Theoretical Propositions Research Articles

Exploring flexible working practices and the digital divide in a post-lockdown era

PurposeThis paper explores flexible working practices (FWPs) and takes a critical view that argues a need to consider not only access to digital technological resources but also the vast array of factors that constrain one’s ability to use technology for its intended benefits, as constituting the digital divide post-COVID-19 lockdown.Design/methodology/approachUsing a critical evaluation of the extant literature, we engage in a conceptual undertaking to develop theoretical propositions that form the basis for future empirical undertakings. To theoretically ground the arguments raised, we deploy the ontological lens of actor-network theory to illuminate the socio-technical dimensions of the digital divide in light of FWPs.FindingsSince the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to adopt socially distanced work practices has become a reality for many organisations. We find that the adoption of FWPs, enabled by digital technologies, simultaneously signals hidden inequalities. We also develop a conceptual framework which depicts user responses in different technology environments that can either be limiting or enabling for individuals’ work productivity.Originality/valueWith regards to the digital divide, attention has often focused on access to digital technologies, as the term “digital divide” portrays. The implication is that the array of factors and resources that individuals are heterogeneously networked to, which also constitute the digital divide, is often taken for granted. We take a different ontological view that brings to the fore other factors at play within an individual’s network of relations.

Responding to whom? An experimental study of the dynamics of responsiveness to interest groups and the public

ABSTRACT While politicians are commonly depicted as having strong incentives to be responsive to both interest groups and citizens to govern and maintain office, the literature lacks designs that allow for assessing the causal effect of both types of actors on individual policy-makers. This study addresses this gap by formulating theoretical propositions regarding responsiveness of politicians to both public opinion and interest groups and testing them in a vignette experiment with responses from over 2000 Danish and Dutch local, regional and national elected representatives. Our study finds important differences in the dynamics of responsiveness to the two types of actors: Public opinion has a strong direct effect on the intended voting behaviour of politicians, whereas the effects of interest groups are weaker and mainly demonstrate the potential to influence the views of ideologically aligned legislators. Left-wing politicians, in particular, are responsive to civil society groups. These results have implications for understanding political representation and the role of interest groups across multiple levels of government. While the heightened sensitivity of politicians to some aligned groups creates a risk of policy-making biases, it is reassuring that interest groups have a weaker effect than public opinion and primarily hold potential to influence like-minded politicians.

Toward a future discourse on global value chains

PurposeThe discourse on global value chains (GVC) is undergoing a transformation in terms of its conceptualisation, theorisation and pragmatic applications. Today, the production systems have become more complex as global economic order continues to witness marked geo-economic manoeuvring. Thus, the direction of discourse on GVC ought to move from mere theoretical propositions toward becoming more evidence based. There have been recent studies that have used the governance and upgrading propositions by Gary Gereffi and others to seek quantitative evidence. This study aims to decipher the quantitative discourse on GVC and to set the emerging and future research agenda.Design/methodology/approachThrough a systematic literature review, the authors first analyse the quantitative studies on GVC carried out during the last two decades. The authors then outline a future research agenda and examine a few relevant modelling techniques that could potentially be used to solicit newer evidence in GVC research.FindingsThe authors categorise the quantitative discourse on GVC into three crucial themes, namely, GVC framework, GVC participation and position, environmental aspects and regionalisation in GVC. The most commonly used quantitative techniques are gravity model, panel data estimation, structural decomposition analysis and computable general equilibrium modelling.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the GVC discourse in two ways. Firstly, the authors argue that the theoretical frameworks within the GVC discourse should be complemented by evidence-based quantitative studies. Secondly, the authors suggest potential modelling techniques that can be used on the emerging and future research agenda.

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ КОММУНИКАТИВНОЙ КОМПЕТЕНЦИИ УЧАЩИХСЯ НАЧАЛЬНЫХ КЛАССОВ В ПРОЦЕССЕ ОБУЧЕНИЯ БУРЯТСКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ КАК ВТОРОМУ

