Roadmap For Action Research Articles

Overcoming the collaborative challenge: commitment as a super-ordinate enabler of value co-creation

PurposeDespite over 30 years of focus on supply chain collaboration, companies continue to struggle to achieve collaborative advantage. To better understand why some companies are able to collaborate for competitive advantage and others can't, the authors explore how managerial commitment enables collaborative capabilities.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employed a longitudinal inductive study, interviewing companies with reputations for intense supply chain collaboration at four different times over 20 years.FindingsThe authors identified managerial commitment as a super-ordinate enabler. They describe the dynamics of commitment development and explore three types of commitment: instrumental, normative and transformative. The authors document key antecedents and outcomes of each type of commitment.Research limitations/implicationsTheory regarding the antecedents to commitment to collaborative capability is underdeveloped. The authors elaborate these antecedents and the dynamics that enable or undermine the commitment necessary to build effective collaboration capabilities.Practical implicationsThe authors provide insight (i.e. a practical and actionable roadmap) into the process companies use to cultivate commitment to collaboration and value co-creation.Originality/valueCollaboration is critical to value co-creation, including effective supply chain risk mitigation and lasting sustainability efforts. The authors elaborate a theory of commitment dynamics that explains why most companies never go beyond basic levels of collaboration. At the same time, the authors provide a roadmap for deep, transformative collaboration.

Impact of the Digital Economy on the Priority Directions of Business Regulation

Aim. The presented study aims to determine the prerequisites and directions for the transformation of government regulation and support for business structures in the context of the digitalization of the economy and to propose approaches for assessing its implementation and specific tools that could help to solve problems of economic development.Tasks. The authors analyze government support for the business sector of the economy and identify its features at different stages of development; describe tools used for the management and support of business structures, identifying problems and opportunities for their successful application at the regional level to achieve sustainable economic growth in Russia.Methods. This study uses analysis and synthesis in comparative statics and in a dynamic context as well as historical, systems, and ex-ante approaches. Results. The study confirms that government regulation and support for entrepreneurship in the context of the digitalization of the economy should be considered within the framework of an integrated approach based on a dynamic analysis of indicators at the macro- and microlevel, which would make it possible to analyze the most vulnerable aspects of government support for business structures and to develop a roadmap of actions to be taken.Conclusions. The authors substantiate the necessity of using infrastructure tools in the management of entrepreneurial development in Russia to eliminate the constantly emerging and existing imbalances between the needs of digital development and lagging government influence. Adjustments that need to be made in monitoring, forecasting, planning, and control are identified. These adjustments would make it possible to implement the scenario approach to management, mitigating external and internal risks in the global market of goods and services.

Demolishing the Myth of the Default Human That Is Killing Black Mothers.

It took a white police officer's knee on George Floyd's neck before white people began to reckon with 400 years of slavery and its aftermath, the effects of which Black people have endured for generations. Monuments are being taken down, flags are being redesigned, and institutions that honored those who denied the humanity of Black people are being renamed. Unfortunately for Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, Sha-Asia Washington and countless other Black transgender people including those with capacity for pregnancy, there was no justice even prior to the global pandemic of SARS-Cov-2 or coronavirus; namely racism, violence, and the Black Maternal Health crisis that makes it less likely that Black women will survive pregnancy and childbirth. The purpose of this article is to situate the state of Black people with the capacity for pregnancy in the context of these existing crises to illuminate the myths that racism has perpetuated through science, health services provision and policy. The greatest of these is the myth of a default human that can serve as a standard for the rest of the population. This racist ideal underpins education, provision of care, research, policies, and public health praxis. Demolishing the myth starts with acknowledging that Black people are not the architects of their own destruction: the default standard of whiteness is. The article begins with a historical background on how this myth came to be and elucidates the development and perpetuations of the myth of the default human. Next, we present an evidence based scoping review of the literature to summarize current thinking with specific focus on the Black maternal health crisis, we make policy recommendations and retrofits of upstream public health approaches for existing programs toward health equity. We also situate Black maternal health as part of a reproductive justice frame that centers Black women and birthing people's autonomy and agency. In other words, we use the scoping review to end with reimagining public health policy and provide an actionable roadmap to specifically disrupt the myth of the default human and dismantle racism in education, provision of care, research, policies, and public health praxis.

