5,281 research outputs found

    Tourism and heritage in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone

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    Tourism and Heritage in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) uses an ethnographic lens to explore the dissonances associated with the commodification of Chornobyl's heritage. The book considers the role of the guides as experience brokers, focusing on the synergy between tourists and guides in the performance of heritage interpretation. Banaszkiewicz proposes to perceive tour guides as important actors in the bottom-up construction of heritage discourse contributing to more inclusive and participatory approach to heritage management. Demonstrating that the CEZ has been going through a dynamic transformation into a mass tourism attraction, the book offers a critical reflection on heritagisation as a meaning-making process in which the resources of the past are interpreted, negotiated, and recognised as a valuable legacy. Applying the concepts of dissonant heritage to describe the heterogeneous character of the CEZ, the book broadens the interpretative scope of dark tourism which takes on a new dimension in the context of the war in Ukraine. Tourism and Heritage in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone argues that post-disaster sites such as Chornobyl can teach us a great deal about the importance of preserving cultural and natural heritage for future generations. The book will be of interest to academics and students who are engaged in the study of heritage, tourism, memory, disasters and Eastern Europe

    The University as a Socio-Material Assemblage:Promotional Videos—Codes, Territories, and Globalization

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    The objective of this thesis is to explore and subsequently develop the concept of the university as a socio-material assemblage with regard to three key concepts of assemblage theory: codes, territories, and globalization (different from the traditional views of globalization). The thesis does this building on a multimodal analysis of data gathered from 26 promotional YouTube videos from UK and Canadian universities. It introduces a new middle-range (mesolevel) theoretical framework by combining concepts from assemblage theory (AT) (DeLanda, 2006; Deleuze & Guattari, 2013), and the inquiry graphics approach (IG) (Lacković, 2020). The methodology focuses on exploring the meanings of the universities’ spaces, physical objects, actors (human and non-human), and the relationships among actors through inquiry graphics analytical lenses. It then establishes codes and territories based on the analysis that territorialize the university as an assemblage, as well as the decodifying and deterritorializing processes within it. Finally, it analyses the observed codes and territories through the lenses of homogenization and hybridization globalization theories. The thesis concludes that the university can be conceptualized and interpreted as a socio-material assemblage whose components are interrelated and have both material and social expressive roles. Further, codes and territories are defined by the strength of the links between their iconic and symbolic expressions. Each university assemblage is connected to other assemblages through the various multi-layered networks that each component belongs to, yet the interaction among the components of an assemblage is interpreted within its specific territories, codes, and semiotic systems. These in turn, are defined by applying the semiotic principles of the IG approach. Finally, the thesis makes three major contributions: it conceptualizes the university as a socio-material assemblage, it develops a middle-range theoretical framework by combining concepts from assemblage theory and the inquiry graphics approach that can be applied to understand other sociomaterial assemblages, and it explains the relation between globalization, territorialization and codification of universities as socio-material assemblages

    Subsidiary Entrepreneurial Alertness: Antecedents and Outcomes

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    This thesis brings together concepts from both international business and entrepreneurship to develop a framework of the facilitators of subsidiary innovation and performance. This study proposes that Subsidiary Entrepreneurial Alertness (SEA) facilitates the recognition of opportunities (the origin of subsidiary initiatives). First introduced by Kirzner (1979) in the context of the individual, entrepreneurial alertness (EA) is the ability to notice an opportunity without actively searching. Similarly, to entrepreneurial alertness at the individual level, this study argues that SEA enables the subsidiary to best select opportunities based on resources available. The research further develops our conceptualisation of SEA by drawing on work by Tang et al. (2012) identifying three distinct activities of EA: scanning and search (identifying opportunities unseen by others due to their awareness gaps), association and connection of information, and evaluation and judgement to interpret or anticipate future viability of opportunities. This study then hypothesises that SEA leads to opportunity recognition at the subsidiary level and further hypothesises innovation and performance as outcomes of opportunity recognition. This research brings these arguments together to develop and test a comprehensive theoretical model. The theoretical model is tested through a mail survey of the CEOs/MDs of foreign subsidiaries within the Republic of Ireland (an innovative hub for foreign subsidiaries). This method was selected as the best method to reach the targeted respondent, and due to the depth of knowledge the target respondent holds, the survey can answer the desired question more substantially. The results were examined using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The study’s findings confirm two critical aspects of subsidiary context, subsidiary brokerage and subsidiary credibility are positively related to SEA. The study establishes a positive link between SEA and both the generation of innovation and the subsidiary’s performance. This thesis makes three significant contributions to the subsidiary literature as it 1) introduces and develops the concept of SEA, 2) identifies the antecedents of SEA, and 3) demonstrates the impact of SEA on subsidiary opportunity recognition. Implications for subsidiaries, headquarters and policy makers are discussed along with the limitations of the study

    Machine Learning Research Trends in Africa: A 30 Years Overview with Bibliometric Analysis Review

