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This paper aims to improve the computational efficiency of higher-order accurate Noye–Hayman [NH (9,9)] implicit finite difference scheme for the solution of electromagnetic scattering problems in tunnel environments.

The proposed method consists of two major steps: First, the higher-order NH (9,9) scheme is numerically discretized using the finite-difference method. The second step is to use an algorithm based on hierarchical interpolative factorization (HIF) to accelerate the solution of this scheme.

It is observed that the simulation results obtained from the numerical tests illustrate very high accuracy of the NH (9,9) method in typical tunnel environments. HIF algorithm makes the NH (9,9) method computationally efficient for two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) problems. The proposed method could help in reducing the computational cost of the NH (9,9) method very close to O(n) usual O(n3) for a full matrix.

For simplicity, in this study, perfect electric conductor boundary conditions are considered. Future research may also include the utilization of meteorological techniques, including the effects of backward traveling waves, and make comparisons with the experimental data.

This study is directly applicable to typical problems in the field of tunnel propagation modeling for both national commercial and military applications.

By 2030, one in six people in the world will be aged 60 years or over. As the average age of population increases, governments are increasingly called upon to implement policies to address the needs and interests of older people, including those related to housing, employment, health care, social protection, and other forms of intergenerational solidarity. Public libraries, as trusted community hubs, have the opportunity to serve as an environment for reflection and dialogue on age and aging. In this chapter, the authors reflect on the broader contexts and social trends that are shaping older adults’ engagement with public libraries and identify those older adults-focused public library practices that align with specific UN Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being, Goal 4: Quality Education, Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, Goal 10: Reduce Inequalities, and Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. While public libraries are already meeting many facets of UN Sustainable Development Goals, to ensure that libraries can responsively meet older adults’ changing needs and expectations, the authors conclude with suggestions to enhance public libraries’ cross-sector coordination for maximum reach and impact on older patrons’ everyday lives.

January 2016 saw the final release of Numinous Games’ crowdfunded linear adventure game That Dragon, Cancer. An impactful independent title which subverts many of gaming’s traditional and valued norms. In less than two hours of abstracted adventure, players are transported through a series of vignettes documenting one family’s struggle with cancer, and the battle faced by their terminally ill child, Joel. Digital memorialisation has been documented by scholars since the late 1990s. This has come in the form of sites specifically created for memorialisation, social networking sites repurposed by their users for memorialisation (MySpace and more recently Facebook), and online virtual worlds (Second Life and World of Warcraft). However, within That Dragon, Cancer the productive nature of grief has created and envisioned a gaming experience purpose-built for memorialisation. This chapter begins by documenting memorialisation within virtual environments. From here, the author turns to consider the way in which That Dragon, Cancer provides a purpose-built space for grief, memorialisation and understanding, focussing on key stylistic and mechanic-based decisions undertaken in the games design. Finally, the author considers the way in which That Dragon, Cancer, through the use of crowdfunding in late 2014, transformed from a project memorialising one child to the memorialisation of many across the globe.

For many years the demise of the graduate recruitment scheme has been predicted, some suggesting that dynamic employers want graduates that can take substantial responsibility and contribute to bottom line profitability within months of joining an organisation. Contrary to this view, some “blue chip” (organisation that if invested in, would be considered to be very reliable and safe and among the strongest performers in its sector) employers have retained their “scheme”, believing that hand picked recruits developed in(to) the organisational “mould” are more likely to achieve the medium‐ to long‐term results so desperately sought. This paper demonstrates that one such scheme produces greater career progression among scheme recruits when compared to graduates recruited outside the scheme. Further, this paper demonstrates that one such organisation operating such a scheme actively facilitates the personal development of such scheme entrants to generate enhanced career progression as a consequence of enhanced performance. The paper concludes that scheme practices could be equally applied to non‐scheme recruits to further enhance the overall performance of the organisation.

Bats provide many ecosystem services and have intrinsic value. They also act as host reservoirs for some viruses. Several studies have linked zoonotic diseases to bats, raising questions about the risks bats pose, especially to people living close to bat roosts. Through a series of case studies undertaken in three communities, the purpose of this paper is to explore the various ways in which framings and perceptions of bats can influence a potential spillover of bat-borne viruses to humans in Ghana. It assesses the social, cultural and economic factors that drive human-bat interactions and posits that understanding the socio-economic contexts in which human-bat interactions occur is key to the success of future communication strategies.

Primary data collection methods included participatory landscape mappings, transect walks, focus group discussions and questionnaire surveys.

Perceptions of bats vary and are influenced by personal beliefs, the perceived economic benefits derived from bats and the location of bat roosts. Activities that put people at risk include bat hunting, butchering and consumption of poorly prepared bat meat. Those who live and work close to bat roosts, and bat hunters, for example, are more at risk of bat-borne zoonotic disease spillover. Disease risk perceptions were generally low, with high levels of uncertainty, indicating the need for clearer information about personal protective practices.

The results of the study may well inform future risk communication strategies as well as help in developing effective responses to zoonotic disease risk, disease outbreaks and the conservation of bats in communities.

