6,795 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
The impact of employees' working relations in creating and retaining trust: the case of the Bahrain Olympic Committee
Introduction: This thesis investigates the impact of employeesâ working relations in creating, maintaining and retaining trust in the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC).
Aim: The main aim of this thesis is to determine how the three groups of Organisational Trust variables, namely Social System Elements (SSE), Factors of Trustworthiness (FoT) and Third-Party Gossip (TPG), affect employeesâ Organisational Trust (OTR) in the BOC and promote Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). To answer this main aim, a conceptual framework was created that focused on exploring the following research aims: (1) the interrelationship between SSE and FoT, (2) the effect of SSE on OTR, (3) the impact of TPG on OTR and (4) the effect of OTR on overall OCB.
Methodology: The study uses a mixed-method case study research style that included in-depth semi-structured interviews with 17 managers, an online questionnaire survey with 320 employees of the BOC and an analysis of the BOCâs Annual Reports from 2015 to 2018.
Results: The qualitative and quantitative findings indicate, firstly, that there is a significant interrelationship between SSE and FoT, establishing that SSEâs perception of organisational justice (OJ), including that FoTs benevolence and integrity as the most important factors in yielding employeesâ trust in the BOC. Secondly, it has been established that SSEs have significant direct and indirect effects on OTR. Thirdly, negative and positive TPG concurrently occurred in the BOC and the prevalence of negative TPG poses more impact on OTR. Finally, this studyâs findings demonstrated OTRâs effect in generating OCB, including that Civic Virtue was rated as the most preferred of the five OCB themes; this indicates the managersâ and the employeesâ strong emotional attachment and support of the activities taking place at the BOC.
Contributions: Overall, this thesis substantially contributes to OTR literature, particularly in the context of the Middle East. It also proposes several insightful recommendations for future research and practical implications for practitioners in the field of Organisational Trust
Politics and fantasy in UK alcohol policy: a critical logics approach
The Scottish Governmentâs policy of minimum unit price (MUP) for alcohol has received significant scholarly attention. Much of the focus of this literature has been on the efforts by sections of the alcohol industry to oppose the policy, including attempts to âframeâ key terms of the debate and an understanding of its legitimacy and effects within the wider field of interpretative policy analysis. The present article builds on these studies by re-conceptualizing the MUP debate through the lens of post-structuralist discourse theory and the logics of critical explanation that emerge from this. It argues that the success and failure of MUP (as a projected social logic) can be understood through the shifting coalitions of actors that emerged (political logics) and the affective hold that industry narratives were able to exert (fantasmatic logics) in this context. While focused on UK alcohol policy, the article speaks to a wider research agenda on the âcommercial determinants of healthâ and, through the application of the critical logics approach, offers new analytical insights beyond those provided by existing models of industry influence. Similarly, it contributes to the field of post-structural policy analysis through its novel focus on the role of commercial entities as health policy actors
Understanding the Potential of Sport for Promoting Physical Activity and Psychological Well-Being in Middle-Aged and Older Adults
Insufficient physical activity is considered a global public health challenge. This thesis highlights that, for middle-aged and older adults, sport participation is associated with a wide range of psychosocial benefits. Then, the thesis offers insight into the potential of walking sport programmes to promote health-enhancing physical activity in middle-aged and older adults. Recommendations are provided to promote the appeal, feasibility, and sustainability of walking sport programmes in community-based settings
Contested environmental futures: rankings, forecasts and indicators as sociotechnical endeavours
In a world where numbers and science are often taken as the voice of truth and reason, Quantitative Devices (QDs) represent the epitome of policy driven by facts rather than hunches. Despite the scholarly interest in understanding the role of quantification in policy, the actual production of rankings, forecasts, indexes and other QDs has, to a great extent, been left unattended. While appendixes and technical notebooks offer an explanation of how these devices are produced, they exclude aspects of their making that are arbitrarily considered "mundane." It is in the everyday performances at research centres that the micropolitics of knowledge production, imaginaries, and frustrations merge. These are vital dimensions to understand the potential, limitations and ethical consequences of QDs.
Using two participant observations as the starting point, this thesis offers a comprehensive critical analysis of the processes through which university-based research centres create QDs that represent the world. It addresses how researchers conceive quantitative data. It pays attention to the discourses of hope and expectation embedded in the devices. Finally, it considers the ethics of creating devices that cannot be replicated independently of their place of production.
