four primary schools in the West of Ireland. A self-completion questionnaire was followed by a participative protocol conducted with the class groups. Findings – Overall 30.1 per cent of children reported that they actively travelled to school. A greater proportion of children from urban and disadvantaged schools actively travelled. Proximity to the school was the most frequently reported promoter and barrier. The children identified many actors that need to be involved to eliminate the barriers and enact the promoters of active travel to school. They also highlighted the need for a multi-sectorial approach to improve active travel rates in Ireland. Originality/value – This study holds potential value in addressing the continued decline in active travel to school in Ireland as it shares a new perspective on the issue; that of the children. Adopting a participative approach allowed the children to participate in groups and develop the data themselves. The children confirmed that they have a relevant and valuable understanding of the process necessary to address active travel to school as a public health issue in Ireland.

Accounting without accounting

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 426-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fábio Frezatti ◽  
David B. Carter ◽  
Marcelo F.G. Barroso
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Business Management ◽  
Accounting Information ◽  
Effective Management ◽  
Accounting Information System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Perspective

Purpose – An effective management accounting information system (MAIS), as well as the accounting discourse related to it, can support, facilitate, enable, and constrain diverse business discourses. This paper aims to examine the discursive and organisational effects of an organisation accounting upon absent accounting artefacts, i.e. accounting without accounting. Situated within the discursive literature, this paper examines the construction of competing articulations of the organisation by focusing on what accounting does or does not do within an organisation. In particular, the paper acknowledges the fundamental importance of the accounting discourse in supporting, facilitating, enabling, and constraining competing organisational discourses, as it illustrates how the absence of accounting centralises power within the organisation. Design/methodology/approach – From a rhetorical, discursive perspective, the authors develop an in-depth qualitative case study in a manufacturing organisation where MAIS has been abandoned for approximately two years. Interpretive research approaches, from a post-structural perspective, provided the base for the structure of the research. The authors studied how other organisational discourses (such as entrepreneurship and growth), which are traditionally constructed with reference to accounting and other artefacts, continued to be produced and sustained. The non-use and non-availability of management accounting information created a vacuum that needed to be filled. The lack of discursive counterpoints and counter-evidence provided by MAIS created a vacuum of information, allowing powerful, proxy discourses to prevail in the organisation, increasing risks to business management. Findings – The absence of MAIS to support an accounting discourse requires that contingent discourses “fill in the discursive gap”. Despite appearances, they are no substitute for the accounting discourse. Thus, over time, the entrepreneurial, growth and partners' discourses lose credibility, without the corresponding use of management accounting information and its associated discourse. Originality/value – There are at least two main contributions from the case study and the findings presented in this paper: first, they provide a new perspective for studying MAIS, as a specific organisational discourse among other discourses that shape people relationship within the organisation as an examination of accounting without accounting. Second, this discussion reinforces the relevance of accounting discourse for other organisational discourses, supporting, facilitating, enabling, and constraining them, by demonstrating the effects of its absence.

scholarly journals How the information use environment influences search activities

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Rutter ◽  
Paul David Clough ◽  
Elaine G. Toms
Keyword(s):  
Primary Schools ◽  
Value Of Information ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Information Use ◽  
Search Process ◽  
Search Activity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The information use environment (IUE) – the context within which the search activity takes place – is critical to understanding the search process as this will affect how the value of information is determined. The purpose of this paper is to investigate what factors influence search in English primary schools (children aged 4–11) and how information found is subsequently used. Design/methodology/approach Ten teachers, selected using maximal variation sampling, describe search-related activities within the classroom. The resulting interview data were analysed thematically for the influence of the environment on search and different information uses. The findings were then validated against three classroom observations. Findings 12 categories of information use were identified, and 5 aspects of the environment (the national curriculum, best practice, different skills of children and teachers, keeping children safe, and limited time and resource) combine to influence and shape search in this setting. Research limitations/implications Findings support the argument that it is the IUE that is the key influence of search activity. What makes children a distinct user group is linked to the environment within which they use information rather than age, as advocated in previous studies. Practical implications The features of search systems and practical guidance for teachers and children should be designed to support information use within the IUE. Originality/value As far as the authors are aware, this is the first study to consider the influence of the IUE on how search is enacted within primary schools.

