scholarly journals Societal Expectations and Well-being of Academics: Views from University Lecturers in Ghana

2020 ◽  
pp. 74-84
Author(s):  
Dudley W. Ofori ◽  
Jo Bell
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Well Being ◽  
University Education ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Mind Set ◽  
And Shifts ◽  
Societal Expectations ◽  
University Lecturers

Background: The study aimed to investigate how societal expectation on educational accomplishments can affect workplace well-being of university lecturers. University education is seen by society as the highest level of educational accomplishment in a person’s life and people with such accomplishments are often held in higher esteem by society. In Ghana, this expectation puts pressure on lecturers who are known to have attained higher educational accomplishments. Methods: The study used a qualitative research approach to solicit views from 18 public university lecturers in Ghana. Interpretative Phenomenology Approach (IPA) for data analysis was used to interpret the opinions of lecturers about what society expects of them, how that affects their well-being at work and shifts that are needed to address those expectations. Results: The study found that society indeed expects a lot from university lecturers (core university functions and other cultural and economic issues). Societal expectations have both positive and negative effects on the well-being of lecturers. Findings show that respect that lecturers receive from society provides leverage for positive well-being, while financial pressures placed on them tend to create emotional stresses which impact negatively on their well-being. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to examine the experiences of well-being amongst university academics in Ghana. Results suggest that how the role of university academics is perceived by society can create pressures which affect their well-being negatively. This study highlights the importance of these findings and their impact on well-being. It shows that societal expectations are linked to sociocultural beliefs and economic factors in a developing country context. The authors recommend a mind-set shift amongst society and academics to bring expectations from both sides closer together; through education; engaging community talks on the pressures of societal expectations and demands to create awareness, and observing cultural beliefs that impact the understanding of well-being issues. These initiatives could potentially reduce the pressure of unrealistic expectations on academics and other “knowledge workers”.

Reimagining a Realist Evaluation Research in Entrepreneurship Skills Development and the Idea of University Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-133
Author(s):  
Valile Valindawo M. Dwayi
Keyword(s):  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Evaluation Research ◽  
Realist Evaluation ◽  
University Education ◽  
Skills Development ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Espoused Values ◽  
Innovation And Technology ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

This article reports on the evaluation researchproject, which focussed on the viability and sustainability challenges in one particular case of a university over a period of five years. Such a university remains categorised as structurally disadvantaged despite almost thirty years into constitutional democracy in South Africa. As such, the research project was conducted against the complexity of the university transformation project, which take place against the enduring social ills as high unemployment rate, increasing inequalities and abject poverties especially from the enduring legacy of the old racist apartheid system. The role of university education in such a context becomes the reflexive imperative in consideration of university, not only as the public good and equity, but for social justice and equity discourses. Such discourses need to be made more loud than is presently the case. The research therefore focussed on the role of entrepreneurship skills development, which then were juxtaposed with the espoused values of of science, innovation and technology as the key performance indicators for the academic project. As such, the article will revolve around the main argument that scholarship of engagament in univeristy spaces, where entrepreneurship skills development ought to be the enabling system, need to be reimagined in terms of the contemporary research disciplines. Critical realist philosophy, and the realist social theory as the explanatory program, provide the alternative research approach to the mainstream approaches due to their explanatory power for for transcendentalism and based on retroductive arguemnts about the social world. Such an approach does not only foreground the contemporary debates in social sciences, and the emerging fields of study within it, but also help to elaborate on the purist positions that tend to be promoted in some business science fields and their inadvertent pragmatic and black box logic. Keywords: Viability, Sustainability, Entrepreneurship skills development, Historically disadvantaged universities, realist evaluative research

