National Environments Research Articles

From New Public Management to public value: Irish education policy through the lens of Statements of Strategy

ABSTRACT Through the lens of successive Department of Education and Science (DES) Statements of Strategy (1997–2021) the author considers the evolution of Irish education policy making from the perspectives of New Public Management (NPM) and the public value paradigm. In the context of changing international and national environments, the Strategic Management Initiative (SMI), introduced in 1994, was rooted in NPM principles and characterised by performance indicators, measurable outcomes/outputs, and value for money. However, more recent strategy statements have been predicated on vision, a whole-of-system approach, and values that include learning as a public good, and wellbeing. This evolution occurred in an environment where social partnership has been a constant feature. Following consideration of the main contours of ten SSs, and discussion of the relevant antecedents and the move towards public value, some unresolved issues are briefly identified in the concluding remarks.

Cross-cutting exposures on social network sites. The moderating role of national environments

This study explores how social network sites (SNSs) expose users to cross-cutting views. Relying on cross-national data collected among French and Japanese users of Facebook and Twitter, the design of this study allows assessment of the extent to which active and passive social media use fosters cross-cutting exposure in different national contexts. The results show that SNS use is differently related to cross-cutting exposures depending on forms of usage: while active SNS use is associated with a decrease in cross-cutting exposures, passive use leads to more exposure to dissonant views. This study also acknowledges significant variations across national subsamples, questioning the generalizability of results obtained from single case studies.

Assessing Teleworkforce and Electronic Leadership Favorable for an Online Workforce Sustainability Framework by Using PLS SEM

The sudden impact of COVID-19 has created a rift in the way the world, organizations, and individuals work. Although imminent, the e-organizational challenge was deemed to create a working business environment that would ensure companies and workforce adaptability to e-leadership. The previous literature shows that effective e-leadership can enhance organizational workforce sustainability and is assessed as an opportunity for teleworking. The aim of the current research is to develop an online working trajectory that implies the study of the teleworkforce and workforce sustainability relation under an electronic leadership umbrella. This analysis was performed with the help of SmartPLS (v. 4.0.0.) software and performed a structural equation model, including an online-developed 103-item questionnaire, which developed 5 constructs and 17 subconstructs. Data reveal a reliable and valid assessment tool that provides proof that workforce sustainability is connected to telework in general while being partially moderated by e-leadership. The importance of the current study stresses the need for (inter)national organizational environments to adapt to rapid technological movements, where sustainability of the teleworkforce and the adaptability of the online leadership formats and practices could result in increasing the organizational achievements from both economic and organizational perspectives.

Follow to be followed: The centrality of MFAs in Twitter networks

AbstractThis article outlines three major features of the digital society (information sharing, a levelled‐playing field, and reciprocal surveillance) and explores their manifestation in the field of diplomacy. The article analyzed the international network of 78 Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFAs) on Twitter during the critical period of its growth between 2014 and 2016. To explain why some MFAs follow or are followed by their peers, both internal (Twitter) and external (gross domestic product) factors were considered. The analysis found the principle of digital reciprocity to be the most important factor in explaining an MFA's centrality. Ministries who follow their peers are more likely to be followed in return. Other factors that predict the popularity of MFAs among their peers are regionality, technological savviness, and national media environments. These findings provide a broader understanding of contemporary diplomacy and the fierce competition over attention in the digital society.

THE INCIDENCE OF THE PANDEMIC CONTEXT ON THE SOCIAL EXCLUSION AND MATERIAL DEPRIVATION IN ROMANIA

In Romania, social exclusion highlights a reality that removes the perspectives of sustainable development of social equity and economic stability. The pandemic context caused a major discrepancy between national socio-economic environments, placing Romania first in the European ranking regarding the level of social exclusion and material deprivation. The insufficient space of the labor market, the intensity of unemployment, the government restrictions imposed to limit the pandemic context argue the alarming statistics of social exclusion, while the policies and strategies implemented to ensure an honorable standard of living for the Romanian population do not show notable results, limiting the possibilities reducing the level of poverty. The purpose of the article is to measure the level of social exclusion and material deprivation in Romania, formulating sustainable proposals for improving the quality of life of people whose socio-economic status is at the limit of existence.

