Department of Politics, People & Place
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Item Open Access Central-Local Relations under Labour (2024-): Emerging Themes and Issues in English Devolution(University of Birmingham, 2025-01-23) Davies, Jonathan S.The Labour Government elected in July 2024 has now had six months in office. With publication of the Devolution White Paper on 16 December 2024, this is a good moment to assess the direction of travel in the government’s approach to central-local relations (MCHLG, 2024c). To summarise, devolutionary elements are welcome but cautious and incremental, while the (potentially) radical elements around reorganisation are not devolutionary. In this respect, the White Paper marks continuity in the British state tradition. The wide-ranging devolution community of interest recognises progress, whilst expressing disappointment at the lack of ambition (https://citizen-network.org/work/local-england).Item Metadata only Slicing Up Red Leicester(2025-01-20) Jones, AlistairLeicester East saw the only Tory gain at the 2024 general election and Leicester South a shadow cabinet member beaten by an independent who campaigned on Gaza. Alistair Jones explains what’s been happeningItem Open Access From food emergency to poverty prevention: The changing function of food banks in Leicester.(University of Leicester, 2025-01-17) Arrieta, Tania; Davies, Jonathan S.This independent policy brief explores the evolving social function of food banks in Leicester. From our academic perspective, the intention is to support the city’s food bank network, the Leicester Food Partnership, the development of a Food Health Needs Assessment in the city, and the wider network of stakeholders constituting the Feeding Leicester Steering Group. While food banks continue to support people with the provision of emergency food parcels, they increasingly support the prevention of poverty in different ways. Poverty prevention refers to the wide range of functions that food banks are undertaking in relation to social welfare, including employability and financial management support. The increased need that the city has experienced recently, in particular after the Covid19 pandemic, led to the development of the Leicester Food Partnership (LFP), an informal arrangement between 22 food banks. This policy brief focuses on the LFP and its poverty prevention work in local communities.Item Open Access The impact of COVID-19 related flight reductions on bird prevalence and behaviour at Manchester Airport, UK: the implications for airport management.(Elsevier, 2024-01-05) Budd, Lucy; Bloor, George; Ison, Stephen; Quddus, MohammedAirport management is a complex and multifarious activity, involving many operators including airlines, retailers and ground handlers, and processes. The presence of wildlife at airports poses a safety risk to aircraft operations and as such managing wildlife hazards is a mandatory legal responsibility. This is important not only from a safety perspective but also from the fact that safety incidents can impact the operational efficiency and the reputation of an airport. Airport operators are required to devise and enact site-specific Wildlife Hazard Management Plans (WHMP) to reduce the risk of aircraft-wildlife interaction under normal airport operating conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, led to an unprecedented reduction in commercial air traffic and the partial or total suspension of flights at some airports. The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of COVID-19 related flight reductions on bird prevalence and behaviour and the potential implications for airport management. Drawing on an empirical dataset of wildlife observations at Manchester Airport, UK, in 2019 and 2020, this paper details the airfield ornithology before and during the pandemic and examines the impact of COVID-19 related flight reductions on bird prevalence and behaviour. The findings reveal variations in the frequency and apparency of individual species as well as changes in the spatial location of bird sightings on the airfield. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for post-pandemic operations and for the formulation of future airport wildlife hazard management policies.Item Open Access Embedding disabled passenger needs into the UK’s Advanced Air Mobility ecosystem.(De Montfort University, 2024-10-25) Jones, Peter; Budd, Lucy; Ison, StephenItem Embargo Dynamic pricing for perishable goods: A data-driven digital transformation approach(Elsevier, 2024-09-11) Syed, Tahir Abbas; Aslam, Haris; Bhatti, Zeeshan Ahmed; Mehmood, Fahad; Pahuja, AseemIn supermarkets, rapid pricing adjustments are crucial due to the short shelf life of products. Adopting a multi case study approach, this study examines the application of dynamic pricing strategies for perishable goods through the lens of a data-driven digital transformation (DD-DT) approach. We introduce a three-phase model of DD-DT for dynamic pricing: initiation, facilitation, and strategic adaptation. In the initiation phase, we identify essential frameworks for robust data collection and analytical processes, which