3,977 research outputs found
On the Mechanism of Building Core Competencies: a Study of Chinese Multinational Port Enterprises
This study aims to explore how Chinese multinational port enterprises (MNPEs) build
their core competencies. Core competencies are firmsâspecial capabilities and sources
to gain sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) in marketplace, and the concept led
to extensive research and debates. However, few studies include inquiries about the
mechanisms of building core competencies in the context of Chinese MNPEs.
Accordingly, answers were sought to three research questions:
1. What are the core competencies of the Chinese MNPEs?
2. What are the mechanisms that the Chinese MNPEs use to build their core
competencies?
3. What are the paths that the Chinese MNPEs pursue to build their resources bases?
The study adopted a multiple-case study design, focusing on building mechanism of
core competencies with RBV. It selected purposively five Chinese leading MNPEs
and three industry associations as Case Companies.
The study revealed three main findings. First, it identified three generic core
competencies possessed by Case Companies, i.e., innovation in business models and
operations, utilisation of technologies, and acquisition of strategic resources. Second,
it developed the conceptual framework of the Mechanism of Building Core
Competencies (MBCC), which is a process of change of collective learning in
effective and efficient utilization of resources of a firm in response to critical events.
Third, it proposed three paths to build core competencies, i.e., enhancing collective
learning, selecting sustainable processes, and building resource base.
The study contributes to the knowledge of core competencies and RBV in three ways:
(1) presenting three generic core competencies of the Chinese MNPEs, (2) proposing
a new conceptual framework to explain how Chinese MNPEs build their core
competencies, (3) suggesting a solid anchor point (MBCC) to explain the links among
resources, core competencies, and SCA. The findings set benchmarks for Chinese
logistics industry and provide guidelines to build core competencies
Building body identities - exploring the world of female bodybuilders
This thesis explores how female bodybuilders seek to develop and maintain a viable sense of self despite being stigmatized by the gendered foundations of what Erving Goffman (1983) refers to as the 'interaction order'; the unavoidable presentational context in which identities are forged during the course of social life. Placed in the context of an overview of the historical treatment of women's bodies, and a concern with the development of bodybuilding as a specific form of body modification, the research draws upon a unique two year ethnographic study based in the South of England, complemented by interviews with twenty-six female bodybuilders, all of whom live in the U.K. By mapping these extraordinary women's lives, the research illuminates the pivotal spaces and essential lived experiences that make up the female bodybuilder. Whilst the women appear to be embarking on an 'empowering' radical body project for themselves, the consequences of their activity remains culturally ambivalent. This research exposes the 'Janus-faced' nature of female bodybuilding, exploring the ways in which the women negotiate, accommodate and resist pressures to engage in more orthodox and feminine activities and appearances
How to Be a God
When it comes to questions concerning the nature of Reality, Philosophers and Theologians have the answers.
Philosophers have the answers that canât be proven right. Theologians have the answers that canât be proven wrong.
Todayâs designers of Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games create realities for a living. They canât spend centuries mulling over the issues: they have to face them head-on. Their practical experiences can indicate which theoretical proposals actually work in practice.
Thatâs todayâs designers. Tomorrowâs will have a whole new set of questions to answer.
The designers of virtual worlds are the literal gods of those realities. Suppose Artificial Intelligence comes through and allows us to create non-player characters as smart as us. What are our responsibilities as gods? How should we, as gods, conduct ourselves?
How should we be gods
Platform protocol place: a practice-based study of critical media art practice (2007-2020)
This practice-based research project focuses on critical media art practices in contemporary digital culture. The theoretical framework employed in this inquiry draws from the work of the Frankfurt School, in particular Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimerâs The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. Using Adorno & Horkheimerâs thesis as a theoretical guide, this research project formulates the concept of the digital culture industry - a concept that refers to the contemporary era of networked capitalism, an era defined by the unprecedented extraction, accumulation and manipulation of data and the material and digital infrastructures that facilitate it. This concept is used as a framing mechanism that articulates certain techno-political concerns within networked capitalism and responds to them through practice.
The second concept formulated within this research project is Platform Protocol Place. The function of this second concept is to frame and outline the body of practice-based work developed in this study. It is also used to make complex technological issues accessible and to communicate these issues through public exhibition and within this written thesis.
