The strange case of dating apps at a gay resort: hyper-local and virtual-physical leisure

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 1070-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oskaras Vorobjovas-Pinta ◽  
Isaac Jonathan Dalla-Fontana
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Change ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Research Environment ◽  
Reasonable Expectation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dating Apps ◽  
Spatial Reorientation ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender ◽  
Lgbt People

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report novel information about the use of gay apps by the patrons of an exclusively gay resort in Queensland, Australia. This novel research environment facilitates an understanding of the embeddedness of gay dating apps within contemporary gay culture and community and the spatial reorientation that comes alongside the juxtaposition of physical and digital geographies.Design/methodology/approachAn ethnographic study was conducted at the resort, and qualitative data presented here are drawn from semi-structured interviews with 27 gay-identifying male patrons of the resort. Critical ethnography provided beneficial access to situated perspectives and realities.FindingsThese data indicate that gay apps remain a pervasive way of making connections, even in an environment where common homosexuality is a reasonable expectation and where open self-expression is permitted and even encouraged. This complicates assumptions that gay apps’ emergence was in response to a need for privacy or anonymity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in wider, straight society.Originality/valueThis paper reports the results of an ethnographic survey conducted in a highly novel research environment and particularly seeks to address divergent experiences of social and cultural change by LGBT people, including generational divides. It has value in demonstrating clear differences, ambiguities and mixed implications of gay apps and their relationship with changing LGBT spaces.

Creating communities: the use of technology in craft and DIY communities of practice

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 277-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Holmes ◽  
Anita Greenhill ◽  
Rachel McLean
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to gain insight into craft and do-it-yourself (DIY) communities of practice (COPs) and how the use of technology provides ways for participants to connect, share and create. Gaining deeper insights into the practices of these communities may provide new opportunities to utilise within this flourishing domain. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative methods were adopted to collect data and analysed through an interpretivist lens. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of craft and DIY COPs to gain a deep understanding of the broader ethnographic study. Existing theoretical perspectives surrounding COPs have been applied to further current perspectives. Findings – Findings from this study suggest that being part of a COP allows participants to connect to others, build creative enterprise and learn or enhance skills. Insights gained from this study indicate some of the detailed ways in which the application of technology redefines craft and DIY COPs. Research limitations/implications – This study provides a succinct exploration of a vast and fluid domain; if presented with more time and wider resources, the research would include further exploration of virtual COPs. Originality/value – The investigation provides a rich insight into the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) within craft and DIY COPs. The application of theoretical perspectives from the area of Information Systems (IS) and Technology Management to this domain is regarded as an original research and furthers knowledge in these areas. Originality/value – The investigation provides a rich insight into the use of ICTs within craft and DIY COPs. The application of theoretical perspectives from the area of IS to the domain of craft and DIY culture is original research and extends existing concepts to include skills sharing as a previously unexplored domain.

Finding the movement: the geographies of social movement scenes

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (11/12) ◽  
pp. 792-807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly Creasap
Keyword(s):  
Social Movement ◽  
Central Business District ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Housing Tenure ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Spatial Dimensions ◽  
Business District ◽  
Commercial Landscape

Purpose A social movement scene is “a network of people who share a set of subcultural or countercultural beliefs, values, norms, and convictions as well as a network of physical spaces where members of that group are known to congregate” (Leach and Haunss 2009, p. 260, emphasis in the original). The purpose of this paper is to further develop theories of social movement scenes by examining the spatial dimensions of proximity, centrality, visibility, and accessibility, arguing that different scene configurations are shaped by gentrification processes. Design/methodology/approach This is an ethnographic study based on research conducted in Sweden over a five year period (2007-2012), including several summer research trips and a sustained fieldwork period of 14 months. Using snowball sampling, the author conducted semi-structured interviews with 38 activists involved in autonomous movement scenes. The author interviewed both men (n=26) and women (n=12) who ranged in age from 18 to 37, with most interviewees in their late 20s and early 30s. Findings Findings suggest that neighborhoods in the early stages of gentrification are most conducive to strong scenes. The author’s findings suggest that, while some of these conditions are locally specific, there were common structural conditions in each city, such as changes in the commercial landscape and housing tenure. Originality/value This paper contributes to the specificity of the concept of a social movement scene by presenting three spatial dimensions of scenes: centrality (relative to the Central Business District), concentration (clustering of scene places in one area of the city), and visibility (a visible presence communicated by signs and symbols). A second contribution of this paper is to offer a set of hypotheses about the urban conditions under which social movement scenes thrive (or fizzle).

