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The performance of thermal comfort utilising machine learning and its acceptability by students and other users at the Professor Sir Edouard Lim Fat Engineering Tower at the University of Mauritius are evaluated in this study. Students and building occupants were asked to fill out surveys on-site as data was gathered from sensors throughout the structure. The Thermal Sensation Vote (TSV) and other important data were collected through the surveys, including the effect of wind on thermal comfort. An adaptive model incorporating solar and wind effects was evaluated using multiple linear regression techniques and RStudio. Three models were used to evaluate thermal comfort, including the adaptive one. Numerous models were compared and evaluated in order to select the best one. It was found that the adaptive model (Model 1) was deemed to be the best model for its application. It was also found that Fanger's PMV/PPD (Model 2) was a very good approach to determining thermal comfort. Through thorough analysis, it was concluded that the range of air temperature and wind speed for thermal comfort was 25.830°C–28.0°C and 0.26 m/s to 0.42 m/s, respectively. In order for cities to remain secure, resilient and sustainable, it will be important to manage thermal comfort and reduce populations' exposure to heat stress (SDG 11). The achievement of income and productivity goals will be hampered if measures to protect populations from heat stress are not taken (SDG 8). Thermal regulation is also necessary for the provision of numerous health services (SDG 3).

The purpose of this study is to revisit the conventional wisdom about a key contribution [i.e. strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis] in the field of strategic management. The societal context and the role of academics, consultants and executives is taken into account in the emergence of SWOT analysis during the 1960–1980 period as a pivotal development within the broader context of the satisfactory, opportunities, faults, threats (SOFT) approach. The authors report on both the content and the approach, so that other scholars seeking to invigorate indigenous theories and/or underreported strategy practices will thrive.

Applying a historiographic approach, the authors introduce an evidence-based methodology for interpreting historical sources. This methodology incorporates source criticism, triangulation and hermeneutical interpretation, drawing upon insights from robust evidence through three iterative stages.

The underreporting of the SOFT approach/SWOT analysis can be attributed to several factors, including strategy tools being integrated into planning frameworks rather than being published as standalone materials; restricted circulation of crucial long-range planning service/theory and practice of planning reports due to copyright limitations; restricted access to the Stanford Research Institute Planning Library in California; and the enduring popularity of SOFT and SWOT variations, driven in part by their memorable acronyms.

In the spirit of a renaissance in strategic planning research, the authors unveil novel theoretical and social connections in the emergence of SWOT analysis by combining evidence from both theory and practice and delving into previously unexplored areas.

Caution is advised for scholars who examine the discrete time frame of 1960–1980 through mere bibliometric techniques. This study underscores the risks associated with gathering incomplete and/or inaccurate data, emphasizing the importance of triangulating evidence beyond scholarly databases. The paradigm shift of strategic management research due to the advent of large language models poses new challenges and the risk of conserving and perpetuating academic urban legends, myths and lies if training data is not adequately curated.

Improving a startup’s ability to obtain funding is critical to the survival of the organization. Although existing studies have observed various biases in investment decisions, few have studied the neural mechanisms behind such behavioral observations. We propose to apply cutting-edge neuroscientific techniques to uncover the neural processes engaged during pitches by entrepreneurs to investors and to use this new knowledge to identify strategy artifacts promoting pitch success. We hypothesize that pitches are dynamically shaped by covert cognitive, emotional, and social processes, which are in turn influenced by tactical approach (story-telling vs dry facts), physical context (online vs in-person), and demographics (gender, ethnicity). The role of inter-brain synchrony (i.e., correlation of cortical activity between brains) – within the startup team or between the entrepreneurs and investors – in pitch outcomes remains unknown. By uncovering the covert processes that mediate pitch outcomes, we provide an evidence-based, scientific approach to improving pitch success.

This study contributes to the participative budgeting and budget misrepresentation literature by exploring: (1) whether managers’ judgments of fair behaviors are malleable and context-dependent and (2) if these judgments of fair behavior impact cost reporting misrepresentations. Two experiments investigate these questions. Experiment 1 (n = 42) tests whether the behavior that managers judge to be “fair” differs based on the decision context (i.e., initial economic position [IEP]). Experiment 2 (n = 130) investigates: (1) how managers’ deployment of fairness beliefs influences their reporting misrepresentations and (2) how decision aids that reduce task complexity impact managers’ deployment of fairness beliefs in their misreporting decisions. The study found that managers deploy fairness beliefs (i.e., honesty or equality) consistent with maximizing their context-relevant income. Hence, fairness beliefs constrain misrepresentations in predictable ways. In addition, we find more accounting information is not always beneficial. The presence of decision aids actually increases misrepresentations when managers are initially advantaged (i.e., start with more resources than others). The implications from these findings are relevant to the honesty and budgeting literature and provide novel findings of how managers’ preferences for fairness constrain managers from maximizing their income. The chapter demonstrates that contextual factors can influence the deployment of managers’ fairness beliefs which, in turn, differentially impact their reporting misrepresentation. Another contribution is that providing decision aids, which reduce task complexity, may not always benefit companies, since such aids may increase misrepresentation under certain conditions.

