Agency Perspective Research Articles

Exploring interactions between learners and ChatGPT from a learner agency perspective: A multiple case study on historical Inquiry

Exploring interactions between learners and ChatGPT from a learner agency perspective: A multiple case study on historical Inquiry

Collaborative Autoethnography of Cancer Patients' Dynamic Sense of Agency.

Through collaborative autoethnography, we studied shifts in cancer patients' sense of agency and the meaning of cancer during the diagnostic and treatment phases. This article contributes to the illness management literature by adopting sense of agency perspective that provides new understanding of retrospective interpretation of cancer patients' agency. The authors' experiences of receiving cancer diagnoses and a related, collectively written story illustrate how relational and contextual elements facilitate rapid shifts in cancer patients' sense of agency and illness management. The findings illustrate shifts in the sense of agency as a collaborative and reflexive process between cognitive, emotional, and bodily constraints and adjustments. We demonstrate how shifts in patients' sense of agency and respective changes in meanings attached to cancer were shaped by near ones, healthcare actors, and other cancer patients, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic and the fear of military conflict due to Finland neighbor Russia's war on Ukraine. Furthermore, the study illustrates how shifts in sense of agency shape and are shaped by changes in the understanding of cancer as either a secondary issue, ambiguous stranger, travel companion, or enemy.

Rescaling: Change agency and the emerging geography of economic relationships

In this paper, we propose a theoretical and conceptual framework for articulating and studying changes in the global economic landscape and illustrate this framework in the current context. The framework pivots around the notion of rescaling, which is interpreted from a human agency perspective. We disentangle three theoretically distinct dimensions of rescaling and show how they play together using concrete examples. The theoretical and conceptual framework links the intended and unintended consequences of globalisation to current rescaling efforts, and allows us to investigate when, why, and how changes to the geography of economic relationships occur.

How Do Rural Teachers in China Explain Their Students’ Underachievement? An Attribution Theory and Agency Perspective

How Do Rural Teachers in China Explain Their Students’ Underachievement? An Attribution Theory and Agency Perspective

Space travel across the decades and beyond

Abstract This paper will discuss the history and future of space travel from the perspective of the European Space Agency (ESA).

Training the Medical Writers of the Future Using a Structured Entry-Level Program: A Life Sciences Communications Agency Perspective

Ensuring that associate medical writers are set up for success requires a well-planned entry-level program that integrates training sessions with on-the-job experience. We describe how we have crafted our program for entrylevel candidates starting from our interview process and moving to our training program, how we embed them into teams and provide on the-job training, how our support network is structured, and how we measure success. Feedback from recent participants in our training program offers valuable hands-on insights. A robust foundation of publication training is key to the development of our medical writers, providing skills and helping them develop many of the key attributes that underpin success, including attention to detail, effective storytelling, and industry compliance. Our profession is not static, and training programs need to be agile and pivot quickly to accommodate evolving industry standards, new technologies, and fluctuating client and audience needs and challenges. Staying up to date with future developments in medical writing is crucial, and we do our utmost to train and support our team and futureproof our training, so our junior writers are well equipped to excel and have fulfilling careers in the life sciences communication industry.

Unveiling the Resources of Digital Pioneers: an Agency Perspective on Digital Social Innovation in Rural Germany

Abstract Rural digitalisation is often approached from a structural research perspective, focusing on broadband infrastructure and socio-economic contextual conditions. Such perspectives tend to neglect the agency of individual and collective actors in these areas. Our comparative case study addresses this gap by focusing on Digital Pioneers in two structurally different rural regions in Germany. Our analysis of 40 semi-structured qualitative interviews with selected pioneers is based on the research question of how these key actors access resources to realise digital social innovation. A categorization of our data shows three general patterns: Access to motivational resources on an individual level, access to network-based resources through various types of social relationships, as well as access to region-based resources by analytically linking agency and socio-spatial contextual conditions. We conclude that Digital Pioneers can become intermediary key players in regional governance constellations. At the same time, additional policy support or reversion is needed to facilitate access to network- and region-based resources in particular.

