107159 research outputs found
Sort by
Embracing structure: opportunities and challenges of implementing structure in organizations
No full textStructure —explicit and predetermined rules, specificity, and order imposed to guide behavior—has long been recognized as a means of elevating outcomes for individuals, groups, and organizations beyond default processes. Yet, structured tools are often underutilized in practice, raising critical questions: why are they resisted, and how can organizations encourage greater adoption? Addressing these challenges requires increasing awareness of their benefits and targeting psychological barriers to their use. The papers in this symposium tackle these issues in three ways. First, they highlight the limitations of default processes, demonstrating that humans underperform in detecting their partner’s conversational topic preferences compared to machine learning algorithms. Second, they illustrate the benefits of structure, showing how structured tools enhance conversational safety, promote equal speaking time in groups, and empower individuals to make voluntary choices during consent procedures. Third, they explore psychological barriers, such as concerns about enjoyment, that undermine the adoption of structured approaches. Collectively, this symposium showcases structure as a powerful tool for improving outcomes for individuals, groups, and organizations, while emphasizing the importance of thoughtful design and implementation that accounts for individuals’ psychological needs and motivations. Topic preference detection: A novel approach to understand perspective taking in conversation Author: Michael Yeomans; Imperial College London Author: Alison Wood Brooks; Harvard Business School Unlocking the power of equal airtime: Nudging conversational safety in group conversations Author: F Katelynn Boland; Author: Nicholas Demetrio Zambrotta; UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business Author: Nicole Abi-Esber; London School of Economics and Political Science Structuring Requests to Empower Voluntary Consent Author: Rachel Schlund; Cornell University Author: Roseanna Sommers; Author: Vanessa Bohns; Cornell University Overcoming Resistance to Structured Collaboration: The Role of Hedonic Perceptions Author: Kelly Harrington; Northwestern University Author: Loran F. Nordgren
African political transitions in perspective: an introduction
No full textOver the past two decades, many African countries have made significant progress in transitioning towards democratic political systems and governance processes. However, there have been notable setbacks, leading to inconsistent democratic changes that remain a challenge in some countries more than others. The result is rather a mosaic portrait featuring a mixed basket of a complex history, contemporary political tragedies, and structural institutional problems. This situation has prompted renewed focus on Africa’s overall underperformance. It has become especially relevant in light of the recent surge of coups in the Sahel, raising broad questions about the continent’s future trajectory regarding democracy. At the same time, countries like Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, and Mauritius remain vibrant and show promise for positive democratic development. In essence, democratic progress presents a complex and incomplete picture as the region moves into the future. This volume aims to revisit these political developments, offering a more localised analysis and context. Doing so seeks to derive practical and theoretical insights from the African Union’s Agenda 2063 to inform sustainable policies. This chapter introduces the volume and provides an overview of the preceding contributions
Housing since 1945: the impact of policy change and ideology
Get PDFHousing policy in England has undergone significant reform on several occasions since 1945. Consensus approaches in the late 1940s and 50s to build large numbers of council houses and new private homes gave way to more ideologically driven policies in the 1970s and 80s. Fashions for modern architecture, system building and the layout of estates (and reactions to such fads) fed the politicisation of housing, notably in relation to attitudes to the relative benefits of owner‐occupation as compared to social renting. A substantial number of council homes were sold off at a discount under the Thatcher government's Right to Buy policy. Successive governments failed to maintain the social housing estate, whether owned by local government or housing associations. Since 2000, a new consensus has emerged where a modest increase in social housing is seen as desirable, alongside policies to encourage owner‐occupation and to improve the private rental sector
Carbon pricing without bite? new evidence on industry compensation raises red flags
No full textMore than a quarter of global carbon emissions are now covered by some form of tax or trading system. However, political concerns about competitiveness and carbon leakage continue to shape policy design, with many governments offering compensation to energy-intensive firms to shield them from indirect carbon costs. The authors of this commentary emphasise that how we compensate matters and propose approaches governments can take to move to more targeted, conditional support that aligns with long-term decarbonisation goals
What climate risk management can teach banks about geopolitical risk
Get PDFClimate change and geopolitical tensions increasingly interact, creating compound risks that can amplify shocks to banks and financial stability. Martina Menegat and Agnieszka Smoleńska explain how tools developed for climate risks can inform bank supervision and improve management of geopolitical exposures
How much can business contribute to financing climate resilience?
Get PDFThe “implementation” of climate action, and how to pay for it, are top of the agenda at COP30 in Belém. As the meeting begins, Anna Beswick and Debbie Hillier share new insights into whether the private sector can help close the significant gap between the amount of money needed to adapt to climate change, and … Continue
Teaching the frontier to read: language, literacy and the making of modern China
Get PDFRuling the Mongols of Manchuria by Jiani He examines how language shaped imperial governance and nation-building in late Qing borderlands. He’s detailed and valuable linguistic history reveals the challenge of establishing a shared sense of imperial identity among multilingual subjects and shows how the attempt to impose a trilingual hierarchy transformed frontier politics and shaped modern China, writes Ron Po
An opportunity born of a media storm?: bringing the public's voice into the debate about the BBC’s future
Get PDFLSE’s Professor Lee Edwards and the University of Leeds’ Dr Giles Moss reflect on recent accusations and resignations at the BBC in light of their research into citizens’ assemblies and make a case for the value of public input
High energy bills lend unexpected support for renewable investment
Get PDFA pervasive narrative in politics is that those who face economic hardship revolt against climate policies. But Liam Beiser-McGrath argues that this narrative is inaccurate. People’s attitudes towards green policies are nuanced, with voters experiencing energy insecurity lending more support to renewable energy investment than their well-off peers