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‘Carry on laughing and I’ll punish you as well!’: Humour, power, and relationship negotiation in a prison workshop
Get PDFDrawing on a 10-month ethnographic study of a private prison in the UK, this paper examines how humour is used between prisoners and prison staff to negotiate working relationships in prison. We show how both the presence and absence of humour can shape power relations. Three situations are presented to understand the role that humour plays in negotiating relationships: (1) humour is used reciprocally to build relationships, (2) humour is explicitly avoided to maintain formal relationships, and (3) the acceptability of humour is constantly changed by those in positions of power to assert and maintain said power. Whilst theory often assumes management use humour to exercise control, we argue that equally, management can refuse to engage in humour to exercise control. It is not just humour that can embarrass, ridicule or punish, but our responses to humour too
Mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe: A focus on the self-employed
Get PDFSelf-employed workers worldwide encountered significant mental health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether the pandemic has affected the mental health of the self-employed more significantly than employees. To address this question, we analyzed data from more than 4,000 self-employed individuals across the 27 European Union (EU) member states. We found that the pandemic had a more significant impact on the mental health of the self-employed in the EU, especially those working in the health and education sectors and countries with the highest stringency measures. Our findings also reveal that the pandemic has prompted self-employed individuals, particularly self-employed women, to be more open to talking about their mental health challenges at work, suggesting a shift in their perception of mental health stigma. This study highlights an opportunity and a need for EU policymakers to introduce targeted measures to support the self-employed in building back better in the post-COVID-19 world. JEL CLASSIFICATIONS: I31, L2
Clinical agility – an essential foundation for high quality healthcare. An experience report of the lessons learnt from designing a new cancer centre
Get PDFAgility is essential for healthcare given its dynamic and constantly changing nature. Healthcare organisations that lack agility face deteriorating care quality, impacting negatively on patient outcomes and staff. Simultaneously improving and delivering clinical care is challenging given the intense and growing operational pressures, finite resources and workforce limitations. Clinical staff are central to healthcare innovation and the rate of adaptation. High levels of staff overload, exhaustion and burnout create additional barriers but rarely feature in management models of change. This experience report describes the development of a new cancer centre, designed to enhance organisational agility – recognising the need for, and the benefits of, agility that is clinically driven. Such ‘clinical agility’ has an essential logic to optimise patient care, improve organisational performance and enhance staff wellbeing. We describe underlying principles and theory, creating a socio-technical perspective that creates the right conditions for clinical agility. We present a conceptual framework recognising four themes (physical working environment, processes and working practices, partnerships and people) and potential, under-recognised interactions between agility and clinical staff burnout and wellbeing. This study provides recommendations which enhance clinical agility, improve care delivery without compromising the most innovative resource of any organisation – its people
Investigation of microjet engine inlet pressure distortions at angled inflow velocity conditions
Get PDFThe Armfield CM14 microjet axial flow turbine engine has been tested in open space at ambient conditions with engine inlet pressure at the aerodynamic interface plane (AIP) measured by a built-in pressure sensor for validating computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies. A three-dimensional computational domain of the test engine intake duct configuration is defined, followed by mesh convergence studies. The latter results in a fine mesh of 5.7 million cells on which CFD-predicted engine inlet pressures are in good agreement with the experimental measurements at the AIP face for 20–100% throttles. CFD studies are continued to investigate the engine inlet pressure distortions at two inflow velocities of 35 m/s and 70 m/s, and various inflow angles ranging from 0° to 30° with a step of 5°, to evaluate their impacts on engine inlet pressure distortions. It is found that pressure distortions increase with the inflow angle, with severe pressure distortions occurring at higher inflow angles above 15°. At the same flow conditions of inflow angle and velocity, pressure distortions from an intake with a flat lip are overall higher than those of a bell-mouth round lip. This is primarily due to a rapid geometry change at the intake entrance causing large vortical flow motions, accompanied by local flow separations at higher inflow angles, therefore impacting the downstream flow field towards the engine inlet
Reviving from the pandemic: Harnessing the power of social media reviews in sustainable tourism management of group package tours
Get PDFDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism sector encountered multiple challenges. Numerous governments chose to lock down their cities and countries. Despite this, many companies found their online businesses making the greatest leaps in their portfolios and social media platforms became one of the most valuable sources of in-formation for purchase decisions. There have been numerous studies on the effects of social media reviews - a form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), on consumer behavior. Few were found related to their impact on group package tour (GPT) while considering mixed eWOM, that is, both positive and negative present in the word-of-mouth communication. As the tourism sector gradually revives, the need to further explore how tourism and hospitality service providers can adapt to changes in post-pandemic consumer behavior has become imperative. The influence of social media reviews on consumers’ value perceptions of a GPT to Japan, allowing for the influence of the marketing mix element of advertised price, was examined through online experiments in this study. Positive, negative and mixed eWOM were examined. It was found that eWOM was more influential on consumers’ value perceptions than the advertised price for all price acceptability levels. Mixed eWOM was found to negatively affect consumers’ final price perceptions which override the impact of quality perceptions in value formations. The value perceptions of the GPT became less acceptable when eWOM was mixed compared to when eWOM was absent or was positive. Mixed eWOM had a negative effect on value perceptions, but not as great as when negative eWOM was present and this was consistently found to apply for all price acceptability levels of the GPT. The study’s contribution to eWOM research and implications on post-pandemic recovery of tourism and hospitality service providers are made, together with suggested strategies using innovative technologies and communications to enhance their adaptive resilience in the new normal
