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This chapter addresses commentary about constitutional law and politics in this current era of a conservative domination of the judiciary.¹ Its primary concern is the different ways in which a working majority on the Court and its judiciary of appointees by Presidents Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush might be conservative,² and the different ways in which domination might take place.³ The frame for the chapter is what I call an “indifference thesis” for analyzing constitutional law and politics. Stated boldly, the thesis is that there should be a commentary distinguished by an interpretive attitude that distrusts, and intentionally resists, analysis based on preconceived notions about the strengths and weaknesses of any constitutional law and politics, be it conservative or left-liberal.⁴ Perhaps, to many readers, an indifference thesis for commentary appears methodologically odd, if not politically perverse. Therefore, the first order of business is to try to make the thesis less odd and perverse by explaining its provenance and attributes.⁵

Young consumers represent a significant purchasing group, but little is known about how they make money management decisions. This study aims to identify and classify different approaches to money management that may impact purchasing behaviour.

Data from focus groups with 40 respondents between 18 and 24 years were recruited via campus notices across three campuses in a university in Melbourne, Australia.

Based on how respondents accommodated economic, social and psychological influences in their money management approach, the authors identified three distinct approaches to money management: conservative money managers, creative money managers and entrepreneurial money managers.

The study is based on a small sample consisting of 40 individuals in Australia.

Young consumers share common traits as a group but have diverse attitudes and approaches to money management. The authors identify three distinct approaches to money management based on respondents’ management of factors affecting their money management. Companies must consider these differences to effectively approach millennial consumers.

The indebtedness of young consumers is a common concern in society. Analysis of their approaches to money management offers an opportunity for organisations to support responsible individual money usage amongst young consumers.

While exploratory, the current study is the first to consider how differences in money management behaviour in young generations may impact consumer decision-making.

The purpose of this paper is to find out if there is any convergence between the Third Way in Europe and the Conservative Democracy in Turkey in their politico‐economic strategies for dealing with the social question with the thought that both the political identities have come into existence as a consequence of a similar initiative to reformulate their egalitarian cores according to the realpolitik of contemporary capitalism, and uncover the consequences of the so‐called strategies specifically in the realm of welfare and labour policies.

This inquiry has been contextualised into the evolutionary cycles of the socialism → social democracy → the Third Way in Europe and the Just Order → Conservative Democracy in the Ottoman‐Turkish territory. Initially focusing on the first cycle, the paper then turns to examine the second cycle in a comparative and synchorised perspective with the first.

It is concluded that the Conservative Democracy and the Third way have an unmistakable convergence in terms not only of their evolution but also of their strategic policy options to deal with the social question. Their convergence originates in the initiative to find a middle ground between the contemporary capitalism and their egalitarian cores. Such a reconciliative attempt by the both models ends up in a stalemate that triggers recurring conciliative initiatives rather than yield to stable and sustainable policy options which enable their practitioners to deal with the social question in an efficient way.

The paper touches on the general points of convergence between the Conservative Democracy and the Third Way in the political economy of social question. The next step should, hence, be to further this argument by means of specifically dealing with the welfare and labour policies in separate in‐depth research.

This paper is the first in its inquiry as stated above in the purpose and its comparative methodology to deal with this inquiry.

This study investigates the mediating role of working capital management (WCM) efficiency between board diversity (based on gender and financial knowledge) and firm performance. The study further examines which WCM approach (conservative, moderate, and aggressive) they employ to increase (decrease) firm performance.

The study employs listed energy firms of Pakistan over the period 2010 to 2019. The system generalized method of moments estimator and logit model are utilized to estimate the underlying relationships.

The results show that WCM efficiency partially mediates the relationship between board financial expertise (BFE) and firm performance. Nonetheless, the presence of female directors is merely symbolic until they reach a certain level as only the quadratic term of board gender diversity (BGD) has a significant effect on firm performance. Female directors do not influence WCM efficiency. The results also demonstrate that BGD encourages a conservative WCM approach, while BFE encourages a moderate WCM approach. Furthermore, both conservative and moderate WCM approaches are significantly associated with firm performance.

The findings hold implications for increasing the representation of women and financial experts on board to improve the capital structure decisions of the energy firms in Pakistan.

This study is the first attempt to explore the mediating role of WCM efficiency between board diversity and firm performance. To the best of the authors' knowledge, no previous study has investigated the effect of BGD and BFE on different WCM approaches distinctly.

The purpose of this paper is to examine considerations employed in decision-making processes by Israeli high school leaders, when implementing the “Courage to Change” reform. The reform gave schools large supplementary resources in the form of “weekly instruction time” and they decided how to exploit these additional hours.

Qualitative analysis focused on data from interviews with staff from 19 high schools.

The research identified three types of consideration adopted by managerial staffs: “Hasty,” “Conservative” and “Path-breaking.” Findings contribute to theory concerning incremental decisions in schools concerning the allocation of resources, in line with the institutional approach, and also inform other schools coping with similar tasks.

The research is original both in its topic and context. Further conclusions and implications are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to map and discuss the overall characteristics of international research on school-based sexuality education, published in academic journals, with a particular focus on the framing of non-conservative approaches including sexuality education research targeting young pupils 6-12 years of age.

