686 research outputs found

    2023-2024 Catalog

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    The 2023-2024 Governors State University Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog is a comprehensive listing of current information regarding:Degree RequirementsCourse OfferingsUndergraduate and Graduate Rules and Regulation

    From massive rapid reconstruction to small-scale stepwise urban renewal: A contribution to socially integrative cities?: Case studies of Wuhan, China

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    Initially, urban renewal focused mainly on promoting better physical environments, living conditions and economic activities, by upgrading derelict neighbourhoods. But since the 1990s in Europe, the urban renewal approach emphasising the physical, environmental and economic spheres has been replaced by a more comprehensive and integrated approach, which links the stimulation of economic activities and environmental improvements with social integration, inclusion and cultural elements. The former pathway, marked by massive rapid demolition and reconstruction, is regarded as the dominant urban renewal approach in China. Driven by the unprecedented urbanisation, it has brought enormous economic benefits but at the cost of aggravating social and environmental problems, resulting in unsustainable cities. Therefore, China has entered a new stage by transforming into a more sustainable avenue – the small-scale stepwise urban renewal. Since 2009, the Chinese government has launched experimental actions in many pilot cities to cultivate the new approach. This trend can be noticed in different fields involving policies, movements, institutional settings and academia. Government and scholars expect small-scale urban renewal to simultaneously enhance physical infrastructures, reinforce cultural diversity and foster social cohesion, leading to sustainable and socially integrative cities. However, it can be questioned if the new urban renewal approach genuinely has a better performance in this regard. Therefore, the guiding research question (RQ) asks: How does urban renewal contribute to socially integrative cities in China? The author first sought insights to build a holistic conceptual framework: urban renewal towards socially integrative cities. It helped understand the urban renewal evolution in China, and the concept of social integration and inclusion both in international and in the Chinese context, especially regarding urban renewal projects. By conducting a literature review, three research gaps were identified: 1) A lack of systematic studies that integrate and summarise fragmented urban renewal approaches and concepts in China; 2) Social integration and inclusion in China have a relatively narrow perspective of “assimilation”; 3) Systematic and multi-faceted evaluation of experimental urban renewal in China, especially in social aspects, is too inadequate to make suggestions for improving current Chinese urban renewal approaches. To fill these gaps, this dissertation firstly scrutinises the differences between these co-existing two renewal approaches in China, massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal; secondly, it examines to what extent these two approaches have contributed to socially integrative cities, and thirdly, analyses the strengths and weaknesses of these two approaches and the rationales behind them. The 'socially integrative cities' (SIC) analytical framework, jointly proposed by Chinese and European scholars, is applied to examine the accomplishments in two urban renewal cases. The author defines 26 indicators corresponding to 12 characteristics, grouped into five dimensions: collaborative urban planning and design, urban environment and living conditions, local economy and labour market, socio-cultural development and social capital, institutional development and urban finance. The methodology comprises descriptive documents analysis and literature research, followed by qualitative comparative case studies. Two typical cases were selected, representing massive rapid reconstruction (Wuhan Tiandi) and small-scale stepwise urban renewal (Tanhualin). Both are traditional inner-city and run-down areas in Wuhan, a frontrunner prefecture-level city in China. During the fieldwork, semi-structured in-depth interviews have been conducted on identified stakeholders. After the fieldwork, a thematic content analysis and a stakeholder analysis were performed to analyse the interview data collected from online databases, documents, and project plans. Results firstly suggested that the differences between massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal exist in the aspects of the intervention levels, the actors and strategies, the scales of coverage, the planning goals, the renewal targets, the housing types and the sources of funds. An urban renewal project can combine both approaches in a hybrid model or adopt different approaches in different periods. The assessment of the implementation and impact of both urban renewal cases reveals that massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal have genuinely contributed to socially integrative cities in all five dimensions but to a varying degree. Massive rapid reconstruction has unique advantages in improving living and environmental conditions in urban areas, upgrading the physical environment in distressed areas, and strengthening the economy and labour market on a large regional scale, but it does not respect the social