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The purpose of this study is to examine factors contributing to family firms’ survival in the ongoing COVID-19 crisis; in this endeavour, the study espouses the underpinnings of social exchange theory and entrepreneurial resilience.

The views of 128 Italian family micro and small-sized firm owners/managers operating in different industries were gathered through an online questionnaire.

The analysis uncovers 12 fundamental factors contributing to firms’ survival; these are encapsulated in three dimensions and presented in two theoretical frameworks. The “beneficiary” dimension stresses the support from various internal and external stakeholders, while the “benefactor” dimension illustrates the commitment to extend the family tradition and be responsive to stakeholders. Finally, the “immersion/embeddedness” dimension denotes firms’ entrepreneurial behaviour, agility, decision-making and drive.

Firstly, and from a practitioner perspective, this study addresses recognised knowledge and research gaps in contemporary family business research, including how family firms are confronting the current unprecedented crisis. This response to current extant gaps provides first-hand empirical findings that could be primarily considered by industry stakeholders. Secondly, and from a theoretical angle, the aforementioned dimensions revealed through the analysis, coupled with the development of a theoretical framework, contribute to conceptual rigour and, therefore, a deeper understanding of family firms’ journey through an unprecedented event.

This chapter presents a novel exploration of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications within the context of digital transformation in higher education, specifically focusing on the social sciences. Despite the interest in AI technologies for educational enhancement, there remains a notable gap in the literature: a comprehensive comparison of generative AI tools and their effectiveness in social science education. Addressing this gap, our study serves a dual purpose. Initially, we delineate the potential roles and benefits of generative AI in the pedagogical processes of teaching and learning. Subsequently, we conduct an empirical analysis of five leading generative AI engines to assess their performance and applicability in educational settings. Through this investigation, we aim not only to equip educators with a deeper understanding of the advantages and limitations of current AI technologies but also to inform AI developers about the specific needs of social science educators. The goal is to foster the development of more refined and effective generative AI solutions that can significantly enhance educational outcomes in the digital era.

This study examines the contribution of urban development to Vietnam's economic progress over the period 1986–2020. The study uses an augmented Solow framework, where urbanization is included as a shift variable in addition to capital per worker and accounts for structural breaks. It examines the cointegration and the long-run and short-run effects of urban development from four different cases of cointegration (constant, restricted constant, restricted trend and trend options), with each case accounting for the effect of a significant structural break. Also, the study provides causality nexus to check the presence of urbanization-led growth hypothesis. From the results, we note a long-run positive effect of urbanization on economic growth, but no short-run effects. In all cases, a 1% increase in population results in 0.8–0.9 increase of output, hence supporting a positive and momentous effect of urbanization over the long-term. We note a significant positive effect of a single structural break period (1991), which is a period of major shift towards economic progress. We note bidirectional causality between capital and output and a unidirectional causality from output and capital to urbanization. The former suggests a mutually reinforcing effect of capital accumulation and economic growth, and the latter indicates that urban development necessitates economic growth and capital accumulation. The findings derived from this study provide further impetus for urban development and urban policies and consider urbanization as a critical source of economic growth for Vietnam.

A distinction must be drawn between a dismissal on the one hand, and on the other a repudiation of a contract of employment as a result of a breach of a fundamental term of that contract. When such a repudiation has been accepted by the innocent party then a termination of employment takes place. Such termination does not constitute dismissal (see London v. James Laidlaw & Sons Ltd (1974) IRLR 136 and Gannon v. J. C. Firth (1976) IRLR 415 EAT).

Clients’ satisfaction is often associated with performance in the construction industry. Organisations that achieve very high ratings of clients’ satisfaction improve their positions in the marketplace. Many clients are often dissatisfied with their project outcomes. Hence, a research study was carried out to examine the ways project managers and/or contractors perceive the subject of clients’ satisfaction.

The study applied qualitative research methods and followed the interpretivist paradigm and inductive research approach. A total of 30 interviews were conducted with construction project managers and evaluated by a thematic analysis.

The study identified five prominent factors which the project managers perceived to impact on clients’ satisfaction, which are as follows: effective financial management; use of skilled workers; use of advanced technology; customer relation and time management. Other contributors to clients’ satisfaction include effective team leadership, project monitoring, communication and adequate knowledge and skills.

Data collection was limited to Saudi Arabia, but the general methodology used and some of the findings may be applicable beyond this country.

The findings provide a more informed basis of attaining greater clients’ satisfaction by contractors, especially within and possibly beyond Saudi Arabia. Also, contractors can directly enquire from clients about their satisfaction following project completion.

A project manager's perspective and Saudi Arabian orientation of clients’ satisfaction are presented. Also, insight into the multifaceted nature of the factors influencing clients’ satisfaction is provided.

The study explored the disparity between construction clients and contractors on what constitutes “client satisfaction”. Such disparity is important because it can lead to different conclusions and thus disagreement on the assessment of project success.

The philosophical stance was interpretivism, thus the qualitative methodology was adopted. Employing purposive sampling, 30 interviews with clients and another 30 interviews with contractors were conducted in Saudi Arabia. The data obtained were evaluated by thematic analysis.

The results indicate differences in the consensus ad idem (meeting of the minds) between clients and contractors in terms of both their perceptions and prioritisation of the attributes that underpin client satisfaction. For example, some contractors thought that using advanced technologies was very important for client satisfaction, whereas some clients preferred the contractors to be honest with them.

The data collection was limited to Saudi Arabia and only the views of clients and contractors were studied, thereby limiting the generalisability of the findings.

The identification of the differing priorities of clients and contractors on client satisfaction provides an informed basis to make more concerted efforts to satisfy clients and minimise disputes on projects in Saudi Arabia.

The study contrasted the views of clients and contractors simultaneously on the subject matter of client satisfaction in relation to project success, and analysed this through the lens of consensus ad idem. The key influences on clients' satisfaction in Saudi Arabia are also presented.

Investigates conservation problems facing cultural collections in libraries and museums. Provides recommended levels of environmental control and a suggested risk assessment of collections. Concludes that conserving items may not be possible for small museums.

The purpose of this paper was to create a generic and flexible framework for the exploration, evaluation and side-by-side comparison of novel propulsion architectures. The intent for these evaluations was to account for varying operation strategies and to support architectural design space decisions, at the conceptual design stages, rather than single-point design solutions.

To this end, main propulsion subsystems were categorized into energy, power and thrust sources. Two types of matrices, namely, the property and interdependency matrices, were created to describe the relationships and power flows among these sources. These matrices were used to define various electrified propulsion architectures, including, but not limited to, turboelectric, series-parallel and distributed electric propulsion configurations.

As a case study, the matrices were used to generate and operate the distributed electric propulsion architecture of NASA’s X-57 Mod IV aircraft concept. The mission performance results were acceptably close to the data obtained from the literature. Finally, the matrices were used to simulate the changes in the operation strategy under two motor failure scenarios to demonstrate the ease of use, rapidness and automation.

It was seen that this new framework enables rapid and analysis-based comparisons among unconventional propulsion architectures where solutions are driven by requirements.