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1 – 8 of 8Gregory Acevedo, Abigail Miller Ross, Rushaa Hamid, Oisin Sweeney, Helen Daly, Sumaty Hernandez-Farina, Xia Lin and Bethan Mobey
The purpose of this study is to explore the ways in which the cost-of-living crisis affected emotional support access and availability among multiply-marginalised UK-based youth.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the ways in which the cost-of-living crisis affected emotional support access and availability among multiply-marginalised UK-based youth.
Design/methodology/approach
This study reports findings from early stages of a multiphase youth participatory action research (YPAR) project. In all, 12 young residents of Tower Hamlets London (ages 16–22 years) employed as peer researchers conducted 14 focus groups with 44 residents of Tower Hamlets over a six-month period. Data were analysed using principles of reflective thematic analysis.
Findings
Analyses produced salient themes that identified barriers to obtaining emotional support from parents and carers, described the utility of diverse support networks and elucidated the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on emotional support and youth well-being.
Research limitations/implications
This study has several limitations pertaining primarily to study design, sample size and sample composition that limit generalizability of findings. The findings indicate that the cost-of-living crisis markedly constrained the participants’ access to and availability of formal and informal support from others.
Practical implications
The findings from this research will influence the design and delivery of policy and services to better meet the needs and experiences of UK-based young people and their families.
Social implications
This project has the potential to increase understanding of how families can provide effective emotional support to young people and so improve the lives of Londoners now and in the future.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ study, this study is the first to use a YPAR approach to exploring the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on UK-based youth.
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Alexandria Proff and Rasha Musalam Musalam
The purpose of this study is to ascertain the perceptions of UAE nationals and Arab residents toward women in the UAE, with particular emphasis on women leadership.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to ascertain the perceptions of UAE nationals and Arab residents toward women in the UAE, with particular emphasis on women leadership.
Design/methodology/approach
This study made use of a quantitative approach via the use of survey research. The Attitudes Toward Women scale was adapted and used to illicit the views of the sample population. Data were subsequently tested using Statistical Package for Social Sciences.
Findings
This paper provides empirical evidence reflecting a potential shift in the views toward women in the UAE. This paper suggests that views toward women are complex, and perhaps, evolving. On one hand, traditional gender roles and perceptions of gender inequality persist, on the other more egalitarian views and present, even supportive of women’s professional lives.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the selected research approach, the research results may lack depth of understanding and additional nuance. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to explore these findings further, particularly with either qualitative of mixed-methods approaches.
Practical implications
This paper includes implications for continued education of the community concerning the multiple roles of women, including their roles as leaders. This study also includes the importance of providing women with leadership training and support to foster more women leaders across disciplines.
Originality/value
This paper significantly contributes to understanding how the perspectives of women in the UAE influence the views toward women leadership in the UAE.
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Ibrahim S. Abotaleb, Yasmin Elhakim, Mohamed El Rifaee, Sahar Bader, Osama Hosny, Ahmed Abodonya, Salma Ibrahim, Mohamed Sherif, Abdelrahman Sorour and Mennatallah Soliman
The objective of this research is to propose an immersive framework that integrates virtual reality (VR) technology with directives international safety training certification…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this research is to propose an immersive framework that integrates virtual reality (VR) technology with directives international safety training certification bodies to enhance construction safety training, which eventually leads to safer construction sites.
Design/methodology/approach
The adopted methodology combines expert insights and experimentation to maximize the effectiveness of construction safety training. The first step was identifying key considerations for VR models such as motion sickness prevention and adult learning theories. The second step was developing a game-like VR model for safety training, with multiple hazards and scenarios based on the considerations of the previous step. After that, safety experts evaluated the model and provided valuable feedback on its alignment with international safety training practices. Finally, the developed model is tested by senior students, where the testing format followed the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) working safely exam structure.
Findings
An advanced immersive VR safety training model was developed based on extensive lessons learned from the literature, previous work and psychology-informed adult learning theories. Model testing – through focus groups and hands-on experimentation – demonstrated significant benefit of VR in upgrading and complementing traditional training methods.
