8,126 research outputs found

    TikTok’s Influence on Generation Z Female’s Comparative Behavior

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    The purpose of this study was to address TikTok’s role in the comparative behaviors among Generation Z females. This study specifically evaluated the communication of society’s perception of beauty standards and how it resonates with and influences TikTok users. A qualitative approach was taken to gain a better understanding of the lived experiences of participants and fill the gap in qualitative media effects research. The research question being addressed was: How has TikTok influenced society\u27s idea of physical beauty and body image concerns among Generation Z females? Through the lens of social comparison theory, the research found that the application TikTok itself plays a reinforcement role in communicating physical beauty standards and creates more opportunities for upward comparisons and therefore negative body image concerns among Generation Z females. Findings also show that content surrounding the physicality of an individual, like fitness and fashion content, leads to more upward comparisons and therefore negative body image concerns. Additional findings also include the positive mental health effects of TikTok and user lifestyle comparisons

    How do patients and providers navigate the “corruption complex” in mixed health systems? The case of Abuja, Nigeria.

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    INTRODUCTION: Over the last decades, scholars have sought to investigate the causes, manifestations, and impacts of corruption in healthcare. Most of this scholarship has focused on corruption as it occurs in public health facilities. However, in Nigeria, in which most residents attend private health facilities for at least some of their care needs, this focus is incomplete. In such contexts, it is important to understand corruption as it occurs across both public and private settings, and in the interactions between them. This study seeks to address this gap. It aims to examine how corruption is experienced by, and impacts upon, patients and providers as they navigate the “corruption complex” in the mixed health system of Abuja, Nigeria. OBJECTIVES: This over-arching aim is addressed via three interrelated objectives, as follows: 1.To investigate the experiences of patients and providers concerning the causes, manifestations, and impacts of corruption in public health facilities, in Abuja, Nigeria. 2.To investigate patients / provider experiences of corruption as they relate to private health facilities in Abuja, Nigeria. 3.To investigate how, and the extent to which, corruption is enabled by the co-existence of and interactions between public and private health facilities in the context of the mixed health system of Nigeria – and of Abuja in particular. METHODS: All three objectives are addressed via a qualitative exploratory study. Data was collected in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (between October 2021 to May 2022) through: (i) in-depth interviews with 53 key informants, representing a range of patient and provider types, and policymakers; and (ii) participant observation over eight months of fieldwork. The research took place in three secondary-level public health facilities (Gwarinpa, Kubwa, and Wuse General hospital) and three equivalent-sized private health facilities (Nissa, Garki, and King's Care Hospital) in Abuja. The empirical data was analysed using Braun and Clarke's (2006) reflexive thematic analysis approach and presented in a narrative form. Abuja was selected as the research setting, as the city is representative of the mixed health system structures that exist in Nigeria, especially in the country’s larger urban areas. RESULTS: Objective 1: Corruption in public health facilities is driven by a shortage of resources, low salaries, commercialisation of health and relationships between patients and providers, and weak accountability structures. Corruption takes various forms which include: bribery, informal payments, theft, influence- activities associated with nepotism, and pressure from informal rules. Impacts include erosion of the right to health care and patient dignity, alongside increased barriers to access, including financial barriers, especially for poorer patients. Objective 2: Corruption in private health facilities is driven by incentives aimed at profit maximisation, poor regulation, and lack of oversight. Corruption takes various forms which include: inappropriate or unnecessary prescriptions (often driven by the potential for kickbacks), forging of medical reports, over-invoicing, and other related types of fraud, and under/over-treatment of patients. Impacts include reductions to the quality of care provided and exacerbation of financial risks to patients. Objective 3: The nature of public-private sector interactions creates scope for several forms of corruption. For example, these interactions contribute to the causes of corruption in the public sector - especially the problem of scarcity of resources. Related manifestations include dual practice, absenteeism, and theft (e.g., diversion of patients, medical supplies, and equipment from public to private facilities). The impacts of such practices include inequities of access, for example, due to delays in and denials of needed services and additional financial barriers encountered in public facilities, alongside reductions to quality of care, pricing transparency and financial protection in private facilities. CONCLUSION: Patients experience corruption in both public and private health facilities in Abuja, Nigeria. The causes, manifestations and impacts of corruption differ across these settings. In the public sector, corruption creates financial and non-financial barriers to care – aggravating inequities of access. In the private health sector, corruption undermines quality of care and exacerbates financial risks. The public-private mix is itself implicated in the problem – giving rise to new opportunities for corruption, to the detriment of patients’ health and welfare. For policymakers in Nigeria to address the problem of corruption, a cross-sectoral approach - inclusive of the full range of providers within the mixed health system – will be required