The paper draws upon the methodology of systematic research mapping and presents a broad overview of research on sexuality education in a school setting for pupils aged 6-16. The authors searched the leading bibliographic databases in the field, i.e., ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, Australian Education Index, British Education Index and Education Research Complete, using the search terms “sexuality education” and “school” and “children” or “adolescents.” The mapping focused on articles published in peer-reviewed journals in English, German, Danish, Swedish or Norwegian, in the period 2000-2016.

Out of 3,769 papers identified in the search process, a total of 576 papers were found to meet the inclusion criteria of the mapping. The mapping portrays a research landscape that is diverse and nuanced in terms of contextual, theoretical and methodological approaches, but also characterized by limitations. The findings point to the clear dominance of research on schools in English-speaking countries, conceptual research is scarce, and school-based sexuality education aimed at the youngest children seems to be neglected. The mapping identifies gaps in the literature that justify a call for more research from diverse sociocultural, political and geographical contexts, more conceptual research using social theory, and more research focusing on the potentials and challenges linked to sexuality education for younger pupils.

This paper offers a rare, if not the first, comprehensive overview of research on school-based sexuality education including a focus on younger school children 6-12 years of age.

Purpose – Partial least squares (PLS) path modeling has become a pivotal empirical research method in international marketing. Owing to group comparisons' important role in research on international marketing, we provide researchers with recommendations on how to conduct multigroup analyses in PLS path modeling.

Methodology/approach – We review available multigroup analysis methods in PLS path modeling and introduce a novel confidence set approach. A characterization of each method's strengths and limitations and a comparison of their outcomes by means of an empirical example extend the existing knowledge of multigroup analysis methods. Moreover, we provide an omnibus test of group differences (OTG), which allows testing the differences across more than two groups.

Findings – The empirical comparison results suggest that Keil et al.'s (2000) parametric approach can generally be considered more liberal in terms of rendering a certain difference significant. Conversely, the novel confidence set approach and Henseler's (2007) approach are more conservative.

Originality/value of paper – This study is the first to deliver an in-depth analysis and a comparison of the available procedures with which to statistically assess differences between group-specific parameters in PLS path modeling. Moreover, we offer two important methodological extensions of existing research (i.e., the confidence set approach and OTG). This contribution is particularly valuable for international marketing researchers, as it offers recommendations regarding empirical applications and paves the way for future research studies aimed at comparing the approaches' properties on the basis of simulated data.

This research investigates (1) the impacts of working capital investment policy and working capital financing policy on firms’ performances (profitability and market value) and (2) the impact of profitability on market value. Data are gathered from 68 companies listed in the Stock Exchange of Thailand covering production sector. Data collected from 2012 to 2016 are analyzed using path analysis to measure the impacts of working capital policy on performances and examine the consistency of the model and the empirical data.

The model is found to be consistent with the empirical data; the probability level is 0.085, χ ²/df is 2.96, CFI is 0.951, GFI is 0.979, IFI is 0.957, and RMR is 0.004. The result reveals a statistically significant positive relationship between working capital investment policy and profitability. In addition, working capital investment policy affects market value through profitability as a mediator variable. However, there are significant negative impacts of working capital financing policy on profitability and market value. Overall, it can be implied that companies which adopt conservative working capital investment policy and conservative working capital financing policy can increase their profitability and market value.

To analyze the different approaches used to estimate the cost of corrosion and understand the limitations so as to have proper appropriation in future appraisals.

Four well‐known approaches to analysis of cost of corrosion viz., the Uhlig method, the Hoar method, NBS‐BCL input/output method and net present value method have been considered in great detail and the impact of these approaches on corrosion economy in different countries has been highlighted.

Uhlig method of estimating corrosion cost always gives a conservative estimate of the direct cost of corrosion. The direct cost of corrosion, as estimated by the Hoar method, is found to be somewhat higher than is the estimate made using the Uhlig method, as shown by Shibata of Japan. The NBS‐BCL method of input/output analysis, though apparently more scientific, is subject ultimately to uncertainties in quantifying the capital cost and intermediate output. The net present value method appears to be more realistic than do other approaches as it enables a life cycle costing of each structure/facility to be made and arrives at the most cost‐effective corrosion control method. Even though all the above four approaches enable an estimation of direct cost of corrosion, there is no standard approach to assess the indirect cost of corrosion.

In a developing economy, each and every industry has to go for systematic corrosion auditing in order to identify and adopt the most appropriate corrosion control measures and effect considerable savings. This paper would be of immense use in that regard.

This paper aims to distil the management challenge pertaining to B2B SME branding strategy, communication and constraint in the emerging market context of Chinese manufacturing.

Complemented by 19 interviews, this paper adopted a novel methodological approach – netnographic analysis – to investigate a selection of Chinese manufacturing SMEs.

Findings revealed three managerial approaches to B2B brand management: conservative, flexible and integrated-exploratory.

Understanding the three approaches offers managerial implications for Chinese manufacturer SMEs to redesign their branding practice. Informed with a better understanding of the available option, they will be able to achieve high value-added production through branding to gain competitiveness. This study sheds light on B2B SME branding from an emerging market perspective, an area that has been largely neglected in the existing literature.

Findings make a novel contribution to B2B SME brand management literature by clarifying practical management issues pertinent to Chinese emerging market manufacturers in particular, and offering widely generalizable lessons for B2B brand management research.