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1 – 10 of 48The purpose of this paper is to summarise the contributions made in this theme issue and draw conclusions about the issue’s key question “Why and how should the international…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to summarise the contributions made in this theme issue and draw conclusions about the issue’s key question “Why and how should the international volunteer tourism experience be improved?”, thereby providing a theme issue conclusion.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper summarises and critically reviews the seven articles that have contributed to the theme issue.
Findings
International volunteer tourism is a growing phenomenon that has received much criticism in the last decade and whilst there are a number of mechanisms to improve the quality of this sector as yet, there is little evidence to support any conclusion that there is wide-scale success in achieving best practice in quality assurance within the sector.
Originality/value
This theme issue explores international volunteer tourism from a range of contributors, academics, a practitioner and a travel writer, who have engaged with a range of stakeholders to offer different perspectives. The theme issue as a whole offers the reader an opportunity to engage in a unique and wide-ranging discourse on quality and international volunteer tourism.
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Keywords
– This paper aims to introduce the theme issue question “why and how should the international volunteer tourism experience be improved?”.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to introduce the theme issue question “why and how should the international volunteer tourism experience be improved?”.
Design/methodology/approach
An Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded Festival of Social Science event entitled “Pursuing Quality in International Volunteering” was held at the University of Brighton in November 2013. This event brought together academics and practitioners in a successful debate, but it was also recognised that this was the first step on a long journey. The articles in this theme issue are drawn both from attendees at the ESRC event and from the wider international volunteer tourism network of academics and practitioners.
Findings
This paper introduces the key stakeholders of international volunteer tourism and the extent to which their voices are prominent (or not) in respect of the issues of achieving quality. Further, the paper highlights a number of quality mechanisms that are offered as solutions to the challenges that currently beleaguer international volunteer tourism.
Research limitations/implications
Whilst not all the key stakeholder voices are represented in this theme issue, the discussions and implications that are drawn out are of importance to all stakeholder groups.
Originality/value
This is the first time a journal issue has focused on the challenges of achieving quality in respect of international volunteer tourism.
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Tracey J. Dickson, Angela M. Benson and F. Anne Terwiel
– The purpose of this paper is to compare motivations of volunteers at two mega multi-sport events.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare motivations of volunteers at two mega multi-sport events.
Design/methodology/approach
The research used a quantitative research design to survey volunteers at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (n=2,066) and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (n=11,451) via an online questionnaire based upon the Special Event Volunteer Motivation Scale.
Findings
The results indicate that the volunteers, most of whom had previously volunteered, were motivated by similar variables, including the uniqueness of the event, the desire to make it a success and to give back to their community. The results of the principal components analysis indicated that most items of the scale loaded onto similar components across the two research contexts.
Research limitations/implications
There were methodological limitations in terms of the timing of the questionnaire administration and Likert scales used, however, these issues were controlled by gatekeepers. These limitations could have research implication for comparative studies of volunteers at mega events.
Practical implications
Understanding volunteer motivations will enable event managers and volunteer managers to plan for legacy.
Social implications
Volunteer motivations include wanting to give back to their community and therefore, increases the potential for volunteer legacy.
Originality/value
This is the first research that: enables comparison of winter and summer Olympic and Paralympic Games volunteers; has substantial sample sizes in relation to the variables; applies higher item loadings to strengthen the analysis; and involves the use of the same instrument across events.
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Kim Roberts, Angela Benson and Jamie Mills
Today’s digital and mobile learning environment has contributed to the increased availability of and interest in e-textbooks, and many school systems are conducting trials to…
Abstract
Purpose
Today’s digital and mobile learning environment has contributed to the increased availability of and interest in e-textbooks, and many school systems are conducting trials to evaluate their effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze instructors’ levels of use (LoU) of e-textbook features and innovations at a southeastern US community college. This study also evaluated the effectiveness of e-textbooks compared to paper textbooks on student achievement during a pilot period of e-textbook implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a survey research design, the LoU of the Innovation framework was applied to identify and analyze instructors’ LoU rankings for eight e-textbook features. The study also used historical data on student demographics and final course grades to evaluate student achievement between text formats. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to answer the research questions.
Findings
Results showed that e-textbook features were used at a low to non-existent level by instructors and that there was no significant difference in grade average between text formats among students. However, interactions between text format, age and gender were found.
Originality/value
This study added to the body of knowledge regarding e-textbook efficacy. While many studies stop with the conclusion that there is no difference in student outcomes between text formats, this study addressed a gap in literature on how to improve student performance with e-textbook technology by using the LoU of an innovation framework.
