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This essay examines the issues that the ongoing revolution in biosciences and biotechnology pose to social science. A convenient frame for examining these issues is the framework of “thematic priorities” established by the British funding agency for social science, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). These “thematic priorities” are used to identify major challenges and opportunities that currently confront social research. Though not constructed as part of a futures exercise, this framework proved useful for organising the issues that were generated from literature review and brainstorming, provided a stimulus to identify new issues, and was a useful filter for presenting results to the ESRC, which sponsored the study. This range of issues does not just call for interaction between natural and social scientists: there is also need for the sharing of knowledge and perspectives across diverse fields of social science. In order to help inform future research priorities, we need to move beyond the perspectives of single disciplines, and make sure that we do not simply emphasise those areas where social scientists have already been actively engaged. The study concludes clearly that there is a huge range of vital questions that social science needs to address if we are to understand, let alone bring more social intelligence to bear on shaping, the scientific and technological revolutions that are under way, and their broader social implications.

Electronic ink and reusable electronic paper technology are painting their way out of R&D labs and into the world of signage, e‐books, and other hand‐held devices. This paper examines the evolving technology, the companies leading the efforts, and the possible applications and implications for publishing and academia. It offers some insights on market speculation from members of the professional and academic publishing community, industry analysts and venture capitalists. The paper concludes by making a few observations on current and future technological trends and their impact on the higher education market and society.

The purpose of this paper is to outline what is known about the prevalence, causes and treatment of depression for people with learning disabilities, with a focus on psychosocial interventions.

This is a narrative review, and will provide evidence-based guidance for practitioners and those managing service delivery.

Depression is just as prevalent among people with learning disabilities as it is in the wider population and they are frequently exposed to known vulnerability factors for low mood such as lack of social support and purposeful activity. Yet there remains a paucity of evidence about effective interventions for depression.

Growing evidence about the effectiveness of psychological interventions for people with learning disabilities and depression is promising but insufficient. To make meaningful change, there also needs to be an implementation strategy that encompasses the broader context of people’s lives, including family, care and work settings.

This paper aims to develop a deeper understanding of what (un)sustainable food behaviours and values are transmitted across generations, to what extent this transference happens and the sustainability challenges resulting from this for individuals and households.

A total of 25 semi-structured in-depth interviews are analysed regarding the value of inherited food, family food rituals, habits and traditions, aspects of food production and understanding of sustainability.

Intergenerational transferences are significant in shaping (un)sustainable consumption throughout life, and those passed-on behaviours and values offer opportunities for lifelong sustainable change and food consumption reappraisal in daily life, beyond early years parenting and across diverse households.

Participants were limited to British families, although the sample drew on multiple ethnic heritages. Future research could study collectivist versus more individualistic cultural influence; explore intergenerational transference of other diverse households, such as multigeneration or in rural and urban locations, or whether sustainable crossover derived from familial socialisation continues into behaviours and values beyond food.

The findings show the importance of families and intergenerational transference to the embedding of sustainable consumption behaviours. Mundane family life is a critical source of sustainable learning, and marketers should prioritise understanding of the context and relationships that drive sustainable consumer choices. Opportunities for intentional and unintentional sustainable learning exist throughout life, and marketers and policymakers can both disrupt unsustainable and encourage sustainable behaviours with appropriate interventions, such as nostalgic or well-being communications. The paper sheds light on flexible sustainable identities and how ambivalence or accelerated lives can deflect how policy messages are received, preventing sustainable choices.

The findings provide greater understanding about the mechanisms responsible for the sustainable transformation of consumption habits, suggesting intergenerational transferences are significant in shaping (un)sustainable food consumption throughout life. The study shows secondary socialisation can play a critical role in the modification of early behaviour patterns of food socialisation. The authors found individuals replicate food behaviours and values from childhood, but through a process of lifelong learning, can break formative habits, particularly with reverse socialisation influences that prioritise sustainable behaviours.

This study aims to examine the impact of stakeholder engagement on accountability, within nonprofit organizations (NPOs). Given the pivotal role NPOs play in disaster management and community welfare, it is crucial to gain an understanding of the obligations of NPOs, in terms of their disaster responses and accountability.

Using a case-study approach, the investigation features a content analysis of social media comments regarding the Australian Red Cross’ (ARC) funds’ allocation during the 2019/2020 bushfires, followed by a similar analysis of ARC's reports. Inspired by Carnegie et al.'s (2021) definition of accounting as a social science, this study uses dialogic theory and a transformative participatory framework, to evaluate how interactive stakeholder engagement influenced accountability strategies used by the NPO, to ensure its sustainable development.

The findings reveal that there was a significant increase in stakeholder engagement on social media, following negative media coverage, with participants voicing concerns over ARC’s method of funds’ allocation, delays in funds distribution and seemingly excessive administrative costs. ARC addressed these concerns by issuing Bushfire Reports, and conducting online Q&A sessions, in a bid to establish transparency. This study emphasizes how dialogic accounting can challenge accounting's limited scope – one that often overlooks ecological concerns and social justice.

