Rich pictures in qualitative research in higher education: the student as consumer and producer in personal branding

Marketing principles and consumerism are evident in higher education with universities central to the development of fit for purpose graduates. Students are increasingly viewed as consumers of university products and expected to manage self-hood and to promote themselves to the marketplace. This article is drawn from research in an ongoing larger scale project exploring the ownership of students in shaping their 'career capital' and in building 'brand-me' from a student perspective when seeking industrial placement and graduate career progression. It appraises the use of a 'soft systems' methodology using rich pictures (RP) to support qualitative one-to-one interviews with students in higher education. The findings showed that the combination of in-depth interviews with the rich pictures creative qualitative approach provided a much closer generation of insights to inform staff in the support of students pursuing of industrial placement and career progression, and for the students it offered an opportunity for self-reflection and consideration of 'brand-me'

The impact of workplace placement on students’ entrepreneurial attitude

Purpose The aim of the research was to determine the impact of a workplace placement on the student participants’ self-reported entrepreneurial attitude (EA) Design/methodology/approach A review of relevant literature informed questions incorporated in the university’s annual feedback questionnaire completed by students (n = 461) on return from a work placement of between 44 and 52 weeks. Findings The study has shown that both gender and entrepreneurial legacy influence baseline and post-placement EA (p <0.05). The interaction between EA, social learning, perceived behavioural control (PBC), subjective norms and perceived relational support (PRS) was also considered. Originality/value This research provides context for further qualitative work in this area, especially the influence of gender and entrepreneurial legacy on reported baseline EA and EA post work placement and will inform pedagogical development in terms of embedding entrepreneurial teaching in future curriculum development at the universit

The role of work-integrated learning in the development of entrepreneurs

This study explored the ways that work-integrated learning (WIL) influences the development of entrepreneurs. Seven alumni from Canada and the United Kingdom, who experienced differing forms of WIL during their degree, participated in qualitative in-depth interviews and provided rich pictures. A rich picture is a pictorial representation of a situation, including what happened, who was involved, how the participant perceived the situation. During the interviews, participants reflected on how WIL impacted their career and they created rich pictures to depict their perception of an entrepreneur and what influenced them to become an entrepreneur. Several important themes emerged and included seizing opportunities, thinking “outside the box,” being resilient during difficult times, and the importance of networks. The influence of WIL was important for all participants and provided the framework of support that enabled the participants to manage difficult times and turn disruption into opportunity

A review of French consumers purchasing patterns, perceptions and decision factors for poultry meat

In recent years, changing public perceptions and attitudes, as well as a hostile economic climate, have combined to potentially modify French consumer behaviour relating to poultry meat. This paper makes use of a longitudinal dataset that has been constructed through regular surveying of consumers and review information relating to purchasing patterns, perceptions and decision factors in France. These findings will be of interest to marketing practitioners as well as policy makers, academics and others with an interest in the poultry sector