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This study aims to identify integrated marketing communication (IMC) antecedents and the consequences of planned brand identity in the context of higher education, and empirically test a number of hypotheses related to the constructs of these antecedents and consequences.

A model of the IMC antecedents and consequences of planned brand identity was tested in a survey conducted among stakeholders in two London-based universities. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to gain insight into the various influences and relationships.

The study identifies and confirms key constructs in planned brand identity. IMC antecedents of planned brand identity, such as brand elements, service attributes, public relations and place/country of origin, were found to positively influence the planned brand identity consequences of awareness, image and reputation. However, websites, social media, advertising and direct marketing were not found to have significant influence.

The focus on two UK universities limits the generalisability of the findings. Future research should be conducted in other country settings to test the relationships identified in the present study. Also, future research may build on the study’s findings by investigating the attitudinal and behavioural consequences of brand identification in the higher education context.

Professionals responsible for universities’ promotional and branding activities need to evaluate the relative contributions of the IMC antecedents of planned brand identity. Brand elements such as design, colour and name, for example, should be reviewed to determine whether modifications are required in different international markets. The increasing prevalence of social media, one of the key antecedents of brand awareness, offers opportunities for universities to engage in brand co-creation by interacting with past, present and future students on relevant digital platforms. Finally, the place/country-of-origin cue is of particular relevance to institutions of higher education given the increasing numbers of students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels who are choosing to study abroad (Melewar and Akel, 2005). The attraction of the UK as a country to study in, or the appeal of individual cities such as London, should be fully integrated into universities’ IMC strategies.

The study makes two main contributions. First is the theoretical contribution by identifying the core IMC antecedents and consequences of planned brand identity for universities and from this extrapolate key directions for future research. Second it is indicated that a number of managerial implications are designed to assist in the formulation of improved professional practice.

This study aims to introduce the DoraHand, and the basic capability and performance have been verified in this paper. Besides the idea of sharing modular design and sensor design, the authors want to deliver an affordable and practical dexterous hand to the research area to contribute to the robotic manipulation area.

This paper introduced the DoraHand, a novel scalable and practical modular dexterous hand, which, adopting modular finger and palm design, fully actuated joint and tactile sensors, can improve the dexterity for robotic manipulation and lower the complexity of maintenance. A series of experiments are delivered to verify the performance of the hand and sensor module.

The parameters of the DoraHand are verified and suitable for the research of robotics manipulation area, the sensing capability has been tested with the static experiment and the slip prediction algorithm. And, the advantage of modular design and extensible interface have been verified by the real application.

The authors continue improving the DoraHand and extend it to more different applications. The authors want to make the DoraHand as a basic research platform in the robotic manipulation area.

The DoraHand has been sent to more than ten different research institutes for different research applications. The authors continue working on this hand for better performance, easier usage and more affordability.

This kind of dexterous hand can help researchers get rid of complex physical issues and pay more attention to the algorithm part; it can help to make robotic manipulation work more popular.

The key design in the DoraHand is the modular finger and sensing module. With the special design in mechanical and electrical parts, the authors build reliable hardware and can support the diversity requirement in the robotic manipulation area. The hand with tactile sensing capability can be used in more research and applications with its extensibility.

A case study about the creation of four scenarios that were used to make sense of the fast-moving pace of COVID-19 and the consequences for New Zealand tourism.

Adapting global visitor economy scenarios, a set of New Zealand tourism scenarios were constructed using a “back of house Shell” method and were supplemented with an expert panel to test the reliability and validity of the scenarios.

The four scenarios constructed were based on two critical uncertainties, namely economic recession and the moral dilemma of the consumer. Four scenarios were portrayed using film and TV titles to help participants visualise the scenarios. Crazy Rich Asians: Recovery represented many of the attributes of tourism in New Zealand prior to COVID-19 i.e. a focus on high value tourists from Asia. Contagion: Survival of the Fittest represented the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic. This Side of Paradise: ReThinking Tourism focused on rebuilding tourism based upon the principles of sustainability. The Colony: Gated Communities represented fortress destinations trying to keep COVID-19 at bay. Each scenario portrayed several features including a unique narrative, tourism, the tourist, vision, strategy and risks. The paper highlighted the trade-offs and conflicts between the scenarios as COVID-19 unfolded in different directions.

In a fluid situation, the paper reminds readers of the value of scenarios as framing devices to understand the fast-moving pace of COVID-19 when New Zealand was in unchartered waters. Thus, this study highlights how a scenario-planning process builds resilience and foresight to help stakeholders and actors make sense of crisis situations.

To date, there are no studies in the literature that provide a comprehensive understanding of the interrelationships between the slenderness ratio and the main design criteria in supertall towers (=300 m). In this paper, this important issue was explored using detailed data collected from 75 cases.

This paper was carried out with a comprehensive literature review including the database of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat(CTBUH) (CTBUH, 2022), peer-reviewed journals, MSc theses and PhD dissertations, conference proceedings, fact sheets, architectural and structural magazines and other Internet sources. In this study, the case study method was also used to gather and consolidate information about supertall towers to analyze the interrelationships. Cases were 75 supertall buildings in various countries [44 from Asia (37 from China), 16 from the Middle East (6 from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates), 11 from the United States of America and 3 from Russia, 1 from the UK].

