Strategic Necessity Research Articles

Why the rising China needs alliances

Alliances remain at the heart of history, since they serve states in achieving geopolitical needs and securing grand strategic necessities. Apart from strategic considerations, the article aspires to highlight the psychological motivation for conceiving and forming alliances. It argues alliances to be the basic instrument in ensuring survival and elaborates the psychological efficacy and utility in employing the same device in gaining and sustaining the status of a functional great power. This article addresses the most significant development in modern times, i.e. rising China and its pursuit to become a pro-active great power, whilst greatly drawing from its strategic history in such endeavours. It explores the ‘China Threat’, and argues that China is likely to enter into alliances based on its geopolitical necessities by engaging its armed forces regionally, most likely in its near abroad. The article interprets China’s Belt and Road Initiative as a soft alliance and predicts the precursors of a military alliance.

الاقتصاد المعرفي : رؤية استراتيجية مقترحة للإصلاح الاقتصادي الشامل في العراق

The study explores the study of the economic reform paths in Iraq after 2003, in which many options and various methods of economic reform were presented. The Iraqi government adopted some of them in the hope of facing the challenges of the Iraqi economy, but these methods and options have traditional. so the problem of research is based on two main points:1. The multiplicity of economic reform options led to the dispersion of the visions and efforts of economic decision makers. 2. Joining the global economy requires adopting a new economic philosophy that is compatible with what exists in the outside world. The research found that the multiplicity and divergence of the proposed economic reform policies put economic decision makers in front of difficult choices due to the lack of a clear development program with its time limits for the advancement of economic sectors. However, the adoption of the knowledge economy approach has become a strategic necessity for comprehensive economic reform in Iraq because of its interest in intellectual capital Which is the basis of the comprehensive reform process. Therefore, it is proposed to explore the possibility of implementing the knowledge economy approach as one of the basic and strategic options for the comprehensive economic reform process.

Does cyber tech spending matter for bank stability?

CyberTech has drawn academic attention in the aftermath of the global financial crisis (GFC) as banks were forced to embrace CyberTech more aggressively to cope with market competition after the crisis. Banks can improve their operational efficiency and quality of service by relying on CyberTech, but they become more vulnerable to cybersecurity. Thus, increasing investment in CyberTech becomes a strategic necessity for banks to combat cybersecurity hazards. The study investigates how disruptive digital transformation affects bank stability. In particular, it examines whether the law of diminishing marginal returns from overspending on CyberTech affects bank stability. Based on a global sample from 43 countries, we find that an increase in CyberTech spending above the threshold level adversely affects the stability of banks. The main reason behind the adverse effect of CyberTech spending on the stability of banks is that banks take more than the proportional risk for every dollar they spend on disruptive CyberTech after they cross a threshold level of spending. While results persist across sub-samples, our results indicate two important channels of technological regimes – a diminishing returns regime and an increasing returns regime. The diminishing returns regime improves bank stability through more aggressive spending on technology, and the increasing returns regime makes banks more unstable due to excess spending on disruptive CyberTech. The study has implications for cybersecurity and sustainable CyberTech spending for banks.

Does CyberTech Spending Matter for Bank Stability?

CyberTech has drawn academic attention in the aftermath of the global financial crisis (GFC) as banks were forced to embrace CyberTech more aggressively to cope with market competition after the crisis. Banks can improve their operational efficiency and quality of service by relying on CyberTech, but they become more vulnerable to cybersecurity. Thus, increasing investment in CyberTech becomes a strategic necessity for banks to combat cybersecurity hazards. The study investigates how disruptive digital transformation affects bank stability. In particular, it examines whether the law of diminishing marginal returns from overspending on CyberTech affects bank stability. Based on a global sample from 43 countries, we find that an increase in CyberTech spending above the threshold level adversely affects the stability of banks. The main reason behind the adverse effect of CyberTech spending on the stability of banks is that banks take more than the proportional risk for every dollar they spend on disruptive CyberTech after they cross a threshold level of spending. While results persist across sub-samples, our results indicate two important channels of technological regimes – a diminishing returns regime and an increasing returns regime. The diminishing returns regime improves bank stability through more aggressive spending on technology, and the increasing returns regime makes banks more unstable due to excess spending on disruptive CyberTech. The study has implications for cybersecurity and sustainable CyberTech spending for banks.

