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1 – 10 of over 2000Filipe Martinho, Henrique N. Cabral, Ulisses M. Azeiteiro and Miguel A. Pardal
Estuaries and shallow coastal areas are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, being recognized as important nursery areas for marine fish. The aim of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Estuaries and shallow coastal areas are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, being recognized as important nursery areas for marine fish. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the causes and consequences of recruitment variability in marine fish, contributing to ecosystem‐based management strategies of estuarine and coastal areas.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a literature review, exploring the role of estuaries as nursery areas for marine fish, and analyzed the connectivity between estuaries and coastal areas, the main processes driving recruitment variability in marine fish during their pelagic (larval) and estuarine residency (juveniles) phases, and how it can be translated into variable coastal stocks.
Findings
Recruitment variability in marine fish is still one of the most important issues in marine fisheries ecology. In this paper, the authors demonstrate the potential of several processes for inducing variability in recruitment, including density‐independent mechanisms such as temperature, hydrodynamics, river flow and large‐scale factors, as well as density‐dependent processes, related with food abundance, competition and predation. Lastly, the authors evaluated the connectivity between estuaries and the ocean, and how this relationship can influence coastal stocks in the future. The main findings were analyzed in the context of climate change, which has been demonstrated to influence marine life at the individual, population and ecosystem levels.
Originality/value
This paper is a valuable tool for marine researchers and stakeholders, since it summarizes some of the most important processes that drive recruitment variability in marine fish, and how this information can be used for establishing sustainable ecosystem management programmes.
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Darbi J. Haynes-Lawrence and Adam R. West
The purpose of this study was to survey parents who have Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and examine issues surrounding their parenting.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to survey parents who have Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and examine issues surrounding their parenting.
Design
Qualitative surveys were used to collect data.
Findings
Findings from the study include three themes: (a) They needed to know; (b) Involving children with treatment; and (c) I can’t do this alone. Discussion of findings and conclusions and recommendations for parents, physicians, and future studies are presented.
Research limitations
Data for the study was collected through self-reports and limited demographic data was collected.
Value
Continued research on MS is needed, especially in the area involving children in at-home treatments and children as caregivers. Children can be a challenging population to investigate, yet as evidenced in this study, children are being involved in MS treatments of their parents. A greater, more in-depth look at the role of a child as caregiver is warranted.
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This paper aims to investigate the thermal comfort practices in four non-domestic buildings and explores how the organisational context affects the actions and practices of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the thermal comfort practices in four non-domestic buildings and explores how the organisational context affects the actions and practices of occupants and facilities managers.
Design/methodology/approach
The study applied qualitative methods and post-occupancy evaluation methodologies to investigate the thermal practices in four case studies. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies was deployed, namely, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, observation and monitoring studies of building performance.
Findings
The concept “distributed agency” was applied to analyse the thermal comfort practices in non-domestic buildings. This concept helped to illustrate everyday actions by occupants and facilities managers in relation to the organisational context. Occupants’ actions and building management practices could be affected by the organisation norms and context leading to problems and dissatisfaction with indoor thermal conditions.
Research limitations/implications
This study is based on a small number of case studies and it is exploratory. Extensive monitoring data were not available. However, the research identified the thermal conditions and occupants’ satisfaction levels as background where actions to achieve thermal comfort and facilities manager’s practices took place.
Practical implications
The study suggests the need to examine in greater depth how the organisational goals and individual goals could be linked to support specific building performance targets.
Social implications
The paper advocates for the application of multidisciplinary approaches to study the occupant dimension of building performance. It suggests the need to develop a nuanced understanding of how occupants pursue comfort as active agents who interact with the built environment.
Originality/value
The study has applied social practice theory to consider the influence of the organisation on thermal comfort practices in non-domestic buildings; considering the perspectives of building occupants and facilities managements within the organisational context.
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Rainer Haas, Oliver Meixner and Marcus Petz
In the contribution the authors show how the concept of community-powered co-innovation can successfully be implemented in order to improve the situation of small-scale farmers…
Abstract
Purpose
In the contribution the authors show how the concept of community-powered co-innovation can successfully be implemented in order to improve the situation of small-scale farmers. The purpose of this paper is to focus on developing countries in consideration of economic, social and ecological sustainability aspects.
