Search results

1 – 7 of 7
Article
Publication date: 7 November 2023

Udoka Okonta, Amin Hosseinian-Far and Dilshad Sarwar

With the rise in demand and adoption of smart city initiatives, it is imperative to plan the railway infrastructure, as it will have a huge positive impact if adequately…

Abstract

Purpose

With the rise in demand and adoption of smart city initiatives, it is imperative to plan the railway infrastructure, as it will have a huge positive impact if adequately integrated into the planning process. Given the complexities involved, a whole systems thinking framework provides a useful platform for rail transport planners.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes a simple, adoptable framework utilising systems thinking concepts and techniques taking into cognisance the key stakeholders. Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom is the adopted case study.

Findings

Selected systems thinking tools and techniques are adopted to develop a framework for mapping stakeholders and attributes when developing sustainable rail transport systems, taking note of their core functionalities and the complex systems wherein they exist.

Practical implications

The desire to build future (smart) cities is to effectively match infrastructural resources with a rapidly growing population, and the railway sector can play a strategic role in building a much more competitive low-carbon-emission transport system, which is a driving force for sustainable development.

Social implications

The urban rail service has become vital to urban development as railway stations serve as hubs for sustainable mobility to meet local requirements. Moreover, it takes extra effort to input railway development into smart city plans, as it is a herculean task to get governments to focus on it with clarity of purpose in passing legislation.

Originality/value

The developed framework reduces complexities when planning and designing rail transport systems compared to many of the existing reductionist planning approaches. The simplicity of the framework would also make it easily adoptable by a wide range of users.

Details

Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6099

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 February 2024

Ian Pepper, Colin Rogers, James Turner, Nick Louis and Bronwen Williams

This paper aims to explore perceptions and provides insights, from students who volunteer in policing whilst also studying the college of policing licenced professional policing…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore perceptions and provides insights, from students who volunteer in policing whilst also studying the college of policing licenced professional policing degree (PPD) in Wales. It examines issues that act as enablers and blockers to volunteering in this public service, which also provides opportunities to develop their employability towards the careers to which they aspire. The paper provides insights from students and makes recommendations of interest to multiple stakeholders locally, regionally, nationally and internationally regarding attracting and recruiting volunteers.

Design/methodology/approach

Focus groups were conducted with students at three separate universities in the South and West of Wales. These undergraduate students were volunteers in different police forces and agreed to take part in connection with their experiences. The results were analysed using NVivo to establish commonalities.

Findings

The paper provides empirical insights concerning the issues surrounding the way those undergoing the process for recruitment as volunteers within policing are either hindered (blocked) or assisted (enabled). It identifies specific problematic areas as well as areas which have been of assistance. Policy makers, educators and recruiters should be aware of such blockers and enablers when considering adopting volunteering as an opportunity to enhance student employability. It also has resonance for other forms of volunteering in alternate public services.

Research limitations/implications

This research is limited to those volunteers who are undertaking the licenced PPD at three separate universities in Wales. Although the research adds to the broader evidence-base with regards to volunteering and its use to enhance employability.

Practical implications

The paper includes practical implications for multiple stakeholders including university programme educators, administrators and decision makers in policing with regards to volunteering, employability, programme structures and process management.

Originality/value

The research is based upon the experiences and perceptions of those individuals who are actually engaged in volunteering.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 July 2023

Zhongzhu Chu and Xihui Chen

The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that influence migrant workers' household registration transfer willingness at both individual and urban levels and to provide…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that influence migrant workers' household registration transfer willingness at both individual and urban levels and to provide empirical evidence on adjusting the household registration system to accommodate economic development and migrant workers' imbalances.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts a hierarchical nonlinear model and examines individual and urban influencing factors of migrant workers' household registration transfer willingness, based on the data from China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS) and the Urban Statistical Yearbooks.

Findings

This paper shows that: (1) multi-factors, such as age, education, marital status, household demographics, industry and migrant workers' contract coverage, have significant effects on migrant workers' household registration transfer willingness; (2) The urban public service equalization indicators, such as regional economic, educational resources, medical care and ecological quality, have significant effects on migrant workers' willingness to transfer household registration; (3) The heterogeneity of migrant workers' willingness to transfer household registration is significant in central, eastern and western China.

Research limitations/implications

The authors provide a fresh perspective on population migration research in China and other countries worldwide based on the pull–push migration theory, which incorporates both individual and macro (urban) factors, enabling a comprehensive examination of the factors influencing household registration transfer willingness. This hierarchical ideology and approach (hierarchical nonlinear model) could be extended to investigate the influencing factors of various other human intentions and behaviors.

Originality/value

Micro approaches (individual perspective) have dominated existing studies examining the factors influencing migrant workers' household registration transfer willingness. The authors combine individual and urban perspectives and adopt a more comprehensive hierarchical nonlinear model to extend the empirical evidence and provide theoretical explanations for the above issues.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 14 November 2023

Carolyn Casale, C. Adrainne Thomas and Ahlam Alma Bazzi

This research study provides insight into students’ perceptions of teaching through virtual and face-to-face clinicals in an introductory education course in a pre-education…

Abstract

Purpose

This research study provides insight into students’ perceptions of teaching through virtual and face-to-face clinicals in an introductory education course in a pre-education program at a minority-serving institution.

Design/methodology/approach

This study took place at an urban–suburban-centered community college in the Midwestern United States and was reviewed by the higher education institutional review board (IRB). Data were collected from pre-education majors enrolled in a four-hour Introduction to Education with field experiences.

