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1 – 10 of 114Eva PenzeyMoog and Danielle C. Slakoff
The reality of domestic violence does not disappear when people enter the digital world, as abusers may use technology to stalk, exploit, and control their victims. In this…
Abstract
The reality of domestic violence does not disappear when people enter the digital world, as abusers may use technology to stalk, exploit, and control their victims. In this chapter, we discuss three unique types of technological abuse: (1) financial abuse via banking websites and apps; (2) abuse via smart home devices (i.e., “Internet of Things” abuse); and (3) stalking via geo-location or GPS. We also argue pregnancy and wellness apps provide an opportunity for meaningful intervention for pregnant victims of domestic violence.
While there is no way to ensure users' safety in all situations, we argue thoughtful considerations while designing and building digital products can result in meaningful contributions to victims' safety. This chapter concludes with PenzeyMoog's (2020) “Framework for Inclusive Safety,” which is a roadmap for building technology that increases the safety of domestic violence survivors. This framework includes three key points: (1) the importance of educating technologists about domestic violence; (2) the importance of identifying possible abuse situations and designing against them; and (3) identifying user interactions that might signal abuse and offering safe interventions.
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Ana Martínez-Catena, Montse Subirana-Malaret and Falgars Subirana-Malaret
Law enforcement agencies and police officers' efforts were crucial to oversee the public health measures and legal regulations introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study…
Abstract
Purpose
Law enforcement agencies and police officers' efforts were crucial to oversee the public health measures and legal regulations introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study had two objectives: to examine the strategies implemented by law enforcement agencies in Catalonia (Spain) to monitor the pandemic and to explore the adverse working conditions of police officers and their personal difficulties during the state of alarm.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 96 experienced police officers completed a closed-ended, anonymous online survey. In addition, complementary information was collected about the management of law enforcement agencies through open interviews. A descriptive analysis was carried out and the association between variables was explored.
Findings
In general terms, law enforcement agencies managed the uncertainty of the situation, with a focus on official information and communication channels between officers. However, many difficulties were reported by the police officers, such us inconsistency between rules, lack of preventive material or changes in work schedules. Besides, the officers' main concern, beyond the emotional impact suffered during this period, was the possibility of being infected or infecting others.
Practical implications
The congruence between the job requirements and resources, as well as the increase of communication channels during situations of high risk are important variables to assure good job development and personal satisfaction of police officers.
Originality/value
To the knowledge of the authors, at the time of writing this paper, this is the first study in Spain to explore the management of law enforcement agencies and police officers' personal experiences during the Covid-19.
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Gordon Abner, Cullen C. Merritt and Rachel Boggs
This study explores the benefits of accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), according to those who are engaged in the practice.
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the benefits of accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), according to those who are engaged in the practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected data through open-ended, semi-structured telephone interviews. The authors analyzed the data using an inductive methodology.
Findings
The authors found that CALEA police accreditation enhances organizational learning through the development of knowledge brokers, the creation of communities of practice, support for knowledge repositories, support for knowledge managers and greater levels of transparency.
Originality/value
This qualitative study, which focuses on the perceptions and experiences of those involved in the CALEA process, provides a valuable complement to the quantitative literature on accreditation by shedding light on the organizational learning resulting from accreditation.
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This paper aims to draw attention to a broad range of experimental institutional initiatives which operate in the absence of a global antitrust regime. The purpose of this paper…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to draw attention to a broad range of experimental institutional initiatives which operate in the absence of a global antitrust regime. The purpose of this paper is to offer food for thought to scholars in other fields of international trade law facing challenges from divergent national regimes.
Design/methodology/approach
Taking inspiration from political science literature on institutions, this paper crafts a broad analytical lens which captures various organisational forms (including networks), codes (including soft law) and culture (including epistemic communities). The strength and shortcomings of traditional “bricks and mortar” institutions such as the European Union (EU) and General Agreement Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organisation are first examined. Then, the innovative global network of International Competition Network (ICN) is analysed.
Findings
It highlights the value of the global antitrust epistemic community in providing a conducive environment for extensive recourse to “soft law”. Examples from the EU and the ICN include measures which find expression in enforcement tools and networks. These initiatives can be seen as experimental responses to the challenges of divergent national antitrust regimes.
Research limitations/implications
It is desktop research rather than empirical field work.
