Readability and analysis of eighth grade American history textbooks

The purpose of this paper is to determine the readability of seventeen eighth grade history textbooks according to Fry\u27s Graph for readability

Creating the New Normal: A Historical Approach to Understanding Marketing Agility and its Implications Across Business, Healthcare, and Social Welfare in a Post Pandemic World

The purpose of this article is to expand our understanding of how marketing agility shapes business, healthcare, and social welfare policy and societal responses to global pandemics. We set the stage for this discussion by presenting an historical exemplar case of marketing agility during the 1918 Influenza pandemic in the US. Next, we outline a necessary conceptual revision and update to previous treatments of marketing agility relative to historical pandemics considering the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Our novel conceptualization focuses on a firm’s (business, healthcare, social welfare) prompt response to dynamic and turbulent circumstances beyond the control of the firm (Araújo et al., 2018) through marketing practices that include adapting, adopting, and innovating. We then discuss how using our new model of marketing agility advances our understanding of changes in business, healthcare, and social welfare, policy and societal responses using the COVID-19 pandemic as a recent exemplar. The implications of our approach for developing a deeper understanding of how firms respond to contemporary pandemics relative to domains such as management are discussed

Gender, feminism and unsung workers: the early years of the Law Centres movement 1970–1980

This chapter examines the early history of the Law Centres movement in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. More specifically, it considers the role that women played in shaping the way that Law Centres worked and the work they did. The discussion draws on a four-year project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council which is being conducted by the authors in partnership with the British Library, the Law Centres Network and Queen’s University Belfast. The Enhancing Democratic Habits project aims to produce an in-depth account of activist lawyering in Law Centres from the 1970s to the present day. It has two key goals: to produce an oral history sound archive and a national collection of Law Centre reports, both of which will be deposited at the British Library on an open access basis. In this contribution to the celebration of Rosemary Auchmuty’s life and work we use data collected during the first phase of the research to ask a series of questions that are relevant to her body of work on feminist legal history. We address three main questions. How can uncelebrated women be found? What roles did women play in Law Centres? And what impact did they have?..

When good news is bad news: the negative impact of positive customer feedback on front-line employee well-being

Purpose – Front-line employee (FLE) well-being is an under-researched field. Contrasting the prevailing view that Positive Customer Feedback (PCF) can only have ‘positive’ impacts, this study aims to answer the counterintuitive question: Could the apparently positive construct ‘Positive Custo mer Feedback’ have a negative impact on the well-being of front-line employees? Consequently, working within the Transformative Service Research (TSR) framework, we investigate whether PCF can negatively affect the eudaimonic and hedonic well-being dimensions of FLEs, thus decreasing their overall psychological well-being level. Design/methodology/approach – A multidisciplinary literature review was conducted, particularly in the social psychology, human resources and organizational behavior fields, to examine the potential negative impacts of PCF. Subsequently, an exploratory qualitative study consisting of seven focus groups with 45 FLEs and 22 in-depth interviews with managers working across various service industries were performed. All the transcripts were analyzed via an iterative hermeneutical process. Findings – A model describing ten negative impacts and six key contingencies of PCF was developed. The identified impacts can negatively affect the eudaimonic and hedonic well-being dimensions of FLEs. PCF can have a negative impact on the eudaimonic dimensions such as harmony, respect and support. Moreover, PCF appears to increase the negative affect by creating tension, fear, strain and stress, thus, negatively affecting the happiness level of FLEs (hedonic well-being). The identified contingencies play a crucial role in determining the direction and intensity of the negative impact of PCF. Therefore, the overall psychological well-being level of FLEs can suffer as a result of PCF. This study also discusses managerial challenges associated with PCF management. Research limitations/implications – The article discusses important managerial implications in the field of FLE well-being and PCF management and suggests directions for future research aiming to expand the boundaries of the current TSR agenda and service human resources. Originality/value – This study is the first to explore the negative side of PCF from a TSR perspective. It extends the understanding of the overlooked area of PCF and FLE well-being

Exploring the impact of customer feedback on the well-being of service entities - a TSR perspective