Sustaining Meaningful Patient Engagement Across the Lifecycle of Medicines: A Roadmap for Action

BackgroundThere is increased recognition that incorporating patients’ perspectives and insights into the medicines development process results in better health outcomes and benefits for all involved stakeholders. Despite the increased interest and the existence of frameworks and practical recommendations, patient engagement (PE) is not yet considered standard practice. The objective of this work was to provide a roadmap to support systematic change in all stakeholder organisations involved in medicines development across Europe, patients and patient organisations, medicines developers, academia, regulatory authorities, Health Technology Assessment bodies, payers, policy-makers and public research funders, to sustain PE practices.MethodsA mixed-methods approach was used by the EU-funded Innovative Medicines Initiative PARADIGM Consortium to co-develop the sustainability roadmap including background work to identify success factors and scenarios for sustainable PE. The roadmap development was based on the Theory of Change concept and populated with findings from (1) interviews with national/ and international institutions with the potential to increase PE uptake by other stakeholders; (2) multi-stakeholder workshops and webinars; and (3) consultations with specific stakeholder groups, Consortium members and a consultative body formed by international PE initiatives.ResultsThis roadmap sets strategic goals for the PE community to achieve meaningful and systematic PE through changes in the culture, processes and resources of stakeholder organisations. It brings in key PARADIGM outputs to work in a coordinated fashion with existing frameworks and mechanisms to achieve system-wide sustained PE.ConclusionsThe roadmap provides a framework for all stakeholders to take collective action within their organisations and across Europe to implement PE in a sustainable manner.

Australia in 2030: what is our path to health for all?

Australia in 2030: what is our path to health for all?

Co-creating a Vision and Roadmap for Circular Economy in the Food and Beverages Packaging Sector

This paper describes a collaborative process engaging key stakeholders to co-create a shared vision for 2035 and a roadmap for action to support a circular economy transition in the packaging of the food and beverages sector in Portugal. Although the need to engage stakeholders is widely acknowledged, few collaborative initiatives can be found in the literature for scoping and visioning of circular economy strategies. Three main stages are broadly proposed to conduct a participatory scoping and visioning process, including the conduction of exploratory interviews and a collaborative visioning workshop supported by desk-based research. Engaging agents from across the value chain and from critical knowledge fields allowed to create a common understanding of major challenges, opportunities, and key circular strategies to implement towards a desired vision of the future. Five main areas of action were identified: innovation and research, new business models; eco-design; marketing and communication; and regulation and incentives. This work allowed to draw useful lessons for the sector: (i) there is a great potential of circularity in the food and beverages packaging sector; (ii) the engaged stakeholders have the will to continue collaborating. Regarding the proposed process: (i) a process of this nature allows the co-creation of a shared vision and the definition of a roadmap to achieve it and (ii) engaging stakeholders from all the value chain in structured discussions and collaborative exercises may contribute to promote social learning and knowledge co-creation. Some limitations can be pointed out; an important one is the dependency on stakeholders’ engagement, which could bring additional challenges when implementing a process of this nature. Although the process can be applied in different contexts and sectors, the obtained results are specific for this sector in the Portuguese context.

Achieving cultural safety for Australia's First Peoples: a review of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency-registered health practitioners' Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics.

