Transcending Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Work: A Self‐Critical Engagement. By Marguerite L.Weber and HugoGaggiotti, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. 2024. 234 Pages. 2 B/W Illustrations. £34.39 Paperback ISBN: 9781032786230. e‐book £34.39.

Why in the World?

Across the world, the deep and unexpected crisis within the global financial sector has quickly spread through to the real economy. To understand the mechanisms of contagion between the financial sector and the real economy, this paper begins by presenting a summary of the most important facts from the last 24 months. It then proposes some preliminary hypotheses regarding possible mechanisms to improve the stability of the financial services sector. Finally, the analysis examines potential solutions for the crisis in those major developed countries that envisage major public intervention. The paper also considers the implicit and explicit risks for the economies of the countries involved.

This paper aims to examine how knowledge management is associated with perceived organisational innovativeness in global companies operating in Central European country and what role in this relationship is played by organisational environment stimulants – organisational trust, leadership support, training and access to resources, and information and communication technology (ICT). This empirical study used a quantitative approach with the data gathered by questionnaire from global companies functioning in IT service (94) and in money transfer service (109). The findings revealed that knowledge management is significantly associated with perceived organisational innovativeness in the global organisations’ context. Organisational environment stimulants (organisational trust, leadership support, training and access to resources, ICT) were confirmed to have a moderate positive association with perceived organisational innovativeness and mediated the relationship between knowledge management and perceived organisational innovativeness. The findings provide additional insights into the existing research on global companies’ knowledge management and suggest that global organisations aiming to foster their innovativeness through knowledge management should focus on the development of learning capability and orientation at the organisational level, as well as reconsider their level of organisational trust and leadership support perceived by employees. This research contributes to the literature by examining the relationship between knowledge management and perceived organisational innovativeness and looking into organisational environment stimulants’ role in this link in a specific global organisations’ context. Implications for Central European audience: when more and more global IT or financial service providers are looking for options to expand their business across the international borders, Central European countries like Lithuania become an attractive destination. The recommendations derived from the results indicate that leadership in global organisations should strive to create a sense of benevolence and aim to maintain integrity between communication and behaviour, particularly focusing on organisational trust development. Global business organisations’ managers must be able to communicate values and norms in a clear and transparent manner as well as ensure that organisational policies are governed in a coherent way across the offices around the world.

The financial services sector is an important part of many economies. In the United Kingdom it assumes a huge contribution to the economy, accounting for 7.9% of UK GDP in 2012, 11.6% of tax receipts and employing over a million people, with a further 967,000 in professional services linked to this sector. Some of the key parts of the financial services sector include insurance, pensions, personal banking services and commercial banking services. In the United Kingdom, financial services also have a significant global dimension, attracting substantial foreign investment and in 2011 generating a trade surplus of £47 billion (The City UK, 2013). There are a wide range of criminal activities which occur in the financial services sector. They range from a robber holding up a bank with a gun, cyber criminals seeking to hack into bank computers to steal funds, to complex frauds perpetrated by the financial services sector against their own customers. Fraud alone is estimated to cost the financial services sector over £5 billion in 2012 (National Fraud Authority, 2013). The response to deal with this crime is also more complex. There are the traditional criminal justice agencies dealing with the ubiquitous volume crimes, but there is also a substantial private sector employed by the financial services organizations to protect it from crime, and there are also a number of regulators dealing with what many would regard as crimes but are not treated as such. For these reasons the financial services sector makes such an interesting case study to explore. This chapter will begin by arguing some deviant behaviours in the financial services sector which could be treated as crimes that seldom are and are frequently referred to as ‘grey crimes’. Sutherland (1949) was one of the first researchers to note the different way ‘white-collar’ crimes are dealt with in comparison to volume crimes. In this chapter, criminal behaviours in the financial services sector will be broadly grouped under the following key headings.