The final concept developed in this research project is tactical media archaeology. This concept describes the techniques and approaches employed in the development of the body of practice-based work that are the central focus of this research project. This approach is a synthesis of two subfields of media art practice and theory, tactical media and media archaeology. Through practice, tactical media archaeology critiques the geopolitical machinations and systems beneath the networked devices and interfaces of the digital culture industry
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT IN SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING IN INDONESIA
This research aims to understand the ways the preparers of sustainability reports in Indonesia embed stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting. This research seeks to understand the perceived role of stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting and examines whether the report preparers decouple their stakeholder engagement disclosures from the actual practices. The neo-institutional theory is used to illuminate the companiesâ non-conformity responses to institutional influences.
This research utilises mixed methods by deploying questionnaires, sustainability reports and semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire survey was analysed using descriptive statistics. The interviews were conducted face-to-face and analysed using thematic analysis. Content analysis of stakeholder engagement disclosures was also undertaken on the 2007 to 2018 sustainability reports issued by the companies participating in the interviews.
The findings of this research reveal that the report preparers attempt to embed stakeholder engagement in the companiesâ sustainability reporting in response to coercive, normative and mimetic influences. However, stakeholder engagement is loosely embedded as a result of contextualising the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)âs conception of stakeholder engagement into Indonesiaâs local contexts. Stakeholder engagement is perceived as having important roles in mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes and materiality assessment to define the report content. External stakeholders are engaged more inclusively in the former whereas internal stakeholders take control of the latter.
It is not evident that the report preparers in Indonesia decouple stakeholder engagement disclosures from practices. However, the ways in which the companies practise their stakeholder engagement (means) deviate from the goals of stakeholder engagement suggested by the GRIâs principles for defining the report content (ends), known as the means-ends decoupling. The report preparers in Indonesia accept the GRIâs concept by meeting the suggested indicators, but unintentionally overlook the GRIâs principles that are required to be implemented as a new institution, rather than intentionally avoiding them.
The main contribution of this research to the literature is that it provides insights into the need to embed stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting in an integral way, including by translating the GRIâs global conception into local context. This research also provides insights into the presumption that âcompanies report the practiceâ of stakeholder engagement in sustainability reportingâas suggested by the GRI and the extant literature. Just because the companies report the practice (means) by making reference to the GRI, it does not necessarily follow that the companies have conformed to the goals of stakeholder engagement suggested by the GRIâs principles for defining the report content (ends). Taking into full consideration Indonesiaâs politicoeconomic, sociocultural and legal contexts, which can be dissimilar to other local contexts, this research contributes to an understanding of decoupling, especially the means-ends decoupling, which tends to be unintentional in the companiesâ non-acquiescent response to institutional influences. The decoupling indicates that the report preparers consider the GRIâs stakeholder engagement indicators as technical prescriptions leading to box-ticking activities, rather than being thoroughly understood and implemented as a new institution. Besides, this research offers a practical contribution in that the companiesâ sustainability reporting consultants could shepherd their clientsâ stakeholder engagement, guided by the GRI standards (previously called guidelines), to go beyond merely meeting the GRI indicators and producing ânice to readâ sustainability reports
fteval JOURNAL for Research and Technology Policy Evaluation (53). Proceedings of the REvaluation 2021|22 Conference
Proceedings of the REvaluation 2021|22 Conferenc
Changing ideas about corporate social responsibility CSR and development in Context: The case of Mauritius
The idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has risen to prominence with remarkable rapidity in recent years. Although the literature on contemporary CSR has concentrated almost exclusively on advanced capitalist countries, CSR is increasingly being promoted in a developing country context as an important mechanism for furthering economic and social development goals. Yet, there is currently very limited research about whether contemporary CSR can in fact assist in development. This thesis seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge in this area. The first, theoretical, part of the thesis explores changing ideas about the nature of CSR, and argues that contemporary ideas of CSR are ameliorative in nature, marking a fundamental shift from the original, transformative, idea of the `socially responsible corporation', which emerged in the 1920s and 30s. The thesis also argues that with their emphasis on self-regulation and voluntarism, contemporary ideas about CSR are very much part and parcel of contemporary neo-liberal ideas about economic and social organisation. The second, empirical, part of the thesis seeks to investigate whether the model of CSR being deployed in the developing world is indeed a conservative one and, if so, whether this conservatism is likely to render it ineffectual. It explores how CSR is understood by its practitioners - company executives and other key players - in Mauritius, focusing on the impact of the concept on executive opinion by examining their rhetorical commitment to CSR as well as what that entailed in practice. The research suggests that executives in Mauritius tend to equate CSR with corporate philanthropy, which casts doubt on its ability to make a significant contribution to development. In light of the arguments developed in the thesis, one of its main conclusions is that a return to the earlier, more radical, conception of CSR is needed if CSR is really to make an important contribution to development
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Water-Rock Reaction on Mars - as Seen through Earth Analogues
Impact-induced hydrothermal systems are important targets for Mars exploration. Their existence is confirmed by remote observation, in situ investigation by Mars rovers, and the study of Martian meteorites. However, ground truth is lacking for the alteration behaviour of basalt and gabbro in such systems, which dominate the Martian crust. This study uses a detailed petrologic investigation of an alteration event in a terrestrial analogue (Frankenstein Gabbro, Germany), combined with thermochemical modelling, to deduce a reaction path that is guided by ground truth, but independent of the terrestrial composition. Martian host rocks and fluids are substituted for the terrestrial model inputs, to predict the alteration of gabbro in an impact-induced system on Mars.
