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Article
Publication date: 20 March 2024

George Okello Candiya Bongomin, Charles Akol Malinga, Alain Manzi Amani and Rebecca Balinda

The main purpose of this study is to test for the interaction effect of digital literacy in the relationship between financial technologies (FinTechs) of biometrics and mobile…

Abstract

Purpose

The main purpose of this study is to test for the interaction effect of digital literacy in the relationship between financial technologies (FinTechs) of biometrics and mobile money and digital financial inclusion among the unbanked poor women, youth and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in rural Uganda.

Design/methodology/approach

Covariance-based structural equation modeling was used to construct the interaction effect using data collected from the unbanked poor women, youth and PWDs located in the four regions in Uganda as prescribed by Hair et al. (2022).

Findings

The findings from this study are threefold: first; the results revealed a positive interaction effect of digital literacy between FinTechs of biometrics and mobile money and digital financial inclusion. Second; the results also confirmed that biometrics identification positively promotes digital financial inclusion. Lastly; the results showed that mobile money positively promotes digital financial inclusion. A combination of FinTechs of biometrics and mobile money together with digital literacy explain 29% variation in digital financial inclusion among the unbanked poor women, youth and PWDs in rural Uganda.

Research limitations/implications

The data for this study were collected mainly from the unbanked poor women, youth and PWDs. Further studies may look at data from other sections of the vulnerable population in under developed financial markets. Additionally, the data for this study were collected only from Uganda as a developing country. Thus, more data may be obtained from other developing countries to draw conclusive and generalized empirical evidence. Besides, the current study used cross sectional design to collect the data. Therefore, future studies may adopt longitudinal research design to investigate the impact of FinTechs on digital financial inclusion in the presence of digital literacy across different time range.

Practical implications

The governments in developing countries like Uganda should support women, youth, PWDs and other equally vulnerable groups, especially in the rural communities to understand and use FinTechs. This can be achieved through digital literacy that can help them to embrace digital financial services and competently navigate and perform digital transactions over digital platforms like mobile money without making errors. Besides, governments in developing countries like Uganda can use this finding to advocate for the design of appropriate digital infrastructures to reach remote areas and ensure “last mile connectivity for digital financial services' users.” The use of off-line solutions can complement the absence or loss of on-line network connectivity for biometrics and mobile money to close the huge digital divide gap in rural areas. This can scale-up access to and use of financial services by the unbanked rural population.

Originality/value

This paper sheds more light on the importance of digital literacy in the ever complex and dynamic global FinTech ecosystem in the presence of rampant cyber risks. To the best of the authors' knowledge, limited studies currently exist that integrate digital literacy as a moderator in the relationship between FinTechs and digital financial inclusion, especially among vulnerable groups in under-developed digital financial markets in developing countries. This is the novelty of the paper with data obtained from the unbanked poor women, youth and PWDs in rural Uganda.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 September 2020

Paolo Ricci and Pietro Pavone

The paper aims to reach a better understanding of accountability and social reporting in the Italian justice system, by examining the state of the art of both literature and…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to reach a better understanding of accountability and social reporting in the Italian justice system, by examining the state of the art of both literature and practice. The case study highlights the critical elements in drawing up the social report of one of the most important Prosecutor Offices in Italy.

Design/methodology/approach

The case study analyzes the activities of the actors involved in the report building process by detailing all the steps involved in a research diary, in order to examine such process from the inside, thus reversing its perspective.

Findings

The study shows that both the lack of guidelines for judicial administrations and a consolidated trend of transforming administrative facts into documents useful to stakeholders slow down the evolution of practices, which are stuck in a perpetual trial stage.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations are mainly related to the adoption of a single case study, which does not include any comparison with other reporting experiences in the justice sector.

Originality/value

This paper adds evidence to the theoretical debate on social reporting in the justice sector which has so far received the attention of a limited number of scholars. Furthermore, unlike other studies focusing exclusively on the final report while overlooking the process that turns input into output, this research deals with the core of the social reporting process and practices in their development, capturing their most intimate and controversial aspects from the inside.

Details

International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 33 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3558

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 January 2018

Mohammad Abdullah

This paper attempts to contextualise the potential role of waqf (plural; awqaf, Islamic perpetual trust) in the contemporary world, particularly, in the developmental arena. The…

4397

Abstract

Purpose

This paper attempts to contextualise the potential role of waqf (plural; awqaf, Islamic perpetual trust) in the contemporary world, particularly, in the developmental arena. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for awqaf to maintain its convergence with some of the fundamental goals of the SDGs which are also congruent with the maqasid al-shariah (the higher objectives of shariah).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a desk-based research, and it adopts the qualitative research paradigm for the analysis of the available literature.

Findings

This paper finds that most of the 17 developmental goals of the SDGs comfortably match with the long-term objectives of shariah and there is good scope for the stakeholders of awqaf to develop waqf-based development plan in line with the framework of SDGs. Additionally, it finds that the global awqaf enjoy sufficient financial capacity to help muslim majority countries to realise some of the most relevant and urgent maqasid-oriented SDGs in a timely manner.

