Allocation Of Responsibilities Research Articles

Legal accountability and ethical considerations of AI in financial services

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the financial services industry, offering unparalleled opportunities for efficiency, innovation, and personalized services. However, along with its benefits, AI in financial services raises significant legal and ethical concerns. This paper explores the legal accountability and ethical considerations surrounding the use of AI in financial services, aiming to provide insights into how these challenges can be addressed. The legal accountability of AI in financial services revolves around the allocation of responsibility for AI-related decisions and actions. As AI systems become more autonomous, questions arise about who should be held liable for AI errors, misconduct, or regulatory violations. This paper examines the existing legal frameworks, such as data protection laws, consumer protection regulations, and liability laws, and assesses their adequacy in addressing AI-related issues. Ethical considerations in AI implementation in financial services are paramount, as AI systems can impact individuals' financial well-being and access to services. Issues such as algorithmic bias, transparency, and fairness are critical in ensuring ethical AI practices. This paper discusses the importance of ethical guidelines and frameworks for AI development and deployment in financial services, emphasizing the need for transparency, accountability, and fairness. The paper also examines the role of regulatory bodies and industry standards in addressing legal and ethical challenges associated with AI in financial services. It proposes recommendations for policymakers, regulators, and industry stakeholders to promote responsible AI practices, including the development of clear guidelines, enhanced transparency measures, and mechanisms for accountability. Overall, this paper highlights the complex interplay between AI, legal accountability, and ethical considerations in the financial services industry. By addressing these challenges, stakeholders can harness the full potential of AI while ensuring that it is deployed in a responsible and ethical manner, benefiting both businesses and consumers.

A review on legal issues of medical robots.

This paper examines the legal challenges associated with medical robots, including their legal status, liability in cases of malpractice, and concerns over patient data privacy and security. And this paper scrutinizes China's nuanced response to these dilemmas. An analysis of Chinese judicial practices and legislative actions reveals that current denial of legal personality to AI at this stage is commendable. To effectively control the financial risks associated with medical robots, there is an urgent need for clear guidelines on responsibility allocation for medical accidents involving medical robots, the implementation of strict data protection laws, and the strengthening of industry standards and regulations.

MANAGEMENT MECHANISMS ENSURING THE STABILITY (OR SUSTAINABILITY) OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF ENTERPRISES: ESSENCE AND TYPES

The article aims to define features and content-related aspects of the managerial mechanism ensuring enterprise economic development stability (or sustainability). The study's relevance is driven by the necessity to address qualitatively new external and internal challenges, arising from the military aggression of the RF against Ukraine. The research examines economic methods and tools for managing enterprise stability (or sustainability), highlighting their focus on effective functioning in terms of economic indicators and performance. The study delves into organizational methods and tools for enterprise management, highlighting their distinct focus on effective leadership and operational organization. The research examines the format of structural methods and tools for the sequential distribution of duties, demonstrating that it distinguishes itself by its focus on the relevance of duty and responsibility allocation. The research examines informational methods and tools for enterprise management, emphasizing their focus on stable information delivery to management personnel. The research is valuable for exploring effective ways to use economic methods and tools to establish strategic reserves for stability in adverse conditions.

Cloud service models, business continuity and disaster recovery plans, and responsibilities

Purpose The purpose of this article is to identify the role of cloud computing services in business continuity and disaster recovery plans and delineate responsibilities for their execution. In recent times, there has been a huge upsurge in the usage of cloud service models such as infrastructure-as-a-service, platform-as-a-service, software-as-a-service and disaster recovery-as-a-service. However, in case of an emergency event or during contract negotiations, a question might arise as to who should be accountable and responsible for the content and execution of recovery plans. The main stakeholders in this scenario are cloud service providers and cloud consumers. Design/methodology/approach After a review of academic articles, standards, guidelines and vendor documentation, a proposal for assigning accountability and responsibility for business continuity and disaster recovery plans is presented, based on the RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted and informed) matrix. In this regard, a critical information infrastructure protection plan, a disaster recovery plan, an information systems contingency plan and a business continuity plan have been elaborated on in the article. Findings RACI matrices are presented for three general cloud service models and for three DRaaS models (managed, assisted and self-service). Accountability and responsibilities depend on the deployed cloud service model and the roles of cloud service providers and cloud consumers. Originality/value The proposed model for accountability and responsibility assignment provides a guideline for the allocation of responsibilities to roles not only during recovery but also during contract negotiations between cloud service providers and cloud consumers. By delving into business continuity and disaster recovery processes and activities, similar yet nuanced RACI matrices should be developed, as presented in this paper. They need to be customised for the specific context.