scholarly journals The economics of COVID-19: initial empirical evidence on how family firms in five European countries cope with the corona crisis

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 1067-1092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sascha Kraus ◽  
Thomas Clauss ◽  
Matthias Breier ◽  
Johanna Gast ◽  
Alessandro Zardini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

PurposeWithin a very short period of time, the worldwide pandemic triggered by the novel coronavirus has not only claimed numerous lives but also caused severe limitations to daily private as well as business life. Just about every company has been affected in one way or another. This first empirical study on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on family firms allows initial conclusions to be drawn about family firm crisis management.Design/methodology/approachExploratory qualitative research design based on 27 semi-structured interviews with key informants of family firms of all sizes in five Western European countries that are in different stages of the crisis.FindingsThe COVID-19 crisis represents a new type and quality of challenge for companies. These companies are applying measures that can be assigned to three different strategies to adapt to the crisis in the short term and emerge from it stronger in the long run. Our findings show how companies in all industries and of all sizes adapt their business models to changing environmental conditions within a short period of time. Finally, the findings also show that the crisis is bringing about a significant yet unintended cultural change. On the one hand, a stronger solidarity and cohesion within the company was observed, while on the other hand, the crisis has led to a tentative digitalization.Originality/valueTo the knowledge of the authors, this is the first empirical study in the management realm on the impacts of COVID-19 on (family) firms. It provides cross-national evidence of family firms' current reactions to the crisis.

Learning domestic violence interagency work: enacting “practice multiple”

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 432-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Interagency Work ◽  
A Current

Purpose – This paper aims to shed light on the complex multiplicity of domestic violence interagency work. It proposes a new conceptualisation that reflects the entangled nature of professional practice and learning. Design/methodology/approach – The research on which this paper draws is an ethnographic study of practice in an integrated local domestic violence initiative. Data include focussed workplace observations, semi-structured interviews and key documents. The study draws on practice-based sociomaterial approaches and the conceptual framework, and methodology is informed by actor-network theory, in particular, the work of Annemarie Mol. Findings – Findings suggest that interagency work that starts from the victim and traces threads of connection outwards is able to “hang together” as “practice multiple” in integrated service provision. I argue that the learning that happens in these circumstances is a relational effect and depends on who and what is assembled in the actor-network. Research limitations/implications – The research has significant implications for framing understandings of domestic violence interagency work, as it firmly anchors “working together” to victims. Findings are expected to be of interest not only to practitioners, educators and researchers but also to policymakers. Originality/value – The paper addresses a current gap in the literature, applies a novel research approach and proposes a new conceptualisation of domestic violence interagency work.

scholarly journals Health promoting universities: effective leadership for health, well-being and sustainability

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Dooris ◽  
Susan Powell ◽  
Doug Parkin ◽  
Alan Farrier
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Change ◽  
Effective Leadership ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Core Business ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
Personal Qualities ◽  
Vice Chancellors ◽  
Health Promoting University

