Future Agenda Research Articles

The trajectory of artificial intelligence for competency-based personalised learning: past, present and future

PurposeThe study aims to reflect on past research, uncover current trends and propose a future research agenda in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) for competency-based personalised learning.Design/methodology/approachThe study followed the SPAR-4-SLR protocol to retrieve 855 articles related to the field indexed in the Scopus database. Performance analysis, network analysis and science mapping were then performed using VOSviewer and the Biblioshiny app.FindingsThe analysis identified nine clusters of intellectual structure (healthcare, competencies, learning systems, digital transformation, AI literacy, computer-aided education, AI ethics, e-learning and active learning) and twelve themes (including motor, basic, emerging and niche).Originality/valueFollowing an extensive review of the literature, this would appear to be the first study to provide a panoramic view of AI for competency-based personalised learning based on the Scopus database. The core gaps in the current literature have been identified and the corresponding future agenda will be instrumental in shaping future research directions in the field.

8.H. Scientific session: Coordinated actions to improve our response to Long COVID at EU and national levels

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic still has very real and far-reaching consequences for European citizens, healthcare systems and economies. It has been estimated that approximately 10%-20% of people that were infected by SARS-CoV-2, develop Long COVID. Countries within the European Union and elsewhere have been responding to Long COVID in various ways. Some countries initiated a more extensive response to Long COVID, including the creation of multidisciplinary Long COVID clinics. In other counties, Long COVID should be addressed within existing infrastructures within the health care system, which can be hampered by the siloed approach of how services for people with chronic conditions is organised. Moreover, a coordinated and uniform response to Long COVID is complicated by the fact that there is a large variety of terms and definitions of Long COVID and the fact that long COVID symptom are often similar to symptoms of other diseases, thus hampering specific characterisation of patients. While substantial progress has been made in understanding Long COVID we still need more answers about its causes and the most effective treatments. It is also important to understand the impact that Long COVID has on individual lives of those who are being affected - and their families - as well as on societies as a whole. The session aims to take stock of a number of recent insights relating to Long COVID, also with the purpose to identify opportunities for a more coordinated and harmonized approach towards Long COVID at national and international levels. The session will provide room for discussions and engagement with the audience, allowing to help inform future policy agendas. As such, better ways to understand and address Long COVID can also be beneficial for health systems as a whole, given the parallels with how services are provided and policies are set up to address other chronic (non-communicable) diseases. Key messages • Long COVID is still poorly understood, in part relating to the complexity of the condition, also having considerable impacts on individuals and societies. • A more harmonised response can help improve the manners to address it, this to support those still suffering from this long term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

How Artificial Intelligence (AI) Is Powering New Tourism Marketing and the Future Agenda for Smart Tourist Destinations

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a disruptive technology that is being used by smart tourist destinations (STDs) to develop new business models and marketing services to increase tourists’ experiences and sales, revenue, productivity, and efficiency and STDs. However, the adoption of AI applications and platforms requires a high economic budget for STDs that want to integrate this digital tool into their future agenda and tourism development plans, especially when they set them up for marketing plans and operational processes. This iterative technology needs regular maintenance as well, leading to recurring costs and specialised crews in advanced technologies and marketing activities. This study aims to show the impact of AI advancements on STDs’ tourism marketing to enhance the quality of services and illustrate their future agenda to improve tourists’ experiences. A comprehensive literature review on AI technology and STDs has been conducted to illustrate new tourism marketing in their future agenda. Moreover, this study presents real examples of AI technology in a tourism context to better understand the potential of this digital tool. The findings of the current study support the idea that AI is a multipurpose tool that helps manage, monitor, and analyse sales information; revenue management; minimise prediction errors; streamline operations; and develop better marketing strategies, optimising economic resources, reducing marketing costs, and responding dynamically to changing needs for tourists and residents in STDs. Furthermore, the investment in AI technologies by STDs helps enhance the quality of products and services, and attract new investments, which benefit the regional economies and population’s quality of life. This study is the first to address the use of AI to improve tourist marketing in STDs, which is its primary uniqueness. Also, this study identifies new opportunities and initiatives through AI that can be developed to help tourism marketing in STDs.

