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The purpose of this paper is to explain why the high quality cassava flour (HQCF) value chain in Nigeria has not performed as well as expected. The specific objectives are to: analyse important sources of uncertainty influencing HQCF value chains; explore stakeholders’ strategies to respond to uncertainty; and highlight the implications of different adaptation strategies for equity and the environment in the development of the value chain.

The authors used a conceptual framework based on complex adaptive systems to analyse the slow development of the value chain for HQCF in Nigeria, with a specific focus on how key stakeholders have adapted to uncertainty. The paper is based on information from secondary sources and grey literature. In particular, the authors have drawn heavily on project documents of the Cassava: Adding Value for Africa project (2008 to present), which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and on the authors’ experience with this project.

Policy changes; demand and supply of HQCF; availability and price of cassava roots; supply and cost of energy are major sources of uncertainty in the chain. Researchers and government have shaped the chain through technology development and policy initiatives. Farmers adapted by selling cassava to rival chains, while processors adapted by switching to rival cassava products, reducing energy costs and vertical integration. However, with uncertainties in HQCF supply, the milling industry has reserved the right to play. Vertical integration offers millers a potential solution to uncertainty in HQCF supply, but raises questions about social and environmental outcomes in the chain.

The use of the framework of complex adaptive systems helped to explain the development of the HQCF value chain in Nigeria. The authors identified sources of uncertainty that have been pivotal in restricting value chain development, including changes in policy environment, the demand for and supply of HQCF, the availability and price of cassava roots, and the availability and cost of energy for flour processing. Value chain actors have responded to these uncertainties in different ways. Analysing these responses in terms of adaptation provides useful insights into why the value chain for HQCF in Nigeria has been so slow to develop.

Recent developments suggest that the most effective strategy for the milling industry to reduce uncertainty in the HQCF value chain is through vertical integration, producing their own cassava roots and flour. This raises concerns about equity. Until now, it has been assumed that the development of the value chain for HQCF can combine both growth and equity objectives. The validity of this assumption now seems to be open to question. The extent to which these developments of HQCF value chains can combine economic growth, equity and environmental objectives, as set out in the sustainable development goals, is an open question.

The originality lies in the analysis of the development of HQCF value chains in Nigeria through the lens of complex adaptive systems, with a particular focus on uncertainty and adaptation. In order to explore adaptation, the authors employ Courtney et al.’s (1997) conceptualization of business strategy under conditions of uncertainty. They argue that organisations can assume three strategic postures in response to uncertainty and three types of actions to implement that strategy. This combination of frameworks provides a fresh means of understanding the importance of uncertainty and different actors’ strategies in the development of value chains in a developing country context.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the successful implementation of digitalization by exploring what characterizes strategy work undertaken by companies that have achieved digital transformation. Based on empirical data, the authors delineate five essential strategic actions that are prerequisites for digital transformation: discuss and communicate the vision and strategy; align resources and activities with the strategy; ensure a continuous focus on operational improvements and efficiency; create an orientation toward customer or user needs and expectations; and develop the competencies of top managers, middle managers and employees.

Between January 2021 and February 2022, the authors conducted a survey on strategy work in Danish organizations with 2,251 respondents. The respondents encompass top managers, middle managers and employees representing 1,164 organizations.

The authors identify five strategic actions that positively influence whether organizations incorporate digitalization into their strategy work. These strategic actions can support organizations in their strategy work regarding digital transformation and offer valuable insights and inspiration for leaders currently undertaking the journey of digital transformation.

Based on the empirical data, it is not possible to deem one action as more important than another in the context of digital transformation, as each action contributes significantly to facilitating the process. Given the nature of empirical data, the strategic actions reflect correlation rather than causation.

The empirical insights provide valuable practical guidance for leaders in managing digital transformation as a part of strategy work, which is typically discussed in a more conceptual manner. In addition, the authors identify new areas for further in-depth exploration in practice.

Overheating is considered a modifiable risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The purpose of this paper is to explore differences in infant thermal care beliefs between mothers of South Asian and white British origin in Bradford, UK.

This study employed face-to-face interviews with semi-structured and structured questions with 51 white British and 51 South-Asian mothers in the Bradford District, UK.

White British mothers were more concerned about overheating causing SIDS whereas South-Asian mothers were more concerned about cold causing respiratory infections. However concerns around hypothermia and chills causing colds were expressed in both groups. White British mothers were significantly more likely to be concerned about their infant getting too hot than too cold and South-Asian mothers about both heat and cold (p0.001), but white British mothers on lower incomes and with poorer education expressed concern about cold more so than their better off, better educated peers indicating a possible link to fuel poverty.