PurposeThis paper reports on a research study examining opportunities for and characteristics of effective leadership for whole university approaches to health, well-being and sustainability.Design/methodology/approachA multi-method qualitative approach was used: semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with vice chancellors (n = 12) and UK Healthy Universities Network members (n = 10) and online questionnaires were completed by non-UK network coordinators (n = 6) and non-UK health promoting university coordinators (n = 10), supplemented with two interviews.FindingsA total of two overarching themes emerged: opportunities to secure and sustain effective senior-level leadership and characteristics of effective senior-level leadership. Sub-themes under “Opportunities” included aligning work with core business so that health and well-being becomes a strategic priority, harnessing the personal qualities and values of senior-level advocates and using charters and policy drivers as levers to engage and catalyse action. Sub-themes under “Characteristics” included commitment to whole university/whole system working; an understanding that health underpins core business and is a strategic priority; enabling effective coordination through appropriate resourcing; balancing top-down and distributed leadership models and complementing strategic leadership with cultural change.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to explore leadership in relation to health promoting universities. Drawing on the findings, it presents a guide to developing and securing effective leadership for health promoting universities – of value to researchers, practitioners and policymakers worldwide.

Identity reflexivity: a framework of heuristics for strategy change in hybrid organizations

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Greco ◽  
Thomas Long ◽  
Gjalt de Jong
Keyword(s):  
Housing Association ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Dual Identity ◽  
Strategy Change ◽  
The Individual

PurposeThe aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between (dual) organizational identity and individual heuristics – simple rules and biases – in the process of strategy change. This paper offers a theory on identity reflexivity as a cognitive mechanism of strategy change in the context of organizational hybridity.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on a 2-year ethnographic study at a Dutch social housing association dealing with the process of strategy change. The empirical data comprises of in-depth semi-structured interviews, ethnographic observations as well as secondary sources.FindingsConflicting identities at the organizational level influence heuristics at the individual level, since members tend to identify with their department's identity. Despite conflicting interpretations, paths of cognitive shortcuts – that the authors define as internal and external identity reflexivity – are shared by the conflicting identities.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this research are subject to limitations typical of a qualitative case-study, such as possibly being context dependent. The authors argue that this research contributes to the understanding of how individual heuristics relate to organizational heuristics, and suggest that the process of identity reflexivity can contribute to the alignment of conflicting identities enabling strategy formation in the context of a dual-identity organization.Practical implicationsUnderstanding how managers with conflicting identities achieve agreements is important to help organizational leaders to pursue sustainability-oriented strategy change.Social implicationsGiven the pressure experienced by mission-driven organizations to integrate multiple sustainability demands in their mission, understanding managers' decision-making mechanism when adapting to new, often conflicting, sustainability demands is important to accelerate societal sustainability transitions.Originality/valueThis paper addresses the process of new strategy design in the context of a socially driven business. This context fundamentally differs from the one addressed by the existing heuristics literature with respect to organizational environment and role, and specific competing demands.

Shifting the blame: towards a self-reforming police service in England and Wales

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Metcalfe
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Change ◽  
Police Chiefs ◽  
Police Leadership ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Police Reform ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Police Service ◽  
Blame Culture ◽  
National Police ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The police service has been encouraged to become a “self-reforming sector”, yet there is an acknowledgement of a “blame culture” within the policing. The purpose of this paper is to explore the barriers to “self-reform”, as identified by chief officers, and propose a series of strategies to help inform the future of police leadership. Design/methodology/approach The research is primarily underpinned by a series of semi-structured interviews with chief constables and a series of four workshops. Findings The paper argues that contemporary police cultures, and approaches to failure, are not conducive to the realisation of a “self-reforming” sector. It is proposed that strategic future leaders should consider establishing a common process for organisational learning whilst simultaneously encouraging cultural change that de-stigmatises failure and supports the development of adaptive and networked learning organisations. Research limitations/implications The research is limited by exclusively drawing on the perspective of chief officers and does not engage a representative cross section of the police service. The absence of detailed analysis of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary findings to complement the review of IPCC recommendations is a limitation that weakens subsequent conclusions. Finally, this research would benefit considerations of potential structural and organisational changes that would support the realisation of a “self-reforming sector”. Practical implications This research supports work by the National Police Chiefs’ Council to deliver police reform. Originality/value The paper is informed by new and original qualitative research explicitly focused on the perspective of senior police leaders.

