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Abstract

Details

Responsible Investment Around the World: Finance after the Great Reset
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-851-0

Book part
Publication date: 4 March 2024

Oswald A. J. Mascarenhas, Munish Thakur and Payal Kumar

This chapter addresses one of the most crucial areas for critical thinking: the morality of turbulent markets around the world. All of us are overwhelmed by such turbulent…

Abstract

Executive Summary

This chapter addresses one of the most crucial areas for critical thinking: the morality of turbulent markets around the world. All of us are overwhelmed by such turbulent markets. Following Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2004, 2010), we distinguish between nonscalable industries (ordinary professions where income grows linearly, piecemeal or by marginal jumps) and scalable industries (extraordinary risk-prone professions where income grows in a nonlinear fashion, and by exponential jumps and fractures). Nonscalable industries generate tame and predictable markets of goods and services, while scalable industries regularly explode into behemoth virulent markets where rewards are disproportionately large compared to effort, and they are the major causes of turbulent financial markets that rock our world causing ever-widening inequities and inequalities. Part I describes both scalable and nonscalable markets in sufficient detail, including propensity of scalable industries to randomness, and the turbulent markets they create. Part II seeks understanding of moral responsibility of turbulent markets and discusses who should appropriate moral responsibility for turbulent markets and under what conditions. Part III synthesizes various theories of necessary and sufficient conditions for accepting or assigning moral responsibility. We also analyze the necessary and sufficient conditions for attribution of moral responsibility such as rationality, intentionality, autonomy or freedom, causality, accountability, and avoidability of various actors as moral agents or as moral persons. By grouping these conditions, we then derive some useful models for assigning moral responsibility to various entities such as individual executives, corporations, or joint bodies. We discuss the challenges and limitations of such models.

Details

A Primer on Critical Thinking and Business Ethics
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-312-1

Book part
Publication date: 14 August 2023

Cosmas Emeziem

Trafficking1 in human beings is gross.2 It constitutes one of the most egregious violations of human rights.3 The vile nature of human trafficking is also hinged on the fact that…

Abstract

Trafficking1 in human beings is gross.2 It constitutes one of the most egregious violations of human rights.3 The vile nature of human trafficking is also hinged on the fact that it commodifies human beings. Hence its categorisation is modern slavery.4 So much of trafficking activities follow the pathways5 of other transnational forms of organised crimes and irregular cross-border movement of people.6 In response to this egregious crime, several international, regional and country laws and instruments have been used or proposed for combatting human trafficking.7 These instruments forbid trafficking in human persons and provide several preventive measures, prosecution of perpetrators and protection of victims of human trafficking.8 The number of state parties to the United Nations Protocol to prevent suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (the Palermo Protocol), demonstrates the global commitment to combatting human trafficking. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on legal systems, and the capacity of both state and private institutions to combat human trafficking, has added a knotty twist to the global problem of human trafficking. This essay looks at the trends of human trafficking in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also highlights international law and policy approaches that state parties and civil society organisations should adopt to counteract the changes and sustain the fight against human trafficking. Thus, the essay contributes to updating the legal and policy approaches to combat human trafficking in this era.

Details

International Migration, COVID-19, and Environmental Sustainability
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-536-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 October 2022

Kirill Krinkin, Yulia Shichkina and Andrey Ignatyev

This study aims to show the inconsistency of the approach to the development of artificial intelligence as an independent tool (just one more tool that humans have developed); to…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to show the inconsistency of the approach to the development of artificial intelligence as an independent tool (just one more tool that humans have developed); to describe the logic and concept of intelligence development regardless of its substrate: a human or a machine and to prove that the co-evolutionary hybridization of the machine and human intelligence will make it possible to reach a solution for the problems inaccessible to humanity so far (global climate monitoring and control, pandemics, etc.).

Design/methodology/approach

The global trend for artificial intelligence development (has been) was set during the Dartmouth seminar in 1956. The main goal was to define characteristics and research directions for artificial intelligence comparable to or even outperforming human intelligence. It should be able to acquire and create new knowledge in a highly uncertain dynamic environment (the real-world environment is an example) and apply that knowledge to solving practical problems. Nowadays artificial intelligence overperforms human abilities (playing games, speech recognition, search, art generation, extracting patterns from data etc.), but all these examples show that developers have come to a dead end. Narrow artificial intelligence has no connection to real human intelligence and even cannot be successfully used in many cases due to lack of transparency, explainability, computational ineffectiveness and many other limits. A strong artificial intelligence development model can be discussed unrelated to the substrate development of intelligence and its general properties that are inherent in this development. Only then it is to be clarified which part of cognitive functions can be transferred to an artificial medium. The process of development of intelligence (as mutual development (co-development) of human and artificial intelligence) should correspond to the property of increasing cognitive interoperability. The degree of cognitive interoperability is arranged in the same way as the method of measuring the strength of intelligence. It is stronger if knowledge can be transferred between different domains on a higher level of abstraction (Chollet, 2018).