Objective Health practitioners' Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics articulate practice standards across multiple domains, including the domain of cultural safety. As key tools driving individual practice and systems reform, Codes are integral to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is, therefore, critical that their contents specify meaningful cultural safety standards as the norm for institutional and individual practice. This research assessed all Codes for cultural safety specific content. Methods Following the release of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency's (Ahpra) Health and Cultural Safety strategy 2020-25, the 16 Ahpra registered health practitioner Board Codes of Conduct and professional Codes of Ethics were analysed by comparing content to Ahpra's new cultural safety objectives. Two Codes of Conduct, Nursing and Midwifery, met these objectives. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners Code partially met these objectives. Results Most Codes of Conduct (14 of 16) conflated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities undermining the sovereignty of Australia's First Peoples. Eleven professions had a Code of Ethics, including the Physiotherapy Code of Conduct, which outlined the values and ethical principles of practice commonly associated with a Code of Ethics. Of the 11 professions with a Code of Ethics, two (Pharmacy and Psychology) articulated specific ethical responsibilities to First Peoples. Physiotherapy separately outlined cultural safety obligations through their reconciliation action plan (RAP), meeting all Ahpra cultural safety objectives. The remaining eight advocated respect of culture generally rather than respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures specifically. Conclusions The review identified multiple areas to improve the codes for cultural safety content for registered health professions, providing a roadmap for action to strengthen individual and systems practice while setting a clear regulatory standard to ensure culturally safe practice becomes the new norm. It recommends the systematic updating of all professional health practitioner Board Codes of Conduct and professional Codes of Ethics based on the objectives outlined in Ahpra's Cultural Safety Strategy. What is known about the topic? Systemic racism and culturally unsafe work environments contribute to poor health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. They also contribute to the under-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the health workforce, denying the system, and the people who use and work in it, much needed Indigenous knowledge. Creating a culturally safe healthcare system requires all health practitioners to reflect on their own cultural background, to gain appreciation of the positive and negative impacts of individually held cultural assumptions on the delivery of healthcare services. Competence in cultural safety as a required standard of practice is therefore essential if broad, sustainable and systemic cultural change across the health professions and ultimately across Australia's healthcare system is to be achieved. Given that Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics are integral in setting the practical and moral standards of the professions, their contents with respect to cultural competence are of great importance. What does this paper add? A review of this type has not been undertaken previously. Following the establishment of the Ahpra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Strategy Group, release of Ahpra's 2018 Statement of intent, and the 2019 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Cultural Safety strategic plan and Reconciliation Action Plan, we analysed the content of each of the 16 registered health professions Codes of Conduct and Code of Ethics looking for content and guidance in accordance with the new national cultural safety definition. Several opportunities to improve the Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics were identified to realise the vision set out in the statement of intent including through the application of the National Law. This analysis provides a baseline for future improvements and confirms that although some current health practitioner Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics have begun the journey of recognising the importance of cultural safety in ensuring good health outcomes for Australia's Indigenous peoples, there is broad scope for change. What are the implications for practitioners? The gaps identified in this analysis provide a roadmap for improvement and inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and cultural safety as a required standard in Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics for all registered health practitioners. Although it is recognised that Codes alone may not change hearts and minds, codifying the clinical competency of cultural safety provides a portal, and a requirement, for each individual practitioner to engage meaningfully and take responsibility to improve practice individually and organisationally.

Resource nexus for sustainable development: Status quoand prospect

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in 2015 are a roadmap for action to promote coordinated development of economy, society, and the environment. Natural resources, including energy, water, biomass, minerals, and land, are key elements for the achievement of SDGs. Various dependence, substitution, competition, and complementation relationships exist among different kinds of natural resources. The idea of intrinsic interconnectivities of the world’s material basis, which states that the five basic elements of “gold, wood, water, fire, and earth” mutually enable and restrict one other, can be traced back to Wuxing theory in ancient Chinese culture. The research interest in understanding and managing such interconnections has inspired a large number of studies on “resource nexus” and its role in facilitating SDGs in the past decade. Bibliometric analysis showed that the number of publications on resource nexus increased rapidly after the Bonn 2011 Nexus Conference. Nexuses between water and other resources, especially energy, are commonly investigated issues. Transdisciplinary approaches have become an important research direction in recent years. Studies on resource nexus have been incorporated into SDG discussions after 2015. Methods and models used in resource nexus studies are generally classified into three categories, namely, accounting, simulation, and optimization. These widely used methods in the system analysis of single-resource elements have been extended to cover and focus on linkages among resources. A number of integrated decision support tools, such as CLEW, WEF Nexus Tool, WEAP-LEAP, and WEF Nexus Rapid Appraisal Tool, have also been developed for problem identification, scenario analysis, and policy design. Many research institutes and international organizations have compiled databases on resource extraction, production, consumption, and trade to facilitate academic studies and decision making. Effects of resource nexus on sustainable development can be summarized as follows: (1) Strengthened impacts of increasingly interconnected resource nexus on sustainable development, (2) global expansion of localized resource nexus, (3) resource nexus leads to both synergies and conflicts among SDGs, and (4) resource nexus has both promoting and restricting effects on sustainable socioeconomic transitions. Finally, future investigations can focus on the following directions: (1) Expand the research scope of resource nexus; (2) reveal mechanisms and influences of resource nexus; (3) build universal, open-source, and extendible data platforms; and (4) strengthen the decision support capability of resource nexus studies.

