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To identify the risks associated by consumers with renting clothes.

A descriptive research with a quantitative approach was carried out. First, the measurement models of the variables involved in the proposed model were validated. After verifying the existence of the variables, the resulting model was finally estimated through structural equation modelling.

The results obtained establish the six dimensions that make up the problems associated by consumers with the clothing rental business model. These problems encompass various types of risks: financial, physical, performance, psychosocial, inconsistency with values and lifestyle, as well as lack of trust in the service provider. The results obtained show that only inconsistency, financial risk and physical risk have a significant effect on attitude. These performance risks, together with the consumer's attitude towards renting, have a negative effect on the intention to rent.

Factors that have a negative effect on attitude have been studied less than the facilitators of attitude. This is the first study in Spain.

The results will help managers to understand the adoption behaviours of these models.

This study helps understand the social innovation needed to change consumers' relationship to clothing.

Large classes pose challenges in managing different types of skills (e.g. maths, subject-specific knowledge, writing, confidence and communication), facilitating interactions, enabling active learning and providing timely feedback. This paper shares a design of a set of assessments for a large undergraduate economics course consisting of students from diverse cultural backgrounds. The benefits, challenges and learning experiences of students are analysed.

Students worked in groups to complete an assessment with several questions which would be useful as a revision for the individual assessment, the following week. Survey questionnaires with Likert-type questions and open-ended questions were used to analyse the learning and skill development that occurred because of the group work. Responses to the open-ended survey questions were coded and analysed by identifying the themes and categorising the various issues that emerged.

This assessment design developed group working skills, created opportunities to interact and enhanced learning. The analysis of the responses found that working with peers enabled the students to generate their own feedback, clear doubts and learn to solve problems. Effective communication, planning meetings and working around the diverse group members’ strengths and weaknesses are some graduate skills that are developed in this group assessment. The challenges were arranging meetings, finalising assessments, engagement of group members and unreliable technology. However, the students found ways to overcome these challenges.

This assessment design can be useful in higher education practice by introducing a mechanism for authentic collaborative practice. This paper adds to the literature on peer interactions and group work and enables effective learning at scale.

This study aims to examine the effects of payment methods used in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) conducted by UK companies spanning the period from 2007 to 2019.

The study used the estimated expected returns method to identify abnormal returns during the deal announcement period, applying event study analysis with both univariate and multivariate regression models to detect cumulative abnormal returns around the announcement timeframe.

The results show a short-term positive return increase for acquiring firms, controlling for deal-specific characteristics like target firm location and payment methods. The authors observed a preference for cash financing across domestic and cross-border transactions. Multivariate analysis revealed insignificance between payment methods and deal characteristics like cross-border acquisitions and diversification.

The study’s focus on publicly traded firms in the UK and the absence of a comparative analysis across different regions and markets limits the sample size and may impact the generalizability of findings.

The study proposes three practical implications. Firstly, firms should tailor payment methods to each transaction, aligning with strategic goals to optimize value and mitigate risks. Secondly, decision-makers must prioritize comprehensive due diligence and strategic alignment throughout M&A processes to enhance success and maximize synergies. Finally, analysing broader strategic contexts and regulatory landscapes when structuring transactions enables goal attainment, such as market expansion or value creation.

The study’s findings can promote transparency and accountability among corporate decision-makers in M&A transactions. Stakeholders can advocate for transparent decision-making processes, enhancing trust in corporate governance.

This study provides valuable insights into the impact of payment methods on shareholder value in M&A transactions involving UK companies, informing strategic decision-making and contributing to the understanding of corporate finance dynamics.

This study aims to assess the spread of environmental literacy graduation requirements at public universities in the USA, and to highlight factors that mediate the adoption of this curriculum innovation.

The author analyzed the undergraduate general education curriculum requirements at all 549 public BA-granting higher education institutions in the USA between 2020 and 2022.

The study found that only 27 US public universities out of 540 have an environmental literacy graduation requirement, which represents 5% of universities and is substantially lower than previous estimates.

