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As after the Second World War, the USA today plays a dominant role in the world following the end of the Cold War. Since 1989, and up to this day, two main theories of history's unfolding, the circular view and the linear view, clash as far as the future role and position of the USA is concerned. On the one hand, Paul Kennedy's The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers (1987) and advocates of the circular theory predict the decline of the USA, as history has shown that all empires that have risen have ultimately fallen. On the other hand, advocates of the linear theory, such as Nye and Fukuyama, postulate the continuation of USA leadership in the world and the inevitable spread of liberalism sooner or later. Both views, however, are mechanical and deterministic. The alternative is the realization that global challenges can only be met globally by global actors.

In tackling the on‐going topic of UN reform, one should be honest with the analysis of the problems at stake. It is necessary to first take into account the profound changes that have occurred since the end of the Cold War, as well as acknowledging the limits of an international organization and the shape of the UN system. It is only from that analysis that proposals can be made to rationalize and to make more efficient the functioning of the United Nations. What the organization needs is not only a rationalization, it primarily needs a vision that gives it purpose and meaning. This article proposes that its primary goals should be anticipation and prevention – it should be the advanced guard and the conscience of the world. In this context, the United Nations is an indispensable and priceless instrument in international relations.

Urban resilience is becoming increasingly important due to increasing degree of urbanization and a combination of several factors affecting urban vulnerability. Urban resilience is also understood as a capacity of a system to prepare, respond and recover from multi-hazard threats. The purpose of multi-risk approach (MRA) is to take into consideration interdependencies between multiple risks, which can trigger a chain of natural and manmade events with different spatial and temporal scales. The purpose of this study is to understand correlation between multi-risk approach and urban resilience.

To increase urban resilience, MRA should also include multi-risk governance, which is based on understanding how existing institutional and governance structures, individual judgments and communication of risk assessment results shape decision-making processes.

This paper is based on extensive fieldwork in the test studies of Naples, Italy and Guadeloupe, France, the historical case study analysis and the stakeholders’ interviews, workshops and focus groups discussions.

Multi-risk is a relatively new field in science, only partially developed in social and geosciences. The originality of this research is in establishment of a link between MRA, including both assessment and governance, and urban resilience. In this paper, the authors take a holistic and systemic look at the MRA, including all stages of knowledge generation and decision-making. Both, knowledge generation and decision-making are reinforced by behavioural biases, different perceptions and institutional factors. Further on, the authors develop recommendations on how an MRA can contribute to urban resilience.

In this chapter, the authors focus on a range of Australian news articles selected for their relevance to key themes in the area of child abuse and examine two high profile cases of child abuse deaths that were extensively reported on by the media and led to system reform. Challenges for media reporting on child abuse in Australia including a changing media landscape, lack of available child abuse data and lack of publicly available serious case reviews are discussed. The authors argue that there is a need for attention to be paid to children's resistance and agency in the context of violence and abuse to counter the objectification of children and uphold their rights. Following Finkelhor (2008), the authors argue that media reporting on child abuse in Australia reflects a general approach to child abuse that is fragmented, with different types of abuse viewed as separate from one another, and call for a more integrated understanding of child abuse. The authors highlight the complexity of media responses to child abuse in Australia, noting that while the social problem of child abuse can be misrepresented by the media, media reporting has also triggered significant systemic reform and advocated for children in cases where other systems failed them.

The monograph analyses (a) the potential impact of information technology (IT) on organisational issues that directly concern the personnel function; (b) the nature of personnel’s involvement in the decision making and activities surrounding the choice and implementation of advanced technologies, and (c) their own use of IT in developing and carrying out their own range of specialist activities. The monograph attempts to explain why personnel’s involvement is often late, peripheral and reactive. Finally, an analysis is made of whether personnel specialists – or the Human Resource Management function more generally – will play a more proactive role in relation to such technologies in the future.

The purpose of this paper is to identify sensing, seizing and reconfiguring routines of dynamic capabilities that enable digital transformation in firms.

A qualitative approach is used. Representatives from a firm going through digital transformations are interviewed, and focus groups have been carried out with a consultancy firm experienced in giving advice to firms going through digital transformation.

Six routines identified as relevant specifically for digital transformation are identified. These are cross-industrial digital sensing, inside-out digital infrastructure sensing, digital strategy development, determination of enterprise boundaries, decomposition of digital transformation into specified projects and creation of a unified digital infrastructure.

The authors provide direction for managers on how to approach digital transformation. In relation to previous research, the authors provide more specific guidance regarding how to reconfigure the organization in digital transformation.

The paper uses a novel context for digital transformation and complements the very few studies available using dynamic capabilities to understand digital transformation.

This paper seeks to provide a comprehensive review of the literature on the governance of international joint ventures (IJVs).

