True Commitment Research Articles

Does ambition work? The effectiveness of local climate pledges in China

ABSTRACT This study employs a mixed research design to examine the effectiveness of local climate ambitions in China and identify the factors influencing their performance. The empirical results indicate that local governments’ ambitious climate pledges do not necessarily lead to better performance in low-carbon development compared to cities without such pledges. This conclusion is supported by various indices, including the low-carbon status index, the carbon emissions reduction trend index, the carbon peaking trend, and the decoupling degree of carbon emissions growth rate and GDP growth rate. By integrating the principal-agent theory, the study reveals that local governments often make climate pledges passively, driven by central government mandates rather than genuine ambition. This lack of true commitment is attributable to weak incentives and constraints, significant pressure to transition to low-carbon development, and the absence of robust monitoring and accounting systems.

Virtue Signaling or True Commitment? Understanding Implications of Social Justice Engagement

Virtue Signaling or True Commitment? Understanding Implications of Social Justice Engagement

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Patient and Family Advisory Councils: Advancing Best Practice in Children's Hospitals

This qualitative research study explored practices that support and advance diverse membership in Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs) in children's hospitals and the involvement of PFACs in organization-level diversity, equity, and inclusion work. This study consisted of a focused literature review and 17 key informant interviews. The study sought to identify important learnings about (1) recruiting and supporting patient and family advisors (PFAs) from historically marginalized populations and (2) ways to develop and sustain meaningful partnerships with PFAs and PFACs in diversity, equity, and inclusion work. The study findings highlighted a number of best practices for hospitals to adopt, including more actively reaching out to communities served, addressing barriers to participation through approaches and structures such as specialty PFACs and "tiered" options for participation by PFAs, and co-creation of inclusive environments. To move forward with this work, additional research, true commitment from health care organizations, and shared guidance and tools for the field are needed.

"I don't think of it as a shelter. I say I'm going home": a qualitative evaluation of a low-threshold shelter for women who use drugs.

In 2021-2022, encampments in a downtown Boston neighborhood reached record heights, increasing the visibility of drug use and homelessness in the city. In response, the city planned a "sweep" (i.e., eradication of encampments) and requested support from social services and medical providers to pilot low-threshold shelters. Low-threshold shelters reduce barriers to staying in traditional congregate shelters with more flexible regulations, longer-term bed assignments, and secured storage for contraband (e.g., drugs, weapons) instead of forced disposal. One homeless service provider opened a harm reduction-focused shelter for women who use drugs. This report describes the low-threshold shelter design and program evaluation. This program evaluation had two primary aims: (1) to examine guests' beliefs about shelter policies and practices; and (2) to understand the staff's experiences working in a low-threshold model. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 16 guests and 12 staff members during the summer 2022. Interviews were thematically analyzed. Guests expressed overwhelming approval for the shelter's policies, which they stated supported their autonomy, dignity, and safety. They emphasized the staff's willingness to build relationships, thus demonstrating true commitment to the guests. Guests highlighted the value of daytime access to the shelter, as it granted them autonomy over their time, reduced their substance use, and helped them build relationships with staff and other guests. The co-directors and staff designed the shelter quickly and without US models for reference; they turned to international literature, local harm reduction health care providers, and women living in encampments for guidance on the shelter policies. The staff were passionate and committed to the health and stability of the guests. Most staff found value in the low-threshold model, though some were challenged by it, believing it enabled drug use and did not require the guests to "get better." This evaluation indicates the value of low-threshold, harm reduction shelters as alternatives to traditional models. While these shelters do not mitigate the need for overarching housing reform, they are important measures to meet the needs of women experiencing unsheltered homelessness who face intersectional oppression.

Innovations for sustainability in the roll-out of the Sustainable Development Goals

Companies have been adapting their strategic decisions in order to align with Sustainable Development Goals since 2015. A motivation for companies to align their strategic decisions with Sustainable Development Goals is to gain legitimacy among supranational organizations, governments, and civil society. Some demonstrate the strength of their commitment to these goals by investing in innovations designed to boost their organizational performance; while others turn to greenwashing in a bid to maintain profits. Investing in sustainability innovations has become a key manifestation of firms’ commitment to Sustainable Development. This study aims to analyse the interaction between sustainability commitment, innovations for sustainability and organizational performance. A sample of 3,420 companies for the period 2015 to 2020 is used to test two working hypotheses. Despite the significant gains it brings in terms of sustainability performance, the results show that investing in innovation for sustainability carries the risk of short-term losses. This has several implications. Some companies may subscribe to Sustainable Development Goals in their pursuit of legitimacy rather than out of true commitment. However, actual engagement in innovation for sustainability can attract potential investors, and, in our view, should be encouraged by politicians and lawmakers.

