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1 – 10 of 95Mick McKeown, Charlotte Byrne, Holly Cade, Jo Harris and Karen Wright
Secure mental health services in one UK region have acted within a network to develop a range of involvement practices. A new quality benchmarking tool has been created to…
Abstract
Purpose
Secure mental health services in one UK region have acted within a network to develop a range of involvement practices. A new quality benchmarking tool has been created to appraise the implementation of these involvement practices. The purpose of this paper is to report upon a qualitative evaluation of this development.
Design/methodology/approach
Staff and service users involved in the co-production of the benchmarking tool were engaged in a series of focus groups and participatory inquiry approaches enacted in the course of scheduled network meetings. Data thus collected was subject to thematic analysis.
Findings
Four distinct themes were identified which were titled: Taking time, taking care; The value not the label; An instrument of the network; and All people working together. These are discussed in relation to recent theorising of co-production.
Research limitations/implications
Effectively, this study represents a case study of developments within one region. As such, the findings may have limited transferability to other contexts.
Practical implications
Staff and service users can work together effectively to the benefit of each other and overall forensic services. The benchmarking tool provides a readymade mechanism to appraise quality improvements.
Social implications
Despite a prevailing culture of competition in wider health-care policy, cooperation leads to enhanced quality.
Originality/value
The benchmarking tool is a unique development of a longstanding involvement network, demonstrating the positive implications for enacting co-production within secure services.
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Therese Ferguson, Dzintra Iliško, Carmel Roofe and Susan Hill
Kaleem Ullah, Irene Lill and Emlyn Witt
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a revolutionary innovation in the construction industry to virtually design and mange projects throughout the building lifecycle. Although…
Abstract
Purpose
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a revolutionary innovation in the construction industry to virtually design and mange projects throughout the building lifecycle. Although Estonia is one of the foremost countries in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, BIM adoption in the Estonian construction industry is still lagging behind other countries. This paper is part of doctoral research that aims to determine the barriers to BIM adoption and develop a framework for effective implementation of BIM in the Estonian construction industry. The purpose of this paper is to examine the status of BIM adoption, BIM benefits and common barriers to BIM adoption in the construction industry worldwide.
Design/Methodology/Approach
The methodology used in this study is a literature review of journal articles, conference proceedings and published reports from various sources.
Findings
This study showed BIM benefits through building lifecycle phases and explored the BIM adoption rate in the construction industry of various countries. Eighteen barriers to BIM adoption were also identified.
Research Limitations/Implications
The study presented is limited to a literature review – some related literature may have been missed.
Practical Implications
The main practical significance of this study is that the findings can be used to inform a further survey to model the barriers to BIM adoption in the Estonian construction industry.
Originality/Value
This study offers information on BIM adoption in the construction industry and will form the basis of further research.
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Jacob Mickelsson, Joep J.G.M. van Haren and Jos G.A.M. Lemmink
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an increasingly important issue for service brands in fast fashion retailing, as consumers' negative impressions about retailers' CSR…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an increasingly important issue for service brands in fast fashion retailing, as consumers' negative impressions about retailers' CSR activities influence brand experience. Consumers' impressions of CSR efforts arise based on agendas communicated through many channels from different sources. The paper unravels the ‘wrinkles’, i.e. possible mismatches in CSR communication around service brands by studying differences between the three main sources of fast fashion brand-related CSR agendas: Autonomous company communication, news media and social media postings by consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use structural topic modeling (STM) to analyze a corpus of texts focusing on the CSR efforts of three major fast fashion service brands over three years. The texts included 89 items of company communication (CSR reports and press releases), 5,351 news media articles about the brands' CSR efforts and 57,377 consumer generated tweets about the brands.
Findings
The STM analysis extracted 26 different CRS-related topics from the texts. Results showed differences in how much the three sources emphasized topics. The brands' own communication puts emphasis on environmental responsibility. News media tended to report on economic issues, treatment of employees and specific CSR-related events. Twitter showed more activity in discussing incident-based and emotionally charged topics.
Research limitations/implications
The results feed into the ongoing discussion about how companies' CSR communication relates to communication in the press and among consumers. The authors highlight themes in the individual topics that are emphasized by the three sources, and discuss how CSR themes emerge in the overall transformative agenda.
Practical implications
The paper highlights how fast fashion service brands can identify and understand different CSR agendas arising around their brand. Insight into such agendas can be used to tailor the brands' communication strategies.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the understanding of the factors behind fashion service brands' CSR reputation, highlighting how the three main sources of CSR reputation (company reports, news and social media) emphasize different types of agendas.
