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1 – 10 of 13In terms of the use of sports places and spaces, per capita is a determining parameter for the status and perspective of the future. Although there are many uses for the per…
Abstract
Purpose
In terms of the use of sports places and spaces, per capita is a determining parameter for the status and perspective of the future. Although there are many uses for the per capita indicator in sports places, there are no consistent scientific and methodological methods for calculating it. Therefore, this study aims to provide an analytical model to determine the per capita index of sports places and spaces.
Design/methodology/approach
One of the matters that can be considered as the basic information required to develop and construct sports facilities is determination of per capita, which can be used as the most vital information to plan and develop this type of urban utilities. In the history of contemporary urbanization, the use of the per capita concept is one of Reinhard Laumeister’s innovations, a founder of modern urban engineering in Germany, hence, the use of per capita was triggered in 1876, almost 133 years ago.
Findings
The underlying information of the research in two spatial and descriptive sections was analyzed in the geographic information systems (GIS) software. After the division and network distribution of the boundary by the Thiessen Networks analytic function in the Arc GIS, per capita of each polygon was separately calculated using the presented formula and the population of the related blocks
Originality/value
Finally, with the qualitative per capita achieved in the previous stage, the study area was classified based on the need for the development of indoor pools to three, privileged, semi-privileged and deprived spectrums.
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Tina Bedenik, Claudine Kearney and Éidín Ní Shé
In this viewpoint article, the authors recognize the increased focus in health systems on co-design for innovation and change. This article explores the role of leaders and…
Abstract
Purpose
In this viewpoint article, the authors recognize the increased focus in health systems on co-design for innovation and change. This article explores the role of leaders and mangers in developing and enhancing a culture of trust in their organizations to enable co-design, with the potential to drive innovation and change in healthcare.
Design/methodology/approach
Using social science analyses, the authors argue that current co-design literature has limited focus on interactions between senior leaders and managers, and healthcare staff and service users in supporting co-designed innovation and change. The authors draw on social and health science studies of trust to highlight how the value-based co-design process needs to be supported and enhanced. We outline what co-design innovation and change involve in a health system, conceptualize trust and reflect on its importance within the health system, and finally note the role of senior leaders and managers in supporting trust and responsiveness for co-designed innovation and change.
Findings
Healthcare needs leaders and managers to embrace co-design that drives innovation now and in the future through people – leading to better healthcare for society at large. As authors we argue that it is now the time to shift our focus on the role of senior managers and leaders to embed co-design into health and social care structures, through creating and nurturing a culture of trust.
Originality/value
Building public trust in the health system and interpersonal trust within the health system is an ongoing process that relies upon personal behavior of managers and senior leaders, organizational practices within the system, as well as political processes that underpin these practices. By implementing managerial, leadership and individual practices on all levels, senior managers and leaders provide a mechanism to increase both trust and responsiveness for co-design that supports innovation and change in the health system.
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English social work policies and regulatory bodies propel critical reflection as a professional requirement and a worthwhile activity. The purpose of this paper is to report on…
Abstract
Purpose
English social work policies and regulatory bodies propel critical reflection as a professional requirement and a worthwhile activity. The purpose of this paper is to report on the current international and UK evidence that informs the understanding and use of critical reflection and associated terms – reflection, reflective practice and reflective supervision – in one-to-one practitioner supervision in local authority children and families social work in England.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of the evidence was undertaken using documentary policy analysis and a scholastic literature review to examine the history and current knowledge available as of December 2022.
Findings
The historical policy and professional context of critical reflection in one-to-one supervision in England is discussed. The current evidence review identified three themes – the role of critical reflection in models of supervision, the influences of national, organisational and professional cultures and the supervisor practitioner relationship. The nuanced nature of the presence of critical reflection in supervision and a lack of clarity when theorising and describing critical reflection has implications for policy, supervisory practice and research design.
Originality/value
Critical reflection in one-to-one social work supervision is under researched. This review draws on the evidence from international research and local policy to offer an understanding of the complexity of theorising, practicing and researching critical reflection in one-to-one supervision in local authority children and families social work in England.
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Deepanjana Varshney and Nirbhay Krishna Varshney
Workforce agility (WFA) is an emergent research topic in volatile times. However, there is a lack of research in understanding the leadership dimension that triggers such an…
Abstract
Purpose
Workforce agility (WFA) is an emergent research topic in volatile times. However, there is a lack of research in understanding the leadership dimension that triggers such an attribute in organizations. Our study aims to understand the impact of workforce agility on empowering leadership behavior and employee performance dimensions (task performance, contextual performance and counterproductive work behavior).
Design/methodology/approach
We collected data from 236 employees using reliable, validated scales and conducted various statistical analyses.
Findings
Our results demonstrated that WFA (1) partially mediated the relationship between empowering leadership and contextual performance (CP), (2) has not mediated the relationship between empowering leadership and counterproductive behavior (CWB) and (3) mediated the relationship between empowering leadership and task performance (TP).
Practical implications
Our research has practical implications for management practitioners. It suggests hiring and developing an agile workforce through appropriate training and development programs can significantly impact organizational performance. Furthermore, it provides insights into building leadership capabilities that sustain workforce agility practices, empowering leaders to make informed decisions.