Originality/value
The findings presented in this paper make a significant contribution to the field of safety training within the construction industry and the broader context of immersive learning experiences. It also fosters further exploration into immersive learning experiences across educational and professional contexts.
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Amaya Erro-Garcés and Concha Iriarte Redín
Mental well-being of employees has decreased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the data collected by Eurofound in the electronic survey “Living, working and COVID-19”…
Abstract
Purpose
Mental well-being of employees has decreased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the data collected by Eurofound in the electronic survey “Living, working and COVID-19” (2020), this paper aims to identify which aspects of the work-related quality of life and other sociodemographic variables can explain the mental well-being of workers in, especially, convulsive times like those experienced during COVID-19 and beyond. The main objective is to improve labor welfare in the future.
Design/methodology/approach
With a sample of 8,777 observations (Round 2), cross-sectional analyses were conducted.
Findings
The results indicated that all factors of work quality of life such as working conditions, work–family interface, job stress and job satisfaction were predictors of the mental well-being of workers. Likewise, being a woman, being of mature age, having a partner and having good training/education were variables also associated with mental well-being.
Originality/value
The research revealed that the pandemic in Europe had a greater impact on the psychological well-being of women compared to men. Also, younger populations exhibited decreased levels of mental health.
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Muhammad Shakeel Aslam and Ayesha Akram
This study aims investigate the effects of electronic human resource management (e-HRM) on communication pace and processing time reduction through the mediation of organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims investigate the effects of electronic human resource management (e-HRM) on communication pace and processing time reduction through the mediation of organizational agility. The study also investigates the moderating role of technological attitude (TA) on the relationship between e-HRM and organizational agility.
Design/methodology/approach
The data was collected from 331 information and communication technology (ICT) companies – one respondent from each company working in the Human Resource Management (HRM) department. The data was analyzed through the partial least square structural equational model (PLS-SEM) using WarpPLS7.0 software to test the study’s hypotheses.
Findings
We found that e-HRM has positive significant effects on communication pace and processing time reduction through the mediation of organizational agility. Furthermore, TA is found to be positively moderating the relationship between e-HRM and organizational agility.
Research limitations/implications
The study adds significant value to the existing knowledge base on e-HRM by providing empirical insights about the role of e-HRM in optimizing the communication pace and processing time of today’s businesses.
Practical implications
The study also provides invaluable insights to practitioners to replace conventional HR systems with e-HRM to better perform HR functions by optimizing communication pace and processing time in the current fast-paced era.
Originality/value
E-HRM has become an issue of great significance in the contemporary corporate landscape to improve operational efficiency. Despite its widespread adoption in the corporate world, empirical evidence on e-HRM, particularly on its consequences, is still inconclusive.
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Amrita Hari, Luciara Nardon and Dunja Palic
Educational institutions are investing heavily in the internationalization of their campuses to attract global talent. Yet, highly skilled immigrants face persistent labor market…
Abstract
Purpose
Educational institutions are investing heavily in the internationalization of their campuses to attract global talent. Yet, highly skilled immigrants face persistent labor market challenges. We investigate how immigrant academics experience and mitigate their double precarity (migrant and academic) as they seek employment in higher education in Canada.
Design/methodology/approach
We take a phenomenological approach and draw on reflective interviews with nine immigrant academics, encouraging participants to elaborate on symbols and metaphors to describe their experiences.
Findings
We found that immigrant academics constitute a unique highly skilled precariat: a group of professionals with strong professional identities and attachments who face the dilemma of securing highly precarious employment (temporary, part-time and insecure) in a new academic environment or forgoing their professional attachment to seek stable employment in an alternate occupational sector. Long-term, stable and commensurate employment in Canadian higher education is out of reach due to credentialism. Those who stay the course risk deepening their precarity through multiple temporary engagements. Purposeful deskilling toward more stable employment that is disconnected from their previous educational and career accomplishments is a costly alternative in a situation of limited information and high uncertainty.
Originality/value
We bring into the conversation discussions of migrant precarity and academic precarity and draw on immigrant academics’ unique experiences and strategies to understand how this double precarization shapes their professional identities, mobility and work integration in Canadian higher education.