The paper's findings highlighted as follows: (1) for buildings in the height range of 300–399 m, the slenderness ratio was usually between 7 and 7.9 and megatall towers were frequently built at a slenderness ratio of 10–15; (2) the median slenderness ratio of buildings in the 400–599 m height ranges was around 8.6; (3) a trend towards supertall slender buildings (=8) was observed in Asia, the Middle East and North America; (4) residential, office and mixed-use towers had a median slenderness ratio of over 7.5; (5) all building forms were utilized in the construction of slender towers (>8); (6) the medium slenderness ratio was around 8 for supertall buildings constructed with outriggered frame and tube systems; (7) especially concrete towers reached values pushing the limits of slenderness (>10) and (8) since the number of some supertall building groups (e.g. steel towers) was not sufficient, establishing a scientific relationship between aspect ratio and related design criteria was not possible.

To date, there are no studies in the literature that provide a comprehensive understanding of the interrelationships between the slenderness ratio and the main design criteria in supertall towers (=300 m). This important issue was explored using detailed data collected from 75 cases.

The aim of the study is to provide a comprehensive understanding of interrelations of structural systems and main planning considerations in supertall buildings (≥300 m).

Data were collected from 140 contemporary supertall towers using the case study method to analyze structural systems in the light of the key design considerations to contribute to the creation of more viable supertall building projects.

Central core typology, outriggered frame system, composite material and tapered prismatic and free forms were the most preferred features in supertall building design. Shear walled frame and tube systems occurred mostly in the 300–400 m height range, while outriggered frame systems were in the range of 300–600 m in height. Asia, the Middle East and North America mainly preferred outriggered frame systems, followed by tube systems. Considering the building function and form, the most preferred structural system in each of these groups was outriggered frame system, while mixed-use function stood out in all structural systems except in shear walled frame system.

To date, there has been no comprehensive study in the literature of the interrelations of structural systems and important planning considerations in the design of contemporary supertall towers through a large set of study samples. This critical issue was multidimensionally explored in this paper in light of 140 detailed case studies of supertall buildings around the world.

Unlike conventional aircraft, birds can glide without a vertical tail. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the influence of dihedral angle spanwise distribution on lateral-directional dynamic stability by the simulation, calculation in the development of the bird-inspired aircraft and the flight testing.

The gliding magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) was selected as the study object. The geometric and mass model of the study object were developed. Stability derivatives and moments of inertia were obtained. The lateral-directional stability was assessed under different spanwise distributions of dihedral angle. A bird-inspired aircraft was developed, and a flight test was carried out to verify the analysed results.

The results show that spanwise distribution changing of dihedral angle has influence on the lateral-directional mode stability. All of the analysed configurations have convergent Dutch roll mode and rolling mode. The key role of dihedral angle changing is to achieve a convergent spiral mode. Flight test results show that the bird-inspired aircraft has a well-convergent Dutch roll mode.

The theory that birds can achieve its lateral-directional stability by changing its dihedral angle spanwise distribution may explain the stability mechanism of gliding birds.

This paper helps to improve the understanding of bird gliding stability mechanism and provides bio-inspired solutions in aircraft designing.

The purpose of this paper is to review the barriers in the dissemination of effective smoking cessation treatments and services globally. Offering tobacco users help to stop using tobacco is a key demand reduction measure outlined under Article 14 of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Implementing Article 14 can reap great dividends for the billion plus tobacco users around the world and their families, friends and societies.

A review of the status of the global implementation of Article 14 using available literature on smoking cessation products, services and national guidelines. Discussing innovative approaches being currently explored in South Asia that can lead to faster adoption and implementation of Article 14 globally.

Major gaps remain in cessation products’ availability and resource allocation for cessation services globally. Current licensed products are falling short on delivering and sustaining smoking cessation. Innovation in cessation products and services needs to build on learnings in nicotine pharmacokinetics, behavioural insights from consumer research and tap into 21st century tools such as mobile based apps. National implementation of FCTC’s Article 14 needs to follow guidelines that encourage integration into existing health programmes and health-care practitioners’ (HCPs) upskilling.

Smoking cessation is a desirable health outcome and nicotine replacement products are a means of achieving cessation through tobacco harm reduction. E-cigarettes are sophisticated nicotine replacement products. Innovation is urgently needed to fill the gaps in smoking cessation products and services, and for converting global policy into local practice. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), HCPs’ knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding tobacco use and cessation may hold the key to rapidly scaling up cessation support and delivery to achieve FCTC objectives sooner. Additionally, HCPs can play an important role in offering smoking cessation support in existing national health programmes for TB, cancer screening and maternal and child health. Also, widely prevalent smartphone devices may deliver smoking cessation through telemedicine in LMICs sooner, leapfrogging the hurdles of the existing health-care infrastructure.