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This conversation presents the reflections from five prominent disaster scholars and practitioners on the purpose of Radix – the Radical Disaster Interpretations network – as the authors celebrate its 20th anniversary.

This paper is based on the conversations that took place on Disasters: Deconstructed Podcast livestream on the 13th October 2021.

The conversation reflects on personal and professional journeys in disaster studies over the past 20 years and on what needs changing in order to make disaster interpretations more radical.

The conversation contributes to the ongoing discussions around explorations of radical pathways for understanding and preventing disasters.

This study proposes a novel method utilising a speech-word pair bipartite network to examine the correlation structure between members of parliament (MPs) in the context of the UK- China relationship.

We construct MP-word pair bipartite networks based on the co-occurrence relationship between MPs and words in their speech content. These networks are then mapped into monopartite MPs correlation networks. Additionally, the study calculates correlation network indicators and identifies MP communities and factions to determine the characteristics of MPs and their interrelation in the UK-China relationship. This includes insights into the distribution of key MPs, their correlation structure and the evolution and development trends of MP factions.

Analysis of the parliamentary speeches on China-related affairs in the British Parliament from 2011 to 2020 reveals that the distribution and interrelationship of MPs engaged in UK-China affairs are centralised and discrete, with a few core MPs playing an integral role in the UK-China relationship. Among them, MPs such as Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, David Cameron, Lord Hunt of Chesterton and Lord Howell of Guildford formed factions with significant differences; however, the continuity of their evolution exhibits unstableness. The core MP factions, such as those led by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and David Cameron, have achieved a level of maturity and exert significant influence.

The research has several limitations that warrant acknowledgement. First, we mapped the MP-word pair bipartite network into the MP correlation network for analysis without directly analysing the structure of MPs based on the bipartite network. In future studies, we aim to explore various types of analysis based on the proposed bipartite networks to provide more comprehensive and accurate references for studying UK-China relations. In addition, we seek to incorporate semantic-level analyses, such as sentiment analysis of MPs, into the MP-word -pair bipartite networks for in-depth analysis. Second, the interpretations of MP structures in the UK-China relationship in this study are limited. Consequently, expertise in UK-China relations should be incorporated to enhance the study and provide more practical recommendations.

Firstly, the findings can contribute to an objective understanding of the characteristics and connotations of UK-China relations, thereby informing adjustments of focus accordingly. The identification of the main factions in the UK-China relationship emphasises the imperative for governments to pay greater attention to these MPs’ speeches and social relationships. Secondly, examining the evolution and development of MP factions aids in identifying a country’s diplomatic focus during different periods. This can assist governments in responding promptly to relevant issues and contribute to the formulation of effective foreign policies.

First, this study expands the research methodology of parliamentary debates analysis in previous studies. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to study the UK-China relationship through the MP-word-pair bipartite network. This outcome inspires future researchers to apply various knowledge networks in the LIS field to elucidate deeper characteristics and connotations of UK-China relations. Second, this study provides a novel perspective for UK-China relationship analysis, which deepens the research object from keywords to MPs. This finding may offer important implications for researchers to further study the role of MPs in the UK-China relationship.

This study proposes a novel scheme for analysing the correlation structure between MPs based on bipartite networks. This approach offers insights into the development and evolving dynamics of MPs.

The struggle for racial justice has always faced significant challenges and controversies across interpersonal, intergroup and structural levels. As racism continues to evolve and adapt to new social, political and technological developments, researchers, activists and practitioners grapple with complex and intersecting issues. This chapter discusses some of the ongoing challenges anti-racist endeavours face today. It engages with contemporary global issues, such as international migration, globalisation and the digital revolution that have implications on the fight against racism. The chapter covers topics such as the recent backlashes against anti-racism, the emergence of the ‘colour-blind’ ideology and the challenges anti-racism faces in the realm of technological advance and digital spaces. Additionally, this chapter explores the discourse of decolonisation as a radical approach to anti-racism. It concludes with a critical discussion of the idea that mainstreaming and expanding anti-racism to include racial majorities may enhance its effectiveness.

The purpose of this paper is to make a contribution to understanding the influence of factors such as the water/cement (W/C) ratio and the granular class on the mechanical and physical properties of high-strength concretes (HSCs). In the formulations of HSC, aggregates by their high mass and volume proportion play an important role. When selecting aggregates, it is necessary to know their intrinsic properties. These properties influence the performance of concrete, in particular the quality of the granulate cimentary adhesion.

This experimental study focused on the effect of W/C ratio (0.25, 0.30, 0.35), the effect of replacing a part of cement by silica fume (SF) (8%), the effect of fraction of aggregate on properties of fresh and hardened concrete, the effect of different environment conversation like drinking water and sea water on compressive strength and the study of absorption of water and softening using the mix design method of the University of Sherbrooke combined with the Dreux-Gorisse method which gives good results.