Activating Adolescent and Young Adult Involvement with Cancer Care Responsibilities: A Dyadic Qualitative Study with Caregivers.

Purpose: Empowering adolescents and young adult (AYA) patients to be involved in cancer responsibilities (e.g., remembering medications), as opposed to solely relying on caregivers, may have important short- and long-term benefits for development and disease management. This study explored perceptions of AYA engagement with cancer-related responsibilities and plans for transferring these responsibilities from caregivers to AYAs. Methods: A total of 30 AYA-caregiver dyads (including 11 early adolescents, 10 adolescents, and 9 young adults who were receiving chemotherapy and/or radiation) jointly completed a semi-structured interview. Interviews assessed the present allocation of cancer responsibilities within the family, how cancer responsibilities were divided this way, and prompted a dyadic discussion to draft a plan to transfer a responsibility to the AYA in the future. Directed content analysis techniques were used to identify and organize relevant themes. Results: Themes showed that (1) cancer responsibilities were initially assumed "naturally" by caregivers, without much formal discussion; (2) greater AYA involvement in cancer care reflected AYA (e.g., age, willingness) and caregiver factors (e.g., knowledge/skills, anxiety); (3) over time, dyads mutually prioritized AYA engagement with cancer care; and (4) the need for more proactive clinical support with transferring care tasks to AYAs. Discussion: Caregivers play a key role in managing cancer care with or for AYAs, with the allocation of these responsibilities being influenced by several factors that can shift over time. Dyads typically viewed the transfer process as important but desired more clinical support. This reflects a potential self-management care gap to address in future studies and dyadic interventions.

Political elites in Western states: Recruitment principles and areas of responsibility

Today, political elites influence the global transformation processes that are taking place in the current environment. The elite shapes the vector of the state development strategy and actualizes the formation of resonant decisions. This article aims to analyze the principles of political elite recruitment and identify areas of responsibility in the example of Western countries. The research was carried out using general scientific methods, in particular, analysis, synthesis, comparison, abstraction, specification, and generalization. The study analyzes the main factors of elite recruitment and reveals the systems of its formation and the allocation of responsibilities. The authors have determined that the choice of the elite in the political sphere is an essential feature of state-building. It represents the nature of power, its priorities, and its interaction with society. In addition, the specific features of the process of forming the political elite of Western countries are outlined, and the main issues of this process are highlighted. It is established that the process of developing a political elite in a particular country is marked by certain features that are formed under the influence of political, social, economic, and cultural factors. The authors have proved that the distribution of responsibilities of the political elite is considered to be a controversial issue. Therefore, its solution should be aimed at leveling the imbalance between the elite stratum of society and its majority to optimize socio-economic development. The practical significance of the proposed theoretical research findings is based on the allocation of practical aspects of optimizing the process of recruiting the political elite. The main basis of this process is identified by its compliance with moral and ethical principles and stimulation of the harmonious development of the state.

