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Population control as a state-sponsored activity came into prominence following the publication of Ehrlich’s The Population Bomb in 1968. This was taken up by the IPCC, but by 1994, this changed and any mention of population reduction as a part-solution to CO₂-induced global warming became taboo. Later, when drastic reductions in birth rates as measured by Total Fertility Rates (TFR) were observed in economically advanced countries, books were written to celebrate the fact. The population bomb, it seems, had been defused spontaneously, or so it was claimed. The new problem for many states was the decline of their native populations, and the aging workforce triggering the need for mass immigration to fill the gaps. This chapter traces the ebb-and-flow of Population Policy related to climate change and net-zero. The current ‘hands-off, the problem is solved’ policy is a grievous mistake and may hasten the Major ‘Population Correction’ (he means catastrophic near wipeout) described by William E Rees in 2023. If States and inter-governmental organisation would get behind a policy of non-coercive population reduction, then the goal of net-zero can be achieved quicker and more easily.

The purpose of our study is to investigate the effects of politically-connected boards (PCBs) on over-(under-)investment in labor. We also examine the impacts of the supervisory board (SB)’s optimal tenure on the association between PCBs and over-investment in labor.

We constructed the proxy for PCBs using a dummy variable set to 1 (one) if a firm has politically-connected boards and zero (0) otherwise. For the robustness check, we used the number of politically-connected members on the boards as the proxy for PCBs.

We find that the presence of PCBs reduces over-investment in labor. Consistent with our prediction, we found no significant association between PCBs and under-investment in labor. We also find that the SB with optimal tenure strengthens the negative association between PCBs and over-investment in labor. In our channel analysis, we find that the presence of PCB mitigates over-investment in labor through a higher dividend payout ratio.

Due to the unavailability of data in firms’ annual reports regarding the number of poorly-skilled and highly skilled employees, we were not able to examine the effect of low-skilled and high-skilled employees on over-investment in labor. Also, we were not able to examine over-(under-)investment in labor by drawing a distinction between general (generalist) and firm-specific human capital (specialist) as suggested by Sevcenko, Wu, and Kacperczyk (2022). Generally, it is more difficult for managers to hire highly-skilled employees, specialists in particular, thereby driving the choice of either over- or under-investing in the labor forces. In addition, in the firms’ annual reports, there is no information regarding temporary employees. Therefore, if and when such data become available, this would provide another avenue for future research.

Our study offers several practical implications and insights to stakeholders (e.g. insiders or management, shareholders, investors, analysts and creditors) in the following ways. First, our study highlights significant differences between capital investment and labor investment. For instance, labor investment is considered an expense rather than an asset (Wyatt, 2008) because, although such investment is human capital and is not recognized on the firm’s balance sheet (Boon et al., 2017). In addition, labor investment is characterized by: its flexibility which enables firms to make frequent adjustments (Hamermesh, 1995; Dixit & Pindyck, 2012; Aksin et al., 2015), its non-homogeneity since every employee is unique (Luo et al., 2020), its direct impact on morale and productivity of a firm (Azadegan et al., 2013; Mishina et al., 2004; Tatikonda et al., 2013), and its financial outlay which affects the ongoing cash flows of a firm (Sualihu et al., 2021; Khedmati et al., 2020; Merz & Yashiv, 2007). Second, our findings reveal that the presence of PCBs could help to reduce over-investment in labor. However, if managers of a firm choose to under-invest in labor in order to obtain better profit in the short-term through cost saving, they should be aware of the potential consequences of facing a financial loss when a new business opportunity suddenly arises which requires a larger labor force. Third, our findings help stakeholders to re-focus on the labor investment. This is crucial due to the fact that labor investment is often neglected by those stakeholders because the expenditure of labor investment is not recognized on the firm’s balance sheet as an asset. Instead, it is written off as an expense in the firm’s income statement. Fourth, our findings also provide insightful information to stakeholders, suggesting that an SB with optimal tenure is more committed to a firm, and this factor plays an important role in strengthening the negative association between PCBs and over-investment in labor.