Imperfect produce: retailer actions and service outcomes

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Atmadeep Mukherjee ◽  
Amaradri Mukherjee ◽  
Pramod Iyer
Keyword(s):  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Societal Implications ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Outcomes ◽  
Patronage Intention ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Food waste is a big problem where millions of pounds of produce are discarded every year because they are imperfect or unattractive. Despite the societal implications of selling unattractive produce, limited research has been directed toward understanding the effect of imperfect produce on consumers’ evaluations of the produce and retailer outcomes. This paper aims to investigate why consumers tend to discard imperfect produce and how retailer interventions (i.e. anthropomorphized signage and packaging) can alleviate these negative effects. Design/methodology/approach Three experiments were conducted to examine the postulations. Study 1 highlights the role of consumers’ embarrassment in the purchase decision of imperfect produce and retailer patronage intention. Studies 2 and 3 provide managerially relevant boundary conditions of anthropomorphic signage and opaque packaging. Findings Convergent results across three studies (n = 882) indicate that imperfect produce increases purchase embarrassment and reduces purchase intention and retailer patronage intention. Retailer interventions (i.e. anthropomorphic signage and opaque packaging) can allay this feeling of embarrassment and lead to an increased retailer patronage intention and higher service satisfaction. Practical implications This research provides guidance to retailers for effectively promoting imperfect produce. Social implications Retailers’ actions can benefit the well-being of farmers, suppliers, customers and the overall environment. Originality/value This research adds to the literature on unattractive produce by identifying new moderators, namely, anthropomorphic signages and opaque packaging. The research also shows that purchase embarrassment is a key process mechanism.

Does deal size moderate the effects of board faultlines? Evidence from acquisitions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Tidbury ◽  
Steven F. Cahan ◽  
Li Chen
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Instrumental Variable Analysis

Purpose Board faultlines, which reflect intrinsic divisions of board members into relatively homogeneous subgroups, are associated with poor firm performance. This paper aims to extend the existing board faultline research by examining how acquisition deal size moderates the negative implications of board faultlines. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a sample of acquisitions and a quantitative research approach to conduct statistical analysis. Findings Using a sample of acquisitions announced between 2007 and 2016, this paper finds evidence suggesting that strong faultlines are associated with poorer acquisition outcomes in the long-term, but not in the short term. Further, this paper finds that the effect of faultline strength on long-term acquisition outcomes is weaker for larger acquisition deals than smaller acquisition deals. The findings are consistent with deal size moderating the relation between faultlines and acquisition outcomes. Research limitations/implications This paper addresses possible endogeneity through firm fixed effects and instrumental variable analysis. Although this paper provides evidence on the moderating role of deal size in the context of faultlines, future research could examine the role of additional moderators, such as pro-diversity, trust, board leadership and board and task characteristics. Practical implications The findings suggest that boards need to be aware of situations where the negative effects of faultlines are more likely to come to the fore. For example, faultlines are more likely to play a role in more routine, obscure monitoring than for high-profile strategic decisions. Originality/value The study is multidisciplinary as it draws on the management, organizational behaviour and psychology and finance literature. It contributes to the developing literature on faultlines in several important ways. First, this paper supports their view that faultlines have adverse effects on board performance by showing that faultlines negatively impact discrete strategic investment decisions. Second, this paper provides evidence that deals size moderates the faultline-acquisition performance relation, indicating that the role of faultlines is contextual. Third, this paper finds evidence that suggests investors do not factor in board faultlines when responding to acquisition announcements.

scholarly journals The Role of Humour in the Social Care Professions: An Exploratory Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 778-796
Author(s):  
Molly Fogarty ◽  
Dely Lazarte Elliot
Keyword(s):  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Work Performance ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The Social ◽  
Care Training ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract Six social care professionals were recruited to take part in in-depth interviews that sought to explore their phenomenological experiences of humour within their place of work. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach, the results suggest that humour serves various important functions within social care. Humour can allow social care professionals to relieve themselves of negative emotions, to avoid stress and cynicism, to achieve a sense of normality and perspective and to engage with service users. The positive impact humour appears to have upon these professionals is in keeping with the humour–health hypothesis, which posits that humour enhances well-being. However, results from this study also suggest that humour may be capable of negatively impacting well-being. Arguably, these findings highlight the need to extend the humour–health hypothesis and incorporate the negative effects humour can have upon well-being. Results also indicate that, if used appropriately, humour can be utilised to benefit work performance and service user outcomes. The findings of this research hold important implications for how humour may be understood and fostered in social care training, practice and policy.

