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The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically affected the fire service: stay-at-home orders and potential exposure hazards disrupted standard fire service operations and incident patterns. The ability to predict incident volume during such disruptions is crucial for dynamic and efficient staff allocation planning. This work proposes a model to quantify the relationship between the increase in “residential mobility” (i.e. time spent at home) due to COVID-19 and fire and emergency medical services (EMS) call volume at the onset of the pandemic (February – May 2020). Understanding this relationship is beneficial should mobility disruptions of this scale occur again.

The analysis was run on 56 fire departments that subscribe to the National Fire Operations Reporting System (NFORS). This platform enables fire departments to report and visualize operational data. The model consists of a Bayesian hierarchical model. Text comments reported by first responders were also analyzed to provide additional context for the types of incidents that drive the model’s results.

Overall, a 1% increase in residential mobility (i.e. time spent at home) was associated with a 1.43% and 0.46% drop in EMS and fire call volume, respectively. Around 89% and 21% of departments had a significant decrease in EMS and fire call volume, respectively, as time spent at home increased.

A few papers have investigated the impact of COVID-19 on fire incidents in a few locations, but none have covered an extensive number of fire departments. Additionally, no studies have investigated the relationship between mobility and fire department call volumes.

This research aims to investigate post-forest fire perceptions of businesses towards the environment as a stakeholder. Through interviews with affected businesses, the authors aim to understand whether disasters prompt sustainability prioritisation beyond legal or market demands, shedding light on potential shifts in environmental attitudes and decision-making processes.

The authors used qualitative methods to investigate post-disaster shifts in environmental perceptions. Using site visits, preparatory meetings and semi-structured interviews between October 2017 and April 2021, the authors gained insights into destruction, recovery efforts and stakeholder perspectives. Content analysis provided valuable decision-making insights, particularly in understanding the landscape dominated by SMEs reliant on short-term strategies.

Interviews revealed varied perspectives on stakeholder recognition, especially concerning the natural environment. Although some managers promptly acknowledged stakeholder groups, the recognition of the natural environment as one varied. Concerning the natural environment as a stakeholder, responses ranged from ecological acknowledgment to denying its stakeholder status. Despite differing views, many agreed on the forest's importance, especially for resource-reliant industries. The findings suggest that although many decision makers verbally acknowledge the natural environment as a stakeholder, their actions reveal the opposite.

The limitations are the COVID-19 pandemic in the data research phase. The methodology applied (qualitative) can be a limitation in itself and the authors recommend further research, applying mixed or quantitative methods. The research covers one event in one country. It is relevant to test our questions and conclusions in other countries/after other natural disasters. Incorporating other stakeholders' views and exploring alternative theories could enhance understanding and challenge existing results.

This study holds practical implications for understanding the relationship between organisations and the natural environment, particularly in recognising it as a stakeholder. By acknowledging the environment as a stakeholder, organisations can mitigate the effects of future natural disasters, as well as reducing their environmental footprints. Implementing these insights can lead to more informed decision-making processes and contribute to more effective resources and stakeholder management.

Recognizing the environment as a stakeholder fosters environmental consciousness and community engagement. Addressing the natural environment as such enhances the ownership and responsibility of the surrounding natural environment.

The study's originality lies in its exploration of organisational responses to natural disasters, particularly in recognizing the environment as a stakeholder. It offers unique insights into decision-making processes and attitudes towards environmental responsibility, contributing to advancing understanding and informing strategies for sustainable disaster management on a global scale.

This study was conducted to analyse the socio-ecological problems faced by the Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary and understand its potential and challenges for developing ecotourism following Triple Bottom Line (TBL) principles. The study also benchmarked best ecotourism practices across the globe to create an ecotourism plan that would provide alternative livelihood and help in sustainable management of the area by reducing poverty, dependency on forests and biodiversity protection.

Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary was chosen because this area has several socio-ecological crises with limited livelihood options, and there is an urgent need for alternative livelihood opportunities in the form of ecotourism. The study followed an ethnographic approach through observation, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews. Content and thematic analysis was conducted through Atlas Ti9.0 software for data analysis. Subsequently, benchmarking best ecotourism practices through a literature review was done to develop an ecotourism action plan.

The First finding was related to the study area divided into three themes: problems, potential for ecotourism development, and challenges for ecotourism development. The second finding was related to benchmarking best practices and suggesting an action plan.

This work studied an area not sufficiently acknowledged by academicians and policymakers concerning ecotourism development. The work also benchmarks the best practices for ecotourism and proposes a sight-specific ecotourism action plan in accordance with TBL.

This study examines the preparedness and responsiveness of Malaysian academic librarians in handling disruptions in library services during a disaster.

This qualitative approach involved semi-structured interviews with decision-makers, chief librarians and library managers from five selected public universities.

Thematic and qualitative data analysis produced several key themes based on (1) disaster preparedness involving policies, plans, asset protection, risk management, coordination of disaster management and preparative measures; and (2) disaster response involving strategies for information and communication access, community engagement, emergency response teams and procedures, and resource availability.

