Messages with a clear focus on personal benefits and social and personal norms could impact holidaymakers' preferences towards opting for sustainability actions. This argument was explored using a three stage, sequential, mixed methods study. Firstly, analysis of current sustainability messages from three responsible tour operators revealed a low likelihood of them influencingcustomer preferences towards sustainability actions. An online survey of consumer beliefs and values proved that a manipulated message was more persuasive than the real messages used by the tour operators. This informed an experiment in message design that showed preferences for: i) obtaining individual gains from acting pro-sustainability (the importance of self-benefit), ii) doing what others are doing (the appeal of conforming to the descriptive norm), and iii) doing what others think one should do (the appeal of conforming to the injunctive norm). The findings have led the ANVR to relaunch their sustainability programme, focusing on customer benefits.
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Background: Cardiovascular risk factors are associated with physical fitness and, to a lesser extent, physical activity. Lifestyle interventions directed at enhancing physical fitness in order to decrease the risk of cardiovascular diseases should be extended. To enable the development of effective lifestyle interventions for people with cardiovascular risk factors, we investigated motivational, social-cognitive determinants derived from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and other relevant social psychological theories, next to physical activity and physical fitness. Methods: In the cross-sectional Utrecht Police Lifestyle Intervention Fitness and Training (UP-LIFT) study, 1298 employees (aged 18 to 62) were asked to complete online questionnaires regarding social-cognitive variables and physical activity. Cardiovascular risk factors and physical fitness (peak VO2) were measured. Results: For people with one or more cardiovascular risk factors (78.7% of the total population), social-cognitive variables accounted for 39% (p < .001) of the variance in the intention to engage in physical activity for 60 minutes every day. Important correlates of intention to engage in physical activity were attitude (beta = .225, p < .001), self-efficacy (beta = .271, p < .001), descriptive norm (beta = .172, p < .001) and barriers (beta = -.169, p < .01). Social-cognitive variables accounted for 52% (p < .001) of the variance in physical active behaviour (being physical active for 60 minutes every day). The intention to engage in physical activity (beta = .469, p < .001) and self-efficacy (beta = .243, p < .001) were, in turn, important correlates of physical active behavior. In addition to the prediction of intention to engage in physical activity and physical active behavior, we explored the impact of the intensity of physical activity. The intentsity of physical activity was only significantly related to physical active behavior (beta = .253, p < .01, R2 = .06, p < .001). An important goal of our study was to investigate the relationship between physical fitness, the intensity of physical activity and social-cognitive variables. Physical fitness (R2 = .23, p < .001) was positively associated with physical active behavior (beta = .180, p < .01), self-efficacy (beta = .180, p < .01) and the intensity of physical activity (beta = .238, p < .01). For people with one or more cardiovascular risk factors, 39.9% had positive intentions to engage in physical activity and were also physically active, and 10.5% had a low intentions but were physically active. 37.7% had low intentions and were physically inactive, and about 11.9% had high intentions but were physically inactive. Conclusions: This study contributes to our ability to optimize cardiovascular risk profiles by demonstrating an important association between physical fitness and social-cognitive variables. Physical fitness can be predicted by physical active behavior as well as by self-efficacy and the intensity of physical activity, and the latter by physical active behavior. Physical active behavior can be predicted by intention, self-efficacy, descriptive norms and barriers. Intention to engage in physical activity by attitude, self-efficacy, descriptive norms and barriers. An important input for lifestyle
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Tipping behavior is a vital way for waiting staff to enhance their wages, and for managers to monitor guest satisfaction. Despite its importance, there is not yet an established consensus on reasons why people tip. Our lack of understanding about tipping behavior is exacerbated by a strong reliance on studies conducted in countries that have a system of voluntary tipping (e.g., the United States). The study aims therefore at expanding our understanding of tipping behavior beyond voluntary tipping countries and more specifically explaining tipping behavior under service-inclusive pricing. Data obtained from 1458 guests in five European countries show that income and payment method are the strongest predictors of customers’ decision to tip, whereas bill size is the most robust predictor of tip amount. Results advance knowledge by suggesting that social norm theory plays a major role to understand tipping behavior in service-inclusive pricing.
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With employer branding (EB), businesses aim to align their organizational norms with the norms of their current and prospective employees, and they explicitly communicate about the firm’s norms. Communication, however, carries different meanings depending on the context in which one operates. Also, the organizational norms may vary depending on the context, i.e., industry, different countries, and geographical context in which a firm operates. As such, the process of EB may be context-dependent, too. This study explores if and how EB is applied differently in different country and industry contexts. The analysis draws on a quantitative content analysis of 226 job vacancies targeted at highly educated graduates and professionals in IT, energy, and healthcare from the North of the Netherlands and comparable regions from Germany and Bulgaria. Our findings show that EB, as manifested in core values and distinctive characteristics, is not widely adopted in the vacancies we included in our analysis. When adopted, different values are emphasized depending on the context. General information and job-specific information are most frequent among all industries and countries. EB is a multidimensional concept with different dimensions used according to the context. The study’s main implication is that companies need to be mindful of the context in which an EB strategy is used. A one-size-fits-all approach in EB is likely not the most effective. This is particularly relevant for multinationals that adopt a worldwide organizational brand.
