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1 – 10 of 22
Article
Publication date: 3 August 2012

Alexander Nock, Udechukwu Ojiako, Tolga Bektas and Max Chipulu

The way and manner in which energy is produced is known to have a significant impact on emissions. For this reason, the UK government has sought to enhance the efficiency of…

Abstract

Purpose

The way and manner in which energy is produced is known to have a significant impact on emissions. For this reason, the UK government has sought to enhance the efficiency of energy production/conversion by focusing on a number of energy production approaches, including Combined Heat and Power (CHP). The purpose of this paper is to describe a practical approach for assessing the feasibility of CHP.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors provide an overview of Combined Heat and Power (CHP); describe a new and easy‐to‐implement feasibility and optimisation model to aid in the installation of CHP; and discuss the practical feasibility issues of CHP through an analysis of existing case studies using the proposed model. The modelling utilises regression models which are created using historical data obtained from public sources.

Findings

Compared against alternatives, the model is shown to be particularly useful, as its functionality is embedded in resource‐intensive prime mover specifications obtained from seven real industrial cases.

Originality/value

The need for such a practical and easy‐to‐use model is driven by the existence of numerous models, which are mainly complex and not necessarily “user‐friendly”. The proposed model is set to provide a practical and user‐friendly model for CHP appraisal that is easy to understand and assess in terms of prime movers such as capital cost, payback, annual financial and CO2 savings.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 23 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 June 2011

Alexander Nock, Udechukwu Ojiako, Tolga Bektas and Max Chipulu

This paper seeks to set out opportunities for the development of a UK‐focused feasibility and sizing model utilising linear programming.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to set out opportunities for the development of a UK‐focused feasibility and sizing model utilising linear programming.

Design/methodology/approach

Optimisation of the model is conducted using integer linear programming developed using Excel Solver.

Findings

When compared with comparable alternatives, the model is shown to be particularly useful as its functionality is embedded in resource intensive prime mover specifications obtained from seven real industrial cases.

Research limitations/implications

The study acknowledges the limitation of utilising sizing data primarily obtained from secondary sources to develop the model.

Originality/value

The practical usefulness of this model is that it has been built using “real”, as opposed to simulated‐data. When compared with comparable alternatives, the model is shown to be articularly useful as its functionality is embedded in resource intensive prime mover specifications obtained from seven real industrial cases.

Details

International Journal of Energy Sector Management, vol. 5 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6220

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 August 2021

Alexander Challinor, Kathryn Naylor and Patrick Verstreken

Self-harm, including death from suicide, remains a significant public health challenge. The prison population is known to be a high-risk group for self-harm and suicide. The…

Abstract

Purpose

Self-harm, including death from suicide, remains a significant public health challenge. The prison population is known to be a high-risk group for self-harm and suicide. The purpose of this study is to explore the trends in the frequency of self-harm over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic within a high-secure hospital. The authors hypothesised that the pandemic could adversely affect the mental health of patients, which could increase the rates of self-harm. Reasons for changes in the frequency of self-harm and the strategies used in response to the pandemic were also investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper encompasses findings from a quality improvement project that investigated self-harming behaviours from February 2020 to February 2021 in a high-secure psychiatric hospital. Incidents of self-harm were recorded based on the hospital’s ward structure. Data was collected on the incidence of self-harm rates over the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on how the pandemic may have had an effect on self-harm.

Findings

This paper found an increase in the incidents of self-harm during the initial stages of the pandemic. The first national lockdown period yielded a rise in self-harm incidents from pre-COVID levels. The frequency of self-harm reduced following the first lockdown and returned to pre-COVID levels. The authors explored the psychological effects of COVID, isolation, interpersonal dynamics and changes in the delivery of care as reasons for these trends.

Practical implications

This study demonstrates the substantial challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic to secure psychiatric services. Having an awareness of how the pandemic can impact on self-harm is important, as it allows the correct balance of restriction of our patients’ liberty to a degree deemed necessary to control the pandemic and the delivery of effective patient care. The key clinical implications include the importance of direct face-to-face patient contact, effective communication, therapeutic interventions and activities, the psychological impact of quarantine and the influence the pandemic can have on an individual’s function of self-harm.

