Conceptual Papers Research Articles

A scoping review on barriers and facilitators to harm reduction care among youth in British Columbia, Canada

BackgroundProgressive harm reduction policies have been implemented in British Columbia, Canada. However, youth who use drugs face barriers to receiving harm reduction care, resulting in increasing opioid-related hospitalizations and drug toxicity deaths. This scoping review collates peer-reviewed evidence to understand the barriers and facilitators faced by youth who use drugs when accessing harm reduction programming in British Columbia, Canada.MethodsThis scoping review entailed conducting a systematic search of relevant databases to identify relevant articles. Articles were included if they: (i) contained youth falling between the ages of 12 and 26 years old; (ii) explored accessibility, barriers, and/or facilitators to harm reduction care or related topics; (iii) were empirical research articles using primary data (i.e., reviews, grey literature, theoretical or conceptual papers, books, etc. were excluded); and (iv) were available in the English language, given the geographic focus on British Columbia.ResultsA total of 398 sources were identified and ultimately, data from 13 sources were charted and extracted. When investigating barriers to harm reduction care among youth, four themes emerged: self-stigma, service navigation, service delivery, and negative provider interactions. Furthermore, in exploring factors that facilitate harm reduction care for youth, four themes surfaced: ability to meet basic needs, positive provider interactions, social networks, and risk mitigation guidance.ConclusionsThe expansion of harm reduction services in 2016 did not fully address accessibility challenges faced by youth who use drugs. Barriers continue to hinder harm reduction engagement, while supportive networks, positive provider interactions, and the ability to meet basic needs facilitated sustained access. Tailored policy interventions rooted in equity are crucial to improving access to harm reduction services for youth who use drugs.

How to create a national sport strategy

Purpose: Due to its numerous positive effects on individuals and society as a whole, sport has become an important socio-economic subsystem of the national environment. To regulate, develop, and monitor the impact of sport at national, regional, and local levels, countries often develop and adopt various strategic documents, which can be found under the name of national program or strategy for sport development at the national level. Due to the importance of understanding the substantial comprehensiveness of national sports strategies (NSS) and the precision of the methodological-processual approach, the purpose of the present paper is to present a methodological and substantive view of the process of creating NSS and to develop a comprehensive concept (model) that appropriately places the substantive part in the phases of the process. Method: The methodology of writing conceptual research papers was used. This approach provides a bridge or link between different concepts and scientific disciplines. The methodological approach was the “model paper” which aims to provide a theoretical framework that predicts relationships between concepts. A model paper identifies connections between constructs and introduces new constructs. Findings: The development of the substantive model for the preparation of the NSS revealed that the comprehensive sport system at the national level can be understood within the framework of five substructures (financial, organizational, developmental, material, and program) that contribute significantly to the development and implementation of activities related to sport and physical activity. They are interconnected and interdependent and are surrounded by a so-called integrity framework that protects the sport system from the deviations of modern society. The methodological process model reveals that for the implementation of the process of NSS preparation, the most appropriate is the strategic management methodology, which enables accurate and efficient management of planning, organization, implementation, and control of the NSS. The combination of both perspectives (substantive and methodological) enables the development of a comprehensive concept (model) of NSS preparation. Conclusions: The developed concept (model) of the NSS preparation comprehensively covers the issue of the NSS preparation management and is dialectical, open, flexible, and repeatable, enabling future users to manage the NSS preparation in a substantive-holistic and process-effective manner.

Developing a conceptual framework for Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy in higher education

This paper proposes a conceptual framework for integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the curriculum. It builds on previous conceptual papers, which provided initial suggestions on integrating AI into teaching. The approach to developing the conceptual framework includes drawing on existing frameworks, AI literature, and case studies from the Queen Mary University of London President and Principal, an AI literacy-funded project. The opinion piece aims to advance our thinking on creating a teaching and learning toolkit to support educators in integrating AI into their teaching, enhancing students’ AI literacy and skills. This paper has two main objectives: first, it develops an AI literacy conceptual framework to support educators in integrating AI into their teaching, and second, it provides suggestions on how to engage with it.

Five Forms of Coerced "Self-Produced" Child Sexual Exploitation Material: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis.

