International Leadership Research Articles

Financial and Legal Development of Social Relations Using Digital Currencies in Metaverses

Objective: based on the analysis of financial and legal policy of certain jurisdictions, to determine the initial prospects of financial and legal development of social relations in metaverse using digital currencies.Methods: the research is based on the system of cognitive tools: first of all, formal-legal, comparative-legal, statistical methods, and the method of legal forecasting, which help to interpret the legal norms and financiallegal policy of various jurisdictions, assess the degree of current development of legislation on regulation of technologies in virtual worlds, and formulate ideas about the financial-legal regulation of public relations using digital currencies in the metaverse.Results: the study reveals that modern legislation on metaverses is at the initial stage of its formation, as in developed jurisdictions metaverse is still considered only as a future technology. The author shows the degree of popularity of the metaverse first prototypes and the growing attention of some states to the metaverse in order to develop their socioeconomic potential and consolidate international leadership in digital development. The paper points out the shortcomings of the metaverse definitions developed in doctrine and practice, and long proposes the author’s definition. It is argued that in order to fully integrate metaverse technology into a certain country, whose policy is focused on achieving (maintaining) a high rating in terms of the economy digital transformation, it is necessary to determine the currency that will be legitimately used in the metaverse in future. A conclusion is made that it is necessary to plan financial and legal policy in this area, which will largely depend on the legal regime of cryptocurrency in a particular country. It is argued that further development of the metaverse concept in Russia will depend on the results of testing the digital ruble.Scientific novelty: the paper is one of the first devoted to the convergence of metaverse and financial law, which proposes a concept for establishing full-fledged legality of digital currency in the metaverse depending on the attitude of a particular country to decentralized finance. Along with popular definitions formulated in doctrine and practice, the author presents their own interpretation of the metaverse, indicating its essential features.Practical significance: the conclusions and proposals obtained can be used to improve the mechanisms of financial and legal regulation of social relations under the emerging metaverse concept. The presented ideas are important for further research of various financial and legal aspects of metaverses’ development and functioning.

BRICS as a Catalyst for Global Governance Transformation: Beyond Western Perceptions

Scholarship on global political economy and global peace and security governance often depicts BRICS members as emerging powers with relatively limited experience in international leadership. These depictions underscore their contested regional leadership and ambiguous institutional, political, ideological, and socio-economic capacities to influence and reshape the global governance system. However, this article challenges some of these characterizations of BRICS members as inaccurate and rooted in Western exceptionalism. Employing a qualitative secondary research approach, it aims to analyze the role of BRICS as a new model for global governance by examining key institutional and political initiatives undertaken by the bloc, as well as by each of its member states.The analysis reveals that institutional initiatives such as the New Development Bank (NDB) demonstrate the BRICS’ capacity to deploy a combination of hard and soft power tools, thereby contributing to the emergence of multipolarity in the global governance architecture. These initiatives have exposed the world's developing regions to new experiences, resources, and understandings of the priorities of emerging powers. Furthermore, political responses to crises, such as turmoil in Zimbabwe, Libya, and Mali, as well as nuclear issues in Iran, where BRICS members have assumed mediatory, supportive, or leading roles, have sparked renewed interest in understanding BRICS as an alternative to traditional conceptions of global peace and security governance. Significantly, BRICS’ soft power diplomacy plays a pivotal role in projecting the bloc as an advocate of alternative global governance architecture and in dispelling negative perceptions. This objective is achieved through the BRICS’ transformative agenda, which offers alternative pathways for attaining international public goods in developing regions with shared historical and ideological affinities.

About PanAfrican Journal of Governance and Development

PanAfrican Journal of Governance and Development (PJGD) is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal of Jimma University that publishes editorials, research articles, book reviews, commentaries, and notes. PJGD offers a platform for the expression of new scientific inquiries to intellectuals of the world in general and Africa & Ethiopia in particular to reflect on how governance and development can be promoted, strengthened, and consolidated. The biannual edition is published in February and August of each year only in English language. PJGD is APC Free Journal.
 PJGD accepts scientific works focused on the diversified areas of Governance and Development drawn from multiple disciplines of Political Science and International Relations, Public Management, Leadership, Development Economics, Environmental Governance, Peace and Conflict, Human Rights, National and International Law, Globalization, Public Policy, Regional and International Organizations, Gender, Peace and Conflict Management, International Political Economy, Multiculturalism, Civil Society, and related areas.

