Search results for "Focus group"
showing 10 items of 319 documents
Trading off benefits and costs in higher education: A qualitative research with international incoming students
2017
Abstract Globalization has brought new challenges to Higher Education Institutions such as international exchange programs. In this context, the purpose of this work is to analyse students’ value trade-off in their terms abroad. Specifically, a multidimensional framework on value as trade-off is applied: two negative dimensions of sacrifice: monetary (price) and non-monetary (time and efforts), and three groups of benefits: functional (location, facilities, infrastructure, timetables, etc.), social (relationships with instructors, with other students, networks, etc.), and emotional (having fun while being a student). For that purpose, an exploratory research was undertaken using qualitative…
The value trade-off in higher education service: A qualitative intercultural approach to students’ perceptions
2016
Purpose: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have become a highly competitive market, where consumers (i.e. students) are highly involved in their choices, and managers need to focus on competitive edges. This paper aims to understand the factors that influence international Master students’ choice behaviour and fulfil student expectations of customer value in HEIs. Design/methodology: With qualitative information (five focus groups) collected from international students (of 12 different nationalities) of several universities in Spain, UK and China, the paper investigates the formation of customer value as a trade-off between benefits and costs. This qualitative approach aims first at asse…
Applying the Identity Status Paradigm to Managers’ Moral Identity
2019
We investigated the applicability of the identity status paradigm in identifying different stages of moral identity maturity among managers, focusing on how they solve moral conflicts in the context of work. Researchers conducted two theory-driven studies. Study 1 was based on focus group discussions among 16 managers, while Study 2 was based on open-ended questionnaire items from 180 managers. Both studies supported the hypothesized identity statuses. The status named diffusion included a lack of commitment to moral values and associated with avoiding moral questions at work. In foreclosure, extrinsic (e.g., organizational) values were adopted and applied to personal decision-making. Manag…
The communicative power of an extreme territory – the Italian island of Pantelleria and its passito wine
2018
Purpose This paper aims to examine how Pantelleria’s wineries communicate the extreme territory of Pantelleria through its passito wine and whether this may be a value added for consumers. Specifically examines which dimensions of communication are effectively used by wineries to stimulate, in wine consumers, emotions that link passito wine with the territory of Pantelleria. Design/methodology/approach All websites of wineries producing passito wine in Pantelleria were analyzed using the adaptation, goal-attainment, integration and latent pattern maintenance (AGIL) scheme for measuring communication dimensions. Findings Results suggest that wineries and stakeholders should apply territory-…
Social Capital, Well-Being and Municipality: Salaspils Municipality (Latvia) Case
2016
Abstract During the last three decades, social capital has gained prominence throughout the social sciences. The concepts has been analysed in various manners (from perspectives of economics, political sciences, sociology, anthropology etc.) providing wide range of theoretical conceptualizations. The aim of paper is to analyse the relation of social capital and possibility to improve the well-being of the municipality’s citizens using co-responsibility approach. In order to achieve the aim, the tasks are formulated as follows: 1) to review theoretical background for concept of social capital and subjective well-being, 2) to analyse the factors of social capital at local level, and 3) to use…
Sustainability focused decision-making in building renovation
2017
Abstract An overview of recent research related to building renovation has revealed that efforts to date do not address sustainability issues comprehensively. The question then arises in regard to the holistic sustainability objectives within building renovation context. In order to deal with this question, the research adopts a multi-dimensional approach involving literature review, exploration of existing assessment methods and methodologies, individual and focus group interviews, and application of Soft Systems Methodologies (SSM) with Value Focused Thinking (VFT). In doing so, appropriate data about sustainability objectives have been collected and structured, and subsequently verified …
Study of product repositioning for the Marsala Vergine DOC wine
2017
Italian production of wine is very diversified and Sicily is one of the major regions with regards to quality and quantity of wine. The Marsala is the oldest fortified Sicilian wine, which is very valuable because of its organoleptic qualities and its production process. Marsala wine has been gaining for over a century in the Italian and foreign market, but, after a century of fame, it entered a long phase of decline because of inappropriate producers' decisions and new competitors. The objective of this study is to investigate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and treats of Marsala Vergine DOC wine for repositioning the product in the market. The focus group and factor analysis were car…
The teaching of the Valencian language and linguistic prejudices. A case study in a secondary school in Plana Utiel-Requena
2020
[EN] The present research deals with the question of the teaching of Valencian in the Spanish-speaking areas where the LUEV (1983) is in force, which determines the possibility of exemption from the subject of Valencian. Specifically, we approach the question of the beliefs and social representations on the language and its teaching from a case study carried out in a secondary school of the city of Requena. The aim of the study is to identify and differentiate the linguistic attitudes towards the Valencian language in this sociolinguistic context and it is an opportunity to present an educational change. The results of this study respond to the ideas of the students and the native teachers …
Food choice factors in developing countries: The case of Madagascar
2012
International audience; Madagascar, a developing country, suffers from seasonal poverty. Although some natural resources exist, malnutrition problems continue to affect a large proportion of the population especially in rural areas. The main purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of geographical and economical environments on food choice determinants in Madagascar. Focus group discussions and questionnaire surveys were carried out to investigate the representations of the concepts of eating and nutrition in four areas in Madagascar: Antananarivo urban (AU) and rural (AR), in the centre part of Madagascar, and Antsiranana urban (DU) and rural (DR), in the northern coast. In all area…
Using sensory evaluation to fight malnutrition in Madagascar: formulation of a snack rich in essential nutrients
2016
International audience; The aim of this study was to formulate a snack which consumption would contribute to fight against essential nutrientsdeficiencies in Malagasy children. We identified the principal characteristics that would make a food adopted by the Malagasypopulation, using focus groups and questionnaires. Based on households’ food beliefs and practices, specifications were definedto formulate products associating cassava roots and MO leaf powder that would be accepted by the consumers. Four cassavabased snacks were proposed, which varied in MO and sucrose quantities. Hedonic and choice tests were performed with children,which showed that children preferred the sweet product with …