scholarly journals Requiem for the American CBD: The Impact of COVID-19 and a Dispersed Workforce

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Matthew J Longtin ◽  
Martin D Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Central Business District ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Worker Safety ◽  
Corporate America ◽  
The Public ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Business District ◽  
Public Policy Decisions ◽  
The Impact

Digital communication technologies have rendered the American Central Business District (CBD) obsolete, and one can expect the corporate headquarters function to be removed in varying degrees from the CBD as this decade further unfolds.  The COVID-19 pandemic forced corporate America to widely embrace a dispersed workforce model. We argue that corporations will continue to embrace this model for profit driven reasons, while employees will also demand its continuance for another set of reasons: some monetarily based with others rooted in flexibility and the ability to reside anywhere.  In the meantime, the public will perceive such moves as environmentally friendly and enhancing worker safety.  The traditional CBDs and their adjoining sports/entertainment districts will likely face significant near-term fiscal challenges, which for some cities will be magnified by poor public policy decisions and increasing crime. 

Marketisation and Privatisation in Criminal Justice

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Corporate Sector ◽  
The Public ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Efficient Delivery ◽  
Incentive Structures ◽  
Responsibility Of Government ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
The Impact

Criminal justice used to be thought of as a field autonomous from politics and the economy, with the management of crime and punishment being seen as essentially the responsibility of government. However, in recent decades, policies have been adopted which blur the institutional boundaries and functions of the public sector with those of for-profit and civil society interests in many parts of the penal/welfare complex. The impact of these developments on society is contested: Proponents of the ‘neo-liberal penality thesis’ argue economic deregulation, welfare retrenchment, individualised choices – and associated responsibility – may be aligned by market forces into efficient delivery of ‘law and order’. Set against the neo-liberal penal position are arguments that the corporate sector may be no more efficient in delivering criminal justice services than is the public sector, and reliance on the profit motive to deliver criminal justice may lead to perverse incentivisation of NGOs or state agencies. It is to this debate we add our contribution. Criminal justice is an ideal sector in which to consider the implications arising from the differing incentive structures held by different institutions, both private and public, citizens, governments, social enterprise and the corporate sector. All agree on the need for criminal justice, even as they compete in the policy sphere to dictate its form and delivery.

Commute and labour productivity: investigation of inner city construction sites

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 1305-1319
Author(s):  
Daniel Alejandro Chaparro ◽  
Fei J. Ying ◽  
Funmilayo Ebun Rotimi ◽  
Temitope Egbelakin
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Labour Productivity ◽  
Central Business District ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Construction Sites ◽  
Content Type ◽  
City Construction ◽  
Business District ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to identify the impact that commute patterns pose on construction labour productivity (CLP). There is limited research focussed on the impact of workforce transportation on productivity, even fewer in a construction environment. In particular, this study seeks to fill a gap in the understanding of how commute patterns may influence CLP. Design/methodology/approach Key factors reported affecting CLP were identified through a comprehensive literature review. Data were collected from 27 interviews and observational evidence at construction sites on Auckland Central Business District (CBD). Findings Shortage of skills, communication among workers, shirking behaviour, absenteeism and tardiness were perceived as the most critical labour productivity factors that are influenced by commute patterns. It is considered that stressful commutes may lead to shirking behaviours (absenteeism and calling sick). Meanwhile, ridesharing may encourage communication among workers. Research limitations/implications The study was carried out in a central business district, focussing on a geographic area with its particular characteristics. The results, thus, may not be generalised in general urban settings. Originality/value The research outcomes can be used as guidelines for companies considering travel plans for their employees, to minimise the negative impact commuting can have on workers, especially in industries with low productivity.

The Night Ministry: Facing the Loss of a Founder

2017 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Anne Cohn Donnelly ◽  
Sara Lo
Keyword(s):  
Vice President ◽  
Senior Management ◽  
Phone Call ◽  
The Public ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Succession Plan ◽  
Senior Vice President ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Major Donors

Paul Hamann was senior vice president of The Night Ministry, a Chicago-based not-for-profit organization. In October 2003 he received a phone call from the wife of the Reverend Tom Behrens, the founding president and the public face of the organization. She told Hamann that Behrens had suffered a massive stroke and that doctors were unsure of his prognosis. Behrens had been walking the streets of run-down Chicago neighborhoods since 1976, looking for people in despair, listening to their needs, and offering them a helping hand and a consoling presence. In the intervening twenty-seven years, he had built The Night Ministry into a well-known organization that helped thousands of adults and youth every year. No succession plan, if one existed, had ever been conveyed to senior management. Now Hamann was unsure when or even if Behrens would be able to work again. If Behrens returned to work, would he be able to continue to lead the organization? If not, who would lead The Night Ministry going forward, even if it were just for the near term, and who would make that decision? How would the community and major donors react to a new leader?Understand Founder's Syndrome and why it is unique to the nonprofit industry

scholarly journals NEW APPROACHES TO THE METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF LABOR RATIONING IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 28-40
Author(s):  
I.B. Omel’chenko ◽  
◽  
V.K. Koshkina ◽  
K.Yu. Chudinov ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Electronic System ◽  
Remote Work ◽  
Work Intensity ◽  
The Public ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
The Impact

