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‘En México, desde que usted entra... ¿de dónde tenemos para pagar a los policías?’: Institutional machismo affecting migrant women heading north
Full text linkIn 2023, Mexico was a transit and destination country for more than 700,000 undocumented migrants, the highest number ever recorded. Many of them are women and girls. While both men and women are exposed to violence on their journey, undocumented migrant women experience specific forms of violence and discrimination at the hands of migration guards, workers in state detention centres and migrant shelters, and bureaucrats. Drawing on concepts of male chauvinism, institutional violence and state violence along the migration route, and feminicidal violence, as well as data collected in a migrant shelter in Mexico City in 2023, this article focuses on institutional machismo as a set of violent norms by state officials, migration agents and shelter workers that exacerbate the dangers of undocumented women's journeys and jeopardise their ability to overcome the gender values they have learned. This article also shows how women's narratives of the journey reveal that some women have begun to articulate a more egalitarian understanding of gender roles. For them, the migration journey becomes a transformative experience from which they emerge empowered
Greece under New Democracy rule: a case of "liberal Illiberalism"?
No full text[From the introduction]
Illiberalism and democratic backsliding are often associated with the effects of populists in power. A large literature shows that extended periods of populist rule result in weakening of independent institutions and erosion of democratic norms and procedures (Chryssogelos et al. 2024). As a result, in Europe, the phenomenon of democratic backsliding is associated with the actions of governments under the full control of populist parties, a perspective particularly dominant in policy, journalistic and lay discourses. The paradigmatic case is Hungary under Viktor Orban since 2010, as well as Poland under the Law and Justice government between 2015-23 (Pirro/Stanley 2022).
In this chapter however we want to problematise whether democratic backsliding can only happen under populist governments. A sizeable literature argues that this is possible. Levitsky and Way (2012) claim that democratic norms can be undermined all the while the formal institutions of democracy remain intact under non-populist parties in power. Lührmann and Lindberg (2019) speak of a global wave of "autocratisation" that can equally emanate from pre-existing elites and implemented through legal and incremental means.
Despite the findings of this literature, the impression remains dominant in Europe that non-populist governments are generally "safe" for democracy, not least because such governments explicitly use this rhetoric against their opponents. This is particularly evident in the literature that critically analyzes how the EU can be amenable to democratic backsliding in its member-states, yet its focus remains squarely on populist governments (Emmons/Pavone 2021; Kelemen 2020; 2022) The question then in the particular context of the European Union becomes even more specific: can explicit anti-populism actually lead to processes of democratic backsliding?
We explore the outlines of a tentative answer by looking at the case of Greece. Between 2015-19 Greece was ruled by a fully populist coalition of two parties of the populist left and right, prompting concerns among scholars and policymakers about the future of democratic rule (Matsaganis 2015). But while the SYRIZA-led government left a lot to be desired in terms of policy competence and quality of public discourse, it is arguably since the centre-right New Democracy party returned to power in a single-party government in 2019 that, according to NGOs and other authorities, media freedom, judicial independence and the independence of regulatory bodies have been suffering (European Commission 2024a, 19, 26). Can developments in Greece since 2019 then be seen through the lens of "backsliding" and "illiberalism"
Chatbots, service failure recovery, and online customer experience through lenses of frustration-aggression theory and signaling theory
No full textPurpose
The aim of the paper is to address the persistent uncertainty surrounding the effectiveness of chatbot-led service failure recovery (SFR) in delivering a satisfactory online customer experience. Prior studies have not explored how chatbot-led SFR processes influence customers’ actual experiences. This gap in the literature may exist because current understanding of chatbot–customer interactions obscure how individuals’ adoption of chatbot-led SFR shape their experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on frustration–aggression theory and signaling theory, and building on a social constructivist philosophical paradigm, this paper interprets participants’ narratives on chatbot-led interactions and online experiences. Empirical data was generated through 52 in-depth interviews conducted with participants from the USA, France, Italy, and the UK.
Findings
Through thematic analysis of interview data, the study presents two key contributions. First, this paper elucidates the dynamics unfolding between customers and chatbots in a service recovery journey, encompassing customers’ priorities and expectations. Second, this paper delineates three customer typologies based on their interactions with chatbots during chatbot-led SFR, including their emotional responses. These interactions could either positively or negatively signal future patronage of chatbots. The identified three customer types can assist managers to reshape their strategies to effectively turn negative customer experiences into opportunities for enriching online customer experiences. This could involve providing multiple touchpoints, including human-led and chatbot-led interactions in the SFR process.
