The nonpharmaceutical interventionist (NPI) signs of the coronavirus pandemic: a documentary typology and case study of COVID-19 signage

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Richard Hugh Kosciejew
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Nonpharmaceutical Interventions ◽  
Essential Extensions ◽  
Point Of Departure

PurposeSigns saturate and surround society. This article illuminates the significant roles played by documentation within the context of the coronavirus pandemic. It centres, what it terms as, “COVID-19 signage” as essential extensions of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) into society. It posits that this signage helps materialize, mediate and articulate the pandemic from an unseen phenomenon into tangible objects with which people see and interact.Design/methodology/approachThis article presents a documentary typology of COVID-19 signage to provide a conceptual framework in which to situate, approach and analyse this diverse documentation and its implications for social life and traffic. Further, this article offers a case study of Malta's COVID-19 signage that helped materialize, mediate and articulate the pandemic across the European island nation during its national lockdown in the first half of 2020. This case study helps contextualize these signs and serves as a dual contemporary and historical overview of their creation, implementation and use.FindingsThe coronavirus pandemic cannot be seen with the naked eye. It is, in many respects, an abstraction. Documents enable the virus to be seen and the pandemic to be an experienced reality. Specifically, COVID-19 signage materializes the disease and pandemic into tangible items that individuals interact with and see on a daily basis as they navigate society. From personal to environmental to community signs, these documents have come to mediate social life and articulate COVID-19 during this extraordinary health crisis. A material basis of a shared “pandemic social culture” is consequently established by and through this signage and its ubiquity.Research limitations/implicationsThis article can serve as a point of departure for analyses of other kinds of COVID-19 signage in various contexts. It can serve as an anchor or example for other investigations into what other signs were used, including why, when and how they were produced, designed, formatted, implemented, enforced, altered and/or removed. For instance, it could be used for comparative studies between different NPIs and their associated signage, or of the signage appearing between different cities or countries or even the differences in signage at various political and socio-temporal points of the pandemic.Social implicationsIt is dually hoped that this article's documentary typology, and historical snapshot, of COVID-19 signage could help inform how current and future NPIs into society are or can be used to mitigate the coronavirus or other potential health crises as well as serve as both a contemporary and historical snapshot of some of the immediate and early responses to the pandemic.Originality/valueThis documentary typology can be applied to approaches and analyses of other kinds of COVID-19 signage and related documentation. By serving as a conceptual framework in which situate, approach and analyse these documents, it is hoped that this article can help create a sense of clarity in reflections on sign-saturated environments as well as be practically employed for examining and understanding the effective implementation of NPIs in this pandemic and other health crises.

Cultural societies and information needs: Croats in New Zealand

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (8/9) ◽  
pp. 652-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maja Krtalić ◽  
Ivana Hebrang Grgić
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
Home Country ◽  
Immigrant Communities ◽  
Technological Changes ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper was to explore how small immigrant communities in host countries collect, disseminate and present information about their home country and their community, and the role of formal societies and clubs in it. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents the results of a case study of the Croatian community in New Zealand. To illustrate how cultural and technological changes affected information dissemination and communication within the community, the case study presents both historical and current situations. Methods used in this case study included a content analysis of historical newspapers published in New Zealand by the Croatian community, content analysis of current webpages and social networking sites, and interviews with participants who have management roles in Croatian societies and communities in New Zealand. Data were collected from December 2018 to February 2019. Findings Formally established clubs and societies, but also informal groups of immigrants and their descendants can play a significant role in providing their members with information about the culture, social life and events of the home country. They also play a significant role in preserving part of the history and heritage which is relevant, not only for a specific community but also for the history and culture of a home country. Originality/value The methodology used in the research is based on data from community archives and can be used for studying other small immigrant communities in New Zealand or abroad. The case study presented in the paper illustrates how the information environment of small immigrant communities develops and changes over the years under the influence of diverse political, social and technological changes.

