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1 – 10 of 21Paraskevi El Skarpa and Emmanouel Garoufallou
In the digital era individuals are overwhelmed by huge amount of readily available information. The information provided at the time of COVID-19 crisis is increasingly available…
Abstract
Purpose
In the digital era individuals are overwhelmed by huge amount of readily available information. The information provided at the time of COVID-19 crisis is increasingly available. The purpose of this paper was to investigate individuals’ perceived feelings due to the plethora of information during COVID-19 pandemic in Greece in Spring 2020.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted through a Web-based questionnaire survey posted on the Google Forms platform. The questionnaire consisted of closed-ended, seven-point Likert-scale questions. The data collected were subjected to a principal component analysis. The retained principal components (PCs) were subjected to statistical analysis between genders and among age groups and professional status with the nonparametric criteria Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis.
Findings
Responses by 776 individuals were obtained. Seventeen original variables from the questionnaire were summarized into three PCs that explained the 71.7% of total variance: “affective disorders,” “uncertainty issues and inaccurate information worries” and “satisfaction and optimism.” Participants partly agree that the received amount of information on the disease caused them feelings of uncertainty about the future and worries about relatives’ lives, but also satisfaction with developments in the country. Females seem to experience stronger perceived feelings of “affective disorders” (p < 0.001) and reported higher degree of agreement about “uncertainty issues and inaccurate information worries.”
Originality/value
The recorded feelings caused by the volume of available information may have forced people accept the necessary precautionary behavioral changes that had contributed to the Greek success in preventing spread of the disease in Spring 2020.
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This paper aims to provide a living tribute to the leading autoethnographer, Alec Grant.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a living tribute to the leading autoethnographer, Alec Grant.
Design/methodology/approach
Alec provided Jerome with a list of names of people he might approach to write a tribute on his behalf.
Findings
The accounts describe the influence that Alec has had both as an educator and as a trusted colleague for the people approached.
Research limitations/implications
While this is a living tribute, it is about one man and could, therefore, be described as a case study. Some people wonder what can be learned from a single case study. Read on and find out.
Practical implications
Alec has carved out a path for himself. In many senses, he chose “The Road Less Travelled”. He has never shied away from challenging “The System” and defending the rights of the marginalized and socially excluded. It is not a road for the faint-hearted.
Social implications
For systems to change, radical thinkers need to show the way. “Change keeps us safe” (Stuart Bell).
Originality/value
Alec was a well-known and highly respected cognitive behavioural academic practitioner and the author of key textbooks in the field. He then decided to reinvent himself as an autoethnographer. This has brought him into contact with a much more diverse group of people. It has also brought him home to himself.
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Devon Gidley and Amanda J. Lubit
The purpose of this paper is to explore peace protest as a form of institutional work aimed at supporting one institution and disrupting another.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore peace protest as a form of institutional work aimed at supporting one institution and disrupting another.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors utilized walking ethnography (28 miles in 18 h while conducting 25 walking interviews) and digital media analysis (news reports, social media and electronic communication).
Findings
Walking participants engaged in multiple types of institutional work aimed at maintaining the Good Friday Agreement and disrupting partisan violence. The institutional work left no lasting impact on either institution.
Originality/value
The paper conceptualizes two competing institutions and situates the dual institutional work of Lyra's Walk in the post-conflict context of Northern Ireland. The study contributes to understanding formality and multiplicity in institutional work research.
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Amanda Aykanian and Emmy Tiderington
Studies have shown positive housing retention and quality of life outcomes in moving on initiatives (MOIs). However, less is known about how movers’ health service use changes…
Abstract
Purpose
Studies have shown positive housing retention and quality of life outcomes in moving on initiatives (MOIs). However, less is known about how movers’ health service use changes post-move. This paper aims to explore physical and mental health service use over time for participants in New York City’s MOI program.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses data collected at baseline, 12-months post move and 24-months post move to explore patterns in mental and physical health service use and their association with mental and physical health status for participants (N = 41). Health status was measured with the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Survey Instrument.
Findings
Three mental health service use patterns emerged: service use at all time points, inconsistent service use across time points and no service use at any time point. Significant group differences in mental health were found at baseline and 12 months. Two physical health service use patterns emerged: service use at all three time points and inconsistent service use across time points. Significant group differences were found in mental health at 12 and 24 months.
Originality/value
This study showed that physical and mental health service use varied slightly over time for participants, with the majority of service use being for outpatient/non-acute care. The findings also point to possible relationships between service use and mental health status. Positive and negative implications of these findings are framed within the broader context of PSH and MOI goals.
