scholarly journals Boundary practices at incident sites

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Kvarnlöf ◽  
Roine Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Services ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Joint Work ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Negotiated Order ◽  
Emergency Personnel ◽  
Boundary Practices ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Source Of Information

Purpose – Incident sites can be described as the joint work site of the emergency services, where one of their challenges is to interact with the public. The purpose of this paper is to study how this interaction is structured by the emergency personnel's jurisdictional claims. Design/methodology/approach – This paper rests upon qualitative method and in-depth interviews. In total, 28 people have been interviewed, out of which 13 are emergency personnel and 15 are unaffiliated volunteers. The interview material has been analysed qualitatively and thematically by the authors. Findings – The findings show that the interaction between emergency personnel and unaffiliated volunteers can be described in terms of three different boundary practices: cordoning off, division of labour and conversation, varying in degrees of inclusion and exclusion. The result shows that the emergency personnel's relationship to volunteers is ambivalent, as they are both seen as an uncertain element at the incident site in need of control and as a valuable source of information. Originality/value – While most other studies have been focusing on the interaction between emergency organizations, the authors have investigated the interaction between emergency organizations and a group previously unstudied: unaffiliated volunteers. While sociologists in the field of boundary work normally describe boundary practices in terms of negotiation, sympathizing with the concept of negotiated order, the results point to the fact that boundaries are not necessarily a subject for negotiation.

Public relations in the age of data: corporate perspectives on social media analytics (SMA)

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy R. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Paula L. Weissman
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Management Function ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Corporate Brands ◽  
Depth Interviews

PurposeThe aim of this study was to understand how public relations leaders view and use social media analytics (SMA) and the impact of SMA on the public relations function.Design/methodology/approachThe research involved in-depth interviews with chief communication officers (CCOs) from leading multinational corporate brands.FindingsThe findings revealed that although CCOs perceive social media analytics as strategically important to the advancement of public relations, the use of social media data is slowed by challenges associated with building SMA capacity.Theoretical and practical implications – The research extends public relations theory on public relations as a strategic management function and provides practical insights for building SMA capabilities.Originality/valueThe study is among the first to provide empirical evidence of how companies are using social media analytics to enhance public relations efforts.

scholarly journals Early contractor involvement approaches in public project procurement

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 355-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulos Abebe Wondimu ◽  
Ali Hosseini ◽  
Jadar Lohne ◽  
Ola Laedre
Keyword(s):  
Success Factors ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Public Project ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Treat All ◽  
First Time ◽  
Project Procurement ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose Early contractor involvement (ECI) faces many barriers when it is implemented in public procurement, given that it is different from traditional business practices. Primarily, public owners face a major challenge, as they should treat all bidders equally. The purpose of this paper is to explore suitable ECI approaches that public owners could use. Design/methodology/approach In addition to a literature and document study, 14 semi-structured in-depth interviews with key personnel from 11 cases selected from Norwegian public bridge projects were carried out. Findings In all, 23 unique approaches of ECI were identified during this research (16 from literature and 7 new from case projects). The findings provide a new direction to ECI through introducing new approaches of ECI from the case projects. Originality/value This paper for the first time presents several alternatives of ECI approaches for public owners with the intention of illustrating ECI is actually possible in the public project procurement. Furthermore, it presents for the first time success factors of ECI with the intention of increasing the understanding of ECI concept from a public procurement perspective.

scholarly journals Kontanthjælpsmodtagerens kritiske register

2015 ◽  
pp. 63-77
Author(s):  
Mathias Herup Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Political Protest ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Joint Work ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Protests ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Unemployed ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Domestic Form ◽  
Shed Light

This article investigates different acts of political protests currently floating from unemployed citizens who are being affected by recent retrenchment policy reforms. Whereas most of the existing literature tends to portray political protest as either collective and public or individual and private, this article attempts instead to shed light on the plurality of normative resources activated by the unemployed in a highly critical situation. Thereby the analysis moves between the collective and the individual as well as between the public and the private. Using the theoretical framework developed by Laurent Thévenot and Luc Boltanski in their joint work on justification, the article analyses a specific case, namely unemployed Danish recipients of social assistance who are affected by a new policy initiative meaning that their income has been lowered. Drawing on newspaper articles and qualitative in-depth interviews with affected citizens, the analysis unfolds and theorizes upon three very different forms of protesting: a civic, an industrial and a domestic form of resistance.

