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1 – 10 of 66Martin Roders, Ad Straub and Henk Visscher
Climate change: the question is not anymore if it happens, but what the impact is of its effects such as drought, heat waves and increased precipitation on the quality of our…
Abstract
Climate change: the question is not anymore if it happens, but what the impact is of its effects such as drought, heat waves and increased precipitation on the quality of our lives in cities, offices and houses. A significant share of the Northern European housing stock is owned and maintained by large stock owners, such as housing associations. It is their responsibility to be aware of changes and risks that might challenge the quality of life of their tenants. Moreover, in order to provide housing with a good market value in the future, adaptation to climate change can no longer be overlooked.
With the aim to discover the level of awareness of climate change adaptation among Dutch housing associations, a content analysis was undertaken on the policy plans and the annual reports of the 25 largest housing associations. Subsequently they were classified according to their level of awareness. The analysis returned no topics that directly referred to climate change adaptation, which implies that all housing associations are categorised as being ‘unaware’. Therefore, in order to reach higher levels of awareness and to incentivize the implementation of adaptation measures, appropriate governance strategies need to be developed. Future research will define the characteristics of these strategies in relation to the level of awareness of the housing associations. Adoption of the measures could be easier if adaptation measures are combined with maintenance activities, as this has been the case with mitigation measures.
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Martin Roders, Ad Straub and Henk Visscher
Research into climate change adaptation measures has resulted in the identification of 155 such adaptation measures that contribute to making the built environment more climate…
Abstract
Purpose
Research into climate change adaptation measures has resulted in the identification of 155 such adaptation measures that contribute to making the built environment more climate resilient. These measures mainly focus on new construction. This paper assesses the feasibility of the measures for the existing social housing stock in the Netherlands.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews were conducted with 12 property managers and policy staff members from Dutch housing associations. The interviewees judged 21 measures that were designed to adapt dwellings to heat‐related problems caused by climate change, and they also answered questions regarding their awareness of climate change and regarding the feasibility of the measures.
Findings
Low awareness of climate change adaptations, the financing of the measures and the technical complexity of adaptation measures are perceived barriers to implementation. Several possibilities to remove these barriers are discussed.
Research limitations/implications
The sample of 12 interviewees provides valuable insight into the opinions of a select group of policymakers from housing associations. The judgements were made based on the personal experiences and expectations of the interviewees.
Originality/value
This paper provides valuable insight into the opinions of policy makers and decision makers in Dutch housing associations on climate change adaptation measures in the existing building stock. These insights will be of use for policy making at the local and national levels directed towards creating a resilient building stock.
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Se Eun Ahn, Jieun Oh and Mi Sook Cho
This study analyzed the factors affecting visual attention toward sugar-reduction information (SRI) on sugar-reduced beverages (SRBs) and identified the most optimal SRI type and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyzed the factors affecting visual attention toward sugar-reduction information (SRI) on sugar-reduced beverages (SRBs) and identified the most optimal SRI type and location using eye-tracking. The eye-tracking results were compared with those of a self-reported questionnaire.
Design/methodology/approach
An eye-tracking experiment was conducted on 50 Korean people in their 20s and 30s to analyze implicit responses. Subsequently, a self-reported questionnaire was administered to analyze explicit responses, facilitating the investigation of perceptions, attitudes, preferences, intentions to purchase SRBs, and preferred SRI types and positions.
Findings
The results were as follows. First, personal trait-, state-, and product-related factors were found to affect eye movement in relation to SRI. Second, eye-tracking revealed that SRI types and locations that drew long-lasting fixation and attracted considerable attention were similar to those preferred in the self-reported questionnaire. Therefore, to efficiently convey information on SRBs, SRI should be combined with a graphic, and not merely a word, and placed in the upper-right corner, exhibiting consistency with the results of two previous experiments.
Originality/value
This study specifically focused on considering personal and product-related traits while conducting an eye-tracking experiment to investigate the factors that attract consumers' attention. Furthermore, this study is the first to investigate the use of SRI labels to promote SRB selection. What is significant is that both explicit and implicit responses were assessed and compared via a self-reported survey and eye-tracking experiments for various SRB categories.
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The purpose of this paper is to identify criteria and examples of good practice in heritage management within the specific field of UNESCO industrial heritage sites. The paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify criteria and examples of good practice in heritage management within the specific field of UNESCO industrial heritage sites. The paper is part of a transfer-of-knowledge project between Humboldt Universität and the Zollverein Foundation (Stiftung Zollverein), responsible for the heritage management of the UNESCO Zollverein site.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed document analysis, interviews, expert discussions and application to the field.