Research limitations/implications

The scope of this paper is limited to analyse the potential role of global awqaf in realising some of the most urgent maqasid-based development objectives in congruence with SDGs. For the purpose of maintaining the coherence in the focus of the study, this paper does not undertake any comparison between the waqf and other forms of endowments/charities in fulfilling the similar objectives.

Practical implications

This paper provides a framework for maqasid-oriented waqf-based development plan followed by provision of some critical recommendations on how the global awqaf can potentially spearhead the initiative of Islamic charities in realising the maqasid-oriented SDGs among muslim majority countries.

Originality/value

This paper adds original value to the available literature on the potential of waqf in the arena of development. The paper analyses the role of waqf in achieving the most urgent maqasid-based SDGs, and thus, it fills the existing gap of a systematic research on the possible collaboration of global awqaf and SDGs.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 45 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 November 2016

Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay

In this paper, I examine the concept of ‘vulnerability’ within the context of income mobility of the poor. While the concept of poverty is well developed, the concept of…

Abstract

In this paper, I examine the concept of ‘vulnerability’ within the context of income mobility of the poor. While the concept of poverty is well developed, the concept of vulnerability is less established in the economic literature. I test for the dynamics of vulnerable households in the United Kingdom using Waves 1–12 of the British Household Panel Survey and find that, of three different types of risks for which I test, household-specific shocks and economy-wide aggregate shocks have the greatest impact on consumption, in comparison to shocks to the income stream. I find vulnerable households up to at least 10 percentile points above the poverty line. Savings and earnings from a second job are not significantly associated with smoothing consumption of all vulnerable households. The results strongly indicate that income transfers and benefits assist the vulnerable in smoothing consumption. Thus, traditional poverty alleviating policies are not likely to assist the vulnerable.

Details

Inequality after the 20th Century: Papers from the Sixth ECINEQ Meeting
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-993-0

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 May 2018

Suneila Gokhool, Harshana Kasseeah and Verena Tandrayen-Ragoobur

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the socio-economic characteristics of workers engaged in vulnerable jobs in Mauritius. The study has a particular focus on the gender…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the socio-economic characteristics of workers engaged in vulnerable jobs in Mauritius. The study has a particular focus on the gender and youth dimensions of vulnerable employment. The study also provides a pre-crisis and post-crisis analysis of vulnerable employment.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses several waves of the continuous multi-purpose household survey, which is a high-quality individual-level data set, to study vulnerable employment. Several definitions of vulnerable employment are used to identify the workers employed in vulnerable jobs. These include “own-account” workers and “contributing family workers”.

Findings

The results obtained suggest that women and young workers have a lower probability of being in vulnerable employment. Marital status, age and education are also important variables influencing the probability of being in vulnerable employment.

Research limitations/implications

The paper has important policy implications regarding welfare and education policies. Appropriate mechanisms need to be put in place for the social protection and training of workers so that they do not end up in vulnerable jobs.

Originality/value

This paper studies Mauritius as it is a small island economy vulnerable to external shocks. Vulnerable unemployment has often been understudied as the focus of many studies has been solely on employment, and the quality of employment has often not been considered.

Details

International Journal of Development Issues, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1446-8956

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2021

Abdelmajid Amine, Audrey Bonnemaizon and Margaret Josion-Portail

The purpose of this paper is to show that the categorization of elderly patients as vulnerable is affected by health-care service interactions with caregivers, which may increase…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show that the categorization of elderly patients as vulnerable is affected by health-care service interactions with caregivers, which may increase, reduce or even negate entirely elderly patients’ vulnerable status.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports the results of a qualitative study based on in-depth interviews conducted with a large and varied sample of health-care personnel in charge of elderly patients in two hospital geriatric departments in France.

Findings

Findings show that the limits of the service-dominant logic approach when the service (care) relationship concerns vulnerable individuals who are, completely or partially, unable to take part in the co-creation of the service and the roles played by caregivers as resource integrators (intermediaries, facilitatorapomediaries and transformativeapomediaries) and that this affects the categorization of elderly patients as vulnerable.

Research limitations/implications

The results enrich knowledge about the service relationship with vulnerable people by showing that the categorization of elderly patients as vulnerable is not immutable but stems from the dynamics among actors that may variously “reify it” (contribute to its internalization), “reduce it” (enable access to aspects of normal life), or “neutralize it” (help free this cohort from their categorization as vulnerable).

Practical implications

The findings provide insights for care providers by stressing the need to raise awareness among hospital staff regarding their active role in affecting the categorization of elderly patients as vulnerable through their care practices. In the context of public health policies, the findings show that the regulatory injunction to empower patients to preserve their well-being tends to produce the opposite effect on the frailest patients, who are unable to participate in their care pathway.

Originality/value

The research shows that categorization as vulnerable, in the health-care services context, is affected by the care interactions between caregivers and elderly patients. The support provided to hospital staff in this context helps to maintain patients’ well-being and dignity.