The findings are expected to be useful for policymakers in formulating policies and guidelines for library disaster management plans.

The interruptions of academic library services during a disaster may result in the disruption of the information sources and social information networks of students, academics and researchers alike. Effective disaster management is also the library’s responsibility to protect collections that belong to society at large.

This is one of the first attempts in disaster management research to focus on the preparedness and responses of academic libraries in Malaysia in the face of disasters. Therefore, the results of this study can be used as a baseline for policymakers to prepare policies, guidelines and manuals for management in the event of a disaster.

Applying universal ownership theory and drawing on a multiplecase study design, this study aims to analyze what drives institutional investors to engage with government entities and what challenges they find in the process.

The authors relied on document analysis and conducted 12 semi-structured interviews with representatives from asset owners, asset managers, investor associations and academia.

The authors identify a trend where investors conduct policy engagement to fulfill their fiduciary duty, improve investment risk management and create an enabling environment for sustainable investments. As for engagement challenges, investors report the longer-term horizon, a perceived limited influence toward governments, the need for capacity building for investors and governments, as well as the difficulty in accessing government representatives.

This research contributes to filling a gap in the literature on this new form of investor activism, as a growing number of investors engage with sovereign entities on environmental, social and governance issues.

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive study on building, fire and evacuation, so as to effectively improve the efficiency of building fire evacuation and the management level of fire evacuation site. Make up for the difficulties of BIM technology in effectively connecting building information and fire data.

First, this paper establishes a fire model and an evacuation model based on BIM information. Then, the safety index (SI) is introduced as a comprehensive index, and the IRI is established by integrating the SI function to evaluate the safety of evacuation routes. Based on these two indices, the IRI-based fire evacuation model is established.

This study offers an Improved Risk Index (IRI)-based fire evacuation model, which may achieve effective evacuation in fire scenes. And the model is verified by taking the fire evacuation of a shopping center building as an example.

This paper proposes a fire evacuation principle based on IRI, so that the relevant personnel can comprehensively consider the fire factors and evacuation factors to achieve the optimization of building design, thereby improving the fire safety of buildings.

Consumers often prefer sustainable goods and services but fail to follow through with purchases that reflect these espoused values. The green intention–outcome gap is studied in many contexts but has yet to inform deathcare decisions. Industry reports suggest that most Americans prefer sustainable deathcare options, yet unsustainable corpse dispositions dominate the market. The purpose of this paper is to understand how history informs this phenonea.

This study looks to the past – using historical narrative analysis of deathcare trends and influential intermediaries – to understand the future of sustainable deathcare and the prospective role that marketers can play in bridging the gap between decedents’ preferences and survivors’ purchase outcomes.

Historical ritualization, medicalization and commercialization have resulted in the monopolization of traditional deathcare services. Mortuary professionals remain unresponsive to consumer preferences for sustainable alternatives.

Socioeconomic shocks can allow humanity to reflect and transition from consumerism to sustainability. COVID-19 has led to greater awareness of self-mortality, and death has become less taboo. The slow market penetration of sustainable deathcare services suggests a lack of communication between a decedent and their survivors. Marketing scholars need to help marketing practitioners bridge the preference-outcome gap.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is amongst the first to examine how history informs the sustainable action–outcome gap for deathcare preferences in a post-COVID environment and the role that marketers can play in perpetuating change.

This study aims to explore AI’s potential impact on the broader landscape of higher education in Tanzania. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion of AI’s potential to transform higher education and highlights the ethical considerations and challenges that must be addressed to ensure its successful implementation. This study informs future research and policy decisions in education and technology by providing a detailed understanding of AI’s perceived benefits and challenges in higher education.

A mixed-methods approach was used, which involves collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data to understand the research problem comprehensively. This approach allowed data triangulation and led to a more robust and detailed understanding of this study.

In this study, it was discovered that enhanced assessment, time-saving, personalized learning, improved accessibility and detecting cheating are the perceived benefits of AI as a tool for enhancing learning in higher education, while cost and infrastructure, academic misconduct, data privacy and security, bias and ethical concerns and lack of human interaction are the perceived challenges of AI as a tool for enhancing learning in higher education. Further, it was revealed that students are more accepting of using AI tools in the classroom because they think they are more effective and engaging. On the other hand, faculty were more cautious and skeptical about employing AI tools in the classroom because they worried about how it would affect their teaching methods and job security.

The data collection was not conducted face-to-face. To fully capture respondents’ emotional responses, feelings, facial expressions, reactions, or body language was challenging. However, a sufficient number of individuals who participated were very cooperative, and their knowledge was very beneficial in understanding the topic.

A unique view of this study is a clear understanding of the perceived benefits and challenges of using AI as a tool for enhancing learning in higher education, as well as the variations in these perceptions among students and faculty. By examining the perspectives of both groups, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of the complex role of AI in higher education. Understanding the broader implications of AI in higher education can inform policy decisions and ensure that AI is used responsibly and ethically.