Resilience Capacity of Pre-hospital Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Providers and the Future Agenda for Sustainable Development of A Resilient EMS System in Thailand

In the current scenario, demand for emergency care is rising due to the shift in disease pattern all around the world, from growing burden of non-communicable diseases to the pre-existing communicable diseases. The principle aim of an emergency medical service (EMS) system is to prevent premature mortality, reduce pain and prevent long term disability. EMS workers serve on the front lines of emergency medical care, which is one of the most important components in an EMS system of any country. Since the latest pandemic has caused increased burn out and stress among the service providers with long term mental and physical effect which is yet to be researched in Thailand, and no study in particular have addressed to evaluate the resilience capacities of the front-line EMS workforce and identify components that influence their performance and response to emergencies. This study aims to measure the resilience capacity of pre-hospital EMS providers of Thailand along with providing recommendations to policy makers regarding EMS service provider future agendas and standard methods for proper workforce development in order to tackle future public health emergency situations. The respondents were EMTs, ENPs, paramedics, frontline rescuers working in the provinces as an EMS service provider under the ministry of public health (MOPH), National Institute of Emergency Medicine (NIEM), Thailand. Total 500 participated in the survey from 32 different provinces. Resilience capacity was divided into high, moderate and low; Components and factors were developed through literature review and grouping was done. With total 41 questions: Safety, Competencies, Wellness and Behavioral Health. Open ended questions reflected the perception and experiences of the EMS service providers regarding the strength and improvement areas of the EMS system in Thailand. The result from the survey shows that the EMS service providers have moderate resilience in terms of Behavioral Health which is related to their psychometric properties and main components to measure the resiliency scales. Similarly, in terms of Safety, Wellness and Competencies components the EMS services have shown moderate level of resilience capacity as a front-line worker in the emergency medical service system to prepare for the future public health emergencies. The findings of the research present the perception and opinions of various EMS providers working in different provinces of Thailand. This study explores the present status/situation of front-line workers of the EMS system in Thailand. The findings provide crucial recommendations to health policy makers for developing resilient EMS system and their workforce in Thailand focusing on pre-hospital care setting. This research suggests measurement tools and plans focusing on the EMS future agenda 2050.

Creative health in the urban Global South: barriers and facilitators in the cases of Cochabamba and Salvador.

The Global South has some of the world's largest cities, where rapid, ad hoc development of urban centres and 'megacities' has fuelled major socio-economic, environmental, and public health concerns. These urban environments can generate feelings of loneliness, with multiple barriers for access and participation in socio-cultural infrastructures. An inclusive future agenda for global creative health must, therefore, consider how urbanisation impacts social public health, what creative health approaches can do to alleviate this, and what the barriers are to access. This article explores barriers and facilitators to accessing socio-cultural urban infrastructures in two case-study cities: Salvador in Brazil and Cochabamba in Bolivia. Data were collected as part of a survey examining access to, and engagement in, arts and cultural activities undertaken between 25 January and 1 May 2023. This article focuses on two questions: What helps you to access artistic and cultural events in your city? and What barriers do you face in accessing artistic and cultural events in your city? 239 open responses from adults, in Portuguese and Spanish, were analysed using descriptive thematic analysis. Findings highlight how emergent issues around existing economic inequality, safety, and accessibility can limit residents' capacity to engage in creative health activities. While preliminary in scope, this raises wider public health implications for how creative health approaches may be leveraged within urban, Global South contexts. Findings highlight how greater dialogue is needed between the urban development, public health, and creative health sectors. Given the emerging evidence of the role of creative engagement to alleviate loneliness, integrating creative health approaches within urban public health may further strengthen connections with the most vulnerable communities, and help to build healthier cities. The article ends by outlining an approach that incorporates both local and city-wide creative encounters, highlighting how future interventions could be appropriately designed that gradually scale these types of interventions from tailored local offerings to larger, city-wide activities.

Consensus on innovations and future directions of community first responder schemes in United Kingdom: a national nominal group technique study

AimWe aimed to achieve consensus among NHS and community stakeholders to identify and prioritise innovations in Community First Responder (CFR) schemes.MethodsWe conducted a mixed-methods study, adopting a modified nominal group technique with participants from ambulance services, CFR schemes and community stakeholders. The 1-day consensus workshop consisted of four sessions: introduction of innovations derived from primary research; round-robin discussions to generate new ideas; discussion and ranking of innovations; feedback of ranking, re-ranking and concluding statements. Innovations were ranked on a 5-point Likert scale and descriptive statistics of median and interquartile range calculated. Discussions were recorded, transcribed, and analysed thematically.ResultsThe innovations found were classified into two categories: process innovations and technological innovations. The process innovations included six types of innovations: roles, governance, training, policies and protocols, recruitment, and awareness. The technological innovations included three aspects: information and communication; transport; and health technology. The descriptive statistics revealed that innovations such as counselling and support for CFRs (median: 5 IQR 5,5), peer support [5 (4,5)], and enhanced communication with control room [5 (4,5)] were essential priorities. Contrastingly, innovations such as the provision of dual CFR crew [1.5 (1,3)], CFR responsibilities in patient transport to hospital [1 (1,2)], and CFR access to emergency blue light [1 (1,1.5)] were deemed non-priorities.ConclusionsThis article established consensus on innovations in the CFR schemes and their ranking for improving the provision of care delivered by CFRs in communities. The consensus-building process also informed policy- and decision-makers on the potential future change agenda for CFR schemes.