Conceptualizing Successful School Leadership in Norway: Political and Cultural Practices

Throughout the last two decades, successful school leadership has been subject to extensive research in Norway and comparisons across countries as part of the International Successful School Principals Project (ISSPP). This paper identifies and discusses how and why Norwegian research on the relationship between school leadership positions and governance regimes comes into play when defining terms such as “success” and “effectiveness”. A critical literature review establishes analysis and discussion as the basis for an improved understanding of the notion of success in ISSPP research in the Norwegian education policy context. The findings show that success is consistently attached to a collaborative, political, and democratic perspective, as well as trust, power, and the definition of quality in education. Furthermore, ISSPP studies of cases in the Norwegian context have contributed to the educational leadership field by positioning school leadership within a combination of local, national, and global political and cultural environments. The differences and similarities between countries that do not share a common cultural heritage or language must be considered. In particular, there is a need to discuss the relationship between national history and policy and the conceptualization of successful school leadership.

Modern approaches to the introduction of higher education degrees for the speciality 226 Pharmacy, industrial pharmacy

The main direction of the development of the education system in Ukraine is the introduction of European standards, technologies, norms, and perspectives to ensure competitiveness in the market of European education services.
 The study aimed to highlight modern approaches to the standardization of higher education in the context of shaping professional competences of future pharmacists, to identify peculiarities and possibilities of applying a systemic approach to the development of a higher education standard for the specialty of 226 Pharmacy, Industrial Pharmacy of the second (master’s) level.
 The research materials consisted of references containing information on the development, approval, and implementation of higher education standard. The following methods were used in the study: synthetic, analytical, information search, descriptive, and generalization.
 The pharmaceutical industry is socially significant, and the specialty of 226 Pharmacy, Industrial Pharmacy, as well as all the specialties in the field of study 22 Health, are regulated. Therefore, professionals in this field should possess integrated knowledge and skills, be able to solve complex tasks and problems in the field of pharmacy and healthcare, both in practice and during the learning process. This involves conducting research, implementing innovations, and is characterized by uncertain conditions and requirements. A modern approach also involves the use of highly efficient technologies in the national and international educational and scientific environments, which ensure the preparation of competitive, highly qualified pharmaceutical professionals with moral and spiritual values, social responsibility, and community orientation. They are capable of providing quality pharmaceutical care to people and possess «soft skills».
 Upon the development of the approved higher education standard for the specialty of 226 Pharmacy, Industrial Pharmacy by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the educational and professional programs Pharmacy and Perfume and Cosmetic Technologies were revised, and a list of competences as well as program learning outcomes for future pharmaceutical professionals was specified. These were aligned with the demands of the labor market and a professional-oriented approach, based on the concept of competences for a modern pharmacist and the variable components of educational and professional training programs

The Global Study of COVID News: Scope, Findings, and Implications of Quantitative Content Analyses of the COVID-19 News Coverage in the First Two Years of the Pandemic

ABSTRACT Researchers and practitioners have unanimously acknowledged the impact of legacy media coverage of past pandemics as well as COVID-19 and its importance for health-related risk communication. Therefore, this study provides scholars and health communication practitioners with a deeper understanding of the patterns, main themes, and limitations of media reporting and peer-reviewed research in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in different national media environments. Because the objective is to evaluate patterns, this paper focuses on early quantitative and automated content analyses for theoretical contribution, geographic diversity, methodological rigor, and inclusion of risk and crisis communication theory. It also assesses whether authors deduced implications, for both theory and practice of health-related risk and crisis communication. We conducted a content analysis of 66 studies in peer-reviewed journals from the beginning of the pandemic until April 2022. The findings demonstrate that early quantitative analyses of the news coverage of COVID-19 are often not theory-driven, apply heterogeneous forms of framing analysis, and lack references to risk and crisis communication theory. Consequently, only few implications for health communication practice during pandemics were drawn. However, there is evidence of improvement in geographic scope compared to previous research. The discussion addresses the importance of developing a consistent approach to framing analyses of risk and crisis media coverage and the importance of well-designed cross-cultural research in a global pandemic.

기업집단 국제화 문헌연구

Purpose – Business groups in Korea and Japan have different national environments. It will be possible to examine how their corporate governance affects performance and finance, and how it affects economic development and innovation through literature research related to the field of international management. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study reviewed domestic and foreign papers related to keiretsu and chaebol from 2001 to 2020. As a result, we selected and analyzed 39 foreign journals and 6 domestic journals, a total of 45 papers. Findings – It was found that interest in the impact of each factor on corporate performance, such as internationalization, resources and capabilities, business group attributes, and corporate governance, was high. It was found that research related to Asian business groups, especially chaebol and keiretsu, is so closely related to corporate performance that it cannot be considered separately. However, domestic journals only focused on chaebol research, and there was no research on keiretsu. Research Implications – It is expected that the roles and discussions of business groups will be expanded by reviewing existing literature on Korea’s chaebol and Japan's keiretsu among business groups, and reviewing comparative literature under different corporate governance structures. In addition, it will serve as an opportunity to identify the direction of academic research through a literature review of business groups in the two countries.

