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Article
Publication date: 22 July 2021

Akponanabofa Henry Oti, Peter Farrell, Fonbeyin Henry Abanda, Paul McMahon, Abdul-Majeed Mahamadu, Dingayo Mzyece, Adeyemi Ayodele Akintola and Nawal Prinja

The relatively low capital cost and contributions to mitigating global warming have favoured the continuous construction and operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) across the…

Abstract

Purpose

The relatively low capital cost and contributions to mitigating global warming have favoured the continuous construction and operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) across the world. One critical phase in the operation of nuclear plants for ensuring the safety and security of radioactive products and by-products is decommissioning. With the advent of digital twinning in the building information modelling (BIM) methodology, efficiency and safety can be improved from context-focus access to regulations pertaining to demolition of structures and the cleaning-up of radioactivity inherent in nuclear stations. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to propose a BIM-driven framework to achieve a more regulation-aware and safer decommissioning of nuclear power plants.

Design/methodology/approach

The framework considers task requirements, and landscape and environmental factors in modelling demolition scenarios that characterise decommissioning processes. The framework integrates decommissioning rules/regulations in a BIM linked non-structured query system to model items and decommissioning tasks, which are implemented based on context-focussed retrieval of decommissioning rules and regulations. The concept’s efficacy is demonstrated using example cases of digitalised NPPs.

Findings

This approach contributes to enhancing improvements in nuclear plant decommissioning with potential for appropriate activity sequencing, risk reduction and ensuring safety.

Originality/value

A BIM-driven framework hinged on querying non-structured databases to provide context-focussed access to nuclear rules and regulations and to aiding decommissioning is new.

Details

Construction Innovation , vol. 22 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 1998

Ali Yakhlef

The aim of this paper is to explore the Internet as a new locus for value creation. Three value‐adding strategies ‐ content, context and infrastructure ‐ are used to analyse three…

2047

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore the Internet as a new locus for value creation. Three value‐adding strategies ‐ content, context and infrastructure ‐ are used to analyse three examples of Internet ventures involving a virtual university, the restaurant business and the music industry. The establishment of a home page on the Internet creates a new context in which providers and consumers of products and services interact and transact more conveniently and cost‐efficiently. It is argued that a new context may enhance the quality of content itself. It is therefore crucial for managers to consider the effect of Internet on all the components of the value proposition, separately and in aggregation.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 36 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 April 2019

Saara Nissinen, Henriikka Vartiainen, Petteri Vanninen and Sinikka Pöllänen

The digital age has provided new possibilities for the connected learning. To better understand these opportunities in the school context, the purpose of this paper is to examine…

Abstract

Purpose

The digital age has provided new possibilities for the connected learning. To better understand these opportunities in the school context, the purpose of this paper is to examine what kinds of learning communities emerge in international learning projects and how tools and technologies support students’ inquiries and peer connections.

Design/methodology/approach

The participants in this study were one Finnish 6th-grade class (n=17) and one American 7th–8th-grade class (n=16) who communicated through blogs and Skype. The main sources of deductive content analysis are transcribed Skype meetings, the students’ digital artifacts and a supplementary e-questionnaire.

Findings

The results of the study indicated that during the academic learning project, a voluntary, friendship-driven peer community emerged. The interaction in the formal contexts focused on sharing the results of local inquiries through Skype and blogs, whereas the friendship-driven community centered on the creation of social bonds through students’ personal devices and social media applications.

Originality/value

The paper models a hybrid learning system that connected academically oriented and friendship-driven participation.

Details

The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, vol. 36 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4880

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 November 2018

Karen Bunning

The purpose of this paper is to debate the complexities of intervening with adults with learning disabilities and support staff in the natural environment and challenges of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to debate the complexities of intervening with adults with learning disabilities and support staff in the natural environment and challenges of evaluating change.

Design/methodology/approach

A critical review of the relevance and amenability of communication partnerships for interventions that promote communication growth in context was carried out. Particular consideration was given to the mechanism for change and implications for research design.

Findings

The communication partnership is a reasonable focus for interventions aiming to promote the communication of adults with learning disabilities. Combining instructional training with in situ coaching appears to provide the most effective approach. Bringing about change within the dynamic context of communication is challenging and may benefit from an open, investigative design.

Originality/value

This paper synthesises the available evidence on intervening in the communication environment and debates the potential of realist evaluation as a context-focused research design.

Details

Tizard Learning Disability Review, vol. 23 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-5474

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 August 2014

Eivind Å. Skille

Purpose – This chapter explores how various types of sports provided by the Sámi sport organisation in Norway (SVL-N) contribute to the construction of Sámi ethnic identity…

Abstract

Purpose – This chapter explores how various types of sports provided by the Sámi sport organisation in Norway (SVL-N) contribute to the construction of Sámi ethnic identity.

Design/methodology/approach – Analysis of policy documents and literature of Sámi sport, and field work into Sami sport contexts were conducted. Based on the theoretical framework of identity as a result of ethnic boundaries, the analysis focuses upon identity work within Sámi contexts, compared with identity work across Sámi and Norwegian contexts.

Findings – Both unique Sami sports, such as reindeer racing and lassoing, and ‘universal sport’, such as football and cross-country skiing, provide opportunities for the construction of ethnic identity. Identity work within Sámi contexts focused on the internal cultural elements, while identity work in universal sports focused on the differences in comparison with Norwegian sport. However, refinements were revealed.

Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of this study is lack of empirical evidence provided by the athletes in Sámi sports.