Teacher Training and Skill Enhancement in India using Innovative Techniques

In the present workforce, it is observed that most people are either unskilled or they find their jobs to be redundant or changing so rapidly that their skills become irrelevant. Earlier research suggests that the present-day education system is marksoriented, based mostly on rote learning, and does not train people with the skill sets required by the industry, thus creating a skill gap. Prior research points out that academicians and industry should work together to bridge this gap. In India, various initiatives have been undertaken by the Indian government, like "ITI Finishing Schools" which are implemented with the help of the Confederation of Indian Industry,or initiatives like "Skill India" and "Startup India", which focus on skill development. Quality education and training are the strategic necessities that can deliver employment skills. As a part of skill enhancement, an employee should not only plan for the skills required for the automated world, but also acquire those that go beyond technical competence. Researchers observed that generic skills like creativity, innovation, imagination, decision making, analytical skills, and design skills will take up the priority spots on the employer's agenda. These skills have to be encouraged in the coming years and should be included in the course of formal education. To handle this daunting task, teachers have to anticipate and plan their activities, which would enhance their students' creativity. This asks for the skill development of teachers in the form of on-the-job training while performing regular teaching duties, which is a lifelong learning process. It has been observed that the children educated through Finnish education system have been doing consistently well. Their skill anticipation and teacher training programs have been yielding good results. So, would it be possible to adapt their model to train teachers in India? If so, then how effectively? What changes need to be incorporated for implementing the same in Indian conditions? This research paper attempts to do a comparative study of education systems prevalent in Finland and India, with emphasis on teacher training and skill enhancement. In the process, also find ways for sustained development of prominent stake holders in education.The paper is based on analogies between Finnish education systems and Indian initiative towards quality education in the form of Draft National Education Policy 2019. The paper outlines the comparisons and possible changes in the Indian education system, based on the review of various literature available today.The conclusion is that, though Finnish education system cannot be adapted as it is in the Indian scenario but can definitely be implemented in certain areas which have been mentioned in the recommendations.

API Design Principles & Security Best Practices – Accelerate Your Business Without Compromising Security

APIs are a strategic necessity to give your business the agility, innovation and speed needed to succeed in today’s business environment. However, the financial incentive associated with this agility is often tempered with the fear of undue exposure of the valuable information that these APIs expose.

Cooperation between Russia and India in the Arctic: A pipedream or a strategic necessity

The aim of the article is to explore areas of cooperation between Russia and India with specific reference to the Arctic. The Russian Federation has sought strategic partners for the development of the Arctic, with it’s primary focus being the development of the oil and gas industry and the Northern Sea Route (NSR). Russia and India have had diplomatic relations in diverse spheres such as space, atomic energy, defense, and the petroleum industry. Russia’s focus on the Arctic ushers in many more opportunities for cooperation. India is one of the few countries to which Russia has accorded investment opportunities in the oil and gas and the diamond industry. As a result, India has made significant investments in Russia’s oil and gas industry. The article highlights that the energy deficit in India is critical, value of imports is rising and this consequently affects the development of the country. Oil production has been declining marginally and gas production is almost static. There is therefore a need to sign diverse long-term contracts for petroleum products like China has been doing with Russia. The article also suggests that there is a case for increased Indian investment in the Arctic in diverse spheres. The need for greater cooperation in scientific research, development of the NSR and possible utilisation of the enormous technically qualified human resources that India has in diverse areas of the Arctic is noted. The article based upon systemic and comparative analysis concludes that Russia-India cooperation in the Arctic is a strategic necessity.