This review explored how the phenomenon of coerced "self-produced" child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) has been constructed in the literature using Critical Interpretative Synthesis. Selected keywords were systematically searched on relevant databases. Types of papers included were: peer-reviewed research articles; conceptual papers; commentary papers; theses; book chapters; systematic reviews; and government reports. Papers published in English between January 2005 and November 2022 were included. The initial search revealed 1,021 papers, after two reviewers applied the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 38 papers were selected for the final sample. Findings indicated five forms of coerced "self-produced" CSEM: Solicitation; Peer Sexting; Viral Challenge; Sextortion; and Financial Coercion. The forms are described and critically analyzed through an "Accountability Lens." This Lens was developed to be victim-centered including identifying the coercive actions of the person responsible for the exploitation. The review found an absence of a consistent victim-centered approach to how the phenomena of coerced "self-produced" CSEM is understood that would ensure children are not held responsible for being exploited.

Understanding How Competence, Workload, and Burnout Affect Performance: A Conceptual Framework

This paper presents a conceptual framework that examines the multifaceted relationships between competence, workload, burnout, and overall performance across diverse professional environments. The framework posits that competence, defined as the combination of skills, knowledge, and experience, is a critical determinant of performance. However, this relationship is not linear; it is significantly influenced by workload, which can either enhance or hinder performance depending on its intensity and duration. When workload becomes excessive, it often leads to burnout—a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion—which acts as a mediating factor that undermines performance. This study seeks to clarify the effects of competence and workload on performance and investigate the role of burnout in this dynamic. To achieve a thorough theoretical comprehension, a comprehensive literature review has been carried out, covering books, empirical research, an d conceptual papers on nurse performance, competence, workload, and burnout. The proposed framework aims to enhance the existing literature by elucidating the relationships between competence, workload, burnout, and performance, offering a foundation for developing strategies that address workload management and burnout prevention to sustain high levels of performance. The implications of this framework are broad, providing valuable insights for organizational leaders, human resource professionals, and policymakers aiming to optimize performance and well-being in various professional settings.

Bibliometric Analysis of Cultural Event Publications (2001-2023)

Scholars from all around the world are paying more and more attention to cultural event studies as evidenced in several academic publication databases. The existing studies are mainly based on empirical studies using surveys and interviews, and some are based on conceptual papers. However, bibliometric analysis of cultural events has been largely neglected. This study uses a bibliometric analysis approach to get an overview of the landscape, development, and trends of cultural event studies. In addition to that, a bibliometric analysis also enables the researcher to identify prominent authors, institutions, and countries that actively participated in the cultural event studies. This study also aimed at establishing a series of visualization maps using VOSviewer software that displays the links between authors, institutions, and keyword occurrences. A total of 3,578 scientific documents relating to cultural events in various forms were retrieved from the Elsevier Scopus database. Using this database, the bibliometric analysis has been able to identify some prominent authors in this field, the most productive institutions, frequent keywords, top funders, and so on. In conclusion, this paper also provides some key information for future researchers in identifying important research gaps by examining the keyword occurrences relating to cultural events.

The Effect of Training and Competency on Career Development: A Conceptual Framework

This article investigates the impact of training and competency on employee career development. Effective training and enhanced competencies are expected to bolster employees’ competitiveness and facilitate robust career advancement. By gaining the necessary skills and knowledge through training programs, employees can apply these competencies in their professional roles, leading to significant career progression. The research aims to elucidate the direct influence of training and competency on career development. To develop a comprehensive theoretical understanding, a detailed literature review is conducted, encompassing books, empirical studies, and conceptual papers related to employee career development. The proposed framework aims to contribute to the existing literature by clarifying the interconnections between training, competency, and career development, offering valuable insights for organizations seeking to optimize career development strategies.

