Knowledge Asymmetries Research Articles

Identifying and developing the roles of private business actors in international regime complexes

Abstract Business actors play increasingly important roles in global governance and international regulation. This paper considers how regime complexity influences the roles of businesses and impacts opportunities for business influence on international regulatory regimes. We conducted a scoping literature review of 243 articles from the International Regime Complexity (IRC) theory literature to explore if and how complexity affects the roles of businesses and their influence on international regulation. We found that complexity presents opportunities for businesses to regime shift and exploit knowledge asymmetry in order to influence international regulation. Further, IRC theory illustrates how the roles of businesses interact and leverage one another in order to create better opportunities for influence in specific international regulatory regimes. This paper contributes to IRC theory by building on the existing non-state actor discussions and offering specific theorization of business behavior, thus starting to bridge the gap between the empirical and theoretical understanding. Second, it contributes to existing discussions in business and politics literature by developing existing knowledge on the roles of businesses in global governance to better reflect the added dimension of complexity.

The Role of Entrepreneur’s Face Disclosure on Crowdfunding Success

The evaluation of crowdfunding campaigns varies from person to person; some investors are more interested in the project’s creativity, and others are more concerned with the profiles of entrepreneurs. The study investigated how entrepreneurs’ face disclosure influenced the success of crowdfunding. Secondary data were collected from multiple crowdfunding platforms for projects in Africa. That is, cross-country data from 54 African countries, to overcome data limitations from a single country. An econometrics analysis revealed that the facial disclosure of entrepreneurs increases the probability of crowdfunding success by 3%. Images, videos, and backers had a positive influence on the success of crowdfunding. On the contrary, the duration of the crowdfunding campaign was negatively associated with its success. To reduce the knowledge asymmetry between creators and backers, those prepared to start a crowdfunding project must provide as much information as possible to show their abilities. This study contributes to understanding the role of disclosing an entrepreneur’s profile on economic exchanges to the success of online crowdfunding.

Integrating traditional knowledge of non-Western humanities and social sciences: a research agenda through the Chinese lens

ABSTRACT The global knowledge asymmetries, dominated by academic centers in Western societies, have marginalized traditional non-Western knowledge. In line with the call for intellectual pluriversality, non-Western scholars in the humanities and social sciences (HSS) have witnessed a revitalization of traditional knowledge in research. Nonetheless, how they integrate their traditional knowledge into research lacks theoretical grounding and empirical substantiation. This study specifically examines the research agenda of contemporary Chinese HSS academics who are attempting to integrate traditional Chinese and modern Western knowledge. Through interviews, it seeks to understand their reasons, goals, principles, and strategies related to such knowledge integration. It first underscores the rationales stemming from global knowledge disparities and Chinese individuals’ limited exposure to their traditional knowledge. It then reveals guiding principles for understanding traditional Chinese knowledge. Last, it provides strategies for knowledge integration, including comparative analysis and the transformation of traditional Chinese knowledge into modern theories and methodologies. Such a research agenda transcends critical reflection on the hegemonic and inequitable global knowledge system, promoting tangible actions to facilitate HSS research in China and beyond.

Subalternity under neo-colonial division system and re-launch of intellectual movements: inter-referencing between Taiwan and South Korea

ABSTRACT This paper starts with the introduction of the “neo-colonial division system” as a core problematic, which both historically and geographically inscribes subalternity in South Korea. Then it explains the subalternity in Taiwan, Chen Yingzhen’s literary practice as an intellectual movement, and the significance of referencing Taiwan to South Korea. With this it revisits the setbacks of the South Korean intellectual movements in the 1980s and explores a new starting point for the intellectual movements in South Korea. Within this framework of reference, the thesis on people’s literature proposed by Park Hyun-chae in the 1980s is re-evaluated. Although Park Hyun-chae was deeply restricted by the asymmetry of knowledge within the neo-colonial anti-communist system, as one of the few surviving left-wing intellectuals, he insisted on loving the people and consistently reflected on the ethical issue of intellectuals. However, he was unable to escape the constraints of the intellectual asymmetry in knowledge and the pitfall of the absence of reference points within the Cold War/division system. Thus, rereading Park Hyun-chae illuminates the starting point, method, and direction of restarting the intellectual movements in South Korea, that is, “people, region, and culture.”