Originality/value
This study proposes that chatbots are not just technological tools that support customers during service failures and facilitate connection with the brand, but also function as signals that trigger emotional and cognitive responses, thereby influencing the customer experience
L'Intelligenza Artificiale e la (possibile) resurrezione dell'autore = Artificial Intelligence and the (possible) resurrection of the author
No full textThis paper (in Italian) was published in the proceedings of the first edition of Festival di Filosofia di Campobasso, curated by Michele Citro in 2024. Responding to the theme of the Festival, "AI - risks and opportunities", the paper takes a specific look at the increasingly dominant role of artificial intelligence in the context of contemporary art. Drawing on key concepts in philosophy, from Kant's "Purposiveness without purpose" to Posthumanism, this paper looks at the risks and opportunities afforded by AI in contemporary art practices and their reception, with reference also to the significant absence of "pentimenti" in AI art, the term used in art history to signify the errors made in a work, revealing powerful insights into the creative process itself. A central concept here is Barthes' "Death of the Author" (1977). While recent literature suggests that AI makes such metaphor into actual reality, by literally removing the need for human authorship, the paper proposes that it is precisely in so doing that AI may provide an important turn in contemporary art, both championing the human-made nature of work that does not rely on this and, more importantly, by interrogating the very idea of authorship in more nuanced ways
The transformative power of technology in the modern workplace
No full textTechnology has become an integral force in shaping our lives, especially within the professional sphere. While technological advancements have long influenced how we work, we are now witnessing an unprecedented era of rapid change. The emergence of smart environments, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) to drive organisational agility and competitiveness, and the adoption of immersive technologies are profoundly transforming human experience and communication in the workplace. In our issue for December, we have several papers focusing on the effective use of technology to enhance environments, develop skills and develop connectivity to knowledge and the sharing of knowledge
Flexible and area-efficient codesign implementation of AES on FPGA
Full text linkAs embedded and IoT systems demand secure and compact encryption, developing cryptographic solutions that are both lightweight and efficient remains a major challenge. Many existing AES implementations either lack flexibility or consume excessive hardware resources. This paper presents an area-efficient and flexible AES-128 implementation based on a hardware/software (HW/SW) co-design, specifically optimized for platforms with limited hardware resources, resulting in reduced power consumption. In this approach, key expansion is performed in software on a lightweight MicroBlaze processor, while encryption and decryption are accelerated by dedicated hardware IP cores optimized at the Look-up Table (LuT) level. The design is implemented on a Xilinx XC5VLX50T Virtex-5 FPGA, synthesized using Xilinx ISE 14.7, and tested at a 100 MHz system clock. It achieves a throughput of 13.3 Gbps and an area efficiency of 5.44 Gbps per slice, requiring only 2303 logic slices and 7 BRAMs on a Xilinx FPGA. It is particularly well-suited for resource-constrained applications such as IoT nodes, secure mobile devices, and smart cards. Since key expansion is executed only once per session, the runtime is dominated by AES core operations, enabling efficient processing of large data volumes. Although the present implementation targets AES-128, the HW/SW partitioning allows straightforward extension to AES-192 and AES-256 by modifying only the software Key expansion module, ensuring practical scalability with no hardware changes. Moreover, the architecture offers a balanced trade-off between performance, flexibility and resource utilization without relying on complex pipelining. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and flexibility of the proposed lightweight design
Introduction: what this book is about and how we came to write it (Chapter 1 of the book 'Emotional labour in oral history: the hidden toll')
No full textThis book critically appraises the many complex ways in which emotion management features in oral history research and its specific implications for the researcher. Uniquely, it draws on oral historians’ personal accounts of conducting sensitive research and assesses the applicability of the term emotional labour to this work. It examines how oral historians may perform emotional labour, highlighting the often-hidden emotional toll it takes on them.