Responsibility of a man in the teaching of the Catholic Church

Writing this article was inspired by the words of John Paul II spoken during his third pilgrimage to Poland, which concerned parental responsibility for life, for love, for upbringing and which were reinforced with the statement that a man should be the first to undertake this responsibility. This study is aimed at presenting some selected elements of the teaching of the Catholic Church regarding the responsibility of men, as well as at considering the Church’s position on defining a man in the context of his fundamental role, which is fatherhood. The source literature of this text consists of selected documents of the Catholic Church. The available studies on the indicated subject were also analyzed. On the basis of the conducted research, it can be concluded that the teaching of the Catholic Church draws attention to the divine origin of the human and treats parenthood as an area of ​​special cooperation between the Creator and the creation. It is emphasized that human parenthood should be primarily responsible, therefore joint decisions of both spouses regarding procreation should be made freely and thoughtfully. A mature man is aware of his responsibility for building a world in accordance with the Creator’s intention, and therefore he does not agree to any form of depriving marital coexistence of the double sign: of strengthening the mutual bond and of procreation. A man’s responsibility for life is most strongly expressed through his opposition to any actions that violate human dignity in such a delicate area as procreation of life. In the context of a man’s responsibility for upbringing, it should be stated that healthy fatherhood consists in conscious, permanent building of relationships first with the wife and then with the child. A man should actively participate in the child’s life with true commitment. The education of successive generations of men requires the visible presence of a man-husband-father in the family, who does not liberate himself from his male obligations by reckless shifting them to a woman-wife-mother, but brings to the family all the features and behaviour patterns of a mature and responsible man, such as self-control, constant work on his own character and setting high requirements for himself. The undertaken issues seem particularly important from the perspective of the human being, whose one of the most important characteristics is development, permanent maturation to new challenges. Due to the unchangeable human nature, it can be said that the teaching of the Catholic Church on male responsibility remains valid despite the changing living conditions of successive generations.

Mental health problems in first‐generation university students: A scoping review

AbstractDespite growing concern about mental health problems in university students and increasing recognition that first‐generation university students (FGS) may face additional challenges, there has been no previous attempt to map the existing research on FGS mental health. The aim of this scoping review was to elicit current understanding of mental health problems in FGS from the literature. Following database searches and screening, 40 peer‐reviewed articles were included in the scoping review. Findings from these studies were synthesised for: types of mental health problems in FGS; prevalence of mental health problems in FGS compared to continuing‐generation students (CGS); factors associated with mental health problems in FGS; effects of mental health problems on FGS; help‐seeking for mental health problems in FGS; and interventions. Significant gaps were highlighted and recommendations made for future research, particularly outside the United States. True commitment to widening participation demands much more research on mental health problems in FGS to ensure that they thrive not just arrive. Context and implications Rationale for this studyThe aim of this scoping review was to map the existing international research on mental health problems in first‐generation university students (FGS).Why do the new findings matter?The scoping review synthesises findings from 40 empirical studies published in peer‐reviewed journals, giving valuable insights into mental health problems in FGS and highlighting significant gaps in our understanding.Implications for higher education researchers and universitiesThe findings of the scoping review are a call to action for future research in this field. More studies are needed, particularly outside the United States, using a variety of research designs to gain a more comprehensive understanding of mental health problems in FGS. This research should be prioritised so that universities are provided with evidence‐based recommendations to mitigate and/or address mental health problems in FGS, thereby helping to ensure that they thrive in higher education.

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Climate neutral cities in Sweden: True commitment or hollow statements?

More cities have started trajectories to become climate neutral, especially for their territorial emissions. However, while cities are also targeting consumption-based emissions, whether their plans are sufficient to become climate neutral from both a territorial and a consumption-based perspective remains unclear.We designed a conceptual framework based on a literature review of urban climate mitigation and reviewed mitigation–related documents from nine Swedish cities. We found a strong political will and solid targets but gaps in the plans and actions mostly related to transport, construction and food. Municipal governments use “soft” policy instruments to meet climate targets; at times, economic instruments contradict the vision. Our evaluation indicates a disconnect between intent and outcomes.More regulatory instruments must be deployed to become climate-neutral, and economic incentives must be aligned with the vision. Understanding how climate mitigation strategies affect resources within the city will be necessary to ensure the acceptance and uptake of climate action plans. Collaboration with superordinate governments, within and outside national borders, will be essential to align on policy and policy instruments.

