Understanding the Marketing and Management of trails using PESTEL Analysis

Trails are an important resource for local communities because they provide health, social, economical, and environmental benefits (“Headwaters Economics”, 2016). When trails are made accessible in towns, it facilitates communal connection, draws in tourists, increases support for conservation lands, and creates safer trails. Trails are valuable to towns because they are an integral piece of their livelihood, therefore the management of trails should be researched to understand how to sustain public use. For this study, twelve (N = 12) conservation commissioners, town managers, and other trail stakeholders from two counties in a Northeastern state were interviewed about how they manage their trails. Results of the study were analyzed and coded, utilizing a marketing theory called PESTEL. Six PESTEL categories were used to interpret stakeholder comments on how trails are managed. The findings of the research show how managing and marketing trails to promote access and use could potentially maximize trail benefits for town communities

Geoscience after IT: Part L. Adjusting the emerging information system to new technology

Coherent development depends on following widely used standards that respect our vast legacy of existing entries in the geoscience record. Middleware ensures that we see a coherent view from our desktops of diverse sources of information. Developments specific to managing the written word, map content, and structured data come together in shared metadata linking topics and information types

Health-related preferences of older patients with multimorbidity: the protocol for an evidence map

Introduction: Interaction of conditions and treatments, complicated care needs and substantial treatment burden make patient–physician encounters involving multimorbid older patients highly complex. To optimally integrate patients’ preferences, define and prioritise realistic treatment goals and individualise care, a patient-centred approach is recommended. However, the preferences of older patients, who are especially vulnerable and frequently multimorbid, have not been systematically investigated with regard to their health status. The purpose of this evidence map is to explore current research addressing health-related preferences of older patients with multimorbidity, and to identify the knowledge clusters and research gaps. Methods and analysis: To identify relevant research, we will conduct searches in the electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, PSYNDEX, CINAHL, Social Science Citation Index, Social Science Citation Index Expanded and the Cochrane library from their inception. We will check reference lists of relevant articles and carry out cited reference research (forward citation tracking). Two independent reviewers will screen titles and abstracts, check full texts for eligibility and extract the data. Any disagreement will be resolved and consensus reached with the help of a third reviewer. We will include both qualitative and quantitative studies, and address preferences from the patients’ perspectives in a multimorbid population of 60 years or older. There will be no restrictions on the publication language. Data extraction tables will present study and patient characteristics, aim of study, methods used to identify preferences and outcomes (ie, type of preferences). We will summarise the data using tables and figures (ie, bubble plot) to present the research landscape and to describe clusters and gaps. Ethics and dissemination: Due to the nature of the proposed evidence map, ethics approval will not be required. Results from our research will be disseminated by means of specifically prepared materials for patients, at relevant (inter)national conferences and via publication in peer-reviewed journals

Knowledge Mapping for Open Sensemaking Communities

By analogy to cartographic representations of spatial worlds, Knowledge Maps provide an ‘aerial view’ of a topic by highlighting key elements and connections. Moreover, just as spatial maps simplify the world and can fuel controversy, maps of conceptual worlds provide vehicles for summarising and negotiating meaning. In conjunction with the UK Open University’s Open Educational Resources OpenLearn project, we are investigating the role of such maps for both learners and educators to share – and debate – interpretations of OERs. In this brief update, we describe how a mapping tool (Compendium) has been integrated with OpenLearn’s elearning platform (Moodle) in order to support tasks such as concept analysis, problem-solving, literature review, learning path planning, argument analysis and OER design

Conceptualisation of intellectual capital in analysts’ narratives: a performative view

Purpose: This study tests the performativity of Intellectual Capital (IC) from the perspective of sell-side analysts, a type of actor who consumes and creates IC information and in whose practice IC information plays a significant role. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical component of the study comprises a narrative analysis of the text of a large corpus of sell-side analysts’ initiation coverage reports. We adopt Mouritsen’s (2006) performative and ostensive conceptualisations of IC as our theoretical framework. Findings: We find that the identities and properties of IC elements are variable, dynamic and transformative. The relevance of IC elements in the eyes of analysts is conditional on the context, temporally contingent and bestowed indirectly. IC elements are attributed to firm value both directly, in a linear manner, and indirectly, via various non-linear interrelationships established with other IC elements, tangible capital and financial capital. Research limitations/implications: This study challenges the conventional IC research paradigm and contributes towards a performativity-inspired conceptualisation of IC and a resultant situated model of IC in place of a predictive model. Originality/value: This is the first study to apply a performative lens to study IC identities, roles and relationships from the perspective of a field of practice that is external to the organisation where IC is hosted. Examining IC from analysts’ perspective is important because not only can it provide an alternative perspective of IC, it also enables an understanding of analysts’ field of practice

Knowledge Transfer Needs and Methods

INE/AUTC 12.3

Constructing digital library interfaces

The software technologies used to create web interfaces for digital libraries are discussed using examples from Greenstone 3

Down with the drain : looking after our urban runoff and waterways in the era of sustainable management : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Resource and Environmental Planning at Massey University

Recent reforms of environmental and local government legislation have radically changed the nature of environmental management in New Zealand. There is a new mandate for the "sustainable management" of natural and physical resources. This thesis examines how environmental considerations are currently being incorporated into the management of urban runoff and waterways in New Zealand. Three case studies of urban councils were conducted. Two main data collection methods were employed. Interviews were conducted with the relevant council staff and this information was supplemented by an analysis of regional policy statements, regional plans and district plans that employed a method of plan coding. This sought to establish what policies and programmes the councils were involved in, whether this was different from the late 1980s, and the extent to which they were carrying out various types of innovative solutions to environmental problems. The research findings suggest that councils vary considerably in their approach to urban runoff and waterways. It showed that urban streams in New Zealand have suffered levels of degradation including pollution and channel modification that are consistent with many urban areas overseas. Recently, elements of a new philosophy have been applied to their management, which has coincided with the introduction of the Resource Management Act (RMA). Following overseas trends, there has been a recognition by managers of our waterways and stormwater systems that former practices in managing urban runoff have neglected environmental issues and natural resource conservation. This research suggests that stormwater management practices are taking on board the considerations of water quality, quantity and biodiversity to a greater extent than that which happened in the past. The extent to which this is happening in any particular area depends on the scale of the issues, the sensitivity and utility of affected resources, and the level of commitment by both community and council to changing traditional practices

Supporting location-based inquiry learning across school, field and home contexts

Here we explore how technology can be applied to support inquiry learning spanning a range of contexts. The development process of a location-based inquiry learning toolset is presented for a secondary school GCSE Geography project. The design framework used and the process of participatory development is discussed with regard to the co-development of the activities and tools involved in an inquiry project. The lessons learned relate to the formation of a motivational context for the inquiry; the role of personal data collection in the field; the use of bridging representations across field and classroom activities; and the development of flexible, re-usable tools to support and bridge sequences of activities