Erasing the Thin Blue Line: An Indigenous Proposal

My novel claim is that there must be an accounting of how the judiciary has employed the theory of the social contract to dehumanize large swaths of poor persons and people of color. I argue that it is the judiciary, even more so than the legislatures, that has enabled and encouraged the police to engage in deep-seated injustices every single day. I will show that social contract talk is deeply embedded in judicial decisionmaking and policy articulation in the criminal justice realm. The judiciary’s social contract talk is the language of inclusion and exclusion; either you are protected under the contract, or you are not. The judiciary’s deference to police discretion and immunization of the police from accountability has allowed the police to decide which persons are compliant or in breach of this metaphor, but with real-world, devastating consequences. On a minute-by-minute basis, instant-by-instant, the police decide who is protected and who is a threat. Luckily, the time for judicial accountability seems right. Several state supreme courts – Alaska, California, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Washington, as well as several other individual justices of these courts and others – acknowledged their roles in facilitating racial injustice in the summer of 2020. These courts and judges seemingly stand ready to act, but they also need a roadmap for action. The political theories of Indigenous nations could help fill the gap. Consider Anishinaabe political theory. Anishinaabe political theory is inclusive. One is “in” by default. Anishinaabe political theory is over-inclusive as well, in that everything we can perceive in the world is “in.” There is no “contract” talk. Anishinaabe political theory guarantees what social contract talk promises but fails to deliver. Moreover, the American judicial notion of a social contract unhelpfully assumes that chaos is the baseline condition because people are inherently violent and selfish. Anishinaabe political theory assumes that harmony is the baseline condition. Anishinaabe governance divides powers and responsibilities of tribal leaders. There is no winner-take-all, majority rule decisionmaking. Anishinaabe political philosophy rejects the police as mere warriors. Violence and internal security do not mix in Anishinaabe government. Imagine a criminal justice system where a police officer conducting a well visit, who finds a person in need of assistance because of an addiction, and leads the government’s response in assisting that person, rather than criminalizing that person. Imagine a criminal justice system where the police officer who catches a thief in the act is charged with investigating the reasons behind the theft, and leads the government’s response in ensuring that the thief’s poverty is alleviated and the victim’s loss is compensated. Imagine a police department that heals as well as protects and serves.

Integration and scale-up of efforts to measure and reduce HIV-related stigma: the experience of Thailand.

To share Thailand's journey to develop and implement a national response to measure and tackle HIV-related stigma and discrimination and key implementation lessons learned. A national response to stigma and discrimination including policy, measurement, and interventions. Intervention activities began in health facilities because of their key role in achieving health outcomes. Three building blocks were implemented: policy and its translation into a roadmap for action; measurement development and routinization to inform intervention design and track progress; and intervention development and implementation. Thailand has successfully integrated a response to stigma and discrimination into its national HIV response. Stigma and discrimination-reduction was included as a key strategic goal for the first time in the 2014-2016 National AIDS Strategic Plan. A costed national stigma and discrimination-reduction roadmap incorporated into the operational plan provided clear strategic direction on how to move forward. The development of HIV-related stigma and discrimination measures and their incorporation into the national HIV monitoring and evaluation framework has led to routine data collection to monitor stigma and discrimination in health facilities, key populations, and the general population. Development and successful piloting of a health facility stigma-reduction package - the 3 × 4 approach - has led to national scale-up of the approach through a modified approach. Thailand continues to evolve and innovate the program, including developing new activities to tackle stigma and discrimination beyond the health system. Thailand's experience demonstrates the key elements needed to make addressing stigma and discrimination a priority in the national HIV response.

The Roadmap for Action on AMR

Abstract The speaker will present the perspective of civil society, as well as its extensive work to raise awareness and bring together stakeholders committed to tackling AMR across Europe. The Stakeholder Network on AMR, hosted within the European Commission's Healthcare Policy Platform, along with the resulting Roadmap for Action on AMR will be presented. The speaker will explain how the Roadmap and the key strategies and targets identified encompass a 'One-Health' approach, emphasising that AMR can only be addressed through concerted cross-sectoral actions, ranging from infection prevention, better diagnostics and supporting Member States in implementing National Action Plans. The links between AMR and other EU initiatives such as the emerging Cancer Plan, the Farm to Fork Strategy and the European Green Deal will also be elaborated on. Finally, the role of the European Parliament in ensuring that AMR stays high on the agenda and mobilising Member States to act, will be discussed in the context of a newly established MEP Interest Group on AMR with an ambitious strategic work programme for the Parliamentary term 2019 - 2024.