Design/methodology/approach
All findings are based on an in-depth, detailed examination of one specific case. The case study approach allows analysis of innovation and cooperation within rural societies while considering their contextual conditions.
Findings
The case study goes back to an initiative begun in 2011. Stakeholders from Nepal were connected to five Austrian distributors and nine German distributors selling their products in Austria and Germany. In total, about 600 Nepalese farmers are cultivating on average less than 1 ha of agricultural land each. A German entrepreneur founded the first Demeter farm in Nepal and founded an ethical business in Nepal to cooperate with the farmers there. The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU) acted as a knowledge broker. The whole initiative followed the Triple Helix concept.
Research limitations/implications
The study shows qualitative results out of an individual initiative. The findings are of a qualitative nature, they are not necessarily transferable to comparable cases. The outcome has to be interpreted as hypotheses, further research activities are required for broader application.
Originality/value
The case study shows how the authors can sustainably improve the economic and social situation of underprivileged market participants in the least developed countries by establishing a teaching-based cooperation between a university, an ethical business and farmers.
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Michael Enright and Heath McDonald
Looks at the traditional market entrants in the retail garden nursery products industry in a defined area of the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Argues that it may well…
Abstract
Looks at the traditional market entrants in the retail garden nursery products industry in a defined area of the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Argues that it may well be to the detriment of these traditional entrants that a more marketing‐oriented approach has not been adopted, particularly in light of the emergence of recent market entrants which appear to pose a threat by virtue of much more integrated marketing‐based philosophies and more structured new product development approaches.
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Fergus Lyon and Heather Fernandez
This paper seeks to examine the strategies social enterprises can use to scale up their impact. A traditional view has been for growth to occur through expanding operations or…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to examine the strategies social enterprises can use to scale up their impact. A traditional view has been for growth to occur through expanding operations or setting up new sites owned by a single organisation. However, a range of other strategies of scaling impact outside of organisational boundaries is explored.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on an analysis of one detailed and three less intensive case studies of social enterprises in the early years sector supporting children and families. These were selected purposefully to represent a cross section of types of organisation. In the detailed case study, interviews were conducted with ten nursery managers, four of the senior management team and other key stakeholders.
Findings
This paper examines alternatives for scaling up social impact ranging from maximising the impact internally (through new activities, and more sites) to growth beyond the confines of the organisation (through social franchises, use of kite marks, training and networks).
Originality/value
The paper proposes a framework to help define the strategies by which organisations can scale up their social impact. The potential impact grows when considering scaling though partnerships, relationships and dissemination of ideas, but with this increase in scale, there is a loss of control by the original innovator. The research is of value to organisations wanting to scale up and for policy makers wanting to identify suitable strategies for encouraging growth and replication.
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Cherry Tree Nursery came about because users of mental health services in East Dorset wanted meaningful occupation which would enhance the quality of their lives. Many of us find…
Abstract
Cherry Tree Nursery came about because users of mental health services in East Dorset wanted meaningful occupation which would enhance the quality of their lives. Many of us find gardening therapeutic and this project not only gives joy to its volunteers, but also contributes to the gardens (and mental health) of its thousands of gardening, plant‐buying customers in the Bournemouth area.
Claire Barnardo, Mignon Reyneke, Caitlin Ferreira and Jeandri Robertson
The learning outcomes of this paper is as follows: to strategically evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, threats and resulting opportunities that face an entrepreneurial startup…
Abstract
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes of this paper is as follows: to strategically evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, threats and resulting opportunities that face an entrepreneurial startup. To apply the academic principle of competitiveness and evaluate the competitive advantage of the business and its competitors through the application of the Porter’s five forces model. To evaluate the contextual tensions that entrepreneurial ventures face, and how these affect the growth of a sustainable business. To develop the skills to create a target market analysis by using segmentation, targeting and positioning principles. To evaluate the best strategic actions to grow a business through the lens of sustainable entrepreneurship, by using principles such as the triple bottom line and people, opportunity, context and deal and framework.