CEO Current Option Wealth at Risk and Lobbying Breadth: A Behavioral Agency Perspective

CEO Current Option Wealth at Risk and Lobbying Breadth: A Behavioral Agency Perspective

Agency and signification in learning with digital technologies

This paper put an approximation of Actor-Network Theory – ANT (cf. Callon & Latour, 1981; Latour, 1988; Latour, 1993; Latour, 1994) and representational philosophies deriving from the social semiotic multimodal theories (e.g., Hodge & Kress, 1988; Kress, 2010; Kress & van Leeuwen, 2021; van Leeuwen, 2005) to the fore to conceptualize how meaning-making (known as sign-making, learning, the process of signification, Bateman, 2018; Bezemer & Kress, 2016; Kress, 2010) via technologies come about from the technologies' various prompts. It is essential to recognize how representations such as semiotic resources – here, technologies and sign systems – have agency to form social practices. They are agentively selected, interpreted, and acted upon by the user into meaning-making activities (Jewitt, 2008, 2009, 2014). The technologies' front- and back-end properties' semiotic regimes (van Leeuwen, 2005; Djonov & van Leeuwen, 2018a) in different configurations can function as actants by symmetrically translating interests between humans and non-humans, into hybrid existences (Callon & Latour, 1981; Latour, 1994). Humans and technical objects are not rigid and independent substances (Platonic) but beings in constant (re)associations, which modify their existence (Callon & Latour, 1981; Latour, 1994). In that sense, Callon and Latour's claims can be understood in line with the genesis and development of representations that, from a historical epistemological perspective (Wartofsky, 1979), are in constant (re)associations by technologies, cultures, social practices, and humans. As humans mediate by means of their representations (Wartofksy, 1979), the representations are re-shaping and re-shaped through the history of reproduction that impacts interaction, meditation, and meaning-making (Kress, 2010; van Leeuwen, 2005; Wartofsky, 1979). The purpose of this paper is to briefly sketch a future research aspiration striving to theoretically approximate the ANT and representational philosophies and examine what kind of agency digital technologies impose on the users and how the users draw upon that imposition in their meaning-making. Crucially, such a reflection can heighten current understandings of the intricate relationships and networks created by humans and digital technologies in contemporary learning settings such as school to better appreciate students' digital learning from a representational agency perspective integrating the “signifieds-in-transformation” and “actants.” In preparation for future research studies, the following research question guides the theoretical explorations: who acts in the process of signification in learning activities with digital technologies?

Responsible research and innovation: An ambidexterity lens of generalized and specialized responsibilities

AbstractThe incompatibility between diverse responsible principles of science and technology (S&T) and multi‐stakeholders' heterogeneous value assessments underscores the importance of coordinating normative principles of responsible research and innovation (RRI). In this context, this study adopts an ambidexterity lens to address this issue, conceptualizing two constructs—“generalized responsibility” and “specialized responsibility” of S&T (GRST and SRST)—to illustrate the trade‐offs. It explores the antecedents of GRST and SRST from an agency perspective. Drawing from a dataset of 19,707 poll responses, the study employs a fractional logit regression model to examine the relationships between three types of agency (iterational agency, strategic agency, and ethical agency) and GRST and SRST. The results reveal a positive relationship between iterational agency and SRST, and between strategic agency and GRST, as well as U‐shaped effects of iterational agency on GRST, strategic agency on SRST, and ethical agency on both GRST and SRST. Moreover, ethical agency is found to be more important for SRST than for GRST. The study offers theoretical and policy implications for a critical discussion about responsible innovation.

The Development of a Dialogical Pedagogical Agency in Initial Teacher Formation Programs: A Critical Inquiry

Initial teacher formation is a permanent focus of attention on the part of research, as the value of education for the progress of society is well known. However, given the naturalization of instrumental criteria as common sense acquired in today’s society, on occasion, initial teacher formation reproduces a technocratic perspective of education, not assisting a transformation into a fairer, ethically healthier, and politically more democratic society. This article is the result of doctoral research that addresses this concern, proposing that initial teacher formation could play a transformative role in society. Considering the Bourdieusian dialectical perspective of agency, as well as elements from critical approach literature, this article particularly focuses on showing some results obtained regarding about the capacity for ethical/political/epistemic pedagogical agency that novice teachers show in their first professional experiences as teachers, discussing how important the development of this capacity is in initial teacher formation programs to prepare teachers to be able to transform education.

Stock price crash risk research: current trends and future directions

PurposeUnderstanding and mitigating stock price crash risk is vital for investors and regulators to ensure financial market stability. This study aims to unveil significant research trends and opportunities.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts the bibliometric and systematic review approach to analyse 485 Scopus-indexed articles through citation, keyword co-occurrence, bibliographic coupling, and publication analyses and delve into the depth of crash risk literature.FindingsThis bibliometric review reveals not only a surge in crash risk publications over the last decade but also delineates several emerging thematic threads within this domain. We identify seven distinct themes that have gained prominence in recent literature: bad news hoarding, board characteristics, capital market factors, corporate policies, ownership impact, corporate governance, and external environmental influences on crash risk. This thematic analysis provides a comprehensive overview of the evolving landscape of crash risk research and underscores the multifaceted nature of factors contributing to market instability.Practical implicationsThis study makes a substantial contribution by furnishing a thorough examination of existing studies, pinpointing areas where knowledge is lacking, and shedding light on emerging trends and debates within the crash risk literature.Originality/valueThis study identifies current research trajectories and propels future exploration into agency perspectives, audit quality, and corporate disclosures within crash risk literature.

