The learning region tradition: a cultural reappraisal

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-234
Author(s):  
Jon P. Knudsen

Purpose The learning region has over the years become popular as a concept to portray and analyse subnational geographic entities heading for future growth and well-being. Claiming analytic and political relevance, the concept nevertheless retains much unclarified ideological content. Design/methodology/approach This study traces its roots to varieties of heterodox economic thinking where it has gained a prominent place. Findings While being strong on the value of different kinds of knowledge to economic development, the concept has a much weaker grip on the cultural rationales for knowledge and learning. Originality/value Thus, the study concludes with a need for a cultural reorientation to take place if the concept is going to retain its significance in the future academically as politically.

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 182-186
Author(s):  
Muzaffer Uysal

Purpose The focus of this perspective paper is to provide new directions in the ontology of thinking about outcome variables by observational analysis of past and linking it to the present research. Design/methodology/approach This perspective paper follow a critical review approach that is reflective and speculative in its orientation. Findings Outcome variables are assumed to serve as the dependent variables which are observed and measured by changing independent variables. It is argued that there would certainly be more and innovative concerted efforts in the future that would focus on non-conventional measures as outcome variables. These efforts would help researchers better understand the contribution of tourism activities to well-being of stakeholders. By doing so, success in tourism can be ensured. Originality/value Proposing, in addition to conventional outcome variables, new/possible outcome variables to enrich research.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-54
Author(s):  
Donald J. Noakes

Purpose The world’s population is expected to increase by 30 percent to 10bn people by 2050 and with 70 percent of the earth’s surface covered by water aquaculture will play an important role in producing food for the future. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach While Canada has the longest coastline in the world by far (202,080 km) with 80,000 km of marine coastline capable of supporting aquaculture and fisheries, it ranks only 25th in terms of world aquaculture production. The reasons are many and varied, and this review examines statistical reports and publications to trace the beginnings of the aquaculture sector in Canada, and highlights some areas of strength and potential, and the challenges for future growth and expansion. Findings Currently, less than 1 percent of the 3.8m hectares of freshwater and marine areas that are considered suitable for seafood (i.e. finfish, shellfish and aquatic plants) production are being farmed so Canada has an ocean of opportunity to be a leader in world aquaculture production in the future. Originality/value The review highlights the need for a national strategic plan to increase aquaculture production in Canada and the need to simplify the current complex regulatory framework that has resulted in significant uncertainties and delays that have limited growth in this sector. The review highlights the potential and interest to triple current production while fostering greater involvement of First Nation communities.


Author(s):  
Moiz Bakhiet

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a viewpoint on the subject of personalized medicine and its impact on human well-being. Design/methodology/approach The paper takes the form of a viewpoint. Findings The paper concludes that personalized medicine can help in the elimination of redundant treatments, decreasing side effects, prevention of disease and earlier intervention. Originality/value This is a viewpoint piece.


2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 368-383
Author(s):  
King Yin Wong ◽  
Michael Lynn

Purpose The extant literature has mixed results regarding the credit card cue effect. Some showed that credit card cues stimulate spending, whereas others were unable to replicate the findings or found that cues discourage consumer spending. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how consumers’ sensitivity to the pain of payment affects their mental associations about credit cards and how the differences in credit card associations moderate the credit card cue effect on spending, providing a possible explanation for the mixed results in the literature. Furthermore, this paper examines the role of consumers’ perceived financial well-being, measured by their perceptions of current and future wealth and their sense of financial security, in mediating this moderation effect. Design/methodology/approach An experimental study was conducted with a sample of 337 participants to test the hypothesized model. Findings After being shown credit card cues, spendthrift participants had more spending-related thoughts and less debt-related thoughts, perceived themselves as having better financial well-being and consequently spent more than tightwad participants. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the direct link between an exposure to credit card cues and perceived financial well-being, and one of the few to show evidence of the moderating effect of consumers’ sensitivity to the pain of payment on spending when credit card cues are present. This study suggests that marketers may use credit card cues to promote consumer spending, whereas consumers, especially spendthrifts, should be aware of how credit card cues may inflate their perceived financial well-being and stimulate them to spend more.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 579-590
Author(s):  
Jessica Keech ◽  
Maureen Morrin ◽  
Jeffrey Steven Podoshen

Purpose The increasing desire of consumers for socially responsible luxury products combined with fluctuating supplies in consumer markets are leading various industries to seek alternative sources to be able to meet the needs of its customers. One possible solution that may meet the demands of the future is lab-grown products. Because these products confer multiple benefits, this study aims to investigate the most effective ways to appeal to consumers by aligning the benefits of the products with their values as marketers seek to find effective promotion for these items. Design/methodology/approach We examine the effectiveness of an ethical positioning strategy for two types of luxury lab-grown (synthetic) products among high versus low materialism consumers in three experiments. Findings Findings suggest that a positioning strategy stressing product ethicality is more effective for low materialism consumers, whereas the strategy is less effective, and may even backfire, for high materialism consumers. The impact on social status consumers perceive from a lab-grown product explains why this effect occurs among low materialism consumers. Therefore, marketers should take caution and use specific appeals for different segments based on values such as consumers’ materialism levels. Originality/value If lab-grown products represent the wave of the future, it is important to understand how consumers will respond to this emerging technology and how promotion strategies may enhance their evaluation.