Zoonotic Diseases: A Changing Landscape Demands Global Action

During recent years, the globe-wide zoonotic disease landscape has evolved drastically posing significant challenges to the health of the individual and environmental sustainability. Zoonotic illnesses, which occur in animals and are transmission-capable to people, have been an ever-present risk throughout history. According to the “World Health Organization (WHO)”, an estimated 60% of known infectious diseases and around 75% of new or emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin. These illnesses have the potential to inflict widespread morbidity and mortality, along with severe economic losses. However, today's dynamics of our changing environment, which include urbanization, climate change, and growing human-animal interaction, are increasing the probability of zoonotic spillover occurrences. (1) The worldwide spread of the consequences of zoonotic illnesses underscores the critical need for collective effort through international leadership frameworks integrating government, private industry, and civil society. “The Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA)” and the WHO are collaborating on projects to address these concerns and improve global health security. The WHO launched the "One Health Joint Plan of Action," which intends to inscribe health hazards to humans, animals, plants, and the environment. It emphasizes the interconnection of human, animal, and environmental health. (2)

Improved professional competencies and leadership in PhD-prepared nurses and doctoral students after participating in the cross-national and web-based Nurse-Lead program

BackgroundDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)-prepared nurses are expected to exercise leadership in their various roles. Therefore, European nurse scholars developed a cross-national web-based Nursing Leadership and Mentoring Educational (Nurse-Lead) program. PurposeTo evaluate changes in leadership practices, professional and research competencies as well as career development of PhD-prepared nurses and doctoral nursing students after participation in the Nurse-Lead program. MethodsA pre-post-test evaluation was conducted. Surveys addressed leadership, professional and research competencies, and career development. Quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and paired sample t-tests. Content analysis was used for qualitative data. DiscussionThe 30 participants showed significant improvements in all leadership practices, professional competencies, and most research competencies. Participants reported increased confidence in decision-making, taking on new responsibilities, and becoming more visible within research teams. ConclusionWeb-based, international leadership and mentoring programs are promising tools for the leadership and professional development of PhD-prepared nurses and doctoral nursing students.

Current status and future development of digital therapeutics

Background: Digital therapeutics, evidence-based software applications, offer preventive measures for various diseases and enhance healthcare accessibility and change. This article explores the current status and future trajectory of these devices.Current Concepts: Digital therapeutics prioritize a patient-centered approach. Historically, healthcare relied heavily on prescribed treatments during hospital visits. However, these devices provide objective data on patient symptoms through real-time digital monitoring. They also foster advancements in biotechnology and information technology, leading to improved patient care through technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality apps. Rigorous clinical trials are crucial for these devices, and integrating digital technology is proving increasingly efficient, particularly for decentralized clinical trials. Despite initial promise, challenges abound. While an international leader in this sector gained U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, it recently filed for bankruptcy. Similarly, companies employing gaming techniques for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder treatment experienced lackluster performance. In Korea, the domestic digital therapeutics ecosystem stagnates with limited new approvals. High dropout rates and low user engagement remain major hurdles. Addressing these issues requires a design focused on user experience and motivation.Discussion and Conclusion: Digital therapeutic devices, coupled with digital monitoring, are poised to revolutionize healthcare into a patient-centered ecosystem. Establishing this ecosystem demands collaboration among patients, medical professionals, developers, and regulatory agencies. Continuous regulatory innovation, such as shortening the medical device evaluation process from 390 days to 80 days, is vital for progress.

Bridging the Boundaries of Corporate Language Competence in Multinational Teams

Few studies to date examined the emotional unrest that results from communication across cultures in multinational teams (MNTs). Through examination of 12 in-depth interviews and a focus group of respondents from MNTs, this study investigates the impact of language-induced emotions in MNTs resulting from a corporate language mandate. Even with highly proficient linguists, MNTs still experience collaborative difficulties caused by language differences and associated emotions. Issues identified include loss of information, ambiguity over equivalence of meaning, variability in sociolinguistic competence, and problems of adjustment to cultural norms. The research also pinpointed several lingua-culturally adaptive behavioral strategies relating to international leadership.