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Deirdre Hogan and Joanne O'Flaherty
Goal 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) explicitly frames education as an enabler of change and a means to achieve all SDGs. This study aims to explore the nature and…
Abstract
Purpose
Goal 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) explicitly frames education as an enabler of change and a means to achieve all SDGs. This study aims to explore the nature and culture of science as an academic discipline and its capacity for the integration of education for sustainable development (ESD).
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing upon interviews with academics working in a Life Sciences Department (n = 11), focus groups with students (n = 21) and observations from lectures, laboratory sessions and field trips, the study advances a number of recommendations for the integration of ESD in Science Education programs.
Findings
Findings point to the nature and structure of scientific knowledge and the culture of science as articulated by study participants. The study provides a number of recommendations for the integration of ESD in Science Education programs including a greater emphasis on inquiry-based learning, enhancing ESD themes in science-related modules to teach for sustainability and adopting a department wide strategy that promotes ESD.
Originality/value
This study argues that ESD practitioners need to be cognizant of the nature and culture of the discipline area – as a particular discipline propagates a specific culture – encapsulating ways of being, thinking, acting and communicating, which can have implications for the integration of ESD.
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Reuel Johnmark Dakung, John Munene, Waswa Balunywa, Joseph Ntayi and Mohammed Ngoma
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of universities in preparing disabled students to become entrepreneurially inclined after graduation with the aim of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of universities in preparing disabled students to become entrepreneurially inclined after graduation with the aim of developing an entrepreneurial inclination (EI) model.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey was employed using 220 disabled universities’ students in the north-central Nigeria. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and structural equation model. All analyses were performed using SPSS version 22 and AMOS version 22.
Findings
The findings buttress the significant position of universities in promotion entrepreneurial spirit. It revealed that the university’s role (UR), entrepreneurship education (EE) and role models (RMs) have a positive influence on disabled students’ EI. Universities that make provisions for entrepreneurship infrastructure, knowledge and RMs to disabled students will boost their EI. Second, the more lecturers and RMs inspire students, method of teaching and demonstrating enthusiasm are applied in the teaching of entrepreneurship, the better it prepares students for entrepreneurial career after graduation.
Research limitations/implications
The study is only restricted to Federal Universities in the North-Central Nigeria. Further research could be conducted to cover other tertiary institutions in North-Central Nigeria. Furthermore, the study employed the cross-sectional approach. A longitudinal approach should be employed to study the trend over a period of at least two years. Finally, the factors identified in triggering EI may not be sufficient enough in explaining the phenomenon. There are other factors that may contribute in influencing EI of the disabled students that were not part of this study.
Practical implications
This study indicates a number of implications for the universities and policy makers. Specifically, EE, UR and RMs make significant contributions to inclination for disabled students. These factors are key for universities in Nigeria to consider in preparing these students to become entrepreneurial graduates. Policy makers and other stakeholders need to develop keen interest in designing entrepreneurship curriculum to accommodate the specific needs of students with disabilities.
Originality/value
This study is the first in Nigeria to empirically test the relationship between UR, EE and EI as well as the moderating effect of RMs among universities’ disabled students.
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Jonathan David Schöps, Christian Reinhardt and Andrea Hemetsberger
Digital markets are increasingly constructed by an interplay between (non)human market actors, i.e. through algorithms, but, simultaneously, fragmented through platformization…
Abstract
Purpose
Digital markets are increasingly constructed by an interplay between (non)human market actors, i.e. through algorithms, but, simultaneously, fragmented through platformization. This study aims to explore how interactional dynamics between (non)human market actors co-codify markets through expressive and networked content across social media platforms.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applies digital methods as cross-platform analysis to analyze two data sets retrieved from YouTube and Instagram using the keywords “sustainable fashion” and #sustainablefashion, respectively.
Findings
The study shows how interactional dynamics between (non)human market actors, co-codify markets across two social media platforms, i.e. YouTube and Instagram. The authors introduce the notion of sticky market webs of connection, illustrating how these dynamics foster cross-platform market codification through relations of exteriority.
Research limitations/implications
Research implications highlight the necessity to account for all involved entities, including digital infrastructure in digital markets and the methodological potential of cross-platform analyses.
Practical implications
Practical implications highlight considerations managers should take into account when designing market communication for digital markets composed of (non)human market actors.
Social implications
Social implications highlight the possible effects of (non)human market co-codification on markets and consumer culture, and corresponding countermeasures.
Originality/value
This study contributes to an increased understanding of digital market dynamics by illuminating interdependent market co-codification dynamics between (non)human market actors, and how these dynamics (de)territorialize digital market assemblages through relations of exteriority across platforms.