This study uses the perspective of dialogic accounting theory to explore the relationship between stakeholder engagement on social media, and NPO accountability. It demonstrates how robust stakeholder engagement can challenge NPOs to establish accountability, thereby bridging the information gap between themselves and the public. The use of dialogic accounting theory allows the study to shift from the traditional focus of accounting research, which is the financial objectives of powerful entities, to the voices of the marginalized, the stakeholders, who are impacted by NPO decisions, and, in doing so, it highlights the potential for NPOs to foster accountability, and so advance sustainable development initiatives.

The increased use of mental health interventions employing cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) over the last decade raises the significant theme of the efficacy of such treatments for people with disabilities. Recent evidence‐based studies regarding the application of cognitive behavioural interventions for people with disabilities have highlighted issues concerning access to services, questions of engagement and efficacy of the cognitive aspects of CBT practice and service models and forms of delivery. The purpose of this paper is to explore these themes with particular emphasis on barriers to accessibility for this population and provide consideration of ethical and effective practice aspects of psychological interventions in response to the recent World Health Organisation recommendations on disability provision.

The paper considers the development of the “enabling environments” theme for people with disabilities within a mental health context within Europe, with a view to exploring barriers to social inclusion and service user autonomy. The paper is designed to review and enhance existing literature in the field and to question the philosophical position of cognitive‐behavioural approaches to mental health provision in a European context.

Consideration is given to the use and application of CBT and evidence‐based practice (EBP) and considers efficacy in mental health provision for this population. Consideration is also given to the efficacy and appropriateness of short‐term interventions for this population.

As a conceptual paper, the limitations of the discussion are that the views expressed are solely those of the authors but the paper usefully develops consideration of the existing literature in the field and discusses the implications of developing inclusive practice in mental health provision for this population.

The issues discussed in the paper offer significant questions relevant to the delivery of mental health provision for people with disabilities from a European perspective. Practical implications relate to the development of inclusive practice for practitioners in the delivery of these services.

The social implications of the paper are significant, as the issues discussed raise questions about how mental health services approach their provision for people with disabilities. From a social context, the conceptual discussion offers insights useful to develop effective mental health provision and promote service user responsibility and autonomy.

As a conceptual paper, the originality of the submission relates to questioning the efficacy of more recent developments in the mental health field re: philosophy of approach and method and recommendations are offered by the authors which may impact service delivery, the focus of relevant evidence‐based practice and service user autonomy.

The purpose of this paper is to identify sustainability learnings from origins of epidemics such as COVID-19 and deduct conclusions for businesses to create sustainable futures in three industries, which are strongly affected by Covid-19. Two main questions guide the discussion: How can we break the paths of viral epidemics through accounting for sustainability issues in the supply chain? How can we learn from sustainable supply chain failures to transform industries for sustainable futures?

This viewpoint provides a conceptual discussion of opportunities and the necessity to develop resilient businesses for three indsutries, which have been particularly affected by the Covid-19 crises.

To defeat future pandemics, three paths how epidemics develop need to be broken in order to create sustainable development structural transitions beyond degrowth are needed.

The practical implications for this paper are the learnings for management to develop more resilient businesses.

By breaking the three paths of pandemic development and by contributing to sustainable futures of sectors, the likelihood of future pandemics can be reduced.

By considering origins and the past of pandemics and with sustainability transformations of businesses, contributions can be made for more sustainable futures of industries.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that determine the long-term readiness of UAE-listed companies to handle environmental, social and governance (ESG) related opportunities and disruptions.

In this paper, we use S&P Global Ratings' ESG evaluation to assess the long-term preparedness of UAE-listed companies in addressing ESG risks and opportunities. The score for long-term preparedness provides a forward-looking, cross-sector analysis of a company’s capacity to operate successfully in the future, based on how ESG factors may affect stakeholders and lead to material direct or indirect financial impacts. Specifically, the paper investigates the corporate governance and ownership structure factors that significantly impact the ability of UAE-listed companies to effectively prepare for and respond to long-term ESG risks and opportunities. Our final sample consists of 48 listed companies observed over the period from 2019 to 2021. We employ an ordered logit model for our estimations.

Our paper findings provide evidence that (1) firm size has a positive significant effect on ESG rating and governance rating implying that larger firms have a robust governance system and strong ability to implement ESG strategies within the organization. (2) Firm performance measured by ROE looks to be an important determinant of ESG rating, environmental rating and social rating. (3) Firm leverage has a positive and significant effect on ESG rating and environmental rating. (4) Board size has a positive effect on social rating and governance rating. (5) Government ownership has a positive and significant effect on ESG rating, environmental rating and governance rating. (6) Institutional ownership has a positive and significant effect on governance rating.

This paper has several practical implications. First, by adopting a forward-looking upstream approach that identifies the determinants of long-term ESG preparedness, it supports the efforts of UAE regulators to enforce ESG strategies among listed firms. Second, the paper provides an overview of the long-term preparedness for ESG risks and opportunities for firms listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM), which can aid various stakeholders in making informed decisions. Third, the findings underscore the need to strengthen corporate governance mechanisms to promote sustainable development.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first to explore the determinants of long-term preparedness for ESG risks and opportunities among UAE-listed companies, utilizing a unique dataset to assess ESG performance. The research contributes to understanding the factors influencing firms' long-term readiness to handle ESG challenges and supports regulators' efforts to implement ESG strategies in the UAE market.