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Sou-Sen Leu, Kuang-Jen Huang, Cathy Chang-Wei Hung and Pei-Lin Wu
In recent years, cost overrun becomes a common problem in steel building construction projects. The average percentage can vary widely depending on the project type, size…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, cost overrun becomes a common problem in steel building construction projects. The average percentage can vary widely depending on the project type, size, complexity and location. The steel structure change ratio in Taiwan is from 1 to 18% in statistics. The contractors always put every possible effort into preventing or mitigating project cost overruns, and one of the approaches is an accurate cost overrun risk estimate. Traditional project cost overrun risk assessment models mainly focus on macro-level evaluation and may not function well for the project-specific level (micro-level). This study creates a network-like connection model between the outcome (i.e. cost overrun risk) and the associated root causes in which the project status evaluation checklists of design, manufacturing, construction and interfaces are used to evaluate the checklists' influences through the Bayesian network (BN) composed by intermediate causes.
Design/methodology/approach
Due to the constraint of data availability, BN nodes, relationships and conditional probabilities are defined to establish a BN-based steel building project cost overrun assessment model following the knowledge of experts. Because of the complexity of the BN, the construction of the BN structure is first to build BN's fault tree (FT) hierarchy. And then, basic BN framework is constructed by the transformation of the FT hierarchy. Furthermore, some worthwhile additional arcs among BN nodes are inserted if necessary. Furthermore, conditional probability tables (CPTs) among BN nodes are explored by experts following the concept of the ranked node. Finally, the BN-based model was validated against the final cost analysis reports of 15 steel building projects done in Taiwan and both were highly consistent. The overall BN-based model construction process consists of three steps: (1) FT construction and BN framework transformation, (2) CPT computation and (3) model validation.
Findings
This study established a network-like bridge model between the outcome (i.e. cost overrun risk) and the root causes in a network of which cost influences are evaluated through the project-specific status evaluation checklists of design, manufacturing, construction and interfaces. This study overcame several limitations of the previous cost overrun risk assessment models: (1) few past research support assessment of cost overrun based on real-time project-owned data and (2) the traditional causal models inadequately depict interdependencies among influence factors of cost overrun at the network. The main influence factors of the cost overrun risk at the steel building projects in Taiwan were also examined using sensitivity analysis. The main root causes of cost overrun in steel building projects are design management and interface integration.
Originality/value
The proposed model belongs to the project-specific causal assessment model using real-time project-owned status checklist data as input. Such a model was seldom surveyed in the past due to the complicated interdependence among causes in the network. For practical use, a convenient and simple regression equation was also developed to forecast the cost overrun risk of the steel building project based on the root causes as input. Based on the analysis of cost overrun risk and significant influence factors, proper tailor-made preventive strategies are established to reduce the occurrence of cost overrun at the project.
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Hebatallah Abdulhalim Mahmoud Abdulfattah, Ahmed Ahmed Fikry and Reham Eldessuky Hamed
The study aims to tackle Egypt's rising electricity consumption due to climate change and population growth, focusing on the building sector, which accounts for up to 60% of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to tackle Egypt's rising electricity consumption due to climate change and population growth, focusing on the building sector, which accounts for up to 60% of the issue, by developing new energy-efficient design guidelines for Egyptian buildings.
Design/methodology/approach
This study comprises six key steps. A literature review focuses on energy consumption and efficiency in buildings, monitoring a single-family building in Cairo, using Energy Plus for simulation and verification, performing multi-objective optimization, comparing energy performance between base and controlled cases, and developing a localized version of the Passive House (PH) called Energy Efficiency Design Criteria (EEDC).
Findings
The research shows that applying the (EEDC) suggested by this study can decrease energy consumption by up to 58% and decrease cooling consumption by up to 63% in residential buildings in Egypt while providing thermal comfort and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This can benefit users, alleviate local power grid strain, contribute to Egypt's economy, and serve as a model for other countries with similar climates.
Originality/value
To date, no studies have focused on developing energy-efficient design standards tailored to the Egyptian climate and context using the Passive House Criteria concept. This study contributes to the field by identifying key principles, design details, and goal requirements needed to promote energy-efficient design standards for residential buildings in Egypt.
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