Originality/value
Our research fills a significant gap in the existing literature by exploring the effects of WFA on leadership and performance. This novel approach provides a fresh perspective on the dynamics of organizational behavior, making it a valuable addition to the field.
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Reynold James, Suzanna ElMassah and Shereen Bacheer
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) offers a level playing field to all ethnic entrepreneurs (EE’s) operating from within it. The purpose of this qualitative research case study is to…
Abstract
Purpose
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) offers a level playing field to all ethnic entrepreneurs (EE’s) operating from within it. The purpose of this qualitative research case study is to explore the reasons underpinning the relatively greater success that Indian-origin EE’s in the UAE have been enjoying for sustained periods – and across diverse industries – relative to their counterparts belonging to several other nations.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative research case study that draws from data gathered through 30 interviews of participants identified through expert sampling.
Findings
Whereas the UAE treats all its ethnic entrepreneurs (EE’s) alike and provides them with a level platform to operate from, the EE’s from India have consistently been outperforming those from all other nations, particularly within the context of the UAE’s large businesses spanning diverse industries. Three features seem to explain their success: their high tolerance for ambiguity; thriftiness; and intercultural competence.
Research limitations/implications
Two key limitations were faced: firstly, the negligible research literature on ethnic entrepreneurship in the UAE, and related official statistics such as details (by ethnicity/nationality) of EE-owned businesses, and secondly, the industry-wise break down of such businesses and their performance, as available in other developed nations hosting EE’s. Resultantly, alternate sources of data have been used to complete this research.
Practical implications
Given the UAE’s national-level institutionalised efforts to promote entrepreneurship amongst its citizens and wider populace, there are many implications that this study holds for existing and future entrepreneurs.
Originality/value
While on the one hand, the UAE and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council region have been witnessing frenetic ethnic entrepreneurial activity in the past decade, the research literature on the regions’ ethnic entrepreneurship is extremely patchy. This case study serves to significantly bridge this gap, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first work, that extensively explores the entrepreneurial trajectory of Indian EE’s in the UAE, and the factors driving their success.
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Wole Akosile, Babangida Tiyatiye, Adebunmi Bojuwoye and Roger Antabe
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of media representation on the mental health of Australians of African descent during the COVID-19 pandemic. By analysing the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of media representation on the mental health of Australians of African descent during the COVID-19 pandemic. By analysing the media coverage of COVID-19 restriction breaches, particularly focusing on individuals from African backgrounds, the study aims to shed light on how racially charged narratives can contribute to emotional distress and exacerbate feelings of alienation within these communities. The findings highlight the detrimental effects of such portrayals, emphasising the need for more responsible and inclusive media reporting to safeguard the mental well-being of culturally and linguistically diverse populations.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed media content analysis to explore representations of Australians of African origin versus the broader Anglo–Australian population during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on racial identity’s impact on news coverage of COVID-19 restriction breaches. Researchers classified and distilled extensive textual content, using a diverse sample from various ethnic-racial backgrounds, with an emphasis on African Australians within the CALD community. Data analysis was conducted using NVivo (version 12) software, following an inductive approach.
Findings
The findings underscore the consistent portrayal of people from African communities as outsiders and the racial profiling they experience in media coverage of significant issues like COVID-19.
Originality/value
There is very limited research that examines the impact of media coverage on African migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Mei-Hsin Wang and Hui-Chung Che
This research explores support vector machine (SVM) with Gaussian radial basis function kernel (RBF) as the model and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for forecasting the invalidation…
Abstract
Purpose
This research explores support vector machine (SVM) with Gaussian radial basis function kernel (RBF) as the model and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for forecasting the invalidation re-examination decisions of China invention patents, it is beneficial to support patent monetization for corporate intellectual capital.
Design/methodology/approach
There were 8,666 China invention patents with their existing invalidation re-examination decisions during 2000∼2021 chosen to conduct classification model training and prediction for the accuracy of invalidation re-examination decisions through SVM with RBF. Statistical significance was performed by ANOVA to identify indicators for these invention patents selected in this research. These selected 8,666 China invention patents were divided into two groups based on their invalidation re-examination decisions during 2000∼2021 in Table 1, which Group 1 included 5,974 invention patents with all valid or partially valid claims, and Group 0 included 2,692 invention patents with all invalid claims. Thereafter, each group was further divided into sub-groups based on 13 major regions where the applicants filed invalidation re-examination. The training sets for Group 1, Group 0 and the sub-groups were selected based on the patent issued in January, February, April, May, July, August, October and November; while the prediction sets were selected from the invention patents issued in March, June, September and December.
Findings
The training and prediction accuracies were compared to the existing invalidation re-examination decisions. Accuracies of training sets were ranged from 100% in region 7 (Beijing) and region 9 (Shanghai) to 95.95% in region 1 (US), and the average accuracy of invalidation re-examination decisions was 98.95%. While the accuracies of prediction sets for Group 1 were ranged from 100.00% in region 7 (Beijing) to 90.78% in region 13 (Overseas-others), and the average accuracy of classification was 95.96%, this research’s outcomes confirmed the purpose of applying SVM with RBF to predict the patentability sustainability.