Two QDs were analysed: the Violence Early Warning System (ViEWS) and the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). At Uppsala University, researchers created ViEWS to forecast the probability of drought-driven conflicts within the next 100 years. The EPI, produced at the Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy, ranks the performance of countries' environmental policies. This thesis challenges existing claims within Science and Technology Studies and the Sociology of Quantification that QDs co-produce knowledge within their realms. I argue that these devices act as vehicles for sociotechnical infrastructures to be consolidated with little debate among policymakers, given their understanding as scientific and objective tools. Moreover, for an indicator to be incorporated within a QD, it needs to be deemed as relevant for those making the devices but also valuable enough to have been previously quantified by data providers. Even more, existing sociotechnical inequalities, power relations and epistemic injustices could impede disadvantaged communities' (e.g., in the Global South) ability to challenge metrics originated in centres in the Global North. This thesis, therefore, demonstrates how the future QDs propose is unilateral and does not acknowledge the myriad possibilities that might arise from a diversity of worldviews. In other words, they cast a future designed to fit under the current status quo.
In sum, through two QDs focused on environmental-related, this thesis launches an inquiry into the elements that make up the imaginaries they propose following the everyday life of their producers. To achieve this, I discuss two core elements. First, the role of tacit knowledge and sociotechnical inequalities in reinforcing power relations between those with the means to quantify and those who might only accommodate proposed futures. Second, the dynamics between research centres and data providers in relation to what is quantified. By scrutinising mundanity, this work is a step forward in understanding the construction of sociotechnical imaginaries and infrastructures
Blockchain Technology: Disruptor or Enhnancer to the Accounting and Auditing Profession
The unique features of blockchain technology (BCT) - peer-to-peer network, distribution ledger, consensus decision-making, transparency, immutability, auditability, and cryptographic security - coupled with the success enjoyed by Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have encouraged many to assume that the technology would revolutionise virtually all aspects of business. A growing body of scholarship suggests that BCT would disrupt the accounting and auditing fields by changing accounting practices, disintermediating auditors, and eliminating financial fraud. BCT disrupts audits (Lombard et al.,2021), reduces the role of audit firms (Yermack 2017), undermines accountants' roles with software developers and miners (Fortin & Pimentel 2022); eliminates many management functions, transforms businesses (Tapscott & Tapscott, 2017), facilitates a triple-entry accounting system (Cai, 2021), and prevents fraudulent transactions (Dai, et al., 2017; Rakshit et al., 2022). Despite these speculations, scholars have acknowledged that the application of BCT in the accounting and assurance industry is underexplored and many existing studies are said to lack engagement with practitioners (Dai & Vasarhelyi, 2017; Lombardi et al., 2021; Schmitz & Leoni, 2019).
This study empirically explored whether BCT disrupts or enhances accounting and auditing fields. It also explored the relevance of audit in a BCT environment and the effectiveness of the BCT mechanism for fraud prevention and detection. The study further examined which technical skillsets accountants and auditors require in a BCT environment, and explored the incentives, barriers, and unintended consequences of the adoption of BCT in the accounting and auditing professions. The current COVID-19 environment was also investigated in terms of whether the pandemic has improved BCT adoption or not.
A qualitative exploratory study used semi-structured interviews to engage practitioners from blockchain start-ups, IT experts, financial analysts, accountants, auditors, academics, organisational leaders, consultants, and editors who understood the technology. With the aid of NVIVO qualitative analysis software, the views of 44 participants from 13 countries: New Zealand, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, and South Africa were analysed.
The Technological, Organisational, and Environmental (TOE) framework with consequences of innovation context was adopted for this study. This expanded TOE framework was used as the theoretical lens to understand the disruption of BCT and its adoption in the accounting and auditing fields. Four clear patterns emerged. First, BCT is an emerging tool that accountants and auditors use mainly to analyse financial records because technology cannot disintermediate auditors from the financial system. Second, the technology can detect anomalies but cannot prevent financial fraud. Third, BCT has not been adopted by any organisation for financial reporting and accounting purposes, and accountants and auditors do not require new skillsets or an understanding of the BCT programming language to be able to operate in a BCT domain. Fourth, the advent of COVID-19 has not substantially enhanced the adoption of BCT. Additionally, this study highlights the incentives, barriers, and unintended consequences of adopting BCT as financial technology (FinTech). These findings shed light on important questions about BCT disrupting and disintermediating auditors, the extent of adoption in the accounting industry, preventing fraud and anomalies, and underscores the notion that blockchain, as an emerging technology, currently does not appear to be substantially disrupting the accounting and auditing profession.
