Carla Ferraro, Sean Sands, Alexander Schnack, Jonathan Elms and Colin L. Campbell
This research explores anticipated long-term change in the retail and services marketplace, directly arising as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Abstract
Purpose
This research explores anticipated long-term change in the retail and services marketplace, directly arising as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
A series of 20 in-depth interviews were conducted with retail and service stakeholders (executives, suppliers and thought-leaders) from across Asia-Pacific (New Zealand and Australia), the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States.
Findings
We identify six guiding principles for long-term change in the retail and services sector required to guide future business development and practice, including embedding new ways of working, rethinking the role and purpose of physical space, prioritizing digital elements, integrating employees in community, building agile supply and planning for future turbulence.
Originality/value
The Covid-19 pandemic is different from prior disruptive experiences in that it was a sudden shock to business and was collectively experienced by firms, workers and consumers across the globe. This research provides a view of decision-makers’ sensemaking and anticipated changes impacting the future retail and services marketplace.
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Keywords
Rajib Shaw and Phong Tran
According to the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2007), 11 out of the last 12 years have…
Abstract
According to the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2007), 11 out of the last 12 years have been the hottest on record since 1850. It is also estimated that the average global surface temperature from 1850–1899 to 2001–2005 has increased by 0.76°C. Global sea level increased at an average rate of 1.8mm per year over the period 1961–2003 and, over the 20th century, sea levels rose by 0.17m. Since the middle of 20th century, human activities have contributed to global warming, a phenomenon that is expected to continue at an increasingly faster rate in the 21st century if there is no effort to address it.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been studied as a neurodevelopmental disorder since Leo Kanner's early observations of abnormal head circumference in autistic children. In the…
Abstract
Purpose
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been studied as a neurodevelopmental disorder since Leo Kanner's early observations of abnormal head circumference in autistic children. In the past few years, there has been much progress made in elucidating the anatomical and functional abnormalities in ASD. This paper aims to summarise the extant research.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper provides a summary of relevant research findings in the neuroimaging of autism for the past 12 month period. Papers were identified using the Medline search terms: autism; ASD (functional); magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); neuroimaging; diffusion tensor imaging (DTI); and endophenotype.
Findings
Relatively recent techniques such as functional MRI and DTI have furthered the initial work derived from early histological and structural imaging studies. Even newer techniques, such as DTI tractography and support vector machine analysis, and other computer‐based learning methods have allowed us to move beyond regional variations in grey and white matter volume and study ASD as a disorder of connectivity, and of regional cerebral function and neural circuitry. Brain regions and neural circuits that are implicated in the core symptoms of ASD (deficits in social reciprocity, language and communication, and restricted and stereotyped interests) have been repeatedly shown to be abnormal in those individuals.
Originality/value
This paper aims to provide a background for clinicians to the current research and focuses on developments in the field of neuroimaging of ASD from the past year, which have generated further insights into the neurobiology of ASD.
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Rebecca Sims, Amy Gerrish and Julie Williams
This paper aims to give further insights into Alzheimer's disease (AD), a devastating neurodegenerative disorder which accounts for 60‐80 per cent of late‐onset dementia. AD is…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to give further insights into Alzheimer's disease (AD), a devastating neurodegenerative disorder which accounts for 60‐80 per cent of late‐onset dementia. AD is genetically complex where three genes are known to cause the early‐onset familial form of disease and ten genes have been identified to contribute to the risk of developing late‐onset sporadic AD.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper discusses the recently identified AD susceptibility loci and outlines the various hypotheses of how these loci and the pathways in which they function may elucidate the aetiology and pathogenesis of sporadic late‐onset AD.
Findings
The loci identified to increase susceptibility to sporadic AD are not random, but instead point to defects in specific biological processes and pathways that contribute to the development of the disease. These include impairments in: innate/adaptive immunity, specifically inflammation and the complement system; endocytosis/intracellualar trafficking, which includes the internalisation of material from the cell surface and the mechanisms by which molecules are transported; and lipid processing. High levels of lipids such as cholesterol have been associated with development of AD in later life.
Originality/value
The paper highlights that determining the function of the known susceptibility loci, and establishing how they increase risk for AD will aid in the development of new treatments.