Search results

This study aims to elucidate institutional analysis as an effective approach to investigating and designing the multilevel policymaking system of online social networks (OSN) for achieving a participatory model.

The institutional mapping approach has been used to analyze Iran’s OSN multilevel policymaking system. A combination of two matrices, including institutions-institutions and institutions-functions, was used to perform the institutional mapping. Two main steps were taken to draw the mentioned matrices. First, a review of related studies in Iran’s OSN policymaking system was conducted and the policy functions mentioned in these studies were identified and categorized using the meta-synthesis. Second, based on analyzing two policy documents of Iran’s OSN, institutions and their interactions were identified and policy functions were allocated to institutions.

Based on the results, the most important policy functions in the current OSN policymaking system in Iran are support, regulatory, monitoring and evaluation, business environment development, culture building and promotion, organizing licenses and permissions, policymaking and legislation. Also, the results show that there are shortcomings in this system, some of the most important of which are lack of transparency in regulatory, little work in culture building and promotion, neglect of the training of specialized human resources and research and development, slow development of the business environment and neglecting the role of nongovernmental organizations in policymaking.

By examining and analyzing how different institutions operate within a multilevel policymaking system, the policymaking process and its overall effectiveness can be enhanced. This analysis helps identify any inconsistencies, overlaps or conflicts in the roles and policies of these institutions, leading to a better understanding of how a multilevel policymaking system is organized.

There is evidence that both hypnotherapy and virtual reality (VR) can be helpful in reducing perceived stress in the general population. This is a feasibility and acceptability trial of an intervention combining hypnotherapy and VR to establish its acceptability in students. This study aims to establish whether students found the experience acceptable, described any adverse effects and whether they reported feeling calmer after the experience.

The study was testing the hypothesis that students would attend the sessions and find the experience acceptable. A secondary hypothesis was that preliminary qualitative and quantitative evaluation of measures of stress and wellbeing would signal potential improvements.

All participants completed all three sessions. No side effects were reported. Visual analogue scales recorded each day assessing the immediate effect improved. At the end of the intervention, there was an increase in wellbeing of 2.40 (95% CI: 1.33, 3.53, p = 0.006), and a decrease in depression of 0.73 (95% CI: 0.40, 1.07, p = 0.010), reflecting large effect sizes of 0.76 and 0.83, respectively. Qualitative feedback was generally very positive.

This study is small with just 15 students and was over a short period of time. The recruitment method meant there was no way to establish whether the volunteer students were representative of the general student population in terms of mental wellbeing. There was no control arm.

The preliminary results suggest that a larger controlled trial is justified.

This VR experience may have benefit to university students and to the wider population.

This described the evaluation of a novel intervention for perceived stress combining hypnotherapy and virtual reality in a group of healthcare students, with promising results suggesting further evaluation is needed.

Prototyping with affordable 3D printers empowers small businesses to create prototypes within a day and carry out multiple iterations of design, size, shape or assembly based on analytical results, bringing better products to market faster. This paper aims to turn the ideas into proofs of concept, advance these concepts to realistic prototypes and investigate the quality of printed prototypes prior to large-scale production.

The experimental approach focuses on the prototyping of portable medicine containers by Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), modifying the prototypes by adding auxiliary braille flags that indicate patient initials and dosing information, and performing the moisture permeation study as well as the stability study for model drug products (i.e. ibuprofen tablets, guaifenesin tablets, dextromethorphan HBr soft gel capsules).

The study shows that an affordable 3D printer helps to create functional and visual prototypes that give a realistic depiction of the design and offer physical objects that could be investigated for product quality and feasibility.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study was the first attempt to use a desktop FDM-based 3D printer to prototype portable medicine containers in a blister packet appearance with auxiliary braille flags that help validate early concepts and facilitate the conversation on refining product features in a rapid and affordable manner.

This chapter investigates the relevance and necessity of leadership and authentic leadership roles in organisational change in the modern VUCA world. He argues that authentic leaders need to learn to adapt to the increasingly VUCA environment, asking: Can they? Do they? If so, how? Authentic leaders need to evaluate not just the metrics behind success or failure but also their leadership traits and behaviour during organisational change to determine whether adjustments may be warranted. Taran provides an inspiration list of categories for leadership and authentic leadership self-refection. He calls for in-depth case studies of authentic leadership in response to VUCA circumstances that could be largely descriptive producing a body of data against which new theories can be tested and refined.