The concept of personal recovery is now a key pillar of service delivery. It aims to support individuals to flourish and establish a new identity following an acute episode or diagnosis. This view of recovery is unique to each person on that journey. However, there has been a significant focus on measuring these experiences. This paper aims to explore the influence of social constructionism on the concept of recovery within an Irish context, seeking to understand the influence of language, discourse and power on service users’ experiences.

A qualitative, interpretivist methodology was adopted for this case study design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 service users. Thematic analysis was chosen as the method of analysis.

Personalising recovery did not always lead to the removal of biological symptoms, but with the appropriate supports, individual’s recovery journey was greatly enhanced. On the contrary, personal recovery places overwhelmingly responsibility on the individual to succeed, largely driven by neoliberal discourse. This focus on individualism and the pressure to succeed was further experienced when people sought to re-integrate into society and participate in normalised social order. Ultimately, for many service users, they viewed personal recovery as an unfulfilled promise.

It is not a representative sample of service users within an Irish context.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore influence of social constructionism on the concept of personal recovery within a mental health service context.

This paper aims to seek accounting graduates' perspectives on the demand for accounting in their workplaces, on the gaps in accounting education (AE), and on the future of the accounting profession, inspired by the new definition of accounting proposed by Carnegie et al. (2021, 2022, 2023a), to adopt a strong focus on sustainable development goals (SDGs) in AE to inculcate tertiary students with the skills that lead them to approach and apply accounting as a multidimensional technical, social and moral (TSM) practice.

The online qualitative survey was distributed to 100 randomly selected New Zealand accounting graduates in order to gather insights from their workplaces. All responses from the 30 graduates who completed the questionnaire underwent qualitative analysis using Leximancer software, which automatically identifies high-level concepts and insights and offers interactive visualizations without bias.

The graduates’ experiences underscore the ongoing significance of technical skills in the New Zealand workplace. They emphasized the lack of non-technical skills training, stressed the necessity of diverse business knowledge and highlighted the importance of automation and digital skills.

The implications for transforming AE involve adopting an activist approach to integrate a TSM perspective into teaching and learning and being open to an interdisciplinary approach to expose tertiary students to the impact of accounting on sustainable development, including collaboration with professional bodies for real-world experiences.

The importance of engaging with SDG-related narratives is stressed to stimulate further discussion, debate and research aimed at identifying practical solutions for AE as a facilitator for SDGs in realizing accounting as a TSM practice.

Introduction: The global financial crisis has affected the financial markets and has had social consequences in addition to economic ones. The concept of ‘sustainability’ concerns firms reaching their main corporate goals. So, to maximise corporate financial performance (FINP), firms pay attention to non-financial data, such as elements of governance, social, and environmental concerns (henceforth referred to as ESG). Therefore, non-financial information provided by EGS factors measured by the ESG score has a crucial role in incorporating strategy and firm performance.

Purpose: This chapter looks at how ESG scores affect the performance of firms. The term ‘ESG’ describes how corporate operations include ESG principles. The ESG score is a novel way to gauge a company’s sustainability.

Methodology: ESG practices are a current phenomenon that has taken the attention of researchers in the last decades. Besides the amount of research conducted, researchers still need consensus regarding its impact. This chapter implements a systematic literature review to compile the research on ESG performance (ESGP) and how it affects business performance.

Findings: Businesses can incorporate sustainability practices into their operations with the help of ESG reports. ESG reports and scores provide non-financial information, which is crucial for businesses to achieve sustainability in their activities and attract more investors. The chapter contributes to the literature by creating value through a comprehensive and theoretical literature review.

This paper aims to investigate the characteristics and dynamics of the organizational changes needed to facilitate the management of an Industry 4.0 transformation in manufacturing SMEs and propose an approach to manage them.

This research focuses on a single manufacturing SME in North America, and data were collected using a research intervention method. Data were collected through observation and intervention within the SME over 27 months.

The research has shown that organizational changes are required in manufacturing SMEs to better manage their Industry 4.0 transformation projects.

Using the case study method limits the generalization of the results. The organizational changes observed, and their characteristics might be specific to the studied manufacturing. Although results could vary in different contexts, many manufacturing SMEs have similar characteristics to those observed in this study.

This research provides preliminary evidence of an iterative organizational change management approach that manufacturing SMEs must adopt to facilitate the management of their digital transformation.

This research provides a better understanding of how a manufacturing SME can improve its capabilities to manage its digital transformation by introducing iterative organizational changes. From these results, a link to the organizational learning literature can be drawn and developed upon.

This chapter analyzes the link between the digital divide, infrastructure regulation, and disaster planning and relief through a case study of the flood in San Jose, California triggered by the Anderson dam’s overtopping in February 2017 and an examination of communication failures during the 2018 wildfire in Paradise, California. This chapter theorizes that regulatory decisions construct social and disaster vulnerability. Rooted in the Whole Community approach to disaster planning and relief espoused by the United Nations and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, this chapter calls for leadership to end the digital divide. It highlights the imperative of understanding community information needs and argues for linking strategies to close the digital divide with infrastructure and emergency planning. As the Internet’s integration into society increases, the digital divide diminishes access to societal resources including disaster aid, and exacerbates wildfire, flood, pandemic, and other risks. To mitigate climate change, climate-induced disaster, protect access to social services and the economy, and safeguard democracy, it argues for digital inclusion strategies as a centerpiece of community-centered infrastructure regulation and disaster relief.