Enabling vulnerable populations: insights from the experiences of functionally illiterate consumers

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 451-470
Author(s):  
Sachithra Kumari Jayasundara ◽  
Sajith Siriwardana ◽  
Withanage Dushan Chaminda Jayawickrama
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Vulnerable Populations ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Bottom Of The Pyramid ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Functional Illiteracy ◽  
English Dominant ◽  
And Coping

Purpose The social transformation of “disadvantaged segments of society” requires an in-depth understanding of their behavioural reactions in different social contexts. To this end, the present study focuses on individuals who become vulnerable owing to their functional illiteracy in an “English”-dominant marketplace. Thus, the purpose of this study is to understand the sources of stress as perceived by functionally illiterate individuals and the mechanisms adopted by them to manage such stress when making “high-involvement” product purchases. Insights gained from the study would be beneficial for developing efficacious support programs for vulnerable populations. Design/methodology/approach In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 bottom-of-the-pyramid individuals living in slums and housing schemes located in and around Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka. Findings Two sources of perceived stress and five coping strategies were derived from the thematic analysis of the data. Participants highlighted the sources of their perceived stress as possible loss of resources and possible loss of self-esteem. Further, the participants were found to adopt several mechanisms to cope with the state of their stress and vulnerability experienced within English-dominant shopping environments, namely, seeking help from salespeople, continuing to shop at the same store, shopping with companions, “convenience purchasing” and buying only well-known brands. Originality/value These insights into the vulnerability, stress and coping mechanisms as experienced by functionally illiterate consumers will allow for the design of efficacious interventions to empower vulnerable populations.

scholarly journals The perceived psychological stressors and coping behaviours in university students, on a pre-registration programme

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 249-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew E.P. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Peer Group ◽  
Student Nurses ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Stress And Coping ◽  
Nurse Training ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Coping Behaviours

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate perceived stressors and coping behaviours in student nurses on a pre-registration programme of study. Stress in student nurses has been identified with decreased emotional well-being and poor academic achievement. The significance of stress and coping behaviours in students during training has implications for education and practice. Design/methodology/approach The present study recruited 87 pre-registration student nurses in a cross-sectional design. Bivariate and multivariate analyses assessed the differences in field and year of study and the students’ perceived stress and coping behaviours. Findings The findings showed that stress is a significant issue in nurse training. Fifty-three per cent of the participants had levels higher than the mean. Interestingly, the present study found that high-perceived stress was associated with avoidance behaviours. The most common type of perceived stress and ranked by highest factor were from written assignments and a lack of professional skills and knowledge. Their peer group and everyday life activities were shown as potential ways of coping with stressors. Thus, it seems reasonable to focus support on decreasing avoidant and enhancing stress-reducing behaviours. Practical implications Psychological stress and coping behaviours must be considered together, as perceived stress is bound by the ability to ameliorate stress by managing helpful and unhelpful behaviours. Originality/value The findings may suggest that a potential benefit could come from the provision of helpful strategies such as peer group support and reduction of avoidant behaviours. Also, there seems to be a need for greater mental health literacy in dealing with stress during training.

Perceived stress among police officers: an integrative model of stress and coping

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 839-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer H. Webster
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Stress And Coping ◽  
Integrative Model ◽  
Interactive Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
And Coping

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose an original model of stress and coping as a complex interactive process between an individual and his or her environment. Design/methodology/approach – A preliminary test of the model is conducted using data from a meta-analysis of perceived occupational stress among police officers. Collapsing correlates into predictor domains that mirror the proposed model of stress and coping allowed for a preliminary analysis of some of the constructs in the proposed model. Findings – The findings suggest that each domain contributes to the perception of stress and that knowledge in this area might best be advanced by recognizing the importance of each in shaping an interactive process of stress and coping rather than attempting to rank individual correlates. Research limitations/implications – The data do not provide definitive conclusions that personal characteristics or job characteristics, for example, are more important than others in shaping stress perception among police officers. Clearly, these findings suggest that questions about what is most important in shaping police stress have remained unanswered because the variables of interest make equally important contributions to a complex process. Originality/value – Adopting the proposed integrative model of stress and coping may help researchers move beyond the flawed conceptualization of perceived stress among police officers as a simple operational/organizational dichotomy, allowing for a more rich understanding of stress and coping as a complex process.

