Profound Technological Changes Research Articles

The strategic challenges of the decarbonisation of the manufacturing industry

The paper presents the problematic scope of decarbonisation of the heavy processing of the energy and carbon-intensive industry in relation to Polish conditions. The paper is part of the ongoing discussion of scientists and practitioners on the strategic challenges of the decarbonisation of industry in Poland. The paper is the result of conceptual research carried out on the basis of a review of secondary sources of information. In line with EU requirements, the industrial strategy must include a vision for 2050 decarbonisation. The ambitious “net zero” target – the prospect of zero CO2 emissions by 2050 – requires significant financial outlays and profound technological and organisational changes in many industries. The paper is an introduction to the discussion on the preparation of Polish industry for profound changes in decarbonisation.

PUBLIC POLICIES TO REDUCE SWITCHING COSTS LINKED TO MANDATORY ACCESS TO CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF THE POSTAL NETWORK IN THE EU AND THE EFFECTS OF THE RETENTION COSTS

Purpose: Our objective is to examine the switching costs that exist in the European postal service, where an ambitious process of opening up to competition has been carried out since 1997, as well as the different types of retention costs.   Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework is determined by the sectoral regulatory framework regarding the liberalization of services of general economic interest in the EU, the experience of postal operators in recent decades and the changes experienced in the demand for postal services in the current context of profound technological change in the field of communication.   Design/Methodology/Approach: This research work is carried out through a systematic review of the relevant specialized literature, the study of the policy decisions adopted in the EU, the changes in the strategies of postal operators and the rigorous analysis of the evolution of the demand of the postal services in a context of rapid and profound change.   Finding: Inadequate regulation of the access to some elements of postal infrastructure or services within the scope of the universal postal service, such as the postcode system, address database, post office boxes, delivery boxes, re-direction and retour to sender service, can generate switching costs and thus limiting competition, with negative effects on the consumer surplus and social welfare. Standardization and access to these elements may be regulated separately   Research, Practical & Social Implications: This article proposes solutions to the technical functions of coordination between operators. Our proposals are in line with sectoral directives aimed at strengthening competition in the long term in the postal market.   Originality/Value: A correct classification of the change costs applied to the liberalized postal service is made. Likewise, a classification of retention costs. We must underline the progress that our proposals represent to reduce the costs of switching to elements of the postal network whose access is mandatory.

청년 니트 결정요인

Youth period is a period of life in which individuals strive to design and realize their dreams and hopes. Recent profound changes in society, technology, the economy, ecology and environment, and politics have posed a crisis in youth employment and, if mishandled, can lead them into a state of NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training). In this study, we aimed to analyze the main factors contributing to youth NEET status, considering not only general demographic background information but also socio-economic variables such as self-efficacy, parents' occupation and education, housing type and residence, and financial independence from parents. To do this, we utilized data from the Korean Employment Information Service's Youth Panel from 2007 to 2015-2022 and conducted empirical analysis using logistic regression models.
 The analysis results indicated that, in general, young individuals with lower self-efficacy were more likely to transition into NEET status. Additionally, young adults who were financially dependent on their parents and lived with them were more likely to become NEETs. Regarding housing environment, it was found that young adults living in apartments or detached houses had a higher probability of becoming NEETs. Furthermore, the probability of NEET status was higher for males compared to females, and regional differences showed that young adults residing in the Jeolla-Gwangju region had a higher probability of NEET status.
 The implications of this study are as follows. Firstly, policy programs that can prevent youth unemployment (NEET) should be activated. Secondly, it is necessary to strengthen the content of the subject and establish performance indicators to enhance self-efficacy in the knit prevention policy program. Thirdly, a tailored industry development policy that takes into account regional characteristics, along with strategic Human resource development(HRD) in the field of education and training, should be implemented to improve youth employment opportunities. Lastly, it is recommended to establish a fair recruitment and talent management culture based on competencies rather than academic qualifications, along with policies to alleviate excessive wage gaps between job positions. A holistic approach to youth housing and employment policies was also suggested.