Case overview/synopsis
The case look at business challenges faced by an entrepreneur, Renshia Manuel, the CEO of GrowBox, as she attempts to balance the profitability and social impact of her venture in Cape Town, South Africa. GrowBox sells customisable self-contained wooden boxes equipped with all materials to grow a variety of vegetables and herbs for consumers. Large volumes of boxes are often purchased by corporate clients who donated these to lower-income communities as part of their social responsibility projects. Additional landscaping and food-scaping services make up another revenue stream of the business. The case study documents the conception of GrowBox in 2016 and the growth of the business in the first four years of operation. The theft of equipment, and difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff due to the volatile social climate of where the business was situated, have put the business under great financial pressure and reduced the efficiency of business processes. The case highlights a number of the harsh realities of sustainable entrepreneurship where both profitability and social impact are vitally important to ensure business sustainability. The case dilemma involves the choices faced by Renshia at the beginning of 2020 regarding the future, sustainable growth of the business.
Complexity academic level
The target audience for this teaching case is primarily business students at a postgraduate level, particularly those studying in the fields of sustainable entrepreneurship and social development, as well as marketing in emerging markets. This teaching case is intended to be used as a case study in postgraduate business programmes such as postgraduate diplomas in management, specialist Masters programmes such as those focussed on entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship or social development, as well as those studying a Master of Business Administration or related executive education programme.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only.
Subject code
CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.
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Rochelle Spencer, Martin Brueckner, Gareth Wise and Banduk Marika
Using an integrated framework for performance management of nonprofit organizations, this paper aims to present an analysis of the activities of an Indigenous social enterprise in…
Abstract
Purpose
Using an integrated framework for performance management of nonprofit organizations, this paper aims to present an analysis of the activities of an Indigenous social enterprise in the town of Yirrkala in northeast Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. The evaluation focuses on the social effectiveness of the organization and its ability to help generate income and employment and drive social capital creation.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is informed by data derived from “yarns” with social enterprise staff and semi-structured interviews conducted with key informants who were selected using snowball sampling. Data were transcribed and analyzed thematically.
Findings
The analysis reveals that the organization provides a successful community-based pathway for increasing Indigenous economic participation on local terms at a time of regional economic decline and high levels of Indigenous unemployment nationally.
Practical implications
The measured effectiveness of Nuwul highlights the need for targeted policy support for Indigenous enterprises and that social entrepreneurship is far more likely to be successful in a supportive government policy environment, a critical need for government-initiated policies to encourage the formation of Indigenous social enterprises that are entrepreneurial and innovative in their solutions to poverty and marginalization. Such policies should not only aid the establishment of Indigenous ventures but also facilitate their long-term growth and sustainability.
Originality/value
Although Indigenous entrepreneurial activities have been found to be effective in addressing Indigenous disadvantage in Australia, little is known about their community impact. The article provides original empirically grounded research on the measurement of Indigenous entrepreneurial activities and their wider community impact. The data show, against the backdrop of mixed results of government efforts to drive Indigenous economic mainstreaming, that the entrepreneurial activities analyzed in this paper are an example of more flexible and culturally appropriate pathways for achieving Indigenous equality in rural and remote regions of Australia.
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The purpose of this paper is to emphasise mangrove reforestation as a countermeasure for climate change mitigation and adaptation in the Godavari Delta in India.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to emphasise mangrove reforestation as a countermeasure for climate change mitigation and adaptation in the Godavari Delta in India.
Design/methodology/approach
Restoration of the mangrove forest in the Godavari Delta near Kakinada town in the south‐eastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh is carried out with participatory involvement of local communities depending for their livelihood on the mangrove forest. The extent of habitat restoration through reforestation in this area is explored. The possible contribution of restored mangroves in minimising the impacts of sea‐level rise due to climate change is highlighted. Reforestation information from 1999 to 2006 is collected from available published work and the Forest Department of the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Findings
The positive result of reforestation since the past few years is seen as an increase in mangrove vegetation. The changing landscape due to restoration could stop erosion and salt water incursion up to some extent and help in maintaining the biodiversity of this place.
Practical implications
A long‐term monitoring with ethnobiological study is required for managing such projects in future.
Originality/value
The Godavari Delta mangroves are rich in biodiversity and offer a wide range of ecological services. Adding to habitat degradation, predicted sea‐level rise is likely to affect the local human communities. The role of mangroves as an economically viable barrier against sea‐level rise has been recognised in other Asian countries. The results from this case study too could be disseminated to various stakeholders involved in sustainable development. The focus of the paper on India is particularly relevant, as the country is going to be integral in climate change debates.
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