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The recruitment and promotion of teaching academics in the UK is constrained by a complex array of career progression barriers. These barriers have led to an increasing trend of horizontal career (lack of) progression. The purpose of this paper is to reveal and discuss linearity and horizontality constrictions, challenges and issues impacting on potential careers in tourism academia.

This study uses a leading UK national academic recruitment website to gather data and insights from across 137 posted jobs related to tourism between 2020 and 2022.

The main findings of this work note the constrictions of the UK academic job market and the consequences it poses for academics within tourism and beyond. It is proposed that future research to further understand the realities faced by academics is needed to prompt action for change to create more enriching career development.

The contribution of this study centres around sense making a phenomenon that exists but is not often talked about within academia (whether in tourism or beyond). For academics and managers, this paper presents an opportunity to reflect more holistically on careers with a view to instigating valuable change moving forward (for oneself or others). There is also a dearth of studies relating to career progression of tourism higher education educators.

Introduction: Based on the given experiences, many government institutions failed in their strategic management and planning for managing COVID-19. Meanwhile, when a crisis disrupts a system, institutions lose their direction and fail to make necessary responses.

Purpose: The current study highlighted the impact of social justice and modern governance in providing equitable healthcare services and dealing with crises during the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries.

Methodology: Cross-country analyses were used based on captured secondary data. We evaluated several indices, including, for example, Crisis Index Indicators, Worldometers, and the Global Health Security (GHS) Index 2019.

Findings: According to the GHS (2019) data, public health service delivery equity was ineffective, socially unjust, and unfair treatment was experienced in the context of the conflict-affected countries. Most conflict-affected countries (Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Venezuela) did not have guidelines or public reports committing to providing prioritized healthcare services to the public and healthcare workers. The experience of conflict-affected countries has shown that healthcare disparities still exist. While many governments in conflict-affected countries failed to give equitable access to healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic to the public.

This paper aims to examine the antecedents and performance outcomes of proactive and reactive knowledge-sharing behaviour. Specifically, it investigates from the employee’s perspective how human resource management, with the system of human resource (HR) practices and work climate, influences proactive and reactive knowledge-sharing behaviours via the employees’ interest-based motivation.

For the main hypotheses, a moderated mediation model was tested using survey-based data from 400 employees from Poland and structural equation modelling analyses. Next, the authors used data from 143 employee supervisor dyads (subsample data) to test the employee performance outcomes of knowledge sharing.

The results show that commitment-based HR practices are positively related to knowledge-sharing behaviour via autonomous motivation when employees perceive a cooperative climate in the workplace. Furthermore, there are motivational and outcome differences between sharing knowledge reactively and proactively. External motivation is detrimental to reactive knowledge sharing, while introjected motivation is positively related to proactive knowledge sharing. Next, while proactive knowledge-sharing is related to better performance, reactive knowledge-sharing has no performance implications for employees.

From the managerial perspective, this study suggests that to facilitate knowledge sharing, managers should align the implementation of commitment-based HR practices with a cooperative climate in the work environment.

By differentiating proactive and reactive knowledge-sharing behaviour and examining the contingent role of cooperative psychological climate, the study explains the mixed results of external and introjected motivation to share knowledge. This study also provides more specific results on the performance outcomes of knowledge givers, showing that performance effects should not be taken for granted.

Introduction: The insurance industry is undergoing constant transformation to keep up with the demands of digitally savvy consumers. “Insur-Tech” refers to using technological breakthroughs in the insurance sector to boost competition, innovate new products, increase customer happiness, and improve operational operations. Insurance technology has many potential applications across the complete product lifecycle, from initial research and development to post-contract administration, back-office processes and risk management.

Purpose: This chapter discusses the insurance industry’s current and potential future state with the emergence of insur-tech. The objective is to explore the emergence of new-age technologies in the insurance industry and the challenges faced in their implementation.

Methodology: Researchers conducted an extensive literature review and analyzed recent news articles to explore the digital transformation of the insurance industry through InsurTech. The literature review encompassed academic journals, industry reports, and relevant books to provide a theoretical framework and historical context. Concurrently, researchers examined news articles from reputable sources to capture current developments, real-world applications, and emerging trends. This dual approach allowed researchers to assess the role of digital innovations on the insurance.

Findings: The findings reveal how large and continuing databases impact the operational processes and general insurance markets, facilitating the acquisition of optimal policyholder behavior and speeding up claims processing. This chapter delves into how AI improves traditional insurance processes, spanning from the first point of contact to claims processing and how potential changes brought about by blockchain technology.

This study examines identity theft as a significant and growing issue in Australia, not only due to its financial impact but also because of the emotional, psychological, and physical harm it causes, making it a public health concern. This study aims to analyse the results of the 2019 Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) survey to identify factors associated with an increased likelihood of identity theft victimisation.

This study involved a detailed analysis of the 2019 AIC survey, which had 9,968 respondents from a sample of 10,000. The research focused on whether respondents had ever been victimised by identity theft and analysed various characteristics, including demographics (gender, age, Indigenous status, education), income, computer usage, and preventive technology use, as potential indicators of future victimisation. Univariate analyses (chi-squared test and two-sample t-test) were used to assess individual associations, whereas a multivariate analysis (logistic regression) identified significant predictors of victimisation.

