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Waiting for a bus may represent a period of intense exposure to traffic particles in hot and noisy conditions in the street. To lessen the particle load and tackle heat in bus stops a shelter was equipped with an electrostatic precipitator and a three-step adiabatic cooling system capable of dynamically adjust its operation according to actual conditions. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Airbitat Oasis Smart Bus Stop, as the shelter was called, to provide clean and cool air.

The particle exposure experienced in this innovative shelter was contrasted with that in a conventional shelter located right next to it. Mass concentrations of fine particles and black carbon, and particle number concentration (as a proxy of ultrafine particles) were simultaneously measured in both shelters. Air temperature, relative humidity and noise level were also measured.

The new shelter did not perform as expected. It only slightly reduced the abundance of fine particles (−6.5%), but not of ultrafine particles and black carbon. Similarly, it reduced air temperature (−1 °C), but increased relative humidity (3%). Its operation did not generate additional noise.

The shelter's poor performance was presumably due to design flaws induced by a lack of knowledge on traffic particles and fluid dynamics in urban environments. This is an example where harnessing technology without understanding the problem to solve does not work.

It is uncommon to come across case studies like this one in which the performance and effectiveness of urban infrastructure can be assessed under real-life service settings.

This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of the spin-off policy which includes clarity of objectives and criteria, implementation and monitoring and evaluation functions.

The method used is a qualitative method with a theme approach and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Data were obtained from the results of focus group discussions and AHP questionnaires with informants from Indonesian Sharia Insurance Association (AASI), the sharia life and general insurance industry, the Sharia Supervisory Board, the government and regulators.

The results of the research are the effectiveness of the clarity of goals and criteria has not been realized optimally, the effectiveness of increasing profitability has not been realized, and the effectiveness of the monitoring and evaluation functions by the government and regulators has been realized. The supporting factor that has the highest level of importance is the role of the government and regulator.

The limitation of this research is that it has not used a wider range of profitability test tools and projections. The theoretical implication of this research is as a reference for robust research in identifying spin-off success factors because this study uses a mixed method where qualitative methods are used in the study using data from theory and expert informants from three parties: regulatory parties, associations (AASI) and the insurance company (life insurance and general insurance). These results form the basis for compiling a questionnaire with a quantitative method so that the data is become relevant based on theory (design) and practical side.

Practical implication of the study is that the Islamic insurance industry has to prepare to achieve condition of Tabarru funds and the investment reaches 50% of the main insurance fund. AASI, as the sharia insurance industry organization, continues innovating the most suitable form of spin-off that can be achieved by the Sharia business unit and also continues to coordinate with regulators to discuss existing problems. The government and regulators also support the implementation of the spin-off by providing convenience in various aspects such as spin-off period relaxation and government incentive and relaxation to enhance sharia insurance industry.

The contribution of the results of this research for the government and regulatory agencies is as input in setting policies and regulations related to spin-offs, for the industry is expected to be more prepared in terms of resources, commitment and strategy.

The presence of green spaces plays a vital role in promoting urban sustainability. Urban green parks (UGPs) help create sustainable cities while providing fundamental ecological functions. However, rapid urbanization has destroyed crucial green areas in Ranchi City, endangering inhabitants’ health. This study aims to locate current UGPs and predict future UGP sites in Ranchi City, Jharkhand.

It uses geographic information system (GIS) and analytical hierarchical process (AHP) to evaluate potential UGP sites. It involves the active participation of urban communities to ensure that the UGPs are designed to meet dweller’s needs. The site suitability assessment is based on several parameters, including the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), land use and land cover (LULC), population distribution, PM 2.5 levels and the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. The integration of these factors enables an evaluation of potential UGP’s sites.

The findings of this research reveal that 54.39% of the evaluated areas are unsuitable, 15.55% are less suitable, 12.76% are moderately suitable, 11.52% are highly suitable and 5.78% are very highly suitable for UGPs site selection. These results emphasize that the middle and outer regions of Ranchi City are the most favorable locations for establishing UGPs. The NDVI is the most important element in UGP site appropriateness, followed by LULC, population distribution, PM 2.5 levels and the UHI effect.

This study improves the process of integrating AHP and GIS, and UGPs site selection maps help urban planners and decision-makers make better choices for Ranchi City’s sustainability and greenness.