Economic statecraft by design and by default: The political economy of the 5G-Huawei bans in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany

The ban of Huawei by the United States and European governments from their 5G infrastructure has been described in recent literature as economic statecraft. However, it remains under researched that in these ban decisions the domestic political and economic constellations differed. To address this gap, this study adopts an agency perspective and compares 5G Huawei policies in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. While in the United States the ban was unanimously supported by state actors and telecommunication companies and equipment manufacturers, in the United Kingdom and Germany telecommunication companies and (initially also) governments were opposing the ban. There, we also observe interests from governing parliamentarians across political parties representing cyber security interests prevail in the domestic policy making processes over political and economic actors representing economic interests. In line with recent works on the domestic politics of economic statecraft and adopting the method of structured, focused comparison our inductive, theory developing case study reveals that economic statecraft is a dyadic concept between ‘by default’ and ‘by design’. We show that economic statecraft occurs ‘by default’ in the manner that states’ and businesses’ interests align, it happens ‘by design’ in the manner that states’ and businesses’ interests diverge. We contribute to previous literature that theory building on economic statecraft should start before the notions of power and policy preferences by a closer inspection of the domestic interest constellations.

Identifying barriers and interagency solutions to meeting the needs of families experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV): Home visiting and IPV agency perspectives

BackgroundAddressing intimate partner violence (IPV) among expectant families and caregivers with young children requires that multi-professional systems work collaboratively towards a common goal. IPV services and maternal and infant home visiting programs are two important perspectives to consider in designing interagency strategies. The purpose of this study was to identify shared priorities among home visiting and IPV professionals on IPV-related challenges and interagency solutions to support families with young children. MethodsHome visiting and IPV service providers (n=22) separately completed a structured brainstorming activity during four virtual focus groups using nominal group technique (NGT) to generate, rank, and reach consensus on prioritized barriers and solutions for the service population. The multi-professional study team (including home visiting and IPV partners) grouped and organized the top three prioritized barriers and solutions identified across groups using a pile sort activity. As a reliance measure, NGT discussion transcripts were coded to the final pile sort categories to ensure our presentation of the data was contextualized and supported by original participant responses. ResultsTwenty-four items were sorted into seven piles (three barriers and four solutions). The need to address families’ concrete needs was consistently prioritized across groups and matched with solutions that provide families with immediate financial support. Participants prioritized barriers resulting from client involvement in multiple, complex systems and named interagency process solutions (e.g., cross-systems training, enhanced referral processes) as the corresponding solution. The impact of individual and collective trauma was discussed as a barrier and matched with community-facing development (e.g., healthy relationship education). Policy, advocacy, and funding-oriented solutions were discussed as cross-cutting across all barriers. ConclusionEffective cross-system efforts are warranted to meet the interrelated needs of families impacted by IPV. The study highlights a shared view on prioritized challenges and actionable solutions to inform interagency collaboration among IPV agencies and early childhood home visiting programs. Our findings shed light on the importance of an organized public health approach to target IPV prevention and response.

Reliability Assessment for a Stochastic Air Transport Network with Multiple Demands

Air transport networks play a significant role in the modern tourism industry, and their operational performance and stability can be measured by reliability analysis. This study, from the perspective of a travel agency, attempts to assess the reliability of a stochastic air transport network (SATN) by considering multiple passenger demands generated by both the starting airport and several connection airports. The SATN is modeled as a stochastic flow network comprised of several nodes and arcs where nodes represent airports, and arcs represent flights connecting two airports. Each flight is associated with a predetermined stochastic capacity following a specific probability distribution, departure time, arrival time, and discount fare. Accordingly, network reliability refers to the probability that the network can successfully transport passengers from their respective source airports to the destination airport within the given travel time and travel cost limit. An algorithm in terms of the concept of lower boundary point is developed to compute network reliability. Furthermore, a simple example and a case study are presented to demonstrate the proposed reliability method and the managerial implications of reliability for travel agencies.

