Cristina Sofia Coelho, Catarina Pereira Faria, Filipa Oliveira, Carla Vale Lucas, Sónia Vasconcelos and Luísa Soares
Tutoring or mentoring is a form of mutual and informal learning which has distant origins. This is a way of sharing knowledge and experience which has been proved to be extremely…
Abstract
Purpose
Tutoring or mentoring is a form of mutual and informal learning which has distant origins. This is a way of sharing knowledge and experience which has been proved to be extremely useful in educational settings, particularly where there is a peer that plays the role of tutor. Despite its informal characteristic, tutoring should be a structured process, with defined goals and clear roles for both: tutors and tutees, those who benefit from tutoring. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
As this paper aims to explore a pilot project, it was used as a reflexive and practical methodology, in a case study, analyzing the number of participants attending the project as well as the contents of the training course.
Findings
In this first project in a Portuguese university, 35 students attended as candidates to tutor, participating in the training course, showing interest in helping their colleagues.
Originality/value
This proposal for a tutoring program in a public higher institution aims to train college students to help other colleagues, giving academic support, helping in the adaptation to academic context, promoting autonomy in learning, sharing effective strategies and helping in maintenance of positive interpersonal relationships. These aspects are very important to promote academic success in higher education.
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Nelson Soares, Luísa Dias Pereira, João Ferreira, Pedro Conceição and Patrícia Pereira da Silva
This paper aims to propose an energy efficiency plan (with technical and behavioural improvement measures) for a Portuguese higher education building – the Teaching Building of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose an energy efficiency plan (with technical and behavioural improvement measures) for a Portuguese higher education building – the Teaching Building of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra (FEUC).
Design/methodology/approach
The study was developed in the context of both the “Green Campus – Challenge for Energy Efficiency in Higher Education” and the Energy for Sustainability Initiative of the University of Coimbra, Portugal. An energy audit was conducted based on the analysis of the energy consumption profiles. A monitoring campaign was carried out to measure and disaggregate the electricity consumption. The consumption of natural gas and water were also assessed. The building envelope and the heating and lighting systems were also evaluated. Some patterns of energy-environmental behaviours of the academic community were investigated through a Web-based survey.
Findings
The energy efficiency plan contemplates short-term tangible/intangible actions. It also considers the investment and payback period of the tangible measures. The implementation of three improvement measures in the lighting system would lead to a consumption reduction of about 26,123 kWh/year, avoiding the emission of 3,704 KgCO2/year, for an initial cost of 9,920 (payback period of 3.7 years).
Research limitations/implications
Results are restricted to the case study and there are limitations in their generalisation outside of their context. However, they show some broadly implications and trends that have relevance for the higher education sector. This paper highlights the importance of engaging students, faculty and technical staff for working together on the assessment of the energy efficiency of the buildings where they study and work.
Social implications
The higher education sector holds important functions in educating the next generation of professionals for a sustainable culture. The categories of activities described in this paper are good examples of what can be done within the academic community for acting towards sustainability. The results also pointed out that making users aware of their energy consumption is a priority towards the energy efficiency in higher education buildings.
Originality/value
Reductions on energy consumption are expected if the energy efficiency plan would be implemented. The results of the behavioural study were presented to the FEUC’s board of directors to be integrated in the “Good Practices Manual on Water and Energy Management”.
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Tamer Refaat and Marwa El-Zoklah
This study aims to formulate a user-friendly pre-design model that could be a decision support tool for green wall systems to assist designers in selecting an optimal green wall…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to formulate a user-friendly pre-design model that could be a decision support tool for green wall systems to assist designers in selecting an optimal green wall system aligned with specified performance criteria while concurrently addressing project requirements linked to social and economic parameters. This approach seeks to enhance overall project satisfaction for the designer and the owner.
Design/methodology/approach
A correlation between the green wall context and design requirements and its performance on the buildings have been defined by considering its social and economic parameters, which represented the owner preferences to ensure the most satisfaction from installation as it achieves the required performance that is defined by the designer such as maximizing thermal insulation, improving indoor air quality, reducing the needed heating and cooling loads, etc. and also to achieve the satisfaction in social and economic requirements defined by the owner such as system installation cost, system maintenance cost, adding beauty value, etc.
Findings
The research developed an easy pre-design model to be a tool for green wall system decision-making for the most suitable system, which contains three main steps: the first one is defining the required performance of the green wall (designer requirements), the second step is limiting the context of the project which is made by designer and the owner requirements and finally the third step is choosing the system components that ensures achieving the requirements of both owners and designer, related to the building and climate context.