and cultural dimension. In contrast, small-scale stepwise renewal prevails in the adaptive reuse of existing buildings, revitalising cities and older towns, keeping people in the original neighbourhoods, stabilising housing prices and affordability, strengthening the economy and labour market on a small local scale, preserving cultural heritage, fostering the identity of neighbourhoods, as well as fostering social capital and the engagement of local stakeholders. However, it suffers from a comprehensive but limited effectiveness. The study also shows that many strengths and weaknesses of both urban renewal approaches are antithetical. Based on this finding, the author discovers their rationales behind the two different approaches, investigates the underlying causes that precipitate these antitheses, and proposes possible solutions to the challenges and dilemmas facing current Chinese urban renewal. Overall, this research concludes fragmented urban renewal approaches and concepts in China, summarised into two paradigms: massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal. Besides, it develops a more comprehensive and analytical framework that adapts to the Chinese context - “socially integrative cities”, to examine urban renewal projects. Finally, it elucidates in-depth empirical knowledge of the urban renewal paradigm shift in China and makes recommendations for government, practitioners and scholars to promote a more socially integrative urban renewal.:CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1.1 Problem overview 1.2 Study design and thesis structure 2 Conceptual framework: urban renewal towards socially integrative cities 2.1 Urban renewal in China 2.1.1 Basic Chinese terms and concepts 2.1.2 Massive rapid demolition and reconstruction 2.1.3 Small-scale stepwise urban renewal 2.1.4 Urban renewal evolution in China: initiating, testing and promotion 2.2 Social integration and inclusion 2.3 Influence of urban renewal on social integration and inclusion - socially integrative cities 2.4 Typical practices of urban renewal in China 2.5 Raised research questions 3 Research design and methodology 3.1 Overall research design 3.2 Framework to examine the accomplishment of socially integrative cities in urban renewal projects 3.3 Comparative case studies 3.3.1 Case study selection 3.3.2 Interview design 3.3.3 Data analysis 4 Exploring the context: Wuhan city and its two cases 4.1 Urban renewal in Wuhan 4.2 Planning documents of Wuhan concerning urban renewal 4.3 Massive rapid reconstruction case: Wuhan Tiandi 4.4 Small-scale stepwise urban renewal case: Tanhualin 5 Differences between massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.1 Classification criteria for urban renewal approaches 5.2 Intervention levels 5.2.1 Redevelopment, rehabilitation, and conservation 5.2.2 Intervention levels in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.3 Actors and strategies 5.3.1 Government-led, property-led, comprehensive model, and community-oriented mode 5.3.2 Actors and strategies in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.3.3 Sources of funds in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.4 Scales of coverage 5.4.1 Macro-level, medium-level, micro-level 5.4.2 Scales of coverage in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.5 Planning goals 5.5.1 Physical, social, economic, and morphological integrated 5.5.2 Planning goals in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.6 Renewal targets 5.6.1 Old city, old factory, old village 5.6.2 Renewal targets in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.7 Summary 6 Contributions to socially integrative cities by massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 6.1 Collaborative urban planning and design 6.1.1 Reducing urban sprawl and appropriate access to urban land 6.1.2 Involving different stakeholders in collaborative and participative planning and design on the different politico-administrative levels 6.1.3 Reflections 6.2 Urban environment and living conditions 6.2.1 Improving urban environment and living conditions in Wuhan Tiandi 6.2.2 Improving the urban environment and living conditions in Tanhualin 6.2.3 Reflections 6.3 Local economy and labour market 6.3.1 Strengthening the local economy and labour market 6.3.2 Strengthening technical and social innovation in cities and neighbourhoods opening up new possibilities for the local population 6.3.3 Reflections 6.4 Socio-cultural development and social capital 6.4.1 Fostering proactive education and training policies for children and young people in disadvantaged neighbourhoods 6.4.2 Preserving cultural heritage and fostering the identity of neighbourhoods and their inhabitants 6.4.3 Fostering social capital and engagement of local stakeholders 6.4.4 Reflections 6.5 Institutional development and urban finance 6.5.1 Supporting adequate institutional conditions and mechanisms 6.5.2 Supporting adequate financial conditions and mechanisms 6.5.3 Reflections 6.6 Summary 7 Strengths and weaknesses of massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise renewal and their rationales 7.1 Collaborative urban planning and design 7.1.1 Rental-sales rights inequality 7.1.2 Paternalistic Danwei system 7.1.3 Lack of channels for public participation 7.1.4 Lack of vertical and horizontal integration between government sectors 7.1.5 Lack of clear collective goals 7.2 Urban environment and living conditions 7.2.1 Housing prices and affordability 7.2.2 Low-rent housing programmes and two