Children’s conversational voice search as learning: a literature review

Purpose This paper aims to critically review the intersection of searching and learning among children in the context of voice-based conversational agents (VCAs). This study presents the opportunities and challenges around reconfiguring current VCAs for children to facilitate human learning, generate diverse data to empower VCAs, and assess children’s learning from voice search interactions. Design/methodology/approach The scope of this paper includes children’s use of VCAs for learning purposes with an emphasis on conceptualizing their VCA use from search as learning perspectives. This study selects representative works from three areas of literature: children’s perceptions of digital devices, children’s learning and searching, and children’s search as learning. This study also includes conceptual papers and empirical studies focusing on children from 3 to 11 because this age spectrum covers a vital transitional phase in children’s ability to understand and use VCAs. Findings This study proposes the concept of child-centered voice search systems and provides design recommendations for imbuing contextual information, providing communication breakdown repair strategies, scaffolding information interactions, integrating emotional intelligence, and providing explicit feedback. This study presents future research directions for longitudinal and observational studies with more culturally diverse child participants. Originality/value This paper makes important contributions to the field of information and learning sciences and children’s searching as learning by proposing a new perspective where current VCAs are reconfigured as conversational voice search systems to enhance children’s learning.

Quantifying the Variability of “Fixed-Width” Buffers on Harvested Lands in Western Oregon and Washington

Abstract In contemporary forest management, buffers of unharvested trees are left along streams to protect riparian and aquatic ecosystems. Buffer regulations often focus on specific minimum width requirements, which aid in straightforward regulation and application, but minimum widths also suggest buffered edges are uniform and contain little variability. Conceptual papers suggest that alternative buffer configurations may offer greater flexibility in landscape-level protection, increase forest complexity, and enhance aquatic and riparian biodiversity. However, before considering alternatives to fixed-width buffers, it is necessary to quantify the inherent variability in current buffer practices present on the landscape. In this study, we used aerial imagery to quantify variability of buffer widths in two hundred randomly selected recently harvested units on managed land in Oregon and Washington with both fish-bearing and non-fish-bearing sections of stream. Wider buffers on larger streams had a greater magnitude of variability, but when normalized by stream size, variation was greater in smaller streams, and overall, variation ranged from 25% to 50% of the mean width. Despite local variability, buffer widths rarely fell below 9.14 m (30 ft). The variation quantified here provides an initial measure of variability to inform future management, given emerging interest in variable retention buffers. Study Implications: In contemporary forest management, riparian and aquatic habitat protection usually relies on minimum buffer width regulations. Minimum requirements create the perception that buffered edges are uniform distances from streams containing little variability, so conceptual papers have suggested alternative buffer configurations with variable retention edges to enhance ecological benefits. However, there are several reasons why, in practice, buffer widths may vary substantially from minimum sizes within and across harvest units under current forest management, but this potential variation has not been quantified. Before considering alternative riparian management options, it is necessary to quantify and understand the inherent variability in current practices. By utilizing high-resolution aerial imagery and digital elevation models, we quantified buffer width variation. Using a set of two hundred recently harvested units, we demonstrate notable buffer width variation across managed Pacific Northwest forests. We attribute the variation in buffer widths to the presence of road crossings, tributary junctions, underlying valley slope and slope variation, and flexibility in regulations that may be overlooked in broad evaluations of strict minimum widths. Understanding fundamental information about buffer width variability provides information about current practices and provides a standard against which proposed increases in variability may be compared.

Understanding Economic Integration in Immigrant and Refugee Populations: A Scoping Review of Concepts and Metrics in the United States

In an increasingly mobile world, the integration of immigrants and displaced individuals is an important factor in creating cohesive and inclusive societies. Integration has different dimensions; this scoping review examines the conceptualization and measurement of economic integration among immigrants and refugees in the United States. Quantitative peer-reviewed journal papers measuring or conceptualizing the economic integration of first-generation documented adult immigrants or refugees in the United States, as well as relevant conceptual or theory papers on this topic, were included in the review. The search strategy included an online search of the Web of Science Core Collection, PsycINFO, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), and EconLit. Additional search strategies included scanning the reference lists of studies identified as relevant in the initial database search. An analysis of 72 studies included in the review using a data extraction table reveals seven key domains of economic integration: income and economic security, employment and occupational categories, assets and use of financial services, neighborhood and housing, health, education, and use of public assistance. Income and economic security emerged as the most common indicators of integration in the reviewed studies. Notably, less than half of the reviewed publications had a multidimensional approach to defining or measuring economic integration, and the majority of studies were focused on immigrants, with a smaller proportion dedicated to refugees. This review emphasizes the need for comprehensive frameworks in assessing economic integration among immigrants and refugees, reflecting the multifaceted nature of their economic integration experiences.