Findings
First, a systematization, termed the Good Practice Wheel, shows eight criteria that must be considered for good practice in heritage management. Second, indicators of good practice, discussed in the academic field, can be embedded in the suggested systematization and provide further details of how to evaluate good practice. Third, the Zollverein case shows that the systematization can be applied to practice.
Research limitations/implications
The study offers a systematization to identify and discuss good practice.
Practical implications
The practical implication is to understand better how to turn the demands of UNESCO into opportunities.
Social implications
The Good Practice Wheel includes social aspects, within community engagement and the criterion of sustainability.
Originality/value
To date, this represents the only such systematic approach to identify and implement good practice in heritage management, specifically relevant for UNESCO industrial heritage sites.
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Kolawole Ogundari and Shoichi Ito
The purpose of this paper is to use cross-country data to investigate whether convergence process exists in per capital nutrient supply and also identify the determinants of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use cross-country data to investigate whether convergence process exists in per capital nutrient supply and also identify the determinants of change in per capita nutrient supply in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
Design/methodology/approach
Annual time series data for 43 countries covering 1975-2009 that yields balanced panel were employed for the analysis. The convergence hypothesis is examined based on the neoclassical growth model using feasible generalized least square approach that is robust to autocorrelation and cross-sectional dependence.
Findings
The empirical results lend support to existence of convergence process in nutrient supply in SSA. Evidence of convergence in nutrient supply may have contributed to observed reduction in incidence of food-poverty in the region, which aligns with the argument in literature that recent Africa food security gains are due to food imports. The results of the determinants of change in nutrient supply showed that, global food trade represented by trade openness consistently increased growth in nutrient supply across countries in SSA significantly. Meanwhile, the speed of convergence of per capita nutrient supply, which measures how quickly growth in nutrient supply increases over time is very low, as this calls for urgent policy attention in the region.
Originality/value
The very first study to investigate convergence in food consumption and nutritional supply in SSA.
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Roslyn Cameron, Rachel C. Ambagtsheer, Selene Martinez-Pacheco, HB Klopper, Cath Rogers and Sarah Baker
This study aims to investigate the response by a multi-campus private higher education provider to a major crisis. This study examined what elements of complex adaptive systems…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the response by a multi-campus private higher education provider to a major crisis. This study examined what elements of complex adaptive systems (CAS) were activated and/or developed within the organization during the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, through a retrospective analysis of organizational responses.
Design/methodology/approach
A retrospective qualitative approach has been used. The theory of CAS has been used as the theoretical lens to explore the organizational context, responses and behaviours during the first year of the COVID-19 crisis. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 senior leaders across the major functions of the organization spread over multiple campuses.
Findings
Findings point to coverage of the main CAS characteristics in the organizational responses to the pandemic, however, in varying degrees. There was strong evidence for the application of guiding principles, for self-organizing, for micro-diversity coupled with independent actors and new generative relationships, all brought about by the chaos the pandemic generated. This study concludes that the global pandemic presented this organization with the impetus for rapid and agile responses to what ultimately has become a constructive crisis, paving the way for key elements of CAS theory to be enacted. This study recommend embedding the conscious creation of an adaptive space within ongoing strategic organizational transformation initiatives.
Originality/value
There is scant literature on CAS as applied to crises from organizations in the higher education sector and notably from outside of the health/medical fields. As a result, this study offers a novel and original approach to applying CAS theory during a major crisis. In addition to the findings above, this study also found an emergent characteristic, that of agility, which could be further tested as a potential theoretical addition to CAS theory.
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Renan Oliveira, Ariane Roder Figueira and Bernardo Silva-Rêgo
The aim of this study is to propose a link between international business (IB) and economic geography, which are two streams of thought that have developed without one…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to propose a link between international business (IB) and economic geography, which are two streams of thought that have developed without one acknowledging the other. We use the Uppsala model and the Global Production Network as pillars to sustain this link. We expect that this research triggers a collaboration with allied social sciences in important debates surrounding the business-societal interface.
Design/methodology/approach
We selected papers produced by Johanson and Vahlne to understand the development of the Uppsala model over 40 years. The same was done with the Global Production Network, where we scrutinized the work of Henderson, Coe, Dicken, Hess and Yeung – scholars from the Manchester School of Geography – in the last twenty years. Based on Humphrey et al. (2019), we applied an inductive and inferential approach to uncover similarities and differences between the Uppsala model and Global Production Network.
Findings
The Uppsala model reinforces the strategic role of network position in the internationalization process, while the Global Production Network aims to explain how the governance of global firms scattered world-wide affects the development and upgrading opportunities of the various regions and firms involved. Despite these clear differences, the geographical nature of IB and shared similarities accounting the network as a channel to foster and provide access to important resources and practices regarding management, coordination and governance of dispersed parts of multinational enterprises give room to using these two theories as pillars to link IB and economic geography.
