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Contemporary Marketing Solutions
No full textThe function of marketing is regarded as a mechanism that provides practical and theoretical solutions to contemporary businesses worldwide. In this edited book, a cast of international contributors address new and emerging areas within marketing, such as sustainable marketing, the circular economy, and how technologies drive and provide marketing solutions. Rather than exploring the issues, this book focuses on the solutions that these emerging areas provide for businesses. An essential resource for researchers and students, this book demonstrates how marketing activities are relevant to contemporary businesses, offering a state-of-the-art look at emerging trends
Barriers to Healthcare for People with a Learning Disability from Ethnic Minority Backgrounds.
Get PDFPresentation of findings from Race Health Observatory Report and Learning from Lives and Deaths of People with a Learning Disability and Autistic people Repor
Rehabilitating rights within critical legal theory
No full textThis chapter builds on the previous one in revisiting some of the latter’s criticisms of human rights. It does not do so, however, as a means of reinforcing the arguments presented hitherto, but as a means of showing, say, the contradictions and double standards of the tradition of natural rights, which have been far from liberal. This analysis serves as one way of ‘rehabilitating’ rights within critical legal theory. Notwithstanding liberal principles of equality, either through natural law or natural rights, some ideas within that tradition have simply not been equal. Benedict de Spinoza, for example, tolerated slavery, as did John Locke. Indeed, the latter was a shareholder in a slaving company, the Royal African Company, and was involved in drafting the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, 1669, which legalised the practice. Of the first four Presidents of the United States, three of them – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison – were from slave owning families, in Virginia, who, during their tenure as Presidents, did very little, if anything, in bringing about its abolition. Indeed, hypocritically, Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, dated 4 July 1776, had criticised the then British King, George III, for not having abolished slavery, in the Declaration’s first draft, in June 1776. Moreover, for the most part, women were excluded from being holders of rights in the state of nature, as well as holders of rights following the transition to civil society; they were even excluded from the social contract, the process of instituting political sovereignty. Into the 19th and 20th Centuries, the rights of persons of colour, as well as those of women, continued to be denied. Can the liberal tradition, therefore, legitimately claim a ‘monopoly’ over rights? Indeed, critical legal theory itself supports human rights. Modern perspectives on, say, Karl Marx assert that Marx’s traditional hostility towards rights, within capitalism, was confused and incoherent. Furthermore, with Marx saying very little about the communist state, following the overthrow of capitalism, is it wrong to claim that rights would not exist within communism? Rights against others, following capitalism, eg. preventing interpersonal harm, in the form of imposing obligations of restraint on people against their fellow citizens, would still be necessary. In this book’s critical legal defence of human rights, this chapter serves as the basis for defending rights within critical legal theory
The JCMT BISTRO Survey: Unveiling the Magnetic Fields around Galactic Center
Get PDFWe acquired 450 and 850 μm dust continuum polarization observations toward the inner region of the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) as part of the B-Fields In Star-forming Region Observations survey using the POL-2 polarimeter on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. These observations encompassed three dense structures: the 20 km s−1 cloud (20MC), 50 km s−1 cloud (50MC), and circumnuclear disk (CND). Our aim is to investigate the magnetic field morphology and strength in the inner region of the CMZ using polarized dust continuum and the Davis–Chandrasekhar–Fermi method. The magnetic field morphology is highly ordered in all three dense regions. The plane-of-sky magnetic field strengths are ∼1 mG for the 20MC and the 50MC, and ∼2 mG for the CND. We compare the energy contributions of turbulence, gravity, and thermal motion with that of the magnetic field using the plasma β, mass-to-flux ratio, and Alfvén Mach number. The outcomes reveal the magnetic field stands out as the predominant factor within the inner region of the CMZ. The dominance of the magnetic field may explain the low star-forming rate in the CMZ. We further investigate the dust grain alignment efficiency by exploring the relationship between polarization fraction and total intensity. The results suggest that dust grains are well aligned with the magnetic fields
Next steps for improving the operation and efficiency of the courts system in England and Wales
Get PDFGovernance in Action: How Board Characteristics Mitigate Cash Flow Classification Shifting? The Moderating Role of Financial Constraints
Get PDFPurpose: We empirically examine the impact of board characteristics (BCs) on a novel form of classification shifting (CS) using cash flows among Indian listed firms. Additionally, we aim to investigate whether the financial constraints influence this nexus.