This study makes methodological, theoretical, and practical contributions. At the methodological level, the study adopted the social constructivist-interpretivism paradigm with an exploratory qualitative method to engage and understand BCT as a disruptive innovation in the accounting industry. The engagement with practitioners from diverse fields, professions, and different countries provides a distinctive and innovative contribution to methodological and practical knowledge. At the theoretical level, the findings contribute to the literature by offering an integrated conceptual TOE framework. The framework offers a reference for practitioners, academics and policymakers seeking to appraise comprehensive factors influencing BCT adoption and its likely unintended consequences. The findings suggest that, at present, no organisations are using BCT for financial reporting and accounting systems. This study contributes to practice by highlighting the differences between initial expectations and practical applications of what BCT can do in the accounting and auditing fields. The study could not find any empirical evidence that BCT will disrupt audits, eliminate the roles of auditors in a financial system, and prevent and detect financial fraud. Also, there was no significant evidence that accountants and auditors required higher-level skillsets and an understanding of BCT programming language to be able to use the technology. Future research should consider the implications of an external audit firm as a node in a BCT network on the internal audit functions. It is equally important to critically examine the relevance of including programming languages or codes in the curriculum of undergraduate accounting students. Future research could also empirically evaluate if a BCT-enabled triple-entry system could prevent financial statements and management fraud
Enhancing Scotlandâs Childsmile programme through Community Linking to address child oral health inequalities
Dental caries in primary teeth affects over 530 million children globally, and outcomes are significantly associated with social circumstances. Scotlandâs national child oral health improvement programme Childsmile has in part been responsible for improvements in oral health over the past decade, but inequality based on socioeconomic factors persists. Community Linking/Social Prescribing aims to reduce inequality through addressing the social determinants of health by engaging patients with community services/third-sector support. The Childsmile programme employs Dental Health Support Workers who provide targeted and tailored interventions to families most in need. Part of the role of Dental Health Support Workers is to link families experiencing wider social and economic problems to external community services/resources where tailored support can be offered. This thesis describes research which aims to optimise Childsmileâs Community Linking/Social Prescribing pathway for families of young children to improve oral health and tackle the social determinants of health to reduce inequalities.
Methodology: A mixed methods approach was employed, and three studies were conducted. Study one used secondary analysis of population-wide individuallevel linked routine administrative data and health data to investigate Community Linking practice within Childsmile. The second study was a Systematic Overview of systematic reviews and guidelines to assess best practices for Community Linking, drawing from literature across Primary Care health services and using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) model to guide analysis and reporting. The third study was an online national survey of Dental Health Support Workers to assess the feasibility and acceptability of Community Linking. The first and the second study informed the survey content, and again the CFIR guided survey design. IBM SPSS v26 was used to describe quantitative data, and QRS NVivo v12 was used for qualitative thematic analysis.
Results: Secondary analysis of linked data showed just over a fifth of families were referred to a Dental Health Support Worker for additional support over the study years, reflecting the targeted nature of this Childsmile intervention. Among these families, the percentages who were linked to external community services/resources increased from 1.8% (219/12169) in 2011 to 21.0% (1227/5833) in 2015, with the main support services being related to nutrition/diet and parent/baby support groups. Families living in the most deprived areas of Scotland and those determined by their Health Visitor to have greater support needs were more likely to be linked to wider community services by Dental Health Support Workers; however, there was significant variation in linking rates. The Systematic Overview key findings highlight several programme delivery aspects associated with best practice, such as basing programmes on high-quality evidence, obtaining resources, and being flexible in approach, developing trust among partners and assessing participants' needs to provide a tailored pathway. An optimum level of training, mentoring, and feedback is required for Community Health Workers. The Community Health Workers' characteristics should be such that they are perceived as leaders in the community and are respected. The services should be accessible and perceived by the participants as beneficial. Inter-sectoral working is also key. Partners should have enough time to develop understanding, communicate, network, and implement and evaluate the Community Linking implementation. The Systematic Overview showed a need for a multilevel pragmatic approach. The Online Survey of Dental Health Support Workers had a response rate of 58% (59/102) from 13/14 geographical health boards. Results demonstrated high awareness of Community Linking: 88% (52/59) of respondents agreed that this is a good way to improve child oral health, and 72% (42/59) had some experience of Community Linking in their current role. Feedback from community services and families was lacking. More than three quarters, 85% (50/59), said they would be able to identify appropriate community organisations for Community Linking. Thematic illustrations of open-ended responses showed: workload and time barriers when working with families; the importance of collaborative working, for example, with social services and education; training of staff to overcome these barriers, such as local area knowledge; the importance of building trust with families; and the importance of actively facilitating and supporting access to services.