Digital technologies are being actively introduced into our life and economy that it is often impossible to track all innovations and the resulting effect of their appearance; the population quickly adapts and gets used to them. Similar trends are observed in the public sector. Visitors to clinics, museums, Multifunctional Public Services Centers, and other institutions easily use an electronic system that puts a queue to a specialist, use various services and gadgets. Due to digitalization, remote work is gaining more popularity, especially among young people, pensioners and women. The remote work market plays a very important role in the modern economy. As an extremely complex distribution mechanism, it ensures the connection of workers to remote workplaces. Thus, it affects both productivity and growth rates, as well as many other parameters of the economy as a whole. Digitalization is becoming such an important factor in increasing labor productivity and improving the quality of life that the changes taking place in the market are considered as the onset of a new stage of economic development. Currently, the development of digitalization is primarily associated with the introduction of digital communication technologies, the platform for which is the Internet and mobile devices. Information technologies are being integrated into all spheres of economic activity. In this regard, the nature of labor, as well as labor functions are undergoing dramatic changes, the proportion of work performed remotely or using specialized software is increasing. In this regard, the work intensity (provision of services) requires attention, which directly depends on the updating of the methodology of labor rationing. Within the framework of this article, the methodological foundations of labor rationing in the public sector are analyzed, considering the impact of digitalization and automation processes on labor rationing.

scholarly journals Rebuilding Sustainable Commuting in Christchurch? A mixed-methods study of the effects of workplace relocation on transport choice and emissions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kate Whitwell
Keyword(s):  
Public Transport ◽  
Central Business District ◽  
Sustainable Transport ◽  
Significant Drop ◽  
Good Opportunity ◽  
Mode Shift ◽  
Commute Time ◽  
Reduce Emissions ◽  
Business District ◽  
The Impact

<p>Tackling the challenge of climate change will require rapid emissions reductions across all sectors, including transport. This study adds to the literature by investigating factors that may encourage sustainable transport choices at a time of change and therefore reduce emissions. A mix of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to explore the impact of a relocation of employees from several dispersed work locations back to one office building in the central business district on transport choices and carbon emissions in Christchurch, New Zealand.  This case study found that such a recentralisation of employment can result in employees making more sustainable transport choices and can contribute to decreases in transport emissions from commuting, even in a highly car-dependent city. The relocation led to a 12 percent rise in the proportion of employees commuting actively or by public transport and resulted in a significant drop in commuting emissions (16 percent). The primary contributing factor was the change in location of the office itself, reducing the average commuting distance and increasing accessibility to public transport and active travel. A further contributing factor was the perceived reduction in parking availability at the new location. Further results support the existing literature on barriers to sustainable transport, identifying any factor that impacts on the feasibility of the journey by alternative modes, such as commute time or safety, as a significant barrier to uptake. Overall findings suggest that relocating offices provides a good opportunity to encourage employees to consider changing to a more sustainable commute mode, and that significant numbers may make such a shift if commute time or distance are reduced. Realising substantial mode shift however will depend on cities providing feasible and efficient sustainable alternatives to driving a car to work.</p>

scholarly journals Exploring the Spatial-Temporal Relationship between Rainfall and Traffic Flow: A Case Study of Brisbane, Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 5596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanmin Qi ◽  
Zuduo Zheng ◽  
Dongyao Jia
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Traffic Flow ◽  
Transportation Network ◽  
Central Business District ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Inclement Weather ◽  
Real Time Traffic ◽  
Policy Analysts ◽  
Business District ◽  
The Impact

The impact of inclement weather on traffic flow has been extensively studied in the literature. However, little research has unveiled how local weather conditions affect real-time traffic flows both spatially and temporally. By analysing the real-time traffic flow data of Traffic Signal Controllers (TSCs) and weather information in Brisbane, Australia, this paper aims to explore weather’s impact on traffic flow, more specifically, rainfall’s impact on traffic flow. A suite of analytic methods has been applied, including the space-time cube, time-series clustering, and regression models at three different levels (i.e., comprehensive, location-specific, and aggregate). Our results reveal that rainfall would induce a change of the traffic flow temporally (on weekdays, Saturday, and Sunday and at various periods on each day) and spatially (in the transportation network). Particularly, our results consistently show that the traffic flow would increase on wet days, especially on weekdays, and that the urban inner space, such as the central business district (CBD), is more likely to be impacted by inclement weather compared with other suburbs. Such results could be used by traffic operators to better manage traffic in response to rainfall. The findings could also help transport planners and policy analysts to identify the key transport corridors that are most susceptible to traffic shifts in different weather conditions and establish more weather-resilient transport infrastructures accordingly.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document