    UMSL Bulletin 2023-2024

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    The 2023-2024 Bulletin and Course Catalog for the University of Missouri St. Louis.https://irl.umsl.edu/bulletin/1088/thumbnail.jp

    Examining systemic and dispositional factors impacting historically disenfranchised schools across North Carolina

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    This mixed method sequential explanatory study provided analysis of North Carolina (NC) school leaders’ dispositions in eliminating opportunity gaps, outlined in NC’s strategic plan. The study’s quantitative phase used descriptive and correlation analysis of eight Likert subscales around four tenets of transformative leadership (Shields, 2011) and aspects of critical race theory (Bell, 1992; Ladson-Billings, 1998; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 2006) to understand systemic inequities and leadership attitudes. The qualitative phase comprised three analyses of education leadership dispositions and systemic factors in NC schools. The first analysis of State Board of Education meeting minutes from 2018–2023 quantified and analyzed utterances of racism and critical race, outlined the sociopolitical context of such utterances, and identified systemic patterns and state leader dispositions. The second analysis of five interviews of K–12 graduates identified persistent and systemic factors influencing NC education 3 decades after Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and within the context of Leandro v. State of NC (1997), where the NC Supreme Court recognized the state constitutional right for every student to access a “sound basic education.” The final qualitative analysis consisted of five interviews of current NC public school system leaders, for personal narratives of the state of NC schools compared to patterns from lived experiences of NC K–12 graduates. The study’s findings suggested NC school and state education leaders experience a racialized dichotomy between willingness for change (equity intentions) and execution of transformative action (practice). Although leaders at the board and school levels recognize the need for inclusivity and equity, a struggle to transcend systemic challenges, especially rooted in racial biases and power dynamics is evident. This study may identify leadership qualities needed for change in NC to address systemic inequities for improving educational access and inform policy to uphold all students’ constitutional right to a sound, basic education

    UMSL Bulletin 2022-2023

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    The 2022-2023 Bulletin and Course Catalog for the University of Missouri St. Louis.https://irl.umsl.edu/bulletin/1087/thumbnail.jp

    Leadership Development in the African American Church

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    If the Church successfully fulfills its mission, it must have skilled and effective lay leadership. This research intends to examine the Christian organization\u27s enhancement through discipleship and leadership development. Leadership development and discipleship are vital to every church organization. However, research shows that many historically African American denominations are challenged perhaps more than others to find and educate new religious leaders for their congregations (Johnson, 2017, kindle, loc. 179). What most African American pastors have discovered is that aging leadership is prominent in all denominations. The reality is that many African American churches are on life support; they are clinically dead and in need of resuscitation (Johnson, 2017, kindle, loc. 179). In this unprecedented time of opportunity and plentiful resources, the Church is losing influence (Malphurs & Mancini, 2004, p. 7). However, the primary reason is the lack of intentional leadership development. Without influential leadership, people seem destined for a life in which Jesus Christ is little more than an expression uttered in times of frustration or an ancient and personally irrelevant teacher of admirable principles and antiquated religious practices (Malphurs & Mancini, 2004). The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore how a Christian organization could be enhanced through the leadership development process of emerging and lay leaders, specifically within the African American Baptist Church. Leaders play a vital role in the local Church as they lead believers and nonbelievers to action, helping to move people on God\u27s agenda (Blackaby & Blackaby, 2011, p. 36) while remaining driven to maintain their relationship with Christ and his work