Food Safety Management System (FSMS): An Analysis of Restaurant Certificate Schemes in Malaysia

Customers of restaurants encounter some degree of uncertainty or risk due to their inability to evaluate the food or service qualities received before or after meal consumption. The Food Safety Management System (FSMS) certification schemes are intended to reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses in Malaysia and to be used as a communication instrument to address the issue of information asymmetry. This investigation investigates the diverse FSMS certification programs that are accessible to food establishments, with a particular emphasis on restaurant operations in Malaysia. The study is dedicated to the identification of the concept of various FSMS certificate schemes that are designed and implemented in Malaysian restaurant operations. It also discusses the fundamental concept of the role differences of each FSMS certificate scheme that is obtained by numerous restaurant operations in Malaysia to communicate with potential customers. A content analysis was conducted on ten independent Malaysian-owned restaurants that had obtained and disclosed their FSMS certifications online (i.e., through their official website or social media account) to the public. All participating restaurant premises believe food safety certification through appropriate authorities is crucial, particularly in the context of the provision of information regarding sanitation, safety, and nutrition to guarantee high food quality standards and service delivery. FSMS eliminates the knowledge asymmetry between producers and consumers and demonstrates that a certified party adheres to a recognised standard. This investigation suggested that the Food Safety Management System (FSMS) should function as more than merely a mechanism for guaranteeing the safety and quality of food for consumers. It contributes to the establishment of client trust and confidence in the restaurant and improves the image of food businesses.

Who Knows How to Govern? Procedural Knowledge in India’s Small-Town Councils

Governments across the Global South have decentralized a degree of power to municipal authorities. Are local officials sufficiently knowledgeable about how to execute their expanded portfolio of responsibilities? Past studies have focused on whether citizens lack the requisite information to hold local officials accountable. We instead draw on extensive fieldwork and a novel survey of small-town politicians in India to show that local officials themselves have distressingly low levels of procedural knowledge on how to govern. We further show that procedural knowledge shapes the capabilities of officials to represent their constituents and that asymmetries in knowledge may blunt the representative potential of these bodies. Finally, we show that winning office does not provide an institutionalized pathway to knowledge acquisition, highlighting the need for policy-based solutions. Our findings demonstrate the importance of assessing knowledge deficits among politicians, and not only citizens, to make local governance work.

Overcoming knowledge asymmetry through knowledge transfer in technology adoption process

ABSTRACT Internet of things (IoT)-based start-ups encounter critical moments during the first years of their inception. They struggle to convince markets to adopt their products due to knowledge asymmetry. This research aims to understand how knowledge transfer can overcome knowledge asymmetry between a technology provider and its potential customers in the technology adoption process. This research used eFishery, which is one of the world’s largest IoT-based startups in the aquaculture industry, as a case study. Data collection is conducted by interviewing respondents from both parties. The findings show that knowledge transfer can reduce knowledge asymmetry, allowing both parties achieving mutual learning, thereby increasing their absorptive capacities. Both formal and informal mechanisms occur, the implementation of which depends on the absorptive capacities of the customers. This study demonstrates that customers can provide useful insight that improves the provider’s products, regardless of the levels of the customers’ absorptive capacities.