scholarly journals In pursuit of supply chain fit

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 821-844 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasmine Sabri
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Organisational Structure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Supply Chain Strategy ◽  
Corporate Groups ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop exploratory propositions and a conceptual framework on the interaction between organisational structure (decision-making centralisation and internal coordination) and the relationship between supply chain fit and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Through a case study, two corporate groups with distinctive organisational structures were examined; both are undergoing a critical moment of changes to their top management and are reshaping their corporate and supply chain strategies. Data on decision-making centralisation, internal coordination mechanisms, supply, demand and innovation uncertainties, and supply chain strategies were collected from key respondents. Findings The analysis conducted suggests the need to consider the joint interaction between organisational structure and supply chain fit in offsetting the implications of a potential misfit on firm performance. Furthermore, the context sensitivity of a supply chain is often overlooked, hence simply modifying supply chain strategy does not necessarily lead to a variation in firm performance. Practical implications This research is of particular importance to most organisations in the testing times of uncertainty in the global landscape. It guides supply chain practitioners to better understand which elements of the organisational structure interact with the uncertainty of supply, demand and innovation. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to investigate the interaction between elements of organisational structure and supply chain fit and identify decision-making centralisation and coordination as the internal uncertainty factors that are most relevant to supply chain fit research. A conceptual framework has been built for future testing, in which the organisational structure moderates the relationship between supply chain fit and firm performance.

Assessing e-readiness of the Copperbelt University, Zambia: case study

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 315-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matuka Chipembele ◽  
Kelvin Joseph Bwalya
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Working Environments ◽  
Methodological Triangulation ◽  
Ict Infrastructure ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The University

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess e-readiness (preparedness) of the Copperbelt University (CBU) with a view to ascertain the likelihood of the university benefiting from various opportunities unlocked by the adoption and use of ICT in advancing its core mandate of teaching, learning and collaborative research. Design/methodology/approach The study used the network readiness model emanating from the socio-technical theory, which underpins the extended technological enactment framework. Further, it employed a positivist approach and adopted a case study method coupled with methodological triangulation at data collection stage. With a 95 per cent confidence level of a possible sample frame of 2,980, the study sampled 353 respondents with a response rate of 81 per cent. Findings The results show that anticipated ICTs users have not leveraged available ICT infrastructure or are unaware of its existence. Further, quantitative constructs: “accessibility to ICTs” and “requisite ICTs skills” has significant impacts on e-readiness indicators and in integration of ICTs in CBU core business activities. Also, the study argues that institutional ICT policy and working environments reshape users’ perception of ICTs for teaching, learning and research. Research limitations/implications The proposed conceptual framework only accounted for 43 per cent variance of the factors determining e-readiness of CBU. Originality/value Investigating CBU’s e-readiness will enable policy-makers to prioritise interventions needed for transforming the university into an e-ready entity favourably placed to benefit from digital opportunities. Also the emanating conceptual framework is important to theory and practice in integrating ICTs universities business value chains especially in contextually similar environments.

Using inquiry-based learning in executive education programmes

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 599-613
Author(s):  
Debananda Misra
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Executive Education ◽  
Management Research ◽  
Managerial Work ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Inquiry Based Learning ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This study aims to examine managers’ considerations for leveraging management research for their work and the implications of such considerations on using inquiry-based learning (IBL) in customised executive education programmes (CEEPs) offered by business schools (b-schools). Design/methodology/approach The study proposes a conceptual framework that is validated using a single case study analysis. For the case study, semi-structured interviews were carried out with the top leadership of an organisation. Using the findings of the interviews, a survey was designed and administered to the managers of the organisation to further validate the findings. Findings This study identifies four considerations of the managers for leveraging management research. It analyses how faculty members can use IBL to design CEEPs to meet these considerations and link management research with managerial work. Research limitations/implications The single organisational context in which the study was carried out and the small sample size of the survey can be seen as a limitation of this article to produce generalisable considerations of managers. Practical implications The findings in this study have practical implications on the design and teaching practices of using IBL in CEEPs. Originality/value The main contribution of this study is the conceptual framework for deciding the teaching practices of IBL in CEEPs. Another contribution is its analysis at the level of individual managers, which provides novel insights about the relationship between management research and managerial work.

On the complexities of studying sensitive communities online as a researcher–participant

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ylva Hård af Segerstad
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Research Subject ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Emotional Challenges ◽  
Context Sensitive ◽  
Vulnerable Communities ◽  
Bereaved Parents ◽  
Grief Support Group ◽  
Point Of Departure