Sustainability Constitutionalism: Adopting National Perspectives on Sustainability

The development of environmental constitutional rights has provided important legal advances in procedure, standing, enforcement and remedies for matters concerning environmental protection and conservation. The constitutional textualization of environmental norms represents a significant development in both constitutional and environmental law, as well as providing a powerful impetus for cross-disciplinary research. These developments have not been mirrored to the same extent with sustainability thresholds and practices. Just as environmental rights are a legitimate avenue for constitutional protection, this article argues a similar position should accord to sustainability rights in constitutions by constitutional textualization of sustainability standards and thresholds. Achieving this constitutional recognition ensures sustainability has a national agenda for a sustainable future.

Balancing speed and coordination: Senior leaders’ perspectives on civil service transformation during and after the pandemic

How do governments’ responses to crises change their civil services and shape their future reform agendas? We address this question by conducting interviews with sources that are hard to access but uniquely placed to answer these questions: heads of civil service and similarly senior officials from 14 countries across six continents, speaking during the waning phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. Senior leaders perceived the central challenge of managing the crisis phase of the pandemic as balancing two competing imperatives: greater speed, flexibility, and decentralization of decision making, but also greater coordination and collaboration across teams and sectors. This required bureaucracies to question their largely hierarchical coordination methods and to transition toward network-based coordination mechanisms, agile methods, and new leadership styles. Senior leaders perceived these changes largely as accelerations of existing reform directions rather than ruptures, and were trying a range of methods to sustain and institutionalize these crisis-induced changes.

Unraveling social undermining at the workplace: A systematic review of past achievements and future promises

AbstractIn the contemporary landscape of organizational dynamics, it is imperative to understand the nuance of social undermining behaviors in the workplace for effective strategy and decision‐making. In this regard, this study reviews, identifies, and critically evaluates the social undermining literature and offers new avenues for future research. The systematic literature review methodology has been used to select and critically review 65 studies on this topic. The analysis and findings of this review are presented in three sections, as follows, (i) research profiling—to highlight the current status of research on social undermining in management literature, (ii) literature synthesis—to highlight key theories and conceptions of social undermining as well as discuss the antecedents and outcomes of social undermining, and (iii) critical analysis—to highlight knowledge gaps in existing research and set future agenda. This review is the first comprehensive review on social undermining at the workplace and serves as a knowledge base by presenting a comprehensive literature review as well as extending further development of knowledge on this topic. A key contribution of our review is the proposal of a comprehensive framework of literature synthesis to provide a bird's eye view on this scholarly domain. Our study contributes to organizational behavior and strategic management discourse by offering crucial insights on human dynamics that shape organizational strategy, and change.

Plotting the Blank Space Among Leadership, Job Crafting, and Career Development: An Integrative Review and Future Agendas for HRD

While leadership undeniably holds a substantial influence on subordinates’ work behaviors and career trajectories, the comprehensive exploration of these dynamics has remained limited. This integrative review aims to fill this gap by collectively examining the interplay among organizational leadership, employee job crafting, and career development. Our study analyzes and synthesizes findings from 47 selected empirical studies and presents an integrated model that suggests for the expansion of the current research landscape. This review further serves as a valuable guide for human resource development (HRD) professionals and practitioners. It also provides insights for designing effective approaches that enable leaders to fulfill crucial roles in facilitating employee job crafting and career development within organizational contexts.

Identifying and preventing future forms of crimes using situational crime prevention

Traditional crime has been falling for some time in most countries. However, developing technologies and our use of them are creating new opportunities for offending. For example, estimates from the Crime Survey of England and Wales indicate that in the UK, online fraud and related offences account for as many crimes as do “traditional” offences. To date, academia, law enforcement and governments have been reactive both in terms of identifying new and emerging forms of offending and in developing approaches to address them. In this paper, I will discuss the future crime agenda, and how futures thinking can help identify future crime opportunities and security threats including online fraud, crimes involving artificial intelligence, and crime in the metaverse. The paper will close with a discussion of the implications for theory and crime prevention.

