Virtual teamwork in the context of technological and cultural transformation

Megatrends affect all individuals and organizations in our society. Mobility and flexibility are examples of megatrends that influence our everyday lives and also intensely alter the ways we work. The deployment of virtual teams meets the new chances emerging with these trends. Employees aspire to work virtually due to benefits, such as flexibility regarding the locations and hours for working. Organizations deploy virtual teams to remain competitive regarding new technological opportunities, employee retention and cost efficiency in an increasingly digital environment. Organizations can guide their change towards virtuality by building on the knowledge of practice as well as scientific insights regarding the deployment of virtual teams. In order to provide a holistic view on the structures and processes affected by such a change and thus provide guidance, a framework for analyzing and planning organizational change is adapted to virtual teamwork and presented in this paper. The framework shows that the deployment of virtual teams affects the whole organization. This comprehensive view on the implementation of virtual teamwork allows an integration of virtual teams and focusses on their performance. The adapted framework furthermore provides links for further in-depth research in this field

Virtual teamwork in the context of technological and cultural transformation

Megatrends affect all individuals and organizations in our society. Mobility and flexibility are examples of megatrends that influence our everyday lives and also intensely alter the ways we work. The deployment of virtual teams meets the new chances emerging with these trends. Employees aspire to work virtually due to benefits, such as flexibility regarding the locations and hours for working. Organizations deploy virtual teams to remain competitive regarding new technological opportunities, employee retention and cost efficiency in an increasingly digital environment. Organizations can guide their change towards virtuality by building on the knowledge of practice as well as scientific insights regarding the deployment of virtual teams. In order to provide a holistic view on the structures and processes affected by such a change and thus provide guidance, a framework for analyzing and planning organizational change is adapted to virtual teamwork and presented in this paper. The framework shows that the deployment of virtual teams affects the whole organization. This comprehensive view on the implementation of virtual teamwork allows an integration of virtual teams and focusses on their performance. The adapted framework furthermore provides links for further in-depth research in this field

The ECOWAS Court, Activist Forces, and the Pursuit of Environmental and Socioeconomic Justice in Nigeria

The thesis has two objectives. The first (and central) objective is to examine the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS Court (a sub-regional international court in West Africa), and its role within the West African region, especially how the Court has served as a resource for the Activist Forces that operate in the sub-region, in their pursuit of Environmental and Socioeconomic Justice in Nigeria. The second goal of this thesis, which is ancillary to the first, is to investigate the Courts jurisprudence in three landmark cases: SERAP v. Nigeria & Anor (2010); SERAP v. Nigeria & 8 Ors (2012); and SERAP & 10 Ors v. Nigeria & 4 Ors (2014). The purpose of these case studies is to advance the first thesis objective by analyzing how the ECOWAS Court has advanced the justiciability of environmental and socioeconomic rights despite domestic limitations. This is significant for poor and marginalized populations e.g. those in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria where natural resource extraction has for decades been largely unfavorable to the wellbeing and development of the people. This thesis contributes to the legal literature on human rights systems in Africa by analyzing how the norms, processes and creative spaces made available by the ECOWAS Court has contributed to the struggles waged by local activist forces in Nigeria. In the process of developing this analysis, it deploys theories propounded by several quasi-constructivists, particularly Okafors theory of correspondence, a unique model for estimating the extent of the internalization of human rights norms without abandoning the regular compliance model for assessing the fulfillment by states of their international human rights law obligations

The ECOWAS Court, Activist Forces, and the Pursuit of Environmental and Socioeconomic Justice in Nigeria

The thesis has two objectives. The first (and central) objective is to examine the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS Court (a sub-regional international court in West Africa), and its role within the West African region, especially how the Court has served as a resource for the Activist Forces that operate in the sub-region, in their pursuit of Environmental and Socioeconomic Justice in Nigeria. The second goal of this thesis, which is ancillary to the first, is to investigate the Courts jurisprudence in three landmark cases: SERAP v. Nigeria & Anor (2010); SERAP v. Nigeria & 8 Ors (2012); and SERAP & 10 Ors v. Nigeria & 4 Ors (2014). The purpose of these case studies is to advance the first thesis objective by analyzing how the ECOWAS Court has advanced the justiciability of environmental and socioeconomic rights despite domestic limitations. This is significant for poor and marginalized populations e.g. those in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria where natural resource extraction has for decades been largely unfavorable to the wellbeing and development of the people. This thesis contributes to the legal literature on human rights systems in Africa by analyzing how the norms, processes and creative spaces made available by the ECOWAS Court has contributed to the struggles waged by local activist forces in Nigeria. In the process of developing this analysis, it deploys theories propounded by several quasi-constructivists, particularly Okafors theory of correspondence, a unique model for estimating the extent of the internalization of human rights norms without abandoning the regular compliance model for assessing the fulfillment by states of their international human rights law obligations