Innoz Technologies: the powerhouse of innovation

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Roma Puri ◽  
Amit Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Business Strategy ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Mobile Users ◽  
Bottom Of The Pyramid ◽  
Early Start ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Start Ups

Subject area Entrepreneurship, innovation, marketing and strategy. Study level/applicability Master's, postgraduate and executive level programs. Case overview Deepak Ravindran, an engineering student at LBS College, Kerala, India, was attempting to launch Innoz. The company flagship product SMSGyan will allow users to access information on low-end mobile devices with no Internet connectivity. With the improvement in the Internet standards and rapidly growing smartphone users, selling SMSGyan never came easy to Innoz. The case explores challenges faced during the transformation of a start-up into a profit-generating business. The case describes the dilemma faced by Deepak Ravindran and key role players of Innoz to sustain in business in the scenario of dynamic technologies. Should they re-innovate the technology that was limited for low-end mobile users? Innoz being at the bottom of the pyramid innovation is the key competitive advantage. Low-cost or niche market or differentiation connects this case to the basic business strategy concepts. Through this case, students learn about many practical issues related to technology development in the global competitive environment. They are also exposed to broader trends and facets of start-ups and globalization. The Innoz case is designed to stimulate discussion of broad array of issues encountered by the early start-ups. In particular, it deals with introducing innovation and entrepreneurship skills leading to social change. Expected learning outcomes To identify new business opportunities for non-Internet mobile users. To explore various possibilities of application services for low-end mobile users. Evaluate the advantages and liabilities of expanding globally at a very early start-up stage. The case focuses on Innoz's early development with only concept in hand and transforming it into a profit-generating business. To develop and give exposure to entrepreneurship skill set in students. To understand learning and strategies behind setting up of start-ups and the motivating self-driven skills. Discussion on innovative use of technology as a stream of business. Silicon valley culture adaptation into Indian context. To highlight use of mobile technology for teaching and learning. To showcase how entrepreneur skill in business can lead to social transformation. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes.

scholarly journals The experiences of work-life balance, stress, and coping lifestyles of female professionals: insights from a developing country

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 999-1015
Author(s):  
Babatunde Akanji ◽  
Chima Mordi ◽  
Hakeem Adeniyi Ajonbadi
Keyword(s):  
Health Sector ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Stress And Coping ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Medical Doctors ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Family ◽  
And Coping

PurposeGiven the limiting conditions of the gender roles confronting professional working women and drawing on spillover theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of work-life balance with an emphasis on the causes of the imbalances, perceived stress, and coping techniques experienced by female medical doctors in an African context – Nigeria, a geographical location that is considered under-researched.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative data is based on one-to-one in-depth interviews with 52 Nigerian female medical doctors.FindingsBased on the findings of the thematic analysis, it is clear that time squeeze, as a well-known factor in the medical profession, exacerbates negative work-home interference. However, other themes, such as patriarchal proclivities and task-pay disparity, that affect female doctors but are rarely considered in studies on work-life balance also emerged as sources of stress and work-family conflicts, leaving these doctors to devise individual coping methods as mitigating strategies.Research limitations/implicationsThe study relies on a limited qualitative sample size, which makes the generalisation of findings difficult. However, the study contributes to the limited literature on the implications of stress and work-family incompatibilities facing women in a society that is not particularly egalitarian, with an extremely pronounced culture of masculine hegemony that is contrary to western cultures. The article unveils the socio-cultural difficulties of the work-life demands facing women specific to the Nigerian society and experienced with a different level of intensity.Originality/valueThe majority of the research on work-life balance has been undertaken in western countries and has focused on various professional groups and organisations, including the health sector. Nevertheless, work-life balance is a novel concept within the Nigerian work environment, where female medical doctors, as a professional group, are rarely studied. The article also provides valuable insights into the macro-contextual features influencing the work-life balance of Nigerian professional women.

Perceived stress and psychological well-being of working mothers during COVID-19: a mediated moderated roles of teleworking and resilience

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vartika Kapoor ◽  
Jaya Yadav ◽  
Lata Bajpai ◽  
Shalini Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Working Mothers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Inverse Association ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe present study examines the mediating role of teleworking and the moderating role of resilience in explaining the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being of working mothers in India. Conservation of resource theory (COR) is taken to support the present study.Design/methodology/approachThe data of 326 respondents has been collected from working mothers in various sectors of Delhi NCR region of India. Confirmatory factor analysis was used for construct validity, and SPSS Macro Process (Hayes) was used for testing the hypotheses.FindingsThe results of the study found an inverse association between perceived stress and psychological well-being. Teleworking acted as a partial mediator and resilience proved to be a significant moderator for teleworking-well-being relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based at Delhi NCR of India, and future studies may be based on a diverse population within the country to generalize the findings in different cultural and industrial contexts. The present work is based only on the psychological well-being of the working mothers, it can be extended to study the organizational stress for both the genders and other demographic variables.Practical implicationsThe study extends the research on perceived stress and teleworking by empirically testing the association between perceived stress and psychological well-being in the presence of teleworking as a mediating variable. The findings suggest some practical implications for HR managers and OD Practitioners. The organizations must develop a plan to support working mothers by providing flexible working hours and arranging online stress management programs for them.Originality/valueAlthough teleworking is studied previously, there is a scarcity of research examining the impact of teleworking on psychological well-being of working mothers in Asian context. It would help in understanding the process that how teleworking has been stressful for working mothers and also deliberate the role of resilience in the relationship between teleworking and psychological well-being due to perceived stress, as it seems a ray of hope in new normal work situations.