Originality/value
The added value lies in developing a green wall decision-making tool, essentially a pre-design model. This model considers the correlation between the project’s context, encompassing climate and building conditions. It provides a structured approach for decision-making in the early stages of green wall design. It offers valuable insights into the optimal choices related to system type, installation methods and plant characteristics. This enhanced decision-making tool contributes to more informed and efficient design processes, considering each project’s specific needs and conditions.
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Graffiti and street art have become a universal, intercultural and multidisciplinary urban phenomenon. The contribution of scientific research has greatly increased knowledge…
Abstract
Graffiti and street art have become a universal, intercultural and multidisciplinary urban phenomenon. The contribution of scientific research has greatly increased knowledge about this peculiar culture that has transformed the way we view and experience the city. The general objective of this chapter is the description of a framework for community development, focused on young people, using graffiti and street art culture as an aggregating resource for social inclusion, cultural entrepreneurship and empowerment. The identification of a set of tangible and intangible assets linked to the creation of cultural synergies for the benefit of young citizens provides a model that may be employed for the social and economic progress of local communities. This chapter also provides a macro and micro environmental analysis intended to establish guidelines for the implementation of entrepreneurial projects for the cultural development of diverse social settings. In this sense, the examples of distinct cities, such as Lisbon, Heerlen and Toronto, demonstrate that their dynamics around street art culture are a challenge for engagement in effective socio-economic constructions. Similarly, the academic research project StreetArtCEI provides not only the scientific knowledge but also resources for the community to use in entrepreneurial actions.
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Isabella Sulis, Barbara Barbieri, Luisa Salaris, Gabriella Melis and Mariano Porcu
This paper aims to assess gender bias in Italian university student mobility controlling for the field of study. It uses data from the Italian National Student Archive (Anagrafe…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to assess gender bias in Italian university student mobility controlling for the field of study. It uses data from the Italian National Student Archive (Anagrafe Nazionale degli Studenti – ANS) for the cohort of freshmen enrolled in the 2017 academic year. The macro-regional comparison unfolds across the following areas: North and Centre, Southern Italy and main Islands (Sicily and Sardinia).
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is firstly carried out at the national level, and secondly, it focusses on macro-geographical areas. University mobility choices are thus investigated from a gender perspective, conditioning upon other theoretically relevant characteristics collected for the prospective first-year university student population enrolled in 2017. The authors analyse data in a regression setting (logit models) within the multilevel framework, which considers students at level 1 and the field of study at level 2. Gender differences in the propensity to be a mover – conditional upon the choice of the field of study – were captured by introducing random intercepts to account for clustering of students in fields of study and random slopes to allow the gender effect to differ among them.
Findings
Findings show that university student mobility in Italy leads evidence of gender bias. This has been detected using a multilevel random slope approach that allowed the authors to jointly estimate a slope parameter for gender within each field of study. Moreover, using a regression setting allowed the authors to control for heterogeneity in geographical, educational and socio-demographic characteristics across students. In line with previous empirical findings, the authors' data highlight the presence of a relevant mobility flow of university students from the South toward the North-Centre of Italy and lower mobility of female students compared to male students from the South and Islands.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, there are no studies in Italy, which investigate if families' investment in higher education in terms of selection of no-local universities are affected by gender bias and if geographical differences in this behaviour between macro-areas are in place. Thus, investigating students' choices in tertiary education allows the authors to shed light on the presence of gender bias in families' education strategies addressed to increase the endowment of students' assets for future job opportunities.
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Fei Hui Lim, Nurhidayah Bahar, Siti Norida Wahab and Muhammad Iskandar Hamzah
This paper aims to investigate the motivational drivers for knowledge sharing (KS) through the application of mobile social networking (MSN) and their influence on employee…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the motivational drivers for knowledge sharing (KS) through the application of mobile social networking (MSN) and their influence on employee productivity in the Malaysian construction industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The data was collected by distributing a self-administered questionnaire among employees working in the construction industry. A total of 250 questionnaires were collected and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. This study used a variety of analysis methodologies including correlation analysis, reliability and validity testing, as well as a structural model in evaluating the relationships between KS, motivational factors and influence on productivity.
Findings
The empirical results of this study reveal that utilitarian motivation is positively related to internal and external KS. Similarly, internal and external KS have a positive influence on productivity, while internal and external hedonic motivation does not show any significant relationship with productivity.
Research limitations/implications
Considering the paucity of evidence regarding the determinants of KS motivational drives on employee productivity in the Malaysian construction industry, this study enriches the social cognitive theory-based literature on KS.