Trapped or Voluntary? Non-Migration Despite Climate Risks

Millions of people impacted by climate change actually want to remain in place; these aspirations and respective capabilities need more attention in migration research and climate adaptation policies. Residents at risk may voluntarily stay put, as opposed to being involuntarily trapped, and understanding such subjectivity is empirically challenging. This comment elaborates on “voluntary non-migration” to call attention to a neglected population within the ongoing discourses on climate-induced migration, social equality and human rights. A roadmap for action outlines specific research and policy goals.

Visioning a hospitality-oriented patient experience (HOPE) framework in health care

PurposeThis paper considers the question: what would happen if healthcare providers, like their counterparts in the hospitality industry, adopted the principles of customer experience management (CEM) in order to facilitate a more holistic and personalized patient experience? It proposes an alternative vision of the patient experience by adding to an emerging hospitality–healthcare literature base, this time focusing upon CEM. A hospitality-oriented patient experience (HOPE) framework is introduced, designed to enhance the patient experience across all the touchpoints of the healthcare journey.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper that draws upon three distinct literatures: hospitality literature; healthcare literature; and CEM literature. It utilizes this literature to develop a framework, the HOPE framework, designed to offer an alternative lens to understanding the patient experience. The paper utilizes descriptions of three unique patient experiences, one linked to chronic pain, a second to gastro issues and a third to orthopedic issues, to illustrate how adopting the principles of hospitality management, within a healthcare context, could promote an enhanced patient experience.FindingsThe main theoretical contribution is the development of the HOPE framework that brings together research on CEM with research on cocreative customer practices in health care. By selecting and connecting key ingredients of two separate research streams, this vision and paradigm provide an alternative lens into ways of addressing the key challenges in the implementation of person-centered care in healthcare services. The HOPE framework offers an actionable roadmap for healthcare organizations to realize greater understanding and to operationalize new ways of improving the patient experience.Originality/valueThis paper applies the principles of hospitality and CEM to the domain of health care. In so doing it adds value to a hospitality literature primarily focused upon extensive employee–customer relationships. To a healthcare literature seeking to more fully understand a person-centered care model typically delivered by a care team consisting of professionals and family/friends. And to a CEM literature in hospitality, which seeks to facilitate favorable employee–customer interactions. Connecting these separate literature streams enables an original conceptual framework, a HOPE framework, to be introduced.

Use of a Feedback Survey as a Part of a Wellness Champions Program to Improve Academic Faculty Satisfaction and Burnout: Implications for Burnout in Academic Health Centers.

BackgroundFaculty and trainee well-being at academic medical centers is a nationwide concern. In response, the University of Utah Health created a system-wide provider wellness program that used individual faculty champions who were empowered to 1) examine the unique needs of their department or division using a lens of quality improvement, 2) design projects to address well-being, and 3) measure impact of projects addressing well-being. One team used a feedback tool to attempt to improve the well-being of Family Medicine faculty by better understanding challenges and developing a roadmap for action.ObjectiveEvaluate the effectiveness of an anonymous feedback tool on faculty well-being.MethodsThe Division of Family Medicine developed and implemented a quarterly anonymous faculty survey to facilitate an ongoing improvement process for faculty wellness in 2016. The faculty survey identified thematic concerns, which were used to develop constructive solutions and systemic changes.ResultsA closed loop feedback structure provided rich faculty input into impacts on burnout and professional well-being. Sense of control (good to optimal) over workload among faculty increased significantly (p = 0.011) from 10% to 42% over one year exhibiting a large effect size (Cohen’s h = 0.751). Faculty burnout, using a single item emotional exhaustion question validated to the Maslach Burnout Inventory, was reduced from 48% to 25% showing a medium effect size (Cohen’s h = 0.490 with p = 0.097). Work related stress was reduced from 72% to 50% demonstrating clinical significance (Cohen’s h = 0.465) but not statistical significance (p = 0.154)—an effect which was more noticeable when comparing means between years (Cohen's d=0.451with p = 0.068). Response rate was 100% in 2016 (29/29) and 92% (23/25) in 2017.ConclusionThis faculty survey, which has since been adopted by other groups at the University of Utah, could help improve well-being in a variety of health care professions.

