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1 – 10 of 22Alexandros Nikas, Haris Doukas, Jenny Lieu, Rocío Alvarez Tinoco, Vasileios Charisopoulos and Wytze van der Gaast
The aim of this paper is to frame the stakeholder-driven system mapping approach in the context of climate change, building on stakeholder knowledge of system boundaries, key…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to frame the stakeholder-driven system mapping approach in the context of climate change, building on stakeholder knowledge of system boundaries, key elements and interactions within a system and to introduce a decision support tool for managing and visualising this knowledge into insightful system maps with policy implications.
Design/methodology/approach
This methodological framework is based on the concepts of market maps. The process of eliciting and visualising expert knowledge is facilitated by means of a reference implementation in MATLAB, which allows for designing technological innovation systems models in either a structured or a visual format.
Findings
System mapping can contribute to evaluating systems for climate change by capturing knowledge of expert groups with regard to the dynamic interrelations between climate policy strategies and other system components, which may promote or hinder the desired transition to low carbon societies.
Research limitations/implications
This study explores how system mapping addresses gaps in analytical tools and complements the systems of innovation framework. Knowledge elicitation, however, must be facilitated and build upon a structured framework such as technological innovation systems.
Practical implications
This approach can provide policymakers with significant insight into the strengths and weaknesses of current policy frameworks based on tacit knowledge embedded in stakeholders.
Social implications
The developed methodological framework aims to include societal groups in the climate policy-making process by acknowledging stakeholders’ role in developing transition pathways. The system map codifies stakeholder input in a structured and transparent manner.
Originality/value
This is the first study that clearly defines the system mapping approach in the frame of climate policy and introduces the first dedicated software option for researchers and decision makers to use for implementing this methodology.
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Nadirah Mat Pozian, Yvette D. Miller and Jenni Mays
Evidence for the availability and utilisation of family-friendly work conditions (FFWCs) in Malaysia has not been comprehensively reviewed. Whether persistent inequities are due…
Abstract
Purpose
Evidence for the availability and utilisation of family-friendly work conditions (FFWCs) in Malaysia has not been comprehensively reviewed. Whether persistent inequities are due to poor employer provision of work conditions or low employee uptake remains unknown. This scoping review to assess the scope of available evidence for availability and utilisation of specific FFWCs among women in Malaysia, and synthesise reported findings.
Design/methodology/approach
This scoping review used Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and twenty-two articles were reviewed.
Findings
Flexible work hours, telecommuting/work from home, staggered work hours, childcare centres proximal to workplaces, and childcare subsidies were reported as most commonly available work conditions. Available leave varied across organisations and sectors in provision of payment and duration. Flexible work hours, leave, and childcare centres proximal to workplaces were the conditions most used by employees. However, the validity of observed availability and utilisation of work conditions in Malaysia is questionable, due to inconsistencies in the specificity and range of work conditions assessed and heterogeneity of samples.
Practical implications
National monitoring of the accessibility and uptake of FFWCs is required to guide investment decisions about family-friendly policy initiatives to effectively advance gender equity in the Malaysian labour force.
Originality/value
This scoping review provides the first comprehensive synthesis and summary of the availability and utilisation of FFWCs in Malaysia.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-02-2024-0103
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Joseph Collins and Dale Metcalfe
The negative effects of loneliness and isolation on mental health and wellbeing on the neurotypical population are well documented. The purpose of this qualitative study was to…
Abstract
Purpose
The negative effects of loneliness and isolation on mental health and wellbeing on the neurotypical population are well documented. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the effects of isolation on the mental health and wellbeing of autistic adults who were separated from friends and family for an extended period.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted shortly after the lifting of the third UK lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic with a sample of 7 people (mean age, 35) formally diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Findings
The study explored effects stemming from the absence of social interaction. Thematic analysis led to the creation of three themes: The first, “Context affects perception of isolation: I’m going to continue on with my life as much as I possibly can” shows a negative impact on wellbeing, perceived through the filter of larger issues resulting from lockdown and the necessity of isolation. The second, “Being alone can be comfortable: Lockdown has been good for me” discusses the mental health benefits of isolation and participants feeling of being “primed” for that isolation. The third, “Challenges from isolation: ‘Changing routine’” explores the changes people made while isolated, with a focus on coping strategies and communication.
Originality/value
Findings reveal the importance of supporting autistic adults to maintain social contact during and after isolation and contradict research suggesting autistic people are not motivated to seek social interaction.
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Evgenia (Jenny) Kanellopoulou, Kay Lalor and Luke Bennett
This account becomes both a theoretical and a methodological exploration of walking with the law; as such the purpose of the paper is to demonstrate how we migh walk in order to…
Abstract
Purpose
This account becomes both a theoretical and a methodological exploration of walking with the law; as such the purpose of the paper is to demonstrate how we migh walk in order to attend to how the law makes the built environment possible, how it shapes and creates places to be lived in, visited and experienced and how the law manifests in human encounters and interactions in the everyday life of the city.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the authors combine a walking narrative approach with an open-ended interview to raise awareness of the law’s hidden presence in the urban environment. The authors explore the city of Sheffield, in Yorkshire, in the North of England, to learn about its past, regeneration and future development by combining the appreciation of the built environment, as experienced by the senses and movement, with a guided tour.
