Determinants of investment decision in a Ponzi scheme: Investors’ perspective on the Modaraba scam

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irfan Ullah ◽  
Wiqar Ahmad ◽  
Arshad Ali
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Return On Investment ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ponzi Scheme ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Being Religious

Purpose This paper aims to identify the key patronage factors that encouraged the public for investment in the Modaraba scam – a Ponzi scheme perpetrated in Pakistan with a whim of Sharīʿah-compliant business and intermediation of religious clerics. Design/methodology/approach In a qualitative research, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the investors of the scam followed by thematic analysis to conclude on the subject matter. Findings The results reveal numerous stimuli, thematically categorized as the monetary stimulus, religiosity stimulus and lubricants, which mobilized investment towards the scam. In general, a lucrative rate of return on investment and personality of the agents, being religious clerics, were the two prominent reasons, which convinced unanimously all investors. In particular, the religiosity stimulus (agents’ personality and Sharīʿah-compliant business) was a novel and eye-catching slogan of the scheme. Originality/value Keeping in view the amount of scam and number of victims, this research is a robust attempt to conclude on the determinants of investment decision in the Modaraba scam.

scholarly journals “Proud to be a Special”: a qualitative study exploring the experiences of Special Constables in the UK

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 121-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L. Plimley ◽  
Sarah Krahenbuhl
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Working Relationships ◽  
Valuable Resource ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The Uk

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand what motivates members of the public to volunteer within the Special Constabulary and seek to understand their experiences when engaging in this role. There is little qualitative research examining the experiences of volunteers and yet such literature is pivotal in supporting positive future engagement of a valuable resource.Design/methodology/approachSix currently serving Special Constables (SC) were interviewed about their role. The semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analysed qualitatively through thematic analysis.FindingsThematic analysis identified four main themes: “Proud to be a Special”: active demonstration of pro-social behaviour; “Lines of Division”: recognition of distinction between SC and Regular Police Officers; “Levels of Training”: adverse consequences of inadequate training; and “Mind the Gap”: impact of financial austerity. The SC recognised their role as a utilitarian resource with both positive and negative impacts on all Police Officers.Originality/valueThe findings highlighted the need for a careful balance between having enough SC to maintain appropriate policing and yet ensuring opportunity for sufficient experience to develop and implement their skills, successful demonstration of which would support more positive working relationships with Regular Police Officers.

Autonomous vehicles: a review of the ethical, social and economic implications of the AI revolution

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shweta Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Autonomous Vehicles ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Autonomous Cars ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThere are ethical, legal, social and economic arguments surrounding the subject of autonomous vehicles. This paper aims to discuss some of the arguments to communicate one of the current issues in the rising field of artificial intelligence.Design/methodology/approachMaking use of widely available literature that the author has read and summarised showcasing her viewpoints, the author shows that technology is progressing every day. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are at the forefront of technological advancement today. The manufacture and innovation of new machines have revolutionised our lives and resulted in a world where we are becoming increasingly dependent on artificial intelligence.FindingsTechnology might appear to be getting out of hand, but it can be effectively used to transform lives and convenience.Research limitations/implicationsFrom robotics to autonomous vehicles, countless technologies have and will continue to make the lives of individuals much easier. But, with these advancements also comes something called “future shock”.Practical implicationsFuture shock is the state of being unable to keep up with rapid social or technological change. As a result, the topic of artificial intelligence, and thus autonomous cars, is highly debated.Social implicationsThe study will be of interest to researchers, academics and the public in general. It will encourage further thinking.Originality/valueThis is an original piece of writing informed by reading several current pieces. The study has not been submitted elsewhere.

How do employers think about older workers?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hila Axelrad ◽  
Alexandra Kalev ◽  
Noah Lewin-Epstein
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Age Discrimination ◽  
Retirement Age ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pension Income ◽  
Significant Barrier

PurposeHigher pensionable age in many countries that are part of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and a shrinking pension income force older people to postpone their retirement. Yet, age-based discrimination in employers' decisions is a significant barrier to their employment. Hence, this paper aims to explore employers' attitudes regarding the employment of workers aged 60–70, striving for a better understanding of age discrimination.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 30 managers, experts and employees in retirement age in Israel.FindingsFindings reveal a spectrum of employers' attitudes toward the employment of older workers. The authors' analytical contribution is a conceptual typology based on employers' perceived ability to employ older workers and their stated attitudes toward the employment of older workers.Social implicationsThe insights that emerge from this research are fundamental for organizational actors' ability to expand the productive, unbiased employment of older workers.Originality/valueBy understanding employers' preferences and perspectives and the implications on employers' ability and/or willingness to employ older workers, this research will help policymakers formulate and implement policy innovations that address these biases.

