The steering effects of citations and metrics

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lai Ma
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Social Constructivist ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ideal Speech Situation ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
Funding Agencies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Data Analytic

PurposeThis paper aims to understand the nature of citations and metrics in the larger system of knowledge production involving universities, funding agencies, publishers, and indexing and data analytic services.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the normative and social constructivist views of citations are reviewed to be understood as co-existing conditions. Second, metrics are examined through the processes of commensuration by tracing the meanings of metrics embedded in various kinds of documents and contexts. Third, the steering effects of citations and metrics on knowledge production are discussed. Finally, the conclusion addresses questions pertaining to the validity and legitimacy of citations as data and their implications for knowledge production and the conception of information.FindingsThe normative view of citations is understood as an ideal speech situation; the social constructivist view of citation is recognised in the system of knowledge production where citing motivations are influenced by epistemic, social and political factors. When organisational performances are prioritised and generate system imperatives, motives of competition become dominant in shaping citing behaviour, which can deviate from the norms and values in the academic lifeworld. As a result, citations and metrics become a non-linguistic steering medium rather than evidence of research quality and impact.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the understanding of the nature of citations and metrics and their implications for the conception of information and knowledge production.

Influencing factors on carbon reporting: an empirical study in Spanish companies

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
José María González‐González ◽  
Constancio Zamora‐Ramírez
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regulatory Pressure ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
The Social ◽  
Dow Jones Sustainability Index ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has become an international instrument for carbon reporting of companies. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of some factors of the institutional environment of organizations (regulatory pressure, sustainability normative demands and interconnectedness) on the evaluation obtained by Spanish companies in this project.Design/methodology/approachThis paper has proceeded to make a multiple regression analysis in order to analyze the relationship between the dependent variable (“Carbon Disclosure” qualification) and independent variables (regulatory pressure, sustainability normative demands and interconnectedness) supported on the computer program Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).FindingsThe results show that the interconnectedness of companies through their participation in associations that fight against climate change is the analyzed factor with a higher predictive power and statistical significance. Also, the regulatory pressure and normative demands from sustainability indexes, such as Dow Jones Sustainability Index, influence the carbon reporting of organizations participating in the CDP.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitation of this paper is the reduced number of Spanish companies participating in the CDP.Originality/valueThis paper highlights the importance of the role developed by the associations fighting against climate change, since they allow the members to belong to a network through which they share resources, norms and values that positively and significantly influence their behaviour related to carbon reporting.

scholarly journals A tale of reverse deviance: non-compliant spatial practices in the land of Gomorrah

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (11/12) ◽  
pp. 828-840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Trifuoggi
Keyword(s):  
Organised Crime ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Production Of Space ◽  
Spatial Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
The Social ◽  
Worker Cooperatives ◽  
Alternative Methodology

Purpose – Being territoriality a distinctive feature of mafia groups, the purpose of this paper is to study how the production of space contributes to the reproduction of such organisations by reinforcing their norms and values. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides an ethnographic account of the regeneration of space for the establishment of legal worker cooperatives in previous mafia territories. It aims to illuminate, by contrast, how space reflects the social construction of the mafia governance. Findings – The account of non-compliant spatial practices of legal worker cooperatives in the area of Caserta (aka Gomorrah) elucidates how mafia groups set great value on space, making sense of the societal dimension of territoriality for Italian organised crime. Research limitations/implications – Compared to the current literature, this paper explores the link between space and organised crime not only in ecological terms but also in cultural ones. Furthermore, it suggests an alternative methodology for accessing the unspoken of the mafia phenomenon. Practical implications – The account of the reterritorialisation process provided in this paper raises several policy implications for the fight against the mafia. Originality/value – The paper focuses on territoriality for a more comprehensive understanding of the mafia phenomenon, attempting to conciliate the idiosyncratic aspects of Italian criminal networks with a more general framework of analysis for the study of organised crime. It also bridges between the organised crime topic and the sociology of space.

scholarly journals The Multidimensional Research Agendas Inventory—Revised (MDRAI-R): Factors shaping researchers’ research agendas in all fields of knowledge

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-93
Author(s):  
Hugo Horta ◽  
João M. Santos
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Research Impact ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Research Organizations ◽  
Funding Agencies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Agendas ◽  
R Factors

This study creates a novel inventory that characterizes factors influencing the research agendas of researchers in all fields of knowledge: the Multi-dimensional Research Agendas Inventory-Revised (MDRAI-R). The MDRAI-R optimizes an initial inventory designed for the social sciences (the MDRAI) by reducing the number of items per dimension, improving the inventory’s psychometric properties, and including new dimensions (“Academia Driven” and “Society Driven”) that reflect the greater influence of social and organizational structures on knowledge production and demands for research impact. This inventory enhances our ability to measure research activities at a time when researchers’ choices matter more than ever, and it will be of interest to researchers, policy makers, research funding agencies, and university and research organizations.