Diverging incentives for reforming China’s restrictions on digital innovations

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Francesca Ferracane ◽  
Hosuk Lee-Makiyama
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Industrial Policy ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Public Order ◽  
Content Type ◽  
State Owned Enterprise ◽  
Policy Objectives ◽  
New Perspective

Purpose This paper aims to investigate China’s policy on digital trade with the objective to highlight the rationales behind such policy. Design/methodology/approach China’s policy on digital trade is assessed by analysing the main regulations imposed in the country in the period from 1985 to 2016 that have an impact on digital trade. Findings It was found that there are more than 70 measures imposed today that have a negative impact on digital trade. The measures are diverse and can be justified with several policy objectives, namely, industrial policy, public order and national security, and these support China’s fiscal and state-owned enterprise structure. Originality/value This paper analyses China’s policy on digital trade from a new perspective and provides insights on the rationales behind this policy.

scholarly journals Can an ecological-transactional systems model in occupational therapy contribute to a social prescribing programme?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Johansson ◽  
Emil Rapo ◽  
Ingeborg Nilsson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
System Theory ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Complex Interventions ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Occupational Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Prescribing ◽  
Systems Model

Purpose The spread and level of loneliness is today considered a public health issue. Attempts to promote or reduce the level of loneliness have been made, one of which is social prescribing (SP), developed and extensively used. Complex interventions such as SP are advised to be connected to theory. Design/methodology/approach For this purpose, the Person-Environment-Occupation-Participation model (PEOP) will be reviewed and used as an example, both as a way of organize occupational knowledge and as a model for practice. Findings Occupational therapy underpinned by transactional system theory such as the PEOP model seems to give comprehensive and relevant support in the SP process. Particularly, this model can guide practitioners through crucial phases when assessing needs, matching interests and goals with relevant occupations, as well as understanding of important components embedded in the program. Originality/value This opinion piece offers insights in why and how specific components connected to SP needs to be understood by theory and applied by personnel to facilitate a meaningful and sustainable occupational performance for the individuals.

What makes peer review helpfulness evaluation in online review communities? An empirical research based on persuasion effect

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1267-1286
Author(s):  
Yani Wang ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
Tang Yao ◽  
Ming Li
Keyword(s):  
Peer Review ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Evaluation Research ◽  
Econometric Models ◽  
Online Review ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Review Helpfulness ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the mechanism of how peer review helpfulness evaluation in online review communities is established, drawing upon the internalization and identification routes of persuasion effect.Design/methodology/approachBased on book reviews selected from Douban.com (a prestigious review community in China), this study used econometric models to investigate the effects of both reviews and reviewers’ characteristics on peer review helpfulness evaluation in review communities.FindingsReview internalization is more persuasive than reviewers’ identification in peer evaluations, in terms of both short and long reviews. Reviews with extreme negative ratings tend to obtain higher level of helpfulness evaluation than those with positive or moderate ratings. The influence of reviewers’ characteristics is a significant cue in helping consumers to establish the trust perception in the context of short reviews, while its function diminishes in the context of long reviews, thus suggesting the importance of reviewers’ identification for short reviews in review communities.Social implicationsThe findings will enhance current understanding of peer review review helpfulness evaluation in online review communities and help practitioners administrate community reviews intelligently, help members write better reviews and customers in their product browsing experience.Originality/valueFirst, this study enriches review evaluation research in review communities by demonstrating the importance of internalization and identification lens of persuasion effect when explaining review helpfulness; second, this study helps to confirm the existing findings that reviews with extreme negative ratings are more helpful than those with moderate or positive ratings in review communities; third, this study proposes a new perspective pertaining to the relationship between reviewers’ identification and helpfulness evaluation.

Linking person–organization adhocracy value congruence to creativity

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 603-615
Author(s):  
Ang Gao ◽  
Kai Zhao ◽  
Qing Qu
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Polynomial Regression ◽  
Value Congruence ◽  
Employee Creativity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Creativity Research ◽  
Value Congruency ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the effect of person–organization (P-O) adhocracy value congruence on employee creativity using the supplementary fit theory while investigating the moderating effect of the immediate supervisor's transformational leadership.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses polynomial regression to analyze 431 employees from 47 Chinese companies.FindingsHigher levels of creativity were observed in employees whose adhocracy value was congruent with that of the organization.Practical implicationsThe practice of hiring employees with creative value or building creative culture may not trigger employee creativity if managers do not take value congruence into consideration.Originality/valueThis study introduces a new perspective on understanding creativity in the workplace. First, it contributes to work on the consequences of P-O value congruency by exploring how supplementary fit influences employee creativity. Second, it contributes to creativity research by proposing a P-O supplementary fit argument to explain the actor-context interactionist model of creativity.

Organizational culture: does it influence the way a company deals with CSR?