Factors of formation of organizational culture of modern logistics enterprises: general and special

Introduction. The changes that occurred in the global and national economic environments led to increased attention to the activities of logistics enterprises, increased competition in the logistics services market, the need to enhance the economic efficiency of their activities and competitiveness, which are largely determined by the quality of management and, first of all, the type and level of organizational cultures of these enterprises. In its formation, an objective and comprehensive diagnosis of factors influencing the choice of a model of organizational culture, methodological approaches to its construction, considering the type of goals and tasks of modern logistics enterprises, is of decisive importance, which determines the need for the development of a modern theoretical and methodological platform for their solution.Purpose – the development of theoretical and methodological basis of the formation of the organizational culture of enterprises and organizations and the development of proposals regarding the analysis of factors that affect this and must be taken into account in the activities of logistics enterprises in the conditions of modern challenges.Methods. The research is based on a systems approach, including a set of the following methods: analysis and synthesis, systematization, expert evaluation of the internal and external environment of the organization, PEST analysis, comparative analysis.Results. On the basis of the analysis of theoretical investigations of domestic and foreign scientists regarding the problem of the organizational culture of enterprises and the factors affecting its formation, we put forward and substantiated the hypothesis about the expediency of considering the research problem through a combination of general and special, taking into account the specifics of the activities of various types of organizations, the content of their work, which is important for strategic and situational management. Methodical approaches to (selection of a criterion base) classification of factors for the formation of the organizational culture of enterprises are generalized and supplemented with factors that express the specificity of their functional activity. The activities of various types of logistics enterprises in the conditions of modern challenges are analyzed (the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, military actions of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, problems related to the destruction of the energy system of Ukraine and transport infrastructure, trends towards the decline of economic dynamics in the world, etc.). There is a well-founded need to update analytical diagnostics taking into account changes in the external environment of logistics enterprises, focusing on strengthening the factors of increasing competitive advantages and competitiveness of these enterprises.Discussions. Further scientific research should be focused on the empirical analysis of the practice of forming the organizational culture of various types of logistics enterprises, the peculiarities of their organizational culture’s adaptation to digitalization and remote work.

A profile of the Grampian Data Safe Haven, a regional Scottish safe haven for health and population data research.

There has been a recent emphasis to establish and codify large-scale or national Trusted Research Environments (TREs) in the United Kingdom, with a view to limit smaller, local TREs. The basis for this argument is that it avoids duplication of infrastructure, information governance, privacy risks, monopolies and will promote innovation, particularly with commercial partners. However, the work around establishing TREs in the UK largely ignores the long-established local TRE landscape in Scotland, and the way in which local TREs can actually improve data quality, solve technical architecture challenges, promote information governance and risk minimisation, and encourage innovation and collaboration (both academic and commercial). This data centre profile focuses on the Grampian Data Safe Haven (DaSH), a secure, virtual healthcare data analysis and storage centre located in Aberdeen, Scotland. DaSH was co-established by the NHS Grampian Health Board and University of Aberdeen to allow for the secure processing and linking of health data for the Grampian and Scottish population when it is not practicable to obtain consent from individual patients. As an established trusted research environment now in its 10th operating year, DaSH technology ensures healthcare, social care data and other types of sensitive data, routinely collected and used without individual patient consent, are made accessible for both academic research and clinical service evaluation and improvements whilst protecting individuals' privacy at the local, national and international levels. DaSH has registered almost 600 projects and facilitated over 200 distinct research projects with data hosting, extraction, and novel linkages to completion. Ongoing innovation and collaboration between DaSH and the NHS Grampian Health Board continues to expand researcher access to new types of data and data linkages, introduce new technologies for advanced statistical research methods, and supports interdisciplinary research using population health and social care data for research, clinical and commercial advancements, and real-world practitioner applications. The purpose of this paper is to present DaSH's data population, operating model, architecture and information technology, governance, legislation and management, privacy-by-design principles and data access, data linkage methods, data sources, noteworthy research outputs, and further developments in order to demonstrate the value of local TREs within the data management and access debate.