Originality/value

This paper is the first, to the authors’ knowledge, to explore the impact of COVID-19 in a high-security psychiatric hospital. The authors also explore possible explanations for the changes in the trends of self-harm and include the consideration of strategies for improving the prevention and management of self-harm in high-secure settings during a pandemic.

Details

The Journal of Forensic Practice, vol. 23 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-8794

Keywords

Content available

Abstract

Details

Evaluating Scholarship and Research Impact
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-390-2

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2013

Mark H. Chae and Douglas J. Boyle

The purpose of this paper is to explore risk and protective factors associated with suicidal ideation among law enforcement personnel.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore risk and protective factors associated with suicidal ideation among law enforcement personnel.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology employed is based on the “Best Evidence Synthesis” approach, whereby researchers systematically examine and integrate the most empirically sound available research on the topic under investigation.

Findings

Results of studies showed that the interaction of multiple risk factors had a cumulative effect in increasing the risk for suicidal ideation. In total, five prominent aspects of policing were associated with risk for suicidal ideation: organizational stress; critical incident trauma; shift work; relationship problems; and alcohol use and abuse. Studies also indicated that protective factors and preventative measures had stress‐buffering effects which decreased the impact of police stressors.

Research limitations/implications

The model is limited because few studies have employed methodologically‐sound research designs to test risk and protective factors related to police suicide. This conceptual overview may facilitate theory development and provide directions for future research.

Practical implications

Law enforcement agencies which implement programs that assist police personnel in developing active coping styles, identify and access available social support systems, as well as utilize community‐based services may decrease risk for suicidal ideation. This review provides practical applications for law enforcement training, education, and program development.

Originality/value

The paper represents the most recent review of risk and protective factors related to suicidal ideation among police personnel. This integration of research provides police practitioners with an evidence‐based ecological framework that can be applied universally in police management settings.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 36 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 11 February 2019

Stefan Linder

Middle managers’ intrapreneurial actions can be a powerful source of organizational adaptation and strategic renewal. Better understanding what drives such intrapreneurial actions…

Abstract

Middle managers’ intrapreneurial actions can be a powerful source of organizational adaptation and strategic renewal. Better understanding what drives such intrapreneurial actions is important, yet requires data, which allows testing directional claims. For example, whereas autonomy and supportive leadership might be antecedents to such intrapreneurial behavior, it equally seems possible that firms delegate more autonomy to individuals behaving entrepreneurially (rather than being “lazy”) or that senior managers are more inclined to show support for individuals engaging in entrepreneurial action. Lagged or longitudinal survey evidence to test whether autonomy and leadership support are antecedents of intrapreneurship or consequences, is – like for many other questions in research on strategic responsiveness – hard and expensive to collect. Vignette experiments (also called factorial surveys or conjoint studies) may be a way out – especially when combined with cross-sectional evidence. The present chapter illustrates this approach by studying the relations among autonomy, supportive leadership, and intrapreneurship by means of a vignette experiment and a cross-sectional field survey. The findings suggest that autonomy and supportive leadership are indeed antecedents to intrapreneurial behavior and illustrate the value of vignette experiments for research on strategic responsiveness.

Details

Strategic Responsiveness and Adaptive Organizations: New Research Frontiers in International Strategic Management
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78973-011-1

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 February 2024

Jiří Vyhlídal

The purpose of this paper is to test the impact of selected characteristics of jobseekers on employers’ decisions regarding potential hires (direct and probabilistic signals). The…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to test the impact of selected characteristics of jobseekers on employers’ decisions regarding potential hires (direct and probabilistic signals). The main focus of the study is to test the impact of jobseekers’ participation in selected active labour market programmes on employers’ hiring decisions for three positions: unskilled worker, skilled worker and administrative employee. Other characteristics tested include age, gender, presence of children in the household, state of health, experience of short- and long-term unemployment and indebtedness.

