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In this chapter, we develop an argument in support of comparative framing in teacher education research with the purpose of strengthening the education profession and particularly the professional field of teaching and teacher education. There is little agreement in the field on the required knowledge needed to become a highly effective teacher and on how to know that teachers know enough of a subject to teach it. We argue that comparative and collaborative cross-national studies serve as ideal catalytic forces to develop much-needed ontologies to develop definitions and realize contrasts, possibilities, and limitations. The construction of ontologies supports the epistemological bases of the profession. Comparative studies help to understand what others with similar goals such as the education and support of teachers have been able to achieve under what conditions, resources, and contexts.

In recent years, both academics and institutions have acknowledged the crucial role multinational enterprises (MNEs) can play in addressing the sustainability challenges, as formalized by the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Nevertheless, because of their extensiveness and their design as country-level targets, SDGs have proven challenging to operationalize at a firm level. This problem opens new and relevant avenues for research in international business (IB). This chapter attempts to frame the topic of extended value chain sustainability in the IB literature. In particular, it addresses a specific topic, that is, how sustainability and resilience-building practices interact in global value chains (GVCs). To do so, the present study develops the case of STMicroelectronics (ST), one of the biggest semiconductor companies worldwide.

When organizations engage in misconduct, social control agents play a crucial role in sanctioning them to show the enforcement of societal norms and reduce the risk of future deviance. We study the interaction between the government and the media, two key social control agents, in the evaluation organizational misconduct. While past work has focused on the influence of the media on the government, we theorize the influence of the government on the media. The government is a social control agent with supreme formal authority to punish misconduct, and thus its actions are of particular interest to the media as they form evaluations of misbehaving organizations. However, the government, tied by conflicting demands, sometimes turns a blind eye to misconduct and supports misbehaving organizations for the greater societal good, instead of punishing them. How is the media’s perception of misbehaving organizations affected by such government actions? We explore this question by looking at the case of the 2008 government bailout of investment banks in the United States, after those were caught red-handed for their involvement in the sub-prime financial crisis. Carrying out a content analysis of newspaper reporting (2007–2011), we show that the negative perception of investment banks and their misconduct is attenuated when they receive government support. Our work contributes to the emerging literature on the social construction of organizational misconduct and illuminates the interaction between government and media in the evaluation of behavior as organizational misconduct.

The participation of women in contemporary non-state armed groups is an undeniable fact. In recent years, research in international politics has provided a more complex view of both the scale and nature of their contributions, as well as why women choose to engage in political violence – when they do indeed choose to do so. This chapter offers an overview of the literature in this area, while expanding the discussion towards new and emerging questions. In particular, the chapter seeks to engage a growing literature on the legal and social aspects of women's involvement in armed conflict. Discussing women's roles as perpetrators of atrocity and war crimes – including as agents of torture, sexual violence and genocide – it addresses concerns about the meaningful integration of gender into post-conflict and transitional justice processes. This includes discussions about agency and the problematic entanglement of victim/perpetrator narratives in the cases of female ex-combatants.

Nuclear energy investments contribute significantly to the energy independence of countries. This situation helps countries to develop both economically and socially. Therefore, countries need to develop strategies to increase their nuclear energy investments. However, radioactive waste generated in nuclear reactors is one of the most important disadvantages of this type of energy. Due to this situation, the wastes generated must be disposed of effectively for nuclear energy investments to be effective. In this study, it is aimed to create optimal strategies for the effective waste managements generated in nuclear power plants. Within this framework, four different balanced scorecard perspectives are considered as the criteria. In the analysis process, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology is taken into consideration. It is identified that learning and development is the most critical factor for the effective radioactive waste management created in nuclear power plants. On the other side, internal factors are the second most important criterion in this framework. Hence, it is understood that nuclear energy investors should give priority to the technological development for effective waste management in nuclear power plants. With the help of these technological improvements, the wastes can be disposed more successfully. As a result, environmental sustainability can be provided much easily.

Since the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic in March 2020, higher education institutions (HEIs) across the globe have shifted – entirely or partly – to online teaching and learning; Lebanese HEIs were no exception. Such an unprecedented and “forced” transition to online teaching and learning has created a landscape for scholars and researchers to inquire into the efficiency and effectiveness of online teaching and learning, students’ satisfaction with this virtual educational experience, and instructors’ satisfaction with such an experience. This chapter presents a study about Lebanese instructors’ satisfaction with online teaching and learning during the pandemic. Instructors’ satisfaction was measured in terms of three satisfaction constructs of psychometrically validated “Online Instructor Satisfaction Measure” (OISM): instructor-to-student interaction (ISI); student-to-student interaction (SSI); and course design, development, and teaching (CDT). Data were collected through an online questionnaire from 102 Lebanese instructors across 7 Lebanese universities: 6 private universities and the national public Lebanese higher education institute (Lebanese University). This study found that there were no significant changes between the satisfaction levels in relation to each of the ISI, SSI, and CDT constructs between STEM education background instructors and their non-STEM education background counterparts. Despite their dissatisfaction with the level of interaction between them and their students (ISI), the participating Lebanese instructors were satisfied with the SSI, except for students’ collaborative and group work, and were also satisfied with the CDT, except for the preparation time required for delivering an online course.