    The Diffusion of Dynamic Capability in Organizations in Digitalizing Operating Environments

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    Digitalisaation myötä erilaiset teknologiat yleistyvät muuttaen organisaatioita, toimialoja ja liiketoimintaympäristöjä. Organisaatioissa tarvitaan uusia kyvykkyyksiä ja osaamista, kun niin arvontuotto ja toimintamallit kuin yhteistyön tekeminen ja päivittäiset toiminnot muuttuvat. Usein dynaamiset kyvykkyydet nähdään ensi sijassa johdon kykynä havaita organisaatioon vaikuttavia mahdollisuuksia ja uhkia, tarttua niihin ja muuttaa organisaatiota tarvittavalla tavalla. Tarve monipuolisemmalle ymmärrykselle dynaamisista kyvykkyyksistä digitalisaation kontekstissa on tunnistettu huomioiden myös muun henkilöstön tärkeä rooli organisaation muutoskyvykkyyden luomisessa. Tämän väitöskirjan tavoitteena on tuottaa uutta tietämystä siitä, kuinka dynaaminen kyvykkyys kehittyy ja levittäytyy organisaatioissa yli erilaisten työroolien. Tutkimusongelmana on, kuinka dynaaminen kyvykkyys leviää organisaatioissa, jotka toimivat digitalisoituvissa toimintaympäristöissä. Tutkimusongelmaa tarkasteltiin tulkitsevan laadullisen monitapaustutkimuksen menetelmällä kolmen case-organisaation kanssa. Case-organisaatiot edustavat tutkimuskentästä teknologian käyttäjäorganisaation, teknologian kehittäjäorganisaation sekä teknologian ja prosessien integraattoriorganisaation näkökulmia. Pääasiallinen aineiston keruumenetelmä oli laadulliset teemahaastattelut. Yhteensä tutkimuksessa toteutettiin 59 yksilöhaastattelua 36 haastateltavan kanssa. Lisäksi tutkimuksen aikana toteutettiin useita keskusteluita organisaatioiden yhteyshenkilöiden kanssa. Aineisto kerättiin ja analysoitiin vuosina 2018–2022 induktiivisesti ja abduktiivisesti laadullisella sisällönanalyysilla tulkitsevan kenttätutkimuksen ja grounded theory -lähestymistavan oppeja hyödyntäen. Tutkimuksen luotettavuuden arviointiin käytettiin laadullisen, tulkitsevan ja tapaustutkimuksen kriteereitä. Tutkimuksen keskeisenä tuloksena tuotettiin malli siitä, kuinka nykypäivän digitalisoituvissa toimintaympäristöissä dynaaminen kyvykkyys näyttäytyy monitasoisena ilmiönä siten, että operatiivinen dynaaminen kyvykkyys ja johdon dynaaminen kyvykkyys ovat erillisiä toisistaan. Johdon tason ja operatiivisen tason dynaamiset kyvykkyydet ilmenevät eri tavoin eri työrooleissa vaikuttaen näin organisaation kehitykseen vastavuoroisten johdon ja henkilöstön toimien kautta. Väitöskirjassa tuotetaan seuraavat suositukset johdolle siitä, kuinka monitasoisen dynaamisen kyvykkyyden leviämistä organisaatioissa voitaisiin tukea: (1) jatkuva ja aito sidosryhmien osallistuminen, (2) muutoksen tavoitteiden, vaikutusten, saavuttamiskeinojen ja hyötyjen selkeyden varmistaminen, (3) henkilökohtaisen työssä kehittymisen resurssien turvaaminen, (4) taustalla vaikuttavien yhteistyötä haittaavien jännitteiden käsitteleminen ja (5) ihmistenvälistä dynaamista kyvykkyyttä tukevien käytäntöjen hyödyntäminen. Teorian näkökulmasta tulokset tarjoavat lisäymmärrystä dynaamisten kyvykkyyksien vuorovaikutteisesta luonteesta johdon ja muun henkilöstön välillä. Käytännön näkökulmasta tulokset auttavat johtoa organisaation ja sen kyvykkyyksien kehittämisessä. Kiihtyvän digitalisaation ja jatkuvan muutosvaatimuksen myötä vaikuttaa ratkaisevalta, että organisaatiot kykenevät täydellä potentiaalillaan hyödyntämään kykynsä havaita mahdollisuuksia ja uhkia, tarttua niihin sekä muuntautua tarvittavalla tavalla. Tässä väitöskirjassa esitetyt tulokset tukevat osaltaan näitä pyrkimyksiä. Jatkotutkimuksena suositellaan monimenetelmällisiä lähestymistapoja, operatiivisen dynaamisen kyvykkyyden olemukseen tarkempaa pureutumista, organisaatioiden