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Child criminal exploitation (CCE) emerges from the complex interplay between potential targets, motivated perpetrators and conducive environments. Drawing on contextual safeguarding and rational choice theory. The purpose of this paper is to explain the relational dynamics that lead to CCE in terms of complex systems.

This paper reviews the existing criminological and public health perspectives on CCE and compare against current assessment protocols used to identify child victims of exploitation.

Findings demonstrate a conceptual and empirical flaw in existing practice. This flaw can be understood in terms of a failure to include both environmental conditions and the perpetrator’s motivation when trying to prevent CCE.

To correct this, this paper develops an original systemic model called circles of analysis. This model builds on contextual safeguarding to overcome this identified flaw by also including perpetrator motivation to develop a Systemic Investigation, Protection and Prosecution Strategy.

It is worth considering as to whether our model can be scaled up to look at trafficking of children and adults for modern slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour in different contexts and jurisdictions. Alongside this, is there capacity to build perpetrator behaviours into the contextual safeguarding model?

The potential for further development and alignment with the principles of contextual safeguarding is tantalising, and it is hoped that the contribution to this important special edition will open up new avenues for collaboration with both academics and practitioners who are concerned with protecting children and combatting CCE.

This strategy is uniquely designed to improve how police and social workers identify and investigate CCE and safeguard potential victims and survivors.

The paper argues that some conventional tools guiding innovation processes inadequately analyse problems arising from blending telematics with public service integration in areas of complex service provision. Also uses Molina’s diamond of alignment, and Nicoll’s contextual usability conceptual approaches to analyse a case study on the introduction of smart housing in West Lothian, Scotland.

While previous operations management literature acknowledges the positive influence of Lean and Industry (I4.0) on performance, recent studies examining the synergy between these two factors have produced inconsistent and contradictory results. Therefore, this study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the effect of Lean and I4.0 synergy on firm performance.

This study utilised a meta-analysis approach, examining 23 empirical studies exploring multiple effects of the Lean and I4.0 synergy on firm performance. Multiple subgroup analyses were conducted to assess the contradictory outcomes and identify in what conditions such synergy may achieve performance.

The results affirm the prevailing positivist perspective among most scholars regarding the positive influence of the Lean and I4.0 synergy on firm performance. However, the overall effect size derived from the studies indicates a weak relationship, suggesting that this synergy alone is not the sole determinant factor of firm performance. In addition, the subgroup analyses reveal the presence of contingent conditions that may affect the performance outcomes when integrating Lean and I4.0, as most effects exhibit a weak relationship.

This study represents the first meta-analysis investigating the relationship between the Lean and I4.0 synergy on firm performance. By shedding light on the contradictory effects often depicted in the operations management literature, this study provides a critical reflection for researchers who tend to adopt an overly optimistic view of such synergy.

While Digitalisation is gaining momentum among practitioners and the scientific world, there is still a struggle to embark on the digitalisation journey successfully. The struggles are more significant for SMEs compared to large companies. Such transformation could face internal resistance, which evokes the need to put it into a socio-technical perspective such as lean. This paper investigates how SMEs could implement digital tools and technologies in their operations.

We relied on a multiple case study design in three SME manufacturing companies in Italy. Based on the experience of those companies, the struggles in the implementation and the lessons learned, we formulate an implementation model of digital tools driven by lean thinking.

Companies tend to implement first digital tools that help with real-time data collection and stress that introducing digital tools becomes challenging without reducing waste in production. The model stresses top management commitment, middle-line involvement and operator training to resist change. All these factors coincide with socio-technical lean bundles developed by seminal works. In addition, the study highlights that financial incentives are not necessarily the common barrier to digital tools implementation in SMEs but rather the cultural aspect.

Our paper enriches the extant body of knowledge by deriving knowledge around digitalisation implementation through lessons learned and corrective actions. It allows managers to benchmark and compare the current state of the implementation process with that of other companies and the one proposed to make corrective actions when necessary.

The purpose of this paper is to present an ontology‐based approach of context‐sensitive computing for the optimization of flexible manufacturing systems (FMS).

A context‐sensitive computing approach is presented, integrated on top of FMS control platform. The approach addresses how to extract manufacturing contexts at source, how to process contextual entities by developing an ontology‐based context model and how to utilize this approach for real time decision making to optimize the key performance indicators (KPIs). A framework for such an optimization support system is proposed. A practical FMS use case within SOA‐based control architecture is considered as an illustrative example and the implementation of the core functionalities to the use case is reported.

