Search results

21 – 30 of over 37000
Case study
Publication date: 17 March 2021

Melissa S. Prosky

This case study draws on interviews conducted with officials from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), City of Woonsocket and Town of North Smithfield…

Abstract

Research methodology

This case study draws on interviews conducted with officials from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), City of Woonsocket and Town of North Smithfield. Additionally, it pulls from relevant legal documents, recordings and minutes from meetings of the Woonsocket City Council and North Smithfield Town Council, City Council resolutions, state legislation and local press coverage.

Case overview/synopsis

From 2012–2017, the communities of Woonsocket and North Smithfield engaged in a protracted dispute concerning wastewater disposal. For 30 years, the two jurisdictions had maintained a signed service agreement. Following its expiration; however, Woonsocket imposed a new host fee on North Smithfield. Woonsocket needed to upgrade the facility to comply with mandates from the RI DEM. Over the next five years, leaders from both jurisdictions vociferously fought over the new fee. At the same time, leaders within communities experienced their own divisions. This case study highlights the challenges that decision-makers faced in both communities.

Complexity academic level

This case is appropriate for graduate and executive level courses in environmental policy, communication and leadership.

Details

The CASE Journal, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Case Study
ISSN:

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 December 2017

Ian Davison Porter, Diarmaid Lawlor, Neil McInroy, Cathy Parker, Phil Prentice, Leigh Sparks and Gary Warnaby

The purpose of this paper is to present the background to the development of the World Towns’ Framework, developed in June 2016 at the inaugural World Towns Leadership Summit in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the background to the development of the World Towns’ Framework, developed in June 2016 at the inaugural World Towns Leadership Summit in Scotland. The paper also provides an academic underpinning to the four pillars of the agreement; a unique sense of identity and place, economy, leadership and citizenship and environment. It ends with a call to action for practitioners, policymakers and organisations providing support to people in places who want to contribute to the development of the Framework and adopt it.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is divided into four sections. The first section gives the background to the development of the World Towns Framework. The second section publishes the World Towns Framework in its entirety. The third section builds an evidence-base for the components or pillars of the World Towns Framework, based upon work undertaken by the think tanks and academic partners involved in its development. The final section sets out a call for action – explaining how the Framework can be further developed and utilised.

Findings

The paper contains three main contributions. It articulates a new narrative for towns, neighbourhoods and city districts in responding to contemporary urban challenges; it shapes a new urban agenda for these urban places and it asserts the need for new alliances and approaches essential for a strong competitive economy, which is more inclusive of towns and smaller places, combined with a fairer, more equal society.

Research limitations/implications

The evidence base for the research is limited to the work that has been carried out by the academic institutions and think tanks that supported the development of the World Towns’ Framework.

Practical implications

The practical implication of the World Towns Framework are a shared understanding of how towns and smaller places can engage in management, development and marketing practices that will lead to a stronger economy and fairer society.

Social implications

The focus upon place uniqueness and identity, a more equitable economy, a greener and cleaner environment and stronger place leadership and citizenship can lead to better, fairer and more liveable places.

Originality value

This is the first attempt to develop a World Towns Framework to shape urban change outside of cities and metropoles.

Details

Journal of Place Management and Development, vol. 10 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8335

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 March 2017

Fiona Hurd and Suzette Dyer

Communities of work are a phenomenon closely associated with government social and industrial policy, and can be tracked in contemporary examples globally alongside industrial…

Abstract

Purpose

Communities of work are a phenomenon closely associated with government social and industrial policy, and can be tracked in contemporary examples globally alongside industrial development. The purpose of this paper is to explore community identity within a town which was previously single industry, but has since experienced workforce reduction and to a large degree, industry withdrawal.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an inductive approach, the researchers interviewed 32 participants who had resided (past or present) within the instrumental case study town. A thematic analytical framework, drawing on the work of Boje (2007) was employed.

Findings

A significant theme to emerge from the participants was the public assertion of social cohesion and belonging. However, what was interesting, was that beneath this unified exterior, lay accounts of multiple forms of demarcation. Drawing on Benedict Anderson’s (1983) notion of the imagined community, and Bauman’s (2001) identity in globalisation, this contradiction is conceptualised as boundary-making moments of identification and disidentification.

Research limitations/implications

This research is specific to the New Zealand context, although holds many points of interest for the wider international audience. The research provides a broad example of the layering of the collective and individual levels of identity.

