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With this new monograph, Hans Lehmann demonstrates the efficacy of using the Grounded Theory method to study the factors that lead to success – or failure – in the creation and ongoing management of the international information systems (IIS) within global enterprises. He presents three cases of large transnational companies he worked with in this study and describes in detail the steps in the analysis of findings and the incremental conceptualization that finally result in a substantive theory of IIS. There is also a companion website that contains a full set of analysis notes to add a further level of detail. Grounded Theory was developed in the social sciences as a means of recording, analyzing, understanding and then fully explaining what was happening within a given social situation - so that theories could be developed that were firmly grounded in those circumstantial facts. The method is very well-suited to solving information systems problems in any enterprise setting, let alone in those situations peculiar to multi-national enterprises.

Lehmann first explains the need for this type of research, reviews the paucity of existing literature on IIS, then lays out his research problem, methodology, and the basics of Grounded Theory and how it is used in descriptive and exploratory case studies. He then details each of the three cases – the New Zealand Dairy Board; J. Lauritzen Ship Owners, a Danish shipping line; and Panalpina International Forwarders, a Swedish-based freight forwarder –and uncovers their similarities and differences before forming a theory of IIS that, broadly applied, confronts the common problems facing global enterprises no matter their differences. The volume closes with a discussion of the theory and its implications for research and practice.

Practitioners will immediately find much to use here when dealing with global issues, and researchers will have much to work with in developing future projects. Methodologists will also find plenty of seed material for teaching how to develop, conceptualize and refine theoretical constructs. All in all, a cutting-edge addition to the ISIS series.

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This digital document is a journal article from International Journal of Hospitality Management, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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The focus on qualitative research has unfortunately been mainly confined to methods of data collection, neglecting a more significant aspect, namely data analysis. Hospitality and tourism research is no exception to this observation. This is considered to be one of the main reasons why there has been a lower output of qualitative research in hospitality and tourism. In order to elevate the status of and, consequently, use of qualitative research more attention should be shown towards the issue of data analysis. Consequently, the current work aims to make a modest contribution in this direction by thoroughly examining one specific analytic strategy-that of grounded theory-with an application of it to a hospitality study. ... Read more

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Magisterarbeit, die am 31.08.2001 erfolgreich an einer Universität in Deutschland im Fachbereich Sozialwissenschaften eingereicht wurde. Einleitung: Von einem einheitlichen Typus von Vollzeitstudierenden kann heutzutage nicht mehr die Rede sein. Vielmehr haben sich die Studierenden in eine Reihe verschiedener Typen ausdifferenziert, bei denen die Hochschule häufig nicht mehr den ehemals angestammten zentralen Platz in ihrer Lebensführung einnimmt, sondern als ein Lebensbereich unter mehreren angesehen wird. Das Studium konkurriert mit außeruniversitären Bereichen wie der Erwerbsarbeit, familiären und sozialen Verpflichtungen, außeruniversitärem Engagement und privaten Interessen. Gegenüber einem einstigem Fokus auf Studium und dessen Abschluss stehen heutige Studierende vor einer Fülle von Wahlmöglichkeiten, aber auch Belastungen. Leitidee dieser Arbeit war es, möglichst viele verschiedene Strategien, mit denen Studierende im neuen Jahrtausend ihre Studienphase bewältigen aufzudecken, ihre Dispositionen kennen zu lernen sowie unterschiedliche Karrieren zu beleuchten. Um eine möglichst objektive Vorgehensweise zu gewährleisten, wurde sowohl bei der Datenerhebung als auch bei deren Auswertung auf Offenheit und die Möglichkeit der schrittweisen Annäherung an den noch auszumachenden konkreten Forschungsgegenstand Wert gelegt. Aus den durch narrative Interviews gewonnenen Daten wurde über die prozesshafte Vorgehensweise der grounded theory schließlich der Managementverlauf der Studienphase verschiedener Studierendentypen ausgemacht. Anhand dreier exemplarischer Beispiele wird dieser dargestellt, wobei die Theoriegenerierung anhand relevanter empirischer Textstellen illustriert wird. Wie sich abzeichnete, hat sich unabhängig von der noch in vollem Gange befindlichen hochschulpolitischen Diskussion um Studienreformen, Regelstudienzeiten, Studiengebühren etc. an den Hochschulen bereits eine Form von Selbstmanagement Studierender ausgebildet, welches starke Par... ... Read more

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This study is composed of a series of theoretical reflections inspired by empirical research into the ethical dilemmas of life in contradiction-ridden postmodern America. Adopting a phenomenological orientation toward their own situated, lifecourse experience, the authors dedicate chapters to subjects such as hospital birth, special education, Gen X, community-based anti-crime policy, public intellectuals, and mass death. Drawing primarily from the tradition of Frankfurt School critical theory, and inspired in particular by Theodore W. Arno's post-war aphorism, "wrong life cannot be lived rightly", this volume seeks to contribute to the project of an empirical critical theory (sociology) as a postmodern ethic. ... Read more

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International students contribute nearly 12 billion dollars to the U.S. economy, creating a very attractive application pool. As the number of international students continues to grow, it becomes essential to understand their unique cultural and psychological needs as they adapt to a new academic environment. Research on the adaptation process of international students has been primarily quantitative with numeric outcomes, which has proven to be contradictory and inconclusive. The goal of this research project was to capture the subjective experience of international students at one private university to generate common themes and define shared adaptation processes. The findings can inform practitioners of strategies for intervention and outreach, which will help to increase the retention of international students. Faculty and students with diverse backgrounds may also find their own stories within this Grounded Theory study. ... Read more