Tax Debts Pose a Significant Challenge for Tax Institutions

In 2020, the Tax Administration of Kosovo implemented a tax debt collection reform with three main objectives. 1) Consolidation of personnel from 10 regional offices into a centralized facility; 2) Equitable allocation of work responsibilities; 3) Enhancement of debt collection efficiency. During the period from 2020 to 2022, the implementation of the reform resulted in a substantial improvement in debt collection efficiency, exceeding 100% compared to the pre-reform years. Currently, tax officers handle debt collection cases with well-defined responsibilities and tasks, and the distribution of duty is more fair. This study investigates the involvement of top management and staff in the development and reform of the Kosovo Tax Administration's debt collection function. It also compares its participation with that of other Balkan countries. Tax authorities in developed nations have constructed their tax systems around the concepts of taxpayer self-assessment and voluntary tax compliance. Consequently, each tax revenue agency must establish an environment that facilitates taxpayers in declaring and remitting taxes while also implementing measures to combat informal economic activities and promote legitimate business operations. These efforts are crucial for achieving optimal levels of voluntary compliance and fostering public confidence in the tax administration.

Tracing agricultural land carbon loss through transregional food consumption for fairness of responsibility allocation

Agricultural land carbon loss (ALCL) has been increasingly triggered by transregional food consumption in China. Understanding land carbon burden from consumption side is then recognized to be essential for facilitating regional fairness. To this end, we combined physical food-orient multi-regional input-output table and ALCL inventory for 26 kinds of foods in 31 provinces to trace China's ALCL through cross-regional consumption. Results show that ALCL embodied in inter-provincial trade was up to 42 % of the national total ALCL. Food consumption in Guangdong caused the largest ALCL, while Tibet and Qinghai stood out from per capita perspective. Furthermore, consuming foods produced in areas with higher production ALCL intensity would elevate national ALCL, thus shrinking the adverse flows and controlling agricultural land expansion in high-intensity areas may help lessen national ALCL. This study contributes to equitable allocation of responsibility for land carbon loss, and enlightens future land carbon loss risks and restoration opportunities.

Resilience of the primary healthcare system: perspectives of German stakeholders at primary care interfaces during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Worldwide, the primary care sector played a key role in coping with the challenges of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The aim of this study was to explore the resilience of the German primary healthcare system during the second wave of the pandemic from the perspective of identified interface stakeholders, i.e., representatives of hospitals, district offices, and medical associations. Qualitative data from interviews and focus groups were analyzed according to a resilience framework. The main findings include a gap in knowledge transfer, unstructured allocation of responsibilities, and a resulting unregulated flow of patients. Social brokers supported care coordination and knowledge transfer. The response to the capacity to cope with uncertainties was slow and chaotic at the system level and heterogeneous at the individual level. Building on previous relationships fostered functioning communication, while competition in primary care was identified as a barrier to resilience. Implications for further research and for strengthening the resilience of primary care can be derived based on this study.

Audit credibility and LGBTQI rights: certification operation in the margins

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to contribute to knowledge about the diversity of credibility arrangements in new audit spaces “in the margins” of auditing and the implications of such arrangements.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on an in-depth qualitative study of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) rights certification run by the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Rights (RFSL) during its first decade of operation. We have interviewed employees and studied documents at the certification units within the RFSL. We have also interviewed certified organizations.FindingsWe highlight two features that explain the unusual credibility arrangements in this audit practice: the role of beneficiaries in the organizational arrangements chosen and the role of responsibility as an organizing value with consequences for responsibility allocation in this certification. These features make it possible for the RFSL to act as a credible auditor even though it deviates from common arrangements for credible audits.Originality/valueThe RFSL certification is different in several ways. First, the RFSL acts as both a trainer and an auditor. Second, the trainers/auditors at the RFSL have no accreditation to guarantee their credibility. Third, the RFSL decides for itself what standards should apply for the certification and adapts these standards to the operation being audited. Therefore, this case provides a good opportunity to study alternative credibility arrangements in the margins of auditing as well as their justifications.