This study aims to fill the gap on proenvironmental behavior studies among consumers in bottom of the pyramid (BOP) market by examining the relationship between values, beliefs and norms among Ghanaian consumers.

A sample of 324 Ghanaian consumers (responses rate of 64%) was used to estimate the model. The data was analyzed using maximum likelihood robust approach of Lavaan package for structural equation modeling in R.

The findings show that there is no significant relationship between values and the new ecological worldview, which also does not affect awareness of environmental consequences. However, awareness of consequences, likely based on personal experiences, significantly impacts perceived ability to reduce threats to the environment. Ghanaian consumers are mainly influenced by personal experiences with local environmental consequences that affect their perceived ability to reduce threats to their environment and their willingness to engage in proenvironmental behavior. The study supports the argument that proenvironmental behavior is the result of complex decision-making that might be influenced by a country’s economic situation, infrastructure, culture and institutions.

This study focuses on a single country in Africa. More studies are needed among other base of the pyramid countries, and in comparison to developed countries’ consumers.

The study adds to the limited knowledge regarding sustainable consumption in the neglected context of the bottom of the pyramid market.

In this chapter, we look at survey responses from the third Research Administration as a Profession Survey (RAAAP-3) conducted in 2022. We examine some demographic attributes of Research Managers and Administrators (RMAs) such as gender identity, age when entering the profession, age in the current role, and other personal characteristics such as birth country and current country of employment. We also explore the types of institutions where RMAs are employed, the type of work they do, their highest academic qualifications, whether they obtained professional accreditations, and their affiliation with any RMA professional associations. Each topic is investigated both globally and by geographic region to highlight similarities and differences. Overall we find the profession to be global, female-dominated, highly academically qualified, and mainly working in the higher education sector.

This study aims to respond to calls for more research to understand how sustainability control systems (SCSs) feature (or do not feature) in short-term operational and long-term strategic decision-making.

An in-depth case study of a large multinational organisation undertaking several rounds of sustainability reporting is presented. Data collection was extensive including 26 semi-structured interviews with a range of employees from senior management to facility employees, access to confidential reports and internal documents and attendance of company meetings, including an external stakeholder engagement meeting and the attendance of the company’s annual environmental meeting. A descriptive, analytical and explanatory analysis is performed on the case context (Pfister et al., 2022).

Simon’s (1995) levers of control framework structures our discussion. The case company has sophisticated and formalised diagnostic controls and strong belief and boundary systems. Conventional management controls and SCSs are used in short-term operational decision-making, although differences between financial imperatives and other aspects such as environmental concerns are difficult to reconcile. SCSs also provided information to justify company actions in short-term decisions that impacted stakeholders. However, SCSs played a very limited role in the long-term strategic decision. Tensions between social, environmental and economic factors are more reconcilable in the long-term strategic decision, where holistic risks and opportunities need to be fully identified. External reporting is seen in a “constraining” light (Tessier and Otley, 2012), and intentionally de-coupled from SCSs.

This paper responds to recent calls for rich, holistic and contextually-grounded perspectives of sustainability processes at an extractives company. The study provides novel insight into how SCSs are used (or not used) in short-term or long-term decision-making and external reporting. The paper illustrates how a large company is responding to sustainability pressures within the unique contextual setting of New Zealand. The study outlines the imitations of existing practice and provides implications for how sustainability-based internal controls can be better embedded into organisations.

This paper aims to understand the difficulties faced by Latin American oil and gas (O&G) companies in adopting integrated practices aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Agenda.

A Delphi study was conducted with 14 experts with extensive knowledge and experience in the O&G sector to collect opinions and investigate sustainable practices in the Latin American context.

A consensus was reached after two rounds, demonstrating a unified view of sustainability experts on the difficulties faced by O&G companies to adopt practices aligned with the SDGs. The difficulties identified through the Delphi method were allocated into five clusters named: “public sector and governments,” “civil society,” “corporate issues,” “technology and innovation” and “financial aspects.” These clusters were used to discuss the main challenges associated with implementing business practices that recognize the SDGs and their achievement as a synergistic reinforcing system rather than an additive structure.

This study provides further insights into the underexplored subject relating to the challenges experienced by Latin American O&G companies in the implementation of the SDGs, adopting the perspective of academic and industry experts in this field. The findings can help professionals in O&G companies implement sustainable practices, policymakers in debates about futures laws and regulations and academic in future research.