It was not possible to observe actual night-time practices and that South Asian as a cultural category is limited because could be regarded as too broad.

Whilst there guidance available to prevent infants overheating to prevent SIDS there is little or none about infants getting cold and how temperature affects other conditions.

Thermal care behaviours and beliefs differ between ethnic groups. SIDS and overheating is only one concern for mothers in providing thermal care for their infants. More policy and research is needed to explore the wider impact of thermal care on infant health and survival.

This topic is rarely addressed despite the wide ranging implications of heat and cold to infant well-being.

This study aims to examine the dimensions of organisational failure in the Brazilian sugarcane and ethanol refineries, as reported in judicial recovery plans.

This paper follows a qualitative, inductive approach that uses content analysis to examine the details of recovery plans. Besides, a cause-and-effect relationship diagram is proposed, making it possible to identify the interconnections between the identified variables.

There is evidence that organisational failures are not a linear outcome. Organisational failures are complex and occur because of several factors, often interdependent and operating at different levels.

Organisational failures basically have three interrelated levels: the macro-level (external environment), the meso-level (organisational environment) and the micro-level (associated with the decision-maker). The relationship between these levels is not trivial and involves coordinated research efforts.

Organisations must consider all types of failure levels when developing business reorganisation plans. Reorganisation plans are more than a formal document to achieve judicial recovery, as they should incorporate strategic factors.

Organisational failures are regularity in organisations’ day-to-day. Understanding failure’s sources is vital to design firms’ strategies and public policies.

The study of organisational failure involves the analysis of complex and multidimensional phenomena. Judicial recovery plans are the means for companies to get a second chance. To that end, this paper addresses the sources of organisational failures through the lens of judicial plans.

This paper aims to analyze climate resilience and adaptation of cultural heritage buildings from the perspectives of both public authorities and residents. From a user-oriented domestication perspective, it investigates what barriers the residents meet when trying to make their homes more sustainable and resilient to climate impacts.

The analysis is based on a qualitative case study: an apartment building from 1890 in an area with protected heritage buildings in Oslo, Norway. The building is in need of renovation to withstand the impacts of climate strain. Expert interviews with public authorities, and interviews/focus groups with residents in the case study, form the empirical basis of the results.

The findings reveal that the residents find the public authorities’ sustainability measures confusing and lack information on what to do. The residents have domesticated an environmentally friendly lifestyle, but they are not very concerned about the cultural heritage status of their building. On the contrary, the protection clause is experienced as a barrier against renovation, and the windows are a special concern.

Better cooperation between actors representing public authorities could result in easier access to information and less confusing advices for sustainability in cultural heritage buildings.

This paper gives new insights on how information from public authorities is perceived by residents, and thus indicates how policy measures for cultural heritage and sustainability should be communicated to achieve public understanding.

Gender equality plans (GEPs) are currently the preferred approach to initiate structural change towards gender equality in research organisations. In order to achieve structural change, GEPs have to be more than just a formally adopted institutional policy. Effective GEPs lead to a transformation of gendered practices and thus to structural change. This chapter presents the innovative approach developed for an H2020 structural change project and its theoretical background. We argue that due to the dual logic, which characterises academic organisations, the organisational logic and the academic logic, change is a complex endeavour. To deal with this complexity, one of the main functions of a GEP is to provide space and initiate reflexivity at an individual as well as at an institutional level. A theory of change approach supports reflexivity in all stages of a GEP as it ensures that basic assumptions of the institutional change process are questioned and reflected on by the different stakeholder groups involved in the implementation.

Entrepreneurship is presented as a vehicle for innovation and social development. Given the importance of entrepreneurship, the objective of this study was to analyze the psychological and sociological dimensions by determining the factors that explain individual perceptions and cultural support for entrepreneurship.

Using Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data obtained from the Adult Population Survey (APS) (N = 2,500) in the region of Andalusia (Spain), a quantitative analysis was carried out, specifically a multivariate analysis based on four-stage linear regressions.

The variables examined do not explain the psychological and sociological dimensions to the same extent. The results highlight the existence of cultural homogeneity between provinces, the importance of sociodemographic variables and the influence of the entrepreneurial expectations and experiences of the population, especially in shaping individual perceptions towards entrepreneurship.

