Conceptualising supply-side seasonality in tourism, a study of the temporal trading behaviours for small tourism businesses in Scotland

Seasonality in tourism is one of its most enduring features. During the past half century, the phenomenon has been studied extensively in order to gain insight into its dynamics. However, much of the empirical evidence has been developed from a demand-side perspective, focusing on the temporal travel behaviours and motivations of consumers. Conversely, relatively little attention has been paid to tourism's diverse supply-side elements, especially those at the destination. This study aims to redress that imbalance. It considers a key element of the destination mix in Scotland, the privately operated small tourism related business, specifically those who operate their business on a seasonal basis. Such businesses epitomise supply-side seasonality, yet their temporal operating behaviours and the underlying motivations and influences of these have evaded systematic examination. The thesis is therefore an attempt to aid understanding of the relationships between tourism seasonality and small business service provision. It represents an inductive, interpretivistic approach to the subject. In reviewing the tourism seasonality and small business literatures, it is argued that existing constructs of seasonality, entrepreneurialism and growth orientation, family business and 'lifestyle' business fail to shed light on the complexities of temporal trading among small businesses and indeed on the meanings of 'seasonality' from a supply-side perspective. Moreover, findings from an exploratory study and contextual literature reveal a variety of contextual factors that impinge on temporal trading behaviours. A nationwide survey of seasonally trading Scottish small businesses identifies distinct patterns of behaviour, influences and motivations according to type of business, demographic and contextual variables. Disposition and circumstance are identified as key formative elements in conceptualising supply-side temporal behaviours.Seasonality in tourism is one of its most enduring features. During the past half century, the phenomenon has been studied extensively in order to gain insight into its dynamics. However, much of the empirical evidence has been developed from a demand-side perspective, focusing on the temporal travel behaviours and motivations of consumers. Conversely, relatively little attention has been paid to tourism's diverse supply-side elements, especially those at the destination. This study aims to redress that imbalance. It considers a key element of the destination mix in Scotland, the privately operated small tourism related business, specifically those who operate their business on a seasonal basis. Such businesses epitomise supply-side seasonality, yet their temporal operating behaviours and the underlying motivations and influences of these have evaded systematic examination. The thesis is therefore an attempt to aid understanding of the relationships between tourism seasonality and small business service provision. It represents an inductive, interpretivistic approach to the subject. In reviewing the tourism seasonality and small business literatures, it is argued that existing constructs of seasonality, entrepreneurialism and growth orientation, family business and 'lifestyle' business fail to shed light on the complexities of temporal trading among small businesses and indeed on the meanings of 'seasonality' from a supply-side perspective. Moreover, findings from an exploratory study and contextual literature reveal a variety of contextual factors that impinge on temporal trading behaviours. A nationwide survey of seasonally trading Scottish small businesses identifies distinct patterns of behaviour, influences and motivations according to type of business, demographic and contextual variables. Disposition and circumstance are identified as key formative elements in conceptualising supply-side temporal behaviours

Retaining the adolescent workforce in family businesses

Purpose: To critically explore the linkage between adolescent work, parent-child relationships and offspring career choice outcomes in a family business context. It examines the above in light of the stay/go decision faced by adolescent family members. Design/methodology/approach: Findings are derived from semi-structured interviews with 15 individuals from five Italian families operating family catering businesses in Yorkshire (UK). The approach represents a sample spanning four generations, designed to capture data from individuals who had experienced adolescent work at the family business. Findings: The findings offer evidence that the 'familiarity' of family business impacts on offspring career choices, providing a safety net or a trap which can impede exit decisions. Returning after periods of study leave that represent the transition from adolescence to adulthood, offspring continue to use the family business as a base from which to explore their career options. Alternatively, when parent-child relationships break down, family business escape strategies assume priority for offspring. Research limitations/implications: The study focused exclusively on migrant Italian families within the catering sector. The sample included different generational representations among the five families. It lays the ground for future research of a similar nature among other family business ethnicities and across other economic sectors. Originality/value: This paper contributes to understanding offspring career choice outcomes in a family business context. The empirical evidence suggests that parent-child relationships are instrumental to understanding the stay/go decision as well as previous stages of the socialisation process of embedding in the family business