Findings
This study highlights the interconnectivity of law and place both objectively and subjectively: the authors discuss sensorial experiences of law, and also elaborate on the normativity of law, as manifested in the regulation and the making of urban places in Sheffield.
Originality/value
The originality lies in the combination of methods used to appreciate the manifestation of law in the built environment, comprising interview, autoethnographic elements and walking (multisensory experience).
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Elizabeth J. Vella, Elizabeth F. Turesky and Jenni Hebert
The purpose of this paper is to use a heutagogical approach to determine whether students enrolled in blended courses achieve higher grades relative to those enrolled in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use a heutagogical approach to determine whether students enrolled in blended courses achieve higher grades relative to those enrolled in completely online courses, in addition to identifying demographic predictors of academic success in college courses involving Web-based modes of instruction.
Design/methodology/approach
Mixed models regression evaluated predictors of grade in terms of age, gender, instruction mode, graduate vs undergraduate status and full-time vs part-time load across 2,174 students (M = 27.6, SD = 9.54 years) enrolled in Web-based courses for a single term at a mid-sized public university in the northeastern USA.
Findings
In accordance with expectations, a significant main effect indicated higher grades among students enrolled in blended relative to completely online courses. Other predictors of academic success in Web-based courses included older age, female gender, graduate student status and part-time academic load. An interaction between age and gender on grade indicated the difference in performance between men and women diminished among older compared to younger students. Another interaction between age and instruction mode on successful course completion indicated a higher probability of success in blended courses among older students relative to their younger counterparts.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited by its cross-sectional design of large scope, which is incapable of addressing differences in online instructional styles and student motivation factors.
Originality/value
The current study offers newfound evidence that students enrolled in Web-based college courses may benefit from a blended instructional format, a finding that may be particularly evident among older students.
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Danielle Theiss‐White, Jenny Dale, Melia Erin Fritch, Laura Bonella and Jason Coleman
The purpose of this paper is to describe the new virtual reference system Libraryh3lp, developed to assist librarians with managing multiple instant messaging (IM) patrons at one…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the new virtual reference system Libraryh3lp, developed to assist librarians with managing multiple instant messaging (IM) patrons at one time.
Design/methodology/approach
A summary of the main features of the Libraryh3lp system, including setup and reports; and a discussion of how to provide staff training.
Findings
This paper provides an overview of the Libraryh3lp virtual reference platform including what it does, how it works, and its benefits for reference managers.
Originality/value
This paper is useful for information management professionals who are looking for a low‐cost, reliable alternative to current IM software systems.
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Le rôle sans cesse croissant du tourisme dans nos sociétés induit inévitablement diverses conséquences économiques, sociales et culturelles dont certaines dans le domaine de…
Lisa Schuster and Joy Parkinson
mHealth services are effective and cost efficient, yet wide-scale adoption of these services by consumers has yet to be achieved, constraining their public health benefit. Further…
Abstract
Purpose
mHealth services are effective and cost efficient, yet wide-scale adoption of these services by consumers has yet to be achieved, constraining their public health benefit. Further investigation of non-technological determinants of mHealth adoption is needed; specifically, the role of consumers' goals has received scant attention and forms the research focus.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 comprised 20 interviews with participants who possess a health goal, with the data analysed using an abductive reasoning approach. Study 2 was a 15-min online survey (n = 653), with the data analysed using multi-group structural equation modelling.
Findings
Study 1 identified several antecedents to the desirability and feasibility of consumers' health goals, which influence their desire to use mHealth services. Study 2 shows significant differences in the determinants of mHealth service acceptance depending on whether consumers set concrete as opposed to abstract goals, but social acceptance of mHealth services of these services is important for both groups.
Practical implications
The findings suggest emphasising the importance of health goals to achieving other consumer goals (e.g. work or travel goals), the efficacy of mHealth services relative to other service alternatives for achieving those health goals, and the social acceptance of mHealth services to increase their uptake.
Originality/value
This study is the first to use construal-level theory to improve understanding of the role of consumers' goals in the adoption of mHealth services. By identifying the antecedents to goal desirability and feasibility, it also broadens the model of goal-directed behaviour.
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This paper reviews the literature on hotel guest questionnaires, also commonly known in the industry as comment cards. Considered a hotel tradition, the ubiquitous questionnaire…
Abstract
This paper reviews the literature on hotel guest questionnaires, also commonly known in the industry as comment cards. Considered a hotel tradition, the ubiquitous questionnaire remains the primary method employed by mainstream hotels to elicit and record guest feedback despite shortcomings in data reliability and response rates. Hence questionnaires play a key facilitation role in the collection of guest feedback (guest–hotel dyad in hotel communication). The paper traces the history of questionnaire utilization in the hotel industry, and examines evolutionary changes in terms of form and function. A typology of questionnaire genre is constructed. Used either independently or in combination with other methods, the traditional paper guest questionnaire has been complemented or even superseded by e-based variants. Obsolescence threatens the paper questionnaire as technology uptake permeates the hotel industry. This paper considers a “service innovation” by using the questionnaire as a communication tool along the hotel–guest dyad. A back-to-basics approach potentially yields a valuable and cost-efficient guest service encounter opportunity whilst mitigating questionnaire data deficiencies.