Penanaman seni kontemporer pada abad ke 21

Creating a dynamic landscape of creativity, reflecting profound changes in media, technology, and reflections on social reality, this research highlights the evolutionary journey of art in the modern era. It discusses paradigm shifts in art media, the influence of technology that has given birth to new creative expressions, and the role of contemporary art in responding to social reality. The research also explores the integration of contemporary art in public spaces, transforming it into a visual language that stretches beyond the traditional boundaries of art galleries. Reception challenges and educational measures to broaden the appreciation of contemporary art are also the focus of discussion. Summarizing these elements provides a snapshot of the dynamics and complexities of cultivating contemporary art in the 21st century—a creative journey involving transformation, reflection, and ever-evolving dialogue. By weaving meaning through innovation and inclusion, contemporary art remains a means to permeate the richness of modern creativity, shaping cultural identity amidst the changing times

Impact of Digital Finance on Industrial Green Transformation: Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Profound changes in information technology have resulted in the rapid development of the digital economy, digitalizing the financial sector and deepening green reforms. Consequently, digital finance has become an important driving force of green development. Using the entropy value method and the global super-efficiency slacks-based measure model, this paper measures the extent of digital finance and industrial green transformation in 108 prefecture-and-higher-level cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2011 to 2020. It empirically examines the effects and impact mechanisms of digital finance development on industrial green transformation based on the two-way fixed effects, mediated effects, and spatial econometric models. Digital finance can significantly drive industrial green transformation, and this finding remains robust to the exclusion of macro-systematic effects and robustness tests like the introduction of instrumental variables. Digital finance has a positive spatial spillover effect on industrial green transformation. Industrial structure upgrading and green technology innovation are the key ways in which digital finance impacts industrial green transformation; their respective mediating effect contribution rates are 18.70% and 20.93%. In the context of the impact of digital finance on industrial green transformation, significant heterogeneity was observed across regions, the administrative rank of cities, and the degree of developed traditional finance. Based on these conclusions, this paper presents policy recommendations like giving full play to digital finance’s green driving effect, optimizing digital finance’s green empowerment mechanism, implementing regional industrial green differentiated development based on local policies, and encouraging support for green innovation pilots.

What is changing in papal communication with the rise of social media?

The last twenty years have brought profound changes in communication and technology. World leaders have extended their communication into the digital space. In the Catholic world, we speak of a digital papacy, seeing the growth of a community following the Pope on social media. Our study looks at how the language of the Holy See is changing in media-related texts published annually for World Communications Day. The research corpus consists of the messages of the last three popes – from 1995, when the vatican.va domain was created, up to 2022. Using textual analysis, we show that, in addition to the normal change in terminology, the approach of the popes as the ecclesiastical authorities to the community is changing, and the community itself is also changing. For example, the word ‘must,’ which was widely used in messages until the rise of social networks, has completely disappeared from the texts in the last few years. Our study leads us to posit that not only is there a change in how the popes address the Catholic community, but there is also a paradigm shift in society and culture.

The role of endomarketing in human capital management: a study applied to the Minho Urban Quadrilateral

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to understand the importance of endomarketing in organizations and whether internal strategies are essential in the management of human capital. Especially, it is intended to understand what kind of policies is adopted in the organizations the authors are dealing with, and also the perception that employees have about them.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology adopted combines a quantitative and qualitative approach, based on documents analysis, and the survey and semi-structured interviews with questions alluding to endomarketing. The study was carried out in the (Portuguese) cities belonging to the Minho Quadrilateral, being Braga, Barcelos, Guimarães and Vila Nova de Famalicão, in which a total of five organizations are held.FindingsThe results seem to show that endomarketing has an essential role in human capital management, in particular, to obtain both individual and organizational results, where there is a mutual relationship. Of the 158 respondents that make up the sample, it was concluded that 78.5% considered the intrinsic factors related to well-being and happiness as important as the extrinsic factors related to monetary rewards.Research limitations/implicationsThe manuscript presents insights for internal marketing and human resource management (i.e. motivation and human capital). Based on the rapid and profound technological changes of the early 21st century, the concept of endomarketing emerged stimulated by globalization and by the greater concern to adopt strategies that were able to differentiate organizations in the markets.Originality/valueThis is an interdisciplinary theme, with contributions to both internal marketing and human resource management, bearing in mind to enhancing the value and well-being of organizational human capital. This study aims to contribute to the development of scientific knowledge in this area that is so relevant for growth and differentiation.