Asymmetry in contraceptive information at two sites in Burkina Faso

BackgroundFamily planning programs are foundationally important to public health, but like any medical intervention, contraception has drawbacks in addition to its benefits. Knowledge of these drawbacks in addition to benefits is essential for informed choice. Despite a general consensus among family planning researchers and providers that contraceptive counseling should be unbiased, little quantitative research has assessed the extent of bias in contraceptive counseling, and in people's contraceptive knowledge more broadly. ObjectiveTo understand the extent to which women report being told more about the advantages of contraception than the disadvantages—a concept we call “asymmetry” in contraceptive counseling, at two research sites in Burkina Faso. MethodsWe use data from a cross-sectional population-based survey of 3,929 women residing in the catchment areas of the Ouagadougou (urban) and the Nouna (rural) Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems in Burkina Faso. We use descriptive statistics to explore asymmetry in knowledge of the benefits/advantages and risks/disadvantages of contraceptive use overall, as well as method-specific asymmetry among current method users regarding their counseling experience. FindingsResults show substantial asymmetry in knowledge of advantages/benefits of contraception compared to disadvantages/risks. 86% of respondents said they could name any advantage of family planning, while half of that proportion (43%) could name any disadvantage. We find a similarly stark asymmetry in method-specific results among contraceptive users, especially for hormonal/biomedical methods. We also find substantial variation between research sites, with urban respondents much less likely to self-report complete family planning knowledge than their rural counterparts. ConclusionOur results suggest that family planning messaging in Burkina Faso may place an emphasis on the advantages without a commensurate focus on disadvantages. Family planning programs worldwide must ensure that people can make informed choices based on balanced, accurate information about both the benefits and the disadvantages of contraception.

Editorial: Addressing knowledge asymmetries in memory of Dr Sulley Gariba

Editorial: Addressing knowledge asymmetries in memory of Dr Sulley Gariba

Information Asymmetry and Investor's Financial Behavior: A Mediation of Perceived Risk and Perceived Failure

This study aims to investigate the influence of information asymmetry on the financial behavior of investors in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Information Asymmetry. Additionally, the study explores the mediating role of Perceived Risk (PR) and Perceived Failure (PF) in the relationship between information asymmetry and negative affect (NA). The present study used a quantitative research methodology and a cross-sectional research design to gather data at a single point in time. The random sampling technique is employed. The researchers adopt a five-point Likert scale to collect data from the participants. The acquired data is evaluated using this study's smart partial least squares (PLS 3) method. Smart (PLS 3) allows us to break down the analysis into two primary sections. In the first section, we evaluate the measuring framework. The second section involves a structural model evaluation. This survey received 151 responses from PSX investors. A direct relationship was observed between knowledge asymmetry, perceived risk, and perceived failure. A pessimistic attitude exhibits a negative correlation with one's financial behavior. The study's results supported that investors' behavior in the financial markets could be significantly limited by information asymmetry and its various aspects. Finally, the study concludes with a discussion of its limits, recommendations for further investigation, and theoretical, methodological, and practical consequences.

An integrative conceptual review of multiperspective frameworks in personality research and a roadmap for extended applications in organizational psychology.

Multiperspective frameworks, such as the social relations model, socioanalytic theory, the realistic accuracy model, the self-other knowledge asymmetry model, and the trait-reputation-identity model, have advanced understanding of personality over the last 40 years. Due to a resurgence of interest in multiperspective research on personality and other constructs in organizational psychology, we conducted an integrative conceptual review of these specific multirater frameworks and their application in work settings. Our review identifies similarities and differences in these frameworks and suggests that they collectively represent an invaluable resource for personality researchers and the broader field of organizational psychology. Through our review, we distinguish multiperspective frameworks from similar approaches (e.g., multirater designs), track the evolution of these frameworks, and leverage current applications of these frameworks to craft a future research agenda. Our review serves as a roadmap to help scholars apply multiperspective logic more thoroughly and systematically in personality research and beyond. We close with a discussion of practical implications. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

International Mobility and Knowledge Exchange Between China and the West: A Study of Chinese Humanities and Social Sciences Scholars

Purpose This study examines the impact of international academic mobility on knowledge exchange between China and the West, including its potential benefits and risks, specifically in the humanities and social sciences (HSS) fields. Design/Approach/Methods This study employed qualitative research methods; specifically, data were collected through interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings With increasing knowledge flows in global academia, Chinese HSS scholars are benefiting from international academic mobility. They engage in various activities, such as international visits, conferences, and research collaborations, and praise the role of mobility in building an understanding of Western culture and knowledge, including research dynamics, embodied and encultured knowledge, and location-specific textual materials. However, international mobility has inadvertently exacerbated global knowledge asymmetries, with some Chinese scholars uncritically adopting Western paradigms. Nonetheless, pioneering Chinese HSS scholars aim to promote a two-way knowledge exchange between China and the West by fostering cultural reflexivity and enhancing their global visibility. Originality/Value Chinese HSS scholars serve as an illuminating example in the context of global knowledge asymmetries dominated by the Anglo-American West. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for fostering equitable and inclusive knowledge exchange between Western and non-Western societies through international academic mobility.

