Papers by Sabine McKinnon
A Window to the World: Using Technology to Internationalise Entrepreneurship Education
Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 2015
International Journal of Consumer Studies, 2007
A convenience sample of 27 European Union (EU) citizens and two Romanians residing in the Scottis... more A convenience sample of 27 European Union (EU) citizens and two Romanians residing in the Scottish Central Belt took part in in-depth interviews to explore a wide range of consumer decision-making scenarios which ranged from borrowing and saving to impulse buying and 'value for money' choices. The aim of the research was to identify and assess how well educated young EU consumers perceive the consumer education process and the precise nature of consumption specific skills. Given the focus of the present paper on consumer judgement, the role of values received particular attention. The Schwartz Value Inventory served as a conceptual framework for analysing the responses. The results show that the family in its role as primary creator of values was considered the most important agent in the consumer education process because it establishes a routine pattern of decision making. Further support from social networks in the wider community and real-life experience through trial and error were cited as equally significant for acquiring useful consumer skills. There was consensus that the influence of schools was limited to providing generic citizenship education rather than specific consumer studies classes. The findings of this study point to the need for changing the current focus of consumer education and consumer policy from an emphasis on training the vulnerable consumer to a more inclusive agenda which concentrates on value education for all market players including producers and marketers.
International Journal of Consumer Studies, 2006
part in in-depth interviews where a wide range of consumerrelated issues were explored. These iss... more part in in-depth interviews where a wide range of consumerrelated issues were explored. These issues ranged from specific consumer behaviours and consumer value gained to consumer protection and other aspects of policy. Respondents were postgraduates studying at Scottish universities or young professionals currently working in Scotland. The interviews were structured around a number of key themes that were developed both from the literature and from an indepth pilot study. One of these themes was designed to explore the respondents' attitudes towards saving and borrowing, in particular, consumer credit; and this forms the focus for the current paper. The theme had been developed initially with reference to Hofstede's cultural dimension of 'uncertainty avoidance'. However, it also successfully illuminated some of the other cultural dimensions in Hofstede's typology. As anticipated, respondents tended to benchmark consumer culture in their home country against that of the host country (Scotland). What was surprising was the consensus with which they considered the Scottish/British consumers to be the 'odd ones out'. This observed convergence appears to indicate that historical cultural differences between continental and Anglo-Saxon cultures survive and may be stronger and more sustained than any differences between the post-World War II socialist and market democracies.
Closing the gap: preparing computing students for employment through embedding work-related learning in the taught curriculum
Industry and Higher Education, 2012
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Papers by Sabine McKinnon