Seeing coffee tourism through the lens of coffee consumption: A critical review

One of the world’s most popular beverages, coffee is used to satisfy a wide range of consumptions, including tourism. In this article, we examined the existing concepts of coffee consumption and identified additional consumption domains that may contribute to the growing body of knowledge regarding coffee tourism. The paper used a scoping review approach and Critical Media Discourse Analysis (CMDA). The scoping review examined 152 articles on coffee consumption and coffee tourism published up to 2020. Subsequently, CMDA enabled a more in-depth textual and contextual analysis of the literature. In addition, Leximancer was used to illuminate the prominent scopes of the literature. Three prominent scopes of the literature are identified in the textual analysis: consumer behaviour, place consumption,and ethical consumption. In addition, the contextual findings indicate that coffee tourism studies have increased in recent decades. Furthermore, the social context highlights the dynamic nature of the coffee market landscape in the global North and the global South. Future research directions were suggested, and the managerial implications of these findings were discussed

Graduate Employability Skills for the Hospitality Industry in Singapore: A comparison between onset and recovery stages of COVID-19

Background - Singapore holds status as a mecca ‘tourism and hospitality’ hub. Yet, its tertiary education for Tourism and Hospitality has not followed the growth patterns of the industry. The Skills Futures Framework of the Singapore Tourism Board presents government’s predictions of a dire need for qualified staff and intentions to resource the industry through five tracks that lead to 69 different in-demand roles. Purpose – This paper seeks to identify the employability skills evident for some of the in-demand roles. It examines if there has been a shift in the employability skills since the onset of COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach – Data was collected in March-November 2020 and November-December 2021, from websites advertising jobs for the Hospitality Industry. Job descriptions for a range of positions were gathered, focusing on junior to senior management roles. NVivo 12 Plus was used to collate and analyse the data. Findings – Inductive thematic analysis protocols indicated that there is a shift in the top five skills for the roles between the onset and recovery stages of COVID-19. Most prominent is an emerging focus on teamwork; sales and marketing; customer service and guest experience, business acumen, and communication. Implications – While similar skills continue to be sought for supervisory-managerial roles in the Hospitality Industry since the onset of COVID-19, there is a greater focus on skills that will help organisations to pivot and build their teams and brands so as to enhance customer service and revenue. Research limitations/implications – The research is limited by its focus on Singapore. Future research can extend the research by examining job roles in other countries

The WIL pathway: shared understandings build vocational identity, occupational capacity and professional transition

Work integrated learning (WIL) has become a catch phrase in higher education in recent years with various models advanced, and each advocating their virtues for students, educators and professions. In the milieu of WIL experiences, the notion of developing professionals is a key driving factor of WIL programs. At James Cook University (JCU), this imperative is equally noticeable across the various disciplines and schools but one model is exemplary for its linking of students within the Human Resource Management (HRM) discipline with Human Resource Professionals through the ongoing support of and collaboration between School of Business, JCU Careers and Employment, and the local HRM Professional Association. This partnership has been effective in developing graduate attributes, vocational identity, occupational capacity and professional skills that facilitate the successful transition of students to graduates to professionals. The aim of this paper is to examine in more depth the factors which have contributed to the evolution of this model and to evaluate its success as measured by the perspectives of various stakeholders, especially those of students, graduates and HRM professionals. It uses qualitative approaches integrating individual conversations and reflective tools to illuminate how shared meanings of what it means to become a HRM professional have enabled the program to grow over the years such that graduates return as HRM professionals to perpetuate best practice in the HRM profession. In this way, the paper proposes a model for a scaffolded approach to embedding WIL activities in a HRM major so that students are presented with valuable opportunities to position themselves for entry into the professional world of HRM

Rethinking the contextual factors influencing urban mobility: A new holistic conceptual framework

