Search results

The creation of positive social change (PSC) is considered the primary success criterion when evaluating social enterprise performance. However, despite a proliferation of PSC-measurements, their empirical validity and applicability in emerging economies remain largely unclear. The quantitative study examines the validity of the PSC-measurement approaches proposed by Bloom and Smith (2010; Bloom and Smith approach [BSA]) and Weaver (2020b; Weaver approach [WA]) in South Africa.

Investigating a representative sample of 347 social entrepreneurs from Gauteng and Limpopo provinces, the authors use questionnaire data to explore the factorial, convergent and discriminant validity of both PSC-measurement approaches. Statistically, this is done by applying factorial and correlation analyses.

The results yield acknowledgeable differences. BSA has a high factorial and convergent validity, while its discriminant validity remains doubtful. For WA, problems concerning factorial validity occur.

Despite limited generalizability, the authors provide a first guideline for scholars regarding the empirical validity of BSA and WA outside the context of developed economies.

The current study sheds light on the validity of two PSC-measurement approaches in an emerging economy context. This way, the authors contribute to the field by addressing the scarcity of empirical research and the restricted scope of developed economies regarding PSC-measurement.

The paper's aim is to present a critical review of the current European process of co‐operation in VET with a special view to the European Qualification Framework and its competence orientation.

The approach reviews the official documentation and the consultation process and a contrastive analysis of the state of the art of research and developments in VET.

In order to make European VET a direct contribution to the revised Lisbon agenda, a more concise shared vision with regard to the processes and structures of vocational education might be needed.

It does not seem possible logically and pragmatically to fully abstract from the processes in which competence is acquired and in which it is going to be used.

Research and development activities in the European Union should be integrated towards an agenda that covers structures, conditions and processes of learning for the world of work.

Apart from a few other contributions, critical accounts of current policies and its implications for research and practice are scarce.

Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.

Learning power is crucial in today's rapidly changing world, yet its application to teachers is under-explored. This study delved into the investigation of teacher learning power and examined how it matters in the relationship between teachers' experiences in lesson study and the adoption of constructivist pedagogy.

A cross-sectional survey of 226 elementary, junior high, and senior high school teachers in Taiwan was conducted, and the results were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The findings suggest that both participation in lesson study and teacher learning power were positively associated with the practice of constructivist pedagogy. Moreover, teacher learning power partially mediated the relationship between lesson study and constructivist pedagogy.

By incorporating the concept of teacher learning power and performing a mediation analysis to understand how it matters, this study has added to the expanding collection of works on lesson study explored from different perspectives and in various contexts.

A rapid increase in global smartphone ownership and digital health technologies offers the potential for mobile phone applications (apps) to deliver mental health interventions. The purpose of this paper is to bring together evidence reporting on mental health mobile apps to gain an understanding of the quality of current evidence, the positive and adverse effects of apps and the mechanisms underlying such effects.

A systematic search was carried out across six databases, for any systematic reviews or meta-analyses conducted up to 2020. Review quality was assessed using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews.

Across a total of 24 articles, a variety of clinical outcomes were assessed. Most compelling support was shown for apps targeting anxiety symptoms; some evidence favoured the use of apps for depression symptoms. Less evidence was available for the remaining clinical symptoms such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep disorders and substance use. Overall, there was limited evidence pertaining to adverse effects and change mechanisms and a lack of quality reporting across a large proportion of included reviews. The included reviews demonstrate the need for further robust research before apps are recommended clinically.

This paper makes a valuable contribution to the current status of research and reviews investigating mental health mobile apps. Recommendations are made for improved adherence to review guidelines and to ensure risk of bias is minimised.

This study unravels the intellectual structure of virtual reality (VR) in digital marketing (DM) research, identifies core research gaps and presents future research avenues. The study also conducts a performance analysis of publications in the field and identifies the most important stakeholders of the stated topic.

The Web of Science database was used to retrieve the publications that were relevant to the topic between 2012 and 2022. Biblioshiny, a shiny app for the Bibliometrix R package, is used to conduct a bibliometric analysis by decoding the results into several visual representations.

This report includes the most prolific contributors, keyword analysis results, productive nations, authors and connections, as well as the most often cited publications on VR in DM. In DM research, numerous perspectives on VR were looked at, explored and revealed.

The findings provide a new perspective and understanding of the issue for researchers in order to improve their research insights in the field. This study will also benefit marketing practitioners in ensuring the sustainability and innovativeness of technology used to run their DM campaigns.

This research provides the first bibliometric analysis of the citation works and productivity in the field of VR in DM using Biblioshiny, identifies core research gaps and provides future research agenda which can be useful to advance the research understanding in this context.

The purpose of this article is to analyse the organisation of the Bolivian “water war” in Cochabamba that saw a social movement resist international business and the privatisation of public goods. The implications for the study of resistance in management and organisation studies will be evaluated.

Laclau's discourse theory is used to analyse the organisation of resistance and the establishment of a new discourse of “the people”. A range of primary and secondary data are drawn upon.

The study shows how the resistance movement was successfully organised in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Through various “horizontal” and “vertical” methods of organising, the Coordinadora, the overarching resistance organisation, was able to unite formerly disparate discourses into a single demand. This establishment of a united front was a key element in the formation of the discourse of “the people”, which successfully challenged neo‐liberal privatisation and management discourses put forward by the government, multinational companies and international finance institutions.

The research was primarily focused on studying the discursive shift that occurred during the Bolivian “water war” in 1999 and 2000. The paper was not able to discuss the aftermath of the successful resistance movement, and the various problems the new municipal water organisation ran into after it regained control of the water resources in Cochabamba.

The primary audience of practitioners are participants in social movements that are engaged in resistance struggles against multinational companies and governments. Drawing on the experiences from the Bolivian “water war”, the paper offers a range of practical insights into how to effectively organise resistance movements. This paper might also be useful to policy makers and managers in the area of water management.

This is one of the first papers that analyses the Bolivian “water war” to consider its implications for the study of resistance within management and organisation studies.