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In this paper new cubic v‐splines monotonic one‐dimensional profiles are presented, for the finite volume solution of convection‐diffusion problems. By studying the profile in normalized variables, some weight functions have been determined for the profile. Being free of the requirement that the volumes be equal, the volume size can be reduced where needed. Numerical properties of the proposed method were formally analysed and are confirmed by numerical examples included here.

A new finite volume (FV) method is proposed for the solution of convection‐diffusion equations defined on 2D convex domains of general shape. The domain is approximated by a polygonal region; a structured non‐uniform mesh is defined; the domain is partitioned in control volumes. The conservative form of the problem is solved by imposing the law to be verified on each control volume. The dependent variable is approximated to the second order by means of a quadratic profile. When, for the hyperbolic equation, discontinuities are present, or when the gradient of the solution is very high, a cubic profile is defined in such a way that it enjoys unidirectional monotonicity. Numerical results are given.

Interest in generational research has garnered a lot of attention, as the workplace is seeing multiple generations (i.e., the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials) working side-by-side for the first time. However, it is unclear how multiple generations of workers interact with each other and affect the workplace. Although there is extant literature on generational differences, some scholars have argued that the effect sizes are small and the differences are not meaningful. The focal aim of this chapter is to present the current state of literature on generational research. We present the relevant conceptualizations and theoretical frameworks that establish generational research. We then review evidence from existing research studies to establish the areas of differences that may exist among the different generations. In our review, we identify the issues arising from generational differences that are relevant to human resource management (HRM) practices, including new workforce entrants, aging workers, the changing nature of work and organizations, and leadership development. We conclude with several directions for future research on modernizing workplace policies and practices, ensuring sustainability in current employment models, facilitating future empirical research, and integrating the effects of globalization in generational research.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of board characteristics (board size, board independence and duality) on the performance of takaful insurance providers with distinguishable muamalah contracts (wakalah and hybrid) moderated by ownership concentration.

The sample consists of 30 takaful insurances. The authors divided it into two subsamples: 18 insurance companies using wakalah contracts provided by Southeast Asia and 12 insurance companies using hybrid contracts provided by the Gulf Cooperation Council over the period 2010–2020. For data analysis, the authors used the partial least squares path modeling method.

The results show that the larger the board of directors and the higher the number of independent directors, the greater the takaful performance in both the wakalah and hybrid subsamples. Nondual functions improve the takaful performance in both the wakalah and hybrid subsamples. The results also reveal that a highly concentrated ownership structure positively (negatively) moderates the relationship between board size and takaful performance in the wakalah (hybrid) subsamples. Moreover, highly concentrated ownership insignificantly (negatively) moderates the relationship between independent directors and takaful’s performance in the hybrid (wakalah) subsample. Furthermore, a highly concentrated ownership structure insignificantly (negatively) moderates the relationship between the nondual structure and takaful performance in the wakalah (hybrid) subsample.

This study contributes to the understanding of the moderating role of a highly concentrated ownership structure between the characteristics of the board of directors and the performance of takaful insurance, which applies wakalah and hybrid contracts. In addition, this study contributes to takaful insurance by determining the appropriate board characteristics that must be adopted to achieve oversight and improve performance. Regulators should appreciate this contribution to the formulation of suitable approaches for efficiently supervising takaful insurance activities.

One hundred and seventy‐eight heroin addicts in reformatory school were sent to one of two rehabilitation treatments: reform through education and labour and therapeutic community (TC)‐based rehabilitation programme. After six months of being discharged, pre‐ and post‐treatment scores on the Addiction Severity Index were compared, and relapse related factors were investigated. Results indicated improvements in both treatments, with the TC‐based rehabilitation programme showing superior improvement overall. Results support the efficacy of the TC‐based rehabilitation programme proving it to be better than reform through labour and education. It is suggested that psychosocial intervention and relapse prevention should be emphasised in the treatment of drug dependence.

The archives gathered in this collection engage in the current COVID-19 moment. They do so in order to attempt to understand it, to think and feel with others and to create a collectivity that, beyond the slogan “we are in this together”, seriously contemplates the implications of what it means to be given an opportunity to alter the course of history, to begin to learn to live and educate otherwise.

This paper is collectively written by twelve academics in March 2020, a few weeks into the first closing down of common spaces in 2020, Victoria, Australia. Writing through and against “social isolation”, the twelve quarantine archives in this paper are all at once questions, methods, data, analysis, implications and limitations of these pandemic times and their afterlives.

These quarantine archives reveal a profound sense of dislocation, relatability and concern. Several of the findings in this piece succeed at failing to explain in generalising terms these un-new upending times and, in the process, raise more questions and propose un-named methodologies.

If there is anything this paper could claim as original, it would be its present ability to respond to the current times as a historical moment of intensity. At times when “isolation”, “self” and “contained” are the common terms of reference, the “collective”, “connected” and “socially engaged” nature of this paper defies those very terms. Finally, the socially transformative desire archived in each of the pieces is a form of future history-making that resists the straight order with which history is often written and made.

The purpose of this paper is to study how board attributes impact corporate social responsibility (CSR). In particular, this paper aims to empirically examine the impact of financial performance on the relationship between board attributes and CSR. Board attributes such as board size, board independence, female board representation and CEO-chair duality are included.

This study uses panel data set of 200 French companies listed during 2007–2018 period. The direct and moderating effects were tested by using multiple regression technique.

The results indicate that significant direct relationships exist among board attributes and CSR. Board independence and female board representation are positively linked with CSR. However, board size and CEO duality are negatively associated with CSR. Findings show, also, that corporate financial performance accentuates significantly the effect of board size, board independence and CEO-duality on CSR, but does not moderate the relationship between female board representation and CSR.

The findings may be of interest to different stakeholders and policy-makers and regulatory bodies interested in enhancing CG initiatives to strengthen corporate social responsibility because it suggests thinking about implementing a broadly accepted framework of good CG practices to meet the demand for greater transparency and accountability. As an extension to this research, further study can examine the impact of ownership structure and audit quality on CSR issues.

This study extends the dynamic relationship between CG mechanisms and CSR by offering new evidence on how corporate financial moderates this relationship.

This chapter establishes the conceptual and analytic framework for the book. It relates not only to much of the existing work in evolutionary and institutional economics, but also to work in cultural science and cultural semiotics domains as well as in media convergence and transmedia studies. The central concept it first deploys is ‘innovation systems’ as applied in national, regional, international and sectoral contexts. It then builds on the general theory of economic evolution by Kurt Dopfer and Jason Potts and reviews the tools this theory provides to carry out a meso-level analysis of industries co-innovating and converging. It then proposes a new concept – ‘cross-innovation’ – to refer to the emergence of new structures and ‘rules’ at the boundaries of existing industries.

Virtual professional learning communities provide digital platforms for teachers across the globe to join learning networks and engage in continuous and unrestricted learning. This study aimed to explore the impact of contextual factors on establishing virtual professional learning communities in Maldivian schools.

This quantitative study used a sample of 420 Maldivian in-service teachers chosen using two-stage cluster sampling and a stratified random sampling method.

The findings revealed that all three contextual factors – micro-, meso- and macro-contextual – positively and significantly influenced the virtual professional learning communities.

These findings recommend an integrated framework with micro-, meso- and macro-contextual factors as valuable instruments for educational leaders striving to establish virtual Professional Learning Communities (PLCs).

This study is among the first to examine the association of contextual factors of schools with the establishment of virtual PLCs in a country such as the Maldives, with geographically dispersed islands and limited resources.