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A closer look at halal brand image: systematic review and future directions
Full text linkPurpose - Halal brands are crucial in driving the growing global Islamic economy. Despite the importance of brand research and the rich brand literature, there has yet to be a comprehensive study of brand image across halal industries. This study aims to systematically review the existing literature on brand image in halal industries to provide a state-of-the-art understanding and identify opportunities in this research area.
Design/methodology/approach - Guided by the Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews protocol and the theories, contexts, characteristics and methods framework, this paper reviews 35 journal articles from the Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases that feature brand image as an underpinning theory in the context of halal economies.
Findings - Since the first study almost a decade ago in 2014, brand image research in halal industries has concentrated on consumers in the Islamic finance sector. Keyword co-occurrence analysis reveals that central research themes in halal brand image include outcomes of trust, satisfaction and loyalty. Most studies are focused on halal industries in Muslim countries. The cognitive operationalization of brand image remains dominant in halal industry studies. There is a lack of studies on the moderators of halal brand image. Several unique antecedents of halal brand image are uncovered in this review that are undetected in traditional brand image studies.
Research limitations/implications - The studies in this review are based on the Scopus and WoS databases, which may be perceived as a study limitation. This paper also only considered English journal articles and studies that focused on brand image in halal industries rather than general industries with Muslim consumers.
Practical implications - To become a global brand, halal brands must effectively build and communicate their brand image. This review provides managers with an appreciation of brand image across different halal industries and a strategic lens on universal drivers and those that are faith/ethics related. The consequences of an effective halal brand image can inform and motivate managerial decisions with multiple stakeholders in brand-building campaigns. Researchers can use the results of this review to guide future multidisciplinary studies and contribute toward the development of this research field.
Originality/value - To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first to comprehensively map the antecedents, dimensions, outcomes and moderators of brand image across halal industries. This study gives managers a strategic understanding of brand image across the halal economy. This review also develops a conceptual model that maps the halal brand image nomological network revealing three key antecedent categories of halal brand image. A research agenda on halal brand image with 18 future research recommendations is introduced to the literature
ConFERNet: a low trainable parameters based novel light-weight convolutive feature extraction recurrent network for high accuracy suspect identification
No full textIn suspect identification systems, facial features play a crucial role in recognising individuals. However, the challenge lies in sustaining the accuracy of the system over a long period of time, ensuring that it remains consistently high, reliable, and effective. This research introduces a novel lightweight model that requires low trainable parameters, a significantly smaller number than pre-trained models, which use millions of trainable parameters. The newly proposed Convolutive Feature Extraction Recurrent Network (ConFERNet) integrates a convolutional neural network and long short-term memory into a single structure to synthesise diverse images. This approach leverages computer graphics techniques to effectively extract facial features. Computer graphics play a pivotal role at various stages of this process, employing techniques such as adaptive histogram equalisation and illumination normalisation to enhance image quality under varying lighting conditions and create diverse training datasets. The LSTM-based convolutive feature-recurrent system demonstrates a notable improvement in accuracy when tested on the Augmented Reality Database (AR-DB), Extended Yale B (E-Yale B), Enhanced Extended Yale B (EE-Yale B), and Extended Cohn-Kanade (CK+) face datasets, achieving accuracy rates of 96.20%, 98.53%, 99.59%, and 99.60%, respectively. These accuracies outperform traditional baseline accuracies of 68.65% for AR-DB, 84.21% for E-Yale B, and 88.37% for CK+, suggesting the potential of this approach in enhancing suspect identification systems. This research contributes to the field by providing an innovative solution through advanced facial image feature extraction, which leads to improved accuracy rates
Megatrends affecting the world of work: Implications for human resource management
No full textPurpose – The purpose of the anthology is to explore how major societal shifts or “megatrends” are impacting the world of work and to provide guidance for human resource management (HRM) professionals.
Design/methodology/approach – The anthology adopts a varied approach encompassing literature reviews, empirical research and conceptual frameworks to offer informed perspectives on identifying and interpreting megatrends’ impact on HRM.
Findings – The synthesis highlights several key impacts on the future of work: the transformative power of technological advancements, particularly AI and other new technologies; the challenges posed by globalization and shifting demographics; the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on work practices; the significant risks of climate change; the negative influence of populism and political polarization on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives; and the need for nuanced HRM approaches to address generational differences.