Purpose This study aims to explore the complexities of methodological, ethical and emotional challenges of studying sensitive and vulnerable communities online from the perspective of simultaneously being a researcher and a research subject. The point of departure for these explorations consists of the author’s past and ongoing studies of the role and use of a closed grief support group on Facebook for bereaved parents – a community of which the author is a member. The aim is not to provide ready solutions for “how to do ethics,” but rather to contribute to the collective and ongoing work initiated by the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR), among others, and to recognize the necessity of ethical pluralism, cross-cultural awareness and an interdisciplinary approach. Design/methodology/approach This is an explorative study, drawing on an (auto)ethnographic case study. The case serves as a point of departure for discussing the complexities of methodological, ethical and emotional challenges of studying sensitive and vulnerable communities online from the perspective of simultaneously being a researcher and a research subject. Findings Being a researcher and a research subject rolled into one, as it were, presents both opportunities and challenges. To conduct responsible research from both these perspectives pose high demands on the researchers’ ethical as well as emotional capacities and responsibilities. Hopes and expectancies of the community under study might put the researcher into a dilemma, ethical aspects of anonymity and informed consent might have to be reconsidered as well as emotional challenges of engaging in and with sensitive research, all of which makes for a complex balancing act. Ethics and methods are inextricably intertwined, so are the emotional challenges of conducting sensitive research intermingled. Studying vulnerable individuals and closed communities online highlights the necessity for case and context sensitive research and for flexibility, adaptivity and mindfulness of the researcher. It also highlights the importance of discussing and questioning theoretical, methodological and ethical developments for studying everyday life practices online. Originality/value The challenges encountered in this case study contribute to the experientially grounded approach to research ethics emphasized in AoIR’s ethics guidelines. This case offers an opportunity to explore and discuss complex issues arising from the researcher’s insider position in a closed group devoted to the sensitive topic of supporting bereaved parents. Further, it highlights the necessity for research to be case and context sensitive as well as for the researcher and the research design to be flexible and adaptive. Research on vulnerable communities also heightens the demands of ethical responsibility of the researcher and the research process.

Market investments in resource interfaces: understanding market assets in networks

IMP Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frans Prenkert
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Production Network ◽  
Business Network ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Interaction Approach ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an account of who forms what market assets by making what market investments in a business network. Design/methodology/approach To investigate what market investments were made by certain actors into resource interfaces as market assets, the author draws on a case network based on an investigation of the Chilean salmon production network. To this end, the author chose the fish – being the focal object resource in that network – as a point of departure. The author systematically investigates the resource interfaces that this resource has with three other specific resources: feed, fishmeal, and vaccines in a thick case study. Findings This study shows that market investments entail committing resources to resource interfaces which turns them into market assets. Resource interfaces as market assets have implications on how we characterize and value resource interfaces. Multilateral resource interfaces become valuable to firms as a result of continuous market investments made into them. This produces different types of resource interfaces, some of which are of mediatory character bridging between distant resources in a network. Research limitations/implications This study focuses on the market investments being made to create and sustain market assets. Of course such assets are linked to a firm’s internal assets which this study do not investigate. In addition, this study emphasizes the commitment of resources into existing resource interfaces, the ensuing creation of market assets, and its use and value for firms and downplays a firm’s need to account for market investments and the market investments required to create a new resource interface. Practical implications As resource interfaces are valuable market assets, it is important to understand the functioning of different types of resource interfaces so as to exploit their potential as efficient as possible. This paper shows that some resources act as bridging resources connecting the borders of two indirectly related resources. Controlling bridging resources becomes an essential task for managers in business networks. Social implications Understanding the market investments into resource interfaces enables firms to become more skilled in organizing and controlling networks. These networks can play important roles in the economic development of society and create improved societal conditions for people, organizations, and economies. Originality/value By combining a market investment and market asset conceptualization of investments in networks with a resource interaction approach, this paper provides an enhanced understanding of resource interfaces as market assets. Theoretical implications for our understanding of resource interfaces – its value and character – are discussed.

Collective social enterprises for social innovation

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 1415-1440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Rey-García ◽  
Nuria Calvo ◽  
Vanessa Mato-Santiso
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managerial Efficiency

Purpose Cross-sector partnerships (CSPs) are one type of collective social enterprise that has gained importance as a vehicle for social innovation (SI). The purpose of this paper is to understand the sources of the competitive advantage of CSPs as a strategic option for SI. Design/methodology/approach The authors propose a conceptual framework that integrates two interrelated dimensions of CSP competitiveness – resources and coordination – and their corresponding indicators. Then, the authors apply it to an in-depth case study through qualitative enquiry of a large CSP in the field of work integration during its formation and implementation stages (2012–2016). The authors employ a case study design with process tracing methods for increased validity, analyzing structured data from multiple sources (documentary, in-depth interviews with field experts and key decision-makers in coordinating partner organizations, direct observations) through narrative and visual mapping strategies. Findings Results illustrate the dynamic interaction between the key dimensions and factors that shape the potential and limitations of CSPs for SI and evidence three types of tensions which management influences partnership outcomes: hierarchical/horizontal commitment; competition/collaboration; and managerial efficiency/social transformation. Originality/value This research highlights the pivotal role of product development for the organizing of SI in a CSP context and proposes a conceptual framework that paves the way for future research on the sources of competitive advantage of CSPs, facilitating the assessment of their performance in terms of socially innovative outcomes.