Originality/value
While attempts to link IB and economic geography are not new, none of these studies have focused on the Uppsala model and Global Production Network as pillars to create a link. We foresee an intense cross collaboration and an even possible renaissance of IB and economic geography to target the ever-changing business environment and its impact on social and economic development.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyze and discuss the application of buffer zones as an urban landscape heritage management tool, using Rio de Janeiro as the main case study, in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze and discuss the application of buffer zones as an urban landscape heritage management tool, using Rio de Janeiro as the main case study, in order to inform urban regulation around the sites inscribed as World Heritage Cultural Landscape and disclose its relevance to link urban planning, cultural heritage management and sustainable development.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological approach encompasses: conceptual framework – contextualization of heritage protection theory, focusing on landscape protection and buffer zones; discussion: cross-national comparative overview of buffer zones conceptual framework on the international heritage protection policy; historical background and spatial analysis, through GIS mapping, of local heritage protection policy, tracing its evolution through time; examination of prospects and challenges of this management tool, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, based on previous international, local experiences on natural and cultural heritage protection; and gathering of strategies for the implementation of buffer zones in local landscape management.
Findings
Core heritage sites and their buffer zones are integrated elements and act together to protect landscape significance and dynamic integrity (DI). In Rio de Janeiro, beyond the function of a caution zone, other important functions of landscape heritage buffer zones are to guarantee spatial and social connections of the protected sites, as well as the visual relationship between them and other significant urban landscape features. Strategies for the implementation of buffer zones in local landscape management should address the articulation of landscape protection governance; the conservation of visual, functional and structural identity quality and legibility and the monitoring of DI.
Research limitations/implications
The methodology approach adopted in this study may also benefit from and foster further investigations, which could include the elaboration of a landscape management plan and an impact assessment inventory, refining the scale of study to the level of local watersheds, and a deeper examination of the popular cultural imprints within the World Heritage property buffer zone.
Practical implications
Strategies to the implementation of the Carioca Landscapes buffer zone include a gradation of protection and control of impacts according to the distance of the core sites (in the form of rings or layers). The buffer zone should help to preserve the character, significance, and DI of the protected sites and guarantee their spatial and social connections, as well as the visual and functional relationship between them and between other significant landscape features of the city. All those management strategies should be founded on the elaboration of a broad urban landscape management plan with the local society involvement.
Social implications
In Rio de Janeiro’s specific case, bridging the vision of culture and nature as opposite poles and, transcending the social segregation through community involvement should certainly be among the main guiding principles to the application of buffer zones for supporting landscape sustainability. Therefore, the establishment of regulation criteria and parameters within the limits of the buffer zone must acknowledge that the (urban) landscape should carefully articulate the different social agent visions and local urban contexts.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this paper is to gather different visions of the role of buffer zones and disclose possibilities of conciliation between theory and practice concerning landscape protection, arguing for gathering natural and cultural heritage policies into the urban planning processes. Harnessed together, the suggested buffer zone implementation strategies may provide a proactive approach to Rio’s urban landscape protection and contribute to foster landscape sustainability and resilience. Although based on a specific case study, the adopted methodological approach may be transferable, with some adjustments, to other World Heritage properties, especially those located in urban areas under development pressures.
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Manal Ginzarly and Jacques Teller
In 2011, UNESCO recommended the application of a value-based landscape approach to cultural heritage conservation. In this framework, culture in its manifold expressions is…
Abstract
Purpose
In 2011, UNESCO recommended the application of a value-based landscape approach to cultural heritage conservation. In this framework, culture in its manifold expressions is considered as an embrace for the social, economic, and environmental pillars of sustainable development. There is a need to unveil the different cultural values generated from the interaction between people and their environment since these values will help cities maintain their unique identity and integrity. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to present the results of a survey method intended to assess the range of cultural values attributed by people to the historic urban landscape (HUL).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is an experimental enquiry that combines a qualitative and a quantitative approach. It is designed to distinguish the different interpretations and outlooks of people to the HUL. It integrates landscape preference studies with investigation on representative images of the city and assesses these in relation to activities, feelings, and valued aspects of landscapes.
Findings
The main finding is that the most preferred scenes of the city are not the ones that best represent the city. Results exposed two sides of the HUL and related heritage values. The first is associated with the scenic beauty of the landscape and its aesthetic values, while the second is reflected in ordinary landscapes and everyday practices.
Originality/value
This paper provides an insight into the different interpretations and meanings of the HUL throughout the city. It provides an empirical evidence that ordinary landscapes are of great heritage value as they surpass all aspects of human environmental interaction to contribute to the image that societies make of themselves.
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