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Shannon Harper, Angela Gover, Samara McPhedran and Paul Mazerolle
Comparative research provides a mechanism to understand how justice systems throughout the world operate. McPhedran et al. (2017) conducted a comparative examination of police…
Abstract
Purpose
Comparative research provides a mechanism to understand how justice systems throughout the world operate. McPhedran et al. (2017) conducted a comparative examination of police officer attitudes about domestic violence (DV) in the USA and Australia and reported fairly high levels of agreement among male and female officers within each country. The current study builds on these findings by examining officer attitudes toward DV among male and female officers cross-nationally. This was accomplished by examining whether American and Australian male and female officers agree with one another on a number of DV issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Two-way ANOVA was used to examine the effect of two factors (gender and country) on law enforcement officer attitudes about DV.
Findings
The results suggest that male and female officers from the USA and Australia significantly differ on 14 of 24 attitudes about DV with the greatest number of attitudinal differences found between American and Australian male officers.
Research limitations/implications
Scholars who conduct future research examining police officer attitudes about DV should use the instrument from this study as a springboard to develop an updated survey in terms of content and one that would be applicable to cross-national analyses. Methodological study limitations are described in depth in McPhedran et al. (2017).
Originality/value
While gender differences in attitudes have received scholarly attention, questions remain regarding the degree to which attitudes align among male and female officers across different countries. The current study seeks to fill these gaps in knowledge by examining attitudes about DV between American and Australian law enforcement officers.
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Barbara Loera, Blain Murphy, Angela Fedi, Mara Martini, Nadia Tecco and Moira Dean
The study aims to propose a systematic and innovative model of purchase intention development that integrates Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) with its main extensions and…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to propose a systematic and innovative model of purchase intention development that integrates Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) with its main extensions and clarifies the logical status of the variables involved and the structure of the causal path.
Design/methodology/approach
The TPB is the most useful predictive model of purchase intentions, which can be viewed as the product of various psychological determinants. Previous works have proposed extensions of the TPB model to selectively include knowledge, trust or social norms, but an integrated proposal has not yet been formulated. Based on a survey in four European countries (Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK; N = 1,035), this study tests the process of organic vegetable purchase intention development using a structural equation model (SEM). This comprises part of the measurement of latent variables and part of the analysis of dependency relationships (MLR estimation method).
Findings
The results show that purchase intention for organic vegetables is primarily dependent on positive moral attitude (PoMA) towards such consumption. The inclusion of PoMA reduces the effect of attitude toward buying organic vegetables, but the effects of social norms, past behaviour and perceived behavioural control remain significant.
Originality/value
This study proposes an innovative model to explain purchase intention for organic vegetables that incorporates the key current extensions of the TPB model (knowledge, trust and PoMA) into an integrated causal pathway. Understanding the relationships between the antecedents of purchase intention provides relevant information on “what” needs to be improved and “where” interventions are needed to steer consumers towards organic food.
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In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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Silvia Bruzzi, Paolo Landa, Elena Tànfani and Angela Testi
The ageing of the world’s population is causing an increase in the number of frail patients admitted to hospitals. In the absence of appropriate management and organisation, these…
Abstract
Purpose
The ageing of the world’s population is causing an increase in the number of frail patients admitted to hospitals. In the absence of appropriate management and organisation, these patients risk an excessive length of stay and poor outcomes. To deal with this problem, the purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model to facilitate the pathway of frail elderly patients across acute care hospitals, focussed on avoiding improper wait times and treatment during the process.
Design/methodology/approach
The conceptual model is developed to enrich the standard flowchart of a clinical pathway in the hospital. The modified flowchart encompasses new organisational units and activities carried out by new dedicated professional roles. The proposed variant aims to provide a correct assessment of frailty at the entrance, a better management of the patient’s stay during different clinical stages and an early discharge, sending the patient home or to other facilities, avoiding a delayed discharge. The model is completed by a set of indicators aimed at measuring performance improvements and creating a strong database of evidence on the managing of frail elderly’s pathways, providing proper information that can validate the model when applied in current practice.
Findings
The paper proposes a design of the clinical path of frail patients in acute care hospitals, combining elements that, according to an evidence-based management approach, have proved to be effective in terms of outcomes, costs and organisational issues. The authors can, therefore, expect an improvement in the treatment of frail patients in hospital, avoiding their functional decline and worsening frailty conditions, as often happens in current practice following the standard path of other patients.
Research limitations/implications
The framework proposed is a conceptual model to manage frail elderly patients in acute care wards. The research approach lacks application to real data and proof of effectiveness. Further work will be devoted to implementing a simulation model for a specific case study and verifying the impact of the conceptual model in real care settings.
Practical implications
The paper includes suggestions for re-engineering the management of frail elderly patients in hospitals, when a reduction of lengths of stay and the improvement of clinical outcomes is required.
Originality/value
This paper fulfils an identified need to study and provide solutions for the management of frail elderly patients in acute care hospitals, and generally to produce value in a patient-centred model.
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