innovations 7.2.3 Monetisation strategy 7.2.4 Efficiency versus quality 7.3 Socio-cultural development and social capital 7.3.1 Cultural heritage protection 7.3.2 Aesthetic concept cultivation 7.3.3 Open community versus gated community 7.3.4 Understandings of social integration and inclusion 7.4 Institutional development and urban finance 7.4.1 Establishment of urban renewal bureau 7.4.2 Transition from management-oriented government to service-oriented government 7.4.3 Human-centred, people-oriented design 7.5 Summary 8 Conclusion References Annexes Annex 1: Interview guidelines Annex 2: Dates of interviews Annex 3: Collected data Annex 4: Example of consent formUrsprünglich zielte Stadterneuerung in erster Linie darauf ab, Infrastruktur, Lebensbedingungen und wirtschaftliche Gegebenheiten durch die Aufwertung baufälliger Stadtviertel zu verbessern. Seit den 1990er Jahren jedoch wurde in Europa der Ansatz der hauptsächlich materielle, ökologische und ökonomische Aspekte betonenden Stadterneuerung durch eine ganzheitlichere Herangehensweise abgelöst. Diese verbindet die Stimulation ökonomischer Aktivitäten und ökologischer Verbesserungen mit sozialer Integration und Teilhabe der Bewohner sowie Rücksichtnahme auf kulturelle Gegebenheiten (Dixon et al., 2009, p. 3). Ersterer Ansatz, gekennzeichnet durch großflächigen und schnellen Abriss und Neubau städtischer Areale, wird meist als die in China übliche Vorgehensweise bei Stadterneuerungen angesehen. Getrieben von einem Prozess beispielloser Urbanisierung, ging sie einen enormen wirtschaftlichen Aufschwung einher. Dieser brachte allerdings gravierende soziale und ökologische Problemen mit sich, welche zu einer nicht-nachhaltigen Stadtentwicklung führten. Deshalb beschreitet China zunehmend einen nachhaltigeren Weg: die schrittweise Stadterneuerung in jeweils kleinerem Umfang. Seit 2009 initiierte die chinesische Regierung verschiedene experimentelle Pilotprojekte für den neuen Ansatz. Dieser Trend macht sich in verschiedenen Bereichen wie Planungs- und Baustrategien, institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen und der Wissenschaft bemerkbar. Sowohl chinesische Regierungsinstitutionen als auch zahlreiche Wissenschaftler gehen davon aus, dass eine kleinteiligere Stadterneuerung nicht nur die physische Infrastruktur verbessert, sondern auch das Gefühl der Identität, die kulturelle Entwicklung und den sozialen Zusammenhalt unter den Bewohnern verstärkt. Damit geht allerdings die Frage einher, ob der neue Ansatz der Stadterneuerung tatsächlich per se besser zur Verwirklichung dieser Absichten beiträgt. Die zentrale Forschungsfrage lautet daher: Auf welche Weise trägt Stadterneuerung zur sozialen Integrativität chinesischer Städte bei? Zunächst entwickelte die Autorin den konzeptionellen Rahmen: Stadterneuerung im Sinne sozial-integrativer Stadtentwicklung. Dieser hilft beim Verständnis chinesischer Stadterneuerung und der Einsicht in den städtebaulichen Bezug von Konzepten sozialer Integration und Inklusion sowohl international als auch spezifisch in China. Bei der Recherche in Dokumenten und Fachliteratur zeigten sich weiterhin folgende drei Forschungslücken: 1) Ein Mangel an systematischen Untersuchungen, die die einzelnen Herangehensweisen und Konzepte der Stadterneuerung in China integrieren und zusammenfassen; 2) Ansätze der sozialen Integration und Teilhabe folgen in China einem relativ engen Verständnis von „Assimilierung“; 3) Der gegenwärtige Bestand systematischer Analyse und Bewertung experimenteller Stadterneuerungsprojekte ist hinsichtlich sozialer Aspekte unzureichend für eine Verbesserung aktueller Ansätze der Stadterneuerung in China. Um diese Forschungslücken zu füllen, sollen in der vorliegenden Dissertation zum Ersten die Unterschiede zwischen den beiden in China angewendeten Vorgehensweisen der Stadterneuerung – großflächiger und scheller gegenüber kleinteiligem und schrittweisem Stadtumbau – erforscht werden; zum Zweiten soll untersucht werden, inwiefern beide Ansätze zur sozial integrierten Stadtentwicklung beitragen, und zum Dritten soll eine generelle Analyse der Stärken und Schwächen beider Ansätze und ihrer inneren Logik erfolgen. Zur Untersuchung zweier Fälle von Stadterneuerung bezüglich des Ziels einer sozial-integrativen Stadtentwicklung kommt der Analyserahmen „Socially Integrative Cities“ (SIC), der gemeinsam von chinesischen und europäischen Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern vorgeschlagen wurde, zum Einsatz. Die Autorin definierte 26 Indikatoren aufbauend auf 12 Charakteristika aus vorausgegangenen Forschungen, die fünf thematischen Dimensionen zugeordnet wurden: kollaborative Stadtplanung und Stadtgestaltung, urbane Umwelt- und Lebensbedingungen, wirtschaftliche Situation und Arbeitsmarkt vor Ort, soziokulturelle Entwicklung und soziales Kapital und schlussendlich institutionelle Entwicklung und städtisches Finanzwesen. Das methodische Vorgehen vereint beschreibende Analyse von Dokumenten und Literaturrecherche, gefolgt von qualitativen vergleichenden Fallstudien. Für die Untersuchung wurden zwei typische Fälle von Stadterneuerungsprojekten ausgewählt, die einerseits eine großflächige und schnelle (Wuhan Tiandi) und andererseits eine kleinteilige und schrittweise (Wuhan Tanhualin) Vorgehensweise repräsentieren. In beiden Fällen handelt es sich um traditionelle innerstädtische, jedoch baufällige Viertel in Wuhan, einer aufstrebenden chinesischen Bezirkshauptstadt. Im Laufe der Feldforschung wurden unter anderem semistrukturierte vertiefende