Design/methodology/approach

This study analyses data from a representative survey of employers with five or more employees in the Czech Republic. The survey was conducted in December 2020 using stratified random sampling, combining online questionnaires and personal interviews. The study includes 1,040 employers and uses the factorial survey experiment (FSE) design.

Findings

The results of the FSE suggest that the perceived positive impact of completing one of the activation programmes depends on the position for which the candidate is being recruited. While for the unskilled job category, the completion of any of the tested schemes (training, subsidised jobs or public works) had a positive effect; for the skilled job category, only the training and subsidised jobs schemes had a positive effect; and for the administrative job category, public works programme even had a negative effect.

Research limitations/implications

A somewhat limiting factor in the context of this study seems to be the definitions of the positions tested (unskilled and skilled workers and administrative staff). The decision-making of the respondents was somewhat restricted by such broadly defined categories. Typically, studies with FSE designs have a focus on a specific sector of the economy, which allows for a better definition of the positions or jobs under test. The relationship between position and the impact of individual characteristics is clearly a matter for further research.

Practical implications

The results of the study confirm that completion of the activation programme, as well as other candidate characteristics, constitute differentiating signals for employers that influence their hiring decisions. At the same time, there is evidence that the training programme and the subsidised jobs programme are effective in terms of increasing participants’ chances of employment.

Originality/value

The demand side should be included in the evaluation of activation policies. The design of the FSE provides an appropriate way to test the impact of activation measures on the decision-making of employers.

Details

European Journal of Training and Development, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-9012

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Evaluating Scholarship and Research Impact
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-390-2

Book part
Publication date: 24 November 2023

Lyn M. Holley and Azusa Mokuta

Current research about American Indians of all ages is in short supply, yet design and allocation of public services and resources are increasingly guided by ‘evidence’ provided…

Abstract

Current research about American Indians of all ages is in short supply, yet design and allocation of public services and resources are increasingly guided by ‘evidence’ provided by research. The health and wellness of this population is persistently poorer than that of other marginalized populations. American Indian tribes have been beset progressively since the earliest arrival of European settlers by both malevolent and well-intentioned assaults on their cultures and peoples. This long history of cultural and physical genocide continues into the present and undermines the effectiveness of Eurocentric processes for research that have been shaped by values and beliefs antithetical to those of most tribes (e.g. individualism, proprietary ownership, science as the way of knowing). Individual and collective historical trauma is present in all of the more than 500 federally recognized tribes in the United States of America, and a lack of trust further compromises the validity and positive impact of most research. This chapter describes the roots and foundations of flawed and successful research and identifies practical resources and approaches that are valid and beneficial for conducting research with indigenous people. The processes described in this chapter are grounded in the experiences of tribes in the United States of America; however, parallel experiences of indigenous populations that have a continuing legacy of trauma are found in many other countries (such as in Brazil and New Zealand) and the insights and approaches found in this chapter may be applicable to some degree.

Details

Ethics and Integrity in Research with Older People and Service Users
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-422-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 November 2013

Ellen McArthur

– The purpose of this paper is to present historical research on marketing practices in department stores of the 1880-1930 period using primary source records from Australia.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present historical research on marketing practices in department stores of the 1880-1930 period using primary source records from Australia.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws from primary records including retail trade journals, mass circulation newspapers, and other contemporary sources, but mainly from the archives of The Master Retailers' Association (MRA). The MRA was the dominant industry employers' organisation in Australia, and possibly the first retail association of its kind in the Western world. Secondary sources have also been used to supplement the primary records, and to provide context, and cross-cultural comparisons.

Findings

The findings demonstrate the antecedents of a range of marketing practices that today we presume are modern, including sales promotion, trade promotion, direct mail, destination retailing, advertising, and consumer segmentation. This supports other scholars' research into marketing's long history.

Originality/value

This paper contributes original knowledge to the neglected field of Australian marketing history and connects the pioneering practices of retailers to the broader field of marketing. While some outstanding retail histories exist for the USA, UK, and France, the Australian story has remained largely uncovered.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

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