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The 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza factory building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was the most deadly disaster in garment manufacturing history, with at least 1,134 people killed and hundreds injured. In 2015, injured workers and the families of those killed received compensation from global apparel brands through a US$30 million voluntary initiative known as the Rana Plaza Arrangement. Overseen by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Rana Plaza Arrangement awarded payments to survivors using a pricing formula developed by a diverse team of ‘stakeholders’ that included labour groups, multinational apparel companies, representatives of the Bangladesh government and local employers, and ILO actuaries. This paper draws from anthropological scholarship on the ‘just price’ to explore how a formula for pricing death and injury became both the means and form of a fragile political settlement in the wake of a shocking and widely publicised industrial disaster. By unpacking the complicated ‘ethics of a formula’ (Ballestero, 2015), I demonstrate how the project of creating a just price involves not two sets of values (ethical and financial) but rather multiple, competing values. This paper argues for recognition of the persistence and power of these competing values, showing how they variously strengthen and undermine the claim that justice was served by the Rana Plaza Arrangement. This analysis reveals the deficiencies of counterposing ‘morality’ and ‘economy’ in the study of price by reflecting upon all elements of price as situated within political economy and history.

The paper explores the emergence of private sector responsibilisation for tackling governance issues in a global supply chain. The infamous case of the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh is used to investigate the ways a frameshift, triggered by a manmade disaster, can potentially influence the effectiveness of the certification process in a research site characterised by the presence of a strong state-business nexus.

The empirical work for this paper is based 24 semi-structured interviews with owners, managers, operators, independent inspectors in the ready-made garments (RMG) industry in Bangladesh between 2014 and 2018. We also analyse a range of archival materials. For the purpose of data analysis, we adopted an exploratory flexible pattern matching design with nested template analysis (Sinkovics et al., 2019).

Our analysis suggests that the magnitude of the Rana Plaza collapse triggered several frameshifts in multinational corporations approach towards labour governance in Bangladesh. Subsequently, a responsibility framework for the private sector was created, resulting in significant improvements in working conditions in the sector. However, the sustainability of the labour governance mechanisms was significantly affected by the state's ability to play the role of catalyst in the process, mainly due to the presence of a significant state-business nexus.

We find that broadening the scope of sustainability accounting and assurance process can allow social auditors to play a more meaningful role in triggering collective actions to address labour governance issues in supply chains. However, in a context defined by the presence of a state-business nexus, the sustainability of such a process largely depends on the willingness of the state to play the role of a catalyst.

This chapter investigates the perceptions of social audit within the context of the garment companies of Bangladesh. The chapter highlights two recent incidents that claimed the lives of about 1,300 garment workers in Bangladesh. Based on the fact that Western clothing brands use social audits before sourcing their products from Bangladesh, this chapter investigates if any real change happens as a result of the information provided in the social audit reports.

The insights were gathered through conducting personal interviews with managers of social audit firms, corporate managers and various stakeholders of the textile and garment companies of Bangladesh. This chapter used the accountability theory to understand the perceptions of social audit.

The chapter finds that different stakeholders have different perspectives regarding social audits. The high-profile catastrophes within the supply chain garment factories of Bangladesh provided evidence that social audits did not help prevent such catastrophes in a different socio-economic context. The results have revealed stakeholder dissatisfaction with the procedures and content of social audits. It also finds that there is an expectation gap between the preparers and users of social audit reports.

The insights provided in this chapter would benefit garment manufacturers of developing countries and relevant stakeholders to demonstrate more accountability while conducting a social audit.

This is the first known chapter investigating stakeholders’ perceptions of social audit within the context of a developing country. More importantly, it focuses on responsible corporate behaviour in a socially sensitive industry.

The goal of this study was to understand the relationships between mentoring roles, career calling, and the transmission of tacit knowledge in the setting of executive development centers. The purpose of this research was to determine if there is a link between mentoring roles and the transmission of tacit knowledge and, if so, to what extent mentoring structure and culture moderate this link.

The study used a quantitative strategy based on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine information gathered from 287 workers at four executive development centers. Mentoring roles, vocational calling, and the transmission of tacit knowledge were quantified using scales derived from existing research.