Originality/value – This chapter provides an overview of Sámi sports and various approaches to ethnic identification through sport. The emphasis is on how a theoretical approach focusing on ethnic boundaries is supplemented by an approach acknowledging the cultural material within specific ethnic contexts.

Details

Native Games: Indigenous Peoples and Sports in the Post-Colonial World
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-592-0

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Mediation and Thinking Development in Schools: Theories and Practices for Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-023-9

Book part
Publication date: 29 July 2013

Ann Parkinson and Richard McBain

This chapter explores the nature of disengagement and the role played by emotions while disentangling the overlapping theories and definitions of both engagement and…

Abstract

This chapter explores the nature of disengagement and the role played by emotions while disentangling the overlapping theories and definitions of both engagement and disengagement. We carried out two related studies exploring engagement and disengagement in 10 large UK public and private sector organisations. Both studies used an interpretive approach involving 75 managers and employees. The chapter suggests that emotions play a mediating role in the process of disengagement and the emotional reaction involved provides a distinction to being ‘not engaged’. It highlights the confusion that different approaches bring to distinguishing engagement and disengagement from other job attitudes.

Details

Individual Sources, Dynamics, and Expressions of Emotion
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-889-1

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 July 2022

Jiawen Cheng, Allan H.K. Yuen and Dickson K.W. Chiu

The popularity of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has attracted worldwide research interest. This study aims to identify and summarize the research foci (e.g. themes, methods…

Abstract

Purpose

The popularity of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has attracted worldwide research interest. This study aims to identify and summarize the research foci (e.g. themes, methods, contexts, etc.) and discuss the new directions and trends of MOOC research in the context of Mainland China.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic review of the published MOOC research papers in Mainland China was conducted with the following inclusion criteria: (1) papers written in English; (2) context focused on Mainland China; and (3) empirical studies. Three main issues were explored with the selected 70 papers: (1) research methods (data collection and analysis); (2) the research foci; and (3) research objects.

Findings

The results found that the major MOOC research in China was quantitative, mostly using one method to collect data. Most studies collected data through the databases of MOOC platforms and survey techniques, which was consistent with the widely used descriptive statistics for data analysis. Learner-focused themes were investigated the most, aligning with the result that learners were the most popular research objects.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that using new technology tools, such as the Big Data approach for learning analytics, may transform traditional MOOC research into new practices. Transdisciplinary research concepts may also provide an alternative evolving model for constructing collaboratively dynamic research frameworks under the changing technologies and paradigms. Meanwhile, educational research traditions, such as qualitative methods, contribute to scaffolding MOOC research for more pragmatic applications.

Originality/value

Most systematic reviews on MOOCs focus on general or regional contexts other than Mainland China, and scant MOOC review is based on published English papers about Mainland China.

Details

Library Hi Tech, vol. 41 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-8831

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 August 2014

Maj-Lis Hörnqvist and Eva Leffler

The purpose of this paper is to uncover the meaning of entrepreneurship in schools and a school leadership which aims to nurture an entrepreneurial attitude. The authors will also…

1453

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to uncover the meaning of entrepreneurship in schools and a school leadership which aims to nurture an entrepreneurial attitude. The authors will also discuss what challenges there could be for principals to lead activities to develop an entrepreneurial attitude to learning and teaching.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper integrates policy documents and scientific material concerning entrepreneurial attitude, leadership and school culture.

Findings

In Sweden as well as internationally there are clear policy intentions for renewal of schoolwork in a more entrepreneurial direction. The most striking challenges for principals are to be enough creative within the boarders set by school authorities when setting vision and goals for the development of their schools to enhance an entrepreneurial attitude, building trust and distributing power among staff, along with having courage to think outside “the box”.

Research limitations/implications

The point of departure is entrepreneurial attitude in education as understood in a Swedish context. International policies as well as research are discussed.

Practical implications

The paper illuminates strategic ways of thinking and acting according to leadership in an entrepreneurial learning school context.

Originality/value

The role of principals as well as the significance of culture in a school context focused on developing an entrepreneurial attitude is quite often discussed in research. School differs from business in that there are more restrictions set by school authorities. The paper shows an undeveloped area which can be useful to identify and problematize challenges for leadership.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 56 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 June 2018

Pascal Jouxtel

The terms rituals and routines are often conflated in everyday speech about teams, which betrays a common ontology. Yet these concepts have long been researched in two segregated…

Abstract

Purpose

The terms rituals and routines are often conflated in everyday speech about teams, which betrays a common ontology. Yet these concepts have long been researched in two segregated currents of thought: one stemming from sociology and anthropology, focused on the quality of togetherness and the other from evolutionary economics, focused on market performance. The common ontology is nevertheless present in the processual nature of rituals and routines, the underlying shared reference to the “structure-action-artifact” triad and the statement that both are sources of change as well as stability. This paper aims to assess the pertinence of a joint approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a historical and contrasted view on the two concepts. A comprehensive field observation of two teams in mid-term organizational change contexts, focused on collective “doings”, is reported. The tentative “binocular lens” was made of two chosen sets of variables, drawn from the theoretical fields of rituals and organizational routines.

Findings

The distinction between rituals and routines in people’s perception, though largely confused, nonetheless reveals the tension between variable and opposing demands for both change and stability from the team side and from the organization side. Their joint action is effective in enhancing the team’s feelings of confidence and control over its own performance and its future within the organization.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is supported by a comparison of only two teams, leaving room for further empirical research about the effects of endogenous rituality and localized routines on autonomy, efficiency and pride.

Originality/value

This paper offers a new theoretical joint view on the two concepts and explores an endogenous potential for organizational change feeding on emotional and symbolic aspects of team work.

Details

Society and Business Review, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5680

Keywords

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