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The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility of natural capital accounting for the purpose of strengthening sustainability claims by reporting entities. The study showed how riparian land improvement influenced ecosystem services which could be measured in the context of financial reporting. The authors tested options for incorporating natural capital concepts into financial accounting practices under existing accounting standards specifically: on the balance sheet.

A case study approach was used with an Australian water utility that has accountabilities to protect the environment, including maintaining and enhancing riparian land assets. The authors examined internal data sources, stakeholder engagement outcomes, physical assets, monetary valuation processes and financial recognition of natural capital income and assets. Natural capital income was estimated by process-based ecological modelling and ecosystem services were valued in relation to stormwater filtration and carbon storage using data from both internal and external sources.

The authors demonstrated how an environmental agency can disclose natural capital as a class of assets on the balance sheet. The authors also found that current accounting standards allow the recognition of some types of environmental assets where ecosystem services were associated with cost savings. The proof-of-concept used for asset measurement through ecosystem service modelling proved useful to strengthen sustainability claims or report financial returns on natural capital investment.

While many studies have examined environmental disclosures in voluntary reports, this study established that natural assets can be included on the balance sheet of financial statements, offering a robust approach to measuring and reporting on natural capital. It did so by applying financial accounting processes and principles to a real-world natural capital management scenario with direct participation and cooperation between the asset manager, academic researchers and a government environment agency, bridging the gap between theory and practice.

According to NHS statistics, as of July 2023, there were around 2045 people with intellectual disability and autistic people in mental health and specialist hospitals. Details of their inpatient stay were captured through Assuring Transformation data returns (NHS Digital, 2023) and includes data on all types of mental health hospitals. This study aims to understand the characteristics of people with intellectual disability and of autistic adults who are in inpatient settings across north of England in February 2022. It explores the clinical and demographic factors that might have an impact on the length of their inpatient stay.

This is a cross-sectional study using routinely collected demographic and clinical data in 2022 of inpatients across the north of England.

A total of 625 patients were in an inpatient setting across the north of England at the time of the data collection. The results indicate that the underlying diagnostic category, region, nature of inpatient service, legal framework, reason for admission and outcome of Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews are factors that are associated with the person’s length of stay in a hospital.

This study highlighted the need to review the community models of care to meet needs of those with intellectual disability. It further highlighted the need to collect and analyse longitudinal data, address social care needs and further understand the factors linked to regional variations.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a first study that investigated the factors associated with length of stay using inpatient data from across the north of England. It provides new insights into the factors that affect length of stay.

COVID-19 has caused unprecedented disruption to health systems. There is much to be gained by capturing what was learned from changes and adaptations made by health services and systems. The Ministry of Health in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, sought to prioritise health services research (HSR) to address critical issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. We tested a priority setting methodology to create priorities for a specific funding opportunity and to extract generalisable lessons.

A virtual roundtable meeting of key stakeholders was held in June 2020. We used a modified Nominal Group Technique (NGT) for priority setting, with potential items (n = 35) grouped under headings. Data was analysed through a reflective deliberative process.

We engaged 89 senior policy makers, health service executives, clinicians and researchers in the roundtable. The NGT proved an efficient method with participants reaching consensus on eight priorities. Findings included strong support for learning from the rapid response to COVID-19 and addressing needs of vulnerable populations and the health workforce. Opinions differed about strategic areas investment and where learnings should be via internal evaluation rather than funded research. Three of the eight recommended priorities were included in the funding opportunity.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) required unprecedented change and adaptations within health systems, and rapid, applied health services research can help to create, understand and (where relevant) sustain change beyond the immediate impact of the pandemic. While final decisions may be dependent on a wider range of considerations by government, stakeholder enthusiasm for engagement in priority setting exercises may be dampened if they do not perceive their application in decision-making.

A modified nominal group technique can be used to set research priorities in constrained conditions by engaging large numbers of stakeholders in rankings and then using an online delivery of a roundtable and to reach consensus on priorities in real time. Recommended priorities for health services research can be readily generated through rapid engagement but does not guarantee their application.