How the global financial services sector has been transformed by artificial intelligence, data science, and blockchain. Artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, and other new technologies have upended the global financial services sector, creating opportunities for entrepreneurs and corporate innovators. Venture capitalists have helped to fund this disruption, pouring nearly $500 billion into fintech over the last five years. This book offers global perspectives on technology-fueled transformations in financial services, with contributions from a wide-ranging group of academics, industry professionals, former government officials, and current government advisors. They examine not only the struggles of rich countries to bring the old analog world into the new digital one but also the opportunities for developing countries to “leapfrog” directly into digital. The book offers accessible explanations of blockchain and distributed ledger technology and explores big data analytics. It considers, among other things, open banking, platform-based strategies for banks, and digital financial services. Case studies imagine possible future fintech-government interaction, emphasizing that legal and regulatory frameworks can help to create trust in financial processes. The contributors offer novel takes and unexpected insights that will be of interest to fintech experts and nonexperts alike. Contributors Ajay Bhalla, Michelle Chivunga, John D'Agostino, Mark Flood, Amias Moore Gerety, Oliver R. Goodenough, Thomas Hardjono, Sharmila Kassam, Boris Khentov, Alexander Lipton, Lev Menand, Pinar Ozcan, Alex Pentland, Matthew Reed, David L. Shrier, Markos Zachariadis

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the adoption and diffusion of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)-based sustainability reporting practices within the global financial services sector.Design/methodology/approachThe approach draws on the sociological construct of social contagion theory (SCT) to explain the drivers of diffusion of GRI-based sustainability reporting. Based on a longitudinal study of GRI adoption over a period from 2000 to 2016, thematic content analysis of sustainability reports and media articles was used to refine information gathered that related to nature and spread of GRI-based sustainability practices within the global financial services sector.FindingsThis study finds that the early adopters of GRI-based sustainability reporting and the accompanying media attention influenced the institutional diffusion of GRI-based reporting in the financial services sector. This growth was isomorphic as companies copied best practice models to reduce uncertainty and maintain legitimacy.Originality/valueThis paper focuses on the institutional diffusion of sustainability reporting practices within the global financial sector. It explores the notion of social contagion as an institutional dynamic to understand the drivers for the adoption and diffusion of GRI-based sustainability reporting across national borders. In doing so, the study contributes to the accounting literature on diffusion of innovations in reporting practice, but also, more generally, to the field of diffusion of new ideas in organisations using the unique approach of SCT.

The globalization of the nursing workforce: implications for education.

Standards in Dementia Care

SupervisorProf. Dr. Marc BrosseauInstitution awarding the Ph. D. DegreeUniversity of Ottawa (Canada)Date of defence14th April 2009Goal and objectives of the dissertationThis study examines the evolution of ecotourism and the emergent 'cultural turn' in the ecotourism discourse. It is informed by antecedents who call for definitions and measures to assist ecotourism stakeholders (professionals, researchers, policy-makers, communities, tourists) to ensure that culture is not compromised during the ecotourism experience, that barriers to culturally sensitivity are identified and appropriate action is taken, and that sustainable outcomes result. The purpose of the research is to develop a contemporary framework for culturally sensitive ecotourism. Through consultations with a global network of ecotourism experts, key ecotourism tenets are identified, a cultural sensitivity definition is developed, and when integrated, they comprise the contemporary framework. The utility of the framework for assisting the ecotourism community to 'break the barriers' and operate with understanding and integrity, to be sensitive to local and Indigenous communities, to protect cultural heritage and living cultures, and by extension, operationalize sustainable development, is explored.MethodologyThis study draws on a comprehensive literature review, including the content analysis of academic and professional publications in English, French, and Mandarin, to trace the evolution of the ecotourism concept and to identify tenets common to the contemporary definitional discourse. It is complimented by the application of the Delphi technique and the judgement of ecotourism experts on the importance of cultural sensitivity (a neglected definitional theme identified through review and analysis) for ecotourism. Over the course of six months, 167 experts from over 40 countries were consulted and a consensus definition for culturally sensitive ecotourism was developed. The Internet served as the primary medium for Delphi administration.Theoretical conclusionsThe results of the research reveal an evolving understanding of the contemporary ecotourism paradigm and the import of cultural sensitivity in the cultural mosaic of the global community. Through the identification of key tenets, the development of a consensus definition for cultural sensitivity, and the integration of these key results, a contemporary framework for culturally sensitive ecotourism are introduced. The framework is conceptual by design and its utility for 'genuine' and 'culturally sensitive' ecotourism evaluation has yet to be assessed. The framework embodies the transformative capacity of ecotourism, it captures salient themes and issues, and it contains an embedded mechanism for cultural sensitivity in the global community.Practical application of the dissertationAs ecotourism continues to expand into increasingly remote and sensitive natural and cultural areas, guidance is required to ensure that ecotourism delivers sustainable ends. …

Setac‐Europe reaches 1,000 members!