form the backbone of informed pricing decisions. During the facilitation phase, the study integrates sophisticated algorithms and real-time analytics to process and interpret the collected data, facilitating its seamless integration into pricing strategies. The strategic adaptation phase is critical as it focuses on the ongoing refinement and enhancement of pricing strategies, enabling supermarkets to adapt swiftly to market fluctuations and consumer behaviour changes. By presenting a comprehensive DD-DT framework, this research significantly augments the existing literature on dynamic pricing and offers actionable insights for practitioners seeking to optimize pricing strategies in a digitally transforming marketplace.Item Metadata only Advancing the common good through business excellence awards: A legitimacy-seeking perspective(Wiley, 2024-10-01) Asante, Shadrack; David, Sarpong; Eunice, Aidoo; Adekunle Isaac OgunsadeCompeting for and winning business excellence awards (BEAs) is essential for firms' long-term performance. However, the role of these BEAs in inspiring good and generating sustainable business practices has often been overlooked. In this article, we draw on the legitimacy-seeking theory to explore the “socially good” transformations firms go through by competing for BEAs. Data for the inquiry come from semi-structured interviews with managers whose firms competed in two BEAs in the United Kingdom. Providing insight into BEAs as a competitive legitimating frame in organizing, our findings shed light on how BEAs may serve as competitive crucibles that provide opportunities for feedback and learning, potentiality for brand positioning, and a possibility for stimulating excellence in the adoption of good business practices. The implications of these findings for the theory and practice of advancing the “common good” are outlined.Item Open Access ‘Mining women’ and livelihoods: Examining the dominant and emerging issues in the ASM gendered economic space(Sage, 2024-01-09) Asante, Shadrack; Ofosu, George; Sarpong, David; Torbor, MabelThe intractable challenges faced by female mine workers have come to dominate the discourse and scholarship on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) operations. However, the extensive focus on the informal and labour-intensive segments has engendered a failure to capture the nuances in the duality of ASM operations and how it impacts female outcomes. Drawing on intersectionality as a lens, in this article the authors map the dynamics on how issues related to the gender, situatedness and positionality of female mine workers interact to shape their situated labour outcomes. Highlighting the differentiated outcomes for female mine workers within the contingencies of the broader socio-cultural context in which ASM work is organised, the article sheds light on how the social identity structures such as gender, sexuality and class interact to give form to the marginalisation, occupational roles, the ‘boom town’ narrative and occupational and health challenges that characterise the ASM gendered economic space.Item Open Access Legitimacy and Inclusivity in Place Branding(Elsevier, 2024-09-17) Bisani, Shalini; Daye, Marcella; Mortimer, KathleenScholars have increasingly called for multi-stakeholder and participatory approaches to place branding. The inclusion of communities is often argued for creating legitimate place brands. However, there is limited understanding of how these notions interact. This paper investigates how stakeholders construct legitimacy and inclusivity in their place branding practices. We develop a theoretical framework for legitimacy-inclusivity and apply it to a case study of Northamptonshire, UK. The analysis reveals contrasting approaches by industry stakeholders and voluntary organisations in terms of representation and advocacy, engagement and co-creation, and effectiveness and impact. The unique characteristics and mechanisms of voluntary organisations, which facilitate community leadership and engagement, have implications for more inclusive and legitimate place branding.Item Open Access THIRD SECTOR ORGANISATIONS DELIVERING EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT IN NORTHERN IRELAND: FUNDING AND COMMISSIONING AFTER ‘BREXIT’(2024-09-17) Peter Andrew Butler; Jonathan Payne; Jonathan RoseThis report is the third in a series investigating how third sector organisations (TSOs) delivering employment and skills support are navigating the changing funding and commissioning landscape in the UK after ‘Brexit’. Our first report investigated the situation in England , while our second report looked at Scotland . These reports highlight certain differences experienced by TSOs across the devolved nations of the UK, and caution policymakers about ignoring such contextual specificity. Collectively, however, they find a sector which has experienced significant cuts to funding at a time when many TSOs are reporting that increasing numbers of clients are presenting with more complex needs in the aftermath of the pandemic and during a ‘cost-of-living crisis’.Item Metadata only Resource passageways and personal