Alteration in the Frankenstein Gabbro mimics the fracture-controlled alteration expected in Martian impact craters, being focused along tectonically-induced, < 250 Îźm wide fractures and associated mineral veinlets. Peak conditions are T ⼠300 °C, at P = 150 bar. The dominant secondary assemblage is Act-Ab-Chl-Ep-Kfs-Prh, formed at pH ~ 6.7 and low water : rock ratio (W/R 10â35). The initial fluid likely resulted from mixing of an autochthonous basement fluid with a limited amount (max. 15 parts per 100) of sediment-derived fluid.
Simulated alteration of Martian gabbro (meteorite NWA 6963) along the analogue-based reaction path predicts a uniform assemblage of amphibole-chlorite at low W/R and variable assemblages at high W/R, for two starting fluids and a control of pure water. Available ground truth suggests the low-W/R assemblage best predicts the alteration in a Martian impact-induced system. The modelled conditions are expected to take place beneath the peak ring of craters ⼠100 km in diameter. Cooling in situ of the fluids produced at high T, low W/R results in habitable fluids at T = 10â100 °C that are suitable for potential sulfide- and/or sulfate-utilising organisms
Continuity and Change in a Mid-Victorian Resort: Ramsgate, 1851-1871
Using linked information from the census enumerators' books of 1851 and 1871, and rate books, the thesis examines processes and spatial patterns in Ramsgate during the mid-Victorian period. Socio-economic structure is examined in terms of family, household,
housing, occupation and class. Stability over the period is shown to be clearly evident, not only with respect to individual variables, but also with respect to the relationships between them. It is shown that rateable values are the best single indicator of status available, and
also that the life cycle operated independently of other variables. Residential mobility is examined using birthplaces and rate book material. The main currents of in-migration are shown to have been relatively constant and several of Ravenstein's laws of migration are
demonstrated as having been in operation. Very high turnover rates are revealed, however, and it is shown that the persistency rates were in inverse proportion to the poverty of a district. Spatial patterns are examined by computer mapping techniques (SYMVU)
based on three hectare grid squares, over 98% of the houses having been previously identified on contemporary maps. Several additional relationships are revealed. Segregation is further examined using a correlation matrix between 44 variables calculated on a street basis, and segregation indices. It is shown that segregation tended to increase over the period, caused by persons in Classes I and II seeking more exclusive locations. The final chapter attempts to resolve the dichotomy of a town 80 stable in overall structure yet so fluid in terms of its population. Possible future research avenues are then outlined
The late Miocene â early Pliocene offshore onshore sedimentary records in the vicinity of Gibraltar
[EN] Atlantic gateways, progressively isolating the Mediterranean Basin from the Global
Ocean. This change in gateway configuration modified radically the circulation patterns,
water residence time and salinity of the Mediterranean waters leading to the
extraordinary paleoenvironmental change known as the Messinian Salinity Crisis
(MSC). This event lasted between 5.97 and 5.33 Ma and led to the deposition of huge
evaporite accumulations both in the marginal and deep Mediterranean basins. Now,
more than 50 years after the Glomar challenger ventured Mediterranean waters, and the
evaporites in deep basins were discovered, the debate regarding the conditions and
timing of the deposition of the Mediterranean salt giant is still ongoing as many theories
regarding the dynamics and chronology of the Gibraltar arc gateway/s closure and
reopening are waiting to be validated.