The replication of the study at the national and international levels is proposed in order to delve deeper into the cultural differences that condition entrepreneurship. Including new variables associated with entrepreneurial human capital could also be of interest.

The results can help to improve the design and implementation of policies and programs aimed at fostering entrepreneurship through the promotion of favorable individual perceptions and entrepreneurial culture.

The originality of this study is the consideration of individual perceptions and cultural support for entrepreneurship as dependent variables, since they are normally incorporated as explanatory factors. The results contribute to the advancement of knowledge of the entrepreneurial phenomenon through two approaches, psychological and sociological.

El emprendimiento se presenta como vehículo de innovación y desarrollo social. Dada la importancia del fenómeno, el objetivo de esta investigación es analizar las dimensiones psicológica y sociológica del emprendimiento a través de los factores que explican las percepciones individuales y la cultura de apoyo al emprendimiento.

A partir de datos GEM obtenidos mediante la Encuesta de Población Adulta (N = 2,500) en Andalucía (España), se desarrolla una metodología cuantitativa, concretamente un análisis multivariante basado en regresiones lineales de cuatro etapas.

Las variables consideradas no explican en la misma medida la dimensión psicológica y la sociológica. Se evidencia la existencia de homogeneidad cultural interprovincial, la importancia de las variables sociodemográficas y la influencia de las expectativas y las experiencias vinculadas al emprendimiento, especialmente en la formación de percepciones individuales.

Se propone la réplica del estudio a nivel nacional e internacional para ahondar en las diferencias culturales que condicionan la creación empresarial. Se considera interesante incluir nuevas variables asociadas con el capital humano emprendedor.

Mejora del diseño y la implementación de políticas y programas dirigidos a potenciar el emprendimiento, a través del fomento de las percepciones individuales favorables y la cultura emprendedora.

La originalidad reside en la consideración de las percepciones individuales y la cultura de apoyo al emprendimiento como variables dependientes, ya que normalmente se incorporan como factores explicativos. Se contribuye al avance del conocimiento sobre el fenómeno emprendedor a través de dos enfoques, el psicológico y el sociológico.

The purpose of this paper is to share the learning concerning how services and the paid carers working in them can support people living with dementia (PLWD) and their unpaid carers to overcome social isolation. This learning comes from the key findings from a Social Return on Investment (SROI) evaluation of a Shared Lives (SL) Day support service, known as TRIO.

SROI is a form of cost-benefit analysis that captures and monetises stakeholder outcomes. The SROI evaluation included a rapid evidence review, an interview study and a questionnaire study. The learning shared is drawn from the interview and questionnaire data that explored the reported outcomes relating to social connection, which included data related to participating in meaningful activities, confidence and independence.

PLWD who accessed the SL Day support service experienced better social connection, a sense of control over their activities (including their social activities) and community presence. A key foundation of these outcomes was the meaningful relationship that developed between the PLWD, their unpaid carer and the paid carer.

This evaluation was a pilot study with a small, albeit representative sample size.

The learning suggests feasible and effective ways for paid carers to support the social connection of PLWD and their unpaid carers with their wider community.

There has been little exploration of how community-based short breaks (like SL Day support) can enhance social connection. The authors drew on a social relational model lens to illustrate how this service type had supported successful outcomes of community and social inclusion for PLWD.

People who identify as transgender face stigma, isolation and harassment while often struggling to come to terms with their gender identity. They also disproportionately experience mental health difficulties. The purpose of this paper is to present the voices of transgender people in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) in regard to the issues they are facing, improvements they would like to see made to schools, workplaces, services and society in general and whether mental health supports fulfil their needs.

Ten open questions were embedded within a quantitative online survey (LGBTIreland study) on factors impacting social inclusion, mental health and care. These open questions were re-analysed with exclusive focus on the transgender participants (n = 279) using content/thematic analysis.

The participants in this study reported significant signs of mental distress. The following themes emerged: impact of stigma, deficiencies in mental health services, need for education on transgender identity, importance of peer support, achieving self-acceptance and societal inclusion questioned.

Efforts to recruit young participants have led to a possible over-representation in this study.

The findings suggest the need for improvement in mental health support services, including further education in how to meet the needs of transgender individuals.

Transgender people in Ireland experience social exclusion. The need for more inclusivity was emphasised most in secondary schools. Education on transgender identities in all contexts of society is recommended by the participants.

This study reports on the largest group of transgender participants to date in RoI. Their voices will affect perceptions on social inclusion and mental health care.