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Place-based, social studies teaching and learning has the potential to foster engaged citizens connected and committed to improving their communities. This study explored the research question, “In what ways do classroom and field-based experiences prepare teacher candidates (TCs) to make connections between place-based education and elementary social studies education?”

This qualitative case study examined how elementary TCs learned about, researched, curated and created place-based social studies educational resources related to community sites. Data collection included TCs’ Pre- and Post-Course Reflections as well as Self-Evaluations, which were analyzed using an inductive approach and multiple rounds of concept coding. Several themes emerged through data analysis.

The authors organized their findings around three themes: connections (i.e. place becomes personal), immersion (i.e. learning about place to learning in place) and bridge building (i.e. local as classroom). The classroom and field-based experiences in the elementary social studies methods course informed the ways in which TCs learned about and connected to the concept of place, experienced place in a specific place (i.e. downtown Statesboro, Georgia), and reflected upon the myriad ways that they could utilize place in their future elementary social studies classrooms.

TCs (as well as in-service teachers and teacher educators) must become more informed, connected and committed to places within their local communities in order to consider them as resources for elementary social studies teaching and learning.

This study aims to examine the relationship between the personality dimensions of consumers and celebrities; the effect of celebrity personality on attitude towards the celebrity; and the effect of attitude towards the celebrity on purchase intention.

Data were gathered from 400 respondents in the North of England to explore the connections between five consumer personality dimensions (agreeableness, extroversion, openness, conscientiousness and neuroticism) and nine celebrity personality dimensions (neuroticism, extroversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, sincerity, excitement, stylishness and positivity) and were analysed using structural equation modelling.

The findings suggested that some dimensions of consumer personality, i.e. conscientiousness, extroversion and openness, were significantly related to all the celebrity personality dimensions. Moreover, all the celebrity personality dimensions had a significant effect on consumers’ attitude towards the celebrity; however, only neuroticism, extroversion, openness, sincerity and positivity significantly affected purchase intention. Finally, attitude towards the celebrity had a significant effect on purchase intention.

The study introduces a celebrity personality scale and explores a topic that has not previously been researched.

The purpose of this briefing is to highlight the critical importance of negotiation skills in the everyday lives of real estate professionals. It delves into how negotiators must improve their negotiations skills given the negotiation-intensive nature of real estate. It also helps to handle common pitfalls and challenges in negotiations, particularly in the increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) reality of the real estate industry. The briefing offers strategic insights for preparation and negotiation aimed at improving any real estate negotiator’s average performance.

The expert opinion piece combines a literature review on negotiation strategies with practical insights. It addresses the observed under appreciation of negotiation theory and skill, reflecting on real-world real estate negotiations. The goal is to enhance the use and recognition of negotiation theory in the real estate industry. The approach merges theoretical analysis with practical application, offering actionable recommendations to improve negotiation outcomes.

The negotiation-intensive real estate industry and the transformative impact of VUCA challenges on real estate professionals’ ability to adapt and continuously negotiate successful deals clashes with many real estate’s professional or fixed mind-set over negotiation historically being an art or a talent and mostly being stuck with win-lose strategies. Instead, negotiation is a science that can be learned and deliberately improved to counter stress-induced or fear-based responses that lead negotiators toward suboptimal negotiation strategies, such as win-lose or naive win-win. However, these dynamics are preventable. Well-equipped and well-prepared value win-win negotiators can adopt a growth mind-set, study modern negotiation advice and frameworks to thrive in the negotiation-rich real estate industry and convert even VUCA challenges into an amazing source of value.

Real estate professionals can become more aware of which and how current obstacles and poor choices negatively contribute to their negotiation performance. It contrasts win-lose and win-win strategic frameworks to enable real estate professionals to become more sophisticated when choosing their negotiation strategies. The briefing also helps real estate professionals expand their negotiation repertoire towards improved strategic flexibility when managing the evolving real estate profession reality and challenges.

The originality and value of the briefing lie in its comprehensive approach to addressing the negotiation challenges faced by real estate professionals. It offers a holistic view of real estate negotiation, advocating for a paradigm shift from traditional win-lose tactics to a collaborative, value win-win approach. The briefing integrates modern negotiation theory and emphasises ethical practices, providing practical strategies and best practices for professionals to improve their skills and adapt to industry changes. By empowering real estate professionals with knowledge and tools to navigate negotiations effectively, the briefing contributes to the overall success and professionalism of the industry.

A descriptive case study approach was adopted to examine employees' perceptions of the prevalence and usefulness of wellness programs. Relying on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health ScoreCard (CDC HSC), this study aims to assess the prevalence of worksite wellness programs, policies and benefits in general and incorporated employee perspectives to contextualize the CDC HSC wellness assessments.

The authors first compared the CDC HSC assessments to evaluate the effectiveness of wellness programs in 20 select organizations. Follow-up employee interviews (n = 25) were conducted to contextualize the CDC HSC assessments.

A variety of wellness programs are likely to increase employee engagement and participation when organizations adopt a bundling approach to combine wellness policies, incentives and an array of wellness programming opportunities that encourage and incentivize employees’ health promotion behaviors.

Future researchers might examine health metrics, in terms of dollars, doctor visits or biometrics before and after the implementation of a wellness program or paid wellness coordinator. Because this study interviewed employees and not members of executive leadership or finance and accounting, financial metrics were not available or the focus of this study. The inclusion of leaders and directors of wellness initiatives would offer additional ways for examining the impact of wellness initiatives on employee behaviors on organizational outcomes.

Nutrition, weight management and chronic disease management were identified as major challenges impacting the health of employees. Even when organizations reported robust scores in their CDC HSC assessments, employers identified these three areas as critical for sustaining the health and well-being of their employees. Finally, the issue of employee safety was a top priority for all organizations regardless of how they scored on their CDC HSC assessments.

The authors suggest that when high-impact wellness practices are linked to organizational supports in the workplace, these efforts are likely to have more positive effects on both employee outcomes and organizational outcomes. A regular routine of checking on wellness issues can help keep potential problems from going unnoticed. An example of this is a reminder to stretch at a morning meeting or during work hours as a reminder to stay focused on health and well-being.

The authors aggregated the organizational assessments for different wellness interventions and compared the scores (falling above or below) with standardized CDC wellness scores. The incorporation of the CDC scorecard ensured a standardized and evidence-based evaluation of workplace wellness programs. This additional step informed the interview guide and follow-up with employees who offered recommendations for how organizations could enhance their wellness programs and policies.

The purpose of this study is to (1) identify the factors that affect the adoption of virtual reality (VR) for spectator sports, (2) examine the differences in the factors among the four adopter categories (i.e. continuers, discontinuers, potentials and resistors) and (3) determine whether these factors are useful for discriminating among the adopter categories, based on the “diffusion of innovation” and “uses and gratification” theories.

In total, 216 participants were included in the analysis. Logistic regression and multiple analyses of variance were conducted to identify the factors that affect the adoption of VRS and examine the differences in the factors between adopter and non-adopter as well as between the continuers, discontinuers, potentials and resistors.

This study found that actualized innovativeness, complexity, companionship and gender significantly affect user adoption of VR for spectator sports. There were significant differences in the factors among the four adopter categories. The factors were also useful in discriminating between the four adopter categories.

This study highlights how individuals embrace emerging technologies differently based on their adopter category characteristics. From a marketing perspective, the insights gained from this study can inform the development of targeted strategies, campaigns and user experiences for VR spectator sports (VRS). This approach promises new revenue streams for the spectator sport industry and offers solutions to challenges like declining viewership and digital marginalization. It underscores the potential success of VR technology in transforming the spectator sport industry.