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Labour productivity gains or offshoring?:Implications for post-growth proposals on the future of work
Get PDFTwo visions prevail about the future of work in sustainable post-growth economies. According to the first, labour productivity gains resulting from technological development will enable to work less. The second contends instead that such gains are not always desirable and could be constrained by a shift towards less polluting production, potentially resulting in more work. Yet, conventional measures of labour productivity on which these proposals are based can conceal a displacement of labour requirements abroad. In this paper, we conduct a case study on Germany in 1995–2020 to assess whether and to which extent labour productivity gains result from offshoring, and implications for post-growth proposals on the future of work. We first retrieve global labour requirements of German production across upstream supply chains. We then decompose conventional labour productivity gains to evaluate whether they result from a reduction in global labour requirements or of their increased displacement towards upstream sectors. Finally, we examine possible impacts on labour offshoring of shifting production to sectors with low productivity gains. We use a socially extended Multi-Regional Input-Output model based on OECD data. Our results show that a quarter of the global labour requirements for German production is provided abroad. This share increased until 2007 before it stabilized or decreased. We identify some potential for working time reduction without increases in labour offshoring. Shifting to service sectors could furthermore reduce labour offshoring relative to production. Yet critically, German production may cover only a fraction of domestic consumption. Related implications for post-growth proposals require further attention
An unmanned traffic command system for controlled waterway in inland river: an edge-centric IoT approach
Get PDFThe controlled waterway in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River has become a bottleneck for shipping due to its curved, narrow and turbulent characteristics. Consequently, the competent authorities must establish controlled one-way waterways and signal stations to ensure traffic safety. These signal stations are often located in remote and uninhabited mountainous areas, causing great difficulties in the living and working conditions for the staff. Therefore, the trend has emerged toward unmanned and remote traffic command at signal stations. The vessels passing through it must obey the signal revealed by the Intelligent Vessel Traffic Signaling System (IVTSS) to pass in one direction. The accuracy of signals is directly related to traffic safety and efficiency. However, the unreliability of vessel sensing sensors in these areas and the latency of transmission and computation of large amounts of sensing data may negatively impact IVTSS. Hence, more information from the physical world is needed to ensure the stable operation of IVTSS, and we proposed an edge-computing-centric sensing and execution system based on IoT architecture to enhance the reliability of IVTSS. We conducted experiments using plug-and-play methods, reducing the command and recording error rates by 89.47% and 86.27%, respectively, achieving the goal of real-time perception control
Unpacking the Role of Digital Dynamic Capabilities in ESG Performance: A Social Exchange Perspective on Organizational Trust and Identification
No full textThis study examines the role of digital dynamic capabilities (DDCs) in enhancing ESG performance, integrating insights from social exchange theory (SET). By conceptualizing organizational trust and organizational identification as key antecedents of DDCs, we propose that firms fostering trust-based and identification-driven environments are more effective in leveraging digital transformation to advance sustainability initiatives. Utilizing a two-wave survey of 257 firms, we employ structural equation modeling to test our hypotheses. Findings reveal that organizational trust and identification positively influence DDCs, with DDCs serving as a partial mediator in the relationship between organizational trust and ESG performance. Moreover, organizational identification exhibits a direct effect on ESG performance rather than operating through DDCs. These results underscore the contingent role of digital transformation in sustainability strategies, emphasizing that trust and digital readiness are essential enablers of corporate ESG outcomes. The study contributes to both SET and dynamic capability perspectives by demonstrating how relational capital, when combined with digital adaptation mechanisms, facilitates ESG success
Revealing urban–rural migration corridors through edge-path bundling of historical census data in Bulgaria
Get PDFThis featured graphic visualises internal migration flows in Bulgaria using settlement-level census data from 1934 to 1946, highlighting how topography and local factors shaped migration and urbanisation. By combining spatial interaction models (SIMs) and edge-path bundling techniques, we reveal fine-scale migration corridors and the role of mountainous terrain in influencing mobility. The SIM approach goes beyond aggregate district analysis to provide new insights into rural depopulation and urban growth
Systematic common components in ESG ratings across legal origins
Get PDFThis study investigates the systematic components of ESG ratings by applying a multilevel factor model using the GCC approach. Leveraging ESG data from MSCI and Refinitiv across countries grouped by legal origin (English, French, German, and Scandinavian), we identify a single global factor consistently present across aggregate ESG scores and individual E/S/G pillars, reflecting the globalisation of ESG standards. However, the number and influence of local factors vary across legal origins and data providers. Notably, Refinitiv ratings are dominated by global factors, while MSCI ratings exhibit stronger local factor influence. These findings reveal rater-specific divergences and mixed evidence on the role of legal origin in shaping ESG performance. We argue that enhancing the relative importance of global factors — through harmonised ESG disclosure standards — can improve the consistency and predictive power of ESG ratings. Policy implications include the need for global mandatory reporting frameworks
Opportunities and costs for shared ground loops