Reflecting a diversified country: a content analysis of newspaper advertisements in Great Britain

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 908-926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Mogaji
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Business Strategy ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Print Advertisements ◽  
Advertising Industry ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender ◽  
Business Setting ◽  
Lgbt People ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – Identifying the protected characteristics under the Equality Act of the UK, the purpose of this paper is to discover the extent to which the protected characteristics are featured in British newspaper advertisements, as evidence of diversity and equality in the country. Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis of advertisements obtained from nine national newspapers of the UK collected over 12 months. The criteria used to select the newspapers were category, popularity (circulation figures) and the readership demographics (range and variety of the audience). Findings – Disabled individuals are under-represented in print advertisements, and so are close relationships between individuals of the same sex signifying a civil partnership (or sexual orientation). There seems to be an equal level of portrayal of males and females, though men still feature more in a business setting while women are seen more in home settings. Practical implications – The findings suggest opportunities for advertisers to integrate disabled individuals into their marketing campaigns, not just as a business strategy for targeted markets but as individuals in a diversified community. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people could also be featured in advertisements for products and services that couples usually buy together, for example, holidays and mortgages. Originality/value – This study expands on the existing study on the portrayal in advertisements of stereotypes of genders, different age-groups and ethnic minorities. The portrayal of disability, sexuality and religious beliefs were considered within newspapers in UK, bridging some crucial gaps and providing outcomes relevant to numerous types of stakeholders, including the brands, advertising industry and academic researchers.

scholarly journals “I found what I needed, which was a supportive community”: an ethnographic study of shared information practices in an online cosplay community

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Vardell ◽  
Ting Wang ◽  
Paul A. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Culture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Information Practices ◽  
Shared Information ◽  
Supportive Community

PurposeThis study explored the information practices of cosplayers, as well as the social norms, social types and information infrastructure of an online cosplay Facebook group, the Rey Cosplay Community (RCC).Design/methodology/approachTo better understand individual behavior, the authors made use of ethnographic methods and semi-structured interviews. Observation of the RCC was combined with information gleaned from select participant interviews.FindingsThe results suggest that the RCC can be conceived of as an information community where fans obtain and share information about cosplay costume making. Sufficient and well-organized information and positive community culture greatly help community members make their costumes.Originality/valueThis works serves as a bridge between fan studies and information science research in its exploration of online communities, shared information practices and creating non-toxic virtual environments. It also lends support to the idea that positivity, respect for community rules and a tight-knit connection between members play essential roles in building a non-toxic fan and information community.

A thematic analysis of the experience of educational leaders introducing coaching into schools

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Posthumus Anthony ◽  
Christian J. van Nieuwerburgh
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Change ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Effect Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Conflicting Demands

Purpose Schools are traditionally hierarchical organisations with headteachers holding significant influence to effect change. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of an investigation into the experiences of school leaders introducing coaching cultures into their schools. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a phenomenological approach. In total, 20 face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with headteachers and deputy headteachers in the UK. Thematic analysis was used to code the data and identify themes. Findings The paper reports on six themes based on the experiences of school leaders who participated in this study: personal beliefs about coaching are influenced by prior experiences; frustration about the pace of change; pressure of conflicting demands; feelings of isolation; the need for confidence to see the process through; and experiencing personal growth. The findings of this study shed light on the experience that school leaders may face when introducing coaching initiatives. Research limitations/implications These findings are unique to the participants of this study and therefore not representative of a general population of educational leaders. Further research into factors that can influence the successful introduction of coaching initiatives into educational settings is recommended. Practical implications The paper includes implications for school leaders who wish to introduce coaching initiatives into their educational contexts. It is argued, for example, it is helpful for school leaders to reflect on their own beliefs about coaching before initiating cultural change within their schools. Originality/value This paper fulfils an identified need to understand leadership experiences in relation to coaching in schools. This understanding will support policy makers and school leaders interested in embedding coaching cultures within schools.

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