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Addressing challenges to labour rights reporting on global value chains: social governance mechanisms as a way forward
Get PDFWith the spread of globalisation, transnational companies (TNCs) face increasing challenges to uphold labour rights along their value chains, raising concerns over their ability to truly discharge their accountability to their wider workforce and thus contribute to Sustainable Development Goals. We provide two examples of workforce issues, migrant workers and wages, to illustrate the complexities and challenges that accountability for labour rights brings. We argue that existing governance mechanisms are not designed to capture the pressing workforce issues that TNCs are expected to deal with, and there is a need for further mechanisms to support and guide TNCs’ efforts. We focus on three types of governance - private, public and social - and propose how changes can be made to help improve corporate accountability for labour rights
Efficient design for smart environment using Raspberry Pi with Blockchain and IoT (BRIoT)
Get PDFInternet of Things (IoT) is reshaping digital world day by day by integrating several technologies to provide smart services. However, intrinsic features of IoT resulting in a number of challenges, such as decentralization, poor interoperability, privacy, confidentiality, and security vulnerabilities. Several security techniques like encryption, third-party software’s are in use currently to protect users data. Blockchain was initially established for digital crypto currencies with a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus process and the advantage of smart contracts, which enabled distributed trust without the involvement of a third party. Its distributed trust concept paved the way for many other developments, such as the development of new consensus mechanisms such as Proof of Stake (PoS) and Proof of Authority (PoA), which aided in the adoption of Blockchain with low computation machines into sectors such as smart industry and smart transportation. Blockchain implementation in IoT can address the security issue, here we proposed a design using Raspberry Pi as edge node (BRIoT)
Political incumbency effects in India: a regional analysis
Get PDFThe significance of a study of political incumbency and the factors influencing it stems from the fact that it directly affects the behaviour of the incumbent political party and its accountability to the electorate. We use data on Parliamentary Elections in India from 1980 to 2014 to tease out evidence of incumbency advantage. We employ Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) to estimate the incumbency effect. Our results indicate the absence of any incumbency effect when considering all elections in India together. This finding is at odds with the research reported so far. To explain our contrary result, we drilled down deeper to obtain a more granular view of the incumbency effect in India. We do this across various regions of India. The results show that north Indian states generally show strong evidence of incumbency disadvantage while south Indian states show strong evidence of incumbency advantage. We also show that incumbency advantage has increased over time
Nitrogen migration and transformation in a saline-alkali paddy ecosystem with application of different nitrogen fertilizers
No full textWith the increasing transformation of saline-alkali land into paddy, the nitrogen (N) loss in saline-alkali paddy fields becomes an urgent agricultural-environmental problem. However, N migration and transformation following the application of different N fertilizers in saline-alkali paddy fields remains unclear. In this study, four types of N fertilizers were tested to explore the N migration and transformation among water-soil-gas-plant media in saline-alkali paddy ecosystems. Based on the structural equation models, N fertilizer types can change the effects of electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and ammonia-N (NH -N) of surface water and/or soil on ammonia (NH ) volatilization and nitrous oxide (N O) emission. Compared with urea (U), the application of urea with urease-nitrification inhibitors (UI) can reduce the potential risk of NH -N and nitrate-N (NO -N) loss via runoff, and significantly (p < 0.05) reduce the N O emission. However, the expected effectiveness of UI on NH volatilization control and total N (TN) uptake capacity of rice was not achieved. For organic-inorganic compound fertilizer (OCF) and carbon-based slow-release fertilizer (CSF), the average TN concentrations in surface water at panicle initiation fertilizer (PIF) stage were reduced by 45.97% and 38.63%, respectively, and the TN contents in aboveground crops were increased by 15.62% and 23.91%. The cumulative N O emissions by the end of the entire rice-growing season were also decreased by 103.62% and 36.69%, respectively. Overall, both OCF and CSF are beneficial for controlling N O emission and the potential risks of N loss via runoff caused by surface water discharge, and improving the TN uptake capacity of rice in saline-alkali paddy fields.