kontekstuaalisten tekijöiden kattavampaa sisällyttämistä, pitkittäisiä johdon ja henkilöstön näkökulmia huomioivia tarkasteluita sekä tutkimusta siitä, kuinka esitettyjä johdon suosituksia voidaan hyödyntää organisaatioissa käytännössä.Digitalization introduces new technologies changing organizations, industries, and operating environments. New capabilities and expertise are required, as organizations need to rethink their value offerings, operating models, and ways of collaborating and conducting day-to-day tasks. While dynamic capabilities are often viewed as managerial capacities of sensing, seizing and transforming, recently the focus on employees in creating organizational capacity for change has increased. Likewise, the need for a more nuanced understanding of the development of dynamic capabilities in digitalization has been noted. The aim of this dissertation is to better understand, how dynamic capability develops and spreads in organizations across different work roles. The research problem is how dynamic capability diffuses in organizations in digitalizing operating environments. The research problem was studied by an interpretive qualitative multiple-case study with three case organizations representing the perspectives of a technology user, technology creator, and technology and process integrator. The main data collection method was semi-structured, theme-based interviews. In total 59 individual interviews with 36 informants were conducted, and additionally several discussions were held with company representatives. The data were collected and analysed over the period of 2018–2022 by inductive and abductive approaches, qualitative thematic analysis, and drawing from the guidelines of interpretive field research and grounded theory methodology. The reliability and validity were evaluated by utilizing the criteria of qualitative, interpretive, and case-study research. As findings, a model of how dynamic capability in today’s digitalizing operating environments appears as a multilevel phenomenon comprising of operative dynamic capability and managerial dynamic capability is presented. The managerial- and operative level dynamic capabilities manifest differently in different work roles and contribute to organizational development through reciprocal actions of the management and employees. Additionally, the following managerial propositions are given on how the diffusion of dynamic capability could be supported in organizations: (1) exercising continuous and genuine stakeholder participation, (2) ensuring clear goals, implications, way to, and benefits of change, (3) securing resources for individual development at work, (4) addressing underlying tensions hindering collaboration, and (5) deploying organizational practices enabling interpersonal dynamic capability. As theoretical contributions, the findings provide new understanding on dynamic capabilities as reciprocal phenomena between the management and employees. As practical implications, the findings help management in their organizational and capability development efforts. As digitalization accelerates pace invoking requirements of continuous adaptation, it seems vital for organizations to utilize their full potential of sensing, seizing, and renewing capacities. The findings presented in this dissertation aim to support these endeavours. As future research, mixed methods approaches, closer investigations on the essence of operative dynamic capability, more comprehensive considerations on organizational contextual factors, further longitudinal study incorporating both employee and managerial views, and examinations on utilizing the presented propositions in practice in organizations are suggested