First, our findings provide a valuable understanding of the effects of PCBs on over-(under-)investment in labor. Stakeholders could use information disclosed in the financial statements of a publicly-listed firm to determine the extent of the firm’s investment in labor and PCBs, and compare this information with similar firms in the same industry sector. Second, our findings give a better understanding of the association between investment in labor and political connections , which are human and social capital that could determine the long-term survival and success of a firm. Third, for shareholders, the appointment of board members with political connections is an important strategic decision to build political capital, which is likely to have a long-term impact on the financial performance of a firm; therefore, it requires thoughtful consultation with firm insiders.

Our findings highlight the role of PCBs in reducing over-investment in labor. These findings are significant because both investment in labor and political connections as human and social capital can play an important role in determining the long-term survival and success of a firm.

The influence of digital media and mobile technologies on the interpersonal dynamics of young individuals across various aspects of their daily lives underscores the significant role of digital media in shaping their experiences. Research exploring how individuals engage with mobile applications (m-apps) has revealed the constraining effects of platform norms and politics on users' expressive identities. This chapter examines the evolving landscape of media consumption, engagement and civic participation amidst the proliferation of new media modalities, focussing on m-apps. The authors highlight the pervasive adoption of mobile apps across diverse categories and the escalating temporal investment individuals allocate to these platforms for fostering interpersonal connections. Drawing from a feminist and intersectional perspective, the authors explore how young adults navigate the technicity and imaginaries of m-apps, incorporating them into their daily routines and (re)negotiating their gender and sexual identities. Through the MyGender project, the authors investigate the relationship between m-apps and power dynamics, examining the construction and reconstruction of gender and sexuality across platforms. The findings underscore the need for critical engagement with digital technologies as sociocultural products actively reshaping gender relations and sexual practices. The text ends with an overview of the book, briefly presenting the remaining nine chapters.

In light of the expanding prominence of work-integrated learning (WIL), the pedagogical model that integrates work experiences into an academic curriculum, this paper presents a systematic review that uncovers little-explored students’ reflections of quality (RoQ).

Drawing on the concept of wayfinding rocks and Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory, the “students’ RoQ (pronounced [ROK]) WIL model” offers guidance for future research, policy development and educational interventions aimed at optimizing students' experiences of WIL.

This paper highlights RoQ WIL through student voice. The outcomes offer a model, contributing insights for institutions, employers and students involved in WIL experiences.

While the study addresses specific limitations such as the use of specific search terms and potential biases, future research is needed to explore cultural capital’s influence on WIL quality. A focus on broadening the scope of data collection to include a more comprehensive range of student perspectives is needed.

The paper suggests practical implications for institutions, employers and educators in designing WIL programs that prioritize student perspectives, ultimately enhancing the quality of WIL experiences.

By focusing on students' RoQ in WIL, this paper fills a significant gap in the literature and provides a foundation for future research and practice in optimizing WIL engagement and outcomes.

This study longitudinally investigated the predictors and mediators of adolescent smartphone addiction by examining the impact of parental smartphone addiction at T1 on adolescent smartphone addiction at T3, as well as the separate and sequential role of adolescent self-esteem and depression at T2 as mediating factors.

This study used a hierarchical regression and the PROCESS macro (Model 6) to investigate research model by collecting 3,904 parent-adolescent pairs. Panel data were collected from three waves of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS).

First, the result showed that parental smartphone addiction at T1 significantly and positively predicted adolescent smartphone addiction at T3. Second, the serial mediation analysis revealed that the impact of parental smartphone addiction at T1 on adolescent smartphone addiction at T3 was mediated by adolescent self-esteem and depression at T2 independently and serially.

The findings enhance our comprehension of the impact of parental smartphone addiction, adolescent self-esteem and depression, on adolescent smartphone addiction.

This study aims to address the gap in current knowledge on the social acceptance of political violence against, or in response to, the Canadian oil and gas industry. Specifically, this research sought to determine if environmental attitudes and behaviours can be predictors for support of various degrees of violent pro-environmental protest.

Drawing upon Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour and Oreg and Katz-Gerro’s model for predicting pro-environmental behaviour, the study examines data from a survey of 409 Canadians and uses step-wise regression to measure the association of predictors linking environmental attitudes with support for protester violence.

Findings suggest that personal willingness to sacrifice for the environment and a perception of environmental threat and concern are primary predictors linking environmental attitudes with support for protester violence. The study also identifies contextual factors such as age, activism history and police response tactics as influential.