[Abstract copyright: © 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
I am not just a nurse: the need for a boundaried ethic of care in the context of prolific relationality
Get PDFThe Ethics of Care (EoC) theory has been widely applied in the field of management, and there is a growing consensus that it is important to recognise the value and practice of care in the workplace. In this paper, we consider the implications of the EoC at work, and in particular the risks unboundaried care demands may pose to employees who encounter unmanageable ‘calls to care’. We present findings from interviews with 27 nurses in Malaysia, which suggest that the demand to care at work, in addition to demands made in the non-work sphere, may be unmanageable. We argue for a more boundaried approach to the EoC at work with a view to ensuring that in valuing care we do not over-burden the carer
Predicting weight category specific performance zones for Olympic, World and European weightlifting competitions
Get PDFUnderstanding the total likely required to achieve a specific rank within a specific competition can aid in the long- and short-term preparation and tactics for performance teams. The primary objective of this investigation was to develop a set of predictive models for new weight categories across five performance zones for 3 major weightlifting competitions. Performance total (Ptot) data for top 15 male athletes were obtained from the IWF website from 1998-2020 across the Olympics, and World and European Championships. A second order polynomial regression was conducted with 95% confidence and predictive intervals calculated. The average of the newly contested bodyweights was then used as the intercept. Predictions were compared against current performances of the new weight categories up to the 2020 Olympics. Results revealed that the models for all competition types varied in their predictive ability for each performance zone, across each new weight category. On average, predicted Ptot displayed a difference from actual Ptot of 3.65±2.51 (12.46±9.16kg), 0.78±3.29% (2.26±10.08kg) and -1.13±3.46% (-4.32±11.10kg) for the Olympics and World and European Championships, respectively. The results suggest that the predictive models may be a good indicator of future performances, however, the models may have greater efficacy in some weight categories and performance zones than others
Artist residencies as specialist accommodation: cultural entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 pandemic
Get PDFPurpose - Artist residencies comprise a unique accommodation type and a form of cultural entrepreneurship which remains overlooked from a hospitality perspective. This exploratory study examines the phenomenon of artist residencies as specialist accommodation, as well as their operators’ motives as cultural entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Creation theory is used to explore how artist residency operators create entrepreneurial opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach - Asynchronous email interviews were conducted with 20 artist residency operators from 18 countries. Purposive sampling was used to select interviewees and thematic analysis to analyze the primary data.
Findings - The results showed that with few exceptions, artist residencies address all criteria of specialist accommodation, and that social interactions among artists and operators are fundamental in running an artist residency. From a cultural entrepreneurship perspective, most of the operators declared that their priorities were to promote artistic creativity and cultural knowledge exchange, confirming the main elements of creation theory.
Practical implications - Managerial implications are discussed to enhance artist residency resilience and strengthen their financial viability, as well as to support them to overcome the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Originality/value - This study extends the hospitality literature by adding the artist residencies to the existing types of specialist accommodation. It also examines creation theory and concludes that artistic creativity and cultural networks are prominent in artist residency entrepreneurial activities
The private sector against human trafficking in tourism
Get PDFTourism, travel and hospitality report high prevalence of human trafficking, predominantly for sexual exploitation (Caroline et al., 2015; Robinson, 2013). With human trafficking recognised as a form of international organised crime and a serious human rights violation, states are bound to address it comprehensively. In parallel, the private sector in tourism, travel and hospitality has demonstrated engagement in the fight against human trafficking through a wide range of initiatives and ethical commitments that have been adopted locally, regionally and internationally. The current debate on the need for a business and human rights legally binding instrument serves as a backdrop for this concept paper to argue that the existing regulatory anti-trafficking framework is adequate to effectively address human trafficking in tourism
Android source code vulnerability detection: a systematic literature review
Get PDFThe use of mobile devices is rising daily in this technological era. A continuous and increasing number of mobile applications are constantly offered on mobile marketplaces to fulfil the needs of smartphone users. Many Android applications do not address the security aspects appropriately. This is often due to a lack of automated mechanisms to identify, test, and fix source code vulnerabilities at the early stages of design and development. Therefore, the need to fix such issues at the initial stages rather than providing updates and patches to the published applications is widely recognized. Researchers have proposed several methods to improve the security of applications by detecting source code vulnerabilities and malicious codes. This Systematic Literature Review (SLR) focuses on Android application analysis and source code vulnerability detection methods and tools by critically evaluating 118 carefully selected technical studies published between 2016 and 2022. It highlights the advantages, disadvantages, applicability of the proposed techniques and potential improvements of those studies. Both Machine Learning (ML) based methods and conventional methods related to vulnerability detection are discussed while focusing more on ML-based methods since many recent studies conducted experiments with ML. Therefore, this paper aims to enable researchers to acquire in-depth knowledge in secure mobile application development while minimizing the vulnerabilities by applying ML methods. Furthermore, researchers can use the discussions and findings of this SLR to identify potential future research and development directions
The right tool for the job: evaluating police experiences of a pilot tool for responding to stalking
Get PDFThis research aimed to evaluate the rollout of a pilot Stalking Screen Tool (SST) across two police forces in southern England (Surrey and Sussex Police). The mixed-method approach to this evaluation consisted of several stages which included the analysis of existing crime data; conducting a survey (N = 102) of officers who were part of the pilot and; in-depth qualitative interviews (N = 10) with officers experienced in policing stalking from the pilot forces. The results indicated a relationship between longer terms of service and not seeing the utility of the SST. Ultimately, the research supports the need for tools like the piloted SST with the potential to assist law enforcement to police stalking effectively, albeit also pinpointing areas where such tools could be amended to better reflect the realities of policing stalking. The results further suggest the need for improved training for police on tools like the SST in order to ensure effective implementation