Lung innate homeostasis and susceptibility to viral induced secondary bacterial pneumonias

Influenza A virus causes significant and well publicised morbidity and mortality as a single infection. However, in combination with a secondary bacterial super infection the resulting prognosis is worse and can result in hospitalisation or death. Despite extensive clinical and epidemiological evidence, the precise immunological mechanism(s) responsible for increasing susceptibility to secondary bacterial infections remain unknown. Possible mechanisms include disruption to the epithelial barrier, up-regulation of bacterial adhesion receptors, virus-induced immune suppression or a combination of all three. In this thesis we examine a novel hypothesis that suggests influenza virus infection alters the lung homeostatic microenvironment resulting in a state of immune unresponsiveness that increases susceptibility to subsequent respiratory bacterial infections. This thesis demonstrates that respiratory bacterial complications only arise once influenza has caused significant respiratory damage and can occur many days after viral elimination. We also demonstrate that influenza infection results in a long term desensitisation of alveolar macrophage responses to subsequent bacteria and their products. Furthermore, in an attempt to resolve viral associated inflammation, the airway inadvertently over regulates by enhancing an innate immune negative regulator, CD200R, resulting in a transient state of immune hypo-responsiveness. Removal of this single receptor limits bacterial burden and completely prevents lethal bacteraemia. Finally, we provide preliminary data that suggests airway antimicrobial peptide expression is altered during an influenza infection and that innate immune status of the host can influence commensal bacteria communities of the upper respiratory tract. This thesis highlights that infection history can significantly influence host immunity to subsequent infections and how an increased awareness of this could lead to more targeted use of existing antimicrobial therapies and the development of much needed novel therapeutics. Adjustment of the level of innate responsiveness may therefore provide a novel opportunity to prevent life-threatening consequences of lung influenza virus infection

Holistic Learning: A workforce development paradigm

The development of workforce knowledge, skills and attitudes are widely acknowledged in extant literature as being pivotal levers to deliver process improvement and efficiency. The success of an organisation depends as much on its technical system as on the social system that supports it. Strategies for improving organisational performance need to incorporate arrangements for developing the workforce competences required to implement strategy. Lean construction by definition involves continuous small-step improvements (Kaizen), problem solving and employee involvement at all levels. The argument for providing workplace systems that support life-long learning within construction businesses therefore takes on greater significance. This paper reports on the pilot for a wider research aimed at firmly linking construction businesses to the learning domain. The pilot involved a survey of domain experts (276) which sought to characterise the Nigerian construction industry in terms of its knowledge and learning requirements, the supply systems for construction skills, the individual attributes required for optimal performance, and the appropriate pedagogical approaches for learning construction skills. Findings to date suggest that the Nigerian construction industry exhibits many characteristics of Taylor-Fordist systems but with tendencies towards knowledge-based systems suggesting the need for improved systems of learning. The training systems of construction firms were found to supply a small percentage of skilled workers to the industry pool, but the few were perceived to be the most competent. Construction skilled workers were perceived to require not only cognitive but also emotional and social competencies for optimal performance. This paper posits that the construction industry needs to align its skill provision systems with modern learning theory to create effective learners and learning environments within organisations to drive the learning needed for performance and innovation. The paper proposes the development of a conceptual model which captures the key elements of an effective skills learning solution for construction

CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ACHIEVING LEVEL 2 AND 3 BIM