It considers how the emotionally taxing implications of conducting sensitive research may be exacerbated or mitigated by the institutional relations and contexts in which the researcher works. It evaluates recommendations from related disciplinary fields for ways of supporting researchers and considers how an ethics of care can be fostered in local research environments. In developing our discussion, we engage critically with theories of emotion, conceptualisations of emotional labour, questions of power and positionality, an ethics of care and debate on the impact of neoliberal ideas and policies on the higher education sector
The GCSE attainment gap: assessing the influence of permanent school exclusion
Full text linkPermanent school exclusions continue to be a topic of keen interest to UK schools and policymakers. The debate over the practice has recently intensified due to the perceived negative outcomes resulting from the exclusion event. Research has shown that pupils who have been permanently excluded are at a greater risk of negative life outcomes when compared with their non-excluded peers. However, the idea that disadvantaged groups are disproportionately represented amongst those excluded has not previously been tested in prior work. Accordingly, previous measures of the influence of permanent exclusion may have over-estimated its negative consequences. This is a critical limitation of the research due to the influence of confounding variables and sample selection bias. Using the National Pupil Database and a full cohort of UK pupils (N=590,092), our analysis tracked a sample of 1,490 pupils permanently excluded in year 11 of the English education system in 2018/19. Using capped GCSE points as the academic attainment variable, we find that permanently excluded pupil scores were nearly 25 points lower than their non-permanently excluded peers. However, when controlling for disadvantageous pupil characteristics, this difference was cut roughly in half. We conclude that permanent exclusion is neither the catalyst of disadvantage nor a continuation of disadvantage on the same trajectory, but rather an accentuation of existing disadvantage. In other words, the existing trajectory of disadvantage gets steeper following the permanent exclusion event. Therefore, considering that the GCSE attainment gap found is equally attributable to both permanent exclusion and disadvantageous pupil characteristics, policymakers should both limit permanent exclusion to being a last resort and provide additional support for pupils at risk of being permanently excluded. Including a permanently excluded pupil’s GCSE attainment in their former school’s academic league table data incentivises schools to act in the best interest of these highly disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils
Effect of adding global postural re-education to Kendall exercises for treating asymptomatic forward head posture: a single-blinded randomized controlled trial
Full text linkIntroduction:
Forward head posture (FHP) is a common postural malalignment in young population that is associated with limitation of mobility and functional disability. Kendall exercises are one of the commonly used postural correction techniques to treat FHP. Global Postural reeducation (GPR) is a postural correction exercise commonly used for musculoskeletal disorders. The current study aimed to investigate the combined effect of GPR and Kendall Exercises in the treatment of FHP.
Methods:
A single-blinded parallel-groups randomized controlled trial was conducted. Forty-three subjects aged 18-30 years were recruited with FHP marked by a craniovertebral angle (CVA) less than 50°. Participants were randomly allocated into two groups: group A (GrA) received GPR plus Kendall Exercises, and group B (GrB) received Kendall Exercises only. Variables were measured before and immediately after 12 sessions of treatment including CVA, gaze angle (GA), shoulder angle (SA), cervical range of motion (CROM), neck disability index (NDI), chest expansion, and spinal mobility.
Results:
Between groups analysis revealed no statistically significant difference between either treatment in CVA, CROM, and NDI. There was a statistically significant improvement of chest expansion and spinal mobility in favor to GrA. Within-group analysis revealed that both interventions were statistically significant in improving CVA, CROM, and NDI (P<0.05). Both treatments showed no statistical difference in GA and SA.
Conclusions:
The added effect GPR technique to Kendall exercises significantly improved CVA, CROM, NDI, chest expansion, and spinal mobility in subjects with FHP
Sustainable development investment decision: do environmental, social & governance (ESG) and behavioural biases factors matter?
No full textThis paper investigates the critical factors involved and evaluates how ESG along with behavioural biases impact the sustainable investment decision making. The researchers employed the purposive sampling with random sampling method to gather data from retail investors; the data is then analysed in two stages. The first stage involves using PLS-SEM for identifying the significant factors influencing investment decisions. The second stage uses the results of SEM as input into ANN model with the fusion of ANN with SEM in explaining the high predictability of investment decision factors among investors. Using a multilayer perception model, the ANN explains the predictability of the predictors of investment decisions. It reveals the normalized importance values for the significant predictors - confirmation bias, endowment effect, hindsight bias, bandwagon effect, and ESG. By examining the biases from behavioural finance perspective significant academic contribution is made in context of retail investors along with ESG as critical determinants influencing investment decisions. The study results enable investment firms to predict the extent to which their investment avenue programs impact investment decisions before developing these programs with appropriate ESG measures, thus enabling a sustainable investment ecosystem. The research contributes uniquely to the existing behavioural finance area by developing a framework to understand ESG dynamics and biases which collectively impacting on investment decisions