While conducting research in non-Western contexts, local cultural values confront conventional research ethics, which results in methodological difficulties. It is significant for…
Abstract
Purpose
While conducting research in non-Western contexts, local cultural values confront conventional research ethics, which results in methodological difficulties. It is significant for researchers to know the problems and the ways they can manage them.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a decolonial and autoethnographic approach, in this article, I reflect on issues encountered during two rounds of fieldwork on the Taliban’s insurgency (2007–2009) in northwestern Pakistan. I focus on the data-collection phase.
Findings
The major difficulties related to how local values of Pakhtunwali, such as hospitality, bravery, honour and gender differences, challenge research ethics such as confidentiality, informed consent, voluntary participation, equal representation and beneficence. I argue for integrated research approaches that adhere to Eurocentric ethics but are culturally appropriate in a non-Western context, facilitating researchers and positively impacting the researched community.
Research limitations/implications
Researchers need to know how to respond to the difficulties. It is hoped that the insights of this article will contribute to good research practices among those who research indigenous communities, especially the Pakhtuns in northwest Pakistan.
Originality/value
The decolonial efforts have become a rich body of discourse, but decolonising research in the context of Pakhtunwaali (the culture of Pakhtuns) in Pakistan requires greater attention. Methodological difficulties that occur due to applying the Eurocentric approach in the northwest region of Pakistan is a significant area to explore.
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Raja Ahmed Jamil, Syed Rameez ul Hassan, Tariq Iqbal Khan, Rahman Shah and Sanaullah Nazir
This study aims to investigate the influence of personality characteristics (risk-aversion and self-consciousness) on skepticism toward online services information (STOSI)…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the influence of personality characteristics (risk-aversion and self-consciousness) on skepticism toward online services information (STOSI), consumer stress and health.
Design/methodology/approach
A between-subjects experiment (n = 228) was designed to compare effects based on third-party organization endorsement (TPO endorsed vs nonendorsed).
Findings
Results revealed that personality characteristics positively influenced STOSI, which in turn escalated consumer stress. Furthermore, consumer stress predicted detrimental effects on consumer health (increased blood pressure and heartbeat). Regarding TPO endorsements, both the risk-aversive and self-conscious consumers showed lesser STOSI when exposed to TPO-endorsed ads compared with nonendorsed ads.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to examine the effects of consumer personality on consumer health through STOSI and consumer stress. In addition, the remedial roles of TPO in coping with STOSI and consumer stress also accumulate to the novelty of this study.
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Shahab E. Saqib, John K.M. Kuwornu, Mokbul Morshed Ahmad and Sanaullah Panezai
The Government of Pakistan has allocated a substantial proportion of agricultural credit to subsistence farmers. The purpose of this paper is to analyze farmers’ access to credit…
Abstract
Purpose
The Government of Pakistan has allocated a substantial proportion of agricultural credit to subsistence farmers. The purpose of this paper is to analyze farmers’ access to credit and its adequacy in the light of current agricultural credit policy of Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach
The study has used both secondary and primary data for analysis. Secondary data were collected from the annual reports of Pakistan Economic Survey and State Bank of Pakistan. Primary data were collected from 168 subsistence farmers through households’ survey. Farmers’ credit access and credit adequacy were measured using credit access ratio and credit adequacy ratio, respectively. The Student’s t-test and analysis of variance were used to assess the differences in credit access and adequacy among farmers’ groups (i.e. upper, medium and lower subsistence farmers). Tobit regression model was employed to determine the factors influencing credit adequacy among farmers.
Findings
The empirical results revealed that the amount of credit provided to subsistence farmers was less than stated in the national agricultural credit policy. Upper subsistence farmers had more access to credit than lower and medium subsistence farmers. Lower subsistence farmers had above average access to informal sources of credit, and had below average access to formal sources. The findings also revealed that lower subsistence and medium subsistence farmers had the highest credit inadequacy of funds for investment in agriculture. The results of the Tobit regression revealed that age, education, experience, household size, total landholding of farmer and proportion of own land influenced the agricultural credit adequacy.