Use of e-government services: the role of trust

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 622-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercy Mpinganjira
Keyword(s):  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Services ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Online Channel ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of trust in understanding usage of e-government services in South Africa. Of interest are services that involve two way interactions between citizens and government. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from members of the public using in-depth interviews and a structured questionnaire, respectively. Findings – The findings show that trust in internet and in government as a provider of e-services are important factors that differentiates users and non-users of e-government services. The two factors are also significantly related to willingness to start using e-government services. Trust in e-service provider unlike trust in internet was however found to be a stronger differentiator of users and non-users and to have a stronger relationship with willingness to start using e-government services. Practical implications – Efforts aimed at promoting use of e-government services need to be based on a good understanding of factors that impact on citizens’ decisions in this regard. Such efforts need to include activities targeted at improving people’s trust in government’s ability to provide reliable and secure e-services. Originality/value – While provision of government services using the online channel is a growing phenomenon in most African countries, not much research has been done into what governments should focus on in order to entice more citizens to take up this channel. This study contributes to addressing this gap.

Who leads?

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan H Deacon ◽  
Jacqueline A Harris ◽  
Louise Worth
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Gendered Identities ◽  
Value Contribution ◽  
Familial Relationship ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Participant Observer ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to engage with contemporary gender and entrepreneurship theories to gain insights into the division of labour, capitals and capacities and gendered identities within husband and wife heterosexual copreneurial businesses. This paper acknowledges copreneurship as a constituent sub group of research within family business and in doing so, the wider small business domain. Design/methodology/approach – A multiple exploratory interview approach was used, with data generated through face-to-face in-depth interviews and ethnographic participant – observer multi-setting observation. This approach provided exceedingly rich and detailed data, and thus insights into the complex relationships found within copreneurial businesses. Findings – The interviews generated a large amount of qualitative data, which were organised into themes through a process of recursive abstraction. Expelling the myth of the “male lead entrepreneur”, this study found that entrepreneurial identity and roles and responsibilities within a copreneurial business are shared and complementary, and are dependent upon the unique capacities and capitals of each partner. While there is evidence of duties that could be stereotypically described as either “men’s work or women’s work”, there was no apparent role tension between the partners. Thus, no partner’s contribution was deemed more valuable than the other. Originality/value – By examining the division of labour and unique value/contribution of both men and women within the copreneurial/familial relationship the stereotyped perception of the husband being the lead (male) entrepreneur is challenged in favour of the more complementary capacities, roles, responsibilities and, thus, value of each actor/participant.

scholarly journals Rational and symbolic uses of performance measurement

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 750-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorota Dobija ◽  
Anna Maria Górska ◽  
Giuseppe Grossi ◽  
Wojciech Strzelczyk
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Endogenous Factors ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
The Public ◽  
Loosely Coupled ◽  
Exogenous Factors ◽  
The University ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to facilitate a deeper understanding of the uses and users of performance measurement (PM) in the university context. Design/methodology/approach Empirical data were gathered from four universities. This approach allows for a multilevel and comparative analysis based on the neo-institutional theory. The results are discussed alongside interdisciplinary literature on the use of PM in the public sector. Findings PM practices at universities have become increasingly popular on institutional, organisational and individual levels. The results indicate that different types of PM are used in universities and that the extent, and scope of PM used by various actors differ. Universities often use PM in a ceremonial and symbolic manner, with the aim of legitimising themselves externally as research-oriented institutions. The use of PM depends on both, exogenous factors (such as isomorphic pressures) and endogenous factors related to the different responses of organisations and individual actors (university managers, and academics). However, the analysis at the internal level reveals different attitudes and some resistance to the use of such kinds of PM. In universities with a local focus, the use of PM for rational decision-making is generally loosely coupled with the reporting performance for external accountability purposes. Moreover, the internal use of PM can be also symbolic. Research limitations/implications This paper focusses on four case studies that are currently undergoing changes. The comparative analysis is supported by the use of different data collection methods and several in-depth interviews with key university actors. Originality/value The authors assume that the use of PM depends on a number of exogenous and endogenous factors. PM uses and users are discussed in the specific context of the higher education system in Poland. The four business school cases facilitate a comparative analysis of the similarities and differences in terms of the uses and users of PM in the context of internationally and locally oriented universities.