Methodology: We used a dataset consisting of 1602 firm-year observations from 2013 to 2022 to achieve these objectives. Employing a fixed-effect panel-data regression approach, our findings reveal compelling evidence that Indian firms actively engage in cash flow classification shifting (CS), strategically reallocating cash flow items across different reporting activities.
Findings: This result underscores the need for enhanced governance mechanisms to ensure financial reporting transparency. In terms of BCs, we found that board size, board gender diversity, and board independence are negatively associated with CS, highlighting their effectiveness in curbing activities like CS and improving the financial reporting quality. Furthermore, the findings reveal that financial constraint moderates the association between BCs and CS, as board independence and women directors are ineffective to curb CS, when Indian firms are facing financial constraints; however, board meetings positively impact cash-flow CS. The main results remain robust after employing GMM estimation and an alternative proxy of financial constraint.
Originality: Our study offers significant implications for policymakers and regulators, particularly emphasizing the critical role of female board members and the presence of independent directors in fostering transparent and ethical corporate practices
Real-time anomaly detection in seasonal time series with conditional variational autoencoder
Get PDFReal-time anomaly detection in high-frequency seasonal time series is commonly addressed using prediction-based methods, which require waiting for new values to perform subsequent predictions and demand continuous processing over time. This work introduces a novel framework for real-time anomaly detection in seasonal time series, with a practical implementation using Conditional Variational Autoencoders based on Multilayer Perceptrons. Our approach eliminates the need for historical time series data at inference time, instead generating a one-shot long-term expected time series that enables immediate evaluation of streaming data with minimal computational resources. Empirical evaluations on real-world seasonal time series demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves state-of-the-art performance compared in both semi-supervised and unsupervised settings. The framework provides computational efficiency and low energy consumption, making it suitable for deployment in commodity hardware and offline environments
Diagnostic performance of exercise stress testing findings and coronary microvascular dysfunction in patients with angina with non-obstructive coronary artery disease
Get PDFBackground
Coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) is common among patients with angina with non-obstructive coronary artery disease (ANOCA) and leads to poorer clinical outcomes. Exercise stress testing (EST) was shown to have a high specificity for detecting CMD. However, the relationship between diagnosing CMD using different invasive physiological parameters and thresholds and the association between EST findings and the endotype of CMD remains unknown.
Methods
This multicentre, prospective cohort study enrolled 117 patients with ANOCA who underwent EST prior to invasive coronary angiography with functional assessment to measure coronary flow reserve (CFR), the index of microvascular resistance (IMR) and microvascular resistance reserve (MRR)=(CFR/FFR)×(P a rest /P a hyper ). CMD was classified using multiple criteria, including MRR <3.0, CFR <2.5 and CFR <2.0 or IMR ≥25. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity and the accuracy of EST findings (exercise-induced chest discomfort, ischaemic ECG changes and exercise intolerance) for diagnosing CMD were assessed.
Results
The prevalence of CMD was similar under all three definitions. However, structural CMD was more common using MRR <3.0. Ischaemic ECG changes during EST showed an excellent diagnostic accuracy of 86.3% (78.7–92.0%) for detecting CMD, with a sensitivity and specificity of 86.2% (68.3–96.1%) and 86.4% (77.4–92.8%), respectively. Exercise-induced chest discomfort also had a good diagnostic accuracy of 76.1% (95% CI 67.3% to 83.5%); however, it offered no additional value when added to ischaemic ECG changes. EST preferentially identified structural CMD, while functional CMD was more frequently missed.
Conclusions
Ischaemic ECG changes during EST performed immediately before invasive functional assessment demonstrated excellent diagnostic accuracy for identifying patients with CMD, particularly the structural endotype.