Causation and the Time-Asymmetry of Knowledge

ABSTRACT This paper argues that the knowledge asymmetry (the fact that we know more about the past than the future) can be explained as a consequence of the causal Markov condition. The causal Markov condition implies that causes of a common effect are generally statistically independent, whereas effects of a common cause are generally correlated. I show that together with certain facts about the physics of our world, the statistical independence of causes severely limits our ability to predict the future, whereas correlations between joint effects make it so that no such limitation holds in the reverse temporal direction. In so far as the fact that our world conforms to the causal Markov condition can itself be explained in terms of the initial conditions of the universe, my view is compatible with Albert’s well-known account of the origins of temporal asymmetries, but also provides a more illuminating way to derive the knowledge asymmetry from those initial conditions.

Clinical context and communication in shared decision-making about major surgery: Findings from a qualitative study with colorectal, orthopaedic and cardiac patients.

Increasing numbers of older people undergo major surgery in the United Kingdom (UK), with many at high risk of complications due to age, co-morbidities or frailty. This article reports on a study of such patients and their clinicians engaged in shared decision-making. Shared decision-making is a collaborative approach that seeks to value and centre patients' preferences, potentially addressing asymmetries of knowledge and power between clinicians and patients by countering medical authority with greater patient empowerment. We studied shared decision-making practices in the context of major surgery by recruiting 16 patients contemplating either colorectal, cardiac or joint replacement surgery in the UK National Health Service (NHS). Over 18 months 2019-2020, we observed and video-recorded decision-making consultations, studied the organisational and clinical context for consultations, and interviewed patients and clinicians about their experiences of making decisions. Linguistic ethnography, the study of communication and interaction in context, guided us to analyse the interplay between interactions (during consultations between clinicians, patients and family members) and clinical and organisational features of the contexts for those interactions. We found that the framing of consultations as being about life-saving or life-enhancing procedures was important in producing three different genres of consultations focused variously on: resolving problems, deliberation of options and evaluation of benefits of surgery. We conclude that medical authority persists, but can be used to create more deliberative opportunities for decision-making through amending the context for consultations in addition to adopting appropriate communication practices during surgical consultations.

From lived experience to lived expertise: How donor-conceived witnesses claim and sustain epistemic authority

Scholars in pragmatics have long been interested in how knowledge is construed, contested and legitimised. Much recent work in pragmatics has focused on developing more detailed theoretical understandings of epistemic positioning and epistemic authority, including in institutional contexts which are typically characterised by knowledge asymmetries and power inequalities. Yet the relational consequences of epistemic positioning have received little attention, therefore, this article aimed to investigate how authority and community are simultaneously negotiated in interaction, turn by turn. Taking a social semiotic approach, combining analysis using exchange structure, evidence and epistemic stance frameworks, this article examines a public hearing of the 2010 Senate Committee Inquiry into Donor Conception in Australia. Findings reveal four cumulative discursive patterns: donor-conceived witnesses positioned their lived experience as non-negotiable, cast doubt on fertility practitioners' expertise, layered opinions upon experience and employed recognised knowledges to bolster authority. This article introduces the concept of ‘lived expertise’; that is, authority grounded in experience and sustained through awareness of additional forms of experiential and institutional knowledges. Empirically, this study sheds light on how donor-conceived people – as people with lived experience – expand the subject positions afforded to them in institutional contexts, inviting legitimacy and belonging.