Urbanisation, urban mobility (active travel), and public health continue to be three defining issues of the 21st century. Today, more than half of humanity lives in cities, a proportion that is expected to reach 70% by 2050. Not surprisingly, urbanisation has significant impacts on mobility, health, and well-being. Today’s cities struggle with health challenges such as those that are either a direct result of infectious and non-communicable diseases or issues related to violence and injuries. According to the World Health Organisation, the lack of suitable space in urban areas for physical activities and active living has turned cities into epicentres for diseases. The concept of urban mobility and its connection to health is not new. However, the ways through which a healthy city objective is achieved are poorly investigated in the academic literature. Accordingly, this article proposes a holistic conceptual framework by consolidating knowledge around factors impacting urban mobility by adopting a scoping review methodology to determine the field’s scope, coverage, and existing knowledge gap. To achieve the above objectives, 3,189 research articles and book chapters published between 2014 and 2021 were screened. A total of 92 studies were identified as eligible for inclusion in the scoping review. This approach revealed the importance of understanding urban mobility and healthy cities and of identifying and enacting associated enablers. Covid-19 has amplified the urgency of giving attention to these issues. The scoping review also showed a need for further research that investigates the future of urban mobility and healthy cities. A conceptual framework has been drawn from the literature to guide such future research

Evaluating the implementation of a mental health referral service "Connect to Wellbeing": a quality improvement approach

There is increasing demand for mental health services to be accessible to diverse populations in flexible, yet, cost-effective ways. This article presents the findings from a study that evaluated the process of implementing Connect to Wellbeing (CTW), a new mental health intake, assessment and referral service in regional Australia, to determine how well it improved access to services, and to identify potential measures that could be used to evaluate value for money. The study used a hybrid study design to conduct a process evaluation to better understand: the process of implementing CTW; and the barriers and factors enabling implementation of CTW. In addition, to better understand how to measure the cost-effectiveness of such services, the hybrid study design included an assessment of potential outcome measures suitable for ascertaining both the effectiveness of CTW in client health outcomes, and conducting a value for money analysis. The process evaluation found evidence that by improving processes, and removing waitlists CTW had created an opportunity to broadened the scope and type of psychological services offered which improved accessibility. The assessment of potential outcome measures provided insight into suitable measures for future evaluation into service effectiveness, client health outcomes and value for money

Developing soft skills: exploring the feasibility of an Australian well-being program for health managers and leaders in Timor-Leste

The article aims to describe the Family Wellbeing Program (FWB), a program that sets out to facilitate the enhancement of soft skills and to explore the relevance and acceptability of the FWB in the context of health managers and leaders in Timor-Leste. This article presents the fundamental principles of the FWB approach to facilitating soft skills in the context of trauma-informed training for managers and leaders. It describes how a participatory social learning approach advances deep, transformative, and long-lasting impacts. An exploratory mixed-methods design was adopted. Qualitative data were gathered from workshop participants through an evaluation form with open-ended questions allowing participants to provide comments on the program and how it could be enhanced. In addition, attendees participated in an online survey, which sought to capture data relating to demographics, soft skills for managers/leaders, personal well-being, and program satisfaction. Overall, the results show that the FWB program is both relevant and acceptable. The findings indicate that participants’ understanding of concepts of management and well-being, particularly as it is applied to the workplace, was improved. This outcome is important because it highlights how the FWB program can contribute to the development of more accomplished managers and leaders in the future. The results of this exploratory study will be useful in informing future management and leadership training for the Timorese health workforce

Towards a 'Community for Practice'—A Narrative Analysis of the Evolution of Higher Education Scholars