This article is devoted to the problem and solution of the communicative competence formation of younger schoolchildren in the process of teaching Buryat as a second language. Communicative competence doesn’t appear out of nowhere, it is formed. The basis of its formation is the experience of human communication. In order to confirm the scientific validity of the theoretical propositions put forward by us, the article theoretically substantiates and develops a system of exercises based on the principle of a communicative approach. A set of exercises for teaching dialogic or monologue speech, used in Buryat language lessons, are aimed to ensure that the child passes through the actions committed by a literary hero, learns to believe, make friends, love, analyze various life situations. This approach ensures the development of the student's speech, teaches to engage in dialogical disputes about the transformation of literary heroes, gives an excellent opportunity for the development of monologue speech. The actions that a student takes while performing an exercise can be conditionally divided into three groups: truly communicative or verbal, conditionally communicative or conditionally verbal, and constructive or linguistic. The purpose of these exercises is the consistent assimilation of lexical material in the process of forming skills, abilities, ultimately, communicative competence. The developed system of exercises is focused not only on improving and further developing the level of communicative competence, but also on developing the creative potential of students, their creative abilities.

Proposal of a Model of Irrigation Operations Management for Exploring the Factors That Can Affect the Adoption of Precision Agriculture in the Context of Agriculture 4.0

Agriculture is undergoing a profound change related to Agriculture 4.0 development and Precision Agriculture adoption, which is occurring at a slower pace than expected despite the abundant literature on the factors explaining this adoption. This work explores the factors related to agricultural Operations Management, farmer behavior, and the farmer mental model, topics little explored in the literature, by applying the Theory of Planned Behavior. Considering the exploratory nature of this work, an exploratory multi-method is applied, consisting of expert interviews, case studies, and modeling. This study’s contributions are a list of factors that can affect this adoption, which complements previous studies, theoretical propositions on the relationships between these factors and this adoption, and a model of irrigation Operations Management built based on these factors and these propositions. This model provides a theoretical framework to study the identified factors, the relationships between them, the theoretical propositions, and the adoption of Precision Agriculture. Furthermore, the results of case studies allow us to explore the relationships between adoption, educational level, and training. The identified factors and the model contribute to broadening the understanding of Precision Agriculture adoption, adding Operations Management and the farmer mental model to previous studies. A future research agenda is formulated to direct future studies.

Finding the conditio muliebris in Postmodernism: Mimetic exploration and aesthetic understanding of female nature


 
 
 The paper addresses the exploration of women’s nature, intended as a peculiar conditio muliebris, focussing on woman artists that reflected on the female body with Postmodernist artistic means. Starting with an analysis of the theoretical propositions of Art Feminism practitioners such as Lucy Lippard, Valie Export, and Mary Kelly, who highlight the alterity of female nature and, thus, of woman’s art, the paper later discusses three art installations addressing bodily explorations by woman artists belonging to different generations: Mary Kelly’s Post-Partum Document (1973- 79), Mona Hatoum’s Corps étrangers (1994), and Sondra Perry’s Wet and Wavy Looks—Typhon coming on (2016). The paper argues that these installations substantiate the mentioned theoretical propositions and form a thread of bodily awareness that allows woman artists and the wider public to ascertain female nature by means of a fully aesthetic mimesis. The relationship between art and nature thus becomes one of mimetic exploration of the female body that leads to the acknowledgment of a gender-specific corporal feeling.
 
 

Negative Space: An Alternative Framework for Archaeoacoustics.

Hearing the remote past seems impossible. Archaeoacoustics is a contemporary field intent on reconstructing the evolution of early communication systems, offering the possibility of developing methodologies relating to past sound signaling and music. Through a contribution of the emerging sensory field of archaeoacoustics and an example of acoustic assessments conducted at the site of Coves del Toll, can we understand signals of the past in order to investigate human behaviour and trace its cognitive evolution? This paper explores alternative methodological and theoretical approaches to understanding prehistoric sonic behaviours in early hominids and aims to set out a framework to theoretically and philosophically approach the "sound record" of the past. The theoretical proposition of this paper integrates the musical and sound art disciplines of spectralism and sound ecology to challenge the current limitations of listening to sound.

Beyond Empathy: Familial Incarceration, Stress Proliferation, and Depressive Symptoms Among African Americans