Turning Board Sustainability Aspirations into Action

Boards are key to unlocking substantive action by firms on sustainability. We clarify their potential role and show how and why they are failing to deliver on that role and what can be done about it. We start by highlighting the importance of board engagement as a driver of sustainability and then report research evidence of limited board attention to the topic. This is short-sighted given the significance of sustainability but also as a matter of good corporate governance. Nonetheless, recent survey research provides encouraging evidence to suggest that many boards have the right aspirations when it comes to sustainability—they are convinced it is a strategic necessity. Often, however, they do not have what is required in terms of the people, knowledge and tools to turn those aspirations into meaningful action. Our in-depth interviews with board directors examined the obstacles to board attention to sustainability from inside the boardroom, including the characteristics of board members themselves. We identified five board sustainability archetypes: The Deniers, The Hard-headed, The Well-Meaning, The Complacent, and The True Believers. We characterize each archetype and explain how they can be identified by executives or consultants working with the board or by board members themselves. We offer recommendations for how to respond to the different archetypes and how more generally boards can advance the sustainability agenda.

Assessing the relationship between formal strategic planning and firm's financial performance: An emphasis on flexible planning and innovation

Improving the firm performance, especially its financial aspect, has always been at the core of the attention of both researchers and stakeholders during history. The formal strategic planning process is an element that has shown its impact, whether positive, negative, or neutral on firm financial performance in the literature. Besides, some variables, such as innovation and flexibility in planning, can affect this relationship as moderating factors. Therefore, this study strives to evaluate the association between formal strategic planning and firm financial performance while supposing innovation and flexibility in planning as moderating variables. The statistical population of this paper involves 300 top and middle managers of Refah bank, one of the biggest banks in Iran, and the variables are measured by a questionnaire that is based on the five-point Likert scale. The findings of this research have two main achievements. Firstly, results demonstrate that all three studied variables, meaning that formal strategic planning, innovation, and flexibility in planning have positive impacts on firm financial performance. Secondly, and according to the first conclusion, integrating innovation and flexibility into the formal strategic planning process isa necessity leading to a better firm financial performance.

РАЗВИТИЕ РОССИЙСКОГО СЕГМЕНТА АРКТИЧЕСКОЙ ЗОНЫ КАК РЕГИОНАЛЬНОЕ ИЗМЕРЕНИЕ МИРОВОЙ ГЕОПОЛИТИКИ

The article discusses the features of the Arctic zone, its place in the world economy and international relations. The reasons for the intersection of the geopolitical interests of the leading states of the world in this region are revealed. The main directions of scientific and technical cooperation in the development of the Arctic are identified. The role of the Arctic Council in solving the problem of coordinating the interests of various actors in the region is shown. The strategic necessity of the development of the Arctic as a region free of conflicts and rivalry is substantiated. The analysis of the Russian Arctic policy and mechanisms for its implementation. The author substantiates the conclusion that the development of the Russian Arctic zone can become a driving force for the qualitative growth of the national economy, the formation of the country's competitive advantages in the long term, as well as maintaining the global ecological balance and stability.

The Cold War, the Arab world, and West Germany’s ‘Mediterranean moment’, 1967–73

ABSTRACTAfter 1967, West Germany started to develop its own ‘Arab policy’. Its initial focus was not the Arab peninsula, but North Africa, particularly Algeria and Libya. The main reasons were what Bonn perceived to be strategic necessity in the face of a Soviet advance there and convenience, as the North African states seemed more open to West German overtures in the late 1960s. But Bonn’s strategy failed. By 1973 it re-calibrated its policy towards the Arab peninsula. Overall, this West German ‘Mediterranean moment’ illustrates how this ‘Arab policy’ was motivated by the dynamics of the Cold War in Central Europe.

Six Collective Challenges for Sustainability of Almería Greenhouse Horticulture.