The Anthropocene as framed by the far right

The Anthropocene as framed by the far right

Values of the kazakh diaspora in Turkey

In this article, considering the value orientations of Kazakhs in Turkey from the point of view of their own modernization, it is tried to determine the importance of mutual communication with compatriots. The study of the peculiarities of the value-meaning world of the modern Kazakh diaspora and its cultural analysis were carried out. A small ethnic community usually forms its culture in accordance with the official spatial laws of historical entities that dominate the environment in which they live and play a culturally dominant role. The laws arising from these relations determine the special character of the way of life of all diaspora communities, and the Kazakh diaspora is not excluded from these mutual relations. The study of the value system of the Kazakh diaspora abroad today is a requirement of modern scientific and innovative development. Among them, the study of socio-cultural cooperation is important from a worldview point of view. In the study, using various scientific paradigms of the study of the value system of the ethnic group, the cultural climate and values of the ethnic community abroad were theoretically and practically analyzed. The life, cultural appearance, features of the world of values of foreign Kazakhs were studied, and the theoretical and methodological aspects of the study of the axiological features of the diaspora ethnic self-consciousness were determined.  The social orientations of foreign ethnic groups in the socio-professional structure in other national environments, the degree of prestige of the types of activities, the established social, economic and cultural role were studied. Its advantages in industrial and household industries have been identified. In order to determine the political, social, legal, and cultural advantages of foreign Kazakhs, the degree of adherence to the way of life, traditions and customs was monitored. Key words: сulture, value, brend, factor, cultural research

Media and the staging of policy controversy: obesity and the UK sugar tax

ABSTRACT In response to the perceived risk to health posed by obesity, governments in over 40 countries have introduced sugar taxes (also known as soda taxes), often as part of wider plans to improve national food environments. In this study we apply critical discourse analysis (CDA) to analyze 29 television news interviews addressing the sugar tax, in order to expose how and why media companies and the experts involved stage and maintain controversy. Our analysis provides evidence of a broad range of devices, ranging from the macro choice of interviewees and the role of the interviewer to their micro level rhetorical choices. They also include experts molding the same evidence to support their position and interviewers posing questions they know will result in a blunt contradiction. While individually each device may appear relatively inconsequential, their repeated use generates possibilities for self-perpetuating intertextuality and provides a sense of intractability that contributes to public disengagement with the issue. The value of studies such as this is to elucidate the use, ubiquity and effects of these devices that may otherwise go unnoticed or unquestioned.

Performing Hazard Analyses and Setting Triggers for Reevaluation in Lab-Scale Chemical Reactions

Laboratory chemical synthesis research typically lacks the preplanned hazard responses found in production-scale industrial laboratories. Chemical safety management is a known challenge in education-based facilities, which is concerning for academic and national laboratory environments working with inexperienced student researchers. At the Molecular Foundry, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) user facility, a chemical safety management form has been developed that follows DOE’s Integrated Safety Management (ISM) process, which evaluates the risks and hazards associated with all forms of work. An ISM form for chemical synthesis is described here in detail. It is regularly used to guide chemical safety discussions between researchers and supervisors, to plan accident responses, and to establish triggers, at which point a reevaluation of the work is needed. The form makes it straightforward to know what limits researchers may work within and makes it clear which procedure changes will require a new safety assessment and discussion before work continues. The ISM form for synthesis is being successfully used in three fields of chemistry: Inorganic, Organic, and Biological. The form has also been adapted for liquid sample preparation in electron microscopy. Upper management, supervisors, students, and general users are engaged in this process. It is hoped that sharing this knowledge will enable educational institutions and other laboratories to develop similar methods to help researchers and supervisors understand the hazards as well as the working limits of any protocol, helping researchers to work more independently and safely within the laboratory.

Challenges and policies for promoting internationalization—The case of Iranian public universities

AbstractThe global knowledge economy has turned higher education into a key player in societal development. Internationalization benefits higher education institutions in several aspects, such as improvement and visibility in international rankings, revenue generation via tuition fees and external funding, improvement of research and teaching quality, integration with academic communities and familiarization with scholarly attitudes. In this study, we provide insights into the challenges of internationalization faced by higher education institutions in Iran as a developing country. Several policies and practices have been adopted in Iran to improve internationalization efforts; however, these activities have had little impact on the quality of research and educational programs at Iran's universities. Understanding the challenges they face in a systematic way can help identify different factors and develop a set of suggestions to increase the quality and quantity of international cooperation. We formulate our suggestions based on the opportunities provided by the digitalization solutions in the aftermath of the COVID‐19 pandemic and the increasing importance of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals in both global and national environments. We interviewed 15 faculty members in Iranian higher education institutions and 14 managers in charge of international affairs at universities in Iran. In addition, data extracted from three forums on Iranian higher education internationalization are analysed. Using a grounded theory approach, we group the challenges into macro‐, institutional and individual levels and then suggest a number of practices and policies to increase the quantity and quality of internationalization efforts.