Multi-timescale analysis and quantification of dynamic regulation characteristics of DFIM-based variable-speed pumped storage units in alleviating wind power fluctuations

To comprehensively clarify the regulating role of variable-speed pumped storage system (VSPS) in alleviating wind power fluctuations, this paper quantitatively evaluates the multi-timescale frequency regulation performance of VSPS in a typical wind-hydro-pumped storage hybrid system (WHPHS). Firstly, the flexible equivalent frequency response models of VSPS and WHPHS are established. Then, the effectiveness of fixed-speed pumped storage system (FSPS) and VSPS in enhancing the stability of dominant hydropower system (HS) in WHPHS is compared, and the dynamic regulation behaviors between VSPS and FSPS are quantitatively evaluated. Based on the operational characteristics, the differences in the allocation of regulation responsibilities between VSPS/FSPS and HS for frequency regulation are clarified. The results indicate that VSPS contributes to an exhaustive improvement in HS stability, reduces the power fluctuation and frequency deviation of WHPSHS. Specifically, in the established simulation scenarios, WHPSHS with VSPS outperforms an equivalent FSPS in reducing frequency deviation frms by 20 %, power fluctuation Is by 40 %, and complementarity Ic by 50 %. Particularly effective in suppressing power fluctuations in range of 0.01 Hz to 0.8 Hz, which decreases the resonant peak of frequency deviation by 61.3 % compared to FSPS. It further highlights the regulatory advantages of VSPS in responding to low-amplitude high-frequency power variations. These findings can provide novel insights into the role of VSPS in mitigating RES fluctuations and energy management strategies in multi-type hybrid systems.

Opportunities and challenges: AIGC empowers the protection and inheritance of traditional culture

Generative AI, represented by ChatGPT, has shown great potential in traditional cultural creation and dissemination due to its automation, diversification, and intelligent generation characteristics. With its empowerment, traditional cultural protection and inheritance will face opportunities and challenges. On the one hand, AIGC significantly improves the efficiency of content generation work, providing more possibilities for content generation; On the other hand, AIGC still faces urgent issues in terms of technology, responsibility allocation, ethics, and other aspects. Breaking through the bottleneck in the dissemination of traditional culture requires integrating into the AIGC wave, seizing opportunities, facing challenges, and further exploring new paths for the protection and inheritance of traditional culture under the empowerment of AIGC, to assist in the content creation and value dissemination of traditional culture.

Exploring Modalities Best Suited for Public Private Partnership Concession Agreements in the Education Sector of Zambia

The Zambian public sector has been known to face several challenges in the provision of infrastructure among others education infrastructure. Thus, the introduction of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). In as much as the education sector of Zambia can benefit tremendously from the PPP initiative, poorly designed PPP concession agreements risk worsening existing educational sector challenges. The objectives of the paper were to establish the extent of application of PPPs in the Zambian education sector, identify the challenges surrounding concession agreements in PPPs in Zambia, and suggest the right modalities that could be applied to PPP concession agreements in the Zambian education sector. Both secondary and primary data was collected to establish that no private sector entity has had or is currently engaged in an ongoing concession with the Government in the procurement of infrastructure for schools. Challenges surrounding concession agreements in PPPs included contract misspecifications, lack of contractual flexibility, opportunistic behaviour by either party, and shielded concession agreement creation and process. In view of the foregoing, right modalities that could be applied to PPP concession agreements in the Zambian education sector include proper risk allocation, adequate concession period, clear allocation of roles and responsibilities, and inclusion of stabilization clauses.

Tailoring responsible research and innovation to the translational context: the case of AI-supported exergaming

We discuss the implementation of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) within a project for the development of an AI-supported exergame for assisted movement training, outline outcomes and reflect on methodological opportunities and limitations. We adopted the responsibility-by-design (RbD) standard (CEN CWA 17796:2021) supplemented by methods for collaborative, ethical reflection to foster and support a shift towards a culture of trustworthiness inherent to the entire development process. An embedded ethicist organised the procedure to instantiate a collaborative learning effort and implement RRI in a translational context. Within the interdisciplinary setting of the collaboration and with the support of a technoethicist, we successfully identified relevant, project-specific challenges and developed a roadmap with derived actions, thus meaningfully integrating RRI into the development process. We discuss the methodological procedure in terms of its effectiveness and efficiency, the allocation of responsibilities and roles, particularly regarding potential frictions in the interdisciplinary context with embedded ethics, and the challenges of the translational context. We conclude that the responsibility-by-design standard effectively established a productive workflow for collaborative investigation and work on ethical challenges. We reflect on methodological difficulties and propose possible avenues to our approach.