Joint optimization of location and allocation for spare parts depots under ($ r, Q $) inventory policy

<p>The ability to replace failed spare parts in time directly affects the supportability level of equipment systems. The selection of spare parts' depot locations, inventory mode, and allocation are often separate and independent operations. However, in these situations, the total supply cost is usually relatively high with the consideration of spare parts shortage and maintenance delays. Therefore, this article dealt with a depot location-inventory-allocation problem based on the $ (r, Q) $ inventory method and analyzed a combined network of centralized spare part depot locations, inventory, and allocation. Meanwhile, considering the convenience and speed of spare parts transportation brought about by the improvement of transportation capacity, a network is proposed to adopt a centralized storage and point-to-point allocation strategy for parts replacement, which reduces supportability costs without affecting supply efficiency. An optimization model has been developed that reduces the overall cost of support, including inventory, construction, transportation, and logistics. Three equipment support efficiency metrics were used as constraints in this model to assess the location of open depots: selection availability, fill rate, and predicted downtime. Additionally, due to the knowledge asymmetry, there are some shortage issues which always lead to extra expenditure. The model also introduces uncertain distribution to demand measurement and adopts a genetic algorithm for model solving. Ultimately, a numerical instance was developed so as to verify our results.</p>

“We are just not sure what that means or if it's relevant”: Uncertainty when gathering family history information in South African prenatal genetic counseling consultations

Uncertainty impacts the process of health communication. The management and tolerance of uncertainty during healthcare discussions have gained renewed focus due to the growing challenge of obtaining and delivering complex health information, and the offer of health services in diverse contexts. Prenatal genetic counseling (GC) provides education, support and testing options for patients and couples facing a genetic or congenital diagnosis or risk during pregnancy. Gathering detailed and accurate family history information is essential to determine a patient's genetic risk. In South Africa, contextual factors such as patient literacy, language diversity, limited written patient health records, and a lack of familiarity with GC services may increase the potential for misunderstandings during GC consultations. This study uses a qualitative sociolinguistic approach to analyse 9 video-recorded South African prenatal GC consultations to understand the impact of uncertainty on the process of gathering family history information. The findings reveal uncertainty is introduced in different ways during family history taking. This includes when patients have no knowledge about their family history; when they have some knowledge but the details are unclear; or when patients have knowledge but the details are confusing. Uncertainty can lead to interactional trouble in the form of knowledge asymmetries, interrogative questioning, reversals in epistemic authority, and the potential for mistrust. Suggestions are made for how genetic specialists can manage uncertainty in GC family history taking. These include recognizing contextual sources of uncertainty, understanding how patients may respond to uncertainty and being aware of personal responses to moments of discomfort. Specific communication training recommendations and video-based sociolinguistic methods to enhance reflection and communication practice are highlighted. These approaches may enhance the effectiveness of GC communication and strengthen patient-specialist relationships, especially in diverse settings.

Analysis Of The Influence Of Managerial Ownership, Organization Size, Debt Contracts And Information Systems On Manufacturing Company Accounting Systems

This study examines manufacturing businesses listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange between 2020 and 2022 in order to ascertain the impact of managerial ownership, knowledge asymmetry, loan contracts, and company size on accounting conservatism. 34 businesses were utilized as a sample in this study. Purposive sampling was the method of sampling employed in this investigation. Multiple regression analysis was used in this study to evaluate the hypothesis. The findings demonstrated a substantial relationship between management ownership and accounting conservatism. Accounting conservatism is significantly impacted by contract debt. Accounting conservatism is significantly influenced by company size. While accounting conservatism is unaffected by information asymmetry. Accounting conservatism as assessed by BTMR is influenced by managerial ownership, knowledge asymmetry, debt obligations, and firm size collectively.

Not Just Non-Consensual Pelvic Exams

Not Just Non-Consensual Pelvic Exams

Interaction, asymmetries of knowledge and experience and the impact of theory on the <i>in situ</i> practice of coaching

Coaching is often presented as an equitable working alliance between a coach who has theory-driven expert knowledge and a coachee who has knowledge of himself/herself. However, whilst this assumption is widely promoted in coaching literature, little research has sought to investigate the in situ practice of coaching in which these different territories of knowledge are negotiated. Using Cooren’s notion of communication as a form of ventriloquism as an approach to the analysis of data taken from a corpus of 21 naturally occurring career coaching interactions, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how the coach’s mobilisation of theory impacts the in situ practice of career coaching. The findings indicate that the interplay of the coach’s theory-driven knowledge and the coachee’s experience-driven knowledge is not necessarily as harmonious as the coaching literature assumes. We close the paper by advocating a critical approach to analysing coaching interaction that may have payoff for practice.