A semantic methodology for (un)structured digital evidences analysis

Nowadays, more than ever, digital forensics activities are involved in any criminal, civil or military investigation and represent a fundamental tool to support cyber-security. Investigators use a variety of techniques and proprietary software forensic applications to examine the copy of digital devices, searching hidden, deleted, encrypted, or damaged files or folders. Any evidence found is carefully analysed and documented in a "finding report" in preparation for legal proceedings that involve discovery, depositions, or actual litigation. The aim is to discover and analyse patterns of fraudulent activities. In this work, a new methodology is proposed to support investigators during the analysis process, correlating evidences found through different forensic tools. The methodology was implemented through a system able to add semantic assertion to data generated by forensics tools during extraction processes. These assertions enable more effective access to relevant information and enhanced retrieval and reasoning capabilities

Consumer Subjectivity in the Age of Internet: The Radical Concept of Marketing Control Through Customer Relationship Management

In this paper, we present a poststructuralist analysis of customer database technology. This approach allows us to regard customer databases as configurations of language that produce new and significant discursive effects. In particular, we focus on the role of databases and related technologies such as customer relationship management (CRM) in the discursive construction of both customers and customer relationships. First, we argue that organizations become the authors of customer identities, using the language of the database to configure customer representation. From this perspective, we can see the radical innovation that the customer database brings to the organizational construction of its market: the emergence of the individualized customer. The cultural novelty of the database—ignored by instrumental analyses of information technology—also requires a theoretical reconceptualization of the notion of virtual identity. Against existing positions, we posit a non-essentialist theory of virtual identity where the subject is constituted outside the immediacy of consciousness and thus emerges as the result of the technological and linguistic context in which it was produced. Second, we take our analysis of the discursive construction of the customer further by proposing that the emergence of the individualized customer was the prerequisite of the social construction of CRM as one-on-one affair between the customer and the organization. We suggest that this is a limited and limiting understanding of the concept of customer relationships especially if the one-on-one relationship is placed in a computer-mediated environment (CME). By mobilizing theories of play developed in the fields of human–computer interaction and consumer research, we propose that organizations would benefit from opening up the current discourse on CRM to include relationships between customers, customers and non-customers, and customers and the virtual organization

The Brazilian Amazon Timber Industry and the International Mechanisms of Timber Trade Control – Combating Illegal Logging and Associated Trade

Illegal logging and its associated trade are one of the main causes of degradation of the Amazonian Rainforest in Brazil. They spring from several deficiencies in the regulatory and monitoring systems. The purpose of this work is to recommend mechanisms to overcome these deficiencies to eliminate illegal logging and its associated trade in the long-term and to enhance the appreciation of the standing forests and the sustainable use of their natural resources. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the Brazilian tropical timber market’s trends, and briefly describes the main stages of timber supply chain to build familiarity with the activities surrounding it. Chapter 2 presents the aspects of the Brazilian federal environmental regulatory system of timber supply chain that are essential for further analysis of illegal undertakings. Chapter 3 provides information on the factual aspects of illegal logging and associated trade in the Amazon. It analyzes the sector’s features and deficiencies and examines how effective the enforcement of the Brazilian environmental law has been to date. Chapter 4 describes the international mechanisms of timber trade control in use worldwide. It focuses on those systems that are the most effective and have beneficial impact – or potential beneficial impact if better promoted – on the Brazilian timber industry. Finally, chapter 5 recommends a multi-faceted approach to be implemented by the Brazilian Government with the cooperation of the international community, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. It suggests strategies to promote effective international timber trade control mechanisms within the Brazilian Amazon timber industry, and to adapt effective tools provided by those mechanisms to the Brazilian environmental regulatory system. These strategies include instruments from the United States Lacey Act and the European Union Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade Action Plan, forest certification schemes, and the International Forest Regime. This work also provides recommendations to improve the efficiency of control mechanisms that are currently but poorly implemented in Brazil

The Role of Justice in Colombia’s Renewable Energy Transition: Wind Energy Development in Wayúu Territory

Amidst the defining issue of our time – climate change – the world faces an imperative to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, aligning with the 2015 Paris Agreement goals. This global focus on low-carbon energy infrastructure has brought forth local socio-environmental conflicts, and at the heart of this transition lies La Guajira, a peninsula in northern Colombia, home to the indigenous Wayúu people and abundant wind energy resources. This research delves into the critical role of energy justice as large-scale wind energy projects expand in La Guajira. By examining the struggles faced by the Wayúu people provoked by wind energy development in their ancestral territory, the study integrates the energy justice framework with qualitative data collected through fieldwork in Colombia. The investigation focuses on perceived injustices by Wayúu communities during indigenous consultation processes, examined in relation to procedural, distributional, and recognition justice. The research approach includes 22 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, including community leaders, grassroots organizations, government authorities, industry representatives, and scholars; it also draws from participant observations, site visits, and policy analysis, all gathered within a collaborative research process with Wayúu female leaders. By amplifying the voices of the Wayúu people and acknowledging historical imbalances, this research aims to contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable energy transition policy in Colombia and beyond. The findings shed light on the multiple injustices endured by the Wayúu community, including the lack of recognition of their culture, biased consultation procedures, and at times reinforcing broader structural inequalities. The study advocates for restorative justice and an intersectional approach to inform energy policies and indigenous consultation laws. Achieving a just energy transition in La Guajira is paramount, not only to reconcile historical resistance against the fossil fuel industry but also to align with the urgent goals of combatting climate change. Ignoring energy justice concerns risks perpetuating grave injustices, threatening indigenous communities’ cultural integrity, livelihood, and environment