Implementation of nutritional care in hospitals: A qualitative study of barriers and facilitators using implementation theory.

Disease-related malnutrition is prevalent among hospitalised patients, but not all patients achieve the needed nutritional care. At a Danish University Hospital, focus has been on implementing nutritional practices based on clinical guidelines, but there is continuously variation between the wards regarding the quality of nutritional care. The aim of this study was to identify the potential barriers and facilitators for implementation of the clinical guidelines for nutritional practices and to recommend suggestions for development of nutritional practices, using a theoretical implementation strategy. The design was a qualitative interview study of employees at a Danish University Hospital, using a semi-structured interview guide. The participants were nurses, nurse's assistant, nurse nutrition expert, head nurse and dieticians. We recruited 11 employees, representing eight different wards. The analysis identified six themes: (1) clear allocation of responsibilities and committed management enhances nutrition practices, (2) leadership support is essential, (3) physical settings and tools affect possibilities for action, (4) selection of equivalent staff is core, (5) teaching promotes the knowledge and skills and (6) a dietitian in the ward facilitates implementation of nutritional care. Barriers and facilitators among the themes were identified and has led to suggestions to strengthen nutritional care, based on implementation theory. Various factors were identified as having impact on the implementation of nutrition practices and different suggestions have emerged to accommodate those factors, as well as to apply an implementation strategy to facilitate change in practice.

How work stress influence turnover intention among Chinese local undergraduate university teachers: the mediating effect of job burnout and the moderating effect of self-efficacy.

Turnover intention is one of the common disturbances that affect the career development and management of university teachers. With an aim to solve this thorny issue, the study examined the associations between turnover intention and work stress among local undergraduate university teachers in China. A questionnaire survey was carried out on 7,565 local university teachers. Initially, confirmatory factor analysis was employed to validate the reliability and validity of the scale. Subsequently, descriptive statistics and correlation analyses were conducted. Following this, a latent moderated structural equation (LMS) was used to explore the relationship among work stress, job burnout, self-efficacy, and turnover intention. Moreover, the bias-corrected Bootstrap method was applied to further examine the mediating effects, moderating effects, and moderated mediating effects in the model. The hypothesized moderated mediation model was verified significant. Work stress directly and positively predicted job burnout and turnover intention, with job burnout serving a partial mediating role between work stress and turnover intention. Additionally, self-efficacy negatively moderated the direct impact of work stress on job burnout, as well as the mediating effect of job burnout. As the self-efficacy of university teachers increased, the direct effect of work stress on job burnout and the mediating effect of job burnout decreased. This study expanded the research on the antecedent variables of university teachers' turnover intention and revealed the individual contingency mechanism by which work stress affected turnover intention: the negative moderating effect of self-efficacy. Work stress induced university teachers' turnover intention, and this phenomenon was more obvious for faculties with low self-efficacy. Administrators of local undergraduate universities need to rationalize the allocation of teachers' job responsibilities and pay attention to the negative consequences of work stress in order to reduce turnover intentions. Particular attention should be paid to enhance teachers' self-efficacy. The findings of this study can provide in-depth recommendations for university faculty management and policy making, which can help shape a working atmosphere more conducive to teaching and research, thus enhancing the overall quality and competitiveness of faculty members within universities.

Unequal transfer and its policy implications of carbon emissions and economic benefits embodied among Central Plains urban agglomeration