Research limitations/implications – There is inherent subjectivity in identifying and interpreting megatrends. Individual authors’ perspectives and biases might influence their analyses of megatrends and their recommendations for HRM. The analyses predominantly focus on Western contexts, limiting the generalizability of findings to other geographical regions and cultures.
Practical implications – The anthology encourages a more proactive, adaptable and inclusive approach to HRM, emphasizing the need for strategic foresight, investment in employee development and a focus on building organizational resilience in the face of significant societal changes.
Social implications – The anthology underscores the social responsibility of organizations and policymakers to mitigate negative social consequences arising from megatrends, promoting social justice, equity and the wellbeing of all members of society, particularly those most vulnerable to disruption. The findings highlight a need for societal adaptation and proactive measures to address potential inequities.
Originality/value – The anthology offers a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the significant transformations in the world of work, offering actionable guidance and laying the groundwork for future research into how HRM can successfully adapt to the evolving landscape
Becoming singular: Musical identity construction and maintenance through the lens of identity process theory
Full text linkThis study uses identity process theory to understand the social–psychological processes that motivate individuals to construct an identity in which music, singing, and singing teaching feature prominently. We conducted reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 10 Australian singing teachers (with an average age 60) to understand how they enacted identity principles that motivate identity construction and maintenance. Findings were captured in two themes: (1) ‘It has just been music’: Living a musical life is my destiny; (2) ‘I know my value’: Achieving goals in music and teaching is motivating. Participants’ consistent musical engagement across the lifespan satisfied the identity principles of continuity and positive distinctiveness. The identity principles of self-efficacy and self-esteem were satisfied through the social connections created with peers and through teaching singing; participants derived self-worth from celebrating and contributing to the success of others. Teaching singing was a way to become ‘singular’, that is, distinctive, and distinctively valued by the self and others. This article provides an example of how identity process theory can be applied in musical identities research to uncover new insights into the psychological processes of identity construction, with implications for understanding identity resilience and musical engagement across the lifespan
A documentary analysis of Victorian Government health information assets’ websites to identify availability of documentation for data sharing and reuse in Australia
Full text linkBackground: Health data sharing is important for monitoring diseases, policy and practice, and planning health services. If health data are used for secondary purposes, information needs to be provided to assist in reuse.
Objectives: To review government health information asset websites to ascertain the extent of readily available, explanatory documentation for researcher sharing and reuse of these data.
Method: Documentary analysis was undertaken on selected Victorian Government health information assets’ websites in Australia. Data were obtained on nine information-categories: data custodian; data context; data dictionary; quality controls; data quality; limitations; access process; privacy/confidentiality/security and research requests/outputs. Information-categories were compared by dataset type (administrative or population-health) and by curating organisation (government or other agency). Descriptive statistics were used.
Results: The majority of the 25 websites examined provided information on data custodian (96%) and data context (92%). Two-thirds reported access process (68%) and privacy/confidentiality/security information (64%). Compared with population-health websites, administrative dataset websites were more likely to provide access to a data dictionary (67% vs 50%) and information on quality controls (56% vs 44%), but less likely to provide information on the access process (56% vs 75%) and on research requests/outputs (0% vs 56%, p = 0.024). Compared with government-curated websites, other agency websites were more likely to provide information on research requests/outputs (80% vs 7%, p < 0.001). Conclusion: There is inconsistent explanatory documentation available for researchers for reuse of Victorian Government health datasets. Importantly, there is insufficient information on data quality or dataset limitations. Research-curated dataset websites are significantly more transparent in displaying research requests or outputs
Public social spending, government effectiveness, and economic growth: an empirical investigation
No full textThis paper reports the results of an empirical investigation into the relationships between public social spending, government effectiveness, and economic growth. Using panel data covering 132 developed and developing countries over the 2008 to 2019 period, we find significant and complementary relationships among the variables through fixed effects, system GMM, and instrumental variable estimation. All three components of public social spending, including social security benefits, education expenditure, and health expenditure, have a significant and positive impact on subsequent economic growth. Government effectiveness has a direct growth-enhancing effect as well as a mediating and positive effect on the association between public social expenditures and economic growth. Thus, governments accelerate the positive impact of public social spending on economic growth. These relationships hold for countries at all income levels, while the channels predicting a positive social spending–growth relationship are stronger in high-income countries than lower-income countries. To stimulate inclusive growth, governments must actively design and implement social spending policies. These, however, should be complemented by concomitant efforts to strengthen the quality of public institutions, which exerts a substantial impact on the social spending–growth relationship