Interviews mit Vertretern von Einrichtungen geführt, die vorher als Stakeholder identifiziert wurden. Für die Auswertung des Interviewmaterials schloss sich während und nach der Feldforschung die inhaltliche Analyse und die Stakeholderanalyse an. Weitere Daten hierfür wurden von Online-Datenplattformen, Dokumenten und Projektplanungen generiert. Zunächst einmal legen die Resultate nahe, dass die Unterschiede zwischen großflächiger, schneller und kleinteiliger, schrittweiser Stadterneuerung hauptsächlich bei den Aspekten Interventionsebene, Akteure und ihre Strategien, Größe der Baufläche, Planungs- und Erneuerungsziel, Gebäudetypen und Finanzierung liegen. Dabei besteht die Möglichkeit, dass Projekte der Stadterneuerung beide Vorgehensweisen in einem hybriden Modell kombinieren oder verschiedene Ansätze in unterschiedlichen Abschnitten zur Anwendung bringen. Die Auswertung der Umsetzung und Folgen der beiden Stadterneuerungsprojekte offenbarte, dass sowohl die großflächige und schnelle als auch die kleinteilige, schrittweise Stadterneuerung in unterschiedlichem Ausmaß einen spezifischen Einfluss auf allen fünf o.g. Dimensionen des Konzepts der sozial-integrativen Stadt haben. Großflächige und schnelle Stadterneuerung bietet unbestreitbare Vorteile für die Verbesserung der Lebens- und Umweltbedingungen, bei der baulichen Aufwertung in baufälligen Stadtbereichen sowie für die Stärkung der regionalen Wirtschaftstätigkeit und des überregionalen Arbeitsmarktes. Allerdings nimmt sie wenig Rücksicht auf soziale und kulturelle Aspekte. Im Gegensatz dazu zeichnet sich eine kleinteilige, schrittweise Stadterneuerung durch flexible Umnutzung existierender Gebäude, eine Wiederbelebung von Stadtkernen und Altstädten und stabileren und erschwinglicheren Immobilienpreisen aus. Menschen können in ihrem angestammten Viertel bleiben, die Lokalwirtschaft und der Arbeitsmarkt vor Ort werden gestärkt, baukulturelles Erbe bewahrt und sowohl das Identitätsgefühl der Quartiersbewohner mit ihrer Umgebung als auch Sozialkapital und Engagement lokaler Stakeholder gestärkt. Gleichwohl leiden diese zwar umfassenden Ansätze unter einer begrenzten Effektivität. Darüber hinaus wurde in der Studie deutlich, dass die Vorteile des einen Ansatzes in vielen Fälle die Nachteile des anderen spiegeln und umgekehrt. Darauf aufbauend beschrieb die Autorin die zu Grunde liegende Logik beider Wege, untersuchte die Ursachen, die zu deren Widersprüchen führen und bietet mögliche Lösungswege für die Herausforderungen und Dilemmata an, denen gegenwärtige chinesische Stadterneuerungsprojekte gegenüberstehen. Diese Forschungsarbeit fasst verschiedene bislang fragmentarische Ansätze und Konzepte der Stadterneuerung in China zu zwei Paradigmen zusammen: Dem des großflächigen, schnellen Stadtumbaus und jenem der kleinteiligen, schrittweisen Erneuerung. Daneben wurde ein breiter gefasster und an den Kontext der chinesischen „sozial-integrativen Stadt“ angepasster Analyserahmen für Stadterneuerungsprojekte entwickelt. Schlussendlich erläutert die vorliegende Forschungsarbeit ausführlich empirische Erkenntnisse im Zusammenhang mit dem städtebaulichen Paradigmenwechsel, der sich in China vollzieht, und gibt Empfehlungen für entsprechende Regierungsinstitutionen, Fachleute und Wissenschaftler zur Förderung einer sozial–integrativen Stadtentwicklung.:CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1.1 Problem overview 1.2 Study design and thesis structure 2 Conceptual framework: urban renewal towards socially integrative cities 2.1 Urban renewal in China 2.1.1 Basic Chinese terms and concepts 2.1.2 Massive rapid demolition and reconstruction 2.1.3 Small-scale stepwise urban renewal 2.1.4 Urban renewal evolution in China: initiating, testing and promotion 2.2 Social integration and inclusion 2.3 Influence of urban renewal on social integration and inclusion - socially integrative cities 2.4 Typical practices of urban renewal in China 2.5 Raised research questions 3 Research design and methodology 3.1 Overall research design 3.2 Framework to examine the accomplishment of socially integrative cities in urban renewal projects 3.3 Comparative case studies 3.3.1 Case study selection 3.3.2 Interview design 3.3.3 Data analysis 4 Exploring the context: Wuhan city and its two cases 4.1 Urban renewal in Wuhan 4.2 Planning documents of Wuhan concerning urban renewal 4.3 Massive rapid reconstruction case: Wuhan Tiandi 4.4 Small-scale stepwise urban renewal case: Tanhualin 5 Differences between massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.1 Classification criteria for urban renewal approaches 5.2 Intervention levels 5.2.1 Redevelopment, rehabilitation, and conservation 5.2.2 Intervention levels in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.3 Actors and strategies 5.3.1 Government-led, property-led, comprehensive model, and community-oriented mode 5.3.2 Actors and strategies in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.3.3 Sources of funds in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.4 Scales of coverage 5.4.1 Macro-level, medium-level, micro-level 5.4.2 Scales of coverage in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.5 Planning goals 5.5.1 Physical, social, economic, and morphological integrated 5.5.2 Planning goals in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.6 Renewal targets 5.6.1 Old city, old factory, old village 5.6.2 Renewal targets in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.7 Summary 6 Contributions to socially integrative cities by

