Tourism carbon Kuznets-curve hypothesis: a systematic literature review and a paradigm shift to a corporation-performance perspective

Since the introduction of the carbon Kuznets-curve hypothesis in the mid-1990s, the inverted U–shaped relationship between economic development and carbon emissions has remained a subject of debate in the social sciences. We engage tourism research in this debate, in a fourfold manner. First, we offer a systematic literature review concerning the role of tourism in the carbon Kuznets-curve hypothesis using a protocol-based reporting process. Second, we present the level of consensus with the carbon Kuznets-curve hypothesis and the conceptual gaps in the identified literature (n = 22). Third, we introduce an emerging concept, offering a novel tourism corporate/performance orientation to the carbon Kuznets-curve hypothesis. Fourth, we provide evidence of empirical validity using different econometric techniques from an international tourism corporation (n = 86) data set (2005–2018). The inverted U–shaped relationship between measures of economic and carbon performance among tourism corporations is a robust result under many different specifications

Work Values Across Generations - A Study of the Greek Hotel Workforce

“There is a problem in the workplace…It is a problem of values, ambitions, views, mind-sets, demographics, and generations in conflict. The workplace you and we inhabit today is awash with the conflicting voices and views of the most age- and value-diverse workforce this country has known since our great-great-grandparents abandoned field and farm for factory and office” (Zemke, Raines & Filipczak, 2000, p. 9). The opening quotation encapsulates the popular belief among management practitioners that substantive and meaningful inter-generational differences exist in work values among the members of current workforce. Despite this practitioner interest and debate, systematic empirical research either to confirm or refute popular claims has, until recently, been lagging. Moreover, the few academic studies on this topic have largely focused on the US context and research from other countries, particularly non-English speaking, is scant. The aim of this study is to fill this vacuum by investigating the nature of work values across the prevalent generations of workers within the relatively unexplored cultural context of Greek hotel organisations. Building upon Schwartz’s (1994) theory of basic values and Vincent’s (2005) culture-specific approach of generational identity formation, this study proposes a values-based framework for studying generational differences in the workplace. The framework includes four types of work values namely extrinsic, intrinsic, prestige and social and three age-based generational groups; the Divided generation (1946-1966), the Metapolitefsi generation (1967-1981) and the Europeanised generation (1982-1996). The framework assumes that age-based generational identity is a culture specific phenomenon comprised of a distinctive set of values. The expectations and motivations towards work are shaped by this set of values, which emerged as a product of a living through experience from the successive entry into adulthood and endure as the members of each generation travelling through time together. In addition, generational boundaries are determined by revolutionary events that are contingent on the specific cultural context in which they became meaningful. The study assessed the concept of work values with a novel scale, designed to succinctly measure the four underlying work value types that were consistently observed in previous research. The proposed work values model was tested using a multiple triangulation approach with two samples and two methods of analysis across two studies. In study 1, the work values scores were collected by 303 workers in 7 year-round hotel establishments operated in the region of Macedonia and analysed with exploratory factor analysis. In study 2, the work values scores were collected by 304 workers in 7 seasonal hotel establishments from the same region and analysed with confirmatory factor analysis. The results of study 2 confirmed the outcome of study 1. More importantly, the analysis revealed that compared to theory driven alternatives, a second-order model, comprised of a general work values factor with four latent factors – intrinsic, material, power and affective work values, best fitted the data. This model helps to show how various types of work values fit together into a cohesive whole, allowing HR researchers and practitioners to identify broader patterns and trends in work values to improve HR interventions. Furthermore, multivariate analysis of variance among the entire sample (607 hotel workers) revealed significant generational differences in three types of work values (intrinsic, prestige and social), even when the effect of gender (male vs female) and operational pattern (seasonal vs year round) was taken into account. Some of the most complex challenges facing human resource professionals in contemporary organisations such as conflict, transferring of knowledge as well as retention of talents are often associated with these differences. Knowledge about the work values of each generation cohabiting current workplace can help organisations in creating practices that foster inter-generational synergies and comfort in the workplace. This in turn will allow them to narrow the social distance represented by the “generation gap”, an impediment to the effectiveness of even the most sophisticated human resource practices

The Influence of Motherhood on STEM Women Academics' Perceptions of Organizational Support, Mentoring and Networking

The lack of women in senior positions in STEM within higher education is an ongoing concern. Identifying the barriers that STEM women face to progress their careers remains an important area of research. While previous studies have explored some of challenges associated with the gendered culture within higher education, less is known about the additional barriers faced by women with children. Using a survey of STEM women in the UK this study examines the influence motherhood has on women's perceptions of organisational support, mentoring and networking and identifies that STEM women with children are found to have less opportunity to engage with mentoring or to benefit from formal or informal networks within the institution. The findings have significant implications for the career progression of women with children and suggest that review of HR policy and practice to facilitate greater organisational support and in particular mentoring and networking requires the institution to take a far more proactive approach. Keywords: Women, STEM, networking, higher education.

Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19 in the Periods of Delta and Omicron Variant Dominance in Greece: Determinants of Severity and Mortality

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a pandemic since 2020, and depending on the SARS-CoV-2 mutation, different pandemic waves have been observed. The aim of this study was to compare the baseline characteristics of patients in two phases of the pandemic and evaluate possible predictors of mortality. Methods: This is a retrospective multicenter observational study that included patients with COVID-19 in 4 different centers in Greece. Patients were divided into two groups depending on the period during which they were infected during the Delta and Omicron variant predominance. Results: A total of 979 patients (433 Delta, 546 Omicron) were included in the study (median age 67 years (54, 81); 452 [46.2%] female). Compared to the Omicron period, the patients during the Delta period were younger (median age [IQR] 65 [51, 77] vs. 70 [55, 83] years, p p = 0.001), had higher procalcitonin levels (ng/mL): 0.08 [0.05, 0.17] vs. 0.06 [0.02, 0.16], p = 0.005, ferritin levels (ng/mL): 301 [159, 644] vs. 239 [128, 473], p = 0.002, C- reactive protein levels (mg/L): 40.4 [16.7, 98.5] vs. 31.8 [11.9, 81.7], p = 0.003, and lactate dehydrogenase levels (U/L): 277 [221, 375] vs. 255 [205, 329], p p p 2/FiO2 ratio on admission were identified as independent predictors of mortality for patients in the Omicron period. Conclusions: In the Omicron wave, patients were older with a higher number of comorbidities, but patients with the Delta variant had more severe disease and a longer duration of hospitalization