Henry Bang, Lee Miles and Richard Gordon
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate local vulnerability and organisational resilience including coping/adaptive capacity to climate risks, specifically frequent flooding in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate local vulnerability and organisational resilience including coping/adaptive capacity to climate risks, specifically frequent flooding in Northern Cameroon.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is exploratory/deductive and draws upon qualitative methods, secondary and empirical techniques supplemented by semi-structured qualitative interviews with senior disaster managers. Secondary information sources, which include peer review articles, government reports/plans, newspaper articles and other grey literature, enhanced the analysis.
Findings
The research findings have unveiled the physical and social vulnerability of Northern Cameroon to frequent flooding. Results also show that institutional performance for flood management in Cameroon is ineffective, and adaptive capacity is highly deficient. Cameroon’s legislative framework for flood management is weak, and this exacerbates the poor implementation of structural and non-structural flood management measures. Results also indicate issues with relief, evacuation and foreign assistance in flood management. Recommendations that focus on enhancing capacity of response to frequent flooding via reducing vulnerabilities, managing resilience and enhancing adaptive capacity are provided.
Originality/value
Using Gallopin’s (2006) model of vulnerability, this paper makes a distinct contribution by offering insights into the role of adaptive capacity in disaster management systems in developing (African) countries via an evaluation of vulnerabilities and organisational resilience to repeated flooding in Northern Cameroon.
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The SARS epidemic in 2003 and the COVID-19 pandemic had a disruptive impact on countries around the world and highlight the importance of using scientific evidence to inform…
Abstract
Purpose
The SARS epidemic in 2003 and the COVID-19 pandemic had a disruptive impact on countries around the world and highlight the importance of using scientific evidence to inform policy decisions and priorities during crises. The purpose of this article is to reflect upon the term “following the science” and examines the differences between SARS in 2003 and COVID-19.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is exploratory, adopts a qualitative approach and reflects on the synthesis of scientific evidence into advice informing government decisions on health interventions. Random sampling of the literature was used to avoid bias and was guided by the keywords.
Findings
It considers preparedness activities and the need for these to be integral in the design of future planning. It argues that simulation exercises be intrinsically linked to all aspects of crisis management and provide the opportunity to use the scientific evidence base as part of preparedness planning. The article concludes that more transparency in the use of scientific advice in strategic decision-making would support building more resilience into health emergency preparedness through an integrated systems approach.
Originality/value
This article contributes to the literature on the evaluation of the “following the science” approach and its implementation. It also contributes to the limited literature on simulation exercising to deal with health crises, like pandemics and identifies potential areas for further research or work on developing an integrated systems approach to pandemic preparedness.
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Extensive studies have investigated the relation between risk and return in the stock and major asset markets, whereas little studies have been done for housing, particularly the…
Abstract
Purpose
Extensive studies have investigated the relation between risk and return in the stock and major asset markets, whereas little studies have been done for housing, particularly the Australian housing market. This study aims to determine the relationship between housing risk and housing return in Australia.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis of this study involves two stages. The first stage is to estimate the presence of volatility clustering effects. Thereafter, the relation between risk and return in the Australian housing market is assessed by using a component generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity-in-mean (C-CARCH-M) model.
Findings
The empirical results show that there is a strong positive risk-return relationship in all Australian housing markets. Specifically, comparable results are also evident in all housing markets in various Australian capital cities, reflecting that Australian home buyers, in general, are risk reverse and require a premium for higher risk level. This could be attributed the unique characteristics of the Australian housing market. In addition, there is evidence to suggest that a stronger volatility clustering effect than previously documented in the daily case.
Practical implications
The findings enable more informed and practical investment decision-making regarding the relation between housing return and housing risk.
Originality/value
This paper is the first study to offer empirical evidence of the risk-return relationship in the Australian housing market. Besides, this is the first housing price volatility study that utilizes daily data.
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The article's purpose is to address complementary perspectives for managing uncertainty by looking at a historical example.
Abstract
Purpose
The article's purpose is to address complementary perspectives for managing uncertainty by looking at a historical example.
Design/methodology/approach
This is done using a case study of the experience of ancient Greek mercenaries that fought in and out of Persia over two years and approximately 2,000 miles.
Findings
An unexpected finding is that the size of an organization can be instrumental to its environment fit.
Research limitations/implications
An implication is that the application of existing models to the historical example suggests existing perspectives of change do not appear adequate individually in explaining or preparing organizations for change.
Practical implications
A wider implication of the study involves confirming the need for research and society to better understand the role of organization politics in outcomes.
Originality/value
The study uses a unique historical example to examine organizational responses to uncertainty that range between rational and haphazard explanations and it offers insights for management thought and practice today.
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The purpose of the paper is to develop a method to integrate the schedule-based analysis with a productivity-based analysis to prove and support the result of the damages…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to develop a method to integrate the schedule-based analysis with a productivity-based analysis to prove and support the result of the damages calculation.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, a “cost and schedule impact integration” (CSI2) model is proposed to objectively show and estimate lost productivity due to changes in construction projects.
Findings
A schedule-based analysis to include separate tracking of change order costs can be used to predict productivity due to the delay and disruption; changes in construction projects almost always result in delay and disruption. However, the schedule-based analysis needs to be integrated with a productivity-based analysis to prove and support the result of the damages calculation.
Practical implications
The results of this study expand upon construction practices for proving and quantifying lost productivity due to changes in construction projects.
