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Trade and money in British West Africa, 1912–1970: evidence from seasonal cycles
No full textA long-standing debate in Africa’s economic history is the speed with which the introduction of colonial currency changed the monetary systems in use on the continent. On the one hand, this introduction saw the gradual decline of indigenous currencies such as cowries and manilas. On the other, the persistence of such currencies suggests that a system of multiple currencies was maintained for some time after the beginning of colonial rule. This article uses new data on seasonal fluctuations in the circulation of official currencies in West Africa to argue that they were largely used for the purchase of cash crops and imports. Demand for these currencies was thus driven by their use as the medium of exchange in international trade. Such limited adoption of colonial currencies reflected both the motivations behind their introduction as well as Africans’ limited access to financial services
Artificial intelligence and financial crises
No full textThe rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) poses new and poorly understood threats to financial stability. We use a game-theoretic model to analyse the stability impact of AI, finding that it amplifies existing financial system vulnerabilities — leverage, liquidity stress and opacity — through superior information processing, common data, speed and strategic complementarities. The consequence is crises become faster and more severe, where the likelihood of a crisis is directly affected by how effectively the authorities engage with AI. In response, we propose that the financial authorities develop their own AI systems and expertise, establish direct AI-to-AI communication, implement automated crisis facilities and monitor AI use
Helping the homeless to tackle addiction can save the state millions
No full textHomelessness is not just a social ill. It also costs the state huge sums of money. A new digital tool helps track the cost of homelessness when coupled with drug addiction across a number of public services. Michela Tinelli argues that the results clearly make the case for early intervention and investment in addiction recovery of the homeless
Why humanitarianism continues despite the famine of resources: the dreadful logic of suffering
No full textProfessor Stuart Gordon explores how, despite major funding cuts in the humanitarian sector, core life-saving areas like food, health, and shelter remain relatively protected due to their urgency and visibility, while other critical sectors like protection and education face deeper neglect, revealing a stark and ethically fraught funding imbalance
A new history of Britain and the Caribbean - interview with Imaobong Umoren
No full textIn this interview with LSE Review of Books Managing Editor Anna D’Alton, Imaobong Umoren discusses her new book, Empire Without End: A New History of Britain and the Caribbean. From the first arrival of Europeans in the archipelago in the 15th century through to the Windrush scandal in the 21st century, the book traces these intertwined histories and the legacies of exploitation, slavery and empire that persist today. Umoren writes against selective, sanitised narratives of the British Empire, arguing that we must reckon with the violence and complexity of this history if we are to understand its impacts today and move beyond them
The repeated adjustment of measurement protocols method for developing high-validity text classifiers
No full textThe development and evaluation of text classifiers in psychology depends on rigorous manual coding. Yet, the evaluation of manual coding and computational algorithms is usually considered separately. This is problematic because developing high-validity classifiers is a repeated process of identifying, explaining, and addressing conceptual and measurement issues during both the manual coding and classifier development stages. To address this problem, we introduce the Repeated Adjustment of Measurement Protocols (RAMP) method for developing high-validity text classifiers in psychology. The RAMP method has three stages: manual coding, classifier development, and integrative evaluation. These stages integrate the best practices of content analysis (manual coding), data science (classifier development), and psychology (integrative evaluation). Central to this integration is the concept of an inference loop, defined as the process of maximizing validity through repeated adjustments to concepts and constructs, guided by push-back from the empirical data. Inference loops operate both within each stage of the method and across related studies. We illustrate RAMP through a case study, where we manually coded 21,815 sentences for misunderstanding (Krippendorff’s α = .79), and developed a rule-based classifier (Matthews correlation coefficient [MCC] = 0.22), a supervised machine learning classifier (Bidirectional Encoder Representations From Transformers; MCC = 0.69) and a large language model classifier (GPT-4o; MCC = 0.47). By integrating manual coding and classifier development stages, we were able to identify and address a concept validity problem with misunderstandings. RAMP advances existing methods by operationalizing validity as an ongoing dynamic process, where concepts and constructs are repeatedly adjusted toward increasingly widespread intersubjective agreement on their utility
BanglAssist: A Bengali-English generative AI chatbot for code-switching and dialect-handling in customer service
No full textIn recent years, large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated exponential improvements that promise transformative opportunities across various industries. Their ability to generate human-like text and ensure continuous availability facilitates the creation of interactive service chatbots aimed at enhancing customer experience and streamlining enterprise operations. Despite their potential, LLMs face critical challenges, such as a susceptibility to hallucinations and difficulties handling complex linguistic scenarios, notably code switching and dialectal variations. To address these challenges, this paper describes the design of a multilingual chatbot for Bengali-English customer service interactions utilizing retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and targeted prompt engineering. This research provides valuable insights for the human-computer interaction (HCI) community, emphasizing the importance of designing systems that accommodate linguistic diversity to benefit both customers and businesses. By addressing the intersection of generative AI and cultural heterogeneity, this late-breaking work inspires future innovations in multilingual and multicultural HCI
Navigating the 21st century business world: case studies in management
No full textCase studies have long been an integral part of business and management education. As artificial intelligence transforms teaching and learning, they are assuming even greater importance. Cases provide the opportunity to learn from real-life scenarios, equipping students with the analytical skills required to critically examine data, apply theory, and interpret complex situations in what is an increasingly noisy and uncertain world. Navigating the 21st Century Business World: Case Studies in Management is a fully open access collection of management cases, featuring examples from the health sector, media, oil and gas industries, fast fashion, financial services, and the public sector. Written by LSE academics and tested in the classroom, the case studies in this book challenge students to evaluate classic issues of management, such as corporate governance and leadership, and to address contemporary dilemmas, from considering a company’s responsibilities in the face of man-made climate change to how to create inclusive workforces. Each case details the core dilemmas raised and includes questions for students to consider when preparing the case. Academics and industry trainers can use the collection to make their lessons more hands-on and to enhance their curriculum. The case studies provide practical examples of management decision-making to spark thought-provoking discussions for university students, experienced executives looking to improve their leadership skills, and entrepreneurs seeking a competitive edge
The UK’s National Health Service: teams, conflict and performance
No full textThis is an imagined case which considers a multidisciplinary hospital team in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). The team is tasked with discussing how to improve patient safety, a critical area for improvement in the NHS. The purpose of the case is to illustrate different types of team conflict, sources of conflict and the detrimental effect of conflict on team performance. It also considers team diversity, its causes and consequences. The challenges facing the team are addressed by adopting a leadership style that values diversity and adapts to suit the needs of team members
Introduction
No full textThe increasing urgency of the global climate crisis has placed international climate communication at the forefront of scholarly research and practical application. As the issues have risen on the political agenda, it has become of increasing interest to practitioners, non-governmental organizations, governments, and policymakers at national and international levels. Over the last 25 years, there has been a proliferation of scholarly activity and studies that examine the deep-seated challenges of communicating the climate crisis, spanning a range of disciplines. Such challenges include the complexity of climate science itself and the difficulties of communicating this across different cultures and international contexts. This chapter begins by explaining the need for a research handbook specifically on climate “crisis” communication. It provides an overview of the field and a chapter-by-chapter summary of the contents of the Handbook. Finally, it concludes by highlighting important emerging research areas identified throughout the book