Practical implications
Most of the credit was distributed among the upper subsistence farmers. Lower subsistence farmers were still largely dependent on informal credit for farm production activities. The Government of Pakistan performed poor in the implementation of agricultural credit policy, and has failed to help subsistence farmers in their access to formal credit. It is needed to revamp the agricultural credit policy and facilitate credit acquisition by subsistence farmers, particularly for tenant farmers. It is important that the Government may classify the subsistence farmers into subgroups, and reallocate the funds accordingly. This study has lessons and implications for agricultural finance initiatives in developing countries.
Originality/value
Previous studies have focused primarily on access to agricultural credit. However, this study has adopted a holistic approach by using secondary and primary data to assess the farmers’ access to credit and adequacy. In addition, limited literature is available to explore the farmers’ accessibility and adequacy of agricultural credit. Furthermore, this study has focused exclusively on the farmers who are living in the flood-prone areas of Pakistan.
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Muhammad Arif, Aymen Sajjad, Sanaullah Farooq, Maira Abrar and Ahmed Shafique Joyo
The purpose of this research is to ascertain the impact of audit committee (AC) activism and independence on the quality and quantity of environmental, social and governance (ESG…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to ascertain the impact of audit committee (AC) activism and independence on the quality and quantity of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures for energy sector firms in Australia. This paper aims to understand how AC attributes such as meeting frequency, and the number of independent directors influence the compliance with the global reporting initiative (GRI) guidelines and quantity of ESG disclosures.
Design/methodology/approach
Bloomberg ESG disclosure scores and company reported AC attributes are collected and analysed using the pooled ordinary least square (OLS) regression framework with Petersen’s (2009) technique by using a two-dimensional cluster at the firm and year level. Further, this paper uses a lagged independent variable and two-stage least square approach to address endogeneity concerns.
Findings
The results show a significant positive effect of AC activism and independence on the level of compliance with the GRI guidelines, indicating the favourable effect of AC attributes on ESG reporting quality. Likewise, AC attributes positively affect the quantity of ESG disclosures. Notably, the impact of AC attributes is more pronounced on environmental disclosures.
Originality/value
This paper validates the significance of the management control mechanism in improving the quality and quantity of ESG disclosures for an environmentally sensitive sector, hence offering a potential answer to reduce agency and legitimacy issues for the sensitive industry firms.
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Magdalena Marczewska, Ahmed Sanaullah and Christopher Tucci
As a response to global population growth and increasing demand for food, farmers have been complementing traditional agriculture practices with vertical farming (VF) and indoor…
Abstract
Purpose
As a response to global population growth and increasing demand for food, farmers have been complementing traditional agriculture practices with vertical farming (VF) and indoor hydroponic systems. To facilitate the growth of the VF industry, this paper aims to identify business model elements and their configurations that lead to high firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The research goals were met by conducting literature reviews coupled with a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on five business model elements, “superior” OR “strong” performance as two possible outcomes, and the top-ranked global VF growers listed in the Crunchbase Database.
Findings
From the fsQCA results, it was observed that several business model configurations lead to strong firm performance. Vertical farms growing in urban settings and having strong customer engagement platforms, coupled with a presence of business-to-business (B2B) sales channels, are more consistently associated with superior performance. These results imply that the decision configuration of location, along with customer engagement activity and sales activity are differentiating factors between good firm performance and superior firm performance in the case of vertical farms.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to expanding the knowledge of business model theory, business model configurations and VF management, providing specific guidelines for vertical farm owners and investors related to decision-making for higher firm performance, as well as positive environmental, social and economic impact.
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Heping Liu, Sanaullah, Angelo Vumiliya and Ani Luo
The aim of this article is to obtain a stable tensegrity structure by using the minimum knowledge of the structure.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this article is to obtain a stable tensegrity structure by using the minimum knowledge of the structure.