First, this study provides a more complete, more reliable and more current assessment of the graduation requirement’s presence at US tertiary institutions, and shows the number of universities that have implemented this innovation is lower than was estimated a decade ago. Second, it draws from the scholarship on the infusion of sustainability into the university curriculum to provide a comprehensive discussion of factors that mediate the pursuit and implementation of the graduation requirement. As well, it identifies factors that played a key role in one pertinent case.

The process of elaboration of the symbolic universe leads to important insights into the role of symbols in understanding human reasoning. Symbols become explanatory axes of universal global realities. Myths were constructed on these explanatory paths forming a superstructure of all belief systems with paraconsistent logic for the symbolism and a symbolic syntax. Myths and symbols are to be found in all cultures. Some of the most powerful and influential ones occur in popular culture since these often have the greatest immediate social impact.

Semiotic and logical development of the symbols is in mythical systems. The dissolution of the myth and the degradation of the myth's symbols constitute a long-drawn-out process in modern Western society and wherever s influence reaches. Myth is a story that may contain symbolic elements, but compared to the symbols or images of the exceptional, myth is characterized by a “story.”

Starting from a minimal definition to define myths and propose the following definition: Myth is a traditional tale that relates memorable and exemplary actions of extraordinary personages in prestigious and distant times, and myths have various forms and functions, perhaps some more clearly defined with a signifier than others, and different approaches can be combined for a better understanding of the myths. Dispensing with such simplistic assertions, and starting from a minimal definition to define myth, myth is a traditional tale that relates memorable and exemplary actions of extraordinary personages in prestigious and distant times.

Any symbol F originates in a unit that has two aspects and functions when the unit is restored. Thus, the symbol is rather “for something” than “of something” and the symbolic objects express the objects' correspondence in one unit or hendiadys. One semantic characteristic of symbols is “recognition”. The symbol F reveals a reality by means of the homogenous association of the signifier and significance in the symbol's constitution; although reality is separate, there is a homogeneous relation between the symbolizing and symbolized in symbolization.

The purpose of this study is to explore the process of scaling second-hand fashion and how different strategic paths develop over time. This is theoretically grounded in two distinct scaling logics synthesised from the literature: a process that includes strategies for organisational growth (breadth-scaling) and a process that influences change in formal and informal institutions (depth-scaling).

The paper presents a process-based study based on the growth of a second-hand fashion retail organisation over 20 years. Qualitative materials such as interviews, observations and documents were collected and analysed.

The findings illustrate how a circular business model (CBM) can make use of a mix of strategies aiming for both organisational growth and impacting practices and habits within the fashion industry. Strategies building on breadth-scaling logic are found to be a prerequisite for engaging with depth-scaling strategies since they contribute to necessary resources and confidence, while depth-scaling secures future scaling opportunities by changing the conditions for scale.

The study contributes to the relatively scant literature on the process of scaling CBMs by exploring how different strategic paths unfold over time. The process-based approach, in combination with the two scaling logics, gives new insights into how CBMs go from niche to mainstream and thus influence the transition to a circular economy (CE).

In this study, we assessed the educational value and efficacy of a virtual educational escape room (VEER), called “The Mysterious Disappearance”, for training pre-service teachers.

“The Mysterious Disappearance” was developed ad hoc and contains various activities and puzzles focussing on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The research will evaluate the design quality and satisfaction of 193 participants regarding the VEER, their perceptions of game-based learning (GBL) and analyse which soft skills are most used and which valence typology (positive/pleasant or negative/unpleasant emotions) has the greatest impact on players’ experience. Descriptive, exploratory factor and inferential analyses are employed.

The study indicates that the VEER is rated very positively by pre-service teachers. Overall satisfaction levels are high, and the resource and methodology are perceived as favourable. The design quality of the resource is also well rated, with participants perceiving it as a challenging but engaging and well-balanced. Participation in the VEER shows several benefits, especially in cognitive and motivational areas. The participants demonstrated high levels of soft skills utilisation. The resource elicits predominantly positive and pleasurable emotions. Finally, there is a positive perception towards GBL among pre-service teachers, both as students and future teachers.