Affording mobility: Attending to the socio-material affordances of transport un/affordability

The affordability of transport is a long-standing concern of both transport and economic geography. However, despite the growing influence of relational and heterodox economic thinking in a range of geographic sub-disciplines, the cost of transport is still largely conceptualised in universalising, binary, and purely quantitative terms, as either affordable or unaffordable. The present paper proposes the concept of transport un/affordability to bring together perspectives from the geographies of everyday mobility, and research on everyday economic lives, in order to examine how affording transport takes place. The paper draws on interviews with public transport users in Sofia, Bulgaria, demonstrating how fares act as one type of socio-material affordance which enables, precludes, or transforms un/affordability in situated and contingent ways. The everyday spaces and times within which transport un/affordability takes place are examined through the three interrelated dimensions of transport un/affordability: transactions, journeys, and budgets. The paper considers the implications of conceptualising transport un/affordability relationally, particularly in the context of transport geography's empirical and theoretical engagements with transport justice, and amidst processes of profound technological change within both payment systems and transport systems globally.

Preliminary e-infrastructure for digital metrology

The digital transformation of the economy is the result of profound changes in science, technology and society. The response to these changes should be the latest version of the SI and the corresponding development of the new measurement standards. In this regard, an important issue for metrology is to eliminate barriers towards digital transformation. Digitization of metrological data is becoming especially relevant. In solving this problem, the development of the metrological e-infrastructure plays an important role. The paper is dedicated to the presentation and generalization of the results and the problem of creating an e-infrastructure. Based on the analysis performed a preliminary scheme for the e-infrastructure implementation in NMI has been presented. In particular, one of the most important issues of digital transformation – the implementation of DCC – is also associated with the development of e-infrastructure.

SMART TERRITORY, INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY: THE NECESSARY EVOLUTION OF 'SMART' AFTER COVID-19

Society, industry, and particularly engineering are currently immersed in a profound technological change, oriented towards the optimization of processes and the improvement in the management of existing resources. From this point of view, it is interesting to incorporate systems capable of improving the operation and efficiency of the built environment. The study aims to address the current state of development of the different methodologies that make it possible to solve the need to move the focus away from the city to the territory that arose after the COVID-19 pandemic; with the consequent evolution of the concept of Smart City to Smart Territory. Methodologically, a review of the state of the art of the different currents is carried out, within the reference framework of Industry 4.0, which focuses on implementing intelligent systems for sensorisation and monitoring of infrastructures that enable more sophisticated, efficient, and optimal maintenance strategies. As a result, it should be noted that the current trend is obligatory since it is not so imperative to build new infrastructures in developed countries but rather to explore the possible extension of their useful life and to advocate a new approach to engineering based on sustainability criteria. Key Words: Smart-territory, maintenance, intelligent infrastructure, monitoring, Smart-city.

Leadership Styles and Innovation Performance: The Role of Coopetition Capability and In-Learning in Financial Service Firms

Profound technological changes and high network levels have triggered competitive innovations and leadership style among firms. However, few studies have explored the leadership style needed to innovate within the duality of coopetition capabilities and in-learning. Therefore, the authors explore how leadership style affects innovation performance in the context of financial service firms. Using a PLS analytical approach and dynamic capability perspective (DCP), the authors find that coopetition capability positively mediates the relationship between leadership style and innovation performance. The finding also indicates that in-learning negatively moderates the relationship between coopetition capability and innovation performance.

Experience of foreign countries in implementing economic security within digitalization

In the modern conditions of the development of the world economy, countries are under the influence of many factors, having both external and internal natures of origin, which destabilize their functioning and actualize the issue of ensuring economic security. The problem of guaranteeing financial security is shared. Its essence and content have yet to be entirely determined. As world experience shows, providing economic security ensures the country's independence, a condition for the stability and efficiency of society and success. Along with strengthening economic security risks and challenges, competition for comprehensive national power between countries has turned from a relatively simple tool of economic competition into a highly complex new stage of total political and economic confrontation. Countries, accordingly, have moved away from the former view of economic power as a single component of national security relations. Information technology has improved most people's lives, but the possibilities of its use by states and individuals for hostile purposes are also becoming increasingly apparent. The level of security is changing rapidly. Many factors that contributed to successful development immediately become factors of vulnerability. Events taking place in the international arena recently led to increased demands on the ability of countries to ensure their security. It is imperative to develop an economic security framework driven by its own goals and interests, aiming to maximize the benefits of the traditional European economic openness that needs to be preserved while minimizing the risks arising from over-dependence and vulnerability. The experience of developed countries indicates the need to use modern methods of ensuring economic security. In foreign practice, it is customary to apply such approaches to the calculation of such indicators as the stability of the country, reliability, and risk. Profound technological changes increase the intensity of competition and complicate economic and security challenges. New geopolitical and technological realities require adaptation, preserving the most valuable economic ties while effectively addressing unknown risks. Keywords: economic security, digitalization, threats, risk, state.