The current study aims to examine if the internal marketing and employees’ personal traits can predict their green innovative behavior at the workplace.

A survey was conducted with 683 frontline employees working in four- and five-star hotels in Serbia. Zero-order bivariate correlations among variables and linear multiple regression were conducted to predict green innovative behavior based on internal marketing, personality traits and psychological capital. Binary genetic algorithms were used to segregate the subset of predictors that would be most suitable to describe variance in the outcome.

The results showed that internal communication, incentive and reward systems, work support, work environment, openness and creative self-efficacy were the most important predictors of almost all the phases of green innovative behavior.

The research showed that a multidimensional approach in analyzing green innovative behavior is necessary as some factors can be significant or not so significant predictors. Acknowledging that innovation is a multistage process, entailing distinct activities and requiring varied individual behaviors to accomplish each task, amplifies the importance of this inquiry. Employees’ personal characteristics have direct impact on green innovative behavior in hospitality. Further, the results gave an insight into the possible mix of elements of internal marketing that can be used for boosting employees’ green innovative behavior in hospitality. This is important as implementing effective internal marketing practices empowers organizations to motivate employees to invest discretionary efforts.

本研究旨在探讨内部营销和员工个人特质是否能预测他们在工作场所的绿色创新行为。

在塞尔维亚的四星和五星级酒店中, 对683名一线员工进行了调查。在变量之间进行了零阶双变量相关性和线性多元回归, 以预测基于内部营销、个性特质和心理资本的绿色创新行为。使用二元遗传算法(GAs)将适用于描述结果变异性的预测子集进行分离。

结果显示, 内部沟通、激励和奖励制度、工作支持、工作环境、开放性和创造力自效能是几乎所有绿色创新行为阶段的最重要的预测因素。

研究表明, 分析绿色创新行为需要采用多维度的方法, 因为某些因素可能是更或更少决定性的预测因素。承认创新是一个多阶段的过程, 涉及到不同的活动, 并要求采用不同的个体行为来完成每个任务, 这加强了对这一调查的重要性。员工的个人特征直接影响了酒店业的绿色创新行为。此外, 结果揭示了可以用于促进酒店业员工绿色创新行为的内部营销元素可能的混合。这是重要的, 因为实施有效的内部营销实践使组织能够激励员工投入可自由支配的努力。

El presente estudio examina si el marketing interno y los rasgos de personalidad de los empleados pueden predecir su comportamiento innovador ecológico en el lugar de trabajo.

Se realizó una encuesta a 683 empleados de primera línea que trabajan en hoteles de cuatro y cinco estrellas en Serbia. Se llevaron a cabo correlaciones bivariadas de orden cero y regresiones lineales múltiples (LM) para predecir el comportamiento innovador ecológico en función del marketing interno, los rasgos de personalidad y el capital psicológico. Se utilizaron algoritmos genéticos binarios (AGs) para segregar el subconjunto de predictores más adecuado para describir la variabilidad en el resultado.

Los resultados mostraron que la comunicación interna, los sistemas de incentivos y recompensas, el apoyo en el trabajo, el entorno laboral, la apertura y la autoeficacia creativa eran los predictores más importantes en casi todas las fases del comportamiento innovador ecológico.

La investigación demostró que es necesario un enfoque multidimensional para analizar el comportamiento innovador ecológico, ya que algunos factores pueden o no ser predictores significativos. Reconocer que la innovación es un proceso de múltiples etapas, que implica actividades distintas y requiere comportamientos individuales variados para realizar cada tarea, amplifica la importancia de esta investigación. Las características personales de los empleados influyen directamente en el comportamiento innovador ecológico en la industria hotelera. Además, los resultados ofrecen una visión de la posible combinación de elementos de marketing interno que se pueden utilizar para impulsar el comportamiento innovador ecológico de los empleados en la hotelería. Esto es importante ya que la implementación de prácticas eficaces de marketing interno permite a las organizaciones motivar a los empleados para que inviertan esfuerzos discrecionales.

This paper aims to provide scholars with a deep understanding of the field through the identification of strengths and weaknesses in the literature and support decision-makers in the development of new practices in local risk management based on scientific data. The specific question in this review asks: what are the drivers and barriers to local risk management?

This paper provides an overview of the scientific literature produce over the past 20 years of the divers and barriers to local risk management. This paper presents a scoping review of peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2019 inclusively in the fields of public policy and public administration.

This paper makes three main observations regarding the state of the literature. First, this paper finds that scholars mainly focus on single risk and certain regions of the world. Second, there is multiple approached used by the literature to study risk management at the local level. Third, little attention is given to the political context in which local risk management takes place.

This paper is a complete literature review of more than 500 peer-reviewed articles published in academic journals regarding risk prevention policies over the past two decades. This paper analyzed the main findings of the current literature to provide a general view of the scholarship and improve the collective understanding of risk management at the local level by providing future research avenues.