foresight ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Baptiste Gossé ◽  
Dominique Plihon

Purpose – This article aims to provide insight into the future of financial markets and regulation in order to define what would be the best strategy for Europe. Design/methodology/approach – First the authors define the potential changes in financial markets and then the tools available for the regulator to tame them. Finally, they build five scenarios according to the main evolutions observed on the financial markets and on the tools used by the regulator to modify these trends. Findings – Among the five scenarios defined, two present highly unstable features since the regulator refuses to choose between financial opening and independently determining how to regulate finance in order to preserve financial stability. Three of them achieve financial stability. However, they are more or less efficient or feasible. In terms of market efficiency, the multi-polar scenario is the best and the fragmentation scenario is the worst, since gains of integration depend on the size of the new capital market. Regarding sovereignty of regulation, fragmentation is the best scenario and the multi-polar scenario is the worst, because it necessitates coordination at the global level which implies moving further away from respective national preferences. However, the more realistic option seems to be the regionalisation scenario: this level of coordination seems much more realistic than the global one; the market should be of sufficient size to enjoy substantial benefits of integration. Nevertheless, the “European government” might gradually increase the degree of financial integration outside Europe in line with the degree of cooperation with the rest of the world. Originality/value – Foresight studies on financial markets and regulation are quite rare. This may be explained by the difficulty to forecast what will be their evolution in the coming decades, not least because finance is fundamentally unstable. This paper provides a framework to consider what could be the best strategy of regulators in such an unstable environment.


2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Rindell ◽  
Tore Strandvik ◽  
Kristoffer Wilén

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore ethical consumers' brand avoidance. The study contributes to brand-avoidance research by exploring what role consumers' ethical concerns play in their brand avoidance. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach is adopted by interviewing 15 active members of organizations that represent ethical concerns for the well-being of animals, the environment and humans. Findings – The study indicates that consumers with a strong value-based perspective on consumption (such as ethical consumers) may reject brands in two different but interrelated ways. In essence, the study reveals characteristics of brand avoidance that have not been discussed in earlier research, in terms of two dimensions: persistency (persistent vs temporary) and explicitness (explicit vs latent). Practical implications – The study shows the importance of considering the phenomenon of brand avoidance, as it may reveal fundamental challenges in the market. These challenges may relate to consumer values that have not been regarded as important or that have been thought of as relating only to a specific group of consumers. Originality/value – The ethical consumers' views represent new insights into understanding brand avoidance.


Author(s):  
Silvia Gherardi

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the ten years of the journal through a personal reflection. Design/methodology/approach – A review of the articles published in the last ten years. Findings – I argue that what has distinguished QROM in these ten years are two distinctive features: reflexivity on practices of qualitative research, and openness to the application of qualitative methods to unusual research topics. Originality/value – The main limit of the paper resides in the subjectivity of the person who has read the articles. Other readers may have different opinions and may have chosen different criteria.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Butler

PurposeThe study aims to explore the possibility of redefining success in tourism and measuring such a phenomenon by considering alternatives to economic factors, and to identify the ways such measurement could be implemented.Design/methodology/approachThe study reviews and explains current approaches to defining and measuring success in tourism in the literature, followed by identification of alternative factors which could be measured and the implications of such a change in approach.FindingsThere has been a long-standing emphasis and priority placed on measuring tourism at the national level with a focus on economic criteria, and this has been followed at regional and local levels. The result has been that success has become equated with volume, supporting the aim of continued growth in tourism. Such an approach and attitude mitigate against achieving or moving towards sustainability, and other measures are needed to avoid problems such as overtourism.Originality/valueThere has been little discussion of moving to a wider range of indicators of success in tourism, and the previous focus has been on economic criteria and competitiveness as shown by tourist numbers. This paper presents a discussion of an alternative approach, showing that tourism stakeholders from national to local levels need to redefine success as including factors such as community and environmental well-being and focus on a wider concept of success. Using existing data and organisations would enable measuring such concepts to be done without major change or greatly increased costs to agencies.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaoyu Ye ◽  
Kevin K.W. Ho ◽  
Andre Zerbe

Purpose This study aims to clarify the effects of different patterns of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram usage on user loneliness and well-being in Japan. Design/methodology/approach Based on responses to a self-report questionnaire in Japan, 155 university students were separated into 4 groups: users of Twitter only, users of Twitter and Facebook, users of Twitter and Instagram and users of all three social media. The effects of social media usage on loneliness and well-being for each group were analysed. Findings No social media usage effects on loneliness or well-being were detected for those who used only Twitter or both Twitter and Instagram. For those using both Twitter and Facebook, loneliness was reduced when users accessed Twitter and Facebook more frequently but was increased when they posted more tweets. Users of all three social media were lonelier and had lower levels of well-being when they accessed Facebook via PC longer; whereas their their access time of Facebook via smartphones helped them decrease loneliness and improve their levels of well-being. Originality/value The findings reported here provide possible explanations for the conflicting results reported in previous research by exploring why users choose different social media platforms to communicate with different groups of friends or acquaintances and different usage patterns that affect their loneliness and well-being.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document