Gender inequalities in perceived stress and the factors affecting it in infertile couples in Iranian society: a case in one of the provinces of Iran

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sima Mirzaei Moghadam ◽  
Hassan Mahmoodi ◽  
Farzaneh Zaheri ◽  
Azad Shokri
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Emotional Loneliness ◽  
Infertile Couples ◽  
Related Stress

Purpose The aim of this study is to investigate the gender inequalities in perceived stress and the influencing factors in infertile couples in Iranian society. Design/methodology/approach This cross-sectional study was conducted on infertile couples who were referring to Kurdistan Infertility Diagnosis and Treatment Medical Center in 2019. Demographic and clinical information questionnaire, Newton's Infertility perceived stress questionnaire, Rosenberg's standard self-confidence questionnaire and the multidimensional scale of social support were used. Multiple linear logistic models were also used. Findings A total of 560 couples (1,120 people) participated in the study. The average perceived infertility-related stress, self-esteem scores and social support and social-emotional loneliness were 173.95 ± 41.87, 13.99 ± 2.29 and 27.81 ± 7.33, respectively, which were significantly different scores across infertility cause and sex (P < 0.05). Males compared to females had lower perceived infertility-related stress (169.93 ± 42.51 vs 177.97 ± 40.86, P = 0.001) and self-esteem scores (14.33 ± 2.29 vs 13.66 ± 2.24, P < 0.001) and social support and social-emotional loneliness (32.92 ± 9.31 vs 30.94 ± 9.04, P < 0.001). The partners who reported themselves as infertile, compared significantly higher in perceived infertility-related stress than those who reported their spouse being infertile (194.24 ± 35.33 vs 141.90 ± 39.28), lower self-esteem scores (12.77 ± 2.21 vs 13.94 ± 1.56) and social support and social-emotional loneliness score (27.81 ± 7.33 vs 30.11 ± 7.70). Also, after taking potential confounders into account with increase in each score of self-esteem, 12.19 units of stress decreases (P < 0.001, 95% CI: 11.40–12.99) and with increase in each score of social support and social-emotional loneliness, 3.45 units of stress decreases (P < 0.001, 95% CI: 3.28–3.63). Originality/value There is perceived stress among infertile couples, and this rate is higher among infertile people and women. Therefore, it seems that specific intervention programs for infertile couples should be implemented based on the results of this study, and their stress levels in a way that self-esteem and support for both partners be increased and the perceived stress among women and infertile individuals be decreased.

Intensity of perceived stress and control of anger, anxiety and depression of people staying in Polish penitentiary institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kinga Kołodziej ◽  
Anna Kurowska ◽  
Anna Majda
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Prison Population ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Emotional Control ◽  
Coping With Stress ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess the intensity of perceived stress and measure the subjective control of anxiety, anger and depression in a group of women and men staying in Polish penitentiary institutions. Design/methodology/approach The research was carried out in two penitentiary institutions located in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship at the turn of 2019/2020. The study group consisted of 152 prisoners. In the cross-sectional study, two standardised research tools – the Perceived Stress Scale and the Emotional Control Scale – were used. Findings Over half of the prisoners (57.24%) presented a high level of stress. The intensity of the perceived stress did not depend on the gender and age of the convicted persons. The general indicator of emotional control among the respondents averaged 51.82 points (standard deviation = 14.52) and ranged from 22 to 83 points, which means that people detained in penitentiary institutions suppressed their negative emotions at an average level. The prisoners had the best control over fear (M = 18.68), less over anger (M = 16.86) and the least over depression (M = 16.27). Statistical analysis showed a correlation between the level of emotional control and the intensity of perceived stress. Research limitations/implications The small sample size of the group participating in the study and narrowing of the research area means that results can not be generalised across all isolated prison population. Practical implications The results obtained from the study can be used by a multidisciplinary team to develop therapeutic programmes for convicted persons, the aim of which is to evaluate strategies for coping with stress and controlling emotions. Social implications Popularising reliable information related to the issue of experiencing stress and varied emotions in those staying in penitentiary institutions may lead to the elimination of harmful stereotypes functioning in society, as well as reduce the phenomenon of marginalisation of prisoners, and thus contribute to the success of the social rehabilitation process. Originality/value Research on the level of stress intensity in prisoners is important because the rates of mental health disorders among prisoners consistently exceed the rates of such disorders in the general population.

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