resources: Influence of cooperative psychological climate on workplace thriving(Springer Nature books, 2025-02) Arshad, Mamoona; Altaf, MeryemWorkplace thriving is a positive psychological state and has been characterised as benefiting both employees and their organisations. This psychological state may greatly be affected by the environmental conditions at work. The study aims to explore how employees’ perception of cooperative psychological climate affects employee’s ability to thrive at work through the indirect effect of meaningfulness at work. Using a conservation of resource (COR) theory, we study how the perception of employees regarding environmental conditions, referred to as a resource-passageways, may fluctuate employees’ personal resources. Through a multi-wave study, we collected data from 206 employees working in the services sector, specifically banks. A regression analysis was performed on SPSS while Hayes process Macro was used to analyse the mediating mechanism. The results show that a cooperative psychological climate increases meaningful work for employees which in turn influences their ability to thrive at work. These findings contribute to the knowledge of resource passageways and employees’ ability to thrive at work. The chapter can further guide future thoughts on the perceptions of environmental conditions as a building block of workplace thriving.Item Embargo Power and urban governance(Elgar, 2024-07-16) Davies, Jonathan S.; Roberts, Mark; Vegliò, SimoneThe significance of cities as concentrations of political and economic power can hardly be overstated. Cities project power on the global stage and are recognized as powerful actors by others: anchoring revolutions and giving their names to historical epochs and intellectual traditions (Chicago or Frankfurt) and even phases of economic development. The power of the city on the historical and global stages makes it even more important to study and grasp the way urban power is conceived, constructed, contested and exercised within and between cities. The premise of the chapter is that cities, urban arenas and urbanization dynamics remain crucial sources of power and governing resources today, though the perspectives we discuss diverge radically in their claims, and the significance they impart to urban governance. Urban Studies has become a truly global interdisciplinary field, through which perspectives on power and urban governance have multiplied and diversified. The chapter introduces key traditions, exploring three distinct and internally differentiated bodies of thought: Marxism, neo-institutionalism and post-colonialism. It begins by discussing prominent traditions within or related to urban Marxism: state theory, planetary urbanism and horizontalist approaches. It then discusses recent institutionalist perspectives, finally considering the growing influence of post-colonial perspectives questioning dominant ‘northern’accounts of the city and urbanity. The chapter concludes by suggesting pathways for future research.Item Open Access The limits of “resilience”: Relationalities, contradictions,and re-appropriations(2024-07-30) Davies, Jonathan S.; Arrieta, Tania.The concept of “resilience” is ubiquitous in global governance, extending from climate and ecological issues to practically all spheres of human endeavor. However, post-pandemic discourses suggest that the concept may no longer be capable of synthesizing diverse and diverging geopolitical interests into com-mon policy goals. Responding to what we see as an emerging “crisis of resilience,” we reconsider the utility of the concept and advance “irresilience” as its critical relational “other.” We argue that to make resilience meaningful in a “polycrisis,” it is necessary to think about it dialectically and consider how it is undermined by the very actors that evangelize it.Item Open Access Taught postgraduate Air Transport Management degrees in the UK: a systematic review and analysis(Elsevier, 2024-07-16) Mayer, Robert; Budd, Lucy; Ison, StephenThis paper examines the provision, structure and curriculum content of taught postgraduate (Masters’ level) Air Transport Management degree programmes in the UK. In the academic year 2022–23, 14 UK Universities offered 19 different programmes. These programmes differed in terms of their duration, the fees that were charged, the delivery models, the content and the assessment regimes. In addition to examining the content and structure of the programmes, the paper conducts a SWOT analysis of the suite of degree programmes. While the inherent advantages of having a diversity of programmes for individuals, academic institutions and the air transport sector are recognised, it is suggested that prospective students and employers are cognisant of the differences between programmes to make informed decisions about their suitability and ability to meet personal career objectives and workplace planning requirements.Item Open Access “Now Boarding”: Towards new geographies of aeromobility(Sage, 2024-06-20) Adey, Peter; Lin, Weiqiang; Barry, Kaya; Harris, Tina; Fretigny, Jean-Baptiste; Budd, LucyIn this article, we build on Adey, Budd and