In higher education (HE), collaborative activities that revolve around a core idea, practice, or knowledge base, such as learning circles, communities of practice or inquiry, peer observation, and peer-assisted teaching, are known to support professional learning. This paper explores the experiences of eight HE scholars from Australia and New Zealand, across four years, as they recognized a new means of collaborative professional development that transcends known approaches and extends beyond an immediate focal point. The group originally formed to support the development of HE fellowship applications, but evolved to what they now consider a community for practice (CfP), where the purpose of collaboration has changed to meet the unique learning needs of each member. During their four years of collaboration, meeting discussions were recorded, and individual and community narrative reflections about participation in the group were created. A thematic analysis of these collective data sources revealed the group’s evolution, and the authors draw on their experiences to tell their story with an aim to enhance professional learning in HE. The study highlights that individuals’ distinct and varied needs can be developed and supported through scholarly, collegial engagements such as a CfP, which does not necessarily require an immediate point of practice

Utilising collaborative autoethnography in exploring affinity tourism: insights from experiences in the Field at Gardens by the Bay

This chapter considers how a collaborative autoethnographic (CAE) approach informed and lent insight into our research. The research explored how affinity tourism can ignite interest in the not-so-familiar and through the familiar connect visitors with the foreign or exotic in a destination. In the process, it focused on the case of the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore (The Gardens) and CAE and so, allowed for use of ‘reflexivity’ to explore and examine how the phenomenon of affinity tourism plays a role in enhancing the efficacy of attractions as tourism resources. The concept of affinity refers to tourists’ activities that involve elements that are familiar to tourists. These recognisable aspects conjure notions of a shared or similar cultural understanding and draw tourist to attractions, events or destinations. By engaging a CAE approach that is grounded in reflexivity, this chapter presents accounts of the experiences of two people who employed CAE as a way to explore and understand how they as people of one culture (Australian) could connect with and learn about the culture of ‘The Other’, in this case Singaporean. It explains how engagement with a coresearcher who encountered the same tourist activity and experienced it in similar or different ways opens up opportunities for new insights about The Other. Use of participant observation, photographs and diary notes assisted in crafting of narratives, which when shared and probed contributed to exploration of the expectations and perceptions of the authors themselves as tourists and as researchers in their endeavours to engage with The Other. In so doing, this chapter advances knowledge about methodological approaches in exploring tourists’ experiences and affinity tourism and contributes to a growing interest in reflexivity as a valuable and valid tool for conducting tourism research. It shows the contribution, credibility and limitations which CAE can bring to tourism research

Toward a theoretical understanding of occupational culture: meanings from the hospitality industry

This paper examines the concept of occupational culture and how meanings from the hospitality industry contribute to expanding our theoretical understanding of this concept. The notion of occupational communities has received considerable attention in the literature. More recently research findings report the existence of occupational cultures. This paper argues that the two concepts are related but identifies a possible difference which can extinguish anomalies or uncertainties in associated debates. Support for the argument is gained from results of a qualitative study which indicated that there is a common occupational culture, which influences hotel workers to behave in a similar way\ud regardless of the organisation they work for. A number of factors were identified that confirmed the existence of a hospitality occupational culture. These factors included: universal nature of hotel work; hospitality occupational attitudes; group longevity; and collegiality. From this it is proposed that there exists a hospitality occupational culture which transcends the culture of organisations within which these individuals work, which does not fully exhibit defining characteristics of occupational communities and which governs the behaviour and performance of hospitality workers. Such an insight adds to the paucity of literature and research on our understanding of the phenomenon of occupational cultures

Tracking to a pilgrim's beat: insights from a sabbatical journey

Pilgrim journeys are associated with spiritual enlightenment, strong emotional embodiment and transformative experiences. Contemporary pilgrim journeys encompass a range of values-rich journeys that impact on an individual's personal and social identity. One such journey that is often overlooked is the sabbatical journey. Equally, little attention is given to the mode of transport and how this dimension impacts on the journey. Increasingly, pilgrims engage with ways beyond walking or combinations of travel modes, including boat (Braun, 2017), camel (Dauphin et al., 2015) and train (Blake and King, 1972). This chapter brings together the sabbatical journey and train travel to present my lived experiences as a scholar on sabbatical who chose to circumnavigate the USA via train and, in the process, was catapulted into a journey of self-discovery and healing