Modernizing tradition – the Thai silk industry

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Preeya Patichol ◽  
Wiani Wongsurawat ◽  
Lalit M. Johri
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Silk Industry ◽  
Innovative Strategies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Direct Competition ◽  
Traditional Industry ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose – This paper identifies challenges the traditional Thai silk industry has faced during its internationalization, and the public and private responses employed to overcome challenges. Design/methodology/approach – In-depth interviews were conducted with major players along the Thai silk value chain to gain insights into the industry's transformation from a domestic, cottage industry into an international fashion producer. Findings – Thai silk has created a niche market for high-end, cultural products, thus successfully sidestepping direct competition from emerging low-cost producers. The main innovative strategies employed include introducing new products, upgrading quality, attracting new customers, and collaboration between actors all along the silk value chain. Originality/value – This study illustrates how a traditional industry can evolve and successfully adapt to changing consumer demands and competitive landscapes in a globalize economy.

Reading literacy practices among retirees in Kenya: why and how public libraries matter to them

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 119-131
Author(s):  
Peter Mose ◽  
Everlyn Mose
Keyword(s):  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Reading Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Collection Data ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Reading Activities ◽  
Source Of Information

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to establish reading practices among retirees and to what extent public libraries in Kenya are a source of information and knowledge to them.Design/methodology/approachThis was a qualitative study whose research questions were; what are retirees' reading practices? why do retirees engage in the reading practices they engage in? and to what extent do retirees use the public library for their reading practices? Purposive and snowballing were used as sampling techniques and interview was used for data collection. Data were analysed thematically.FindingsThe findings were that retirees' reading practices are fragmentary and erratic; retirees mainly engage in reading practices for spiritual reasons and for access of current information; and that retirees do not use the services of the public library for their reading activities.Research limitations/implicationsThe research sample is 16 subjects who might not represent features of the whole population. The findings are, however, an index to what the situation might be.Originality/valueThe findings are the result of actual qualitative research.

Models explaining the perceived outcomes of public libraries

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 640-657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pertti Vakkari
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Multivariate Techniques ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
Source Of Information

Purpose – The benefits of public libraries as perceived by adults in everyday activities, in cultural activities and in career are modeled by multivariate techniques. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The survey data are based on a representative sample of 1,000 Finnish adults ranging from 15 to 79 years. The perceived benefits were modeled by linear regression analysis and by path analysis. Findings – The models explain 27-32 percent of the variation in the three benefit types observed. The role and the explanatory power of the factors included in the models vary to a certain extent between the benefit types. Research limitations/implications – The results are generalizable at least to small, wealthy welfare states with a well-developed public library system. Practical implications – It seems that the public library functions relatively more as a source of information for everyday activities in older age groups, whereas more as a source of information for career in younger age groups. The public library should profile its services accordingly. Originality/value – This is first study to model the factors associated with the benefits adults derive by using the public library in the major areas of life.

Corruption and anti-corruption strategies in Iran

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-89
Author(s):  
Habeeb Abdulrauf Salihu ◽  
Amin Jafari
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Source ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Financial Crimes ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
Information Materials ◽  
Online Sources ◽  
Source Of Information

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the various anti-corruption strategies used to fight economic and financial crimes in both the public and private sectors in Iran. Design/methodology/approach This paper relied essentially on a secondary source of information. Materials used were collected in an eclectic manner from published outlets such as journal publications, books, online sources and newspaper reports. Also, official documents and statutes were also used. This study’s scope is limited to issues and analysis relating to measures adopted to combat corruption in Iran. Findings The legal and institutional frameworks analysed indicated that Iran has a robust anti-corruption scheme. However, there is no adequate measure available to gauge the effectiveness of these measures. Practical implications The paper concludes that conventional anti-corruption methods are not enough to fight corruption in this present time, thus, the implementation of whistle-blower policy and allowing freedom of operation of the civil society organisations and media would assist in the fight against corruption in Iran. Originality/value The paper provides the legal and institutional anti-corruption frameworks in Iran. It explores the three major approaches or methods of combating corruption and other corrupt practices in Iran.

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