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Tipping is a social norm in many countries and has important functions as a source of income, with significant social welfare effects. Tipping can also represent a form of lost tax revenue, as service workers and restaurants may not declare all cash tips. These interrelationships remain generally insufficiently understood. This paper presents the results of a comparative survey of resident tipping patterns in restaurants in Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands. ANOVA and ANCOVA analyses confirm significant variation in tipping norms between countries, for instance with regard to the frequency of tipping and the proportion of tips in relation to bill size. The paper discusses these findings in the context of employment conditions and social welfare effects, comparing the European Union minimum wage model to gratuity-depending income approaches in the USA. Results have importance for the hospitality sector and policymakers concerned with social welfare
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Introduction: Acker's description of the ideal worker as “unencumbered with caring responsibilities and ready to devote his life to his job” (Acker, 2006a, p. 69) becomes haunting when considered in the context of a global health crisis. When, on a global scale, human life became more vulnerable, care needs increased exponentially, and organizations demanded intense effort in their clamor for survival. Acker's (1990, 1998) ideal worker concept has captured the intellectual imagination of contributors to Gender, Work and Organization (GWO) for decades (Adkins, 2019; Pocock, 2005; Pullen et al., 2019). In this Special Issue of GWO we apply the ideal worker concept to the context of the COVID-19 pandemic to expose how implicit ideals about who workers are and what workers do interact with unprecedented organizational crisis management and other large-scale changes in practices and processes
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This white paper is presented by the Ethics Working Group of the uNLock Consortium This white paper presents findings of the Ethics Working Group, from the conceptual phase of investigation into the ethical issues of the uNLock solution, providing identity management solutions for sharing and presentation of medical COVID-19 credentials (test results) in the context of healthcare institutions. We have provided an outline of direct and indirect stakeholders for the uNLock solution and mapped values, benefits, and harms to the respective stakeholders. The resulting conceptual framework has allowed us to lay down key norms and principles of Self Sovereign Identity (SSI) in the specific context of uNLock solution. We hope that adherence to these norms and principles could serve as a groundwork for anticipatory mitigation of moral risk and hazards stemming from the implementation of uNLock solution and similar solutions. Our findings suggest that even early stage of conceptual investigation in the framework of Value Sensitive Design (VSD), reveals numerous ethical issues. The proposed implementation of the uNLock app in the healthcare context did not proceed further than prototype stage, thus our investigation was limited to the conceptual stage, and did not involve the practical implementation of VSD method involving translation of norms and values into engineering requirements. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that the implementation of VSD method in this context is a promising approach that helps to identify moral conflicts and risks at a very early stage of technological development of SSI solutions. Furthermore, we would like to stress that in the light of our findings it became painfully obvious that hasty implementation of medical credentials system without thorough ethical assessment, risks creating more ethical issues rather than addressing existing ones.
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In order to understand how technical artifacts are attuned to, interacted with, and shaped in various and varied classrooms, it is necessary to construct detailed accounts of the use of particular artifacts in particular classrooms. This paper presents a descriptive account of how a shared workspace was brought into use by a student pair in a face-to-face planning task. A micro-developmental perspective was adopted to describe how the pair established a purposeful connection with this unfamiliar artifact over a relatively short time frame. This appropriation was examined against the background of their regular planning practice. We describe how situational resources present in the classroom—norms, practices, and artifact —frame possible action, and how these possibilities are enacted by the pair. Analysis shows that the association of norms and practices with the technical artifact leads to a contradiction that surfaced as resistance experienced from the artifact. This resistance played an important part in the appropriation process of the pair. It signaled tension in the activity, triggered reflection on the interaction with the artifact, and had a coordinative function. The absence of resistance was equally important. It allowed the pair to transpose or depart from regular procedure without reflection.
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Cancer and its treatments cause significant changes in sexuality that affect the quality of life of both patients and their partners. As these issues are not always discussed with healthcare professionals, cancer patients turn to online health communities to find answers to questions or for emotional support pertaining to sexual issues. By using a discursive psychological perspective, we explore the social actions that participants in online health forums perform when discussing sexuality. Data were collected by entering search terms in the search bars of three online health forums. Our analysis of 213 threads, containing 1,275 posts, provides insight into how participants who present themselves as women with cancer account for their sexual issues and, in doing so, orient to two intertwined norms: Having untroubled sex is part of a couple’s relationship, and male partners are entitled to having untroubled sex. We discuss the potential harmful consequences of orienting to norms related to sexual behaviour. Yet, our findings can also help healthcare professionals in broaching the topic of sexuality in conversations with cancer patients. The insights of this study into what female patients themselves treat as relevant can assist health professionals in better aligning with patients’ interactional concerns.
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This study analyses how the social construction of integrity takes place within the context of football in the Netherlands. Combining a contextual approach to sports integrity with the analytic lens of sensemaking, this qualitative multi-method case study analyses – in one extreme case in Dutch youth amateur football – why and when the ‘incident’ was perceived as an ‘integrity issue’, and how the meaning of (the) integrity (issue) was socially constructed by (interactions between) stakeholders involved in the case. Our findings show why, when, and how moral norms and values are (not) debated and at stake, and that the social construction of sports integrity is intertwined with the institutional context and the role of secondary stakeholders. It provides insights that can help sports organizations to identify risks in their moral sports culure and to develop measures or policies to safeguard integrity in sport.
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