Place-based approach to support children’s development towards sustainable development goals: A scoping review of current effort and future agenda

In 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were announced with the agreement of 190 world leaders aiming for ending extreme poverty, fighting inequality and injustice by 2030. Among different approaches, investments in future generations’ capacities to thrive are key to attaining these goals. Promoting children’s thriving, however, is not a simple matter because child development is not a single state and is not determined by a single force. Promoting children’s development and capacities necessitates a multifaceted approach, and place-based interventions stand out as a promising strategy. This paper reviewed current evidence on the outcomes of place-based interventions aimed at improving children’s capacities to thrive. We found that 22 published texts that met our inclusion criteria, exhibiting a range of program effects. The review also highlighted several challenges related to implementation and evaluation. Additionally, we discussed how place-based interventions adapt in the digital age.

A critical discourse analysis (CDA) of a political speech of Mr. Christian Tadele speech in the parliament

This paper presents a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of a political speech delivered by Mr. Christian Tadele in the Ethiopian parliament. The study aims to uncover hidden ideologies, future agendas, and linguistic components in Mr. Tadele's speech through the examination of strategies such as politeness and inclusive language, as well as the analysis of frequently used words like "we," "democracy," and "corruption." By applying Fairclough's 3D Model, the analysis focuses on the social context and the use of language within institutional and political discourses to reveal potential inequalities in social relationships. The research also explores the impact of the speech on the public, particularly the supporters of Mr. Tadele's political party, and examines concepts related to rent-seeking and corruption. The significance of the study lies in its contribution to uncovering concealed ideologies, raising awareness among both producers and consumers of political discourse, and providing new insights to readers.

The Case for Arts in Reconciliation and Peacebuilding in Africa

In the aftermath of a violent conflict, especially where there have been mass atrocities, violations of the rule of law and human rights abuses, the achievement of reconciliation and peacebuilding remains an immensely difficult challenge. Recently, arts-based approaches to reconciliation and peacebuilding have been supported as an emerging area of research and practice. It is increasingly being seen as a central facet of peace-building and transitional justice. Despite this, arts-based approaches to peacebuilding as an area of study and practice remain under-researched. There remains a gap in understanding the impact community-devised arts projects can have on peace formation amongst diverse actors. This paper fills this gap by analysing the academic evidence to determine how arts can positively promote peacebuilding, healing, reconciliation, and social transformation in Africa. The paper highlights the role that arts and cultural programmes play as part of a spectrum of interventions linking culture, security, and development to sustainable peace. The findings show how arts can be utilised as a powerful means of communication. It suggests programmes that could serve as measures when locally led with an understanding founded in local cultural traditions. The research draws caution against the ability of arts to transform conflict-ridden areas where there is propaganda and underlying agendas. This paper identifies possible future agendas of research and practice that could create evidence based on the role that arts play in peacebuilding and policies to ensure sustainable peace and reconciliation.

Unlocking the potential of blockchain-based sharing economy in hospitality and tourism: A systematic review

This systematic review is a trailblazer for the blockchain-based sharing economy concept, mainly in hospitality and tourism. It highlights the potential integration of blockchain across sharing economy sectors (e.g., accommodation, transportation, and business services). Following the PRISMA protocol, 43 publications from 12 scholarly databases were analysed. It identifies different types of implementations, including decentralised apps and specific functionalities that utilise blockchain. Key issues are discussed, including contradictory aspects (transparency vs privacy, centralisation within decentralisation, and users' euphoria vs technical barriers) and advantages (increased security, automated sharing mechanisms, and user participation). The review offers practical implementation paths for blockchain-based sharing economy systems in hospitality and tourism, emphasising the importance of context, scope limitation, focusing on increasing advantages, and managing technological trade-offs. It also suggests critical future research topics and action agendas for hospitality and tourism stakeholders.

A topic modeling-based analysis for the outcomes of psychological contract breaches and violations in organizations: Current research trends and future agenda

The purpose of this study is to examine the temporal trends of conceptualizations of psychological contract breaches and violations in organizations and their outcomes. Thus, it is envisaged to provide a deep insight into the related topic and to contribute to the elucidation of unexplored aspects by guiding a comprehensive understanding of the perceptual underlying phenomenon. In this study, the topic-modeling method, one of the text-mining methods, using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) algorithm was used to gain insights into the main topics on which studies on psychological contract breaches and violations were conducted. Within the framework of the purpose, this study reveals the topics belonging to the concept of psychological contract breaches and violations in organizations. In addition, the titles of these topics, the changes in the interest in these topics over the years, and especially during the COVID-19 outbreak, have been revealed. The ’findings of the study indicate that future research should focus on the affective outcomes of psychological contract breaches and violations in organizations. In addition, future studies can be conducted in which the topics that have reached research saturation in the current study are addressed together with the topics that need research attention.