Entrepreneurship in the digital press: a semantic analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 416-431
Author(s):  
Myriam Martí-Sánchez ◽  
Desamparados Cervantes-Zacarés ◽  
Arturo Ortigosa-Blanch
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Innovation Ecosystem ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Way

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse how the media addresses entrepreneurship and to identify the attributes linked to this phenomenon. Design/methodology/approach The sample is defined in terms of a linguistic corpus comprised of content related to entrepreneurship drawn from the digital editions of the three most important Spanish economic newspapers for the period 2010–2017. Word association and co-occurrence analyses were carried out. Further, a non-supervised clustering process was used as the basis for a thematic analysis. Findings Correspondence between social and media patterns related to the entrepreneurship phenomenon is revealed by the results. It is shown how attributes such as “success”, “innovation”, “ecosystem” and “woman” appear as very relevant and are linked to different co-occurrence scenarios. Relevant thematic groups are also identified related to lexical associations such as innovation, digital economy and public policies linked to entrepreneurship. Research limitations/implications It is important to emphasise that this study has identified and explored relationships between words, but not their evolution. Furthermore, conclusions cannot be drawn concerning whether there are differences in how each newspaper has dealt with entrepreneurship because of the way the corpus was constructed. Originality/value The study provides empirical evidence that helps to identify the way media approaches entrepreneurship. The authors carried out the analysis on the media contents and not on the perception of the public on the phenomenon.

Role reflections of police reservists: a study of volunteer reserve officers in Malaysia

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 813-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phaik Kin Cheah ◽  
N. Prabha Unnithan ◽  
Suresh Suppiah
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Role Orientations ◽  
Grounded Theory Approach ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Insight Into

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the work roles of the Royal Malaysia Police Volunteer Reserve officers.Design/methodology/approachA grounded theory approach was utilized for the generation and analysis of the data. Data were collected through interviews, observations and follow-ups. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 male and female volunteer reserve officers and 5 regular police officers aged between 24 and 58 years of mixed socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicities and ranking in the Royal Malaysia Police force. Two civilian respondents (spouses of the Police Volunteer Reserve officers) were also interviewed for this study for the purpose of theory sampling.FindingsThe data were analyzed qualitatively resulting in a model of Royal Malaysia Police Volunteer Reserve officer roles consisting of four orientations.Research limitations/implicationsStudy outcomes are discussed theoretically and administratively. The four role orientations identified will assist researchers studying police reserve volunteerism.Practical implicationsStudy outcomes allow administrators to utilize and deploy police reservists in consonance with the four role orientations identified.Social implicationsThis study provides insight into how police reservists conceive of and execute their roles as they negotiate them in relation to the regular police officers they work with and the public from which they are drawn.Originality/valueThis is the first study of police volunteerism in Malaysia.

Getting innovations out of interactions in the public procurement context

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (12) ◽  
pp. 2051-2065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Melander ◽  
Ala Pazirandeh Arvidsson
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Business Model Innovation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Demand And Supply ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Product Service

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss how a seller can use interactions to respond to public procurement needs for innovation when the buying side is restricted by public procurement regulations. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data using qualitative semi-structured interviews of different empirical examples, in which private–public interactions of four different high-technological products are studied. Two products belong to the defence industry and two to the civil industry. Findings The findings point to three types of innovations in public procurement: product, service and business model. The empirical examples further indicate, as suggested in previous studies, that innovation is hindered by regulations that limit interaction between suppliers and the public. In addition, the empirical examples indicate that firms mobilize actors in their network when the buyer is restricted in regard to interaction. The findings also add to the IMP literature by comparing interactions in the three types of innovations in the public procurement context. Originality/value Public procurement is an area where innovations are lagging behind, compared with private procurement. Research points to limited interaction between actors as an obstacle to innovation in public sector collaborations. This paper extends the literature on how organizations interact in the setting of public procurement. The authors identify demand and supply triggers for three types of innovations: product, service and business model innovation.

The evolution of the public sphere

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 2201-2219
Author(s):  
José J. Blanco
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Language Games ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Dominant Paradigm

Purpose The purpose of this study is to rethink the issue of publicity from a cross-cultural and evolutionary perspective. Design/methodology/approach Assuming that there is a dominant paradigm in the studies of the public sphere centered on Habermas’ ideas, media theory (and especially Luhmann who is considered as a media theorist) is selected as a new context that provides different concepts, ideas, language games and metaphors that allow the re-foundation of the study of publicity. Findings Publicity as a social structure emerges – and acquires different forms during history – out of the complex dynamics resulting from the interaction between success media, such as power, and different kinds of dissemination media. Originality/value A research into the forms of publicity not only promotes awareness of the ubiquity of the phenomenon across cultural evolution, but also offers tools to make new discoveries and systematize what is already known about the subject and its ramifications.