Design/methodology/approach
Three methods have been formulated based on the eigen value decomposition (EVD) and singular value decomposition theorems. These two theorems are being implemented on the matrices, which are computed from the minimal data of the structure. The required minimum data for the structure is the dimension of the structure, the connectivity matrix of the structure and the initial force density matrix computed from the type of elements. The stability of the structure is analyzed based on the rank deficiency of the force density matrix and equilibrium matrix.
Findings
The main purpose of this article is to use the defined methods to find (1) the nodal coordinates of the structure, (2) the final force density values of the structure, (3) single self-stress from multiple self-stresses and (4) the stable structure.
Originality/value
By using the defined approaches, one can understand the difference of each method, which includes, (1) the selection of eigenvalues, (2) the selection of nodal coordinates from the first decomposition theorem, (3) the selection of mechanism mode and force density values further and (4) the solution of single feasible self-stress from multiple self-stresses.
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Syed Ali Raza, Darakhshan Syed, Syed Rizwan and Maiyra Ahmed
PAKISTAN: Political tensions are at a tipping point
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-ES273831
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Connected and autonomous mobility may be an imminent game-changing reality, still in its embryonic form, that is set to disrupt a century-long ‘driver-centric’ status quo and…
Abstract
Connected and autonomous mobility may be an imminent game-changing reality, still in its embryonic form, that is set to disrupt a century-long ‘driver-centric’ status quo and recalibrate transport in unprecedented and possibly entirely unexpected ways. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) may have among others, a major impact on sustainability which in an era where concerns about the urgency and magnitude of climate change threats are voiced more and louder than ever before, needs to be a positive one for helping societies to enjoy liveable futures. This might not be an easy task to accomplish, however. This chapter, using a thematically organised narrative review approach, tries to give a well-rounded answer on whether driverless technology can yield sustainability benefits (or not) by looking at all three spheres of sustainability referring to environmental, economic and social implications. Agendas like motor traffic, air pollution, energy consumption, employment dynamics, inclusion, cybersecurity and privacy are all explored, and a conclusion is derived highlighting the need to package automation with connectivity, alternative fuelling and multimodality and building it around public transport (and to a lesser extent sharing service) provision. The road to make driverless transport genuinely sustainable is ‘bumpy’ and ‘uphill’ and requires the development of an appetite not for technology excellence per se, but rather for travel behaviour change. Achieving this needs serious strategic and coordinated multi-stakeholder efforts in terms of pro-active policy reform, user (and transport provider) education and training initiatives, infrastructure investment, business plan development, and living lab experimentation.
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Subhabrata Ghosh and Krishna Singh
Sustainability promotes specific and balanced circumstances which favours the survival of human population with the surrounding Mother Nature with proper synchronization. This…
Abstract
Sustainability promotes specific and balanced circumstances which favours the survival of human population with the surrounding Mother Nature with proper synchronization. This practice ensures the use of all available natural resources in an equilibrated manner to satisfy the present needs along with the requirements of the succeeding generations. Agricultural sustainability reckons the role of healthy environment; society and economy in an integrated manner to promote food security and socio-economic development of the rural individuals. Normal agricultural practices have an unfathomed burden on the environment. This leads to various forms of environmental degradation like air and water pollution, soil depletion, climate change and loss of biodiversity. The sustainable agricultural practices aim to protect the environment, expand the Earth’s natural resource base and preserve or improve fertility of soil. Sustainable agriculture comprises with environmentally friendly farming methods that allow crops to be produced without harming natural systems. This prevents adverse impacts on soil, water, biodiversity as well as surrounding or downstream resources. In this present article we will analyse all issues related to mitigating environmental degradation through agricultural sustainability. Along with the proper assessment for agricultural sustainability is very crucial to understand the real scenario. This helps to take necessary measures for designing and its actual execution. The study constructed a composite index of agricultural sustainability by applying the principal component analysis method. Significant differences in agricultural sustainability were found among the states in India. It is important to mention that agricultural sustainability improved for all states in 2019 compared to 2016.