Rethinking engineering education at the age of industry 5.0

During the last two decades, profound technological changes have taken place around us, supported by disruptive advances, both on the software and hardware sides. An amalgamation of information, communication, and artificial intelligence is taking place, as well as the cross-fertilization of a wide range of concepts, referred to as the digital transformation. While the discussion on how to operationalize the new intelligent systems of the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, is still going on; the dominant characteristics of the fifth industrial revolution, Industry 5.0 – going beyond producing goods and services for profit – requires all to think and act differently. As a result of the convergence phenomenon, the boundaries between different disciplines are eroding, necessitating a thorough discussion on what engineering education should be like in the future. In this paper, after presenting a brief history of engineering education, the recent paradigm changes are discussed, which essentially stress that skills must prevail over degrees to deal with challenges posed by the trends of the fifth industrial revolution. Later, before concluding the paper four strategies are presented such as lifelong learning and transdisciplinary education (1), sustainability, resilience, and human-centric design modules (2), hands-on data fluency and management courses (3) and human-agent/machine/robot/computer interaction experiences (4).

The economics of the Manila Galleon

PurposeThis paper aims to offer a unified economic interpretation of the existing evidence on the Manila Galleon. It intends to be an introduction to the Manila Galleon for economists curious about long-term patterns in global trade, but who are not experts on economic history.Design/methodology/approachThe paper jointly presents quantitative and qualitative data to analyze in a critical way the existing work on the Manila Galleon. It proposes a conceptual model from the world-systems approach to reflect on the impact of this trade route. Evidence from two case studies, New Granada and Korea, accompany the model.FindingsThe paper finds that the Manila Galleon was only possible because of the temporary coincidence of a quite singular set of international circumstances and favorable local market conditions. The paper also finds that, despite its large effects on the global integration of silver markets, the Manila Galleon was a profoundly asymmetric activity that brought minor consequences to most of the world.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper shows the importance of additional studies providing systematic quantitative evidence on the Manila Galleon. The long tradition of an archival collection developed by historians offers a huge potential to this line of research. In addition, studies in regions different from Mexico, the Philippines, Spain and China would contribute to a better understanding of the Manila Galleon’s global consequences.Practical implicationsThis paper provides a series of reflections useful to think about the future challenges of global trade. These challenges require understanding the transformations that will come from profound technological change, massive reconfigurations of the geopolitical order and transitions in the long-term cycles of commodities. Because of their rare occurrence, these are forces hardly visible in recent history, making it necessary for the existence of long-term points of reference such as the Manila Galleon.Originality/valueThis paper brings together widespread evidence on the Manila Galleon and provides a unified interpretation of it. This opens the door for audiences who are not experts on the economic history of the period to discuss the topic, allowing them to reflect on its lessons for the modern world.

Applying e-learning system for engineering education – challenges and obstacles

PurposeAt present, humankind is facing rapid and profound changes in society, science, technology, economy and environment. The 21st century has witnessed extraordinary scientific and technological progressions. Improvement of technology has generated new educational technique known as e-learning. Nowadays, popularity of e-learning is growing rapidly and numerous educational organizations, public, academic and digital libraries are embracing it. Lately, engineering education is heading toward the blended education system as it successfully combines both chalk and talk system (face-to-face), computer-assisted learning methodologies and internet access feature to learners.Design/methodology/approachThis work discusses the potential of e-learning as an educational system for engineering topics and the challenges faced by educational organizations and public libraries as their partners in applying this system for engineering topics. In addition, number of national and international successful engineering e-learning trials that have been created, organized and/or hosted by educational organizations and public libraries are presented.FindingsThe author presents challenges and obstacles that stakeholders, teachers, professors and librarians should be aware of to develop and support the e-learning system. Hence, a number of recommendations are provided to build a bridge linking e-learning and engineering education.Originality/valueThis paper is a complementary work to a previously published study. In this paper, the author sheds light on the link between the e-learning system and the engineering education provided by the educational organizations and hosted by public libraries.