Practical implications
This study provides some insights to the players in the construction industry in implementing the most appropriate KS promotion strategies that could potentially influence employee productivity. Organisations in the construction industry that place great emphasis on utilitarian motivation including competency, reward and incentives are more likely to have a better influence on KS and, in turn, positively impact employee productivity.
Originality/value
This study meaningfully contributes to enhancing the understanding of the motivational drivers for sharing knowledge on MSN and its influence on productivity. The findings of this study potentially assist construction practitioners in developing a holistic blueprint for managing their KS towards improving the overall productivity of their employees.
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Genta Kulari, Luísa Ribeiro, Tito Laneiro, Katerine Osatuke and Inês Mouta
This paper aims to propose a model studying the relationship of authentic leadership (AL), structural empowerment (SE) and civility in the palliative care sector. This model…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a model studying the relationship of authentic leadership (AL), structural empowerment (SE) and civility in the palliative care sector. This model proposes SE as a mediator between AL and civility.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected from 213 employees working in five major public palliative care hospitals in central Portugal. The study sample was predominantly female (80.3%) and the response rate was 42.6%. Variables were measured using the Authentic Leadership Inventory, Workplace Civility Scale and Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire II scales. Hayes’ PROCESS macro for mediation analysis in SPSS was used to test the hypothesized model.
Findings
Results suggest that AL has a significant positive direct relationship with both SE and civility. Furthermore, SE demonstrated to play a partial mediation effect between AL and civility.
Practical implications
This study may be of use for healthcare administration encouraging the development of AL, suggesting that the more leaders are seen as authentic, the more employees will perceive they have access to workplace empowerment structures and a civil environment.
Originality/value
Considering the mainstream literature in healthcare management, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to date to integrate the relation of AL, SE and civility in the palliative care sector. Further, the research model has not previously been introduced when considering the mediating role structural empowerment can play between AL and civility.
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Ana Maria Soares and José Carlos Pinho
The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of perceived enjoyment in advertising response in online social networks (OSN). The authors propose and test a structural model…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of perceived enjoyment in advertising response in online social networks (OSN). The authors propose and test a structural model explaining response to OSN advertisements embracing perceived enjoyment, social influence and advertising-related variables.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered through the application of a structured questionnaire to a sample of 126 students of the same scientific area (marketing and communication studies).
Findings
The results validate the proposed model and support nine out of ten hypotheses. The study supports the role of perceived enjoyment as a predictor of both social identity and group norms. Furthermore, social identity and group intention have a positive impact on perceived advertisement relevance. Finally, group intention towards advertisements and perceived advertisement relevance have a positive impact on perceived advertisement value, which in turn impacts positively on response to OSN advertisements.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation relates to the fact that the study mainly covered a population aged between 18-35 years old. Despite its relevance as a segment of OSN users, some caution needs to be taken in generalizing findings to a broader population.
Practical implications
These results provide important indications for firms aiming at fully exploiting the computer-mediated communication of OSNs. Specifically, we confirm the role of perceived enjoyment in reinforcing group dynamics and shaping group intentions towards advertising.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this study lies in the focus on perceived enjoyment as a predicting variable of social influence and advertising variables, thus impacting response to OSN advertisements.
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Bianca Amici and Maria Luisa Farnese
Weick and Sutcliffe identified five principles that enable high-reliability organizations (HROs) to address environmental complexity and manage unexpected events. The current…
Abstract
Purpose
Weick and Sutcliffe identified five principles that enable high-reliability organizations (HROs) to address environmental complexity and manage unexpected events. The current study aims to adopt this sensemaking perspective to analyze accidents within a typical HRO sector, namely maritime transport.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a retrospective case study analysis, this study focused on seven oil tanker accidents, using them as illustrative examples.
Findings
Findings show how the five principles contributed to the accidents' occurrence, explaining how failures in sensemaking affected the crew's capability to both prevent errors and cope with their consequences, thus leading to disasters.
Research limitations/implications
Overall, the study offers an applicative contribution showing how this model may provide a reliable framework for analyzing the psychosocial factors affecting an accident. This approach deepens the understanding of how latent factors are enacted and how the prevention and error management phases interrelate within a comprehensive flow of the entire accident sequence. Furthermore, the study emphasizes consistent patterns that emerge across multiple accidents within the same sector, in order to learn valuable lessons to improve safety measures in the future.
Originality/value
This study constitutes an exemplary application in support of how Weick and Sutcliffe’s model is valuable for investigating HROs. It offers a second-order interpretative framework to understand accidents and underscores the interplay among these factors during the dynamic development of an accident.