    Southern Adventist University Undergraduate Catalog 2022-2023

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    Southern Adventist University\u27s undergraduate catalog for the academic year 2022-2023.https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/undergrad_catalog/1121/thumbnail.jp

    Resilient and Scalable Forwarding for Software-Defined Networks with P4-Programmable Switches

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    Traditional networking devices support only fixed features and limited configurability. Network softwarization leverages programmable software and hardware platforms to remove those limitations. In this context the concept of programmable data planes allows directly to program the packet processing pipeline of networking devices and create custom control plane algorithms. This flexibility enables the design of novel networking mechanisms where the status quo struggles to meet high demands of next-generation networks like 5G, Internet of Things, cloud computing, and industry 4.0. P4 is the most popular technology to implement programmable data planes. However, programmable data planes, and in particular, the P4 technology, emerged only recently. Thus, P4 support for some well-established networking concepts is still lacking and several issues remain unsolved due to the different characteristics of programmable data planes in comparison to traditional networking. The research of this thesis focuses on two open issues of programmable data planes. First, it develops resilient and efficient forwarding mechanisms for the P4 data plane as there are no satisfying state of the art best practices yet. Second, it enables BIER in high-performance P4 data planes. BIER is a novel, scalable, and efficient transport mechanism for IP multicast traffic which has only very limited support of high-performance forwarding platforms yet. The main results of this thesis are published as 8 peer-reviewed and one post-publication peer-reviewed publication. The results cover the development of suitable resilience mechanisms for P4 data planes, the development and implementation of resilient BIER forwarding in P4, and the extensive evaluations of all developed and implemented mechanisms. Furthermore, the results contain a comprehensive P4 literature study. Two more peer-reviewed papers contain additional content that is not directly related to the main results. They implement congestion avoidance mechanisms in P4 and develop a scheduling concept to find cost-optimized load schedules based on day-ahead forecasts