Findings

The findings indicated that both virtual and face-to-face clinicals were beneficial to the development of pre-service teachers, particularly in an early introduction to education course.

Research limitations/implications

The finding that virtual clinicals are significant to teacher growth is significant to teacher recruitment and preparation.

Practical implications

The flexibility of a virtual clinical provides greater opportunities for low-income and marginalized populations with limited means and access.

Social implications

This finding can lead to strategies to diversify teacher candidates.

Originality/value

This study sought to answer the following question: how do pre-education students reflect to understand the roles and responsibilities of teaching through virtual options vs face-to-face clinicals? The interest of this research is to expand pathways into the teaching profession to nontraditional, ethnically and culturally marginalized groups and historically underrepresented groups.

Details

School-University Partnerships, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1935-7125

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 October 2023

Sally Helen Stone and Laura Sanderson

This paper considers the exhibition: UnDoing. This research-through-curation project examined interactions within existing spaces and situations. This established links between…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper considers the exhibition: UnDoing. This research-through-curation project examined interactions within existing spaces and situations. This established links between the selected exhibits, the gallery, the city and with the continuum of the previous exhibition.

Design/methodology/approach

Carefully selected architects, designers and artists were invited to contribute—those who pursued a contextual approach; whose practice explored the way buildings, places and artefacts are reused, reinterpreted and remembered.

Findings

Through the act of curation, this research uncovered a series of different approaches to constructed sites and existing buildings, from layered juxtaposition, the refusal to undo, to interventions of new elements within architectural works.

Research limitations/implications

Curation offered the opportunity to consider works of architecture and of art through the same lens, for direct comparisons to be made and the influence of one upon the other to be comprehended.

Practical implications

The examination processes the architect employs is similar to that of the artist; the development of an understanding of place, and from this synthesis, creative interpretation. However, despite the similarities in the starting position, the elucidation developed by the artist can be vastly different to that of the architect.

Social implications

The juxtaposition and new classifications created by the exhibition encouraged visitors to look at art, architecture and the city in a different way; to grasp the direct link between the different subjects; and the possibilities created.

Originality/value

The two driving factors for UnDoing were places of previous occupation and the city of Manchester. The qualities of surrounding constructed environment combined were combined with attitudes towards existing structures and places.

Details

Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-1266

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 May 2024

Kirsten Russell, Fiona Barnett, Sharon Varela, Simon Rosenbaum and Robert Stanton

The mental and physical health of those residing in Australian rural and remote communities is poorer compared to major cities. Physical health comorbidities contribute to almost…

Abstract

Purpose

The mental and physical health of those residing in Australian rural and remote communities is poorer compared to major cities. Physical health comorbidities contribute to almost 80% of premature mortality for people living with mental illness. Leisure time physical activity (LTPA) is a well-established intervention to improve physical and mental health. To address the physical and mental health of rural and remote communities through LTPA, the community’s level of readiness should be first determined. This study aims to use the community readiness model (CRM) to explore community readiness in a remote Australian community to address mental health through LTPA.

Design/methodology/approach

Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted using the CRM on LTPA to address mental health. Quantitative outcomes scored the community’s stage of readiness for LTPA programmes to address mental health using the CRM categories of one (no awareness) to nine (high level of community ownership). Qualitative outcomes were thematically analysed, guided by Braun and Clark.

Findings

The community scored six (initiation) for community efforts and knowledge of LTPA programmes and seven (stabilisation) for leadership. The community’s attitude towards LTPA and resources for programmes scored four (pre-planning), and knowledge of LTPA scored three (vague awareness).

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first Australian study to use CRM to examine community readiness to use LTPA to improve mental health in a remote community. The CRM was shown to be a useful tool to identify factors for intervention design that might optimise community empowerment in using LTPA to improve mental health at the community level.

Details

The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-6228

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 July 2023

Aaron Tham, Jenna Campton and Bruce Cooper-McKenzie

There is a growing interest in investigating craft beer tourism and consumption experiences as different destinations seek to position unique attributes and cultures in their…

Abstract

Purpose

There is a growing interest in investigating craft beer tourism and consumption experiences as different destinations seek to position unique attributes and cultures in their culinary offerings. Yet, in this space, factors that have triggered the creation, management and marketing of craft beer tourism remain implicit. The purpose of this paper is therefore to present a systematic literature review of craft beer tourism, apply a conceptual model of craft beer gastronomy tourism and, in turn, provide strategic imperatives for the sector moving forward.

Design/methodology/approach

A comprehensive search for craft beer tourism in hospitality and tourism literature was undertaken using a combination of Google Scholar search terms as well as institutional library databases. Then, following the steps proposed by Xiao and Watson (2019), articles were sorted into themes before determining their appropriateness to be included in a systematic literature review.

Findings

Based on prior research, a Craft beer gastronomy tourism model is proposed. This model was found to provide a macro perspective of the craft beer tourism literature and was applied using the systematic literature review. It was found that not many of the papers fit the three-step process, and a fragmented relationship between craft breweries and tourism was observed. On reviewing the theories and frameworks used, it was found that there was not much consistency with the majority using frameworks and concepts. Furthermore, most studies were undertaken from the perspective of a single region or homogenous samples, with few offering cross-sectional comparisons. The most common methods of the papers were surveys and interviews, with a majority being cross-sectional.

Originality/value

The systematic literature review has led to the development of a novel conceptual model that highlights the current focal areas but also gaps that inform future studies and managerial implications.

Details

International Journal of Wine Business Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1062

Keywords

Access

Year

Last 12 months (7)

Content type

Earlycite article (7)
1 – 7 of 7