This section begins with the story of Raul, a young homeless man who dwells in the streets of Buenos Aires city. Raul is 25 years old and has four children who live with his former wife. Divorced because of a problem with drinking, he sleeps here, there, and everywhere but prefers bus stations or tourist destinations. In this way, he not only feels safer but also lives on the charity of foreign tourists. Hotels or bus stations offer safe shelter in case of rain or the ruthless winter. Because of the currency exchange gap between pesos and dollars, tourist destinations are targeted by many homeless men in Buenos Aires City. Having said this, he works as “reciclador urbano – urban recycling” a new nomenclature associated with persons who sort trash to collect recyclables. Known as cartoneros (litter-pickers) as well, these persons started to become a part of Buenos Aires city. At first glimpse, many cartoneros never come back to their homes, located in Provincia de Buenos Aires they sleep and live roaming Buenos Aires traversing from one to another point of the city. The opposite is equally true, like Raul, Buenos Aires airport has turned into an unofficial homeless shelter receiving more than 50 persons each night.

In the face of escalating urban populations, the quest for seamless mobility in cities becomes increasingly complex, even in regions where transit options are presumably accessible within the developing world. The imperative to confront urban mobility challenges and forge sustainable cities equipped with adept transportation and traffic management systems cannot be overstated. This study delves into the technological paradigms employed by developed nations and evaluates their pertinence in the current milieu for mitigating urban mobility challenges. Simultaneously, it scrutinizes the deployment of smart city technologies (SCTs) within developing nations, investigating potential technological strides that can be harnessed to achieve sustainable urban transportation. By dissecting the intricacies of SCTs in developing countries, the study aims to unearth viable technological advancements that can be judiciously implemented to foster sustainable urban mobility. It aspires to provide nuanced recommendations for the integration of latent SCTs, unlocking untapped potential to augment the sustainability of urban transportation in the developing world. The research also elucidates strategies geared towards fostering international collaborations which are instrumental in propelling the development of cities characterized by equity and inclusivity. The study underscores the significance of a global alliance in overcoming urban challenges, emphasizing the need for shared knowledge, resources and experiences to propel the evolution of cities towards a more sustainable and equitable future. This research serves as a comprehensive exploration of the intricate interplay between technology, urbanization and international cooperation, offering insights and recommendations pivotal to steering the trajectory of urban development in developing nations.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the metaverse platform in a social context to better understand the future of this tool in tourism cities and how this can help to improve the well-being of residents in both digital and physical scenarios.

In this paper, the current and probable developments in the metaverse, and its use in tourism cities and companies have been investigated. Moreover, this study develops, collects and examines the main metaverse definitions by expert authors and organizations as a methodology to ensure the transparency and credibility of the metaverse analysis.

Findings suggest that the fusion of the metaverse and tourism cities must create residents’ services and experiences in the new MetaTourPolis to help interact and connect citizens with the city’s institutions and companies, as well as make tourism cities more attractive, innovative, environmentally friendly and healthier places to live. Metaverse will bring new changes for residents and tourists, in fact, this virtual platform is already changing and improving the residents’ quality of life and people with disabilities in tourism cities. For instance, the metaverse platform has been implemented in Seoul, Santa Monica and Dubai MetaTourPolis to interact with their residents, including people with disabilities, to resolve bureaucratic and administrative problems, avoiding this group and the rest of the residents travelling by bus or car to the city’s institutions. In addition, several metaverse applications based on softbot tutors or metaverse virtual social centres have been developed to improve blind and impaired people, and elderly people’ quality of life, respectively.

A new concept called “MetaTourPolis” has been included to stage the relationship between tourism cities and the metaverse platform, where the fusion of metaverse and the new tourism polis of the 21st century will be at the service of citizens, tourists and companies, to create more sustainable, efficient, quantitative and environmental tourism cities.

The term non-place was originally coined by French ethnographer Marc Augé to refer to all spaces of anonymity where tradition and history are eradicated. A non-place not only seems to be the result of hyper-mobility but also the opposite of what Augé called “an anthropological place.” The non-place is also a place of no heritage, no history, and disengagement. These spaces of depersonalization and anonymity include bus stations, airports, hotel rooms, and even shopping malls. Going beyond any controversy, he argues convincingly that non-places radically alter the essence of belonging distorting the borders between here-and-there, or us and them. The expansion of globalization has changed not only the epistemological basis of anthropology but also the host–guest encounters. Given the problem in this term, Augé leaves the construction of a place to individual perception, but what is more important the opposite is equally true, since places engender individual rights, non-places assume non-rights. In developing countries and Latin America, non-places are dwelled by persons or citizens who have been debarred from the economic prosperity or the labor marketplace. If this is correct, all these hapless homeless are subject to non-rights. Today, non-place theory bodes well to offer a diagnosis of how these spaces are dwelled by homeless young people globally. Hence, we build a conceptual bridge between Marc Augé and Zygmunt Bauman and his notion of vagabonds/tourists.