Сучасний стан управління персоналом на підприємствах: виклики та перспективи

HR management provides for the availability of administrative tasks related to hiring and remuneration of employees of the company. As a separate management function, it aims to recruit and maintain the high-quality workforce required by the organization to achieve its goals. The article is aimed at studying the existing experience of development of the human resources management system at enterprises in the conditions of compliance with the principles of corporate social responsibility. In the course of achieving the goal of the study, a number of such tasks were solved, in particular: the directions of research in the sphere of HR management were analyzed; an assessment of existing international framework documents and initiatives in the sphere of HR management was carried out; the changes in the management of activities on work with staff of enterprises were examined; proposals to improve existing HR management trends at enterprises were scientifically substantiated. It is substantiated that the methodological principles of policy development and internal organizational-regulatory documents on HR management and its development require further research. The organization of the manager’s work depends on the organizational structure and type of activity of the enterprise. It is stressed that the responsibility for human rights is a global standard of expected behavior for all enterprises wherever they operate. It exists regardless of the ability and/or willingness of the countries to fulfill their own human rights obligations and does not diminish these obligations. The work of the HR manager is of particular importance at the present stage of implementation of the concept of focus on the creation of human capital as the most valuable asset of enterprise. The main instruments for counteracting the challenges of building up an effective human resources management system at the enterprise are the development of a roadmap of actions with further control over the implementation of the actions and measures; disclosure and transparency of activities to the employees of the enterprise; involving employees in the implementation of certain elements of the human resources management system. The methodological principles of policy development and internal organizational-regulatory documents on HR management and its development require further research.

Lessons learned from the Advancing Maternal Immunization collaboration: identifying evidence gaps for informed respiratory syncytial virus maternal immunization decision-making.

In an increasingly crowded vaccine landscape, global and country decision-makers will require evidence-based and disease-specific information when prioritizing new public health interventions. The Advancing Maternal Immunization collaboration (AMI) was designed to develop a cross-program strategy to advance respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) maternal immunization (MI) availability and accessibility in low- and middle-income countries by completing a comprehensive RSV MI gap analysis and developing an actionable roadmap report. By engaging and coordinating key stakeholders using a web-based communication platform and developing standardized tools, AMI was able to facilitate interaction and consensus between members. This paper describes the methodology used to create and manage AMI's work. We share lessons learned from our approach to inform other groups conducting similar work requiring cross-sectoral engagement. This approach could be adapted to efficiently conduct gap analyses for other health interventions that require input and coordination across a variety of topic areas, disciplines, geographies, and stakeholders.

Global prevalence and disease burden of vitamin D deficiency: a roadmap for action in low- and middle-income countries

Global prevalence and disease burden of vitamin D deficiency: a roadmap for action in low- and middle-income countries

Adaptive co-management model for the East Kolkata wetlands: A sustainable solution to manage the rapid ecological transformation of a peri-urban landscape

Human-induced land use changes like agriculture and urban development occur commonly at the cost of natural wetlands, which require immediate attention and sustained efforts from urban planners and concerned governments. In view of the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), India, this paper has examined the trend, causes, extent and impacts of landscape transformation during the last few decades. Hence we aim to present a review of several studies in and around EKW and suggests a sustainable model for EKW. This ‘Ramsar site of International Importance’ is one of the world's largest wastewater-fed aquaculture systems where the city sewage is recycled for pisciculture and agriculture, and acts as flood resistance for the city of Kolkata. Rapid encroachment in the EKW due to unplanned development has caused various environmental, social and economic impacts. The key ecological impacts found in the study included loss of faunal and floral diversity, eco-toxicological impacts, etc. In terms of biodiversity loss, while the number of bird species in the EKW decreased from 248 in 1960s to 72 in 2005, about 59% fish species are near threats, vulnerable and endangered. Reported persistent organic pollutants (POPs) around the EKW region were found to pose deleterious impact on environment and ambient biota. Several studies have evidenced that the open burning of solid waste in the dumping ground of Dhapa is a potential source of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated dibenzo dioxin/furans (PCDD/Fs). Further the ecological transformation of the EKW focussing on policy development and regulatory compliance issues has been studied in this paper. The aspects of encroachment and wetland shrinkage triggered by economic drivers like urban sprawl have been analyzed. The paper presents adaptive co-management as the future roadmap for action to curb further degradation of the wetlands, and adopt an integrated approach of environmental, political, physical, economic and institutional aspects. It is envisaged that the adaptive co-management model will contribute to long-term sustainable sustenance of this precious ecosystem.