Abstract Women tend to be more vulnerable to the adverse psychological effects of “network events” (stressors that occur to loved ones). The cost-of-caring hypothesis is regarded as the primary mechanism for this vulnerability and posits that women’s relatively high level of emotional involvement in the lives of network members causes women to experience greater empathetic reactions when loved ones encounter stressors. Drawing on the stress process model, gender theory, and research on the collateral consequences of incarceration, we theorize stress proliferation, the process by which an initial stressor induces secondary stressors, as an additional mechanism and empirically test our theoretical propositions using the case of African Americans with an incarcerated family member. Using data from the National Survey of American Life, we ask: are African American women more vulnerable to the depressive effects of familial incarceration compared to African American men? If so, to what extent might African American women’s heightened vulnerability be explained by their greater susceptibility to stress proliferation? Results suggest that familial incarceration is associated with greater chronic strains, financial strain, and family conflict only among African American women. Further, the magnitude of the association between familial incarceration and depressive symptoms is significantly larger among African American women; however, after adjusting for stress proliferation variables, the gender difference in vulnerability attenuates and becomes statistically nonsignificant. We conclude that the emotional cost of caring may be compounded by social and economic costs of caregiving, heightening women’s vulnerability to depression following disruptive network events.

Application of the Five-Step Phase-Shifting Method in Reflective Ghost Imaging for Efficient Phase Reconstruction.

The conventional approach to phase reconstruction in Reflective Ghost Imaging (RGI) typically involves the introduction of three reference screens into the reference path, deeming the Fourier transform step indispensable. However, this method introduces complexity to the system and raises concerns regarding potential errors in phase retrieval. In response to these challenges, we advocate for adopting the Five-Step Phase-Shifting (FSPS) method in the RGI system. This method presents two key advantages over traditional approaches: (1) It streamlines the phase reconstruction process by eliminating the requirement for a Fourier inverse transform. (2) It avoids the need to insert objects into the reference optical path, simplifying the computation of reference optical path intensity and enabling seamless application to Computational Ghost Imaging (CGI), overcoming the constraints of Dual-Arm Ghost Imaging (DAGI). We substantiate the theoretical proposition through numerical simulations involving two intricate objects. Furthermore, our discussion delves into exploring the influence of varying reflective angles on the phase reconstruction performance.

A Theory of Digital Economy Development: An Examination of the Practice of Chinese Platforms

Grasping the development trends and patterns of the digital economy and promoting the integrated development of the digital and the real economy is a strategic choice for China’s construction of new competitive advantages. Based on case studies of the growth of e-commerce, this paper develops five microeconomic propositions about the following issues: the microeconomic features of data factor that differ from traditional production factors; optimal decision-making for digital enterprises; “data + platform” architecture, data transaction governance, and digital infrastructure supply. We apply these theoretical propositions to enterprise innovative practices in different application scenarios such as driverless vehicles and manufacturing digitalization. This paper provides a systematic and consistent theoretical framework for analyzing platform business model innovation and accurately identifying issues of institutional construction that promote the integrated development of the digital and the real economy.

Клінічний випадок захворювання, підозрілого на хворобу Лайма, з незвичайними результатами серологічного обстеження

The article p examination: positive results of IgM and IgG antibodies to B. burgdorferi, obtained by the method of blot analysis (WB), and negative results of examination by the method of enzyme immunoassay (ELISA), which resents a case of a disease suspected of Lyme disease with unusual results of serological were made later in two other laboratories. The advantages of the two-stage diagnosis of Lyme disease with the sequential use of ELISA and WB and the possible consequences of the diagnosis of the disease using only one laboratory technique are considered. Attention is drawn to differences in the interpretation of WB results according to the criteria of the Center for Disease Control (CDC, USA) and manufacturers of alternative test systems. Factors that can contribute to false-positive examination results are considered: depending on the patient (the presence of concomitant rheumatic, infectious diseases) and on the erroneous interpretation of the results of laboratory tests (considering weakly positive bands as a positive result, the presence of several bands within one, neglecting a slight shift of the band in relation to its location in control, etc.). Attention is also drawn to the impacton the results of the study of the presence of «anamnestic» antibodies in a certain percentage of people living inareas endemic for Lyme disease. Based on the above theoretical propositions, a thorough analysis was carried out regarding the compliance of the clinical manifestations of the case of the disease considered in the article with the criteria of the early localized form of Lyme disease. On the basis of the criteria found in scientific publications, a clinical and epidemiological comparison of the patient’s data with the results of laboratory examination was carried out regarding their reliability. A conclusion is made regarding the need to rely on clinical data when diagnosing Lyme disease, and to consider laboratory examination results as additional confirmation of the diagnosis. It is emphasized that the high specificity (98%) of the laboratory examination is ensured only due to the two-stage research method with the sequential use of ELISA and WB. In case of questionable WB results, clinical and epidemiological data should be compared with the results of laboratory examination for their reliability. Keywords: Borrelia burgdorferi, diagnosis, IgM IgG immunoblot, Lyme disease, serology