Get PDFShared ground loops (SGLs) combine shared ground heat exchangers with distributed heat pumps across multiple properties and may offer a route to decarbonise heating where individual heat pumps or heat networks are not feasible. SGLs can be installed in homes and buildings with limited outside space for a heat pump or insufficient demand density to support a heat network. To make the most of potential opportunities, greater awareness of factors shaping UK deployment is needed. Through a mixed-methods approach combining rapid evidence assessment, case studies and policy mapping, this study finds SGLs mostly limited to deployment by social landlords and in new build settings, with wider use impacted by high capital costs, policy gaps around mid-scale solutions, market concentration around a single supplier, and the need for business models applicable to mixed-tenure settings. SGLs are particularly suitable for dwellings in higher density areas outside of government-designated Heat Network Zones, where it is expected that large heat networks will deliver the lowest-cost route to decarbonising heat. We suggest policy and practice recommendations intended to create conditions for wider deployment. At a national policymaker level, SGL suitability for mid-scale, medium-density settings and support for a flexible energy system should be more clearly recognised, especially in areas outside Heat Network Zones. At the individual company level, deployment would be supported through development of utility-style business models and installation approaches by infrastructure developers which can offer SGLs to households of a range of tenure types
The conceptualisation and limits of 'critical' in critical military studies
Get PDFWhat has the ‘critical’ in Critical Military Studies meant? What criticalities have informed and been developed within CMS approaches to the study of militarism and military institutions, power and processes? What might some of the limits of this be? And as we look ahead to the future of the field, what imperatives might guide the directions we take next? Responding to these animating questions I set out to do two things in this article. Firstly, I map out where the ‘critical’ in critical military studies came from, how it developed, and attempt to locate the field in broader analytic traditions and social and political projects. Secondly, I take the article in a more exploratory direction in which I map some of my misgivings about the limits of CMS’s criticalities and invite directions we might take next. I focus on two areas: the disavowal of denunciation, which I argue has foreclosed important normative work within CMS; and the framing of alternative, which I argue has been limited by a post-structuralist concern with opening space for, rather than delineating the conditions of, alternatives
Zinc-Catalysed Depolymerization of Poly(Butylene Succinate) and Poly(Butylene Adipate-co-Terephthalate) and Enhanced Degradation of Catalyst-Polymer Composite Films
Get PDFThe depolymerization of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) with a highly active zinc catalyst was investigated. The methanolysis of PBS in solution was optimised by varying temperature, catalyst loading, and methanol equivalents, giving a maximum conversion of 988 h with a dimethyl succinate yield of 62free methanolysis of PBS and PBAT was shown to reach high conversion after 1 h, although increased temperature was required (100–130°C). When the catalyst was embedded into thin films of PBS and PBAT, a significant loss of mass and a reduction in molecular weight was observed after incubation at 50°C in methanol, comparing favorably with samples of pure polymer. Some increase in degradation activity was also observed in deionized water. This work demonstrates the application of common chemical recycling techniques to increasingly relevant bio-derived polyesters as well as the potential for embedded zinc catalysts to promote degradation
A synthesis of explanations for spatial inequalities in gambling harm: integrating social and material dimensions of place
Get PDFPlace matters for understanding patterns of gambling harm as shown by the spatial clustering of both ‘vulnerable’ people and gambling outlets. Harms are experienced at a community level (and never restricted to individuals) and are spread unequally across communities of place. Following the liberalisation of gambling laws in the UK in the 1990s, gambling outlets and advertising have proliferated in many economically disadvantaged places, with the gambling industries in some cases appearing to target these areas. Despite growing recognition of place-based inequalities in the harms caused by gambling, there have been limited efforts to understand gambling as a spatial practice that reflects and produces inequalities in health. This paper presents a synthesis of theories and explanations in the social science and public health literature about the unequal harms from gambling experienced by people in different places. We draw on a socio-material approach in our synthesis to show how different assemblages of gambling products, venues, marketing materials and collective histories form in different localities to influence different gambling practices with varying consequences for health. The synthesis foregrounds how different levels of power and influence in the production, regulation and experience of space across communities shape i) the meanings of gambling as a social practice and ii) the collective resources of communities to protect themselves from gambling harms. The analysis thus points to socio-material spaces as sites for interventions to reduce inequalities in harm
A causal validation augmented temporal convolutional framework for brain effective connectivity networks estimation
Get PDFAdvancements in neuroimaging have facilitated unprecedented insights into brain connectivity, making the study of brain effective connectivity networks (ECNs) essential for understanding neurological functions and diseases. Recently, neural networks (NNs) have emerged as powerful tools for ECN estimation due to their prominent universal approximation ability and less reliance on prior knowledge. However, most NN-based approaches fail to eliminate redundant temporal information and lack rigorous causal validation mechanisms. This paper introduces a novel end-to-end framework for estimating ECNs utilising Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (Lasso) regression of Temporal Convolutional Networks (TCNs), named the Causal Validation augmented Temporal Convolutional Framework (CVTCF). In the CVTCF, a convolutional Hierarchical Group Lasso (cHGL) is proposed to detect Granger Causality (GC) inputs and eliminate redundant temporal information during GC detection. Additionally, the framework incorporates permutation importance validation based on the Wilcoxon signed-rank test to enhance the reliability of GC detection. The proposed CVTCF generally outperformed state-of-the-art methods in a controlled simulation using the chaotic Lorenz-96 model and the publicly available blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) benchmark dataset. Furthermore, the proposed CVTCF has enabled a detailed analysis of the causal interactions within the cerebral cortex, bringing to light the intricate relationships that underlie neurological functioning and impairment of neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Parkinson's Disease (PD). This study demonstrates the potential of using ECN estimation based on the CVTCF as indicators for neurodegenerative diseases and paves the way for future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies
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