Road safety of micro-mobility and vulnerable road users: Insights and issues from a world café
No full textRoad traffic incidents are responsible for the loss of ~1.19 million lives annually and the 50 million people who sustain injuries. Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) account for a significant portion of these data, constituting 70% in Europe and 50% in the United Kingdom (UK). Addressing these alarming fatality rates requires initiatives such as the European Union’s Vision Zero, which aims to eradicate road collision fatalities and serves as a model for global action. Similarly, the UK is committed to realising its transport vision 2050, emphasising seamless, safe, net-zero, interconnected, cost-effective, accessible, and dependable transportation for all. Effective implementation of appropriate safety interventions hinges on understanding the challenges VRUs face. While previous studies have delved into challenges encountered by specific VRU groups, this research fills a gap by comprehensively examining difficulties encountered by various VRUs. Therefore, this study aims to adopt a co-creation process to expose insights and issues shared by VRUs across Oxfordshire, UK, and to identify collective solutions that could improve road safety. The study adopted a world café method, which fosters an environment where diverse perspectives and ideas are explored through open-ended conversations. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data identified critical areas for intervention: infrastructure, behaviour, technology, environment, law enforcement, and awareness. Apart from the interventions, the research underscores the need for end-user involvement in mobility infrastructure planning, as safety requirements vary among VRU categories, emphasising the urgency of adopting a human-centric design approach to reduce road injuries and fatalities and ensure equal accessibility and safety for all
A novel system for automated continuous on-farm assessment of digital dermatitis using Artificial Intelligence
Get PDFDigital dermatitis (DD) is a major cause of lameness in cattle, significantly affecting animal well-being and reducing productivity across the dairy industry. This paper introduces a novel system combining innovative hardware coupled with a two-stage intelligent image analysis pipeline for the early detection of DD lesions, with the goal of preventing lameness in dairy cows. By synergistically integrating image capture with foot cleaning, high-quality video of hooves are captured as cows step away from a cleaning and disinfecting footbath as part of their daily routine. Image analysis comprises two stages. An initial analysis stage for the detection of usable hoof images, accomplished through a YOLO-based ‘hoof detector’ together with filtering to remove motion blur and occlusions caused by water and mud, and a second stage ‘lesion detector and classifier’. The resulting hoof lesion detector system, the first of its kind, distinguishes between five different DD lesion stages on the cropped sole of the hooves: M1, M2, M3, M4, and M4.1, aligned with the gold-standard M- (Mortellaro) stage scoring system. Validated on real-world data automatically collected from four different working farms, the hoof detector has achieved F-scores exceeding 90%, while the lesion detector maintains F-scores over 82% for active lesions (M1 and M2). By addressing the critical issue of lameness within the dairy industry, this combined cleaning and inspection system not only demonstrates pioneering precision in hoof identification and lesion classification but also offers a promising solution for early intervention and prevention of hoof diseases in dairy cattle. To the best of our knowledge, this work represents the first instance of utilising hoof images automatically collected from real farms to apply machine learning analysis for the automated high-throughput assessment of DD lesions across five classes. A subset of the image dataset is available upon request (by contacting the authors) for research and educational purposes
Future flight’s dynamic capabilities and circular economy opportunities
No full textAir transport and logistics are associated with economic growth, but sustainability in aviation is vital to address climate change. This paper examines Future Flight (FF) technology’s adoption, focusing on business dynamics, supply chains, and innovation ecosystems through the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework and Dynamic Capabilities (DCs) theory. Analysis of twelve expert interviews identifies key barriers, including technological readiness, cybersecurity, financial limitations, and regulatory gaps. Conversely, drivers like design innovation, human capital, and collaboration present growth opportunities. Emerging business models prioritize software-driven value, niche market collaboration, and co-development. While challenges in material design and recycling persist, integrating Circular Economy (CE) principles offers transformative potential for resource efficiency. The study underscores the need for businesses to strengthen dynamic capabilities, build strategic alliances, and navigate regulatory complexities. By providing actionable insights, it advocates a holistic approach combining regulation, public engagement, and innovation to advance a sustainable FF ecosystem
Doing academia differently: A provocation review
Get PDFIn this article, we celebrate the interconnected Management Learning traditions of provocation and reimagining academia by developing a provocation literature review approach and applying it to the growing literature on doing academia differently. We argue that rebelling against the oppressive neoliberal academic norms requires rethinking all aspects of academia, including how we review literature. To transform ourselves, academia and our world, we need to actively seek provocation. Provocation literature review aims to jolt us off the beaten track by foregrounding literature that particularly provokes us and enables us to be provocative. Doing academia differently literature, in particular, provokes us in three interconnected and mutually reinforcing ways: radical transgression, deep affect and deep transformation. These give us impetus, hope and courage to navigate an academia less travelled by, embracing wilderness to seek our humanness individually and together along meandering alternative pathways
The modulatory role of bioactive compounds in functional foods on inflammation and metabolic pathways in chronic diseases
Get PDFChronic diseases are major contributors to global morbidity and mortality. More than 70% of deaths worldwide are caused by chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. These diseases are characterised by chronic low-grade inflammation and metabolic dysregulation. Incorporating functional foods into daily diet has been suggested as a complementary strategy to promote health and lower the risk of non-communicable diseases. Functional foods, known as foods that confer health benefits beyond basic nutrition, have been reported to exhibit preventive and therapeutic benefits such as anti-inflammatory properties for human health. Therefore, the aim of this state-of-the-art review will synthesise the findings from recent and high-quality studies that investigated the modulatory role of some commonly reported bioactive active compounds, such as polyphenols, omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics, and prebiotics, in inflammation and metabolic pathways