Christianity and the Prospects for Development in the Global South

2014 ◽  
pp. 358-383
Author(s):  
Peter S. Heslam
Keyword(s):  
Voluntary Associations ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Global South ◽  
Charismatic Movement ◽  
Material Wealth ◽  
Business Needs ◽  
Mind Set ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
Causes Of Poverty

There are two key facts about development that are obvious yet often overlooked: the solution to material poverty is material wealth and the only sphere of society that generates such wealth is business. From these two foundations, the argument in this chapter is that Christianity can be, and often is, conducive to the kind of environment that business needs to flourish and for business to contribute to the well-being of society. It is remarkable the extent to which the role of religion and business are ignored in mainstream development thinking. One reason this is generally overlooked is that the development community tends to focus on definitions and causes of poverty, rather than what causes wealth. This chapter discusses the role of the Evangelical-Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement in promoting wealth through a sense of calling, a positive mind-set, delaying gratification, stimulating entrepreneurship, rationalization, and nurturing voluntary associations.

scholarly journals Using Appreciative Inquiry to Understand the Role of Teaching Practices in Student Well-being at a Research-Intensive University

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Lane ◽  
Minnie Y Teng ◽  
Steven J Barnes ◽  
Katherine Moore ◽  
Karen Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Appreciative Inquiry ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Qualité De Vie ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Premier Cycle ◽  
Groupes De Discussion

Appreciative inquiry (a research approach comprising four stages: Discovery, Dream, Design, and Destiny) was used at a research-intensive university to investigate which teaching practices positively influence student well-being (i.e., their health and quality of life). In a survey, undergraduate students were asked to select the teaching practices they believed best supported their well-being. Focus groups also were conducted, with: (1) students, and (2) instructors identified by students as using teaching practices that supported their well-being. Mixed-methods data-analyses subsequently were used to identify instructional strategies that support student well-being. L’enquête appréciative (une approche de recherche qui comprend quatre étapes : découverte, rêve, conception et destinée) a été utilisée dans une université centrée sur la recherche pour enquêter sur les pratiques d’enseignement et déterminer lesquelles influencent positivement le bien-être des étudiants (c’est-à-dire leur santé et leur qualité de vie). Dans un sondage, on a demandé aux étudiants de premier cycle de choisir les pratiques d’enseignement qui, selon eux, favorisaient le mieux leur bien-être. Des groupes de discussion ont également été organisés, avec (1) des étudiants et (2) des instructeurs identifiés par les étudiants comme étant ceux qui employaient des pratiques d’enseignement qui favorisaient leur bien-être. Ensuite, les données ont été analysées selon des méthodes mixtes pour identifier les stratégies d’instruction qui favorisent le bien-être des étudiants.

scholarly journals A community-based participatory research approach to understanding social eating for food well-being

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Nadina R Luca ◽  
Marsha Smith ◽  
Sally Hibbert
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Food Service ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Social Eating ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Food Charity

‘Social eating initiatives’ are a specific type of community-based food service that provides opportunities for people to eat together in local spaces using surplus food. These initiatives provide a meal that is fresh, affordable and more environmentally friendly than fast or convenience foods. In this research, we build upon the food well-being model to explore how food consumption is experienced in these community settings and the role of social eating projects in shaping the different dimensions of people’s foodscapes. We adopted a community-based participatory approach and engaged in a series of dialogues with staff volunteers and coordinators at four ‘social eating initiatives’. We also conducted 45 interviews with service users and volunteers at three sites in the Midlands region.   The role of community-based food initiatives responding to hunger by utilising surplus food to feed local populations is often conceptualised critically. The conjoining of food insecurity and surplus food appears to instrumentally feed customers and reduce food wastage, but in ways that are stigmatising, and which position customers as passive recipients of food charity. However, closer attention to the experiences of staff, volunteers and customers at these spaces, reveals them as sites where knowledge and experience of food is being developed with this contributing to a sense of well-being beyond nutrition. Shared food practices and eating together contribute to social capital and are important dimensions of food well-being that are significantly restricted by food insecurity. The ‘food well-being’ model envisages a shift in focus from health, defined as the absence of illness, towards well-being as a positive relationship with food at the individual and societal level. In the concluding remarks of this article, it is suggested that this holistic conception is required to understand the role and function of social eating initiatives.

