The Past Ubiquity and Environment of the Lost Earth Buildings of Scotland

This paper investigates the once ubiquitous vernacular earth-built structures of Scotland and how perceptions of such buildings were shaped and developed through periods of intense cultural and environmental change. We focus upon the past exploitation of traditional resources to construct vernacular architectures and on changes in the perception of the resultant buildings. Historic earth-built structures are today deeply hidden within the landscapes of Scotland, although they were once a common feature of both urban and rural settlements. Whilst the eighteenth and nineteenth century period of Improvement – during which many of these structures were destroyed, repurposed, or left to decay – has received extensive attention by historians, there exists no previous serious study of the human and environmental dimensions. Through analysis of the material aspects of landscape resource use and analysis of the historical perceptions of such use, we emphasize the national significance of this undervalued aspect of Scotland’s built and cultural heritage, increasingly at risk of being lost completely, highlighting the prior ubiquity of mudwall structures

The competing dynamics and relationships in corporate and local government agency constructions of place

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.This paper explores the dynamics of how private sector business entities and local government bodies perceive and interact with the identity of the locality in which they operate. It identifies tensions and differences in, and consequences of, the dynamics and relationships between how private sector business entities view constructions of ‘place’ and how government and publicly-funded place-marketing organisations portray and promote localities. These issues are examined through the phenomenon, brand and slogan of ‘visit, live, invest’ which is gaining credence in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world. The paper develops data using in-depth interviews and a smallscale survey set within an overall interpretivistic case study approach. The data and the case-study demonstrate that, despite the rebranding of the local government agencies as a placemarketing organisation committed to the new ‘live, visit, invest’ initiative and brand agenda, there is an ongoing ‘cultural hangover’ from previous place promotion policies. There are also serious impacts and consequences for relationships between the public and private sectors and with other stakeholders. The prevailing image of UKTown (real name anonymised) by business leaders is one that sees this town fundamentally as a historic, traditional and conservative town. This image has been the product of many years of older style promotion in this vein. While such an image may suggest pleasant aspects of the living environment, it has little to do with corporate image, values and concerns and many private sector business entities do not identity with it. In several instances it is even considered by certain business sectors to be ‘detrimental’ to the need for a dynamic business environment and the forms of relationships and activities these necessitate. The paper indicates a number of strategic moves that could be adopted in order to improve this predicament. Keywords: private business entities, local government agency, place identity, place marketing, branding, perceptio

French artisan food co-operatives at the intersection between the artisan dimension and industrial logic: A two case study analysis

The aim of this paper is to focus on how French cooperatives have balanced both an artisan dimension (producer identity and product values) and an industrial logic (consumer demands and governance strategy) in order to develop sustainable business models. The paper focuses on a framework of four interdependent and interconnected areas which create a bridge for comparison: Consumer Demand, Producer Identity, Production Values, and Cooperative Governance. This was examined by means of two French food manufacturing cooperatives. Both gained national attention by converting commercially failing factories into sustainable economic and employment generators based on artisanal-style and social values, within a cooperative governance structure. The findings suggest there was a clear interconnectivity of the four areas within the French cooperative businesses. Producer identity and production values most closely interlinked, and consumer Demand was closely associated as well. The cooperative structure was a key driver for workers but not consumers

Missing out on the “Men’s Club”: Gendered Attitudes to Intrapreneurship within Large Corporations

This paper explores the factors that influence innovative and intrapreneurial behaviour amongst female employees. The paper explores a case study of one business unit (of approximately 1,100 employees) within a much larger corporation. It uses a qualitative methodology of semi-structured interviews to explore (1) the factors that influence innovative and intrapreneurial behaviour amongst female employees and (2) how these factors are influenced by the organisation. The paper is part of an emerging research agenda that explores gendered attitudes to intrapreneurial behaviour. This is an extremely under-researched area of research which tends to borrow heavily from studies into female self-employment. The paper demonstrates that rather than focus upon female attitudes to risk or lifestyle choices, the primary issue facing potential female intrapreneurs is implicit and explicit gatekeeping by male-dominated "innovation teams"

‘Smart Cities’ – Dynamic Sustainability Issues and Challenges for ‘Old World’ Economies: A Case from the United Kingdom

The rapid and dynamic rate of urbanization, particularly in emerging world economies, has resulted in a need to find sustainable ways of dealing with the excessive strains and pressures that come to bear on existing infrastructures and relationships. Increasingly during the twenty-first century policy makers have turned to technological solutions to deal with this challenge and the dynamics inherent within it. This move towards the utilization of technology to underpin infrastructure has led to the emergence of the term ‘Smart City’. Smart cities incorporate technology based solutions in their planning development and operation. This paper explores the organizational issues and challenges facing a post-industrial agglomeration in the North West of England as it attempted to become a ‘Smart City’. In particular the paper identifies and discusses the factors that posed significant challenges for the dynamic relationships residents, policymakers and public and private sector organizations and as a result aims to use these micro-level issues to inform the macro-debate and context of wider Smart City discussions. In order to achieve this, the paper develops a range of recommendations that are designed to inform Smart City design, planning and implementation strategies