Standardizing default electronic health record tools to improve safety for hospitalized patients with Parkinson's disease.

Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems are often configured to address challenges and improve patient safety for persons with Parkinson's disease (PWP). For example, EHR systems can help identify Parkinson's disease (PD) patients across the hospital by flagging a patient's diagnosis in their chart, preventing errors in medication and dosing through the use of clinical decision support, and supplementing staff education through care plans that provide step-by-step road maps for disease-based care of a specific patient population. However, most EHR-based solutions are locally developed and, thus, difficult to scale widely or apply uniformly across hospital systems. In 2020, the Parkinson's Foundation, a national and international leader in PD research, education, and advocacy, and Epic, a leading EHR vendor with more than 35% market share in the United States, launched a partnership to reduce risks to hospitalized PWP using standardized EHR-based solutions. This article discusses that project which included leadership from physician informaticists, movement disorders specialists, hospital quality officers, the Parkinson's Foundation and members of the Parkinson's community. We describe the best practice solutions developed through this project. We highlight those that are currently available as standard defaults or options within the Epic EHR, discuss the successes and limitations of these solutions, and consider opportunities for scalability in environments beyond a single EHR vendor. The Parkinson's Foundation and Epic launched a partnership to develop best practice solutions in the Epic EHR system to improve safety for PWP in the hospital. The goal of the partnership was to create the EHR tools that will have the greatest impact on outcomes for hospitalized PWP.

Changing structures in transnational research networks: An analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on China's scientific collaborations

Research networks play pivotal roles in the creation and diffusion of knowledge. It is widely acknowledged that frontier research tends to cluster around transnational research networks (TRNs), which also represent strategic tools for nurturing innovation in R&D-intensive companies. Therefore, they are crucial for promoting the rapid development of the knowledge economy in underdeveloped countries.In this context, China's experience is particularly relevant because the country has invested heavily in knowledge production, which is arguably one of the most important structural changes at the global level in recent decades, with important implications for the division of labor and trade among countries. The country has been investing in order to become the scientific world leader, and in this transition, research collaboration, in particular with other countries, can become strategic. In this work, we analyze whether COVID-19 and related research have affected the shape of the network and the intensity of collaborations involving China in the field of health studies, comparing it to the case of the U.S. as the global leader in research (Fry et al., 2020). In particular, we wish to assess whether COVID-19-related research has pushed toward larger and more intensive collaborations internationally than before the pandemic or whether a tendency to closure has prevailed has prevailed. This also means understanding whether COVID-19, as a global phenomenon, has affected China in rising as an international research leader. To do so, we built an original dataset of international, coauthored publications involving China or the U.S. in selected health research fields. Our analysis first shows that COVID-19 research has assumed specific features distinct from other topics in the same research field, shaping research networks in a peculiar way for both China and the U.S. Second, for China, COVID-19 does not appear to have represented an opportunity to further climb up the international research ladder, as it has attracted a relatively low and more volatile number of collaborators from different countries.

Costa Rica e o Acordo de Escazú: Uma História de Ausência Persistente

Costa Rica's failure to ratify the Escazú Agreement, adopted in its own territory in 2018, raises several questions. Aside from the harm caused by this absence to Costa Rica's international image as a country committed to human rights and possessing advanced environmental regulations, there are also a series of purported "arguments" presented by the Costa Rican corporate sector. These arguments are wholly contradicted by the economic reality of the 15 states that have already ratified this regional instrument. Furthermore, the Costa Rican Judiciary has engaged in fanciful interpretations, unnecessarily complicating the approval process of the Escazú Agreement, particularly as expressed by a member of the Constitutional Chamber. Strikingly, her arguments align with those of certain Costa Rican business chambers. In light of this non-ratification, Costa Rica's traditional international leadership in environmental matters is seriously compromised. Meanwhile, following Argentina and Mexico in 2021, Chile in 2022, and Belize and Grenada in 2023, Colombia and Brazil are preparing to ratify the Escazú Agreement in the near future.