Practical implications
To raise awareness outside the antitrust scholarly community of the variety of experimental institutional initiatives which have evolved, often on a soft law basis, in response to the challenges experienced by national enforcement agencies and businesses operating in the absence of a global antitrust regime.
Originality/value
It offers some personal reflections on the ICN from the author’s experience as a non-governmental advisor. It draws attention to the ICN’s underappreciated range of educational materials which are freely available on its website to everyone. It submits that the ICN template offers interesting ideas for other fields of international trade law where a global regime is unrealisable. The ICN is a voluntary virtual network of agencies collaborating to agree ways to reduce clashes among national regimes. Its goal of voluntary convergence is portrayed as standardisation rather than as absolute congruence. Even if standardisation of norms/processes is too ambitious a goal in other fields of international trade law, the ICN model still offers inspiration as an epistemic community within an inclusive and dynamic forum for encouraging debate and creating a culture of learning opportunities where familiarity and trust is fostered.
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Lisa Berntsen, Anita Böcker, Tesseltje De Lange, Sandra Mantu and Natalia Skowronek
With a focus on the position of EU mobile workers in the Dutch meat industry, this article discusses the multi-level State efforts to enhance protection of workers who experienced…
Abstract
Purpose
With a focus on the position of EU mobile workers in the Dutch meat industry, this article discusses the multi-level State efforts to enhance protection of workers who experienced limited protection of existing State and private enforcement institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic, with virus outbreaks at Dutch meat plants, fuelled public and political will to structurally improve these workers' precarious work and living conditions. Yet, the process of policy change is slow. The authors show it is the gradual transformation in the institutional environment that the State needs to counter to become more protective for EU mobile workers.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the gradual institutional change approach and the concept of State ignorance, the authors examine State responses drawing on interviews with expert stakeholders in the public and private domain, public administration records and newspaper articles.
Findings
Through knowledge creation, boosted social dialogue mechanisms, enhanced enforcement capacity and new housing legislation, the Dutch State focuses on countering gradual institutional change through which existing institutions lost their effectiveness as protectors of EU mobile workers. The organization of work is, nevertheless, not (yet) fundamentally addressed with tighter public legislation.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the role of the State as multifaceted actor in institutional change processes towards increased protection for EU mobile workers.
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Francesca Rossignoli, Riccardo Stacchezzini and Alessandro Lai
European countries are likely to increasingly adopt integrated reporting (IR) voluntarily, after the 2014/95/EU Directive is revised and other initiatives are implemented…
Abstract
Purpose
European countries are likely to increasingly adopt integrated reporting (IR) voluntarily, after the 2014/95/EU Directive is revised and other initiatives are implemented. Therefore, the present study provides insights on the relevance of IR in voluntary contexts by exploring analysts' reactions to the release of integrated reports in diverse institutional settings.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on voluntary disclosure theory, a quantitative empirical research method is used to explore the moderating role of country-level institutional characteristics on the associations between voluntary IR release and analyst forecast accuracy and dispersion.
Findings
IR informativeness is not uniform in the voluntary context and institutional settings play a moderating role. IR release is associated with increased consensus among analyst forecasts. However, in countries with weak institutional enforcement, a reverse association is detected, indicating that analysts rely largely on IR where the institutional setting strongly protects investors. Although a strong institutional setting boosts the IR release usefulness in terms of accuracy, it creates noise in analyst consensus.
Research limitations/implications
Academics can appreciate the usefulness of voluntary IR across the institutional enforcement contexts.
Practical implications
Managers can use these findings to understand opportunities offered by IR voluntary release. The study recommends that policymakers, standard setters and regulators strengthen the institutional enforcement of sustainability disclosure.
Originality/value
This study is a unique contribution to recent calls for research on the effects of nonfinancial disclosure regulation and on IR “impacts”. It shows on the international scale that IR usefulness for analysts is moderated by institutional patterns, not country-level institutional characteristics.
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The aim of the paper is to examine the various aspects of the 1MDB scandal including the extent and types of corruption that occurred and the action taken to deal with them. In…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the paper is to examine the various aspects of the 1MDB scandal including the extent and types of corruption that occurred and the action taken to deal with them. In doing this, the paper seeks to identify the reasons for the scandal and the lessons that can be learnt to avoid such a scandal in Malaysia and elsewhere in the future.
Design/methodology/approach
The research for the paper is based on evidence from court hearings, reports of watchdog and regulatory agencies, media reports, and various articles and books written about 1MDB.