Australia’s swift response to COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was perceived as a relative success due to the rapid public health and policy response and a relatively low number of cases. This response was underpinned by systematic knowledge mobilisation including support for targeted and prioritised health services research to fill knowledge gaps.

Setting priority processes can provide rich, engaged input to support government funding decisions about HSR. A wide range of dynamic and iterative processes influence decision-making in a rapidly evolving situation in the health system response to COVID-19. It is crucial to consider how major investment decisions will support a value-based healthcare system.

This paper explores the information needs and behaviors of undergraduate engineers.

The paper reports on a qualitative study employing semi-structured interviews with 18 students.

The study identified the types of information needs undergraduate engineers encounter while working on problem solving tasks and the strategies they use to resolve these needs. The findings reveal that students often encounter difficulties due to a lack of procedural knowledge rather than conceptual gaps or misunderstandings. Students look for step-by-step solutions to address their information needs and become more efficient problem-solvers. However, most instructors do not provide answers or solutions, leaving students uncertain about their progress and unable to correct their mistakes. Consequently, students seek information from their peers, including step-by-step solutions and access to previous course materials. They use file-sharing and instant messaging platforms like Google Drive and Facebook Messenger as covert means of seeking help, sharing solutions and engaging in coursework-related discussions.

The findings enrich the theory of information needs by delineating between conceptual and procedural information needs. These findings also underscore the significant role that classmates and friends play as sources of information. The study offers implications for conceptual development of information needs, and for instructors to provide solutions and support sharing between peers on official platforms.

Avoided emissions refer to greenhouse gas emission reductions that are a result of using a product or are emission removals due to a decision or an action. Although there is no uniform standard for calculating avoided emissions, market actors have started referring to avoided emissions as “Scope 4” emissions. By default, making a claim about Scope 4 emissions gives an appearance that this Scope of emissions is a natural extension of the existing and accepted Scope-based emissions accounting framework. The purpose of this study is to explore the implications of this assumed legitimacy.

Via a desktop review and interviews, we analyse extant Scope 4 company reporting, associated accounting methodologies and the practical implications of Scope 4 claims.

Upon examination of Scope 4 emissions and their relationship with Scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions, we highlight a dynamic and interdependent relationship between quantification, commensuration and standardization in emissions accounting. We find that extant Scope 4 assessments do not fit the established framework for Scope-based emissions accounting. In line with literature on the territorializing nature of accounting, we call for caution about Scope 4 claims that are a distraction from the critical work of reducing absolute emissions.

We examine the implications of assumed alignment and borrowed legitimacy of Scope 4 with Scope-based accounting because Scope 4 is not an actual Scope, but a claim to a Scope. This is as an act of accounting territorialization.

In the current turbulent and highly competitive environment, hotels’ management is under pressure to be innovative and improve their products and services continuously to meet and exceed guests’ expectations. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to develop and test a framework of the factors that can promote employee psychological safety and help drive employee innovation in hotels in the UK.

A survey questionnaire was constructed and distributed to employees in four- and five-star hotels in the UK. Non-probability convenience sampling was performed in this study. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the research’s model and hypotheses.

The findings revealed a positive and significant association between psychological safety and employee innovation. Furthermore, psychological safety was found to fully mediate the influence of leader inclusiveness, respectful relationships at work and autonomy on employee innovation. Also, leader inclusiveness and role clarity were discovered to be associated with autonomy, whereas proactive personality was found to be related to employee innovation directly. The outcomes also showed that a proactive personality fully mediates the impact of autonomy and respectful relationships on employee innovation.

This study presents an original chain-mediation model that illustrates the mechanism of how employee innovative behavior can be encouraged by focusing on the mediation of psychological safety. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first attempts to shed light on the role of psychological safety in promoting employee innovation in the hotel sector.