Originality/value
The contribution of the paper is summarized as the introduction of a “schedule impact analysis” into a “cost impact analysis” technique to assess the damages, as well as to demonstrate the labor productivity impact due to delay and disruption in construction projects.
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Due to the complexities of place and the limited knowledge of citizenship education in rural contexts, the purpose of this paper is to examine civics teachers’ perceptions of…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to the complexities of place and the limited knowledge of citizenship education in rural contexts, the purpose of this paper is to examine civics teachers’ perceptions of place in rural schools and its influence on their decision making about the curriculum.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative case study design was utilized. Four 12th grade civics teachers were sampled across three rural schools in a southern state. Data came from interviews, classroom observations and teaching artifacts. A constant comparison method of data analysis led to the emergence of a major theme: the paradoxical treatment of place in civic education in rural schools.
Findings
Participants implemented place-based pedagogies while simultaneously promoting the narrative that students leave their home communities after graduation due to limited post-secondary opportunities (i.e. place-based learning for future (dis)placements). Participants reconciled leaving narratives and the displaced futures of students by emphasizing “the basics” devoid of place.
Originality/value
The paradoxical treatment of place, as influenced by teachers’ perceptions and civic sensibilities, contrasted with theoretical perspectives on place-based education that emphasize inhabiting and attending to place. Findings suggest the need to prepare rural civics teachers for place-conscious civic pedagogies to challenge paradoxical treatments of place and engender democratic investments in rural communities.
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Helen Xiaohui Bao, Helen Hui Huang, Yu-Lieh Huang and Pin-te Lin
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the volatility clustering in the return of land markets through both theoretical and empirical approaches.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the volatility clustering in the return of land markets through both theoretical and empirical approaches.
Design/methodology/approach
Using extensive monthly panel data at the provincial level from 1986 to 2013, the authors identify the existence of time-correlated and time-varying returns in Canadian land markets.
Findings
Consistent with the proposed theory, volatility clustering in land markets tends to be observed in more populated areas.
Originality/value
The result has significant implications for portfolio management, economic theory and government policy by revealing the systematic pattern of volatility clustering in land markets.
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GREAT things had been expected of the American National Air Races this year, with many new racing machines to the fore. The Hughes high‐wing monoplane, equipped with a 1,000 h.p…
Abstract
GREAT things had been expected of the American National Air Races this year, with many new racing machines to the fore. The Hughes high‐wing monoplane, equipped with a 1,000 h.p. twin‐row Wasp engine and built at a cost of $120,000 in Los Angeles, California, was expected, from wind tunnel tests, to achieve a speed of 367 miles per hour, but, unfortunately, was completed too late for participation in the races. Actually, the competing aeroplanes and the pilots were in the end the same that had gained prominence in former years. The records established by J. Doolittle in 1932—a landplane speed record of 294·38 miles per hour and an average of 252·686 miles per hour in the closed circuit Thompson Trophy race, secured in a Gee Bee Sportster—were not even approached, as can be seen from Table I. The difficulty in aeroplane racing in the United States lies in the fact that the well‐established manufacturers do not regard it as worth their while to participate. Racing machines are built by small adventurous groups of pilots and individualistic constructors, and these groups in the lean depression years have generally found it difficult to secure financial backers.
Tiffany Karalis Noel, Monica Lynn Miles and Padmashree Rida
Mentoring postdocs is a shared responsibility and dynamic process that requires a mutual commitment between the faculty mentor and postdoc. The purpose of this study is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Mentoring postdocs is a shared responsibility and dynamic process that requires a mutual commitment between the faculty mentor and postdoc. The purpose of this study is to understand how minoritized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) postdocs view and engage in mentoring exchanges with their faculty mentors. In the context of this study, minoritized postdocs include women, people of color, and individuals with international status; faculty mentors include postdocs’ Principal Investigators (PIs).
Design/methodology/approach
Three researchers and 31 data sources (i.e., interview transcripts) were used to construct the case. Researchers first deductively and independently coded the data sources using Molm’s (2006) social exchange framework to identify examples of direct, generalized, and productive mentoring exchanges. Researchers then used thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006) to identify emergent themes among coded examples of direct, generalized, and productive mentoring exchanges.
Findings
Data analyses revealed three emergent themes: (1.1) postdocs valued regular meetings and communication with mentors to clarify responsibilities and role expectations, (1.2) postdocs found more value in their interactions with junior faculty PIs who were flexible and open to innovative ideas, and (1.3) postdocs appreciated conversations about short- and long-term career goals and advice with mentors.
Originality/value
Findings offer implications for faculty and postdocs’ approaches to mentoring relationships, and for approaches to cultivating supportive scholarly communities in STEM higher education. Recommendations include flexibility in research assignments, increased awareness of non-academic careers, and opportunities for informal interactions and intra/interdepartmental community building.
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While qualitative work has a long tradition in the strategy field and has recently regained popularity, we have not paused to take stock of how such work offers contributions. We…
Abstract
While qualitative work has a long tradition in the strategy field and has recently regained popularity, we have not paused to take stock of how such work offers contributions. We address this oversight with a review of qualitative studies of strategy published in five top-tier journals over an extended period of 15 years (2003–2017). In an attempt to organize the field, we develop an empirically grounded organizing framework. We identify 12 designs that are evident in the literature, or “designs-in-use” as we call them. Acknowledging important similarities and differences between the various approaches to qualitative strategy research (QSR), we group these designs into three “families” based on their philosophical orientation. We use these designs and families to identify trends in QSR. We then engage those trends to orient the future development of qualitative methods in the strategy field.