Globally, current food consumption and trade are placing unprecedented demand on agricultural systems and increasing pressure on natural resources, requiring tradeoffs between food security and environmental impacts especially given the tension between market-driven agriculture and agro-ecological goals. In order to illustrate the wicked social, economic and environmental challenges and processes to find transformative solutions, we focus on the largest concentration of greenhouses in the world located in the semi-arid coastal plain of South-east Spain. Almería family farming, predominantly cooperative, greenhouse intensive production, commenced after the 1960s and has resulted in very significant social and economic benefits for the region, while also having important negative environmental and biodiversity impacts, as well as creating new social challenges. The system currently finds itself in a crisis of diminishing economic benefits and increasing environmental and social dilemmas. Here, we present the outcomes of multi-actor, transdisciplinary research to review and provide collective insights for solutions-oriented research on the sustainability of Almeria’s agricultural sector. The multi-actor, transdisciplinary process implemented collectively, and supported by scientific literature, identified six fundamental challenges to transitioning to an agricultural model that aims to ameliorate risks and avoid a systemic collapse, whilst balancing a concern for profitability with sustainability: (1) Governance based on a culture of shared responsibility for sustainability, (2) Sustainable and efficient use of water, (3) Biodiversity conservation, (4) Implementing a circular economy plan, (5) Technology and knowledge transfer, and (6) Image and identity. We conclude that the multi-actor transdisciplinary approach successfully facilitated the creation of a culture of shared responsibility among public, private, academic, and civil society actors. Notwithstanding plural values, challenges and solutions identified by consensus point to a nascent acknowledgement of the strategic necessity to locate agricultural economic activity within social and environmental spheres.This paper demonstrates the need to establish transdisciplinary multi-actor work-schemes to continue collaboration and research for the transition to an agro-ecological model as a means to remain competitive and to create value.

Imperial dialectics and epistemic mapping: From decolonisation to anti-Eurocentric IR

What would it mean to construct a post-imperial discipline rather than a ‘post-Western’ one? ‘Post-imperial’ means addressing the ways in which colonial empires divided the world into separate realms of human capability and thought. The binary categories of Western and Eastern, or Western and non-Western, represent one such way of dividing the world according to an imperial imaginary. Rather than merely excluding, these divisions created justifications for local universalisms and power structures. Yet, many anti-Eurocentric scholars now make use of these categories in order to argue for fixed epistemic differences between Western and non-Western populations. Accordingly, I critique the imperial division of the world by drawing on the intellectual trajectories of two thinkers who struggled against empire in the 20th century: WEB Du Bois and Frantz Fanon. Du Bois and Fanon were both aware of how ethnic and cultural foundations for politics could reproduce imperial order, and, therefore, offer potential alternatives to Western/non-Western ontologies. This includes recognising that representations of difference are processual, determined by strategic necessity, and subject to incentives to represent difference within hierarchical institutions. This article builds on recent studies in International Relations and other disciplines to think through the legacies of empire in knowledge production, and to push towards more historical and relational approaches to world political and social inquiry.

Pressure and the ability to randomize decision-making: The case of the pickoff play in Major League Baseball

In mixed strategy games, the ability to randomize decisions is a critical strategic necessity, yet studies show that such rational behavior is sometimes elusive. This paper examines mixed strategy play in a natural setting, by looking at a pitcher’s decision to throw the ball to home plate or to throw it to first base in a pickoff play. In the absence of significant pressure, we find that pitchers can effectively randomize their sequence of choices to remain unpredictable, as mixed strategy Nash equilibriums require. However, in the face of pressure, some pitchers are less able to randomize their choices. Our paper is the first empirical study in the English language literature to find that decision makers are unable to randomize their strategic decisions when they face an increased cognitive load due to pressure.

Релацията „стратегически иновации – ключови компетентности“ в условията на динамична конкурентна среда

The focus is placed on the leading issue in mesoeconomics: strategic innovation and the competitive mobility of business. The strategic innovations of companies are analyzed systematically in terms of the creation and distribution of value (worth) that is different from other market values, while key competencies are discussed as “special junctions” of routines and technologies without which it is impossible to diversify the potential markets. The necessity for the objective contradiction between competencies and markets to be continually overcome through strategic decisions and how the key competency for competitive cooperation (Co-opetition) becomes a strategic necessity in the dynamic conditions of the Fourth Industrial Revolution are justified. The analysis of the joint creation of new value factors with the help of clusters and other strategic alliances is carried out based on the following criteria: the minimization of possible costs and the maximization of possible sources for gaining added value; balancing the potential risks of interaction in the value network related to the contribution of each company towards achieving the common goal.