Light triggered encapsulation and release of C60 with a photoswitchable TPE-based supramolecular tweezers

Stimuli responsive hosts for C60 can control its binding and release on demand. A photoswitchable TPE based supramolecular host can encapsulate C60 in the Z-form with a markedly different visual change in the colour. In addition, the Z-1 bound C60 has been characterized by various spectroscopic methods and mass spectrometry. Upon exposure to visible light (>490 nm), the host switches to the E-form where the structural complementarity with the guest is destroyed as a result of which the C60 is disassembled from the host. The results described herein reveals an actionable roadmap to pursue further advances in component self-assembly particularly light-induced association and dissociation of a guest molecule.

Editorial: The ILO is one hundred years old, but what is its future?

2 | International Union Rights | 26/2 EDITORIAL Editorial: the ILO is one hundred years old, but what is its future? A new Declaration has emerged from the centenary conference, described as ‘a reaffirmation of the relevance and importance of the ILO’s mandate in the changing world of work, a strong statement of intent, a mobilizing call, and a road map for action’. But while these seem laudible objectives, the new language elevates the private sector (‘a principal source of economic growth and job creation’) and subtly downplays the public sector (not a ‘principal’ anything, but merely ‘a significant employer and provider of quality public services’). More worrying still is the position of core workers’ rights as mere means to economic ends (the ILO, we are told, will devote its efforts towards ‘workers rights as a key element for the attainment of inclusive and sustainable growth’. This is the new document’s sole reference to freedom of association – justified only as a means to attain growth! How different things were at the ILO’s founding in 1919, when the ‘principle’ of freedom of association was ‘urgently required’ to address ‘injustice, hardship and privation to large numbers of people’, and to prevent ‘unrest so great that the peace and harmony of the world are imperilled’… It is with these concerns about the ILO’s direction and purpose that the latest edition of IUR takes on the challenge of the ILO centenary. Several of our contributors take us back to the early years of the ILO’s work, the context of its establishment, the ideas that fed its early work, the opening of the Organisation’s working model to embrace development, and the underpinnings of the technical assistance programmes. Plata-Stenger and Fitti Sinclair talk us through the ideas underlying ILO’s work in these areas from the outset through to contemporary ILO projects, while the ILO’s Azzi shares with us an inside insight into the changing work on the Organisation in its approach to health and safety at work. Some may question whether the business-friendly language of the new Declaration is really a sufficient answer to PSI’s ringing challenge posed earlier this year (reproduced as our opening article), and Hochscheidt and Vollmann note with concern that ILO’s new private sector partnerships create a perception of the conflict of interest. For ICTUR, standards and supervision have always been the core focus of our engagement with the Organisation. Tonia Novitz discusses the explosion in the late 20th Century of the use of ILO principles in courts around the world seeking to align local and regional human rights decision-making in those courts with the global principles that the ILO has established. And standard setting continues, as Amanda Brown reminds us, in a process based ultimately not on enforcement and sanction, but on consensus and encouragement: during the centenary conference a new convention on violence and harassment was adopted. Burns and Logan look at what the ILO has meant in a local context, from the Australian and US perspectives. A central concern for both contributors is with ILO standards and their application to the domestic trade union rights agenda. While there is much to celebrate with respect to the ILO’s standards machinery, this edition of IUR seeks also to remind our readers that there have been astonishing omissions from the Organisation’s work: where was the Commission of Inquiry on Colombia in the early 2000s; what did the Organisation do to protest the mass killing of striking oil workers in Kazakhstan in 2011; and why, with respect to South Africa, has the ILO rarely mentioned the massacre of striking mineworkers at Marikana in 2012? This edition of IUR seeks to avoid the cliché, pomp and sycophancy that so often surround any sort of centenary celebration. It was our intention from the outset to produce an edition that would not be shy to point out the Organisation’s flaws and failings. For my part I hope we haven’t overdone that aspect of the project: it was also always our ambition that an overriding admiration should shine through. This journal, and its parent organisation ICTUR, may on occasion be critics...