The power of the CEO and environmental decoupling

AbstractThis paper examines the impact of the power of the chief executive officer (CEO) on environmental decoupling. We define environmental decoupling as a gap between firm's claims about the environmental sustainability and actual environmental sustainability performance. Based on the managerial power theory, we argue that powerful managers are more involved in environmental decoupling and use environmental reporting in a more opportunistic manner than their less powerful peers. We analyse a dataset of 4576 firm‐year observations of US‐listed firms for the period 2002–2017. We find that powerful CEOs decouple firm's environmental performance from environmental reporting. These findings are robust to a battery of analyses and show that powerful CEOs do not show true commitment towards corporate environmental sustainability. The results provide important implications for investors, policymakers and fund managers. Useful future research recommendations are also provided to guide the research in the domain of environmental sustainability.

Corruption and economic growth in the Republic of Serbia

Corruption is a phenomenon that causes strong economic, political, social and moral deviations in modern society, and for these reasons it represents a very relevant topic of research. Economic science is a powerful tool for analysing corruption, and the economic approach is of fundamental importance for understanding where the incentive for corruption is the greatest and where its influence is the most pronounced. Opposing all forms of economic destruction would facilitate the functioning of the economic system, simultaneously generating fiscal revenues, and a true commitment to the fight against corruption, strengthening the rule of law, improving the efficiency of institutional reforms and the judicial system would encourage long-term economic growth. The transition is also one of the significant factors that initiates the expansion of corruption in numerous young transitional states, including the Republic of Serbia. Therefore, the essential goal of this paper is to collect and offer a wider range of information and knowledge about the genesis of the problem. Proceeding from the previously defined problem, the hypothesis on which this work is based is as follows: so far, theoretical and practical research on the impact of corruption on economic growth confirms that the relationship between corrupt practices in our country and basic macroeconomic and microeconomic indicators is inversely proportional.

Sustainability as fairness: A Rawlsian framework linking intergenerational equity and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) with business practices

AbstractThe article explores sustainability from a normative perspective to determine the legitimate uses of the concept in general and in business practices in particular. It is evident that when sustainability is used as an instrumental bluff to maximize profits, it is being diverted from its main objective: intergenerational and environmental justice. To avoid that trap, most of the justifications in favor of sustainable business adopt a structure based on the idea that sustainability conceived as a particular policy can bring benefits to society and to businesses. Strategic management based on stakeholder theory appears often as a pertinent solution to this problem: considering future generations as valid stakeholders would allow to integrate sustainability into the calculation. But stakeholder capitalism defends a pragmatist view that erases the borders between strategy and ethics. It considers sustainable goals as normative goods as well as strategic means for cost‐effective results. We think that it is insufficient to treat and understand sustainability as a matter of justice and fairness that ought to be addressed by businesses. We defend that in the case of sustainability only moral justifications are logically valid and consistent. Hence, we suggest an argument based on the Rawlsian conception of justice as fairness. Thinking behind the veil of ignorance in the original position allows to defend sustainability as an economic and social model needed not only to secure a fair distribution of basic goods or capabilities between generations, but also to preserve the consistency of any true commitment with the concept of fairness.

Marriage Break-Ups and Its Effect on Children’s Future: An Exploration of the Novel Custody

Marriage life needs true commitment, love and respect. Many marriage couples today lack understanding which results in break-ups and divorces. This affects the couple as well as their children. Successful marriage with the couple’s loyalty and love make their children grow up in a pleasant atmosphere with good mindset. Optimistic approach of parents, their sacrifice and care among the family members give progressive societal environment to children. The present generation of children is very intellectual in scrutinizing the happenings around them and hence parents need to keep the surrounding perfect. Parental care and secure life are the principal things to be given to the children for their future life. When trust and respect between a husband and wife are ruined, children’s trust and respect on their parents will too be spoiled. Especially the separation between a husband and a wife affects their children’s future. Their lack of concentration on their children leads their lives to a drastic hole which results in devastation of their future. This study focuses on marriage break-ups and how parents’ lifestyle affects children and their holistic growth. It has been applied in Manju Kapur’s novel Custody which portrays marriage bond through a middle-class family and explains the impact of husband and wife’s controversies on children. The existing condition of many families and general issues have been analyzed deeply and presented with reference to the novel. This research article represents essential needs of strong marriage bond and the significance of parents’ love for the betterment of children’s life.

Revisiting the Exhibits-Medical Student Reflections on Changes to the Institutional Portraiture at a US Medical School.