Ecological restoration and rewilding: two approaches with complementary goals?

As we enter the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) and address the urgent need to protect and restore ecosystems and their ecological functions at large scales, rewilding has been brought into the limelight. Interest in this discipline is thus increasing, with a large number of conceptual scientific papers published in recent years. Increasing enthusiasm has led to discussions and debates in the scientific community about the differences between ecological restoration and rewilding. The main goal of this review is to compare and clarify the position of each field. Our results show that despite some differences (e.g. top-down versus bottom-up and functional versus taxonomic approaches) and notably with distinct goals - recovery of a defined historically determined target ecosystem versus recovery of natural processes with often no target endpoint - ecological restoration and rewilding have a common scope: the recovery of ecosystems following anthropogenic degradation. The goals of ecological restoration and rewilding have expanded with the progress of each field. However, it is unclear whether there is a paradigm shift with ecological restoration moving towards rewilding or vice versa. We underline the complementarity in time and in space of ecological restoration and rewilding. To conclude, we argue that reconciliation of these two fields of nature conservation to ensure complementarity could create a synergy to achieve their common scope.

Emotional assertiveness, assertive communication and assertive training enhancing the employees’ performances: A China banking perspective

The study acknowledges empirical, conceptual, and policy-driven papers that address emotional assertiveness, assertive communication, and assertive training as means of improving employee performance in Chinese banking, which is a significant contributor to the Chinese economy. Most banking enterprises have suffered from poor performance and a lack of aggressiveness in operation. It can be used by both managers and employees to create a good interaction process and a favorable work environment, which can help elevate performances. The research employs a quantitative approach, utilizing a questionnaire survey and simple random sampling. The sample comprises 381 employees from the Chinese banking industry, with a response rate above 70%. The regression analysis confirms that emotional assertiveness, assertive training, and assertive communication significantly impact employee performance. In conclusion, this study contributes to academia and industries by addressing the importance of assertiveness in improving performance. The policy-driven evidence on the conceptual framework of HR literacy in emotional, training, communication, and job performance should be adopted and reviewed in the country’s existing management by objective policy and legal framework in resolving employee job performance and training that are still underutilized and have a great deal of potential to satisfy the employees and management needs by establishing and emerging nations.

Management of pediatric sensory neural hearing loss: a case report

Abstract Early childhood is the age of learning and experiencing various things through hearing or seeing. Any abnormality in hearing in this age group makes the child dull and self-isolating, affecting his morale. This is a case of an 8-year-old boy with deficient hearing from both ears, which was left unnoticed until the age of 5 years. There is no similar family history. The antenatal and neonatal history was found to be normal, but the child used to get fever and upper respiratory tract infection very frequently. The patient was taken for an otorhinology consultation after being noticed nonresponsive to moderately loud sounds and calls from behind. Otologic investigations—brain-evoked response audiometry and distortion product otoacoustic emissions—revealed bilateral mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Ayurveda treatment was given with 8 months of follow-up, and investigations were recorded. The aim of this report was to analyze a case of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in a pediatric age group and its management through Ayurveda. The site of this study was the National Institute of Ayurveda Hospital, Jaipur, and this is a single-case report. All the relevant history was taken, followed by the investigations required for the case. Since the patient was a minor, consent was obtained from his father for the publication of this case report. For the conceptual part, various textbooks and research papers on Ayurveda and allopathy available online and offline were referred to. The patient was advised to go for speech therapy along with the Ayurvedic treatment Karnapoorana and other oral formulations. After 8 months of follow-up, this patient was found to be more responsive with improved hearing and general immunity.