Tax aggressiveness under concentrated ownership: The importance of long-term institutional investors

Using a sample of 1,707 firm-year observations for the period 2010–2019 based on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, we reveal the positive relation between corporate tax aggressiveness and long-term institutional ownership. Controlling for a “normal level” of tax avoidance within the industry and firm size we provide evidence that tax aggressiveness increases with the increase of shareholdings of independent long-term institutional investors, domestic long-term institutional investors, and long-term institutional investors holding relatively large stakes. This relation holds for firms prone to severe agency problems, such as family firms. Our results thus suggest that ownership structure affects corporate tax avoidance, in line with the agency perspective of corporate tax aggressiveness.

How do executive excess compensation affect enterprise technological innovation: Evidence from a panel threshold model of chinese biopharmaceutical companies

This study examines the levels of executive excess compensation (EEC) that stimulate the quality and efficiency of enterprise technology innovation (ETI). Using a behavioral agency perspective, we investigate how companies achieve superior ETI by providing sufficient incentives to motivate executives to perform to the best of their abilities. We use a panel threshold model based on a sample of Chinese-listed biopharmaceutical companies and find that: (1) providing an EEC between 0.0592 and 0.1907 significantly affects the promotion of ETI quality; (2) regarding ETI efficiency, executives generally do not receive the compensation that they deserve; and (3) the existing EEC has a weak negative impact on ETI efficiency, gradually disappearing as compensation increases. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that restricting EEC to the eastern area and strengthening the supervision of EEC in state-owned enterprises are effective measures for stimulating ETI. We advance the literature by providing guidance on compensation plans to companies in different regions.

Justice in Contention: The Dynamics of Legal Mobilisation in Caimanes’ Environmental Struggle

This paper examines legal mobilisation in socio-environmental movements through the Caimanes case, a Chilean community opposing the Los Pelambres mining project. It integrates structural and agency perspectives, highlighting the community's adaptation to political and legal opportunities and focusing on distributive environmental justice. The study identifies two protest cycles: the first seeking compensation, leading to community divisions, and the second addressing mining externalities, fostering unity and solidarity. It discusses judicial mobilisation's limitations, including challenges in aligning community and legal advisors’ aims and constraints within the Chilean judicial system. The analysis, based on fieldwork and secondary sources, contributes to understanding legal strategies in environmental justice movements, emphasising strategic decision-making's importance.

The relationship between regional development and digital nomadism

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to reveal the relationship between digital nomadism and regional development.Design/methodology/approachIn the research, an interpretive approach was used to obtain an in-depth understanding of the relationship between digital nomadism and regional development and to examine a specific issue in more detail.FindingsDigital nomads are constantly traveling. In this way, they provide income transfer to the places they visit. They positively affect the promotion of the region and contribute to the increase of the human capital of the regions.Research limitations/implicationsViewed from the development agency perspective as a representative of a regional development agency.Practical implicationsTips are presented on how the digital nomad theme can be managed in regional development.Social implicationsRegional development does not only include economic development, but also prioritizes the subjective well-being of local residents. For this reason, it has been emphasized that digital nomad arrangements in the name of regional development should not only be perceived as attracting new generation tourists to the region, but will also be a tool for the sociocultural development of local residents.Originality/valueThis study outlines the issue of how digital nomadism has become an alternative tool in the regional development.

Promoter share pledging and dividend payouts in India: does family involvement matters?

PurposeThis study aims to explore the relationship between promoter share pledging and the company’s dividend payout policy in India. Furthermore, this study also analyses the moderating impact of family involvement in business on the association between share pledging and dividend payout.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 236 companies from the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive (BSE) 500 Index (2014–2023) has been analysed through fixed-effects panel data regression. For additional testing, robustness checks include alternative measures of dividend payout and promoter share pledging, as well as alternative methodologies such as Bayesian regression. Lastly, to address potential endogeneity, instrumental variables with a two-stage least squares (IV-2SLS) methodology have been implemented.FindingsUpholding the agency perspective, a significantly negative impact of promoter share pledging on corporate dividend payouts in India has been uncovered. Moreover, family involvement in business moderates this relationship, highlighting that the negative association between promoter share pledging and dividend payouts is more pronounced in family companies. The findings are consistent throughout the robustness testing.Originality/valueThe present study represents a pioneering endeavour to empirically analyse the link between promoter share pledging and dividend payouts in India. It enhances the theoretical underpinnings of the agency relationship, particularly by substantiating the existence of Type II agency conflicts between majority and minority shareholders. The findings of this research bear significant implications for investors, researchers and policymakers, particularly in light of the widespread prevalence of promoter-controlled entities in India.