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1 – 10 of 12Anna Halafoff, Ruth Fitzpatrick and Cristina Rocha
The spread of conspiracy theories and associated vaccine rejection within the wellness industry and spiritual communities during the COVID-19 pandemic attracted significant media…
Abstract
The spread of conspiracy theories and associated vaccine rejection within the wellness industry and spiritual communities during the COVID-19 pandemic attracted significant media and scholarly attention. Informed by the ‘(Con)spirituality, Science and COVID-19 in Australia’ project (2020–2021) (Halafoff, Marriott, et al., 2022; Halafoff, Weng, et al., 2022; Roginski & Rocha, 2022), funded by the Templeton Religion Trust and awarded via the International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society (INSBS), this chapter reports on findings pertaining to holistic spirituality, purity doctrines and wellness, arising from a parallel pilot study on ‘Spirituality and Wellness (SWell) in Australia’ (2021). Both studies have revealed a ‘spiritual complexity’ in Australia and internationally, and the authors report on this here, focussed particularly on spirituality’s quest for pristine bodies, and on spiritual ‘moral communities’ (Ganga Kieffer, 2023) exceptionalism and relationality.
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This study surveyed the entrepreneurship community on a large university campus in 2016 and in 2020 to identify and understand its information habits and needs. User needs can…
Abstract
Purpose
This study surveyed the entrepreneurship community on a large university campus in 2016 and in 2020 to identify and understand its information habits and needs. User needs can inform service design and assessment, as well as inform approaches to reference interactions. Librarians are encouraged to conduct similar surveys to better understand this niche population.
Design/methodology/approach
Investigators employed repeated cross-sectional design, a longitudinal research approach that draws on samples of non-overlapping or minimally overlapping cases over time. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using online survey instruments. Data collected included demographic information, venture characteristics, participation in institutional activities such as accelerator programs and credit courses, general startup research behaviors and needs, and details of a specific instance of business or market research as well as interaction with the library and access to training. Triangulation of semantic and episodic was applied to draw reliable conclusions about respondent behavior.
Findings
In both surveys, over half of respondents were students and 75% of respondents were engaged in startup activity, most at the early stages. While respondent demographics, type and purpose of information sought remained constant between the two surveys, awareness and use of the library rose on several metrics. Coding revealed insights into respondents’ attitudes toward and strategies for secondary business research. Information obtained during the research process had a moderate impact on their ventures. These findings informed the development of library research and instruction services, programs, and collections for entrepreneurs.
Originality/value
The repeated cross-sectional design of the study is unique and shows trends in the community over time. The mixed-methods approach provides a robust and nuanced portrait of the community. These findings informed the development and assessment of library research and instruction services, programs and collections for entrepreneurs.
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Sarah Chauhan and Nusrat Yasmeen
Travel aimed in experiencing the arts, heritage, and activities that authentically depict the stories and people of the past and present is referred to as cultural and heritage…
Abstract
Travel aimed in experiencing the arts, heritage, and activities that authentically depict the stories and people of the past and present is referred to as cultural and heritage tourism. This has gathered a lot of attention in the last 10 years. In order to protect their valuable history, developing countries require assistance from the international community. Cultural heritage tourism is a significant economic development tool and one of the best components of the tourism sector.
In the 21st century, in terms of museums and showcasing culture, there has been a significant commotion toward the role of people or community, rather than the morality of objectification of knowledge in a close-ended glass case. This concept can be traced back to “New Museology,” emerging since the 1970s, where a section of like-minded museologists believed that museums are for the people and of the people. It is important to include the “voices of the community” as a whole, therein, becoming a broad parlance of social culture (MacDonald, 2006).
Community participation is a process where people are facilitated by themselves and their responsiveness to their own traditions and culture. Henceforth, this chapter is an approach toward a case study of an emerging concept in Delhi – A Neighbourhood Museum in Shadi Khampur area, where the locality is prevalent since the 12th century. Other locals preside over the predating of Partition in the 17th century, when their ancestors settled from Lahore since then.
Ashleigh Haw, Jay Daniel Thompson and Rob Cover
Widespread news coverage, politicised debate and social media commentary have given prominence to COVID-19 as an unparalleled threat to global health and mortality, intensifying…
Abstract
Widespread news coverage, politicised debate and social media commentary have given prominence to COVID-19 as an unparalleled threat to global health and mortality, intensifying panic and insecurity worldwide. In response, the endorsement and amplification of false claims about the pandemic has proliferated, in many cases, by public figures in the online ‘wellness’ realm. Using COVID-19 as a case study, this chapter interrogates observed connections between digital wellness cultures and informational disorders in times of crisis. The authors discuss the bourgeois liberal-individualist ideals that increasingly underpin much of this communication, exemplified through the co-option of social justice rhetoric and narratives of the ‘persecuted hero’. The authors also recognise the growing number of wellness influencers openly resisting pandemic-related mis/disinformation, and note the forms of anti-individualist, mutual care demonstrated in these ‘debunking’ efforts. The authors argue that these practices reflect a form of networked solidarity – enacted alongside a discursive distancing from individualist modes of thinking – that can be understood by applying a social ecological framework for understanding ‘resilience’.