A Teacher’s Perception of an International Leadership Training

A Teacher’s Perception of an International Leadership Training

Eat those Words: Flipping Understandings of Culture Shock Failure through Self-Leadership in Overseas International Schools

The global demand for teachers outstrips its supply (Brummitt & Keeling, 2013; UNESCO, 2016). This article argues for a re-examination of the concept of failure in the context of educator acculturation overseas, and the self-leadership and school leadership actions that support teachers new to a host country. Oberg (1960, p. 177) first described culture shock as “an occupational disease” that can lead to sudden breakdown and departure. Culture shock with expatriate teachers overseas is inevitable (Roskell, 2013), and teacher turnover has been reported as high as 60% in some international schools (Mancuso et al., 2010). Since the onset of the pandemic, sudden teacher departures have risen sharply in some schools (Author1, in press). To mitigate the issue, strategic planning of K-12 international school leadership includes improving teacher retention. How a leader views failure matters and learning to fail intelligently can promote innovation and improvement in the longer term (Cannon & Edmondson, 2005). This article examines a subset of a qualitative study on educator acculturation involving 17 sojourning (between-culture) educators in 5 regions in Southeast and East Asia. Participants were found to utilize an arsenal of self-leadership strategies (Houghton et al., 2011) to mitigate acculturative challenges. Most of the participants recalled an early career sojourning experience that they described as shocking and stressful. Participants initially viewed their experiences as failures, however, participants described that these experiences led to beneficial outcomes: increased capacity for future overseas teaching experiences, evidenced by reduced acculturative stress (Berry, 2006). This widespread experience leads one to posit that the initial “fail” when coupled with self-leadership strategies, has a beneficial long-term effect. Better understanding of such experiences will help educational organizations harness the power of these failures by turning them into meaningful learning opportunities that guide the new sojourning teaching towards a successful career.

BIODEMOGRAPHY OF AGING, CELEBRATING JAMES W. VAUPEL, PHD

Abstract James W. Vaupel, PhD (1945 – 2022), was an international leader in demography and aging research and a pioneer in the field of biodemography. He was a highly creative researcher and very entrepreneurial in the development of new interdisciplinary research environments. This symposium highlights a few of the biodemographic research areas that Dr. Vaupel has been a catalyst for. Denmark was Dr. Vaupel’s home country during the last third of his life, and Dr. Christensen reports on findings from Danish nationwide genetic-epidemiological studies on twins and the oldest old: familial influence on aging phenotypes, cohort differences in health among the oldest old, associations of early life events with late life health, as well as tongue-in-cheek research on perceived age and teeth. Dr. Alberts discusses the ‘invariant rate of aging’ hypothesis that was developed by Vaupel and others. She presents comparative analyses from multiple nonhuman primate populations showing that, while life expectancy can continue to improve, we probably can’t slow the demographic rate of aging. Dr. Campos presents evidence from a wild baboon population in Kenya that glucocorticoid levels—biological markers of stress responses—are strong prognostic indicators of survival and may be key explanations of life span disparities. Dr. Carey presents key discoveries from large-scale studies involving the Mediterranean fruit fly. These include the slowing of mortality at older ages, context-specific sex mortality differentials, a behavioral biomarker for morbidity, dietary conditions for maximizing lifespan versus reproduction and a stationary population identity whereby life lived equals life left.

Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology: Judith L. Gibbons.

"APA's Committee for Global Psychology is pleased to present this award to Judith L. Gibbons. Dr. Gibbons is Professor Emerita of Psychology at Saint Louis University and throughout her career has exemplified the best of international scholarship, mentorship, editorships, professional leadership, and humanitarian service. Her scholarship focuses on international and cross-cultural studies of adolescent development, intercountry adoption, psychology of women and gender, and human-equine interaction. Dr. Gibbons has made extraordinary contributions to the publication of international psychology research, serving on numerous editorial boards and as founding editor of the journal International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation. Through this work, Dr. Gibbons has served as mentor to researchers from around the globe, particularly scholars from underrepresented parts of the world. She has served on numerous boards and as advisor to multiple international groups and committees, including as President of the Society for Cross-Cultural Research and the InterAmerican Society of Psychology. Dr. Gibbons has also served as Vice-President of the Board of Directors of Colegio Americano del Sur, a K-12 bilingual private school in Guatemala, and as a pro-bono monitoring and evaluation consultant for the Guatemalan nongovernmental organization SerNiña. In recognition of her ongoing commitment to global scholarship, publication, and mentorship; service to international organizations; and dedication to using psychology to help children, the Committee for Global Psychology presents to Dr. Gibbons the 2023 APA Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology." This award honors an individual who has made sustained and enduring contributions to international cooperation and the advancement of knowledge in psychology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Big Data, Data Science, and Artificial Intelligence for Project Management in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Industry: A Systematic Review