Risk for imbalanced blood pressure pattern among incarcerated women: Middle-Range Theory.

to develop a Middle-Range Theory for the Risk for imbalanced blood pressure pattern among incarcerated women. theoretical development study to obtain the theoretical-causal validity of the Nursing Diagnosis Risk for unstable blood pressure. The Middle-Range Theory was developed according to six stages: establishment of the approach to developing the theory; definition of the conceptual models to be later analyzed; definition of the main conceptions; a pictorial diagram; propositions; causal relationships and evidence for practice. two attributes and 20 antecedents related to imbalanced blood pressure were identified, a pictorial diagram was developed, and nine theoretical propositions were presented. the theory developed here favors the diagnostic reasoning of nurses and contributes to planning actions to promote the cardiovascular health of incarcerated women. A new proposition for the diagnosis of Risk for unstable blood pressure was also structured with a new title, definition, and etiological factors.

Gerenciando paradoxos da estratégia aberta no setor público

Abstract The open strategy approach advocates the inclusion of external agents, partners, and employees working at different levels in the strategy construction process. This movement toward openness and inclusion has also advanced in the public sector through collaborative governance. This development is due to changes in understanding the state’s role as a promoter of interaction between public and private actors. The central argument of this essay is that there are paradoxes inherent in the use of open strategy in the public sector that need to be managed in order to avoid or minimize damaging tensions between those involved. The essay adopts a reflexive and inductive approach based on the theoretical perspectives of both open strategy and collaborative governance. As a result, it contributes to the field of public management studies and presents theoretical and practical propositions that indicate ways of managing open strategy.

Debriefing, a dialogical space for the development of reflective thinking in nursing.

To understand the pedagogical elements necessary for the debriefing to favor the development of reflective thinking. A single case study developed at the Centro de Simulación en Salud of the Escuela de Enfermería of the Universidad de Costa Rica in October 2018. Data were collected through interviews, observation and document analysis. For data analysis, the strategy of theoretical propositions and the construction of explanation technique were used. The data originated two categories: 1) pedagogy of the organization, addressed elements thought by the professor to facilitate the dialogue; 2) facilitation pedagogy, brought elements from the dialogue itself that enrich the discussion, mobilize the group, provoke reflection and engagement. It is essential to include the following as pedagogical elements in order to favor the development of reflective thinking: prior planning, adequate environment, systematization, pedagogical training in facilitating debriefing, openness to dialogue, pedagogical respect, valorization of positive aspects, patience, and motivation.

Primary Health Care in transitional care of people with stroke.

to understand the role of Primary Health Care teams in caring for people with stroke after hospital discharge. single case study, with integrated units of analysis, with a qualitative approach. Data triangulation occurred through interviews with professionals and family caregivers involved in transition of care, in addition to direct observations in rounds and document analysis. For the analyses, the analytical strategies of theoretical propositions and construction of explanations were used, with the help of ATLAS.ti®. the importance of counter-referral, the role of community health workers and the multidisciplinary team, health promotion, secondary prevention, home visits as a visceral attribute and nurses as care managers are evident. the high demand on teams and the Social Determinants of Health interfere with adequate continuity of care. Transitional care programs that enable continuity of care are recommended.

Измерение и оценка человеческого капитала для рынка труда региона

Despite the rapidly growing bibliography and a relative scientific consensus, the measurement of human capital at different levels, degrees of detail, socio-economic traditions remains a topical issue due to the use of various conceptualisation, measurement and interpretation techniques. However, the results of obtaining and measuring human capital so far have fallen short of expectations for a number of reasons, some of which are addressed in this article. Considering the specificity and diversity of Russian regions, assessment of their human capital gained importance in Russian scientific discourse in both quantitative and qualitative research. The present study aims to examine the influence of significant factors, including those determining regional specificity, on the self-assessment of human capital for the labour market in different segments of the economically active population. To obtain data, a new (for Russian scientific discourse) method of asking a group of questions and measuring total human capital for the labour market was applied. The study used the authors’ database and identified groups of factors and their effect on the self-assessment of human capital in accordance with well-known theoretical propositions. As a result, the article explained the influence of both external (satisfaction with living in a region and trust in local authorities) and traditional factors on the quality of human capital for some categories of the working population on the example of a specific Russian region.