Collaboration supports successful outcomes

Impact ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (9) ◽  
pp. 4-5
Author(s):  
Antonio Loprieno
Keyword(s):  
Full Range ◽  
Science Research ◽  
European Federation ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Learned Societies ◽  
Framework Conditions

ALLEA (All European Academies) is the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities. It was founded in 1994 and brings together almost 60 Academies of Sciences and Learned Societies from over 40 countries in the Council of Europe region. ALLEA is financed by annual dues from its member academies and remains fully independent from political, religious, commercial or ideological interests.<br/> Member Academies operate as learned societies, think tanks, or research performing organisations. They are self-governing communities of leaders of scholarly enquiry across all fields of the natural sciences, the social sciences and the humanities. ALLEA therefore provides access to an unparalleled human resource of intellectual excellence, experience and expertise. Furthermore, its integrative membership structure comprises Academies from both EU and non-EU member states in Europe.<br/> ALLEA seeks to contribute to improving the framework conditions under which science and scholarship can excel. Jointly with its Member Academies, ALLEA is in a position to address the full range of structural and policy issues facing Europe in science, research and innovation. In doing so, it is guided by a common understanding of Europe, bound together by historical, social and political factors as well as for scientific and economic reasons.

Fluid Multilingual Practices among Youth in Cameroon and Mozambique

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torun Reite ◽  
Francis Badiang Oloko ◽  
Manuel Armando Guissemo
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Urban Youth ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Theoretical Discussion ◽  
The South ◽  
African Cities ◽  
Social Lives ◽  
The Social

Inspired by recent epistemological and ontological debates aimed at unsettling and reshaping conceptions of language, this essay discusses how mainstream sociolinguistics offers notions meaningful for studying contexts of the South. Based on empirical studies of youth in two African cities, Yaoundé in Cameroon and Maputo in Mozambique, the essay engages with “fluid modernity” and “enregisterment” to unravel the role that fluid multilingual practices play in the social lives of urban youth. The empirically grounded theoretical discussion shows how recent epistemologies and ontologies offer inroads to more pluriversal knowledge production. The essay foregrounds: i) the role of language in the sociopolitical battles of control over resources, and ii) speakers’ reflexivity and metapragmatic awareness of register formations of fluid multilingual practices. Moreover, it shows how bundles of localized meanings construct belongings and counterhegemonic discourses, as well as demonstrating speakers’ differential valuations and perceptions of boundaries and transgressions across social space.

The path of support-to-sales: mediating role of seller collaborative information exchange in social commerce

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Chen ◽  
Fengxia Zhu ◽  
Murali Mantrala
Keyword(s):  
Information Exchange ◽  
Instrumental Support ◽  
Trade Volume ◽  
Social Commerce ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
The Social ◽  
Source Data ◽  
Negative Effect

Purpose This paper aims to systematically investigate the direct and indirect effects of four types of support – peer instrumental support, peer emotional support, platform business support and platform communication support – on seller trade volume in social commerce. It also aims to uncover the path of support-to-sales of the seller from a platform perspective and provides a more complete picture of the social commerce phenomenon. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses multi-source data including primary survey data and secondary data on trade volume to test the hypotheses. PROCESS mediation model is used to analyze the multi-source data set. Findings This study finds that the positive effects of peer instrumental support, platform business support and platform communication support on seller trade volume are fully mediated by seller collaborative information exchange. Also, peer emotional support has a significant negative effect on seller trade volume and collaborative information exchange can serve as a buffer to mitigate the negative effect. Research limitations/implications The authors provide new insights into what types of support are or are not conducive to improving transaction volume of individual sellers and highlight the mediating role of seller information exchange in this value generation process in social commerce. These findings advance current knowledge of how seller interactions increase value in social commerce. The chosen research setting may limit the generalizability of the findings of this study. Practical implications This paper offers valuable implications for social commerce platforms on how to better serve their sellers to achieve high growth. Specifically, the findings suggest that platforms should encourage instrumental support and information exchange among peer sellers. In addition, platforms should expand seller support from a single-focus on sellers’ business to a dual-focus on both sellers’ business and socialization in social commerce. Originality/value This paper fulfills an identified need to study how sellers can better derive value from the social interactions and how social commerce platforms can effectively influence transactions, support sales and serve as a selling platform.

scholarly journals Are you really using Yarning research? Mapping Social and Family Yarning to strengthen Yarning research quality