The high volume of information produced by project management and its quality have become a challenge for organizations. Due to this, emerging technologies such as big data, data science and artificial intelligence (ETs) have become an alternative in the project life cycle. This article aims to present a systematic review of the literature on the use of these technologies in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. A methodology of collection, purification, evaluation, bibliometric, and categorical analysis was used. A total of 224 articles were found, which, using the PRISMA method, finally generated 57 articles. The categorical analysis focused on determining the technologies used, the most common methodologies, the most-discussed project management areas, and the contributions to the AEC industry. The review found that there is international leadership by China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The type of research most used is quantitative. The areas of knowledge where ETs are most used are Cost, Quality, Time, and Scope. Finally, among the most outstanding contributions are as follows: prediction in the development of projects, the identification of critical factors, the detailed identification of risks, the optimization of planning, the automation of tasks, and the increase in efficiency; all of these to facilitate management decision making.

Trees made out of fintech: Valuing carbon and accumulating capital in China’s Ant Forest

With China’s increasing international environmental leadership, its emerging models for pursuing environmental goals matter. This article examines one such model, the application of financial technology (“fintech”) to solve environmental problems, through the case of Ant Forest. This highly popular app-based project run by Chinese financial technology giant Ant Group transforms individuals’ green, low-carbon actions into afforestation projects. The article investigates processes of capital accumulation in this project, and finds that Ant Forest’s main innovation, in harnessing fintech, is a techno-epistemological one that defines “green” activities according to political-economic relationships that generate corporate profit but compromise environmental benefit. In models like Ant’s, fintech also shifts processes of value creation, especially in articulation with carbon markets, where nature becomes financialized. This involves multiple linked processes and diverse forms of work to create and realize value. Ant Forest’s entanglements with state power draw attention to the role of the state in sustainability fintech and suggest that fintech capital always works through the state, though in evolving ways.

When leaders disappoint: rejection and denial of leadership roles in international politics

International leadership failure by states is an underdeveloped concept in International Relations. Existing approaches commonly equate leadership with hegemony, arguing that leadership success and failure are contingent on primacy or shared material interests among states. In this article, we introduce a role theoretical approach, which defines international leadership as a social role that emerges from shared expectations among states pertaining to leadership purpose, group cohesion and time horizon. Accordingly, leadership failure occurs when role expectations between states diverge and states are unable to generate commensurate role-taking via alter-casting. Four leader-follower constellations can be distinguished: leadership enactment, denial, rejection and vacuum. The paper utilizes this theoretical heuristic to understand two cases of leadership failure. The first case involves Brazil’s attempted leadership role in response to the Latin American migration crisis following the political crisis in Venezuela. The second case examines Indonesia’s attempted leadership role in the South China Sea dispute. The empirical findings contribute to existing work on hegemony and leadership in international relations theory by showing that leadership failure comes in different variants and these variants are contingent on shared role expectations and alter-casting capacity of states involved.

Exploring a Low-Cost Valorization Route for Amazonian Cocoa Pod Husks through Thermochemical and Catalytic Upgrading of Pyrolysis Vapors.