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Sandra Castro-González ◽  
Belén Bande
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Human Resource Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact ◽  
A Company ◽  
Do So

PurposeThis paper aims to show how managers model culture for employees to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices.Design/methodology/approachThe proposal begins by highlighting the importance of culture for CSR implementation and then explains the impact of culture on employees.FindingsCurrently, many companies carry out activities under the CSR umbrella, but they may do so without considering whether their company’s context is ideal for such initiatives. They may also not consider the types of employees composing the workforce or their disposition toward CSR. In these circumstances, organizations may miss out on the added value of CSR practices.Originality/valueThe important influence of CSR practices on employees’ attitudes and behaviors at work requires organizations to implement these types of actions. Therefore, the contextual factors that are most likely to aid in developing and maintaining these practices must be acknowledged. This paper seeks to offer a new perspective to managers and human resource managers regarding the implementation of CSR activities.

Desistance from absconding: “You’ve got to have hope”

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 223-234
Author(s):  
Aliye Emirali ◽  
Rachel O'Rourke ◽  
Caroline Friendship
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Practical Support ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Stage 1 ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper explores absconding from a new perspective. Literature has tended to focus on the risk factors linked with absconding. This paper aims to consider desistance factors for absconding for prisoners at higher risk of absconding in open prisons. Design/methodology/approach Stage 1 used logistic regression to identify factors associated with increased risk of absconding. Stage 2 identified new receptions with increased risk and used thematic analysis to analyse interviews with prisoners that did not abscond after three months. Findings Stage 1 found that the total number of previous offences predicted absconding. Stage 2 found three themes linked to desistance in absconding: “support”, “ownership” and “sense of self”. Practical implications This study highlights the importance of ensuring prisoners in open prisons are offered the appropriate emotional and practical support. It also identifies the importance of hope amongst prisoners in open conditions. Future research should further explore this idea in more depth. Originality/value Previous literature has looked at absconding from a risk factor perspective. This research identifies the desistance factors associated with absconding for individuals who have been identified as high risk of absconding. Improvements in factors associated with desistance from absconding may support a reduction in absconding from open prisons.

scholarly journals Exploring the relationship between leadership and followership of Chinese project managers

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 616-647
Author(s):  
Haoran Li ◽  
Zhenzhi Zhao ◽  
Ralf Müller ◽  
Jingting Shao
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Leaders And Followers ◽  
Predicting Behavior ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Nation Wide Survey ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Selection Of

Purpose Followership is the free will recognition of leadership in the commitment toward realization of the collectively adopted organization vision and culture. The purpose of this paper is to identify the relationship between project managers’ leadership and their followership. Most project managers are both leaders and followers at the same time, but research typically investigates only their leadership. This ignores followership as an important aspect in understanding and predicting behavior, and further in the selection of project managers. Design/methodology/approach The method used for this paper is the explanatory in nature and a deductive approach, within which the above research hypothesis is tested through quantitative techniques. Data are collected through a nation-wide survey in China. Data analysis was done through factor analysis, canonical correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. Findings The results show that transformational leadership is positively correlated with transformational followership and transactional followership, and that transactional leadership is negatively correlated with transactional followership. Research limitations/implications The paper supports a deeper investigation into leadership and followership theories. A model for both leadership and followership is developed. The findings from this paper will guide organizations to choose the project managers. Originality/value The originality lies in the new way to examine the relationship between leadership and followership. It is the first study on the relationship of project managers. Its value is new insights, which introduced a new perspective to understand leadership and followership.

scholarly journals The role of marketing in today's enterprises

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen Wirtz ◽  
Sven Tuzovic ◽  
Volker G. Kuppelwieser
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Market Orientation ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Structural Models ◽  
The West ◽  
Marketing Department ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of marketing in today's enterprises and examines the antecedents of the marketing department's influence and its relationship with market orientation and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from the West (i.e. the USA and Europe) and the East (i.e. Asia). Partial least squares (PLS) was used to estimate structural models. Findings – The findings support the idea that a strong and influential marketing department contributes positively to firm performance. This finding holds for Western and Asian, and for small/medium and large firms alike. Second, the marketing department's influence in a firm depends more on its responsibilities and resources, and less on internal contingency factors (i.e. a firm's competitive strategy or institutional attributes). Third, a marketing department's influence in the West affects firm performance both directly and indirectly (via market orientation). In contrast, this relationship is fully mediated among Eastern firms. Fourth, low-cost strategies enhance the influence of a firm's marketing department in the East, but not in the West. Research limitations/implications – The paper assumes explicitly that a marketing department's influence is an antecedent of its market orientation. While the paper finds support for this link, the paper did not test for dual causality between the constructs. Originality/value – Countering the frequent claim in anecdotal and journalistic work that the role of the marketing department diminishes, the findings show that across different geographic regions and firm sizes, strong marketing departments improve firm performance (especially in the marketing-savvy West), and that they should continue to play an important role in firms.

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