Results showed a beneficial association between mentoring roles and vocational interest. Tacit knowledge was more likely to be shared when it was directly related to one’s chosen profession. A person’s vocation mediated the connection between mentoring roles and the transmission of tacit knowledge. Furthermore, the form of mentoring moderated the relationship of mentoring roles and the transfer of tacit knowledge.

This study is novel because it investigates the interplay between mentoring roles, vocational vocation, and the transmission of tacit knowledge in a non-traditional business setting. This research emphasizes the mediating impact of vocation and the moderating effect of mentorship structure in influencing knowledge-sharing practices in Pakistan’s public sector.

The history of Nepal gives some insight into its current status as a diverse and multilingual nation with more than 123 languages. Multilingualism is part of the founding philosophy of the country but since it was unified in 1768, government attitudes to language and language education have fluctuated. Though historically education in Nepal has been delivered exclusively in the Nepali language and, more recently, in English, the Government of Nepal is now committed to introducing mother tongue-based, multilingual education (MLE).

Nepal has among the lowest literacy rates in the world (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2015) and the government seeks to turn this trend around, particularly for students who do not speak Nepali as a mother tongue. The commitment to strengthening mother tongue-based MLE features prominently in the Constitution of Nepal (2015), the Act Relating to Compulsory and Free Education (2018) and the School Sector Development Plan (MOEST, 2018). This new constitution declares that “all the mother tongues spoken in Nepal shall be the national language” (2015 article 6).

Implementing these policy commitments in over 120 languages across seven provinces and 753 municipalities is the next challenge for the fledgling democracy. As a “wicked hard” policy area, doing so will require a solid understanding of local attitudes, beliefs, resources, and capacities. This chapter gives a unified review of the history, languages, ideologies, beliefs, and trends that currently influence MLE in Nepal and are likely to play a role into the future.

Operating ethically when developing and marketing a product or service is critical. An essential aspect of this process is ensuring that a company's guiding principles and values are congruent with its overarching goals. Concerns span from the veracity of marketing to the preservation of individual privacy to the impact of design on the natural world and human civilization. It also entails taking precautions if a product or advertising campaign has unforeseen repercussions. In today's interdependent and globalized world, it is more important than ever for firms to employ morally acceptable design and marketing tactics to acquire consumer trust and generate beneficial social and environmental benefits. This chapter offers insights for future researchers by offering a conceptual framework in ethics in design and marketing, which can be empirically tested. This study highlights several factors like privacy, manipulation, representation and diversity, accessibility, sustainability, social responsibility, and truth in advertising as important factors leading to ethical concerns in design marketing.

Metaverse technology is of interest to researchers and practitioners in tourism and hospitality. The metaverse offers tourists the capacity to enjoy unprecedented tourism experiences. These opportunities may radically change the tourism and hospitality landscape. This study aims to examine how metaverse experiences affect tourists' cognitive processing, satisfaction and loyalty toward metaverse tourism using the stimulus-organism-response paradigm and cognitive experiential self-theory.

An online survey was undertaken to gather information from 329 respondents who were frequent users of different metaverse applications to meet the study's objectives. Data were evaluated through partial least squares structural equation modelling.

The findings revealed that metaverse experiences, such as immersion, escapism and enjoyment, had a significant positive impact on metaverse organismic experience. Additionally, metaverse cognitive processing positively influenced metaverse tourist responses, including satisfaction and loyalty, with tourist involvement acting as a moderator.

This study provides guidelines for metaverse developers and travel industry professionals to encourage visitor satisfaction and loyalty to metaverse tourism.

Metaverse 技术引起了旅游和酒店业的研究人员和从业人员的兴趣。 元宇宙为游客提供了享受前所未有的旅游体验的能力。 这些机会可能会从根本上改变旅游业和酒店业的格局。 本研究旨在使用刺激-有机体-反应 (S-O-R) 范式和认知体验自我理论 (CEST) 研究虚拟世界体验如何影响游客的认知处理、满意度和对虚拟世界旅游的忠诚度。

为了实现研究目标, 我们开展了一项在线调查, 从 329 名经常使用不同元宇宙应用程序的受访者那里收集信息。 通过偏最小二乘结构方程模型 (PLS-SEM) 评估数据。