    Evaluating the sustainability and resiliency of local food systems

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    With an ever-rising global population and looming environmental challenges such as climate change and soil degradation, it is imperative to increase the sustainability of food production. The drastic rise in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic has further shown a pressing need to increase the resiliency of food systems. One strategy to reduce the dependence on complex, vulnerable global supply chains is to strengthen local food systems, such as by producing more food in cities. This thesis uses an interdisciplinary, food systems approach to explore aspects of sustainability and resiliency within local food systems. Lifecycle assessment (LCA) was used to evaluate how farm scale, distance to consumer, and management practices influence environmental impacts for different local agriculture models in two case study locations: Georgia, USA and England, UK. Farms were grouped based on urbanisation level and management practices, including: urban organic, peri-urban organic, rural organic, and rural conventional. A total of 25 farms and 40 crop lifecycles were evaluated, focusing on two crops (kale and tomatoes) and including impacts from seedling production through final distribution to the point of sale. Results were extremely sensitive to the allocation of composting burdens (decomposition emissions), with impact variation between organic farms driven mainly by levels of compost use. When composting burdens were attributed to compost inputs, the rural conventional category in the U.S. and the rural organic category in the UK had the lowest average impacts per kg sellable crop produced, including the lowest global warming potential (GWP). However, when subtracting avoided burdens from the municipal waste stream from compost inputs, trends reversed entirely, with urban or peri-urban farm categories having the lowest impacts (often negative) for GWP and marine eutrophication. Overall, farm management practices were the most important factor driving environmental impacts from local food supply chains. A soil health assessment was then performed on a subset of the UK farms to provide insight to ecosystem services that are not captured within LCA frameworks. Better soil health was observed in organically-farmed and uncultivated soils compared to conventionally farmed soils, suggesting higher ecosystem service provisioning as related to improved soil structure, flood mitigation, erosion control, and carbon storage. However, relatively high heavy metal concentrations were seen on urban and peri-urban farms, as well as those located in areas with previous mining activity. This implies that there are important services and disservices on farms that are not captured by LCAs. Zooming out from a focus on food production, a qualitative methodology was used to explore experiences of food insecurity and related health and social challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fourteen individuals receiving emergency food parcels from a community food project in Sheffield, UK were interviewed. Results showed that maintaining food security in times of crisis requires a diverse set of individual, household, social, and place-based resources, which were largely diminished or strained during the pandemic. Drawing upon social capital and community support was essential to cope with a multiplicity of hardship, highlighting a need to develop community food infrastructure that supports ideals of mutual aid and builds connections throughout the food supply chain. Overall, this thesis shows that a range of context-specific solutions are required to build sustainable and resilient food systems. This can be supported by increasing local control of food systems and designing strategies to meet specific community needs, whilst still acknowledging a shared global responsibility to protect ecosystem, human, and planetary health

    “Who asked for this?”: authenticity and race-centered corporate social responsibility

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    The purpose of this study is to conceptualize and operationalize race-centered CSR, a combination of corporate social responsibility and corporate social advocacy concerned with repairing racial relationships and inequities, and test perceptions of authenticity of race-centered CSA. Authenticity in CSR and CSA has assumed a universal consumer, however authenticity, as a cultural construct, suggests that social identity can motivate how groups of people come to understand it. As corporate social responsibility efforts increasingly center race, race itself becomes a new measure by which to understand how those efforts are seen as authentic. The study surveyed 586 Blacks and non-Blacks using a modified version of Alhouti, Johonson, and Holloway’s (2016) consumer perceptions of CSR authenticity scale, Sellers et al.’s (1997) Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI) scale, and adapted measures using the concepts of reconciliation and cultural commodification to conceptualize race-centered CSR and perceptions of authenticity of race-centered CSR. Two new scales were developed to measure perceptions of commodification and reconciliatory discourse as antecedents for race-centered CSR activities. Findings of this study suggests that there are universal understandings of authenticity in race-centered and of what commodification of Black culture is in the context of race-centered CSR. More importantly, the recognition of commodification of Black culture is related to perceptions of authenticity of race-centered CSR. In addition, there are subtle differences in demographic drivers for Blacks and non-blacks, particularly political ideology (conservative Blacks vs. liberal whites) and education, age, and marital status of Black respondents in perceptions of authenticity of race-centered CSR. This study contributes to The study contributes to the body of literature on critical approaches to corporate social responsibility
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