scholarly journals Challenges faced by Malaysian private HLIs in providing quality education: a thematic analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azilah Anis ◽  
Rafikul Islam ◽  
Nur Anisah Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Quality Education ◽  
Regulatory Agencies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Prospective Employer ◽  
Learning Institutions

Purpose The paper aims to identify the emerging themes on the challenges faced by the Malaysian private higher learning institutions (HLIs) in the provision of providing quality education. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were purposively conducted with 29 of the Malaysian private HLI internal and external stakeholders ranging from the relevant personnel of the institutions (the quality director, administrators and senior academics), regulatory agencies, prospective employer, students and parents. Thematic analysis was then applied to analyze the participants’ responses in determining and clarifying the challenges faced by the Malaysian private HLIs in the issue of providing quality education. Findings Eight overarching themes were identified, namely, Academics, Facilities, Students, Programs and curriculum, Competition, Accreditation, Finance and Research. Academics represent the most frequent challenge raised by the participants, whereas Research emerged as the least mentioned challenge during the interview sessions. Research limitations/implications The present paper focused solely on Malaysian private HLIs, and thus, the findings may not be applicable to the foreign private HLIs that are operating in Malaysia as well as to the public HLIs. Originality/value The findings are expected to provide valuable guidelines to the Malaysian Private HLIs in areas where resources need to be critically disbursed. To the regulatory agencies and policy-makers, the findings could enlighten them on the difficulties faced by these privately funded institutions so that further policies can be designed and implemented to assist these institutions in their operations and long-term survival.

Political will and public will for climate-smart agriculture in Senegal

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric D. Raile ◽  
Linda M. Young ◽  
Adama Sarr ◽  
Samba Mbaye ◽  
Amber N.W. Raile ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Study Country ◽  
Smart Agriculture

Purpose Agriculture must transform as climate change progresses. The international community has promoted climate-smart agriculture (CSA) as a set of solutions. Previous analyses of opportunities for scaling up CSA have not looked closely at building political and social support for policies, practices and programs. The purpose of this paper is to fill that gap in the case study country of Senegal. Design/methodology/approach The study applies the conceptual definitions, operationalizations and assessment targets from the political will and public will (PPW) approach to social change. Semi-structured interviews and documents constitute the sources of data and information. Findings The analysis identifies opportunities to generate political will for supplying an enabling environment for the widespread adoption of CSA. On the public will side, the analysis identifies opportunities to generate and channel demand for CSA. Research limitations/implications Researchers investigated some definitional components more completely than others due to resource and access constraints. Further, the context specificity of the components limits generalizability of certain findings. Social implications Social structures may need to change for successful adoption of certain CSA innovations, but improved agricultural outcomes are likely to result. Originality/value This examination of crucial elements for scaling up CSA efforts constitutes the most extensive application of the PPW approach to date, thus providing an example of this generalizable method.

scholarly journals THE LENS, FRAMES AND PATTERNS OF UKRAINIANS: HOW PERCEPTION OF THREAT AND RISK DETERMINES BEHAVIOUR IN THE COVID-19 SITUATION

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 444-460
Author(s):  
Maryna Klimanska ◽  
Larysa Klymanska ◽  
Inna Haletska
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Social Construct ◽  
The Public ◽  
Perception Of Threat ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Selection Of

Aim/Thesis. Identification and construction of the typology of individual ideas about the perception of the risk posed by COVID-19 and potential impact of individual ideas on behavioural human intentions. Risk perception is viewed as a social construct. Concept/Methods. The subject matter of analysis consists of 91 transcripts of semi-structured interviews subjected to thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). On the basis of categories identified through thematic analysis a frame was created, through which an individual perceives the threat posed by COVID-19, while configuration of different subcategories shaped up four types of perception, used for data categorization. Results and conclusion. Analysis of the results enabled to outline the very structure of frame for the assessment of the risk posed by COVID-19, it including seven categories, as well as to outline several typical frames in risk perception, which are traced in the informants’ conscience and are manifested in the intentions of behavioural responses to threat, viz.: potential danger (virtual risk); risk as a potential threat; uncertain risk; risk as a real threat. Research restrictions. The restrictions in the research done include impossibility of regulating the selection of informants, since interviews were conducted in the quarantine conditions, therefore the choice of informants was made within the reach. Practical application. Clarification of risk perception in the conditions of pandemic may enable health care representatives to more efficiently communicate with the public. Originality/Cognitive value. The research was done in the quarantine period, thus it reflects real worries and opinions of informants under the threat of COVID-19. Implementation of the research using qualitative methods ensured focusing on subjective peculiarities of risk perception. Conclusions: Typology of ideas, frames about risk in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic requires further clarifications and validation within a qualitative research.

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