This study employs a multivariate analysis, using a questionnaire comprising three scales. This study’s dual focus on participants’ perceptions, as current Students and Future teachers, provides insights into their potential role as designers/implementers. Findings contribute to the ongoing development of academic hypotheses, particularly by highlighting the increased motivation linked to VEER use and its positive impact on learning. Designed with the SDG framework, the game enhances teachers' engagement with the 2030 Agenda, supporting their professional development and promotes values related to sustainability. The VEER was developed ad hoc by one of the authors, and the study has potential implications for numerous fields and areas of research.

In the UK signposting services can be developed as enhanced support for people with health and social care needs or service diversion to help primary and urgent care services manage their workload. This review considers these two conflicting purposes.

The review used a realist approach, initial searches to identify theory; we then selected 22 publications and extracted programme theories, from which we developed questions from three viewpoints: the service user, the front-line service provider and the commissioner. A rich sample of studies were found from purposive searching. To optimise the applicability of synthesis findings predominantly UK studies were included.

Users value signposting service that understand their needs, suggest a range of options and summarise potential actions. People with complex health and social care needs generally require extended time/input from signposting services. Front-line providers require initial and ongoing training, support/supervision, good knowledge of available services/resources and the ability to match users to them and a flexible response. Commissioned signposting services in England are diverse making evaluation difficult.

Meaningful evaluation of signposting services requires greater clarity around roles and service expectations. Signposting services alone fulfil the needs of a small number of users due to the unreconciled tension between efficient (transactional) service provision and effective (relational) service provision. This is underpinned by competing narratives of whether signposting represents diversion of inappropriate demand from primary care and other urgent care services or improved quality of care through a joined-up response encompassing health, social care and community/voluntary services.

This study aims to discuss the possible consequences of food crises caused by unsustainable food production and distribution, as well as how the rapid depletion of food resources may affect human life, destinations and the food tourism industry.

To address the lack of research examining the impact of sustainability issues and food crises on food tourism, this study conducted a critical review of the literature and reports related to agriculture, food production and sustainability.

Global conflicts, climate change and supply disruptions result in the reduction of food availability and quality. The high price of food and energy in such circumstances will further exacerbate poverty and delay destination development, which will negatively impact food tourism's economic sustainability. Furthermore, local businesses will be limited in their ability to offer a variety of culinary experiences, which will negatively impact the overall experience of food tourism. In this context, there is a pressing need to investigate the experiential aspects of food tourism as well as today's challenges relating to food crises at multiple levels, sustainable approaches, food quality and food services.

The United Nations, FAO, WHO, UNICEF and other regional and international organizations refer to unsustainable practices and food crises on a variety of levels. Several sectors, including the food tourism industry, are predicted to be negatively affected by the current situation. However, governments have not adopted an emergency code to address this issue, except in some regions experiencing extreme inflation and food shortages. Besides promoting sustainable practices, responding to global crises and enhancing culinary and cultural tourism experiences, food crisis management and sustainability efforts can have a significant impact on future research, practical applications and societal outcomes.

As one of the first studies conducted in this field, this study examines the effects of declines in food production and issues in the supply chain on the food tourism industry.

本文讨论了不可持续的粮食生产和分配造成的粮食危机的可能后果, 以及粮食资源的快速枯竭如何影响人类生活、目的地和食品旅游业。

为了解决缺乏研究可持续性问题和粮食危机对食品旅游的影响问题, 本研究对与农业、粮食生产和可持续性相关的文献和报告进行了批判性回顾。

全球冲突、气候变化和供应中断导致粮食供应和质量下降。在这种情况下, 粮食和能源的高昂价格将进一步加剧贫困, 阻碍目的地的发展, 这将对食品旅游的经济可持续性产生负面影响。此外, 当地企业提供各种烹饪体验的能力将受到限制, 这将对美食旅游的整体体验产生负面影响。在此背景下, 迫切需要了解食品旅游的体验, 以及当今在多个层面上与粮食危机、可持续方法、食品质量和食品服务相关的挑战。