Social implications

This research provides a voice to the wider individual, community and societal implications of managerial practices entwined with political decisions. This research encourages managers and educators in our business schools to seek to understand the relationship between the political, corporate, community and individual realms.

Originality/value

This research makes a significant contribution to understandings of the interconnectedness of social policy, industry, and the lived experiences of individuals. Moreover, it contributes to the broader single industry town literature, which previously has focussed on stories of decline from a North American context.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 37 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2020

John M. McGrath

This article proposes a model for benchmarking tourism quality of life (QoL) that is practical and affordable to implement by communities of all sizes. The model is tested on a…

Abstract

Purpose

This article proposes a model for benchmarking tourism quality of life (QoL) that is practical and affordable to implement by communities of all sizes. The model is tested on a group of 30 mountain towns in the Appalachian region of the United States.

Design/methodology/approach

An existing model measuring resident QoL from Roanoke, Virginia, is discussed and a new model for tourist QoL is proposed. Both models employ secondary data from free sources to calculate a practical, affordable and quantifiable QoL index.

Findings

Analysis of the data indicates the Appalachian mountain town with the highest tourist QoL score is Lynchburg, Virginia, with a composite QoL index value of 128, followed closely by Charlottesville, Virginia, with an index of 126 (where an index of 100 = the US national average).

Practical implications

A tourist QoL model has practical value because it can be used by local policymakers to benchmark their region's QoL, make comparisons with other destinations, and ultimately, as a tool to help market their community – all using free and readily available data.

Originality/value

This case study adds value to the hospitality and tourism literature by sharing the Roanoke QoL model for the first time with the academic and practitioner community and extends its methods to propose how a tourist QoL model would work. It also addresses the research gap noted by Uysal et al. (2016) who observed a dearth of tourism research studies that utilize objective measures.

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, vol. 4 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9792

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 9 October 2017

Steve Millington and Nikos Ntounis

Drawing on evidence from ten towns (across England, Wales and Northern Ireland) participating in the High Street UK 2020 (HSUK2020) project, the purpose of this paper is to reveal…

9699

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on evidence from ten towns (across England, Wales and Northern Ireland) participating in the High Street UK 2020 (HSUK2020) project, the purpose of this paper is to reveal how local stakeholders involved in place management respond to high street decline through a strategy of repositioning.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper identifies the challenges faced by the towns considering repositioning, and highlights examples of good practice of relevance to the practitioners. First, it outlines the perspectives on repositioning from the academic research and theory, before drawing on evidence from across ten UK towns that participated in the HSUK2020 project, to reveal how repositioning involves more than just taking a snapshot profile of a place.

Findings

The research revealed major challenges faced by local stakeholders in clearly identifying and communicating their market position, in particular, the maintenance of up-to-date information on catchments was lacking at all the locations. Despite having local knowledge and some data, stakeholders still did not possess a clear (or shared) understanding of the identity or function of their towns. This evidence reflects the complexity of analysing and understanding repositioning and developing coherent strategies.

Practical implications

Knowledge exchange between stakeholders involved in place management can help inform the identification of new strategic objectives, appropriate interventions and project planning and delivery. Where resources are limited, particularly in smaller towns and settlements, the research demonstrates the significance of collecting and sharing data and analysis with other stakeholders, because this can generate positive outcomes for all.

Originality value

By offering empirical evidence based on the experience of local practitioners, this paper provides valuable insight into how town centre stakeholders collect, interpret and analyse data, revealing the challenges, opportunities and practicalities involved in developing and implementing repositioning strategies.

Details

Journal of Place Management and Development, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8335

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 July 2022

Ender Peker

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of locally-produced architectural design solutions for the provision of thermal comfort in the vernacular settlements of Mardin…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of locally-produced architectural design solutions for the provision of thermal comfort in the vernacular settlements of Mardin, Turkey.

Design/methodology/approach

With an aim of extracting clues of climate responsive design, the paper develops a socio-technical assessment methodology and presents a comparative inquiry between the vernacular and contemporary built environments of Mardin.

Findings

Findings display that the capacity of vernacular architecture in providing a more climate responsive living environment than contemporary one is in fact correlated with the design of living spaces in harmony with the local climatic conditions as well as how inhabitants traditionally use and behave in designed space.

Originality/value

The paper argues for a need for (re)conceptualization of thermal comfort within and through the production of housing, as well as by taking into account the ways in which end-users interact, adapt and sustain end-users' everyday life in accordance with the local climatic characteristics.