Social media models, technologies, and applications

2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (5) ◽  
pp. 769-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric W.T. Ngai ◽  
Ka-leung Karen Moon ◽  
S.S. Lam ◽  
Eric S. K. Chin ◽  
Spencer S.C. Tao
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Behavior Theories ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research ◽  
Media Applications

Purpose – In recent years, social media have attracted considerable attention. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to conduct a critical literature review of social media research with the aim of developing a conceptual framework to explain how social media applications are supported by various social media tools and technologies and underpinned by a set of personal and social behavior theories or models. Design/methodology/approach – This study adopted a two-stage approach. The first stage involves a critical literature review of academic journals in social media research, followed by the proposal of a conceptual framework that highlights the tools and technologies as well as theories and models that serve as the foundation of social media applications. The second stage involves the use of an actual case to demonstrate how the proposed framework facilitates the development of a social media application for a regional division of an international non-government organization. Findings – The literature review indicated that social media have been applied in diverse business areas with the support of various social media tools and technologies and underpinned by a range of personal and social behavior theories and models. Based upon such findings, a conceptual social media application framework was devised and its usability illustrated via a real-life case study. Managerial implications are also discussed. Research limitations/implications – Social media covers a wide range of research topics and thus, the literature review presented in this study may not be exhaustive. Nevertheless, the proposed framework and case study can both serve as reference for future research and provide recommendations for practitioners in the design and development of their own social media applications. Practical implications – This study not only explains the importance of applying social media in various business sectors, but also enhances the understanding of the infrastructure of social media applications. The study also provides insights for improving the efficiency of application solutions. Organizations are advised to adopt social media in their business based on the proposed conceptual framework. Originality/value – With a literature review of social media research and a real-life case study, this study presents a conceptual framework using extant theories and models to form a foundation for social media applications. The framework extends existing knowledge on the design and development of information systems.

The balanced scorecard and the construction of a management control discourse

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 466-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Will Seal ◽  
Linna Ye
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Organizational Action ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to synthesise a pragmatic constructivist view of management control and a critical discourse perspective on organizational action. These theories are deployed to build a conceptual framework that can be used to interpret the construction of a management control discourse in specific empirical situations. The framework is deployed to show how, in a particular instance, the balanced scorecard (BSC) can be seen as impacting on organizational action and success/failure. Design/methodology/approach – The paper develops a theoretical framework for management control which is used to interpret a case study of a BSC implementation in a major bank. Findings – The paper reports on a case study of a major bank where the BSC changed actors’ perceptions and actions. Although the bank avoided some of the worst excesses of pre-Credit Crunch delinquency, other problems such as misselling suggest that the BSC’s impact on organizational success/failure was ambiguous. The BSC may have improved organizational coordination but long-standing values based on a bonus culture contributed to long-term commercial problems. Research limitations/implications – With mainstream researchers on the BSC lacking a conceptual basis that explains the communicative impact of the BSC and interpretive researchers focusing on the role of rhetoric in spreading the BSC amongst practitioners, then the conceptual framework in this paper suggests a way of synthesising mainstream and interpretive research on the BSC. Originality/value – The originality of the paper lies in its application of pragmatic constructivism and critical discourse analysis to interpret and explain the impact of the BSC in a particular organizational setting.

Centrist television in the democratic South Africa: policymakers fail to answer the regional/local question, 1990-2011

Info ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 128-140
Author(s):  
Chris Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Regulation ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the disconnect between policy intent and policy implementation in relation to regional/local (sub-national) TV deliverables in South Africa between 1990 and 2011, and evaluate the impact of this disconnect in pursuit of public interest objectives. Design/methodology/approach – The article is based on a research case study in which data extracted from policy documents and interviews were qualitatively analysed via the Kingdon “policy streams” framework and the Feintuck and Varney public interest media regulation framework. Findings – It was found that ruptures in deliberative policymaking, and policy implementation missteps, undermined sub-national TV delivery and, in turn, undermined pursuit of the public interest. Originality/value – By combining a political science conceptual framework with a media policy conceptual framework, the article provides unique insights into South African TV policymaking in the early democratic era.

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