Article: The US CHIPS Act and Its Impacts on the WTO and China

In 2022 the US enacted the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act, providing USD 52.7 billion in subsidies to enhance the chip manufacturing capacity of the US semiconductor industry, attract American businesses back and encourage foreign investments. The CHIPS Act utilizes subsidies as a countermeasure against foreign subsidies in order to secure US leadership of the global semiconductor industry and advanced technology. This represents a significant policy change for the US semiconductor industry. The Act includes a guardrail clause aimed at restricting the investment in or export of advanced chips to China and this may potentially result in the fragmentation of the global chip value chain and in heightened geopolitical tensions. This paper discusses the objectives, subsidies, guardrail clause and clawback mechanism in the CHIPS Act, and their legality under the WTO. It also explores the impact of the CHIPS Act on the WTO and China. The US CHIPS Act is a politically sensitive issue of economic importance and legal complexity in the US-China relationship. It will also reshape the geopolitics of the global chip value chain. Subsidy poses a challenge for the WTO, and a more effective discipline on both subsidies and export restrictions should be an urgent need in a future WTO reform agenda.

Brand Authenticity: A 21-Year Bibliometric Review and Future Outlook

Brand Authenticity plays a crucial role in marketing activities. Over the past two decades, considerable progress has been made in the academic research on Brand Authenticity. However, a more comprehensive investigation on this subject still needs to be done. This paper aims to conduct a literature review using a bibliometric approach to summarize articles published between 2003 and 2023. The aim is to identify the publication trends, key authors, pivotal literature, significant journals, research clusters, intellectual base, and topic trends. We intend to establish a foundation for future agendas by consolidating existing achievements and identifying gaps. We employed two analysis tools, VOSviewer and Bibliometrix, to analyze and visualize 880 selected articles. The result indicates an overall increasing trend in publications; several authoritative scholars have emerged, and international collaborations are extensive. Several knowledge groups have also been formed, focusing on tourism, food and retail, and marketing/management. There need to be more significant breakthroughs, prompting the exploration of new topics to expand the scope of brand authenticity research. Some potential areas of investigation include exploring more antecedents and consequences variables, cross-cultural marketing, specific product authenticity, and the impact of corporate social responsibility on perceived authenticity. By addressing these directions, we can advance the understanding of brand authenticity and enrich the existing knowledge on this topic, thereby contributing to its future development.

Nexus of Big Data and Big Data Analytics for Managerial Business Decision-Making: A Systematic Review Analysis

The growing usage of big data and big data analytics in business has prompted academics and professionals to widen their examination of their implications in business decision-making procedures. Until now, academics and business leaders have concentrated solely on the technical components of big data and analytics, ignoring the impact they have on the effectiveness of commercial decision-making systems. To begin, this paper intends to review the literature on the study of the relationship between the use of big data and big data analytics for its effectiveness in business industrial decision-making systems. Second, it gives important facts to assess whether big data and big data analytics catalyze the deployment of sophisticated business intelligence and informed decision-making representations. In this regard, the paper identifies the essential concerns that underpin the business-driven decision-making processes such as efficiency, and preciseness among others. Fundamentally, the current work contributes to the literature on big data and big data analytics for business-driven decision-making in both a theoretical fashion and provides a shot for future agenda possibilities to develop knowledge in this area.

The Use and Misuse of East Asian History in IR Theorizing

Abstract The past two decades have witnessed a wave of research into the history of East Asian international relations (IR). Scholars seek to broaden the historical frames of reference in IR for both theory testing and theory generation. The article reviews this recent trend, examining its limitations and exploring future agenda. In studying historical East Asian IR, scholars have different expectations regarding whether their research would support, complement, or undermine mainstream Western IR. The spatial and temporal scope of their historical inquiries, as well as theoretical ambitions, therefore, differ significantly. Scholars no longer treat all East Asian history as simply one case, but as multiple cases with divergent patterns, and they recognize that the system consisted not solely of China but of multiple actors. In addition to contrasting East Asia with Western Europe, they explore also the similarities between East Asia and other non-Western regions. To advance the agenda, however, scholars must scrupulously navigate three tensions. They are: the tension between the “East” and “West”; the tension between the two disciplines of history and IR; and the tension between past and present. Future studies, therefore, must broaden their horizons in order to better transcend ethnocentrism and exceptionalism, refine their methodology both to avoid selection bias and conduct more sophisticated comparisons, and to maintain a proper distance from contemporary politics. Most importantly, they should combine high-quality historical research with cutting-edge IR theoretical trends to construct dynamic theories that could be applied to other regions.