The Architecture Engineering Construction (AEC) Industry is well noted for its fragmented nature, leading to several flaws in communication and information processing, which have led to a proliferation of adversarial relationships amongst project participants, thereby affecting the integrity of design information throughout the project life cycle. Likewise, Construction Education is bedevilled by multitudinous issues due to its practice-based, interdisciplinary nature of the industry, its professional and institutional history, and its evolving context and composition. These challenges have influenced the purpose of construction as well as the requirements or strategies needed to achieve it. The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of Construction Education and learning requirements for successful training and implementation of Level 2 (with the aid of a process map) and also of Level 3, to meeting the ever-changing nature of the AEC industry. This process map seeks to identify the educational requirements for existing industry practitioners and for fresh graduates entering into the industry. In order to achieve this aim, a case study methodology was adopted using semi-structured interviews with BIM experts in purposively selected organisations in the UK, which were further analysed using single case narrative and cross-case synthesis techniques. The BIM sub-processes at each project phase of the construction process were extracted from the interviews conducted. Then the process map linking all the BIM activities in the project was developed. In conclusion, the process map formalises the knowledge and skills set required to successfully implement Level 2 and 3 BIM, facilitating project collaboration, communication flow and agreement amongst project participants on construction processes throughout the project lifecycle. The finding of this research are highly aligned with the seminal literature which argued that new skills required for the creation and management of a BIM model fall into the three categories of technological tools, organisational processes, and project team roles and responsibilities, and that these three skill sets contribute to the success of the entire BIM project and adoption in any organisation

A study of large-scale focusing Schlieren systems

Abstract The interrelationship between variables involved in focusing schlieren systems is fairly well understood, however how changing the variables affects the resultant images is not. In addition, modified grids and arrangements, such as two dimensional, colour and retroreflective systems have never been directly compared to a standard system. The existing theory is developed from first principles to its current state. An apparatus was specifically designed to test grid and arrangement issues while keeping the system geometry, optical components and the test object identical. Source grid line spacing and clear line width to dark line width ratio were varied to investigate the limits of diffraction and banding and to find an optimum grid for this apparatus. Two dimensional, colour, retroreflective and a novel projected arrangement were then compared to this optimum case. In conclusion, the diffraction limit is accurately modelled by the mathematical equations. The banding limit is slightly less well modelled as additional factors seem to affect the final image. Inherent problems with the two dimensional and colour systems indicate that while they can be useful, they are not worth developing further though chromatism in the system meant that colour systems were not fully investigated. The retroreflective and projected systems have the most potential for large scale use and should be developed further

Wavelet regularization and the continuous relaxation spectrum

An in-depth account of the wavelet regularization mechanisms acting in this method of continuous relaxation spectrum recovery is given. It is shown that that scaling parameter of the wavelets controls the resolution of the spectrum, whilst the number of basis functions controls the sparsity of the approximation

The MASSIVE Survey - X. Misalignment between Kinematic and Photometric Axes and Intrinsic Shapes of Massive Early-Type Galaxies

We use spatially resolved two-dimensional stellar velocity maps over a $107"\times 107"$ field of view to investigate the kinematic features of 90 early-type galaxies above stellar mass $10^{11.5}M_\odot$ in the MASSIVE survey. We measure the misalignment angle $\Psi$ between the kinematic and photometric axes and identify local features such as velocity twists and kinematically distinct components. We find 46% of the sample to be well aligned ($\Psi < 15^{\circ}$), 33% misaligned, and 21% without detectable rotation (non-rotators). Only 24% of the sample are fast rotators, the majority of which (91%) are aligned, whereas 57% of the slow rotators are misaligned with a nearly flat distribution of $\Psi$ from $15^{\circ}$ to $90^{\circ}$. 11 galaxies have $\Psi \gtrsim 60^{\circ}$ and thus exhibit minor-axis ("prolate") rotation in which the rotation is preferentially around the photometric major axis. Kinematic misalignments occur more frequently for lower galaxy spin or denser galaxy environments. Using the observed misalignment and ellipticity distributions, we infer the intrinsic shape distribution of our sample and find that MASSIVE slow rotators are consistent with being mildly triaxial, with mean axis ratios of $b/a=0.88$ and $c/a=0.65$. In terms of local kinematic features, 51% of the sample exhibit kinematic twists of larger than $20^{\circ}$, and 2 galaxies have kinematically distinct components. The frequency of misalignment and the broad distribution of $\Psi$ reported here suggest that the most massive early-type galaxies are mildly triaxial, and that formation processes resulting in kinematically misaligned slow rotators such as gas-poor mergers occur frequently in this mass range.Comment: Accepted to MNRA