The univariate analyses indicated that all sub-variables were individually associated with identity theft victimisation. However, the multivariate analysis revealed that only identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, having an income between $18,201 and $37,000, and using multiple preventive technologies were significant predictors of victimisation. The unexpected finding that increased preventive technology use correlates with a higher risk of victimisation contradicts the survey’s suggestion that victims adopt more careful behaviour post-victimisation.

The research highlights the need for further investigation into the counterintuitive finding that greater use of preventive technologies may increase the risk of identity theft. Understanding this discrepancy could inform the development of more effective identity theft prevention strategies by the government and related agencies.

This study contributes to the existing literature by offering a nuanced understanding of the factors associated with identity theft victimisation in Australia that may be applicable globally. The unexpected findings regarding the use of preventive technologies provide a basis for further research and have the potential to influence future policymaking and identity theft prevention efforts.

Purpose: The study aims to explore the profound impact of virtual currencies and decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols on financial dynamics, user engagement, and operational aspects within the Metaverse.

Methodology: This research employs mathematical modelling and quantitative analysis to comprehensively investigate the pivotal roles of these elements within the dynamic virtual environment.

Findings: The mathematical equations applied in our study have illuminated the intricate mechanics of financial expansion, operational efficiencies, and user dynamics in the Metaverse’s virtual currency and DeFi systems. These insights underline the transformative influence of these digital ecosystems on future economies, emphasising the critical role of quantitative analysis in navigating and maximising their potential.

Significance: This research aims to shed light on the pivotal roles of virtual currencies and DeFi protocols through mathematical modelling and quantitative analysis. It contributes to a deeper understanding of their significance in shaping the future of virtual economies and financial interactions within the ever-evolving Metaverse.

Purpose: This chapter uses the annual time series data to investigate how currency depreciation impacts inflation in Sri Lanka.

Design/methodology/approach: We utilized the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) test to evaluate the long-term correlation between the variables. Additionally, the Granger causality test was used to examine the short-term relationships.

Findings: The ARDL test findings indicate an elevated relationship between currency depreciation and long-term inflation in Sri Lanka. The coefficient value of the error correction term indicates that 1.19% of the discrepancy error is rectified each year, directing the inflation response variable toward the long-term equilibrium.

Policy Implication: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) should adopt a policy to tighten and lessen currency pressure and fend off inflationary pressure. To design appropriate policies, they must quantify the country’s exchange rate (ER) pass-through to inflation. The pass-through to inflation is most prominent when monetary policy action triggers or amplifies currency movements. However, this pass-through to inflation can be kept smaller provided central banks follow a credible inflation-targeting framework, operate in a flexible ER period, and are accessible from influences from fiscal authorities in the country.

Originality/value: This study uses the recently established ARDL limits cointegration approaches to investigate the enduring association between currency devaluation and price stability in Sri Lanka.

Users contribute to online communities by posting and responding to discussion threads. Nonetheless, only a small fraction of threads gain popularity and shape community discourse. Prior studies have identified several factors driving thread popularity; however, despite their prevalence, the role of emotional expressions within discussion threads remains understudied. This study addresses this gap by investigating the impact of thread starters’ valence and embedded discrete emotions of anger, anxiety and sadness on thread popularity, drawing on the negativity bias and the emotion-as-social-information theories.

Using two samples from Reddit, this study employs negative binomial regression analysis to examine the hypothesized relationships.

The results demonstrate that negativity in thread starters significantly influences thread popularity; however, the expression of discrete emotions impacts popularity variously. In some contexts, such as COVID-19 vaccination subreddits, embedded anger in thread starters decreases thread popularity, whereas anxiety and sad expressions enhance it. In other contexts, such as professional discussions (e.g. r/Medicine subreddit), anger and anxiety expressions increase thread popularity, while sad expressions have no significant influence.

The study is limited by its focus on specific emotions and contexts. Future research could examine a broader range of emotions, post-content modalities and the impact of cultural and linguistic differences.

This study contributes to theory by offering a new definition of thread popularity and enhancing our understanding of the impact of emotions in online discussions. It also provides practical implications for online community members and moderators seeking to promote discussion posts that help achieve community goals.

Introduction: The possible role of foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the insurance services industry has not received much research compared to the banking industry. The FDI inflows are seen as crucial to the general economic growth of these emerging European transition countries because the insurance sector is still growing and integrating.

Purpose: This chapter explores whether the increase in FDI inflows leads to higher life and non-life insurance penetration in different groups of European transition countries and European post-transition countries.

Methodology: The study employs annual data between 1995 and 2021 using dynamic ordinary squares (DOLS) estimator and Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012) panel causality methods.

Findings: The study found evidence about the link between FDI and life and non-life insurance penetration, where their gains are marginal and very weak when controlling the effect of Gross Domestic Product per capita (GDPPC) in the long run. More specifically, the effect of FDI on insurance development is greater in the European post-transition countries with higher GDPPC and FDI inflows than in the European transition countries.

These discrepancies may be attributed to the various stages at which their development policies have advanced as well as the overall execution of reforms within the insurance industry. The findings suggest affirmative action programs should be put in place to attract FDI inflows in general and insurance in particular.