Originality/value
This research developed an empirical method through SVM with RBF to predict patentability sustainability which is crucial for corporate intellectual capital on patents. In particular, the investments on patents are huge, including the patent cultivation and maintenance, developments into products or services, patent litigations and dispute managements. Therefore, this research is beneficial not only for corporation, but also for research organisations to perform cost-effective and profitable patent strategies on intellectual capital.
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Mohsen Ben Mabrouk, Sami Hammami and Mohamed Nejib Ouertani
In Tunisia, foreign commercial exchanges are predominantly maintained via ocean freight and accomplished through eight major ports. The latter play a critical role in the Tunisian…
Abstract
Purpose
In Tunisia, foreign commercial exchanges are predominantly maintained via ocean freight and accomplished through eight major ports. The latter play a critical role in the Tunisian economy, whereby nearly 30.7 million tons of goods were transited in 2018. Maintaining their efficiency therefore remains a very important objective to achieve. In this context, the present study is designed to investigate the technical efficiency of respective Tunisian ports over the 16-year period (2005–2020).
Design/methodology/approach
The stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) method is applied to measure the associated time-invariant and time-varying technical efficiency. Moreover, through technical inefficiency modeling, effects of both rail connectivity and private sector participation in handling activities on technical efficiency have also been accounted for.
Findings
The reached results turn out to reveal well that the Tunisian ports appear to operate below their production frontier, noticeably marked by persistent technical inefficiency. Additionally, the relevant estimates tend to confirm the berth variable associated importance in highlighting production related to Tunisian ports. More particularly, our analysis reveals that the private sector’s participation proves to display a significantly negative association with technical efficiency, while the ports’ rail connectivity turns out to demonstrate a significantly positive correlation with technical efficiency.
Practical implications
The findings of this study can provide port authorities and policymakers with insights into the technical efficiency of Tunisian ports by identifying best practices, the main factors influencing their efficiency (such as rail connectivity and private sector’s participation) and areas for improvement in these ports.
Originality/value
The present study stands as a pioneering attempt to examine the efficiency dimension through the implementation of panel data estimation modeling frameworks, particularly the random-effects and the Battese and Coelli (1995) approaches, applied to measure the technical efficiency of the Tunisian port sector. Similarly, the present study also represents an effective attempt, whereby the effects of exogenous variables, notably the rail connectivity and private sector participation, are thoroughly considered in exploring the technical efficiency of Tunisian ports.
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This study aims to investigate how printing parameters affect the mechanical properties of specimens produced through fused filament fabrication, using the Erichsen test to assess…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how printing parameters affect the mechanical properties of specimens produced through fused filament fabrication, using the Erichsen test to assess deformation characteristics and material durability under stress.
Design/methodology/approach
Polylactic acid (PLA) specimens were printed and tested in accordance with the ISO 20482 standard. Definitive screening was conducted to identify the most influential process parameters. This study examined the effects of four key process parameters – number of layers, layer height, crossing angle and nozzle diameter – on force, distension, peak energy and energy to break. Each parameter was assessed at three levels and a large number of required experiments was managed by using response surface methodology (RSM).
Findings
This study revealed that the number of layers, layer height and crossing angle are the most significant factors that influence the mechanical properties of 3D-printed materials. The number of layers had the greatest impact on the peak force, contributing 44.25%, with thicker layers typically enhancing material strength. The layer height has a significant effect on energy absorption and deformation, with greater layer heights generally improving these properties. Nozzle diameter contributed only 1.10%, making it the least influential factor; however, its impact became more pronounced in interactions with other parameters.
Originality/value
This paper presents a comprehensive experimental investigation into the effects of process parameters on the crack strength and behavior of 3D-printed PLA specimens using the RSM method. The documented results can be used to develop optimization models aimed at achieving desired mechanical properties with reduced variation and uncertainty in the final product.
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Siavash Moayedi, Jamal Zamani and Mohammad Salehi
This paper aims to provide a full introduction, new classification, comparison and investigation of the challenges as well as applications of layerless 3D printing, which is one…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a full introduction, new classification, comparison and investigation of the challenges as well as applications of layerless 3D printing, which is one of the industry 4.0 pioneers.
Design/methodology/approach
Given the significance and novelty of uniform 3D printing, more than 250 publications were collected and reviewed in an unbiased and clear manner.
Findings
As a result, the majority of uniform parts printed in polymer form are known up to this point. In a novel division for better researchers’ comprehension, uniform printing systems were classified into three categories: oxygen inhibition (OI), liquid lubrication (LL) and photon penetration (PP), and each was thoroughly investigated. Furthermore, these three approaches were evaluated in terms of printing speed, precision and accuracy, manufacturing scale and cost.
Originality/value
The parameters of each approach were compared independently, and then a practical comparison was conducted among these three approaches. Finally, a variety of technologies, opportunities, challenges and advantages of each significant method, as well as a future outlook for layerless rapid prototyping, are presented.
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