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Maria Vittoria Bufali, Alec Morton and Graham Connelly
Cross-national research on cultural differences can help understand what drives, in differing contexts, mentors' commitment to school-based mentoring programs. This comparative…
Abstract
Purpose
Cross-national research on cultural differences can help understand what drives, in differing contexts, mentors' commitment to school-based mentoring programs. This comparative study aims to explore whether adult volunteers, from Scotland and Italy, experience being mentors of vulnerable youth differently.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from interviews (n = 20) and questionnaires (n = 114) were used to test hypotheses concerning volunteer mentors' perceptions of their role and abilities, as well as motives for participation. According to cross-cultural theories, Scottish mentors should be more likely to identify mentoring with establishing friendly relationships with mentees and promoting youth self-empowerment. They should also be more self-confident and value-driven as volunteers.
Findings
Despite the mixed support for the assumptions concerning how the mentor role is conceived, Scottish mentors were less likely than Italians to doubt their abilities and more driven by other-focused and generative concerns.
Originality/value
The study reveals significant variations in how volunteers from countries featuring different welfare regimes and cultural orientations experience mentoring. The research advances the understanding of how culturally sensitive approaches can foster mentors' engagement.
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Walter Leal Filho, Fernanda Frankenberger Silva, Amanda Salvia, Chris Shiel, Arminda Paço, Elizabeth Price, Luciana Londero Brandli, Izabela Simon Rampasso, Rosley Anholon, Osvaldo Luiz Gonçalves Quelhas and Rudi Wessel Pretorius
This study aims to investigate the main areas in which researchers are focusing their efforts in terms of sustainability in higher education (curriculum, campus greening…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the main areas in which researchers are focusing their efforts in terms of sustainability in higher education (curriculum, campus greening, research, governance or outreach), the format in which this research is performed (in terms of individual or combined efforts) and the primary research focus (in terms of local or global issues).
Design/methodology/approach
Trends on sustainability research were investigated by means of an online survey – the World Survey on Sustainability Publishing and Research in Higher Education, which was disseminated among members of the European School of Sustainability Science and Research and the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme.
Findings
The survey collected responses from 103 researchers across over 40 countries. Three trends emerged: in spite of the intrinsic value of sustainability research in higher education, this area is not as mature as one could expect; the range of themes covered is wide and addresses a variety of areas; and individuals working alone is the most common means of doing research, whereas research at the university, department and faculty level appears to be less common.
Originality/value
The paper outlines some measures via which higher education institutions may be able to take more advantage of the many opportunities sustainability research offers to them.
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Building on the concept of “impact literacy” established in a previous paper from Bayley and Phipps, here we extend the principles of impact literacy in light of further insights…
Abstract
Building on the concept of “impact literacy” established in a previous paper from Bayley and Phipps, here we extend the principles of impact literacy in light of further insights into sector practice. More specifically, we focus on three additions needed in response to the sector-wide growth of impact: (1) differential levels of impact literacy; (2) institutional impact literacy and environment for impact; and (3) issues of ethics and values in research impact. This paper invites the sector to consider the relevance of all dimensions in establishing, maintaining and strengthening impact within the research landscape. We explore implications for individual professional development, institutional capacity building and ethical collaboration to maximise societal benefit.
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Fatemeh Binesh, Amanda Mapel Belarmino, Jean-Pierre van der Rest, Ashok K. Singh and Carola Raab
This study aims to propose a risk-induced game theoretic forecasting model to predict average daily rate (ADR) under COVID-19, using an advanced recurrent neural network.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to propose a risk-induced game theoretic forecasting model to predict average daily rate (ADR) under COVID-19, using an advanced recurrent neural network.
Design/methodology/approach
Using three data sets from upper-midscale hotels in three locations (i.e. urban, interstate and suburb), from January 1, 2018, to August 31, 2020, three long-term, short-term memory (LSTM) models were evaluated against five traditional forecasting models.
Findings
The models proposed in this study outperform traditional methods, such that the simplest LSTM model is more accurate than most of the benchmark models in two of the three tested hotels. In particular, the results show that traditional methods are inefficient in hotels with rapid fluctuations of demand and ADR, as observed during the pandemic. In contrast, LSTM models perform more accurately for these hotels.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited by its use of American data and data from midscale hotels as well as only predicting ADR.
Practical implications
This study produced a reliable, accurate forecasting model considering risk and competitor behavior.
Theoretical implications
This paper extends the application of game theory principles to ADR forecasting and combines it with the concept of risk for forecasting during uncertain times.
Originality/value
This study is the first study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to use actual hotel data from the COVID-19 pandemic to determine an appropriate neural network forecasting method for times of uncertainty. The application of Shapley value and operational risk obtained a game-theoretic property-level model, which fits best.
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