Systematic Review Of The Spiritual Intelligence And Job Demand And Resouces In Workplace

The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review of spiritual intelligence in the JD-R model in the workplace. This review allows us to track the evolution of this model in management practice over the past five years and identify research gaps that need to be addressed in the near future. The reviewed articles were retrieved from two major databases (e.g., Scopus and Elsvier) using a two-step screening process.To achieve the objectives of this study, 880 conceptual and empirical papers were reviewed in more than 50 publications from 2019 to 2023. Selected articles were evaluated based on classification criteria and grouped to identify topics. Despite extensive research over the past decade, the constructs of SI and JD-R lack clear definitions and have overlapping characteristics. This review shows how the JD-R model of SI is interdisciplinary and has its roots in organizational behavior, psychology, and theology. This report also provides a clear picture of the current state of the literature and enumerates possible directions for future research so that researchers can further develop the field of SI and JD-R in the workplace.

Deal completion in mergers and acquisitions: past accomplishment and future direction

PurposeMergers and acquisitions (M&As) are important strategic actions undertaken by firms to access resources and markets. However, firms face substantial challenges in M&As during deal completion. While prior literature reviews synthesize the studies on the post-merger consequences of M&As, the literature on deal completion is largely fragmented. In this paper, the authors synthesize prior literature on deal completion into the antecedents and consequences framework and map various studies across the international business and management, finance and accounting literature at the macro-, meso- and micro-levels.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopt a content analysis-based methodology to conduct the review. First, the authors identify existing literature on deal completion based on keyword searches. Next, the authors propose a framework that integrates the extant literature from a multi-theoretic perspective across four broad themes: concepts, antecedents, implications and moderators. In this study, the authors consider not only empirical but also conceptual papers to strengthen the theoretical foundations of M&A literature. Finally, after synthesizing various studies, the authors highlight a future research agenda on deal completion.Findings Based on the review, this study provides important avenues for future research on M&A deal completion.Originality/value This study theoretically integrates multi-disciplinary and multi-country research on acquisition completion.

Influence of Social Media Platform Trends on Academic anagement and Leadership in Higher Education Institutions: A Systematic Review

The growth of influencers in social media with respective delivery topics and their followers' reactions towards leader profiles and characters will lead to some extent to soft skills that can influence the performance of organizations as a whole. However, limited knowledge exists of how it is defined, how it operates, and how it relates to institutional leadership, including both administration and teaching. Therefore, this study aims to review current social media platform trends in Malaysia, the relationship between social media, management, and leadership, as well as how social media trends affect academic leadership and administration. The descriptive content analysis method was applied to examine 1,727 empirical, review, conceptual, and commentary papers published by Scopus and Web of Science journals. After considering other irrelevant information, the authors only reviewed a total of 494 from both websites. Considering Malaysia’s scholars, only 27 were chosen to be reviewed for title and abstract. Of these 27, only three articles were chosen for detailed review. All the information relevant to the research was extracted from each article and analysed using Excel software. Results showed that in 1,727, only three articles were related to social media and Malaysian scholars. According to these three articles, most organizations use Twitter, Instagram, and other digital technologies like digital communications, smartphones, and many others for social interaction. This is because workplace wellbeing can be achieved through human connections on social media. This workplace well-being can be related to leadership and work engagement in organizations. Hashtags in social media, especially Twitter, can be used to express sentiment, and this sentiment can influence human emotional state and well-being. In conclusion, the paper will add to recent efforts on how to improve the current situation, especially for new leaders with prospective approaches to the field, and contribute to the global knowledge base.

Workers’ voice from the triangular employment relationship lens: towards a conceptual framework

PurposeThis paper examines the circumstantial state of mediated work to develop a conceptual framework exemplifying the determinants of voice of workers in triangular employment relationships. These workers are in work context involving two or more firms – agency/platform and clients/client firms.Design/methodology/approachParalleling employee voice research in the triangular employment relationship context, the authors theorised the influencing forces at four levels to propose 12 distinct antecedents of triangular workers' voice. External level (2) – legal employer ambiguity and legal regulation and protection; employment context level (3) – availability and presence, assignment duration and autonomy; firm level (3) – institutional complexity, cost and control and governance structure conflicts; individual level (4) – perceived relative equity, voice skill, self-identity and transition opportunity.FindingsThe triangular workers' voice determinants framework provides a comprehensive outlook on how the external, employment context, firm and individual forces influence voice of workers in triangular employment relationships.Research limitations/implicationsEmanating from the framework are propositions that can be empirically tested for validation. Hence, as with conceptual papers, this paper is limited by non-empirical testing.Practical implicationsManagers of workers in these employment relationships should be cognizant of the different levels of forces that can influence their voice.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the employee voice literature by presenting a four-level framework that demonstrate a holistic view of how triangular workers' voice is influenced.