scholarly journals The Relationship of Work-Related ICT Use With Well-being, Incorporating the Role of Resources and Demands: A Meta-Analysis

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824402110615
Author(s):  
Viktoria Maria Baumeister ◽  
Leonie Petra Kuen ◽  
Maike Bruckes ◽  
Gerhard Schewe
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Ict Use ◽  
The Relationship

An understanding of the overall relationship between the work-related use of information and communication technology (ICT) and employees’ well-being is lacking as the rising number of studies has produced mixed results. We meta-analytically synthesize and integrate existing literature on the consequences of ICT use based on the job demands-resources model. By using meta-analytical structural equation modeling based on 63 independent studies ( N = 26,295), we shed light on the relationship between ICT use and employees’ well-being (operationalized as burnout and engagement) in a model that incorporates the mediating role of ICT-related resources and demands. Results show that ICT use is opposingly related to burnout and engagement through autonomy, availability, and work-life conflict. Our study brings clarity into the contradictory results and highlights the importance of a simultaneous consideration of both positive and negative effects for a comprehensive understanding of the relationship. We further show that the time of use and managerial position, and methodological moderators can clarify heterogeneity in previous results.

Children as Language Brokers

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachele Antonini
Keyword(s):  
Family Relationships ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
North African ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Language Brokers

Child language brokering (CLB) is a widespread practice of linguistic and cultural mediation or brokering that is generally performed by the children of immigrant and minority groups and that takes place in all those domains that pertain to these families’ social and daily life. It is a very young topic of interest; hence the body of research and literature available on CLB is still limited and highly fragmented and discipline-based, and attempts at bringing together researchers with different disciplinary and methodological perspectives are quite recent. Nonetheless, the increased interest in this topic of study has contributed to make it a fully fledged and freestanding area of study. Until the mid-1970s, the study of CLB was never the primary research question, and any observation on its existence was considered a byproduct of research focusing on other topics and issues. In the 1980s, articles and essays describing this practice started appearing in a variety of journals and volumes from a wide array of disciplinary perspectives. In the mid-1990s, research on CLB gained momentum and shifted to other aspects and issues of CLB, namely, the who, what, and where of CLB and its positive and negative effects on the language brokers’ education, identity construction, and psychological well-being. These include parentification and adultification issues that emerge when children assume the role of the decision-maker in the family and that may have a significant impact on family relationships, the children’s acculturation and learning process, and their attitudes toward their native and/or second language and culture. The study of CLB in Europe was introduced in the late 1990s and was initially almost exclusively UK-based. Since the end of the 1990s, it has developed in other European countries too, by focusing on the communities that represent the largest migrant groups present in each country, like for instance Moroccan communities in Spain, North African and Italian immigrants in Germany, and a variety of immigrant groups in Italy. CLB is now a topic of research in, inter alia, anthropology, bi- and multilingualism studies, educational studies, interpreting and translation studies, sociolinguistics, and psychology.

scholarly journals The Protective Role of Character Strengths in COVID-19 Stress and Well-Being in Individuals With Chronic Conditions and Disabilities: An Exploratory Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-74
Author(s):  
Emre Umucu ◽  
Timothy N. Tansey ◽  
Jessica Brooks ◽  
Beatrice Lee
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Internal Resources ◽  
Related Stress

Individuals with chronic conditions and disabilities, in response to stress associated with COVID-19, may experience a decrease in their overall well-being beyond that experienced by otherwise healthy individuals. Therefore, it is imperative to identify internal resources (e.g., character strengths) that can help them better manage COVID-19-related stress and enhance well-being in spite of COVID-19. This study explored the potential protective role of character strengths and virtues in moderating the negative effects of COVID-19 on stress and well-being. A cross-sectional study design was implemented. Participants included 269 individuals with self-reported chronic conditions and disabilities. After controlling for demographic and clinical characteristics, we examined whether character strengths and virtues acted as independent moderators between COVID-19-related stress and well-being. A higher degree of multiple character strengths significantly and independently moderated the relationship between COVID-19-related stress and well-being. Findings suggested the importance of promoting more character strengths overall in people with chronic conditions and disabilities to help them better manage COVID-19-related stress and enhance well-being.

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