Hubbard’s 2007 ‘Flying Lessons’ paper by proposing four trajectories – bodies, infrastructures, technologies and disruptions – along which future research may follow for aeromobility studies. Since ‘Flying Lessons’, concerns for aviation have spread and developed into new areas beyond the experience of the individual air-passenger, but they have also remained somewhat disparate. Our article seeks to synthesise, trace and evaluate these shifts, and to draw out their interconnections, inter-referentialisms and contradictions. We envision a future geographies of flying that is far more entangled and attuned to aeromobilities' ambiguous relations, both human and more-than-human.Item Open Access Factors affecting the cessation of commercial air services at English regional airports.(Elsevier, 2024-06-18) Budd, Lucy; Ison, Stephen; Graham, AnneAlthough much of the existing research on regional airports focuses on their contribution to regional economic development, regional airports in England, as in other deregulated markets, operate in a highly competitive market and not all have been able to sustain commercial flights. This paper examines the factors that have led to the cessation of commercial air services at English regional airports following liberalisation of the European air transport market in 1992. Six factors which have contributed to air service cessation are identified and potential futures for smaller regional airports discussed.Item Open Access Whose Opinion Matters? Community Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Legitimacy and Engagement in Branding Northamptonshire(Academy of Marketing, 2023-07-06) Bisani, Shalini; Daye, Marcella; Mortimer, KathleenThis paper views place branding as a stakeholder-led strategy for creating a distinctive identity and narrative for places to gain recognition and competitive advantage. Residents and voluntary organisations are integral stakeholders and co-producers of a place; however, they are often relegated to consumers of the place brand. This paper explores how community stakeholders perceive their engagement in place branding, which ultimately implicates issues of legitimacy and inclusiveness of socioeconomic and cultural policies.Item Open Access A Cost-Effective Approach for Inventory- Transportation to Address Carbon Tax Policy(IEOM, 2024) Eslamipoor, RezaThe growing concern regarding global warming has resulted in the implementation of regulations aimed at progressively diminishing the volume of greenhouse gases released by industrial sectors and their associated supply chains. This research study concentrates on quantifying the carbon emissions within a two-tiered supply chain, in which a single supplier distributes a single product to different retailers, while also coordinating the many elements of the chain including transportation and inventory. A mixed integer programming (MIP) approach has been developed to attain this goal. This model considers decisions such as the time and quantity of replenishment for each retailer, the types of transportation vehicles employed, and the number of products transported by each vehicle. The goal of this optimization model is not only a reduction in transportation expenses and inventory management costs but also carbon emissions across the supply chain which can be reduced by regarding tax as a leverage.Item Open Access Future Flight: an opportunity for more accessible air travel?(Taylor and Francis, 2024-06-02) Budd, Lucy; Jones, Peter; Ison, StephenFuture Flight, which involves the development and proposed adoption of new aeronautical technologies and built environments including uncrewed aircraft, air taxis and vertiports, is presented as an opportunity to revolutionise commercial air travel. This article discusses current barriers to accessible aviation and asks whether (and how) future aviation systems can be more accessible.Item Open Access Docked bikeshare: A review of the interrelationship between socio-economic disadvantage and the built environment.(Taylor and Francis, 2024-06-05) Moore, Patrick; Lipika, Deka; Amaugo, Amarachi; Budd, Lucy; Ison, StephenPromoted for their contribution towards decarbonising transport, encouraging modal shift, and improving health outcomes, bikeshare schemes (BSS) have developed worldwide. However, evidence suggests that fixed docking stations are often disproportionately located in white, high-income and high employment areas. Consequently, certain (often disadvantaged) communities may not be able to benefit as much as others from BSS. Interrelated issues concerning the built environment and socio-economic disadvantage include inequities related to population and residential accessibility, cycle lane access, docking station density and location, integration with public transport, access to city centres, universities, and unsafe areas. The paper reviews these aspects and discusses their implications for docking station planning practices that incorporate built environment insights and facilitate equitable access and use. Future research directions pertaining to examining the interrelationship between the built environment and disadvantage are suggested.