Tracing the carbon emissions and economic benefits embodied in trade is crucial for the equitable allocation of mitigation responsibilities, particularly among cities in China, where studies on this topic are lacking. Therefore, this study selected the Central Plains Urban Agglomeration (CPUA) as a representative region. It compiled carbon emissions inventories following the 2006 IPCC guidelines and employed the multi-regional input-output model to investigate the trade-attributed embodied carbon emissions and value-added. Additionally, it estimated the unequal transfers of these emissions and value-added by introducing the City Carbon Emissions Inequality index (CCEI). The results indicate that the CPUA received net carbon emissions of 454.99 and 330.95 Mt. from outside regions from 2012 to 2017. Nearly half of the territorial carbon emissions were driven by the consumption of other cities, and Zhengzhou and its surrounding cities transferred the most carbon emissions to the outer-ring cities by consuming the primary products produced in these cities. The construction sector was the largest exporter of both embodied emissions and economic benefits, while the energy and service industries were the largest importers of carbon emissions and economic benefits. Such imbalanced transfers contributed to carbon inequality, with the CCEI mean increasing from 0.31 to 0.38 for the exacerbation of intercity imbalances in development. Significant carbon inequality occurred between Zhengzhou and its upstream cities, e.g., Luoyang and Shangqiu, and among some neighboring cities, e.g., Yuncheng-Jincheng and Luoyang-Jiyuan. Our findings provide evidence of a need for compensation mechanisms and collaborative strategies for carbon mitigation in the urban agglomeration.

Ladders and stairs: how the intervention ladder focuses blame on individuals and obscures systemic failings and interventions

Introduced in 2007 by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, the intervention ladder has become an influential tool in bioethics and public health policy for weighing the justification for interventions and...

Blaming the Victim, the Bystander, the Perpetrator, or the Institution: Student Allocation of Responsibility for Sexual Assault when Programming Hypothetically Varies

ABSTRACT Guided by theories of socialization and just policy theory, we explore how students allocate blame when sexual assault prevention programming hypothetically varies, net of the effects of evaluators’ traits. Using a survey instrument containing a series of vignettes, we ask whether university students’ (N = 254) perceptions of responsibility attributed to victims, perpetrators, bystanders, and university administrators varies by hypothetical program trainee and also by the hypothetical implementation of any program versus no program. Findings indicate that students allocate more blame to bystanders and perpetrators when hypothetical programming includes bystander training but that programs that train victims are not associated with increased victim blaming. Administrators are blamed less when bystander intervention is included in programming. However, compared to when no training is hypothetically implemented, students allocate more blame to victims and bystanders when any programming is present and less to administrators. Among respondent-level controls, victim blaming is consistently predicted by evaluators’ rape myth acceptance. Implications for future work, theoretical development, and policy are discussed.

Responsibility-sharing and compensation scheme of transboundary water pollution embodied in China's inter-provincial trade: a perspective from economic value capturing.

Transboundary water pollution induced by inter-regional trade is a complex and challenging issue due to the multiple jurisdictions involved. This study combined water pollution discharge inventory, multi-regional input-output analysis, discharge responsibility-sharing, and ecological compensation model to advance the collaborative control of water pollution embodied in China's inter-provincial trade. Over a fifth of China's water pollution discharges in 2017, equivalent to 1376 Kt, were a result of inter-provincial trade, which primarily flowed from wealthier coastal provinces to less developed ones. Moreover, the analysis demonstrates a mismatch between economic gains and environmental costs. In particular, Jiangxi and Guangxi bear the greatest environmental impact (64 and 58 Kt, respectively) while only receiving meager economic returns (131 and 80 billion Yuan). The economic benefit shared responsibility results for the great majority of provinces fell between production- and consumption-based discharges, and this compromise-based allocation of responsibility is more likely to gain acceptance across various regions. Provinces such as Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Beijing necessitate the highest compensation volumes to others, with 31 Kt, 25 Kt, and 20 Kt, respectively, while provinces including Guangxi, Jiangxi, and Ningxia require the largest inflows of compensation, totaling 26 Kt, 23 Kt, and 18 Kt, respectively. The compensation outcomes ensure that less developed regions, bearing a greater pollution burden, receive compensation from more developed regions with lower pollution burdens. The compensation values aligned with compensation volumes, with a few exceptions driven by variations in shadow prices of water pollution. Our study sheds light on the inter-provincial water pollution burdens and benefits and provides a quantitative basis for optimizing the responsibility-sharing and compensation strategies in China, thereby promoting regional cooperation on water pollution control.