It has become critically important to provide a thorough understanding of the effects of the Kangaroo mother care (KMC) phenomenon on infants in the neonatal stage within the United Kingdom (UK). The current body of knowledge suggests numerous research publications globally, but the UK has yet to scale up its KMC practice. This study provides a critical review of the subject for a more nuanced understanding of the subject effect and to identify the current stage of KMC research in the UK. The findings were consistent with the body of knowledge on KMC with slight variations. Specifically, the UK has limited primary study in KMC. Randomized clinical trials (RCT) in KMC are minimal hence the UK is dependent on MedTech like an infant incubator which is a potential threat to KMC scale-up. Breastfeeding figures in the UK suggest depleting practice of KMC. The National and local policies captured KMC components but have impacted morbidity and mortality indices. It also showed three areas of divergence in practice and standardization. To enhance UK national and local policies uniformized guidelines and standardization of postnatal follow-up and community-based supervision are necessary.

This chapter describes the stranglehold that the global financial sector has on our economic and civic life. Operating largely outside effective democratic control, it has developed into a self-referential world uncoupled from the real economy, rife with moral hazard, conflicts of interest and revolving door arrangements with government officials. This chapter shows how much of the intransparency of the financial sector is by design, to ward off outside intervention and democratic control. It describes the private production of money, the ideologies that support these arrangements (such as the odd moral universe of money and debt), and their implications for society, such as private, profit-driven control over credit allocation, the massive indebtedness of citizens and businesses, and damaging national austerity policies. Given the outsized role of the global financial sector, most of the reforms we argue for in this book will be impossible to pursue. To reform the dysfunctional financial sector, we argue for a number of measures, such as educating the public about money, the restoration of the public creation of money, the creation of a system of democratically controlled credit allocation, and the introduction of capital controls.

On the regulation of the intersection between religion and the provision of financial services: Conversations with market actors within the global Islamic financial services sector

This study aimed to evaluate the integration of national climate change policies into the educational curricula of Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and South Korea within the framework of SDG 13 (climate action). The findings reveal that in all three countries, education is regarded as a strategic instrument in addressing climate change, with curricula designed accordingly. But this integration varies across countries and at different levels of education within each country. In this context, Türkiye has incorporated climate change policies into its curricula, primarily to enhance environmental awareness. In contrast, the United Kingdom’s national policies focus more on teaching practical green skills and changing the workforce, while its curricula focus more on climate change. In South Korea, there is a more organized connection between national climate change policies and school curriculum. However, because the course is optional and focuses on green transition and capacity-building goals set by national policies, it may be harder to use widely and sustainably. The study concludes that national climate change policies in these countries must be integrated into curricula at all educational levels through a more comprehensive, experiential, and interdisciplinary approach.

Guidelines can be developed on a national or multinational level. There are discussions concerning the relevance of different guidelines at different regional levels. Guidelines' evaluation can be approached by looking at the items "awareness", "agreement", "adoption" and "adherence". To assess the awareness of national and European (EDF/EADV) guidelines as a means of guidelines' evaluation. Online survey in five selected European countries (Germany [D], Spain [E], France [F], Italy [I], and the United Kingdom [UK]) among 257 dermatologists assessing awareness of different guidelines (European [EDF/EADV], German, Spanish, French, British). Participants were volunteers registered with a field market research company database. Mean awareness of EDF/EADV guidelines in all countries was 54 %, with lower results in the UK (33 %) and Germany (37 %) and higher awareness in Spain (63 %) and Italy (79 %). Awareness of the national guidelines was very high within the respective countries (mean 92 %). The European guidelines where always the best known guidelines after the respective national guidelines. The most important tools for dissemination of all guidelines were the original publication (63 %) and scientific presentations (46 %).This study identified widespread interest in guidelines as assessed by the grade of awareness. Awareness of European guidelines was higher in countries with late development of national guidelines (i.e. Spain and Italy) compared to countries with early development of own national guidelines such as Germany and the UK. National guidelines can reach almost complete awareness within their respective countries. The original publication is still the most important dissemination tool for guidelines.