Article
Publication date: 12 February 2018

Laura Pritchard-Jones

The purpose of this paper is to explore and critique the conceptual and terminological shift – particularly from “vulnerability” to “adult at risk” – in adult safeguarding under…

2793

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore and critique the conceptual and terminological shift – particularly from “vulnerability” to “adult at risk” – in adult safeguarding under the Care Act 2014 and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper compares the notion of the vulnerable adult in safeguarding, with the notion of an adult at risk under the Care Act 2014 and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and questions to what extent such a shift addresses existing criticisms of “vulnerability”.

Findings

The paper criticises the notion of the “vulnerable adult” for perpetuating the stigma associated with an impairment or disability, and for the types of legal and policy responses deemed appropriate under such an understanding of vulnerability. While efforts to replace the term “vulnerable adult” with “adult at risk” are, to some extent, to be welcomed, “adult at risk” under the legislation relies on the same characteristics for which the “vulnerable adult” has been criticised. Nevertheless, the safeguarding provisions under the two Acts have made some strides forward in comparison to their legal and policy predecessors and the notion of the “vulnerable adult”.

Originality/value

This paper’s originality and value lie in its scrutiny of the notion of “vulnerability” in adult safeguarding, in comparison to the newer terminology of an “adult at risk”, whilst also suggesting that in important respects – in relation to the interventions deemed appropriate where an adult is perceived to be at risk – the two pieces of legislation are a marked improvement on their predecessors. It also offers some thoughts as to how criticisms of the new legislation may be overcome.

Details

The Journal of Adult Protection, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1466-8203

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2003

UMBERTO CHERUBINI and ELISA LUCIANO

Counterparty risk is usually defined as the risk which stems from the fact that the counterparty of a derivative contract is not solvent before or at expiration. As most of the…

Abstract

Counterparty risk is usually defined as the risk which stems from the fact that the counterparty of a derivative contract is not solvent before or at expiration. As most of the derivative trading activity has been moving from standardized products quoted on futures‐style markets, towards customized products traded on over‐the‐counter markets, the issue of counterparty risk evaluation has increasingly gathered momentum and is now one of the hot topics in option pricing theory. The corresponding options are named vulnerable.

Details

The Journal of Risk Finance, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1526-5943

Article
Publication date: 2 August 2013

Paul Burstow

This paper intends to explore how corporate bodies could be held criminally responsible for abuse and neglect that takes place in hospitals and care homes if by their actions they…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper intends to explore how corporate bodies could be held criminally responsible for abuse and neglect that takes place in hospitals and care homes if by their actions they facilitate this abuse or neglect to take place. It explores current domestic and international law and seeks to find precedents and guidance that would allow the Government to create a new criminal sanction for “corporate neglect”.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides a review of existing legislation and regulation on corporate neglect in hospitals and care homes.

Findings

The paper proposes that the Health and Social Care Act 2008 be amended to include a new section which would make corporate neglect a criminal offence. Furthermore, to ensure that the punishments for these offences act both as appropriate sanction and a suitable deterrent for corporations, the author proposes that new offences should be implemented to include unlimited fines, remedial orders and publicity orders.

Originality/value

Following a number of recent scandals in care homes and hospitals, including Winterbourne View and Mid Staffordshire, it is clear that there is a legislative and regulatory gap in the ability to hold corporate bodies to account for neglect or abuse that occurs in their institutions. This must now be urgently addressed.

Details

The Journal of Adult Protection, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1466-8203

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2017

Inayat Ullah and Madiha Khan

The purpose of this paper is to review different microfinance products and services that can be offered to reduce the financial vulnerabilities of communities at risk. Following a…

1398

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review different microfinance products and services that can be offered to reduce the financial vulnerabilities of communities at risk. Following a detail literature review, the effectiveness of different forms of microfinance services in creating resilience in the affected communities was analysed and whether they can be applied to mitigate the risk of future disasters was assessed. In addition, the study was conducted to assess whether microcredit can help reduce direct risk exposure of the poor through income smoothing.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on a review of existing theories.

Findings

The notion that most vulnerable communities are financially weak is evident from studies. This study finds that microcredit can help reduce direct risk exposure of poor through income smoothing, while saving can help them recover from the losses of disasters. Our review also suggests that there is no specific model of microfinance services which can have a holistic impact on the financial capacity-building, particularly during the rehabilitation process.

Research limitations/implications

There are different categories of microfinance products with distinct characteristics and associated benefits to the communities. Some of the major microfinance products as identified in this study are, saving products, credit products and insurance products. These products have multidimensional benefits, as there are many approaches adopted by microfinance institutions (MFIs) and clients regarding the use of these products. However this study focuses on the use of these products towards resilience development in the community. Other applications of these products still need to be explored.

Practical implications

There is a need for a comprehensive financial tool that can be effectively applied to expedite the process of rehabilitation and reduce the financial impact of disasters on the community, particularly the poor. Major issues in the context of disasters faced by MFIs to design their products in the affected areas are also highlighted in the study.

Social implications

The study throws lights on different microfinancial tools such as microloans, microcredits and cash for work, etc. offered by banks and other organizations and highlights their role in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of those affected by disasters in different parts of the world.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the discourse of microfinance and its social applications in developing countries. It provides original role of microfinance as a tool for creating community resilience to the impacts of disasters.

Details

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6204

Keywords

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