Details

Open House International, vol. 47 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0168-2601

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1971

With strategic road and rail links and a work‐force that will more than double in about ten years, Redditch would seem to be the ideal place for development in the industrial…

Abstract

With strategic road and rail links and a work‐force that will more than double in about ten years, Redditch would seem to be the ideal place for development in the industrial Midlands. But in a town famed for its needle‐making, the progressives and traditionalists do not always see eye‐to‐eye. Report by Ian Mandle. Pictures by Colin Porter.

Details

Industrial Management, vol. 71 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-6929

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1986

PATRICK GEE

The public library service for the County of Cheshire administered by the former Cheshire County Council since 1922 was mainly a book lending service to the more rural areas of…

Abstract

The public library service for the County of Cheshire administered by the former Cheshire County Council since 1922 was mainly a book lending service to the more rural areas of the county with village library centres staffed by volunteers and later a mobile library service. Branch libraries served small towns and the suburban fringes of the larger towns with a student library postal loan service as support. Library services in most of the larger towns were run by the borough or urban district authorities, and in all there were eighteen library authorities in Cheshire by 1964. In 1965 S. G. Berriman, the former County Librarian of Middlesex, was appointed to the new post of Director of Libraries and Museums for Cheshire County Council, and with the support of an independent Library Committee, rather than a Sub Committee of the Education Committee, he proposed and achieved a massive development programme. Between 1964 and 1973 the face of the Cheshire Library Service was transformed as substantial money both capital and revenue was made available for the very first time and many new libraries were built. With the advent of local government reorganisation and the proposed changes to the shape of Cheshire that exciting developmental period was over, and Berriman decided to retire early as Director of Libraries and Museums to allow a new man to steer the service into the new Cheshire. Appointed in 1972, that man was Alex Wilson.

Details

Library Review, vol. 35 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0024-2535

Article
Publication date: 7 August 2018

Blake Morris

The purpose of this paper is to discuss Deveron Project’s (DP) Walking Institute, the only programme in the UK dedicated to commissioning artists to create walks. The author…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss Deveron Project’s (DP) Walking Institute, the only programme in the UK dedicated to commissioning artists to create walks. The author argues that the Walking Institute offers a model for tourism practices that engage local and international stakeholders in the creation of new global relationships. His research expands current critical discourse around the intersection between walking, tourism and art, and argues for DP’s approach as a way to create community-based, critically reflexive modes of tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on research completed for his doctoral thesis and combines practice-based and qualitative methods. The author has visited Huntly on two separate occasions, and have had conversations with project stakeholders, spent time visiting local attractions, and participated in local events and artists’ walks. The analysis draws on theories from performance studies and those being developed within cultural geography and the mobilities paradigm.

Findings

The Walking Institute provides a model for a community based approach to global tourism that calls on the artistic medium of walking to create a critical, reflexive mode of engagement. Through this model, the Walking Institute provides an innovative approach to tourism that offers potential tourists with a mode of local engagement beyond the consumption of the picturesque.

Originality/value

There is very little research into DP’s model, or the intersection between tourism and the burgeoning artistic medium of walking. This paper offers original insight into DP’s model and its relationship to a new field: walking art. Additionally, it informs current understandings of tourism through a demonstration of how a rural arts organisation is engaging with the global tourism industry.

Details

International Journal of Tourism Cities, vol. 4 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-5607

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 13 September 2017

Morio Onda

The earthquake and tsunami that struck eastern Japan on March 11, 2011, not only caused extensive direct damage to the population but also triggered a nuclear power plant accident…

Abstract

The earthquake and tsunami that struck eastern Japan on March 11, 2011, not only caused extensive direct damage to the population but also triggered a nuclear power plant accident that brought the terror and reality of radiation. The restoration of communities in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures presents enormous problems. People from the radiation-contaminated areas have faced numerous ordeals since resettlement after the accident. Through personal interviews with victims, this chapter investigates what happened in the regional societies and how community consciousness changed as a result of the combined natural and manmade catastrophes. The study focuses on the restoration of community from social bonds through mutual help networks as a spontaneous social order. As the result of interviewing, some propositions were developed concerning the transformation of mutual help networks. The stronger the outside assistance from volunteers whom the victims came to trust and rely on, the weaker inside communal help becomes. Inventorying and clarifying the particular problems of conflict in stricken communities such as the loss of confidence in neighbors, the possibilities of rebuilding communities are explored, especially indicating how to cope with the social demise of communities that local people had formed and occupied all their lives.

Details

Recovering from Catastrophic Disaster in Asia
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-296-5

Keywords

21 – 30 of over 37000