Value-based healthcare suggested using patient-reported information to complement the information available in the medical records and administrative healthcare data to provide insights into patients' perceptions of satisfaction, experience and self-reported outcomes. However, little attention has been devoted to questions about factors fostering the use of patient-reported information to create value at the system level.

Action research design is carried out to elicit possible triggers using the case of patient-reported experience and outcome data for breast cancer women along their clinical pathway in the clinical breast network of Tuscany (Italy).

The case shows that communication and engagement of multi-stakeholder representation are needed for making information actionable in a multi-level, multispecialty care pathway organized in a clinical network; moreover, political and managerial support from higher level governance is a stimulus for legitimizing the use for quality improvement. At the organizational level, an external facilitator disclosing and discussing real-world uses of collected data is a trigger to link measures to action. Also, clinical champion(s) and clear goals are key success factors. Nonetheless, resource munificent and dedicated information support tools together with education and learning routines are enabling factors.

Current literature focuses on key factors that impact performance information use often considering unidimensional performance and internal sources of information. The use of patient/user-reported information is not yet well-studied especially in supporting quality improvement in multi-stakeholder governance. The work appears relevant for the implications it carries, especially for policymakers and public sector managers when confronting the gap in patient-reported measures for quality improvement.

This study aims to investigate the effects of standardization, accreditation process on academic freedom and quality learning in higher education institutes (HEIs). In addition, this study explores the mediating effects of academic freedom between standardization, accreditation and learning.

To attain the objective, the study uses the theory of self-determination as its theoretical underpinning. The smart PLS-SEM technique is applied for analyzing data.

The results indicate that the accreditation process has a significant negative influence on faculty academic freedom and quality of learning in the sampled HEIs. There is also a significant mediating effect of academic freedom.

There are a few limitations in this study. First, the study considers the faculty members only as respondents. Second, this study only considers the faculty members of private universities as respondents. In the future, public HEIs could also be included in similar studies. Finally, this research has been done in the context of a developing country.

The findings of the study have pervasive implications for the authorities in HEIs. The authorities of HEIs might capitalize on this evidence in formulating the appropriate policy for their HEIs.

As the accreditation process weakens academic freedom and quality learning, accreditation should not be viewed as an institutional development and quality assurance tool. Rather, accreditation ought to allow for amplifying faculty voices, empowering faculty and protecting their rights.

Quantitative analysis on the subject addressed in the current study is scarce. Therefore, this research can be considered valuable for stakeholders of HEIs.

The case was developed from two 2-h interviews with the Chief Operating Officer of A-Basin, Alan Henceroth; there is no CEO of A-Basin. The second interview was recorded on a Zoom call to provide accuracy of quotations and information. A variety of secondary sources were used in terms of better understanding the current state of the ski industry, as well as its history.

Arapahoe Basin (A-Basin) is a historic, moderately sized, ski area with proximity to metropolitan Denver, Colorado. For over 20 years A-Basin partnered with Vail, allowing skiers to use the Vail Epic Pass, for which A-Basin received some revenue from Vail for each skier visit. The Epic Pass allowed pass holders unlimited days of skiing at A-Basin. More and more skiers were buying the Epic Pass, thus increasing the customer traffic to A-Basin. However, the skier experience was compromised due inadequate parking, long lift lines and crowded restaurants. The renewal of the contract with Vail was coming due, and A-Basin had to consider whether to renew the contract with Vail. The case is framed primarily as a strategic marketing case. The authors use Porter’s five forces model to assess the external environment of A-Basin, and the authors use the resource-based view and the VRIO tool to assess A-Basin’s internal strengths. Both frameworks provide useful analysis in terms of deciding whether to continue A-Basin’s arrangement with Vail or end the contract and pursue a different strategy. In 2019, after consultation with the Canadian parent company Dream, A-Basin made the decision to disassociate itself from the Epic Pass and Vail to restore a quality ski experience for A-Basin’s customers. No other partner had ever left its relationship with Vail. An epilogue details some of A-Basin’s actions, as well as the outcomes for the ski area. Generally A-Basin’s decision produced positive results and solidified its competitive position among competitors. Other ski areas have since adopted a similar strategy as A-Basin. A-Basin’s success is reflected in a pending offer from Alterra, Inc., to purchase the ski area.

The A-Basin case can be used in both undergraduate and graduate strategic (or marketing) management courses. It is probably best considered during the middle of an academic term, as the case requires students to apply many of the theoretical concepts of strategy. One of the best books to enable students to use Porter’s five forces is Understanding Michael Porter by Joan Magretta (Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2012). Magretta was a colleague of Porter for many years and was an Editor of the Harvard Business Review. For a discussion of the VRIN/VRIO concept, see Chapter 4 of Essentials of Strategic Management by Gamble, Peteraf and Thompson (New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2019).