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This book aims to discover the limits of European integration. To accomplish this the study uses grounded theory methodology to deal with some of the problems with European integration theories and international relations. Furthermore the idea of European Union (EU) is investigated in relation to Kantian and Hegelian thought which again allows a re-assessment of European integration and its limitations. The rationale for the study was provided by the rapidity of change that has taken place over the last fifteen years. As European integration intensified the theories that informed and explained the process became questionable. Theories previously discarded especially neo-functionalism, needed revisitation and re-assessment. This ground-breaking study provides such a re-assessment and through an empirical study reaches conclusions and makes generalisations regarding the process and limitations of European integration. ... Read more

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Truth-telling about life-threatening cancer illness is a controversial matter. Few studies have explored attitudes towards truth-telling among people from migrant communities living in cultures different to their own. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explore the perceptions of white British and British south Asian community workers within the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall as to the factors that influence truth-telling. In-depth, focused interviews were carried out with a sample of 20 key informants. A theoretical model was developed which describes the factors that lead to an imperative for family to act as gate-keepers of information exchange. The model describes the strategies used and the narrower and broader contexts in which they take place. The implications for practice are discussed and directions for further research are highlighted. ... Read more

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The purpose of this paper is to move thinking about qualitative methods and theory development beyond what until now has been an either/or situation: Either researchers begin with a conceptual framework or they do not.

Both approaches originate within the Chicago School of Sociology and have much in common. They are grounded theory and deductive qualitative analysis. In this paper, I show how they work together so that students will have research projects that will satisfy dissertation committees, researchers will have proposals that will be focused and fundable, and researchers will have clear ideas about how to analyze data and write up findings. ... Read more

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The glamour of transvestite fashion is the epitome of 90s style, but the significance of cross-dressing andsex-changing goes much deeper than the annals of fashion. Ekins vividly details the innermost desires and the varied practices of males who wear the clothes of women for the pleasure it gives them (cross-dressers), or who wish to change sex and are actively going about it (sex-changers). This unique and fascinating book transforms an area of study previously dominated by clinical models to look instead at cross-dressing and sex-changing as a highly variable social process. Giving precedence to the processual and ermergent nature of much cross-dressing and sex-changing phenomena, the book traces the phased femaling career path of the 'male femaler' from 'beginning femaling' through to 'consolidating femaling'.Based upon seventeen years of fieldwork, life history work, qualitative analysis, archival work and contact with severalthousand cross-dressers and sex-changers, the book meticulously and systematically develops a theory of 'male femaling'which has major ramifications for both the field of 'transvestism' and 'transsexualism', and for the analysis of sex and gender more generally. Male-Femaling provides social and cultural theorists with a lively case study for the generation of new theory. Social psychologists and sociologists interested in seeing grounded theory applied to a particular case study will be well rewarded. It will be essential reading for students of gender studies who seek to explore theinterrelations between sex, sexuality and gender from the informants' point of view. ... Read more

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Gendering as a Social Process
The term "male femaling" refers to one variant of "transgendering," wherein people adopt aspects of roles (as in appearances, interests, dispositions, and life-styles) associated with people of another gender. Although the topic of males endeavoring to "be female" in one or other respects is one that some people are apt to find disconcerting, this is a unique and valuable study of people's experiences in "gendering" or assuming roles as males and females.
Building on a set of contacts that extend over seventeen years, Richard Ekins has provided a very careful, thoughtful, and insightful account of people's involvements in cross-dressing and sex-changing activities. For people interested in the processes of socialization, identity, relationships, solitary and subcultural involvements, and the like, this is a very worthwhile study. Likewise, those interested in "gender theory" and "the body" as realms of sociological investigation could learn much from this inquiry.
In contrast, too, to those who might approach this subject matter in more prurient manners or with the objective of entertaining others, Ekins approaches this subject matter in academic terms. Thus, he neither promotes nor condemns people's gendering practices, but rather attempts to indicate in direct and open terms just how people actually experience and manage their identities and activities in the process of transgendering. Likewise, while sorting through a variety of medical and psychiatric definitions of transgendering activities, Ekins explicitly adopts a symbolic interactionist (Mead, Blumer) viewpoint. Thus, the emphasis is directly on examining the ways in which people engage particular situations, from their viewpoints. While focusing on those involved in an assortment of transgendering (male femaling) practices, the objective is to learn more about the ways in which human group life is accomplished more generally.
In addition to a careful accounting of people's careers of participation in male femaling activities more specifically, Ekins uses "grounded theory" wherein the emphasis is on comparative analysis (using a method of similarities and differences) to see to what extent and in what ways people's experiences in one setting compares with studies of similar processes (such as developing relationships, acquiring identity, and so forth) in other social arenas. The result is some very astute sociological analysis that addresses matters pertinent to the works of Mead, Blumer, Strauss, Goffman, Lemert, and others in the interactionist community.
This is a clear, very well written book, and an important contribution to the literature. It merits considerable attention on the part of social scientists and others interested in the human condition in all of its manifestations.

A long and difficult journey to finish...
This book is hard-core psychoanalysis stuff. If you are not a therapist, or buying this book for one, you may want to steer clear! I read, identified with, and enjoyed 'True Selves', but I found very little in thisbook to be considered new information. Other than a course lesson in"grounded theory", which I had no intention of recieving, thisbook was a snore-fest. I give it a good rating for it's quality as ateaching text, but again, steer clear if you are not into psychoanalyticthoeries.

Kate ... Read more

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basics of grounded theory analysis: emergence vs. forcing
the book was in excellent form, brand new. thanks very much ... Read more

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Univ. of Victoria, B.C., Canada. Offers a broad coverage of the methods, background, philosophy, and new directions for use of grounded theory in nursing. Explains why grounded theory can be the research method of choice for nurses seeking to understand how people cope with potential or existing health challenges. DNLM: Nursing Research--methods. ... Read more