Navigating Trust in Mobile Payments: Using Necessary Condition Analysis to Identify Must-Have Factors for User Acceptance
Full text linkDrawing upon the mobile technology acceptance model (MTAM), this study addresses this conspicuous gap by identifying the necessary conditions for fostering trust and usage intention of mobile payment (m-payment) gateways. Data collected from 218 users of mobile-payment from Malaysia were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to identify the should-have factors for perceived trust and intention to use mobile payment gateways. In addition, necessary condition analyses (NCA) are utilized to identify the must-have factors for perceived trust and intention to use mobile payment gateways. Results revealed that other factors of mobile usefulness, perceived security, and user mobility explained perceived trust except for mobile ease of use. In turn, mobile usefulness, user mobility, perceived security, mobile ease of use, and perceived trust established a positive relationship with intention to use. The NCA complemented these results showing that mobile usefulness, mobile ease of use, and user mobility qualified as necessary and sufficient conditions for perceived trust with medium-sized effect and mobile usefulness is qualified as a medium-sized necessary and sufficient condition for intention to use. This is the first few article that extends earlier literature by offering arguments on the different aspects of MTAM. By using NCA, we provide theoretical and methodological evidences, we identify which are the essential ones that enhances trust and usage
The significance of partnerships to future university missions: A systematic literature review
Full text linkn this era of knowledge-intensive and innovation-focused economies, university missions are pivoting. Universities need to consider new and varied ways of working, including developing key partnerships, collaborations, and engagements with various stakeholders and end users. This paper presents an integrative literature review providing insight into the partnerships universities typically embrace to inform future partnership practices. A total of 751 abstracts from peer-reviewed articles published between 2008 and 2018 were examined and categorised, aligning with the pillars of university business: Teaching and Learning, Research, and Service. The review also includes identification of the types of journals partnership research is predominately published in, and the disciplines and fields that dominate research reporting on partnerships. This paper highlights trends in the findings around patterns of partnership engagements in higher education, discussing how funding models, university agendas, and the historical value placed on different disciplines influence the uptake of and worth placed on partnerships
Interactive effects of intrasexual competitiveness, same-sex competition, and physical attractiveness on temporal discounting
Full text linkStudies have shown that men discount the future and prefer immediate-but-smaller over delayed-but-larger rewards when exposed to mating opportunities (e.g., attractive opposite-sex targets) or threats (e.g., same-sex competition) whereas women's discounting in response to similar cues appears mixed, suggesting that mating-motivated discounting is primarily a male phenomenon. Importantly, this line of research has not yet examined the role of individual difference variables as well as how the attractiveness of potential mates and perceptions of competition jointly influence discounting rates. We conducted a novel test of the effect of trait intrasexual competitiveness (ISC) using dating profiles varying on target attractiveness and same-sex competition to observe their interactive effects on participants' discounting. Results showed that when targets were attractive, higher ISC was associated with steeper discounting for both men and women, and this association was stronger when competition was high rather than low. ISC still predicted discounting when targets were low in attractiveness but competition was high; high ISC did not predict discounting only in the low attractiveness and low competition condition. These findings reveal ISC as a factor that leads women to discount as much as men, and that high-ISC individuals may be more responsive to competition than to target attractiveness
Strengthening leadership practices through utilization of employee-directed performance appraisal in higher education
No full textAs a leader and manager in higher education, an important aspect of my role is to lead a team of six nursing academics who plan, prepare, and deliver an online postgraduate degree at a regional Australian university. The academic team are a remote team, residing in geographically dispersed locations of Australia, many who are early career educators in higher education. To inform my practice as a leader and manager of this unique team, and specifically with the aim of increasing understanding performance management (PA) and performance appraisal (PA), a critical analysis of the current literature was undertaken. This critical analysis transpired after being intrigued by the paper titled ‘Performance evaluation will not die, but it should’ by Murphy (2020). After an analysis of the current literature and PA practices implemented in a university setting, findings suggest that not all performance evaluation should die