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Nawel Lafioune and Michèle St-Jacques
This paper aims to create a new searchable 3D city model to help managers improve their decision-making.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to create a new searchable 3D city model to help managers improve their decision-making.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper identifies data management basics and the key elements used in the new model design; it further analyzes five-city models, presents its findings and proposes analytical trends for the new model. It discusses the concepts underlying existing models, explains the benefit brought by the proposed model and demonstrates its robustness.
Findings
City systems can be interconnected, thanks to data digitization and the integration of new technologies into different management processes. Although there are several 3D city models available, none of those identified in this research can be queried for several sectors.
Research limitations/implications
This model design can only be successfully realized in the presence of a public mandate. Potential limitations include information security risks and political non-acceptance.
Originality/value
The present work proposes a searchable and high performance model having the distinctive capacity to bring together city systems and perform real-time data analysis in order to extract important information needed to guide the city, and in the context of a global vision.
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Keywords
Katrin Kohl, Charles Hopkins, Matthias Barth, Gerd Michelsen, Jana Dlouhá, Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, Zainal Abidin Bin Sanusi and Isabel Toman
Higher education and its leadership are not yet using their potential impact for a sustainable future. This paper aims to focus on UN developments and the long history of…
Abstract
Purpose
Higher education and its leadership are not yet using their potential impact for a sustainable future. This paper aims to focus on UN developments and the long history of university involvement in sustainability might create more interest and understanding that sustainably oriented universities are actually possible and a much stronger role for higher education is needed when nations are discussing their future.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature review with a focus on international treaties and declarations on the UN level and international university networks, literature review of the background and potential of the whole-institution approach and the need/suggestions for further research, also to measure advancement.
Findings
History shows a strong engagement of higher education with sustainability from its beginnings. There have been strong calls/offers from within university networks to take a crucial role in moving towards sustainable development that involves more than teaching about sustainability. The international community calls for higher education to be involved in policymaking rather than simply implementation, have been limited and the full potential of higher education institutions using all opportunities such as being living labs for sustainability has not as yet been realized. Currently, calls for engagement are often still limited to training and providing research when scientific evidence is wanted.
Research limitations/implications
Literature review focused on UN level treaties/declarations English- and German-language review national developments limited to samples of members of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 subcluster in the Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD) Global Cluster by the International Association of Universities (IAU).
Practical implications
Guidance for university leaders and other stakeholders to become aware of and consider a whole-institution approach. Practitioner relevance as countries is encouraged to embed UN recommendations, treaties and declarations. Defining opportunities for further research. Presenting the HESD Cluster by the IAU as a sample for new approaches of higher education to interact with the SDGs.
Social implications
Strengthening the role of higher education in the pursuit of a better future would focus on science and research as a neutral basis for decision-making and policy development. Sustainability embedded in all streams of university can help universities to be a practical example of the possibilities of sustainability at work.
Originality/value
Composition of authors with UN background and involvement. Focus on UN treaties/declarations and guidance for academics and practitioners in leadership on adopted UN and other international documents. Summarizing the background of the whole-institution approach as a genuine development over time but including limitations and implications for future roles for higher education leadership. IAU SDG 4 Subcluster is unique in its own approach and with its connections to a global network of higher education institutions and UNESCO.
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Jan Bröchner, Carolina Camén, Henrik Eriksson and Rickard Garvare
The purpose of this paper is to assess the applicability of care quality concepts as contract award criteria for public procurement of health and social care, using the case of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the applicability of care quality concepts as contract award criteria for public procurement of health and social care, using the case of Sweden.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a literature review, European and Swedish legal texts, government regulations as well as 26 Swedish court review cases concerning care procurement have been analysed.
Findings
Methods used for assessing care quality are seldom useful for predicting the quality to be delivered by a potential contractor. Legal principles of transparency and equal treatment of tenderers make it necessary to apply strict requirements for verification.
Research limitations/implications
Results refer primarily to a Swedish context but could be applicable throughout the EU. Further studies of relations between award criteria and public/private collaborative practices for improving care quality during contractual periods are desirable.
Practical implications
Local and regional procurement officials should benefit from a better understanding of how quality criteria should be designed and applied to the award procedures for care contracts. Care providers in the private sector would also be able to develop their quality strategies and present their abilities more efficiently when tendering for public contracts.
Social implications
Issues of quality of health and social care are of obvious importance for social sustainability. Public awareness of care quality problems is evident and often a cause of media concern.
Originality/value
This investigation pinpoints the difference between traditional care quality thinking and the legal principles underlying contract award in public procurement of care services.
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