Current status and influencing factors of policy identification in health impact assessment: a case study of Zhejiang Province

BackgroundHealth impact assessment (HIA) is a procedure, method and tool for evaluating the potential health impacts of policies, plans and construction projects, as well as the distribution of these impacts on population. Majority of international studies on health impact assessment have focussed on conceptual papers or case evaluations, neglecting participants’ views on policies.MethodsA semi-structured interview with 30 health impact assessment experts was employed in this study, and the Nvivo software was utilized to analyse factors that influence policy identification. Subsequently, a multi-stage stratified random sampling method was adopted to survey 655 pilot staff members involved in health impact assessment in Zhejiang Province. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the current status and identify the factors influencing policy identification. In addition, hierarchical linear regression analysis and structural equation modelling were employed to determine the relationship between policy identification and influencing factors.ResultsStatistically significant differences were found among participants in the level of identification of policies across three dimensions. The policy sentiment dimension had the highest score (4.137 ± 0.664), followed by policy cognition (4.075 ± 0.632) and policy evaluation (3.631 ± 0.797) dimensions. Subject trust had a positive impact on policy cognition (β = 0.503, P < 0.001), policy sentiment (β = 0.504, P < 0.001) and policy evaluation (β = 0.465, P < 0.001). Procedural justice had a positive impact on policy sentiment (β = 0.085, P < 0.01) and policy evaluation (β = 0.084, P < 0.05), but not policy cognition (β = 0.056, P > 0.05). Policy identification is influenced by age and average monthly salary among other factors.ConclusionThese results highlight the importance of subjective trust and procedural justice in policy identification of health impact assessment. They provide valuable insights to developing interventions to overcome barriers to the implementation and enhancement of global identification of policies. Going forward, cross-sectoral synergies, enhanced international communication and training to increase participants’ trust in the policy should be optimized to improve health impact assessment. Additional measures should be taken, such as ensuring seamless communication channels, embedding health impact assessment in administrative mechanisms, and establishing strong oversight and grievance mechanisms to improve fairness and transparency in the implementation and results of health impact assessment.

A Bibliometric Review of Revenue Management in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry, 1989–2021

This study aimed to examine the conceptual development, trends, and intellectual structures in the literature on revenue management in the tourism and hospitality industry. This study applied the bibliometric review method to analyze 1165 Scopus-indexed documents. Descriptive analyses, citation analysis, co-citation analysis, and keyword co-occurrence analysis were used to investigate the intellectual structure of the revenue management literature. The concept of revenue management literature has been globally examined since 2008 with greater interest over time. According to co-citation analysis, three schools of thought are identified, including customer orientation, operational performance, and revenue management technique. Most highly influential documents are conceptual papers. Six dominant topics in the research field of revenue management, including dynamic pricing, tourism, hotel, hospitality, machine learning, and consumer behavior, have recently been examined in the literature. As research in the revenue management literature has shifted to consumer orientation, applying consumer behavior theories to explain revenue management practices is beneficial to provide more significant insights for researchers. In addition, the literature has expanded to include different types of businesses, making it imperative to examine the application of revenue management in each type of business.

Development NGO responses to countering violent extremism and hate

ABSTRACT This paper surveys the state of knowledge regarding development and humanitarian non-government organisation (NGO) responses to preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE). As well as delineating the nexus and shared objectives between P/CVE and development/humanitarian NGO frameworks, it outlines a reframing of the concept of VE into violent and hateful extremism (VHE), as a shift to a more nuanced understanding which addresses inherent complexities and entanglements more deeply. The Special Issue that this paper introduces is the product of a roundtable symposium held on this topic, with conceptual and empirical papers submitted by practitioners and academics who were invited to contribute due to their expertise in this area. The diversity of case studies, datasets, and author perspectives serves to advance knowledge on this topic and provide useful evidence and insights to inform policy and practice.