Search results

In the face of pressing global challenges, the role of educational institutions in fostering responsible management practices has never been more crucial. Drawing on the preceding chapters, this concluding contribution explores the nexus of innovation and social impact within the realm of responsible management education (RME), offering a synthesis of perspectives and strategies for driving positive change at micro-, meso-, and macro level. The authors argue that the frequent inertia of higher education institutions must be overcome with urgent action in reshaping curricula, teaching methodologies, and institutional policies to foster sustainable development and effect positive social impact. The chapter emphasizes the role of innovation in education and the development and diffusion of responsible business practices as a means to catalyze systemic change.

This introductory chapter provides the context for this edited collection: Care and Coronavirus: Perspectives on Children, Youth and Families which aims to understand care in the context of COVID-19, the practices, experiences and potential futures of it for children, young people and families. In this chapter, the authors begin by exploring COVID-19 and its implications for children, young people and families. This includes a consideration of how particular discourses of childhood and youth often led to the marginalisation of children in care policy and practice during the lockdown periods. The authors then discuss interdisciplinary literature on care to identify directions in policy, practice and research, drawing attention to the political nature of care and the need for scholars of childhood, youth and family to engage with these critical and political approaches to care. The authors argue that developments in the field of Childhood Studies can be brought into productive dialogue with care to forge new ways of thinking through care and childhood. The final part of the chapter provides an overview of the ensuing chapters and concludes with the implications of this work for future research, policy and practice. The authors argue that COVID-19 heightened the attention paid to care and the ways in which care is vital for the maintenance of ourselves and the world around us, while also cautioning about the inequalities and the commodification of care that was revealed in these times. The authors end with a call for reflection on the failures and successes of caring during the pandemic and in its aftermath so we might plan a more caring, hopeful future.

This study aimed to determine the factors affecting consumers’ perceptions and intention to purchase home meal kit services (HMK), a convenient home-cooked meal option, considering the moderating effects of monetary restriction, through the lens of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB).

This cross-sectional study used an online, self-administered survey to collect data from 374 US adults. Results were tested for variable associations via multiple linear regression and moderation analyses.

HMK adoption intention was positively associated with attitude and subjective norms but negatively associated with perceived behavioural control. Consumers’ HMK attitude demonstrated a significant positive relationship with food safety concerns and perceived time constraints. Income and financial constraints were significant moderators of the associations between TPB determinants and HMK intention. The findings emphasised the possibility of using HMK as a foodservice option for time-challenged consumers with food safety concerns.

This study addressed the limited research on HMK, a competitive meal option that foodservice businesses could implement to boost revenue. The study establishes the contribution in understanding the motivators and barriers that potentially affect consumers’ HMK behaviour through the lens of TPB. The results expand the scope of the TPB application in food-related research, providing a deeper understanding of antecedents and other factors on consumers’ HMK behavioural attitudes. Understanding this information will enable practitioners to develop strategies that meet consumers’ concerns when embracing this service to promote HMK.

This chapter provides a historical overview of European colonialism, detailing how nations like Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands began their colonial endeavors in the 15th and 16th centuries, driven by exploration and trade motivations. These nations established vast empires through maritime exploration, setting up trading posts and colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The chapter outlines these early powers’ distinct colonial practices and legacies, highlighting Portugal’s focus on Brazil, Spain’s exploitation in the Americas, and the Netherlands’ trading empire. The chapter also examines the later colonial efforts of France and Britain, which became prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries. These countries utilized different methods, including the encomienda system and casta hierarchy in Spanish colonies, and the civilizing mission and divide-and-rule tactics in British colonies. The chapter discusses how these practices were justified through ideologies of racial superiority and the civilizing mission, deeply embedding racism and social hierarchies into colonial rule. Additionally, the chapter addresses the colonial ventures of Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, and Germany. It covers Denmark’s settlements in the Caribbean and Greenland, Sweden’s short-lived colonies and involvement in the slave trade, Italy’s brutal regime in Africa, Belgium’s horrific exploitation of the Congo under King Leopold II, and Germany’s late but impactful colonial period marked by the Herero and Nama genocide.

This chapter reimagines Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus through posthumanist theory, using the method of diffractive analysis. It explores how both human and nonhuman things (con)figure habitus by decentering humans as the main point of reference. First, an introduction is given to Bourdieu's theoretical concept of the habitus and its relevance for higher education research. This is then diffracted through the posthumanist ideas of (con)figuration, becoming with and nonhuman entities such as matter, companion species and technology. Finally, the resulting posthumanist concept of habitus(con)figuration is characterized by an attention to the agency of nonhuman matter and the processuality of the emergence of habitus. Applying this concept to students' experiences of social class shifts the way these are approached theoretically in higher education research, placing greater emphasis on non-linear entanglements. The chapter concludes with a set of questions that can be applied to empirical work when considering working with the concept of habitus(con)figuration.