Modern information society and the new period of journalism

Introduction. The development of new information technologies makes corrections not only in science, but also in the media space. In the era of information globalization, the development of cross-media, in the era of information wars and the formation of new information and political communities, the problem of determining compromises between the functioning of civil society and media institutions has arisen. Relevance and purpose. The relevance of the research is outlined by studying the changes taking place in Ukrainian journalism. The goal is to determine the role and place of the mass media in social and political institutions as factors in ensuring the democratic and political rights and freedoms of citizens. Methodology. The methodological basis of the article is a combination of general scientific methods and special methods and approaches. The processing of the source base was based on the application of analytical-synthetic, logical methods, which helped to formulate a system of initial theoretical propositions, principles of selection, analysis and generalization of the research material. The methods of comparative-historical, analytical, interdisciplinary analysis and synthesis are also applied. Empirical research was conducted by the survey method. The results. The development of Ukrainian journalism in the new period of history is difficult, as there is a «persecution» of journalists and obstruction of their activities. In the current period of «clanization» of the Ukrainian media, there is a return to censorship and the transformation of pro-government mass media into means of propaganda, and the appearance or restoration of censorship in Ukraine at the beginning of the 21st century. depends on a number of events in recent history related to the actions of the government, the weakness of civil society, the absence of the rule of law, economic instability, the absence of a middle class, and the presence of a shadow sphere of politics and economics. Conclusions. The new world order in the information space creates new threats: the threat of distortion of the communication process in society regarding the perception of information; the threat of political control; the threat of new opportunities to manipulate public opinion.

Determinant of Organizational Innovation: Literature Review

Organizational innovation is an important factor for companies to achieve more competitive performance. Understanding how innovation capabilities emerge, develop, and apply can make important managerial scientific contributions. This study investigates the results of the main study on the determinants of organizational innovation capability, suggests some theoretical propositions for further studies based on the literature review. This study aims to identify the determinants of organizational innovation capability and the context in which the study is conducted. We identified and analyzed 43 articles through content analysis via Google Scholar. This study presents several results of studies on innovation capability in organizations, which are divided into determinants, internal, external aspects, and a collection of propositions to guide a research project in depth in questions that will be tested in further research. This study also makes a practical contribution, as it shows in which context each study of the identified determinants of innovation capability is applied.

Unveiling opportunities and challenges of the metaverse in the tourism and the hospitality sector: A qualitative investigation

Purpose – Owing to recent technological advancements and the growing use of virtual communication tools, particularly during and after the COVID-19 period, this research has investigated the usefulness of immersive technologies in the hospitality industry. Moreover, this research has obtained a deep and comprehensive understanding of how the metaverse can pose challenges and opportunities for employers and users in the tourism sector. Design/methodology/approach – We utilized an exploratory qualitative approach and conducted interviews with fifteen industry experts who were actively involved in Morocco’s tourism and hospitality sector. Based on the use of a thematic analysis approach, the findings have been presented. Findings – The findings suggest that the metaverse has provided numerous benefits for promoting tourist destinations through immersive and personalized virtual experiences. However, it has also presented challenges related to cost, security, data protection, and accessibility. Overall, this research contributes to the understanding of the possibilities offered by immersive technologies in the field of hospitality and will serve as a foundation for further research in this ever-evolving domain. Originality/value – Extensive research has examined the metaverse’s theoretical applications in tourism and hospitality. However, empirical validation remains scarce. This study addresses this gap, being one of the first in North Africa to leverage qualitative methods for in-depth exploration. We validate theoretical propositions and provide unique insights into the metaverse’s impact on both tourism employers and users. Our analysis informs recommendations for successful hotel adoption, particularly in emerging economies facing a spectrum of opportunities and challenges.

New Approach of deriving Third-Order Quadrature Sinusoidal Oscillators

Numerous approaches/methods have been employed in the past to derive various third-order sinusoidal oscillators (TOSOs). In this communication, a new simple approach for realizing TOQSO is presented, utilizing a second order inverse high-pass active filter with a cascade connection of traditional lossless integrator. The proposed approach can provide quadrature voltage outputs by leveraging the availability of lossless integrator. It is demonstrated that the proposed approach has the potential to generate various TOQSOs, as exemplified by the voltage-mode TOQSO based on current feedback operational amplifiers (CFOAs). The oscillation condition (CO) and frequency (FO) of the derived oscillator can be independently controlled. Experimental results utilizing AD844 CFOA ICs have been included to validate the theoretical propositions.