Findings

The key factors behind the development of hybrid intelligence are interoperability – the ability to create a common ontology in the context of the problem being solved, plan and carry out joint activities; co-evolution – ensuring the growth of aggregate intellectual ability without the loss of subjectness by each of the substrates (human, machine). The rate of co-evolution depends on the rate of knowledge interchange and the manufacturability of this process.

Research limitations/implications

Resistance to the idea of developing co-evolutionary hybrid intelligence can be expected from agents and developers who have bet on and invested in data-driven artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Practical implications

Revision of the approach to intellectualization through the development of hybrid intelligence methods will help bridge the gap between the developers of specific solutions and those who apply them. Co-evolution of machine intelligence and human intelligence will ensure seamless integration of smart new solutions into the global division of labor and social institutions.

Originality/value

The novelty of the research is connected with a new look at the principles of the development of machine and human intelligence in the co-evolution style. Also new is the statement that the development of intelligence should take place within the framework of integration of the following four domains: global challenges and tasks, concepts (general hybrid intelligence), technologies and products (specific applications that satisfy the needs of the market).

Article
Publication date: 7 February 2024

Fanjue Liu and Yu-Hao Lee

This study aims to investigate the rising trend of virtual influencers – digitally created characters with human-like attributes. It aims to evaluate and compare their…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the rising trend of virtual influencers – digitally created characters with human-like attributes. It aims to evaluate and compare their effectiveness with human influencers in terms of brand attitudes and purchase intentions. It uncovers the mechanisms underlying the differences in effectiveness observed between virtual influencers and their human counterparts.

Design/methodology/approach

The research uses a 2 (influencer type: human vs virtual) × 3 (product type: functional vs symbolic vs experiential) between-subjects design. Through a pilot study (n = 334) and a main study (n = 352), the research examines the interactive effects of influencer and product type on brand attitude and purchase intentions. Hypotheses were developed and tested using moderating mediation models centered on authenticity and product–endorser fit.

Findings

Virtual influencers are perceived as less authentic than human influencers across all product types, negatively influencing brand attitude and purchase intention. However, the extent to which influencer type affects brand attitudes and purchase intentions, mediated by product–endorser fit, varies based on the product type.

Originality/value

This research emphasizes two key mechanisms – authenticity and product–endorser fit – influencing the effectiveness of virtual influencers. It suggests that aligning virtual influencers with suitable product types can offset their perceived authenticity deficit, significantly affecting their endorsement effectiveness.

Article
Publication date: 24 January 2024

Titus Ebenezer Kwofie, Michael Nii Addy, Daniel Yaw Addai Duah, Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa, Emmanuel Banahene Owusu and George Felix Olympio

As public–private partnerships (PPPs) have become preferred and veritable approach to deliver affordable housing, the seemingly lack of understanding of the significant factors…

Abstract

Purpose

As public–private partnerships (PPPs) have become preferred and veritable approach to deliver affordable housing, the seemingly lack of understanding of the significant factors that impact on success has become a notable setback. This study aims to delineate significant factors that can support decisions in affordable PPP public housing delivery.

Design/methodology/approach

Largely, a questionnaire survey was adopted to elicit insights from practitioners, policymakers and experts to develop an evaluative decision support model using an analytical hierarchy process and multi-attribute utility technique approach. Further, an expert illustration was conducted to evaluate and validate the results on the housing typologies.

Findings

The results revealed that energy efficiency and low-cost green building materials scored the highest weighting of all the criteria. Furthermore, multi-storey self-contained flats were found to be the most preferred housing typology and were significantly influenced by these factors. From the model evaluation, the scores on the factors of sustainability, affordability, cultural values and accountability were consistent across all typologies of housing whereas that of benchmarking, governance and transparency were varied.

Originality/value

The decision support factors captured varied dimensions of key factors that impact on affordable PPP housing that have not been considered in an integrated manner. These findings offer objective and systematic support to decision-making in affordable PPP housing delivery.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 May 2023

Fajar Kusnadi Kusumah Putra and Rob Law

This paper identifies the critical success factors (CSFs) of virtual hotel operator (VHO) in using hotel management system partnerships with small- and medium-sized hotels (SMSHs).

Abstract

Purpose

This paper identifies the critical success factors (CSFs) of virtual hotel operator (VHO) in using hotel management system partnerships with small- and medium-sized hotels (SMSHs).

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a qualitative approach, with 25 semi-structured interviews with hotel owners and VHO management. Thematic analysis is used to determine themes to evaluate hotel owners and operators' perceptions.

Findings

CSFs for VHO partnership with SMSHs include marketing and promotion strategies, client relationships, training and human resources development, hotel operation management, innovation strategies, capital expenditures and property management systems (PMSs). VHOs also have a symbolic impact on the mutualistic relationship with SMSHs by increasing service and enhancing product competitiveness and profitability.