2021 ◽  
pp. 117718012110154
Author(s):  
Petah Atkinson ◽  
Marilyn Baird ◽  
Karen Adams
Keyword(s):  
Research Method ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Aboriginal Community ◽  
Participant Recruitment ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Convenience Sampling ◽  
Missing Feature ◽  
Published Research

Yarning as a research method has its grounding as an Aboriginal culturally specified process. Significant to the Research Yarn is relationality, however; this is a missing feature of published research findings. This article aims to address this. The research question was, what can an analysis of Social and Family Yarning tell us about relationality that underpins a Research Yarn. Participant recruitment occurred using convenience sampling, and data collection involved Yarning method. Five steps of data analysis occurred featuring Collaborative Yarning and Mapping. Commonality existed between researcher and participants through predominantly experiences of being a part of Aboriginal community, via Aboriginal organisations and Country. This suggests shared explicit and tacit knowledge and generation of thick data. Researchers should report on their experience with Yarning, the types of Yarning they are using, and the relationality generated from the Social, Family and Research Yarn.

The 2016 Police and Crime Commissioner elections

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Joyce
Keyword(s):  
Public Awareness ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Source Material ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Government

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the 2016 elections for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and to compare them with those that took place in 2012. It seeks to evaluate the background of the candidates who stood for office in 2016, the policies that they put forward, the results of the contests and the implications of the 2016 experience for future PCC elections. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based around several key themes – the profile of candidates who stood for election, preparations conducted prior to the contests taking place, the election campaign and issues raised during the contests, the results and the profile of elected candidates. The paper is based upon documentary research, making particular use of primary source material. Findings The research establishes that affiliation to a political party became the main route for successful candidates in 2016 and that local issues related to low-level criminality will dominate the future policing agenda. It establishes that although turnout was higher than in 2012, it remains low and that further consideration needs to be devoted to initiatives to address this for future PCC election contests. Research limitations/implications The research focusses on the 2016 elections and identifies a number of key issues that emerged during the campaign affecting the conduct of the contests which have a bearing on future PCC elections. It treats these elections as a bespoke topic and does not seek to place them within the broader context of the development of the office of PCC. Practical implications The research suggests that in order to boost voter participation in future PCC election contests, PCCs need to consider further means to advertise the importance of the role they perform and that the government should play a larger financial role in funding publicity for these elections and consider changing the method of election. Social implications The rationale for introducing PCCs was to empower the public in each police force area. However, issues that include the enhanced importance of political affiliation as a criteria for election in 2016 and the social unrepresentative nature of those who stood for election and those who secured election to this office in these contests coupled with shortcomings related to public awareness of both the role of PCCs and the timing of election contests threaten to undermine this objective. Originality/value The extensive use of primary source material ensures that the subject matter is original and its interpretation is informed by an academic perspective.

Surface Media: McLuhan, the Bauhaus and the Tactile Values of TV

2021 ◽  
pp. 1357034X2110089
Author(s):  
Henning Schmidgen
Keyword(s):  
Media Use ◽  
Bruno Latour ◽  
Marshall Mcluhan ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Actors ◽  
Sense Of Touch ◽  
Light Beams ◽  
Digital Computers

Marshall McLuhan understood television (TV) as a tactile medium. This understanding implied what Bruno Latour might call a ‘symmetrical’ conception of tactility. According to McLuhan, not only human actors are endowed with the sense of touch. In addition, TV, digital computers and other ‘electric media’ use light beams and similar scanning techniques for ceaselessly ‘caressing the contours’ of their surroundings. This notion of tactility was crucially shaped by the holistic aesthetics of the early Bauhaus. To get at the specific features of the TV image, McLuhan relied on the writings of László Moholy-Nagy and Sigfried Giedion, in particular their use of photography for capturing and highlighting the ‘texture’ of surfaces. However, he hardly reflected the social and political factors that, in the age of electric media, contribute to the ‘symmetricization’ of touch.

“Please tidy up before leaving”: nudging Airbnb guests toward altruistic behavior

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 524-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Ranson ◽  
Daniel Guttentag
Keyword(s):  
Social Presence ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Altruistic Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Relationship Model ◽  
Social Market ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This study aimed to investigate whether increasing the social presence within an Airbnb lodging environment could nudge guests toward altruistic cleaning behaviors. Design/methodology/approach The study was based around a theoretical framework combining the social-market versus money-market relationship model, nudge theory and social presence theory. A series of three field experiments were conducted, in which social presence was manipulated to test its impact on guest cleaning behaviors prior to departure. Findings The experimental results confirmed the underlying hypothesis that an Airbnb listing’s enhanced social presence can subtly induce guests to help clean their rental units prior to departure. Originality/value This study is the first to examine behavioral nudging in an Airbnb context. It is also one of the first field experiments involving Airbnb. The study findings offer clear theoretical and practical implications.

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