Continuous improvement of the factory can be enhanced utilizing context‐sensitive support applications, which provides an intelligent interface for knowledge acquisition and elicitation. This can be used for improved data analysis and diagnostics, real time feedback control and support for optimization.

The performance of context‐sensitive computing increases with the extraction, modeling and reasoning of as much contexts as possible. However, more computational resources and processing times are associated to this. Hence, the trade‐off should be in between the extent of context processing and the required outcome of the support applications.

This paper includes the practical implications of context‐sensitive applications development in manufacturing, especially in the dynamic operating environment of FMS.

Reported results provide a modular approach of context‐sensitive computing and a practical use case implementation to achieve context awareness in FMS. The results are seen extendable to other manufacturing domains.

Carbon management accounting (CMA) is one part of sustainability accounting designed to provide information for the management of carbon dioxide (CO₂) releases. Adopting the contingency framework, this paper aims to examine the contextual antecedents that influence CMA adoption in Ghanaian firms.

The paper tests seven contextual dimensions, namely, strategy, structure, size, environmental management system (EMS), decentralization, technology and perceived environmental uncertainty, on CMA adoption from a survey of 125 accountants.

Consistent with prior literature, organizational strategy, structure, environmental management accounting (EMA), firm size, technology and perceived environmental uncertainty were found to be positively associated with CMA adoption and hence support contingency theory. However, a relationship between decentralization and EMA adoption was not supported by the sample data. Also, the existence of CMA systems was found to be low in the sample firms, although more than half of the respondents have EMS.

The study is limited to Ghana hence possible generalization of the results is limited. Further exploration of contingency-based research in other emerging economies would provide valuable insights on CMA adoption and practices to contribute to the CMA literature.

The findings suggest that although CMA adoption and practices is low in the sampled firms, both contextual and environmental factors play a vital role in the adoption of CMA in developing economies, as it pertains to the generic management accounting systems. Policies governing CMA practice should incorporate organizational contextual factors.

The paper presents preliminary empirical evidence on the state of adoption and practice of CMA from an emerging economy perspective, an area which lacks empirical investigation both in the EMA and the carbon accounting domain. It draws considerable novelty on the basis that despite the growing interest in climate change-based research empirical works on CO₂ emissions conducted exclusively from management accounting perspective, and in developing economies in particular, have been scant. The paper extends the contingency theory framework from conventional practices to the EMA field.

Identifying students for intensive intervention (also referred to as Tier 3 supports) is most effective when implemented within a tiered system of support. Effective tiered systems include both academic and behavioral supports for identifying and serving students with varied needs. In this chapter, we review existing research, discuss current practice, and offer guidance for identifying students with intensive academic and/or behavioral needs.

From diverse users' points of view, contextual frameworks are elaborated for the nature of the information technology, the information universe, and the information search. Within these conceptual parameters, established theories on search strategy are reviewed and cognitive models of information‐seeking are highlighted. Future directions for research on users' search processes are discussed in terms of the role for online retrieval in the future information environment.

The three preceding articles describe the complexity associated with researching part-time work arrangements. Taken together, they highlight the various constructs that must be considered and the complicated relationships among them. Building on Gallagher’s roadmap metaphor, we shift our focus in this article from the content of the roadmap to its use in guiding our future research. We highlight the decisions that must be made and the issues that must be considered while making these decisions.

This paper aims to introduce the Empatia video reflection method, designed to enhance care workers’ awareness of empathic care. The method makes the quality of care visible, which is needed when digitalization efforts in elder care focus on the efficiency and adequacy of care work.

The Empatia method leans on previous studies of the interaction between care professionals and clients and elaborates further previous video reflection methods. In empathic care work, the care worker sees the client on their life continuum, rather than focusing on only medical treatments.

The empirical example demonstrates how a care worker gained awareness of their empathic interaction habits. Within the work community, the reflection process sparked discussions on values: the purpose of care work and how to conduct empathic care. Focusing on empathic relationships in care fosters both the client’s and the care worker’s well-being.

The strength of the Empatia method is that it makes empathy visible in interaction and something that is individually and collectively learnable. The Empatia includes an analytical tool for researchers to reveal empathy in client interaction. It can be developed further into a reflection tool for service work to learn how to be empathic in service encounters.

Compared to other video-stimulated recall methods, the Empatia involves contextual understanding of care work. Empowering positive interactions instead of detecting errors and solving problems is a novel concept and is scantily used in studies of organizational learning. The Empatia provides a detailed method description that allows for the replication of the method by anyone.