    Data ethics : building trust : how digital technologies can serve humanity

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    Data is the magic word of the 21st century. As oil in the 20th century and electricity in the 19th century: For citizens, data means support in daily life in almost all activities, from watch to laptop, from kitchen to car, from mobile phone to politics. For business and politics, data means power, dominance, winning the race. Data can be used for good and bad, for services and hacking, for medicine and arms race. How can we build trust in this complex and ambiguous data world? How can digital technologies serve humanity? The 45 articles in this book represent a broad range of ethical reflections and recommendations in eight sections: a) Values, Trust and Law, b) AI, Robots and Humans, c) Health and Neuroscience, d) Religions for Digital Justice, e) Farming, Business, Finance, f) Security, War, Peace, g) Data Governance, Geopolitics, h) Media, Education, Communication. The authors and institutions come from all continents. The book serves as reading material for teachers, students, policy makers, politicians, business, hospitals, NGOs and religious organisations alike. It is an invitation for dialogue, debate and building trust! The book is a continuation of the volume “Cyber Ethics 4.0” published in 2018 by the same editors

    Interdisciplinarity in the Age of the Triple Helix: a Film Practitioner's Perspective

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    This integrative chapter contextualises my research including articles I have published as well as one of the creative artefacts developed from it, the feature film The Knife That Killed Me. I review my work considering the ways in which technology, industry methods and academic practice have evolved as well as how attitudes to interdisciplinarity have changed, linking these to Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff’s ‘Triple Helix’ model (1995). I explore my own experiences and observations of opportunities and challenges that have been posed by the intersection of different stakeholder needs and expectations, both from industry and academic perspectives, and argue that my work provides novel examples of the applicability of the ‘Triple Helix’ to the creative industries. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the evolution and direction of my work, the relevance of the ‘Triple Helix’ to creative practice, and ways in which this relationship could be investigated further

    The nexus between e-marketing, e-service quality, e-satisfaction and e-loyalty: a cross-sectional study within the context of online SMEs in Ghana

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    The spread of the Internet, the proliferation of mobile devices, and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have given impetus to online shopping in Ghana and the subregion. This situation has also created opportunities for SMEs to take advantage of online marketing technologies. However, there is a dearth of studies on the link between e-marketing and e-loyalty in terms of online shopping, thereby creating a policy gap on the prospects for business success for online SMEs in Ghana. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between the main independent variable, e-marketing and the main dependent variable, e-loyalty, as well as the mediating roles of e-service quality and e-satisfaction in the link between e-marketing and e-loyalty. The study adopted a positivist stance with a quantitative method. The study was cross-sectional in nature with the adoption of a descriptive correlational design. A Structural Equation Modelling approach was employed to examine the nature of the associations between the independent, mediating and dependent variables. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to control for the potential confounding effects of the demographic factors. A sample size of 1,293 residents in Accra, Ghana, who had previously shopped online, responded to structured questionnaire in an online survey via Google Docs. The IBM SPSS Amos 24 software was used to analyse the data collected. Positive associations were found between the key constructs in the study: e-marketing, e-service quality, e-satisfaction and e-Loyalty. The findings from the study gave further backing to the diffusion innovation theory, resource-based view theory, and technology acceptance model. In addition, e-service quality and e-satisfaction individually and jointly mediated the relationship between e-marketing and e-loyalty. However, these mediations were partial, instead of an originally anticipated full mediation. In terms of value and contribution, this is the first study in a developing economy context to undertake a holistic examination of the key marketing performance variables within an online shopping context. The study uniquely tested the mediation roles of both e-service quality and e-satisfaction in the link between e-marketing and e-loyalty. The findings of the study are novel in the e-marketing literature as they unearthed the key antecedents of e-loyalty for online SMEs in a developing economy context. The study suggested areas for further related studies and also highlighted the limitations
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