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We are in the midst of a broad societal change in which women’s sexual problems are becoming increasingly medicalized, characterized as treatable medical conditions and defined and understood as a largely physiologically based disease, called “female sexual dysfunction” (FSD). When a condition is medicalized, a medical framework is used to understand it, and medical interventions are used to treat it. As part of this process, then, over the last several years, researchers and pharmaceutical companies have turned attention to developing medical treatments for FSD. As this medicalization continues to unfold with potentially important impacts, it is crucial that we understand the forces working to shape it.

The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.

The chapter is devoted to considering the aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic influence on the global and Russian electronics industry. The work aims to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the electronic industry in the world and Russia from various angles. As a result of the study, the main features of the global electronic industry are highlighted, including leadership of Western European countries, Japan and the United States in the segment of high price electronics; the leadership of the new industrial countries in a lower price segment; active development of microelectronics as an electronics industry segment and its colossal role in the economy of modern countries; the trend towards acquisitions of small companies by large corporations and other industry. Key problems of the Russian electronics are identified, including a small fraction of the global electronics dependence of Russian industry on imported electronic components, a huge backlog of electronic industry of Russia in comparison of world leaders and the newly industrialized countries, technological backwardness of many enterprises of electronic industry, the low level of qualification as a whole industry. The novelty of the research is highlighting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the electronics industry. The study highlights both negative consequences (decline in production of many electronic enterprises, disruption of supply chains, insufficient financing of the industry) and positive aspects (active growth of the segment of household appliances and electronics), as well as an impetus to the development of new directions of world electronics (radio-photonics, optoelectronic and quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, laser technology).

The role of management control has not received sufficient attention in the literature on value creation so far. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the role of control in value creation in industrial networks. More specifically, the aim is to examine the management and control of interfaces between key resources within and between firms, in the networks surrounding firms, when they attempt to create value. All the firms that take part in a value-creation process have both formal and informal control systems: these firms have budgets, specific routines, reward systems, and sanctioned “ways to behave.” The paper relates the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) group's research on interaction, relationships, and networks with control literature, and presents a framework for controlling resource interfaces in a network setting. Two in-depth cases illustrate the role of control in value creation. The first case covers the development of a low-weight newspaper grade that Holmen and its paper mill Hallsta initiated. The second case examines the attempt to develop and commercialize a new, energy efficient pulping technology.

This paper evaluates the only industry-wide process initiated by a union through collective bargaining to reorganize traditional work systems and transform labor relations. It analyzes attempts over the past decade by the United Steelworkers of America to introduce its model for a more participative work system in an effort to gain access to business information, share in business decision making, improve quality, reduce costs, and build better relations between management and the union in the U.S. basic steel industry. This study shows that the Cooperative Partnership Agreements have produced mixed results. Using survey and interview data, the paper compares plants that successfully implemented the CPA with those that did not and analyzes the reasons for the variation in their impact. Further the paper draws out the lessons from this unique union-driven contractual approach to industry reform.

The world of luxury hospitality is predominately perceived in a positive format; however, what this chapter discusses is the negative side to the luxury hospitality. The chapter critically examines the hotels' role in breaches of human rights and their possible involvement in illegal practices such as human trafficking and modern slavery. It provides an overview of the problem, the key terms and the stages of hotel involvement in this procedure. It examines the underlying reasons for the status quo, including discretion and secrecy accompanying luxury service. It highlights the vulnerability of the luxury sector relating to repercussions in terms of reputation and loss of trust. The chapter further examines the concept of duty of care and the breaches of it in relation to hotel staff. Particularly, it examines the industry-wide problem of alcohol and drug abuse among employees and the possible reasons behind it, followed by possible best practice solutions.

The early-stage venture capital (VC) industry has long been dominated by small firms comprising senior venture capitalists and few junior staff. However, during the late 1990s, a group of firms changed their internal structures, adopting pyramidal structures and redesigning internal processes to leverage the efforts of junior staff. In doing so, they followed first-movers in other professional services industries that transitioned to pyramidal models in the 20th century. Has the recent industry downturn terminated the transition, or simply delayed it? This chapter analyzes the events that led the VC firms to transition, the barriers to doing so, and related issues affecting the industry's future.

This chapter will discuss the case of Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM), Odisha, one of India’s leading skills universities that provides a hands-on, practice-oriented, experience-based, interactive, and learning-centered educational environment. This chapter will further argue that by designing a skill integrated interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary curriculum, CUTM has built employable and entrepreneurial-minded manpower in order to contribute meaningfully towards a sustainable future. The various courses address Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) either directly or indirectly through a broad range of disciplines spanning from agriculture to industrial automation to governance. This chapter also highlights five social entrepreneurial initiatives under the brand name of ‘Gram Tarang’. Centurion University has established strong collaborations with industry, national and state governments, non-governmental organizations, and the local community for sustainable development, in line with SDG 17. The impact of Higher Education Institutions through their outreach activities, social entrepreneurship, and their attempts at enhancing critical thinking, creativity, and ethical values among students is also discussed. In the Indian context, these are crucial parameters that define sustainability (Agrawal & Kumar, 2018).