Trial registration number
NCT0584148
‘Four Men, Four Lives: A Psycho-social study of experiences of Male Sex Workers in Manchester’
Get PDFRecent studies of male sex work present a more positive view of the subject than earlier research which viewed male sex work and the men who engage in it as deficit figures (Aggleton & Parker, 2015; Ellison, 2017; Ellison & Weitzer, 2016; McCabe, 2011; McPhail, Scott & Minichiello, 2015; Minichiello, Scott, & Cox, 2017). Stigma, however, is still a significant concern in the literature. Focusing on the everyday lives and lived experiences of male sex workers who access support from the Men’s Room, Manchester (TMR), this study provides new knowledge about how insight into the wider lives of male sex workers can contribute to constructing them as fully human, a way to counter the everyday
experience of stigma. It demonstrates how a long-term, non-interventionist model of support provides care, relationships, peer-to-peer connections, and access to social spaces and a cultural life, which attends to both immediate and future needs of the men in this study. Drawing on a psycho-social methodology that prioritises opportunities for dialogue, the data collection methods of map-making and repeat interviews allowed the exploration and appreciation of the everyday lives and lived experiences of the male sex workers in this study, their relationships, and their changing relationships to selling sex
A Study of the Role Communities and Relevant Stakeholders Play in the Management of Unofficial Waste Sites in Developing Countries - A Case Study of Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria
Get PDFWithin low-middle income countries (LMIC), a common feature of urban centres is the prevalence of unofficial waste disposal sites (UWDSs). Such sites present challenges to both state and local authorities. As these sites are commonly situated in low-income communities, the control and management are particularly difficult. The waste disposal sites are often within residential areas which pose both a health and environmental risk.
This research was undertaken to determine how roles of the local community play in association with other external stakeholders in managing the development of these sites using a case study of Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. The research sought to utilize the concept of integrated sustainable waste management (ISWM) to analyse and model intervention strategies to diversify waste from the existing UWDSs and prevent development of future sites.
The research employed a mixed method research approach which encompassed (i) geospatial mapping of (29) UWDSs across the study area (ii) a resident survey (n=225 respondents), (iii) interviews with key stakeholders (n=10), (iv) focus group discussions with the community and (v) field observations. Geospatial analysis of the UWDSs showed that these sites were located predominantly along the road near residential areas. It was found that this was independent of socioeconomic classes being in low, medium and high-income areas.
Despite the efforts of the local authority to provide waste collection service across all of the three income areas through house-to-house waste collection, the majority of the waste went uncollected. The survey results showed that waste collection was irregular (37%) or rarely provided (35%) which attested to both an ineffective and inefficient waste management service. This was a major driver in the development of UWDSs. It was found that to improve the situation a framework of Integrated Sustainable Waste Management was required which identified and engaged all of the relevant stakeholders.
Findings of the waste compositional analysis showed that waste streams in UWDSs consisted of organic wastes such as fruit (12.5%), food (9.5%) and tuberous peels (8.4%) and recyclables such as polythene products (12.7%) and glass and ceramics (9.7%) that can be diverted through reuse, community composting, and recycling schemes as source-reduction and waste-diversifying interventions for the management of UWDSs in the study area.
SWOT analysis of intervention strategies associated with the waste profile of the UWDSs aided the development of a model to encourage waste diversion away from UWDSs. According to the waste diversion model, the governance structure identified the significant influence made by Ekiti State Waste Management Authority (EKSWAMA) and community groups (such as the landlord-tenant association, youth community development association) as well as non-governmental organizations in the diversion of waste from the UWDSs. This model connected directly with the existing waste management system to ensure efficient material flow through waste segregation, community composting and recycling schemes.
The adoption of the model relied on the adequate education of both the participatory and non-engaging community members. In order to keep members motivated and encourage others to join the provision of incentives was deemed necessary. This would be in the form of discounts on waste fees, vouchers, or compost. This would ensure the diversion of wastes from the UWDSs and thereby reduce the community reliance on these for disposal.
The research has demonstrated that a bottom-up approach to waste management in LMIC is required to deal with the challenges associated with infrastructure and engagement that drives the development of UWDSs. Effective collaboration of all stakeholders is required to promote diversion of wastes from the UWDSs such that their risks are mitigated, and further development is prevented