Historical body temperature records as a population-level ‘thermometer’ of physical activity in the United States

Over the past two centuries profound technological and social changes have reduced overall levels of physical activity (PA). However, just how much population-level PA levels have declined since the Industrial Revolution is unknown because methods for measuring PA, such as accelerometry and the doubly labeled water technique, were developed only within the last few decades. Here, we show that historical records of resting body temperature (TB) can serve as a 'thermometer' of population-level PA, enabling us to use the well-documented secular decline in TB in the US1 to approximate PA decline in the US since 1820. Using cross-sectional data relating TB to resting metabolic rate (RMR) and RMR to PA, we estimate that RMR has declined by ∼6% and moderate to vigorous PA by ∼27 minutes per day since 1820 in the US.

Top Ten Resolutions for the Nation's Utilities in 2021

There is an old adage, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” This couldn't be truer as the utility industry looks to the near‐ and long‐term future. On the one hand, it is fairly predictable what the utility industry will look like in 2021—much as it does today. On the other hand, given the continued pandemic, change in administration in Washington, various state and regulatory mandates, and profound technological changes confronting the industry, so much can change. The one constant will be the need to continue to reliably deliver service to customers.

Construction of innovative computer training education mode under the environment of multiple intelligences Internet of Things

With the emergence of the Internet of Things technology and the rapid development of computer technology and network communication technology, a profound technological change is taking place in the education model. Based on the current problems in the teaching of computer network courses and the improvement needs of the innovative computer training platform of the Internet of Multiple Intelligences, this article summarizes the ideas for improving the innovative computer training platform of the Internet of Multiple Intelligences of the computer network, and explores the mobile learning environment of computer network courses. Based on the multi-level feedback teaching mode, each type of experiment in the innovative computer training system is divided into theoretical tests, basic experiments, improved experiments and inquiry experiments. After each level is completed, the problem will be fed back to the teacher through the system, the results and suggestions will be fed back to the students, and the students will increase their interest in learning, improve the performance of innovative computer training, cultivate the students’ ability to explore and innovate, and help teachers to grasp the students’ innovation in computer training. This article demonstrates the teaching effect of the system through quasi-experimental research methods and interview methods. According to the results of quasi-experimental research and interviews, it is found that this system can improve the teaching effect of teachers, stimulate students’ interest in learning and improve academic performance. The construction and application research of this system will provide support for the construction and practical teaching of an innovative computer training system for the multi-dimensional Internet of Things.

How the Administrative State Got to This Challenging Place

Abstract Written for a dispersed agrarian population using hand tools in a local economy, our Constitution now controls an American government orders of magnitude larger that has had to respond to profound changes in transportation, communication, technology, economy, and scientific understanding. How did our government get to this place? The agencies Congress has created to meet these changes now face profound new challenges: transition from the paper to the digital age; the increasing centralization in an opaque, political presidency of decisions that Congress has assigned to diverse, relatively expert and transparent bodies; the thickening, as well, of the political layer within agencies themselves; and the increasing judicial use of analytic techniques invoking the expectations of those who wrote the Constitution so long ago and in such different circumstances. Never easy, finding the appropriate balance between law and politics presents major challenges today.

Rompiendo las brechas de género en las economías de APEC a través de las políticas públicas

Why is it necessary to break with gender inequality and what is the relationship with public policies? ?Is there an answer to that? The economies that make up the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) begin the third decade of the 21st  century with great challenges. ‘Gender Equality´   is one of the challenges to be achieved in order to comply with the 2030 Agenda and ‘leave no one behind´, within the framework of a recession scenario with profound technological change based on an unequal economic structure and each more digital. Therefore, we will focus on an analysis of some indicators that allow us to demonstrate gender gaps mainly about employment. Opening a discussion space to break down barriers and favor ‘gender equality´   in the countries that make up APEC is the interest of the current opinion. Beyond the cultural patterns that do not allow the economic empowerment of women, analyzing gender gaps form the perspective of public policies is the task and responsibility of the academy, international organizations, civil society and the State. First, we discuss the importance of achieving gender equality to achieve sustained development; second the characterization of women’s employment through  different indicators; finally, the digital economy and public political needs to favor women from the perspective of the feminist economy.