Through focusing on IJV boards and top teams, examination of the current debate regarding IJV directors' contribution to board performance and effectiveness is undertaken and, in so doing, directions for future research are identified.

The literature review reveals that little consideration has been given by researchers to the work of the IJV board and the role and contribution of IJV board directors to board effectiveness. Further, it is concluded that current understanding of IJV board functioning and the ways in which directors of IJV boards contribute to board effectiveness remains incomplete.

Apart from highlighting the need for further study into the role and contribution of IJV board directors to board effectiveness, the paper suggests ways in which IJV director contribution and performance could be explored further, and offers current practical implications.

In most portfolio performance studies, a reference portfolio is used to assess the performance of a portfolio manager. The choice of an appropriate reference portfolio is essential to yield a fair and unbiased evaluation of the manager. In the following analyses, category‐based benchmarks are assessed against established benchmarks to evaluate, which alternative accurately evaluates a portfolio manager's performance. The results indicate that the category‐based benchmarks are more appropriate comparison reference for evaluating the systematic risk of equity portfolios and equity security returns.

In 2015, Idris Elba declared ‘I’m probably the most famous Bond actor in the world … and I’ve not even played the role’. Speculation about Elba taking on the role of the world’s most famous spy has circulated for over a decade, fuelled by current Bond Daniel Craig’s assertion that the role has ruined his life. This chapter will examine the role of fans in driving hype about the future of Bond, focusing on the case study of alt-right outrage at the potential casting of Elba. The anti-Elba camp have framed their outrage as informed by authorial intent, and the desire to maintain canon, with claims that Ian Fleming’s Bond was, and should always be white and Scottish. Bond’s expansive narrative universe has remained constant since its inception, enabling fans of the series to form an emotional connection and sense of ownership over the text as a cohesive brand, a form of ‘affective economics’ (Hills, 2015; Jenkins, 2006a). By situating the debate over Elba’s suitability within the timeline of the Bond franchise, the author will posit that the rigid casting and structure of the film series to date enables feelings of fan ownership to flourish. Whilst the influence of vocal fan groups has altered the future direction of numerous popular texts, this chapter will suggest that the sameness of Bond-as-brand provides the justification for fan backlash towards potential change. In sum, this chapter will highlight the Elba-as-Bond rumours as a reflection of the contemporary political moment which seeks to flatten out difference under the auspice of protecting the canon and tradition of ‘brand Bond’.

The following article is a Q&A interview conducted by Joanne Pransky of Industrial Robot Journal as a method to impart the combined technological, business and personal experience of a prominent robotic industry engineer-turned successful innovator and leader regarding the challenges of bringing technological discoveries to fruition. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The interviewee is Daniel Theobald, Co-Founder of Vecna Robotics. Vecna Robotics is a recognized global leader in next-generation robotics and automation solutions, with over 20 years of experience in developing cost-effective solutions in the fields of healthcare, education, business, government, material handling and beyond. In this interview, Theobald shares how his mission to empower humanity through transformative technologies led him to co-found and grow the profitable, privately funded Vecna to a 200-employee company that includes an extensive network of global partners and serves a worldwide customer base, without taking outside investment.

Theobald received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT. Graduating at the top of his class, Theobald received the Henry Ford II Scholar Award, the Hertz Foundation Award and a fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Through his graduate work at the MIT AI Laboratory, he developed web-based control algorithms for a robotic Mars explorer, a progenitor of the NASA rovers Spirit and Opportunity. He served as Principal Investigator for many projects funded by DARPA, NIH, TATRC, US ARMY, ONR and many more. Theobald co-founded Vecna along with other MIT engineers in 1998 on the idea that people matter and that businesses can be profitable, ethical and socially responsible. The company motto “Better Technology, Better World” reflects Theobald’s philosophy that impact is the yardstick by which success is measured.

A humanistic roboticist and ethical innovator, Theobald has decades of experience in leading research scientists and teams of engineers in developing cutting-edge robotics technology. He has over 70 patents issued and pending. He invented and developed several robots, including the famous Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot (BEAR), the QC Bot logistics solution and industrial logistics platforms. Theobald/Vecna awards include RBR50 Company Award, winner of the DHL and Dell Robotics Innovation Challenge, Mass Technology Leadership Council Award, Team Massachusetts Economic Impact Award, Northrop Grumman Information Systems Annual Suppliers Excellence Award and the Tibbetts Award for Exceptional Innovation. He is the creator of the Convenient Care Model, which suggests that patients who have a more convenient healthcare experience will act more responsibly and will make better health decisions for themselves. In 2014, he co-founded and is currently president of MassRobotics, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the global advancement of the robotics industry. He also co-created VecnaCares, a Vecna charity that is dedicated to improving health outcomes and access to quality care around the world. Under Theobald’s leadership, Vecna has performed over 170,000 hours of community service.