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    In this paper, a critical bibliometric analysis study is conducted, coupled with an extensive literature survey on recent developments and associated applications in machine learning research with a perspective on Africa. The presented bibliometric analysis study consists of 2761 machine learning-related documents, of which 98% were articles with at least 482 citations published in 903 journals during the past 30 years. Furthermore, the collated documents were retrieved from the Science Citation Index EXPANDED, comprising research publications from 54 African countries between 1993 and 2021. The bibliometric study shows the visualization of the current landscape and future trends in machine learning research and its application to facilitate future collaborative research and knowledge exchange among authors from different research institutions scattered across the African continent

    Transitioning to Quality Education

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    Transitioning to Quality Education focuses on the fourth UN Sustainable Development Goal. According to SDG 4, every learner should acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development (UN 2015, 17). Thus, the aim of sustainability education is to foster learners to be creative and responsible global citizens, who critically reflect on the ideas of sustainable development and the values that underlie them, and take responsible actions for sustainable development (UNESCO 2017). Sustainability is strongly connected to attitudes and values, therefore, applications of sustainability are complicated. Quality education requires teachers to have competences, knowledge, and skills to be able to plan and carry out meaningful education and teaching in sustainability. The aim of Transitioning to Quality Education is to provide versatile experiences and new knowledge on the cognitive, affective, and social issues that are important for promoting sustainable development in formal and non-formal education. Transitioning to Quality Education is part of MDPI's new Open Access book series Transitioning to Sustainability. With this series, MDPI pursues environmentally and socially relevant research which contributes to efforts toward a sustainable world. Transitioning to Sustainability aims to add to the conversation about regional and global sustainable development according to the 17 SDGs. Set to be published in 2020/2021, the book series is intended to reach beyond disciplinary, even academic boundaries

    Business Educator Issue Two September 2022: Research and Scholarship: Building Sustainable Futures.

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    Co-editors’ Introduction Welcome to Business Educator Issue 2 (2021-2022). This Working Paper series is for scholars, researchers, early career researchers, members of the PhD community and students whose research and scholarship are located within Management Learning and Business Education. The purpose of this Working Paper series is to provide a peer-reviewed publication to support the development of high-quality outputs from research in the areas of: - Management Learning including leadership and management development approaches; coaching; professional development; reflexivity; creativity and innovation in management learning; developing resilient and agile managers; internationalisation of management learning across cultures. - Business Education including business pedagogies; creative approaches to learning and teaching; online and hybrid approaches; digital business education; the student experience; student as partners; collaborative approaches to business education; inclusive business education practices; work-based learning, experiential learning; internationalisation of business education. We are delighted that this second issue reflects the breadth of the experience within the research community in the Faculty of Business, Law, and Tourism and beyond by including working papers from early career researchers, colleagues from University of Sunderland in London and established internationally recognised researchers. Following the Call for Papers in October 2021, this issue contains three working papers and starts with a timely topic for all on ‘Securing the future of work: an analysis on skill gaps between Business Education and industry needs in the UK’ by Dr Giuseppe Cantafio (Senior Lecturer (Academic Development APP and TEF University of Sunderland in London) and Awajioyem Miracle Ikoawaji (MSc International Business Management, University of Sunderland in London). This paper considers and reflects upon emerging technologies, disruptions and rapid evolution faced in the business environment. They present the case for new managers entering the market to acquire the skills needed to thrive and grow in a fastchanging environment. This is followed by a paper from established researchers on ‘An exploration of the impact of TNE programmes on graduate employability using stakeholder approach’ by Professor Monika Foster (Head of School of Business and Management, University of Sunderland), Dr Yuan Zhai (Lecturer in Business, University of Teesside) and Dr Derek Watson (Associate Professor, University of Sunderland). This paper focuses on TNE student graduateness and career progression. They provide insights and outline informed guidance on the design and delivery of TNE programmes to further enrich graduate employability. This is followed by a paper by an early career researcher on ‘A conceptual study on the application of qualitative methods to the study of international master foundation students’ online engagement during the pandemic lockdown’ by Iris Ren. This paper presents an emerging conceptualisation of the experience of the impact of Covid-19 on teaching practice for a teacher whose cultural differences have presented unique opportunities and challenges for developing their praxis and teaching of international postgraduate students

    Covid-19 and Capitalism

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    This open access book provides a comprehensive analysis of the socioeconomic determinants of Covid-19. From the end of 2019 until presently, the world has been ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the cause of this is (obviously) a virus, the extent to which this virus spread, and therefore the number of infections and deaths, was largely determined by socio-economic factors. From this, it follows that the course of the pandemic varies greatly from one country to another. This observation applies both to countries’ resilience to such a pandemic (which is mainly rooted in the period preceding the outbreak of the virus) and to the way in which countries have reacted to the virus (including the political choices on how to respond). Meanwhile, research has made it clear that the nature of this response (e.g., elimination policy, mitigation policy, and proceeding herd immunity) was, on the one hand, strongly determined by political and ideological factors and, on the other hand, was highly influential in the factors of success or failure in combating the pandemic. The book focuses on the situation in a number of Western regions (notably the USA, the UK, and the EU and its Member States). The author addresses the reasons why in many Western countries both pandemic prevention and response policies to Covid-19 have failed. The book concludes with recommendations concerning the rearrangement of the socio-economic order that could increase the resilience of (Western) societies against such pandemics
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