FDI motives and city location preferences in the automotive and commercial banking industries

PurposeCities remain an understudied unit of analysis for understanding the motives of multinational enterprises’ (MNE) foreign direct investment (FDI), with subnational locations in International Business (IB) research to date predominantly captured via the phenomenon of agglomeration. As regional integration projects, such as the European Union and to a lesser degree NAFTA, increasingly reduce the importance of national institutional environments, this paper argues regional and subnational levels become more important for studying MNE location choice. This paper aims to evaluate the explanatory contribution of regional and subnational levels of analysis to understanding MNE location choice.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative deductive bottom-up multiple-case study research design is adopted to study the city location choices and FDI motives of six automotive and six commercial banking companies. These purposefully sampled manufacturing and service MNEs have different home countries and regional orientations. Data on their foreign investments across the extended Triad of Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific were collected for the time period of 2000–2021.FindingsFindings suggest that different classes of city tend to attract specific types of FDI and that these patterns might vary across sectors and be influenced by the regional strategic orientations of MNEs. Industry-specific findings reveal the importance of related and support industries and partners in a city location for the automotive MNEs, while the commercial banks seek investment opportunities in cities that allow acquisition targets that have an attractive customer based and will improve their local market knowledge.Originality/valueThe findings provide evidence in support of MNEs in manufacturing and service industries perceiving the attractiveness of three city types in different ways across the Triad regions.

Competition and Productivity: Evidence from Peruvian Municipalities

Abstract This paper uses new data on the removal of local, sector-specific barriers to firm entry across 1,800 municipalities in Peru to estimate the impact on firm productivity and markups. New legislation in 2013 strengthened the national competition authority's mandate to enforce the elimination of local entry barriers, providing a quasi-experimental setting to identify the impact of competition on productivity within the controlled institutional environment of a single country. We find that the elimination of local entry barriers boosted productivity, pointing to the critical role of subnational market entry barriers in explaining countries' laggard productivity performances despite liberalized national regulatory environments.

East-Meets-West: Mergers and Acquisitions challenges and opportunities in and out of Asia

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) have long been a strategically important corporate strategy for growth and global expansion. Research on M&As in Asian contexts is linked to the relevant countries’ phenomenal business growth, economic transformation, and institutional development. To consolidate and synthesise the existing body of knowledge related to the ‘East-Meets-West’ notion, this paper will present an examination of the characteristics of M&As both in and out of Asia from an international perspective, with a geographical focus on China, Japan, and South Korea. We investigated the influencing factors related to the distinctiveness and commonalities of M&As in and out of Asia. Our findings suggest that the divergence in Asian M&As may be driven by industrial characteristics and national environments, while their convergence may be due to human aspects. Our study contributes to the divergence and convergence debate in the context of in and out of Asia M&As in relation to the East-Meets-West concept.

Board Gender Diversity, Corporate Social Disclosures, and National Culture

The impact of board gender diversity on corporate social responsibility has attracted considerable attention in recent years. However, the study of the relationship between board gender diversity, corporate social disclosures, and national culture has been scarce. Therefore, in this study, we measured the corporate social disclosures data of multinational corporations (MNCs) from China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States using content analysis. Then, we investigated the relationship between board gender diversity and the corporate social disclosures of MNCs as well as the moderating effect of national culture on that relationship. The results show that (1) board gender diversity positively impacts the corporate social disclosures of MNCs and that (2) masculinity negatively moderates the relationship between board gender diversity and the corporate social disclosures of MNCs. The findings emphasize the importance of board gender diversity in the stakeholder management of the board of directors and how it could be affected by different national cultural environments from the stakeholder theory perspective. This study established a link between board gender diversity, corporate social disclosures, and national culture as well as promoted the development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure measurement methods. Additionally, our results provide suggestions to policymakers and MNCs in how to effectively adopt board gender diversity to promote CSR in specific national cultural environments.