Yale School of Medicine's (YSM) Sterling Hall of Medicine (SHM) has historically been lined with large oil paintings of mostly White men, despite over a century of Black and female enrollment. These spaces can be seen as exclusionary to students underrepresented in medicine, and may result in decreased well-being and adversely affect academic performance. Student-led activism has resulted in recent changes to these walls, including the addition of images of women faculty, and artwork by students, faculty, and staff. We aimed to evaluate how recent changes to longstanding historical portraiture in SHM affected students' reflections on being in that space. This was a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews conducted virtually. Second- to fourth-year YSM medical students were interviewed. Qualitative interviews were used to gauge students' impressions of how they perceived both the original and updated artwork and portraiture, as well as the overall physical environment. Nine interviews were conducted, with interviewees describing the portraiture as reflective of YSM's institutional values. They related this to other aspects of an exclusionary environment, and noted that they created belonging at YSM within smaller communities. Students recognized and expressed appreciation for the changes to the portraiture, particularly the increase in diverse representation, and they noted stark contrasts to the prior space. While they describe positive attitudes regarding changes in SHM's exhibited portraiture and art, they also expressed skepticism about whether these changes were performative or whether they reflected true commitment to reform. This study depicts how the portraiture and physical environment of a medical school affects medical students, and that interventions to reform institutional portraiture can have considerable impact on students' attitudes regarding their medical school experiences.

In the Quest for True Commitment: The Finnish Aid Paradigm and the 0.7 Target in Domestic Politics

In contrast to its Nordic neighbours, Finland has failed to fulfil the 0.7 per cent of GNI target for development assistance over the past three decades. This has been the case despite restated commitments ‘to reach 0.7’ by every government since 1993 and Finland’s otherwise progressive role as a Nordic donor. This inconsistency, but also the Finnish aid approach in general, has been charted by only a few academic contributions. In this article, we begin by revisiting the Finnish aid paradigm for background purposes and identify continuities and changes including degrees of change [Hall, P., 1993, ‘Policy paradigms, social learning, and the state: The case of economic policymaking in Britain’, Comparative Politics, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 275–296] since the early 1990s. Then we shift our focus to the 0.7 target in the context of domestic political forces [Lancaster, C., 2007, Foreign Aid: Diplomacy, Development, Domestic Politics, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press] that shape Finnish aid. In addition, we provide snapshots of the two most significant changes in Finnish aid that relate to aid volume (centred in 1991 and 2015) and address them through the conceptual lenses of de/politicisation [Wood, M., 2015, ‘Puzzling and powering in policy paradigm shifts: politicisation, depoliticisation and social learning’, Critical Policy Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 2–21]. We conclude that some strong underlying continuities can be identified in the Finnish aid paradigm (1993–2021) concerning particularly poverty reduction, the role of aid, foreign and commercial policy self-interests as well as global concerns. The aspirations to reach the 0.7 per cent target are also a part of this continuum. However, domestic political forces related to the Finnish government coalitions and budgetary politics hinder the fulfilment of the self-declared 0.7 target. Furthermore, the largely depoliticised nature of both aid and these dynamics make it difficult to change the course towards true commitment.

Financial Market, Monetary Policy and Economic Growth: Evidence from Nigeria

This study examined the impact of financial market and monetary policy on the Nigerian economy since Nigeria introduced democratic rule in 2001 to 2020. Financial market was proxied by total market capitalization, while monetary policy was proxied by money supply, and interest rate the moderator variable. The ADF unit root was adopted to test the level of stationarity of the variables, and all the variables attained stationarity either at first difference or at second difference. The study adopted the regression analysis as the data analysis method. Findings from the study revealed that: Market capitalization, a proxy for financial market had positive and significant impact on Gross Domestic Product, a proxy for the Nigerian economy, Money supply, a proxy for monetary policy had positive and significant impact on Gross Domestic Product, a proxy for the Nigerian economy and Interest rate, a moderator variable had a positive but not significant impact on Gross Domestic Product, a proxy for the Nigerian economy. The study therefore recommends that: Government should restore confidence in the financial market by showing true commitment and sincerity of purpose in the capital market probe, there is need for a diversified investment instruments in the capital market whereby debt and derivative instruments will assume as much prominence as ownership instruments and Government should do everything possible to provide a safe and conducive investment climate by nipping in the bud, the prevalent activities of terrorist and kidnappers. This will not only encourage the Nigerian investors, but also attract foreign investors into the Nigerian capital market.