The research contributes to understanding the complexities of environmental conflict and its implications for energy security policy. The results suggest that policies which encourage environmental sensitivity and commitment may be encouraging greater levels of activism and potentially violence against oil and gas companies.

While there exists research on the level of acceptance behind modern political violence in general, particularly against government in a broad sense, there is a noticeable absence of available literature on the risks of such political violence as it pertains specifically to oil and gas development and infrastructure in Canada.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate sustainable development goals (SDGs) disclosure and analyst forecast quality.

The study focuses on a sample of 95 Italian-listed companies preparing the mandatory non-financial declaration (NFD) according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards over a five-year period (2017–2021), corresponding to an unbalanced sample of 438 observations. Analyst forecast quality was proxied by earnings forecast accuracy (FA) and earnings forecast dispersion (FD), built on data retrieved from the Refinitiv database. A manual content analysis was performed on NFDs to derive an SDG disclosure score (SDGD) for each sampled company.

This study provides empirical evidence suggesting that voluntary SDG disclosure matters to the capital market in that it helps enhance the information environment of companies, evidenced by improved analyst forecast quality. In particular, this study highlighted that SDG disclosure positively influences analyst FA while negatively affecting analyst FD.

This study focuses on the Italian context, which has idiosyncratic characteristics regarding the structure of the financial market, the composition of corporate ownership and experience in non-financial reporting practices.

This study indicates to corporate managers that following GRI standards may represent the right way to better integrate SDG disclosure in corporate non-financial reports and increase the relevance of such information for investors and other capital market participants.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that empirically examines the association between SDG disclosure and analyst forecast quality.

To study the mediating effect of resilience and the moderating effect of gender on the association between satisfaction with life and self-efficacy.

Participants were 211 HR professionals; mediation and moderation hypotheses were tested using PROCESS macro.

Results revealed a significant association between satisfaction with life, self-efficacy and dimensions of resilience. The mediating effect was significant for three dimensions of resilience: positive acceptance, personal competence and trust in one’s instincts. Gender moderated the relationship between satisfaction with life and self-efficacy through positive acceptance and positive competence but not trust in one’s instincts.

Most literature examines satisfaction with life as an outcome measure despite existing calls and alternate theoretical frameworks. This study considers satisfaction with life as a predictor of self-efficacy and resilience. Linkages with theoretical frameworks and implications are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to synthesize unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) research that has empirically examined consequences of UPB and to provide an actor-based perspective rooted in a dual pathway self-regulation model.

We first systematically reviewed the literature on the consequences of UPB. Given the duality of UPB (i.e. pro-organizational and unethical simultaneously), we followed with the theoretical development of a dual pathway model of UPB consequences and suggest propositions from an actor-based perspective.

We posited that the distinctive attributes of UPB give rise to corresponding and distinct employee attitudes and behaviors.

Taking an actor-based perspective and drawing on theories of moral self-regulation and self-consistency, we seek to (1) determine why some UPB actors’ self-evaluations of their UPBs focus on the pro-organizational nature of their behaviors versus the unethical nature of their behaviors (i.e. dual pathway) and (2) determine the potential consequences (i.e. actor’s behavioral and attitudinal responses) of each pathway.

This study examines the impact of entrepreneurship education on the social entrepreneurship intentions of undergraduate students with a focus on the mediating effects of individual capital, such as human, social and cultural capital.

This study adopted a quantitative approach with data collected from 392 third- and fourth-year students studying at a private university in Vietnam through a self-administered survey. The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling.

The results show that entrepreneurship education positively impacts the social entrepreneurship intentions of undergraduate students. Furthermore, this study reveals that social and cultural capital serve as mediators in this relationship, whereas the mediating role of human capital was not supported.

The study findings highlight the crucial role of higher education institutions in promoting and implementing formal entrepreneurship education. It also emphasises the importance of supporting enhancement of students' individual capital through social and cultural activities to foster their intentions to engage in social entrepreneurship.

This study adds to the current literature on social entrepreneurship intentions by highlighting the significance of entrepreneurship education provided by universities and the roles of individual capital, such as social and cultural capital, in mediating the impact of entrepreneurship education on social entrepreneurship intentions.