Graduate development programmes are a well-established strategy for recruiting graduates into the sector at the start of a lifetime public service career. There are indications, however, that public sector careers are becoming less secure and less long term in keeping with overall career trends across all sectors, a trend that has seen the emergence of employment contracts based on employability rather than job security. The purpose of this paper is to explore a graduate development programme offered by a state-based Australian public sector organisation to identify the extent to which it reflects and supports the shift to an employability-based contract from the perspective of programme participants.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 participants from three intakes of a public sector graduate development programme. Data were analysed through identification of first- and second-order themes as well as cross-case comparison.

Findings indicate that the one-year development programme partially supports an employability-based contract. The organisation could not promise ongoing employment and job security but did assist participants to develop skills and competencies for the future through its formal training and development programme. Work unit support for employability was, however, much more variable and depended to a large extent on line managers.

The study was conducted in a single organisation and only included current and past programme participants who were still employed in the public sector.

The success of the programme was largely dependent on job placement and level of line manager support. Addressing these areas through better programme design and management can support the development of future leaders through opportunities for enhanced employability.

The study extends current research on employability by exploring how a public sector organisation provides support for graduates in a developmental programme from a participant perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a selection of papers on the subject of graduate training and development, covering current trends and issues.

The paper outlines the special issue which identifies developments in the field of training for graduates, recruitment, their transition to work, and their continuous development.

The papers discuss various ways that generational differences play in competitiveness and success among graduates and it is argued that “Generation Y” possess very different characteristics from their predecessor generations. Companies have become more wise to recruitment, managing the pool of talent with potential positions in mind.

This paper, a part of the special issue, considers recent developments in the field of graduate recruitment and development.

The purpose of this study is to explore employability skills that employers, university lecturers and graduates value to bring to the workplace, when graduates are applying for entry‐level graduate jobs in the field of computer science in Sri Lanka.

A total of three samples were selected for this exploratory study, namely, graduates, employers, and university lecturers. Three self‐administered survey questionnaires were developed targeting the three groups. In addition to descriptive statistics, paired sample t‐test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and correlation analysis were used for the data analysis.

The findings suggested that there are differences in the priorities given for employability skills by the four groups – male graduates, female graduates, employers, and university lecturers. Further, the findings suggest that employability skills are influenced by the gender of the graduates. Overall, the findings of the study could be used to assist universities, graduates, employers, and career advisers in applying strategic decisions in managing graduates' careers.

Although a considerable amount of the literature addresses employability skills, much of the information is theoretical in nature and offers policy recommendations and prescriptive advice. Further, a majority of the research studies has primarily examined the experiences of a particular higher educational institute where remedial actions were taken to impart employability skills. The paper presents findings of a survey that investigated and compared employability skills that employers, university lecturers and graduates value to bring to the workplace when graduates are applying for entry‐level graduate jobs.

The purpose of this paper is to show how a major public benefit entity in New Zealand uses formal accountability mechanisms and informal reporting to justify its existence. The paper is premised on the view that the accountability relationship for public benefit entities is broader and more complex than the traditional shareholder‐manager relationship in the private sector.

This longitudinal single case study of the Department of Conservation (DOC) spans the period from its establishment in 1987 to June 2006. It involves the detailed examination of the narrative disclosures contained in the annual reports, including the Statement of Service Performance, over the period of the study. A number of controversial items that appeared in the printed media between 1 April 1987 and 30 June 2006 were traced through the annual reports to establish whether DOC used impression management techniques in its annual reports to gain, maintain and repair its organisational legitimacy.

The analysis found that the annual report of a public benefit entity could play an important legitimising role. Using legitimacy theory, it is argued that assertive and defensive impression management techniques were used by DOC to gain, maintain and repair its organisational legitimacy in the light of extensive negative media publicity.

This is one of the first studies to examine the relationship between narrative disclosures in annual reports and legitimacy in the public sector. The paper provides a valuable contribution to researchers and practitioners as it extends the understanding of how public benefit entities can make use of the narrative portions of the annual report when pursuing organisational legitimacy.

This paper aims to identify health-care entitlements that exist for asylum seekers with chronic non-communicable disease (CNCD) that promote their health and self-care, and to explore health policies, initiatives and programmes with the potential to foster self-care in this populace.

Narrative review of literature conducted by searching EMBASE, CINAHL, WEB OF SCIENCE and PSYCINFO databases for articles published from 2010 to 2021. Included articles focussed on policies, programmes or initiatives with the potential to promote health in adult asylum seekers residing in high-income countries. Studies inclusive of other migrant groups such as undocumented migrants and those with mental health conditions were excluded. Eleven studies fitting the inclusion criteria were assessed against the study objectives.

Free access to health-care services and pharmaceutical products, free access to food banks and supermarket model food banks, English and cooking lessons, community integration training sessions and culturally competent health-care workers were found to promote health and self-care. There is little research on self-care and health promotion in adult asylum seekers with CNCD. CNCDs represent high burden of disease in asylum seekers but have a low priority in reported research.

This narrative review is the first to explicitly focus on asylum seekers in high-income countries with CNCD, excluding mental health conditions, and to explore initiatives, programmes and policies that enhance health promotion to facilitate self-care in this populace.