Ambiguous stability of glaciers at bed peaks

AbstractIncreasing ice flux from glaciers retreating over deepening (retrograde) bed topography has been implicated in the recent acceleration of mass loss from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. We show in observations that some glaciers have remained at peaks in bed topography without retreating despite enduring significant changes in climate. Observations also indicate that some glaciers which persist at bed peaks undergo sudden retreat years or decades after the onset of local ocean or atmospheric warming. Using model simulations, we show that persistence of a glacier at a bed peak is caused by ice slowing as it flows up a reverse-sloping bed to the peak. Persistence at bed peaks may lead to two very different future behaviors for a glacier: one where it persists at a bed peak indefinitely, and another where it retreats from the bed peak after potentially long delays following climate forcing. However, it is nearly impossible to distinguish which of these two future behaviors will occur from current observations. We conclude that inferring glacier stability from observations of persistence obscures our true commitment to future sea-level rise under climate change. We recommend that further research is needed on seemingly stable glaciers to determine their likely future.

Post-purchase Federal Financial Aid: How (in)Effective is the IRS's Student Loan Interest Deduction (SLID)in Reaching Lower-Income Taxpayers and Students?

Federal financial aid policies for higher education may be classified based on their “for-purchase” and “post-purchase” natures. The former include grants, loans, and workstudy and intend to help students finance or afford college attendance, persistence, and graduation. Post-purchase policies are designed to minimize financial burdens associated with having invested in college attendance and are granted as tax incentives/expenditures. One of these expenditures is the IRS’s Student Loan Interest Deduction (SLID)—which offers up to $2500 as an adjustment for taxable income based on having paid interest on student loans and has an annual cost of $12.81 billion—about 45.7% of the Pell grant cost. Despite this high cost, SLID has remained virtually unstudied. Accordingly, the study’s purpose is to assess how (in)effective SLID may be in reaching lower-income taxpayers. To address this purpose, we relied on an innovative analytic framework “multilevel modelling with spatial interaction effects” that allowed controlling for contextual and systemic observed and unobserved factors that may both affect college participation and may be related with SLID disbursements over and above income prospects. Data sources included the IRS, ACS, FBI, IPEDS, and the NPSAS:2015–2016. Findings revealed that SLID is regressive at the top, wealthier taxpayers and students attending more expensive colleges realize higher tax benefits than lower income taxpayers and students. Indeed, 75% of community college students were found to not be eligible to receive SLID—data and replication code (https://cutt.ly/COyfdKC) are provided. Is this the best use of this multibillion tax incentive? Is SLID designed to exclude the poorest, neediest students? A policy similar to Education Credits, focused on outstanding debt rather than on interest, that targets below-poverty line students with up to $5000 in debt, would represent a true commitment, and better use of public funds, to close socioeconomic gaps, by helping those more prone to default.

Federalism Practice in Nepal: Does it Move in the Expected Course?

This study examines how far Nepal's current practice of federalism has progressed toward people's aspirations, based on power separation, public trust, power equalization, and intergovernmental relationships. Primary data was collected on purposively 72 key informant interviews, which were then triangulated by the KII response. Finding demonstrates that functions and authorities were devolved in accordance with the principle of separation of powers at all three levels of government. However, the constitutional provisions were completely disregarded, and power was centralized by an unholy alliance of political leadership and bureaucracy. Second, people expected the democratic government to take a welfare approach to ensure greater pluralism and alliances, but special interests of politicians for their election constituencies, as well as identity-based issues, caused havoc in the effective operation of federalism. Third, the provision of three tiers of power-sharing mechanisms was based on coexistence, cooperation, and coordination. However, the federal government appears hesitant to support sub-national governments due to the centralized mindset of bureaucrats and politicians. Fourth, the constitution has focused on intergovernmental relations, but such relationships fail due to imbalances in vertical and horizontal relationships, fiscal dependency, and the bureaucracy's power-seeking attitude. In the end, two key questions for the discussions are raised. First, the institutionalization of accountability at the local level is it a true commitment, or is it merely an ivory tower? Second, the provision of autonomy has been used as a means of transformation or simply as a bargaining tool at the local level?

What Art and Design Do for Social Inclusion in the Public Sphere

Art and design can meaningfully contribute to social change. It can shift debates, change perspectives, raise awareness, and act upon visible and invisible mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion of different agents occupying the public sphere. In this thematic issue we invited authors to relate to this claim as they preferred: by bringing evidence to support it, refute it, or simply to discuss the potential benefits and harms of artistically inspired and design related interventions in citizens living environment. We challenged authors to rethink agency and engage theoretically or empirically with how art and design installations act upon us, citizens, and vice‐versa. The result is a compilation of different storylines, coming from different geographical parts of the world and written from a variety of cultural perspectives. What binds these contributions is a true commitment to open up a space for those experiencing challenging life circumstances to access, occupy, or transform the public sphere. Our collective engagement with concepts such as power, prejudice, harassment or discrimination was not focused on erasing differences. Instead, we engaged with the idea that certain differences should matter less than they currently do in creating a safe and accessible public space for all.