Mingming Cheng, Maggie Hu and Adrian Lee
Taking a global perspective, this paper aims to examine the impact of COVID-19 on Airbnb booking activities through three critical perspectives – the initial Wuhan lockdown, local…
Abstract
Purpose
Taking a global perspective, this paper aims to examine the impact of COVID-19 on Airbnb booking activities through three critical perspectives – the initial Wuhan lockdown, local COVID-19 cases and local lockdowns.
Design/methodology/approach
Using Airbnb reviews and cancellations as proxies for Airbnb bookings on a global scale, econometrics was used to examine the impacts of the initial Wuhan lockdown, local COVID-19 cases and local lockdowns on Airbnb bookings.
Findings
The authors find that local lockdowns result in a 57.8% fall in global booking activities. Every doubling of newly infected cases is associated with a 4.16% fall in bookings. The sensitivity of bookings to COVID-19 decreases with geographic distance to Wuhan and increases with government stringency of lockdown policies and human mobility within a market.
Practical implications
The empirical evidence from this research can provide governments with insights into more accurate assessment of the financial loss of Airbnb hosts so that proper support can be offered based on the financial needs because of due to sudden lockdown.
Originality/value
This research contributes to new knowledge on peer-to-peer accommodation during a time of crisis and provides much needed global evidence to understand the impacts of COVID-19 on the accommodation industry.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide a valuable perspective on leadership within the police force.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a valuable perspective on leadership within the police force.
Design/methodology/approach
In this interview, Adrian Lee talks candidly with Sue Howard and Jonathan Smith about the current challenges facing police and public sector leadership.
Findings
Chief constable Adrian Lee's studies of theology, philosophy and law prior to him joining the police service have shaped and formed his sense of vocation and the values that are now central to many of the fundamental issues of leadership that the police service have to consider.
Originality/value
This paper provides the valuable perspective of a chief constable on the challenges facing leaders in the police force, and applies this to the public sector more generally. Chief Constable Adrian Lee believes that vision, values and vocation are essential elements for effective policing in the twenty‐first century.
Carlos Montes-Galdón and Eva Ortega
This chapter proposes a vector autoregressive VAR model with structural shocks (SVAR) that are identified using sign restrictions, and whose distribution is subject to time…
Abstract
This chapter proposes a vector autoregressive VAR model with structural shocks (SVAR) that are identified using sign restrictions, and whose distribution is subject to time varying skewness. The authors also present an efficient Bayesian algorithm to estimate the model. The model allows tracking joint asymmetric risks to macroeconomic variables included in the SVAR, and provides a structural narrative to the evolution of those risks. When faced with euro area data, our estimation suggests that there has been a significant variation in the skewness of demand, supply and monetary policy shocks. Such variation can explain a significant proportion of the joint dynamics of real GDP growth and inflation, and also generates important asymmetric tail risks in those macroeconomic variables. Finally, compared to the literature on growth- and inflation-at-risk, the authors find that financial stress indicators are not enough to explain all the macroeconomic tail risks.
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Policing is an enormously challenging occupation. Despite the difficulties, however, the vast majority of police officers are extremely resilient and demonstrate high levels of…
Abstract
Purpose
Policing is an enormously challenging occupation. Despite the difficulties, however, the vast majority of police officers are extremely resilient and demonstrate high levels of self‐control, compassion, professionalism and love for the work they have chosen to do. Their dedication to service is inspiring. These officers appear to have the ability to re‐direct their emotionally charged frustrations and use the experiences to create new meaning and compassion. This paper seeks to look at what leaders in all public‐sector organisations can learn from these resilient officers, and to look at what can be done to ensure these leaders are fully fit for the role they have to perform in these challenging times of austerity and cutback.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on extensive research in this area, this paper provides the author's view on lessons from policing that can be applied across the public sector.
Findings
The author argues that when the deeper issues are considered, many of the challenges in policing and in leadership are fundamentally of a spiritual nature, and it is vital to include consideration of the spiritual dimension in an holistic approach to leadership.
Originality/value
There is a need to develop new leadership approaches in the public sector that can cope with the pressure of rapid change on individuals and within organisations. There is much that can be learned from current approaches in policing and, when considered, many of the challenges are fundamentally of a spiritual nature and so it is vital to include consideration of the spiritual dimension when developing leadership fitness.
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Having played a very minor role by suggesting part of the conference content, I am really ineligible to evaluate it. However, my friend, Julius Pikenpack, has suggested that the…
Abstract
Having played a very minor role by suggesting part of the conference content, I am really ineligible to evaluate it. However, my friend, Julius Pikenpack, has suggested that the following six points be mentioned.
Apprenticeships in England are currently experiencing a revival. The purpose of this paper is to provide a general overview of apprenticeships in England, examine current…
Abstract
Purpose
Apprenticeships in England are currently experiencing a revival. The purpose of this paper is to provide a general overview of apprenticeships in England, examine current government policy, and explore current issues around the further development of apprenticeships.
Design/methodology/approach
Desk research, including reviewing other research articles and labour market intelligence has been carried out to provide a general overview of the issues.
Findings
Apprenticeships have traditionally been regarded as the vocational route to stable employment. Although they have sometimes suffered from a poor reputation they are now becoming an increasingly popular option for both younger and older people. The knowledge economy is driving up the demand for higher level skills and concurrent with this is the notion that, in today's competitive labour market, experience is vital. Not only has this impacted on the popularity of apprenticeships but also upon more traditional “academic” routes such as higher education (HE). In addition it has raised questions about higher level skills and vocational education. The introduction of Higher Apprenticeships and work experience/real world interactions built into HE courses are establishing synergies between the two elements of the skills/education system; however, developing these synergies further is a critical issue for future consideration.
Originality/value
There is a proliferation of publications tracking the nature and value of apprenticeships. This paper traces apprenticeships and their evolution and examines how practices adopted can be applied to newer vocational options being integrated into HE. The paper considers apprenticeships and other vocational options, building on the author's own discussions with employers and recent graduates.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine UK higher level skills gaps. UK universities now have many students who were already learning at a higher level about, for, or through…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine UK higher level skills gaps. UK universities now have many students who were already learning at a higher level about, for, or through, their activities at work, and have decided to formalise this via a higher education (HE) programme; for these students learning mostly takes place away from the university and is sometimes categorised as “work‐based”. Due to the increasingly flexible and hybrid profile of all contemporary students it is more realistic to align those undertaking work‐based study with those choosing more traditional study routes, as all students need to enhance their workplace and life skills in order to better fit them for employment and life after university. There are blurred, not solid, boundaries between the differing kinds of students and between working and studying, and it is useful and productive to acknowledge this continuum.
Design/methodology/approach
A researched overview of relevant policy, data and literature including a research project into higher level skills gaps.
Practical implications
Employers cite the crucial nature of employability and subject‐based skills and the need for employees who understand how to learn, and furthermore how to build upon and maximise the usefulness of what they learn by making connections and solving problems.
Originality/value
The paper shows how HE is shifting, due to demographics, an evolving world picture and a tough economic climate. Technological advances intensify globalisation causing rapid changes and greater competition for jobs and resources. The pressure on HE graduates is greater than ever before. The Government states that individuals require skills with a high economic value and to be prepared to undertake jobs in industries which do not exist yet; they must be changeable and adaptable to meet the challenges of the jobs market and willing to continuously develop themselves.