Conclusion: Community Linking is a relatively new concept in dental public health. It is implemented within the Childsmile programme via Dental Health Support Workers and is considered a route to help families in need of support and address socio-economic inequalities in oral health. According to our findings, future implementation work in Childsmile is broadly supported by moderate quality evidence and perceptions on acceptability and feasibility. Programme theory is articulated in Chapter 7, which shows the need to tailor links to need and foster integrated working, with clear communication routes between referrers and community organisations, including those for monitoring and evaluation. Staff are supportive of this as a route to a range of positive health outcomes. Nevertheless, workload/resource barriers need to be considered, and support and training are required in terms of available community resources and building sustainable links
Sport team leadership coaching and captaincy in elite level rugby union football
A wide range of literature exists on coaching but it is concerned predominantly with the high school and college levels, is based upon athlete or coach perceptions, or is confined to observations of training or competition. As leaders of sports teams, coaches and captains have rarely been studied at the highest level of national or international sports competition.
In the present study, the team leadership roles of the coach and captain in elite rugby union football in New Zealand were examined using participant observation and other qualitative research methods. Elite was defined as New Zealand rugbyâs highest internal level of competition: (a) the national provincial championships and (b) international test matches of the national team, the All Blacks.
The study explored the roles of the elite rugby coach and captain in vivo in a wide variety of team situations. It was felt that this could provide first-hand information on particular team leader behaviours, on what a coach and captain actually do, and how they are perceived by those around them. The main objective, however, was to use grounded theory techniques to create a model of elite rugby team leadership that might guide developmental programmes on such leadership.
The research phases undertaken were those of participant observation with a Provincial Team for five matches, a survey of provincial teamsâ coaches and captains on their leadership associated with actual matches, three yearsâ participant observation with the All Blacks (including observation in eight test match weeks), multiple perspectives on elite team leadership from past rugby test players in New Zealand and overseas, and interviews with national team leaders in sports other than rugby.
Participant observation, interviews, questionnaires and document analysis generated data from the research settings. These data were considered in terms of symbolic interactionism and subjected to a grounded theory process. This led to a set of elite rugby team leadership categories and properties which, in turn, generated a comprehensive set of theoretical propositions.
The propositions became the basis for a model of elite rugby team leadership. This model was then considered as the basis for a programme to develop elite rugby team leaders. Significant aspects of the research findings which have not featured in previous research literature included the coachâs vision, team culture, centrality of the game plan, match week build-up, the importance of the captainâs playing example, the coach's ability to utilise teaching precepts, the coachâs personal qualities, and the need to develop and evaluate team leaders. The model, and the developmental programme principles emanating from it, are seen as relevant for developing elite level leaders in team sports other than rugby
An exploration of the language within Ofsted reports and their influence on primary school performance in mathematics: a mixed methods critical discourse analysis
This thesis contributes to the understanding of the language of Ofsted reports, their similarity to one another and associations between different terms used within âareas for improvementâ sections and subsequent outcomes for pupils. The research responds to concerns from serving headteachers that Ofsted reports are overly similar, do not capture the unique story of their school, and are unhelpful for improvement. In seeking to answer âhow similar are
Ofsted reportsâ the study uses two tools, a plagiarism detection software (Turnitin) and a discourse analysis tool (NVivo) to identify trends within and across a large corpus of reports.
The approach is based on critical discourse analysis (Van Dijk, 2009; Fairclough, 1989) but shaped in the form of practitioner enquiry seeking power in the form of impact on pupils and practitioners, rather than a more traditional, sociological application of the method.
The research found that in 2017, primary school section 5 Ofsted reports had more than half of their content exactly duplicated within other primary school inspection reports published that same year. Discourse analysis showed the quality assurance process overrode variables such as inspector designation, gender, or team size, leading to three distinct patterns of duplication: block duplication, self-referencing, and template writing. The most unique part of a report was found to be the âarea for improvementâ section, which was tracked to externally verified outcomes for pupils using terms linked to âmathematicsâ. Those
required to improve mathematics in their areas for improvement improved progress and attainment in mathematics significantly more than national rates. These findings indicate that there was a positive correlation between the inspection reporting process and a beneficial impact on pupil outcomes in mathematics, and that the significant similarity of one report to another had no bearing on the usefulness of the report for school improvement purposes
within this corpus
- âŠ