联合国、粮农组织、世界卫生组织、儿童基金会和其他区域和国际组织在各种层面上提到了不可持续的做法和粮食危机。包括食品旅游业在内的几个部门预计将受到当前形势的负面影响。然而, 除了一些经历极端通货膨胀和粮食短缺的地区外, 各国政府还没有通过紧急代码来解决这个问题。除了推广可持续实践、应对全球危机、增强烹饪和文化旅游体验外, 粮食危机管理和可持续发展工作还可以对未来的研究、实际应用和社会成果产生重大影响。

作为该领域最早进行的研究之一, 本研究考察了食品产量下降和供应链问题对食品旅游业的影响。

Este artículo analiza las posibles consecuencias de las crisis alimentarias provocadas por la producción y distribución insostenibles de alimentos, así como el modo en que el rápido agotamiento de los recursos alimentarios puede afectar a la vida humana, a los destinos y a la industria del turismo gastronómico.

Para abordar la falta de investigaciones que examinen el impacto de las cuestiones de sostenibilidad y las crisis alimentarias en el turismo gastronómico, este estudio realizó una revisión crítica de la literatura y los informes relacionados con la agricultura, la producción de alimentos y la sostenibilidad.

Los conflictos mundiales, el cambio climático y las interrupciones en el suministro provocan la reducción de la disponibilidad y la calidad de los alimentos. El elevado precio de los alimentos y la energía en tales circunstancias agravará aún más la pobreza y retrasará el desarrollo de los destinos, lo que repercutirá negativamente en la sostenibilidad económica del turismo gastronómico. Además, los negocios locales verán limitada su capacidad de ofrecer una variedad de experiencias culinarias, lo que repercutirá negativamente en la experiencia global del turismo gastronómico. En este contexto, existe una necesidad acuciante de investigar los aspectos experienciales del turismo gastronómico, así como los retos actuales relacionados con las crisis alimentarias a múltiples niveles, los enfoques sostenibles, la calidad de los alimentos y los servicios alimentarios.

Las Naciones Unidas, la FAO, la OMS, UNICEF y otras organizaciones regionales e internacionales se refieren a las prácticas insostenibles y a las crisis alimentarias en diversos niveles. Se prevé que varios sectores, entre ellos la industria del turismo alimentario, se verán afectados negativamente por la situación actual. Sin embargo, los gobiernos no han adoptado un código de emergencia para abordar esta cuestión, excepto en algunas regiones que experimentan una inflación extrema y escasez de alimentos. Además de promover prácticas sostenibles, responder a las crisis mundiales y mejorar las experiencias turísticas culinarias y culturales, la gestión de las crisis alimentarias y los esfuerzos de sostenibilidad pueden tener un impacto significativo en la investigación futura, las aplicaciones prácticas y los resultados sociales.

Como uno de los primeros estudios realizados en este campo, este estudio examina los efectos de la disminución de la producción de alimentos y los problemas de la cadena de suministro en la industria del turismo gastronómico.

This study aims to conduct a systematic review of existing literature on ageism among older informal workers, as most studies have focused on formal work settings. Specifically, it seeks to identify the scope and characteristics of ageism that older informal workers encounter and its influence on their work and well-being.

This paper follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) framework to conduct a systematic review. Eleven studies from six databases were included and thematically analysed.

The findings revealed four main themes: the contextual nature of ageism, dimensions of work-related ageism, navigating work-related challenges, and effects on well-being. These themes highlight that, despite being perceived as experienced and reliable, older informal workers face exclusion from work opportunities as they are perceived as unproductive and less capable of acquiring new skills. These negative perceptions significantly impacted their willingness to continue working and overall well-being.

The findings offer an overview of extant research and the direction for future research and policy interventions to address ageism among older informal workers. The findings are crucial for enhancing older workers' quality of life, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where population ageing is the fastest.

This study is one of the few to systematically explore and evaluate empirical evidence on ageism in the informal work sector. It thus expands existing knowledge and understanding of the phenomenon of ageism in a least explored context.