Research limitations/implications

Findings are beneficial for VHO in determining the most significant CSFs, thereby establishing additional metrics in business performance and increasing resilience in the accommodation sector. Further studies can measure the digital technology factors from VHO, including PMSs and mobile applications.

Originality/value

This study first identifies CSFs for VHO companies from the perspectives of hotel owners and management. This contribution adds to the literature on CSFs in the context of digital technology implementation in SMSHs. Moreover, implications are beneficial for VHO management in determining the most significant CSFs for companies to measure the business performance of the companies and increase resilience in the accommodation sector.

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9792

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 December 2023

Raymond P. Fisk, Sertan Kabadayi, Karim Sidaoui and Rodoula H. Tsiotsou

The purpose of this commentary is to complete the synthesis of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into Seven Commentaries on Service Research Themes…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this commentary is to complete the synthesis of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into Seven Commentaries on Service Research Themes developed by ServCollab and the Journal of Services Marketing. As an approach to achieving SDG #17, ServCollab’s collaborative logic and design perspective for collaboration services for sustainable development partnerships are presented.

Design/methodology/approach

Collaboration is ServCollab’s Service Research Theme #7, which reframes the UN SDG meta goal #17 of Partnerships. In prior ServCollab research, four possible human interactions were identified: conflict, competition, cooperation and collaboration. Only the shared purpose of collaboration enables elevating the human experience.

Findings

The authors found no published service research that studied SDG #17, which means there are huge opportunities for service research on the role of collaboration in service systems. The alignment between the UN SDGs and ServCollab’s goals is explored. A research agenda for service research and SDG goals was proposed for collaborative communications, collaborative technologies and collaborative projects.

Practical implications

Practical ideas are offered for serving humanity through collaboration. Collaborations are the only practical solutions to humanity’s myriad sustainable development problems.

Social implications

When the United Nations developed its first 16 SDGs, they knew that accomplishing these goals required complex collaborations. That is why SDG #17 is Partnerships. ServCollab’s serving humanity logic applies collaboration to all social settings (large or small) where working together can sustain and regenerate the service ecosystem of Planet Earth.

Originality/value

This commentary describes a unique approach to building collaborative capacity for conducting service research projects for sustaining and regenerating the service ecosystem of Planet Earth.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 38 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 23 October 2023

Glenn W. Harrison and Don Ross

Behavioral economics poses a challenge for the welfare evaluation of choices, particularly those that involve risk. It demands that we recognize that the descriptive account of…

Abstract

Behavioral economics poses a challenge for the welfare evaluation of choices, particularly those that involve risk. It demands that we recognize that the descriptive account of behavior toward those choices might not be the ones we were all taught, and still teach, and that subjective risk perceptions might not accord with expert assessments of probabilities. In addition to these challenges, we are faced with the need to jettison naive notions of revealed preferences, according to which every choice by a subject expresses her objective function, as behavioral evidence forces us to confront pervasive inconsistencies and noise in a typical individual’s choice data. A principled account of errant choice must be built into models used for identification and estimation. These challenges demand close attention to the methodological claims often used to justify policy interventions. They also require, we argue, closer attention by economists to relevant contributions from cognitive science. We propose that a quantitative application of the “intentional stance” of Dennett provides a coherent, attractive and general approach to behavioral welfare economics.

Details

Models of Risk Preferences: Descriptive and Normative Challenges
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83797-269-2

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 November 2023

Boaz Dvir, Logan Rutten, Danielle Butville and Eric Wilson

Many K-12 teachers teach difficult topics as part of their curricula, and discussions of difficult topics are common across grade levels and content areas. As teachers…

Abstract

Purpose

Many K-12 teachers teach difficult topics as part of their curricula, and discussions of difficult topics are common across grade levels and content areas. As teachers increasingly engage with difficult topics in their classrooms, the need for high-quality professional learning experiences has also grown. In response, the purpose of this article is to introduce an emerging partnership between the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education Initiative at Penn State and the Red Lion Area School District (Red Lion, Pennsylvania), conceptualized from the outset with an explicit focus on intentionally engaging in collaborative, inquiry-based professional learning surrounding difficult topics in formalized curricula and within educational practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The article briefly describes how the partners came together, then provides a high-level overview of how they approached their first year of collaboration. Next, the partners’ adaptation of inquiry-based professional learning is outlined. The article concludes by discussing lessons learned from the first year of partnering and implications for scholarship in the areas of school-university partnerships, inquiry-based professional learning, and difficult topics.

Findings

The article observes that it took educators participating in a difficult-topics inquiry community an entire year to begin shifting ownership of inquiry to K-12 students. It illustrates how school-university partnerships can be used to support difficult-topics inquiry and raises new questions about the role of difficult topics in partnership work.

Originality/value

The article contributes an original example to the literature that demonstrates how inquiry-based professional learning focused on difficult topics can provide a powerful basis for forming a school-university partnership.

Details

School-University Partnerships, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1935-7125

Keywords

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