Decision Support System for Assigning Members to Agile Teams

The use of agile methodologies like SCRUM is seen by companies in the software engineering field as a strategic necessity for their competitiveness, which makes them more reactive and dynamic in an increasingly demanding and competitive international market. One of the critical factors in the implementation of a SCRUM environment is the set-up of teams that are simultaneously homogeneous and composed of the best collaborators for each SCRUM role. In this sense, this study describes the modeling process and presents the implementation of a decision support system that can contribute to improving the process of assigning an agile team simultaneously considering the technical and social skills of employees. The results of the study allowed testing the application considering different competencies associated to each Agile position, the impact that the attribution process suffers from oscillations in the process of evaluation and self-evaluation, and the impact in terms of the performance of the inclusion of new collaborators and criteria comparison.

Ghana-Korea Economic Relations – The Record after 40 Years and the Future

Abstract Over the last sixty years the economic and industrial fortunes of Ghana and Korea have proved worryingly divergent. Though Ghana and South Korea had comparatively similar GDP per capita in the 1960s, South Korea in 20171 ($29,742.839) has been able to attain a GDP per capita that is about ten times that of Ghana ($1,641.487). This work critically examines the economic relationship between Ghana and South Korea in the last forty years. It focuses on the economic miracle of South Korea and the lessons for developing countries like Ghana. The article utilizes economic, historical and policy data drawn from primary and secondary sources in an attempt to examine the economic relations between the two countries thus far and prescribe ways in which Ghana can benefit far more than ever before from her economic co-operation with Korea. The paper argues that for Ghana to benefit from its economic relations with South Korea the ideational example of this East Asian state in constructing a developmental state (DS) is critical. Flowing from this, it is recommended that this West African nation becomes more diligent and innovative in her economic relations with Korea as a matter of strategic necessity in pursuit of Ghana’s long held industrialization dream.

Land Transportation Link Between Indian Subcontinent and Europe Is a Strategic Necessity

This article is a brief overview of the land transportation link between Europe and the Indian subcontinent via Central Asia and the South Caucasus and Turkey. An emerging need for greater continental transit in Eurasia has been stressed upon apart from dealing with China’s strategy for connectivity, prospects for the ‘Southern Corridor’, and that continental transportation should be part of the strategic calculation of the governments and private sectors of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Optimization of High-Speed Railway Station Location Selection Based on Accessibility and Environmental Impact

High-speed railway (HSR) planners aim to select locations that optimize the overall utility or benefit of HSR stations by satisfying various desirable requirements. Among other factors, accessibility and environmental impact are important considerations for selecting a location for an HSR station. The desirable requirements of these two factors include improved access to, and intermodal integration with, existing transportation facilities and services (like airports, train stations, and bus stops); avoidance of environmentally sensitive areas (such as water bodies, wetlands, and forest) and land with higher right-of-way costs; and accommodation of strategic necessities (for example, proximity to city centers and socioeconomic development hubs). We quantify the overall utility of an HSR station by analyzing the extent to which a location satisfies these desirable requirements. For this, suitable utility functions were developed and evaluated. To obtain individual utility scores, we assigned appropriate weights based on relative importance. We then estimated the overall utility of a location as the weighted summation of these utility scores. A GIS-based analytical framework was specifically developed for geo-processing, mapping, and visualization of the geospatial data analysis and result representation. This utility-based quantification and identification process would be useful to planners in assessing an area and determining the most suitable station locations for an HSR project. The proposed model was used to identify the potential station locations along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR corridor in India and to compare the obtained results with the planned locations of the project.

Antisemitism, anti-racism and the Labour Party

Arguments about antisemitism need to be understood in the context of the current political conjuncture - a time of increased racism in the wider society, but also a time when the issue has been weaponised in order to attack Corbynism. There is a need to acknowledge the existence of antisemitism in the left and Labour Party, even while calling for recognition that it also exists in other parties. Within the Labour Party, antisemitism should not be dismissed by loyalists who see all criticism as an attack on Corbyn, but nor should it be instrumentalised by his critics. For Labour and the left there are three separate strategic necessities - none of them easy: the short-term goal of finding strategies that can help Labour win in the next election; and the longer term goals of separating the issue of criticism of Israel from the issue of antisemitism, and integrating antisemitism into ideas about racism, from which it has been separated. Instead of antisemitism being associated with criticism of Israel, it needs to be understood as an aspect of racism.