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Katie Lindekugel and Naja Ferjan Ramírez
Although studies have shown that electronic media exposure can negatively affect infants’ and young children’s language development, exposure to these forms of media is increasing…
Abstract
Although studies have shown that electronic media exposure can negatively affect infants’ and young children’s language development, exposure to these forms of media is increasing in North America. To better understand the types of electronic media exposure and their potential effects, we utilized naturalistic daylong recordings collected in the homes of bilingual Spanish–English infants of Latinx descent (n = 37). The present study examines contextual aspects of electronic media exposure, and the effects of electronic media on two types of parent–infant social interactions associated with child language development: parentese (a style of infant-directed speech distinguished by its higher pitch, slower tempo, and exaggerated intonation) and parent–infant turn-taking. Using Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA), two daylong audio recordings were collected from each family. These recordings were manually annotated for electronic media type, directedness, language, parental support, parentese, and turn-taking. Our results showed that the infants in our study experienced exposure to many different forms of electronic media, in both English and Spanish, and that the programming was predominantly adult-directed rather than child-directed. While both parentese and turn-taking were reduced in the presence of electronic media, the strength of these effects was modulated by electronic media sources, demonstrating that various devices differentially affect parental language input. These results provide a glimpse into what types of media young bilingual Spanish–English learning infants are experiencing and can help researchers design language interventions that are inclusive and relevant for families from these populations.
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Matthew Tickle, Sarah Schiffling and Gaurav Verma
This paper aims to explore the impact of fourth-party logistics (4PL) adoption on the agility, adaptability and alignment (AAA) capabilities within humanitarian supply chains…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the impact of fourth-party logistics (4PL) adoption on the agility, adaptability and alignment (AAA) capabilities within humanitarian supply chains (HSCs).
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews with individuals from a large non-government organisation were combined with secondary data to assess the influence of 4PL adoption on AAA capabilities in HSCs.
Findings
The results indicate that HSCs exhibit some of the AAA antecedents but not all are fully realised. While 4PL positively affects the AAA capabilities of HSCs, its adoption faces challenges such as the funding environment, data security/confidentiality and alignment with humanitarian principles. The study suggests an AAA antecedent realignment, positioning alignment as a precursor to agility and adaptability. It also identifies three core antecedents in HSCs: flexibility, speed and environmental uncertainty.
Practical implications
The study shows the positive impact 4PL adoption can have on the AAA capabilities of HSCs. The findings have practical relevance for those wishing to optimise HSC performance through 4PL adoption, by identifying the inhibiting factors to its adoption as well as strategies to address them.
Originality/value
This research empirically explores 4PL’s impact on AAA capabilities in HSCs, highlighting the facilitating and hindering factors of 4PL adoption in this environment as well as endorsing a realignment of AAA antecedents. It also contributes to the growing research on SC operations in volatile settings.
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Elena Mazurova and Willem Standaert
This study aims to uncover the constraints of automation and the affordances of augmentation related to implementing artificial intelligence (AI)-powered systems across different…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to uncover the constraints of automation and the affordances of augmentation related to implementing artificial intelligence (AI)-powered systems across different task types: mechanical, thinking and feeling.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative study involving 45 interviews with various stakeholders in artistic gymnastics, for which AI-powered systems for the judging process are currently developed and tested. Stakeholders include judges, gymnasts, coaches and a technology vendor.
Findings
We identify perceived constraints of automation, such as too much mechanization, preciseness and inability of the system to evaluate artistry or to provide human interaction. Moreover, we find that the complexity and impreciseness of the rules prevent automation. In addition, we identify affordances of augmentation such as speedier, fault-less, more accurate and objective evaluation. Moreover, augmentation affords to provide an explanation, which in turn may decrease the number of decision disputes.
Research limitations/implications
While the unique context of our study is revealing, the generalizability of our specific findings still needs to be established. However, the approach of considering task types is readily applicable in other contexts.
Practical implications
Our research provides useful insights for organizations that consider implementing AI for evaluation in terms of possible constraints, risks and implications of automation for the organizational practices and human agents while suggesting augmented AI-human work as a more beneficial approach in the long term.
Originality/value
Our granular approach provides a novel point of view on AI implementation, as our findings challenge the notion of full automation of mechanical and partial automation of thinking tasks. Therefore, we put forward augmentation as the most viable AI implementation approach. In addition, we developed a rich understanding of the perception of various stakeholders with a similar institutional background, which responds to recent calls in socio-technical research.
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