Pivoting an entrepreneurship experiential learning module online : applying a concrete experience framework

tle:bf576b6f-a1c4-4c3e-bda4-830062c68634:afee126f-04b2-41a9-a6dd-b29b7c6c20ab:1Experiential learning has gained in popularity over the past 20 years in many fields and in entrepreneurship education in particular, where many educators posit that it is essential. Delivery of experiential learning activities and courses became extremely difficult and nearly impossible in some countries during the COVID-19 pandemic due to government imposed lockdowns and restrictions, forcing educational institutions to adapt and many opted to move their teaching online. How these changes impacted positively or negatively on experiential learning and students’ ability to adapt and learn has yet to be fully understood. This paper introduces a concrete experience framework and describes how it was applied to the process of pivoting an MBA experiential learning module online. It contributes by demonstrating how educators can adopt the framework in their efforts to adapt or create online courses that aim to deliver experiential learning

Industrial Clusters in England

Research trialling a big data approach to identifying industry clusters, with case studies from each of the sectors studied

‘Smart Cities’ - Issues and Challenges for ‘Old World’ Economies: A Case from the United Kingdom.

The rapid and dynamic rate of urbanization, particularly in emerging world economies, has resulted in a need to find\ud sustainable ways of dealing with the excessive strains and pressures that come to bear on existing infrastructures and\ud relationships. Increasingly during the twenty-first century policy makers have turned to technological solutions to deal\ud with this challenge and the dynamics inherent within it. This move towards the utilization of technology to underpin\ud infrastructure has led to the emergence of the term ‘Smart City’. Smart cities incorporate technology based solutions\ud in their planning development and operation. This paper explores the organizational issues and challenges facing a\ud post-industrial agglomeration in the North West of England as it attempted to become a ‘Smart City’. In particular the\ud paper identifies and discusses the factors that posed significant challenges for the dynamic relationships residents,policymakers and public and private sector organizations and as a result aims to use these micro-level issues to inform the macro-debate and context of wider Smart City discussions. In order to achieve this, the paper develops a range of recommendations that are designed to inform Smart City design, planning and implementation strategies

Bureaucratic conceptions of citizenship in the voluntary sector (1919-1939) : the case of the National Council of Social Service.

This thesis examines the aims and work of the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) between 1919 and 1939. The NCSS was a large charity, formed in 1919 with the express aim of promoting voluntary organisation in Britain. It worked closely with other charities, statutory agencies, and local and national government in a number of areas to support a series of reforms and schemes aimed at providing a more organised and efficient voluntary sector. The thesis discusses the history and formation of the NCSS, its national aims and its work in rural and urban areas. It also analyses the development of local clubs specifically for women. It places a large emphasis on the work of the NCSS with the unemployed and contains two large case studies of such work in south Wales and the northeast of England. The thesis discusses the extent to which the NCSS attempted to implement a policy of `bureaucratic citizenship'. It shows that the policies of the National Council were based upon the notion that the state, individuals, charities and organisations could work together and, in so doing, enact the role of the `good citizen'. The NCSS attempted to establish a bureaucratic system of welfare, which could encompass a wide and diverse range of social thought and action. However the thesis also makes broader points about the way in which an idea can develop within a non-politicalo rganisation.It discusses the way in which the central tenets of NCSS ideology were manipulated due to local needs and circumstances and the effect this had on national policy. By examining the way in which an idea develops within a middle class, `middle of the road' organisation the thesis sheds light on a much neglected group

Bureaucratic conceptions of citizenship in the voluntary sector (1919-1939) : the case of the National Council of Social Service.

This thesis examines the aims and work of the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) between 1919 and 1939. The NCSS was a large charity, formed in 1919 with the express aim of promoting voluntary organisation in Britain. It worked closely with other charities, statutory agencies, and local and national government in a number of areas to support a series of reforms and schemes aimed at providing a more organised and efficient voluntary sector. The thesis discusses the history and formation of the NCSS, its national aims and its work in rural and urban areas. It also analyses the development of local clubs specifically for women. It places a large emphasis on the work of the NCSS with the unemployed and contains two large case studies of such work in south Wales and the northeast of England. The thesis discusses the extent to which the NCSS attempted to implement a policy of `bureaucratic citizenship'. It shows that the policies of the National Council were based upon the notion that the state, individuals, charities and organisations could work together and, in so doing, enact the role of the `good citizen'. The NCSS attempted to establish a bureaucratic system of welfare, which could encompass a wide and diverse range of social thought and action. However the thesis also makes broader points about the way in which an idea can develop within a non-politicalo rganisation.It discusses the way in which the central tenets of NCSS ideology were manipulated due to local needs and circumstances and the effect this had on national policy. By examining the way in which an idea develops within a middle class, `middle of the road' organisation the thesis sheds light on a much neglected group