研究结果表明, 虚拟世界体验, 如沉浸、逃避现实和享受, 对虚拟世界有机体体验有显着的积极影响。 此外, 虚拟世界的认知处理对虚拟世界游客的反应产生了积极影响, 包括满意度和忠诚度, 游客的参与起到了调节作用。

这项研究为元宇宙开发人员和旅游行业专业人士提供指导方针, 以鼓励游客对元宇宙旅游的满意度和忠诚度。

El Metaverso esta siendo de de interés para investigadores y profesionales en turismo y hotelería. Este avance tecnológico ofrece al turista la capacidad de disfrutar de experiencias turísticas inéditas, generando oportunidades que pueden cambiar radicalmente el panorama de la industria del turismo. Este estudio tiene la intención de examinar cómo las experiencias del metaverso afectan el procesamiento cognitivo, la satisfacción y la lealtad de los turistas hacia el turismo del metaverso utilizando el paradigma de estímulo-organismo-respuesta (S-O-R) y la auto-teoría cognitiva experiencial (CEST).

Se realizó una encuesta en línea para recopilar información de 329 encuestados que eran usuarios frecuentes de diferentes aplicaciones de metaverso para cumplir con los objetivos del estudio. Los datos se evaluaron a través de modelos de ecuaciones estructurales de mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS-SEM).

Los hallazgos revelaron que las experiencias del metaverso, como la inmersión, el escapismo y el disfrute, tuvieron un impacto positivo significativo en la experiencia organísmica del metaverso. Además, el procesamiento cognitivo del metaverso influyó positivamente en las respuestas de los turistas del metaverso, incluidas la satisfacción y la lealtad, y la participación del turista actuó como moderador.

Este estudio proporciona pautas para los desarrolladores de metaversos y los profesionales de la industria de viajes para fomentar la satisfacción y la lealtad de los visitantes al turismo de metaversos.

An examination of the research literature suggests that no attempt has been made to examine learner autonomy development within female university-level English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Given that English has become the world’s predominant lingua franca for academia, business, and politics, the purpose of this paper, therefore, is to fill this gap in the literature.

This is a qualitative case study that aims to explore learner autonomy in vocabulary development.

The results showed that teachers are cognizant of the concept of learner autonomy. However, they are not all certain of the benefits of autonomous vocabulary learning. This study reveals how six adult learners’ levels of autonomy are highly influenced by their teachers’ practices. This study draws out suggestions for English language teachers who promote learner autonomy theory and practice. It also offers specific guidance, models, and adapted learning approaches of how to promote autonomy inside the classroom.

This study encountered several limitations. The first is time: the study took place over the course of two months in the Summer of 2016, when students were fully encumbered with schoolwork and social duties. The recruitment of participants during that time was a challenge. Some of the students who agreed to participate in the study were not fully engaged in the research. Additionally, the study faced difficulties with faculty commitment – one of the professors delayed the interview session multiple times and perceived some of the interview questions negatively. In addition, Dickinson’s (1993) characteristics of learner autonomy are largely related to the opportunities that are presented to the students by the teacher. It appears that Dickinson’s scale was meant to be used to identify students’ level of autonomy, particularly inside the classroom. However, because of some of the examples of activities pertaining to how they learned vocabulary outside the classroom, they were not related to classroom teaching. Also, the number of the participants is limited in this study.

A future study could be undertaken to measure and quantitatively analyze learners’ vocabulary development on a larger scale. Research could also be conducted using a pretest, an intervention, and a posttest to measure the effectiveness of learning vocabulary autonomously. In addition, other pedagogical approaches could be utilized to measure EFL students’ intrinsic motivation and autonomy, which play critical roles in learning. Allowing learners to self-select their preferred method of learning can help them to develop their vocabulary knowledge. The findings from this study reveal that learner autonomy plays a significant role in enhancing EFL students’ vocabulary development.

When students learn vocabulary autonomously, they are better able to source the lingua franca’s core pronunciation of a word and its spelling without the influence of the teacher’s cultural background. Given the magnitude of teachers’ workloads, they may lack the time for designing lessons that adequately meet the needs of diverse learners. Therefore, the practical way to ameliorate the problem of inadequate time is to provide them with methods (e.g. using strategies such as inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning, and project-based learning) that they can use to more readily foster learner autonomy.