This study assesses the probability of an OECD member country exhibiting high persistence in unemployment duration, considering income inequality, productivity, accumulation of human capital and labor income share in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between the years 2013–2019.

To achieve the purpose of the study, a probabilistic analysis with panel data is employed, focusing on 20 OECD countries segmented into two groups: those with high persistence and low persistence in unemployment duration. Probit and Logit models are estimated, marginal changes are analyzed and the models are evaluated in terms of their classification accuracy. Finally, trends in probabilities over time are examined.

This paper exhibits that countries with higher human capital index, greater labor income share in GDP, and more relevant productivity for well-being reduce their probabilities of experiencing high persistence in unemployment duration. It is observed that Mexico (MEX), Greece (GRC), Italy (ITA), and Turkey (TUR) have elevated probabilities of experiencing high persistence in unemployment duration in the future, while Costa Rica (CRI), Estonia (EST), Slovakia (SVK), Czech Republic (CZE), Lithuania (LTU), Poland (POL), and Israel (ISR) show a marked downward trend in these probabilities. Lastly, countries like the United Kingdom (GBR), Denmark (DNK), Sweden (SWE), Norway (NOR), Netherlands (NLD), Germany (DEU), United States (USA), and Canada (CAN) present minimal risk of experiencing high persistence in unemployment duration in the future.

The measurement of the relationship between development outcomes and persistence in unemployment duration has been scarce. Generally, the literature has focused on the analysis of development and unemployment without delving into the duration of unemployment, let alone persistence in duration.

This paper provides a solid foundation for the formulation of policies aimed at promoting sustainable employment and inclusive economic growth.

Based on the findings of the study, two key development policies are proposed. Firstly, the implementation of investment programs in Human Capital to increase productivity is recommended. Resources should be directed towards initiatives that improve the necessary skills and competencies in the labor markets of OECD countries, especially in strategic economic sectors with higher production linkages. Additionally, incentivizing the application of active labor policies is proposed. This entails prioritizing policies aimed at increasing the labor income share in GDP through progressive fiscal reforms that strengthen social safety nets and ensure fair labor standards. Implementing employment programs targeted at vulnerable groups, such as long-term unemployed individuals, youth, female heads of households and marginalized communities, is also recommended to eliminate structural barriers to labor market participation and reduce disparities in unemployment persistence. Adopting these policies can help mitigate the risk of high unemployment duration persistence and foster sustainable and inclusive long-term economic growth.

This is the first study to analyze the probabilities of both developing and developed countries experiencing high persistence in unemployment duration. It specifically evaluates these probabilities over a period of time and also estimates potential outcomes if real investments were made to enhance their human capital, productivity and employability.

Transport is responsible for around a quarter of global emissions. It is 91% fossil fuel dependent for energy, with emissions remaining stubbornly high, increasing in the EU since 1990 and falling since then by just 15% in the UK. The UK’s National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), in producing its second assessment, a major strategic overview for the next 30 years, emphasises a near universal dependency on electricity and hydrogen to decarbonise transport emissions. Locally distributed energy solutions are not considered part of their approach and neither do they consider where the products proposed for mass adoption – electric vehicles (EVs) are to be manufactured. Embodied carbon emissions are not taken into account, with emissions analysis focused on zero tailpipe emissions. Green gases which can be used in combustion engines and hybrids, harnessing existing supply chains and maintenance service provision, are also not seen as part of the solution, even during transition. Manufacturers are concerned that legislation and policy approaches, such as the Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate, will lead to off-shoring of production. Zero Emissions Vehicles do not consider tyre emissions, which some research has shown to be many times higher than tailpipe emissions with devastating impacts on ecosystems. The chapter proposes the need for a greater holistic and circular approach to be taken to embodied carbon, mineral and resource utilisation together with biodiversity and planetary impacts.

Suspicions about space technologies can be regarded as instances of “space skepticism,” i.e. the broadly pessimistic view that human activities in space are untimely or liable to be counterproductive. Section 1 will explain that contemporary space skepticism is focused upon negative societal role rather than the physical possibility of the activities proposed. Such skepticism is a complex pool of familiar claims unevenly drawn upon rather than a single theory. Section 2 will suggest that contemporary space skepticism tends to integrate with a broader set of doubts and fears about technologies of the Anthropocene. Section 3 will draw out a tension within the skeptical complex between the idea that concern for space is irrelevant to our societal problems and the idea that it is likely to make such problems worse. Section 4 will briefly outline why the publicly dominant forms of space skepticism carry a growing capability for merger with political activism and why the publicly dominant skepticisms are not necessarily those with the greatest plausibility, but rather those with the strongest motivational force. Finally, Section 5 will set aside the issue of popular motivational force and focus instead upon the skepticisms with the greatest plausibility. It will briefly outline why the relevant fears and suspicions (about military tensions and geoengineering) are outweighed by other considerations. This response to plausible skepticisms will not aim to be comprehensive but indicative of the direction of travel for more detailed critique. It will provide a framing context for a large metaphor about space technologies allowing the Earth to breathe.