Findings
The paper shows that most of the scandal involved embezzlement, bribery, false declarations and bond mispricing relating to extensive borrowing by 1MDB, and entailed a global network of shell companies and individuals through which the illicit money was passed. It also shows weak governance in 1MDB, poor internal controls within banks, the failure of watchdog and enforcement bodies to take the necessary action partly due to political control over them, and overall the lack of political will to deal with the scandal.
Originality/value
The paper builds on the findings of other papers and books written on the 1MDB scandal. It does this by linking the corruption to the borrowings of 1MDB, the international network of money-laundering and bribery through which illicit money flowed, and the poor internal controls in the organisation. It also builds on previous research by highlighting the failure of banks to identify money-laundering and of watchdog and enforcement bodies to deal with the corruption. A further value of the paper is to identify the lessons that can be learnt about combatting corruption on such a scale.
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The aim of the paper is to analyse the prevalence of corruption in Malaysia since 2004 in relation to political leadership, implementation of anti-corruption measures and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the paper is to analyse the prevalence of corruption in Malaysia since 2004 in relation to political leadership, implementation of anti-corruption measures and the political and business culture based on money politics.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws from the information and data provided by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Malaysian government, international organisations, media reports, and academic papers.
Findings
The paper analyses the perceived extent of corruption in Malaysia by examining how successive governments have dealt with the problem through a wide range of measures. Corruption remains widespread because of ineffective implementation, a culture of money politics based on mutually beneficial crony associations between political actors and business leaders, political interference to frustrate enforcement against corruption offenders, especially prominent personalities, and the mixed impact of corruption prevention measures. The paper concludes that the political and business culture and the nature of political leadership have eroded the political will to combat grand corruption in Malaysia.
Originality/value
This paper builds on previous research on corruption in Malaysia and highlights the combined negative impact of political leadership and a business and political culture that tolerates and espouses corruption, especially through money politics, and the consequent weak political will for tackling grand corruption.
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After 15 years of successful operation, the British Low Pay Commission’s management of the National Minimum Wage was threatened in 2015 by the government’s introduction the…
Abstract
Purpose
After 15 years of successful operation, the British Low Pay Commission’s management of the National Minimum Wage was threatened in 2015 by the government’s introduction the National Living Wage. The purpose of this paper is to consider the underlying principles of previous minimum wage fixing, and the additional thinking of the Living Wage Foundation and the review of the issue by the Resolution Foundation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on the 2016 reports of the Commission to argue that the two statutory wages are unavoidably interlinked and are tied to incompatible criteria.
Findings
The paper concludes that the predicted eventual impact of the National Living Wage on the labour market will be unsustainable.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is relevant to minimum wage research.
Practical implications
The paper is relevant to minimum wage policy.
Social implications
The paper is relevant to low pay policy.
Originality/value
The paper provides original analysis of minimum wage policy.
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Agnieszka Slomka-Golebiowska, Sara De Masi and Andrea Paci
This study aims to examine the effects of board dynamics produced by reaching a certain proportion of women on board tasks (monitoring, strategy and advisory).
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effects of board dynamics produced by reaching a certain proportion of women on board tasks (monitoring, strategy and advisory).
Design/methodology/approach
Using a panel of 35 listed companies belonging to FTSE-MIB index, for the years 2008–2015, the hypotheses can be tested by applying random effect regressions. The introduction of gender board quota law in Italy has created a quasi-natural experiment that is applied in the study.
Findings
This research provides evidence that reaching 33% women on boards, which is the threshold mandated by the Italian gender board quota law, makes a difference for strategy tasks but not for monitoring tasks. This proportion of women on boards creates the board dynamics necessary to empower all board members, allowing the varied knowledge, skills, backgrounds and personal qualities to be leveraged and used in strategy tasks. For monitoring tasks, obtaining a proportion of 20% women on boards, as a first threshold enforced by the law, is enough to voice their opinion during board meetings and challenge management.
Originality/value
The results show that each set of board tasks requires different dynamics trigged by a specific proportion between a minority (women) and a dominant subgroup (men). To enhance monitoring tasks performance, it is enough to reach a proportion between men and women which makes the women less isolated and more inclined to speak up during the board meetings. In the case of strategy tasks, the improved performance is achieved when the dominant group enticed to hear women’s opinions and responsive to various perspectives. This paper expands the debates going beyond monitoring tasks, showing the importance of board dynamics for engagement in strategy and advisory tasks.
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