At the end of our work, the examination of the results obtained made it possible to establish the correlations between the formulations studied and the physicomechanical characteristics of the concrete compositions (HSC25, HSC16, HSC8). The results of this study show that the use of three granular classifications (DMAX8, DMAX16 and DMAX25) and three report W/C (0.25, 0.30 and 0.35) in two different conservation environment (drinking water and sea water) give HSCs, HSC25 with an W/C = 0.25 ratio has reached the largest mechanical strength of 90 MPa for different environments of conservation. For selecting aggregates, it is necessary to know their intrinsic properties, these properties influence the strength of concrete. In general, there is a slight decrease in the compressive resistance of the specimens stored in seawater, it can be said that the conservation life has not had effect on the resistance (28 days). The effect of aggressive environment can appear in the long term.

Mixed design and concrete fabrication with a 28-day compressive strength of up to 68 MPa or more of 90 MPa can now be possible used in Jiel (Algeria), and it should no longer be considered to be used only in an experimental domain. Addition of SF in concrete showed good development of strength between 7 and 28 days, depending on the design of the mix.

Concrete containing 8% SF with W/B of 0.25 has higher compressive strength than the other concretes, and concretes with SF are more resistant than concretes without SF, so it is possible to have concrete with a compressive strength of 82 MPa for W/C 0.25 without SF. Like as a result, we can avoid the use of SF to affect the strength of concrete at compressive strength of 68 MPa, and a slump of 21 cm, because the SF is the most expensive ingredient used in the composition of concrete and is therefore very important economically. One of the main factors of production of HSC above 90 MPa is use of aggregate DMAX25, which is stronger with W/B of 0.25 and 0.30.

This mixtures leads to a very dense microstructure and low porosity and produces increased permeability of HSC and is able to resist the penetration of aggressive agents. This combination has a positive effect on the economy of concrete.

The combination of the Dreux-Gorisse method with the Sherbrook method is very beneficial for determining the percentage of aggregates used, and the use of coarse aggregates of Jijel to obtain HSC with 90 MPa and 16 cm of workability.

This study attempts to explain the impact of Fintech on the Asian economies through two main indicators, inflation and unemployment over the period 2011-2014-2017.

This study uses panel data regression models to explain the relationship between Fintech, inflation as an indicator of currency circulation and unemployment since Fintech has disrupted the labor market.

Empirical results show a consistently strong and positive relationship between the development of financial technologies and the reduction of inflation and unemployment unless these technologies are actively used. Digital finance has become a new driver of economic development. Therefore, governors should not only improve their economies but also expand their information and communication technologies to develop their digital infrastructure, especially for businesses.

The present study contributes to the existing literature on the impact of disruptive digital innovation on the socioeconomic development of emerging countries. The empirical evidence highlights the importance of distinguishing between active and passive uses of Fintech in order to anticipate its economic impact.

Scandals regularly sweep through organizational fields: they wreak havoc in markets, vaporize billions of dollars in firm value, bring down giant corporations, get CEOs fired, alter the evolution of technologies, and trigger major changes in society. In spite of their significance for organizational life, scandals have received remarkably limited attention in management research. I build on the social sciences’ sparse but growing stream of research on scandals to explore the concept beyond its usual representation as a discrete event. I propose that an organizational scandal may be understood as an interactional process associated with the disclosure of alleged organizational misconduct that involves: a public struggle between alleged perpetrators and social control agents over the framing of organizational misconduct; moralizing by audience members; collective effervescence at the societal level; and the potential rewriting of the moral rules applicable to organizations and their members.

Entrepreneurial ventures aspiring to disrupt existing market incumbents often use business-model innovation to increase the attractiveness of their offerings. A value proposition is the central element of a business model, and is critical for this purpose. However, how entrepreneurial ventures modify their value propositions to increase the attractiveness of their comparatively inferior offerings is not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the value proposition innovation (VPI) of aspiring disruptors.

The authors used a flexible pattern matching approach to ground the inductive findings in extant theory. The authors conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with managers from startups in the global electric vehicle industry.

The authors developed a framework, showing two factors, determinants and tactics, that play a key role in VPI connected by a continuous feedback loop. Directed by the determinants of cognitive antecedents, development drivers and realization capabilities, aspiring disruptors determine the scope, focus and priorities of various configuration and support tactics to enable and secure the success of their value proposition.

The authors contribute to theory by showing how cognitive antecedents, development drivers and capabilities determine VPI tactics to disrupt existing market incumbents, furthering the understanding of configuration tactics. The results have important implications for disruptive innovation theory, and entrepreneurship research and practice, as they offer an explanatory framework to analyze strategies of aspiring disruptors who increase the attractiveness of sustainable technologies, thereby accelerating their diffusion.