Ecuador as an international leader in the production of cocoa beans produced more than 300 000 tons in 2021; hence, the management and valorization of the 2 MM tons of waste generated annually by this industry have a strategic and socioeconomic value. Consequently, appropriate technologies to avoid environmental problems and promote sustainable development and the bioeconomy, especially considering that this is a megadiverse country, are of the utmost relevance. For this reason, we explored a low-cost pyrolysis route for valorizing cocoa pod husks from Ecuador's Amazonian region, aiming at producing pyrolysis liquids (bio-oil), biochar, and gas as an alternative chemical source from cocoa residues in the absence of hydrogen. Downstream catalytic processing of hot pyrolysis vapors using Mo- and/or Ni-based catalysts and standalone γ-Al2O3 was applied for obtaining upgraded bio-oils in a laboratory-scale fixed bed reactor, at 500 °C in a N2 atmosphere. As a result, bimetallic catalysts increased the bio-oil aqueous phase yield by 6.6%, at the expense of the organic phase due to cracking reactions according to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) results. Overall product yield remained constant, in comparison to pyrolysis without any downstream catalytic treatment (bio-oil ∼39.0-40.0 wt % and permanent gases 24.6-26.6 wt %). Ex situ reduced and passivated MoNi/γ-Al2O3 led to the lowest organic phase and highest aqueous phase yields. The product distribution between the two liquid phases was also modified by the catalytic upgrading experiments carried out, according to heteronuclear single-quantum correlation (HSQC), total correlation spectroscopy (TOCSY), and NMR analyses. The detailed composition distribution reported here shows the chemical production potential of this residue and serves as a starting point for subsequent valorizing technologies and/or processes in the food and nonfood industry beneficiating society, environment, economy, and research.

A postgraduate training programme in child and adolescent mental health in a lower-middle-income country: a partnership model from Nigeria.

This paper describes a postgraduate training programme in child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) in Nigeria. It explains the background, curriculum development, teaching, evaluation and outcomes. By its 10th year the programme had trained 166 CAMH professionals from 14 African countries. Many of the graduates are running clinical CAMH services in their countries, mostly pioneered by them. They are also conducting CAMH training, including as faculty on the programme, and some are in international CAMH leadership roles. Key success elements of the programme that can be replicated in other low- and middle-income countries include international partnership, adopting a train-the-trainer approach, using a curriculum that covers clinical aspects of CAMH while also developing leadership and research skills, use of free-access training resources, and access to seed funding.

Human Life of Korean University Students

Purpose: The Korean wave phenomenon is closely related to university students in Korea, and university students are greatly influenced by the Korean Wave phenomenon and experience and develop positive changes and opportunities through it. The Korean Wave phenomenon is contributing to university students introducing and promoting Korean wave contents abroad, contributing to Korean language education and cultural exchange, and becoming Korea's representative soft power factor through cultural event planning and international leadership. Through these roles, university students can gain opportunities to promote Korean culture and values to the world and form an international network, which has created a need for research on the lives of Korean university students.
 Method: In this study, 150 Korean university students were surveyed by convenience sampling method. A valid questionnaire was analyzed for 136 people, and the data were analyzed using the SPSS 23.0 program. Frequency analysis, t-test, and One Way ANOVA were used as analysis methods. According to the purpose of the analysis, differences in stress by gender, difference in organizational commitment by presence or absence of friends of the opposite sex, differences in empowerment by religious type, and differences in organizational commitment by friends of the opposite sex and dwelling type were explored.
 Results: First, as a result of examining the difference in stress according to gender in Korean university students, males answered Q7(I feel the need to reduce part of my role in my team) and Q8(I feel my role is too much in my team). It was found that women experience higher levels of stress than women. Second, as a result of verifying differences in empowerment according to religious types of Korean university students, in Q8(I decide the goal of my training by myself), the result was that Christian believers experienced higher empowerment than other religions(non-religious). And as a result of examining the difference in organizational commitment according to the presence or absence of friends of the opposite sex among Korean university students, those who have friends of the opposite sex were Q1(I feel a strong sense of belonging to the team I am currently training for), Q2(I think the current team is worth putting my heart and soul into), and Q3(I look forward to life in the team more positively in the future).
 Conclusion: First, Korean university students showed different role burdens and stress levels according to gender. Second, Christians tended to feel greater self-determination and control through religious values and belief systems. Third, those who have friends of the opposite sex tend to feel a strong sense of belonging and passion within the organization. Fourth, students living in university dormitory dormitories showed higher organizational commitment than students who commute to school. The university dormitory provides an environment that encourages the formation of relationships with classmates and communication with the outside world.