Purpose – Adopting the transformative service research (TSR) perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of positive customer feedback on the well-being of front-line employees, companies, and society. Using a multidisciplinary approach, the overlooked area of “positive feedback” is explored resulting in the development of the “Positive Feedback Model” (PFM). The study also compares managers’ and employees’ perceptions of positive customer feedback. Design/methodology/approach – Two exploratory qualitative studies were conducted: Study 1 consisted of 22 semi-structured interviews with managers working in the service industry and Study 2 consisted of seven focus groups with front-line service employees. The extensive literature review and the results of these two studies contributed to the development of the PFM. Findings – Positive customer feedback is an overlooked area of service research which offers potential for improving the well-being of the service entities. Front-line employees are the main recipients and topics of positive customer feedback. The developed PFM describes various forms, channels, and times of administration of positive customer feedback and its multitude of impacts on the well-being of service entities. Research limitations/implications – This study contributes to the literature on TSR and customer feedback management. The developed model presents possible positive feedback categories, their various outcomes and the outcomes for the concerned parties involved. By developing PFM and encouraging a multidisciplinary approach combined with advanced research methodologies, the researchers propose an agenda for further research insights within the TSR and customer feedback areas. The comparison of the managers’ and employees’ perceptions of positive customer feedback presents novel managerial implications and directions for future research. Originality/value – This study is the first to explore customer feedback from a TSR perspective. It examines the overlooked area of positive customer feedback. The well-being of service entities is prioritized as services have been extensively criticized for ignoring human well-being

Facial expression coding in children and adolescents with autism: Reduced adaptability but intact norm-based coding

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can have difficulty recognizing emotional expressions. Here we asked whether the underlying perceptual coding of expression is disrupted. Typical individuals code expression relative to a perceptual (average) norm that is continuously updated by experience. This adaptability of face coding mechanisms has been linked to performance on various face tasks. We used an adaptation aftereffect paradigm to characterize expression coding in children and adolescents with autism. We asked whether face expression coding is less adaptable in autism and whether there is any fundamental disruption of norm-based coding. If expression coding is norm-based, then the face aftereffects should increase with adaptor expression strength (distance from the average expression). We observed this pattern in both autistic and typically developing participants, suggesting that norm-based coding is fundamentally intact in autism. Critically, however, expression aftereffects were reduced in the autism group, indicating that expression-coding mechanisms are less readily tuned by experience. Reduced adaptability has also been reported for coding of face identity and gaze direction. Thus there appears to be a pervasive lack of adaptability in face-coding mechanisms in autism, which could contribute to face processing and broader social difficulties in the disorder

Special section: Advancing customer experience and big data impact via academic- practitioner collaboration

Purpose This paper outlines the purpose, planning, development and delivery of the “1st AcademicPractitioner Research with Impact workshop: Customer Experience Management (CEM) and Big Data”, held at Alliance Manchester Business School on 18th and 19th January 2016, at which four subsequent papers were initially developed. Design/methodology/approach The paper sets out a summary of the importance and significance of the four papers developed at the workshop, and how the co-creative dialogue between managerial practitioners presenting key problems and issues that they face and carefully selected teams of academics was facilitated. Findings In order to develop richer and more impactful understanding of current problems challenging customer focused managers, there is a need for more dialogue and engagement between academics and practitioners. Practical implications The paper serves as a guideline for developing future workshops that aim at strengthening the links between academia and the business world. Originality/value This paper highlights the value of academic-practitioner workshops for focusing academic research on areas of importance for practitioners in order to generate impact. The innovative format of the workshop and the resulting impactful papers should serve as a call and motivation for future academic-practitioner workshop development

A Qualitative Evaluation to Improve the Co-Parenting for Successful Kids Program

Programs aiming to help parents are often challenged in analyzing open-ended survey questions from large samples. This article presents qualitative findings collected from 1,287 participants with a child 5 years of age or younger who completed the program evaluation for the Co-Parenting for Successful Kids online program, a 4-hour education course developed by the University of Nebraska Extension. Qualitative content analysis revealed that participants found the program useful for improving their co-parenting communication skills. Participants suggested areas for improvement such as additional information for helping children cope, conflict resolution strategies, handling legal issues, and understanding how divorce impacts children based on their age. Supports and information were requested from parents in high conflict situations, including families dealing with a co-parent’s alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence, and having an uninvolved or absent parent. Analyzing qualitative data from participants and quantifying these responses into themes offers a useful and informative way to improve and enhance an existing education program aiming to support separating or divorcing parents

Special section: Advancing customer experience and big data impact via academic and practitioner collaboration

Purpose This paper outlines the purpose, planning, development and delivery of the “1st Academic-Practitioner Research with Impact workshop: Customer Experience Management (CEM) and Big Data”, held at Alliance Manchester Business School on 18th and 19th January 2016, at which four subsequent papers were initially developed. Design/methodology/approach The paper sets out a summary of the importance and significance of the four papers developed at the workshop, and how the co-creative dialogue between managerial practitioners presenting key problems and issues that they face and carefully selected teams of academics was facilitated. Findings In order to develop richer and more impactful understanding of current problems challenging customer focused managers, there is a need for more dialogue and engagement between academics and practitioners. Practical implications The paper serves as a guideline for developing future workshops that aim at strengthening the links between academia and the business world. Originality/value This paper highlights the value of academic-practitioner workshops for focusing academic research on areas of importance for practitioners in order to generate impact. The innovative format of the workshop and the resulting impactful papers should serve as a call and motivation for future academic-practitioner workshop development