In this optic, the study of cores and outcrops in the proximity of the current Strait
of Gibraltar is essential to better understand the evolution of the Mediterranean â
Atlantic gateways. In this thesis we perform a detailed planktic and benthic foraminifer,
geochemical (XRF and stable isotopes) and sedimentological analyses of Alboran Basin
ODP Site 976, DSDP Site 121, industrial boreholes Andalucia-G1, Alboran-A1, landbased sections from southern Spanish basins including Nijar, Sorbas and Malaga and
Montemayor-1 core from the Guadalquivir Basin. The obtained results, paired with the
interpretation of seismic profiles acquired in the Alboran Basin gave some new insights
and results towards the better understanding of the Late Miocene to early Pliocene
evolution of the Mediterranean â Atlantic gateways and the effects of the restriction on
the Mediterranean environments before and after the MSC. The main outcomes of this
thesis are outlined in the next paragraphs, as follows:
â A high-resolution planktonic foraminifer stratigraphy performed on Sites 976
and Montemayor-1 in combination with the analyses of the astronomically
driven cyclical changes in the geochemical record enabled the astronomical
tuning of the two locations. Having a firm age model allowed to pinpoint the
moment when the uplift of the Gibraltar arc gateway/s started affecting the
Mediterranean Basin and Betic corridor.
â The first sign of the Mediterranean â Atlantic gateway restriction is visible in the
Mediterranean basin from 7.17 Ma, when active tectonism at the Gibraltar arc
started uplifting the Betic and Rifian corridors. At ODP Site 976, the uplift is
visible from the increase in terrigenous input arriving to the Alboran basin and
parallel higher sedimentation rates related with an increased river erosion. On
the other hand, the shift from benthic foraminifer open-marine high oxygen
fauna to shallow infaunal taxa, tolerant to a wide range of conditions and
suboptimal oxygen levels, paired with a significant drop in benthic δ13C values
suggests that the gateway restriction led to the decrease in bottom water oxygen
levels and increase in its residence time much earlier than the onset of the MSC.
â A correlation between data from ODP Site 976 and other Mediterranean records
confirmed that the 7.17 Ma gateway restriction, affected at the same time different locations all over the Mediterranean, inferring a Mediterranean-scale
change in thermohaline circulation. From these data we concluded that the West
Alboran Basin (WAB) and the East Alboran Basin (EAB) were not separated by
a sill at that time but were both part of the Mediterranean realm. Furthermore,
it was possible to create a refined Mediterranean circulation model for before
and after the 7.17 Ma event.
â The gateway restriction registered in the Mediterranean record since 7.17 Ma, is
visible also from the geochemical data of Montemayor-1 core in the
Guadalquivir Basin. Because the geochemical data from Montemyor-1 reveals
that after 7.15-7.17 Ma, the Guadalquivir Basin was bathed by only one water
mass, probably Atlantic, we believe that the connection between the
Mediterranean and Atlantic through the Betic corridor was restricted at that
time. Consequently, we suggest that the restriction of the last Betic gateway, the
Guadalhorce Basin, could have happened at 7.15-7.17 Ma and caused the abovementioned changes in the Mediterranean paleoenvironment.
â Because the gateway restriction was contemporaneous with the global Late
Miocene Carbon Isotope Shift (LMCIS) it was important to discern between
global and local effects and compare the Mediterranean and global records.
Given the synchronism of the global and local Mediterranean change in the δ13C
record, a global effect certainly affected the Mediterranean Basin. However,
opposite phase relations of the global and local δ13C signals with orbital
parameters, paired with a higher magnitude change identified in our WAB
isotope record suggests that the local imprint overruled the global one. A similar
effect can be seen in the Montemayor-1 record, where apart from the changes
related to the uplift of the Gibraltar arc, a global signal cannot be overruled.
â Finally, through the development of this thesis it is shown how the dark layer
often enriched in organic matter, present at the Miocene â Pliocene boundary in
several Mediterranean marginal and deep basins, suggests that the Zanclean
reflooding created water column stratification, and reduced bottom water
oxygen levels. Such stratification could be the result of a sinking of more saline
Atlantic water mass entering into a less saline Mediterranean Basin still under
the influence of the Paratethys. The benthic foraminifer repopulation sequence
identified at the base of the Pliocene shows similarities with more recent events
of repopulation of hostile environments or following low-oxic episodes during
sapropel deposition. However, Atlantic values of the benthic δ13C registered in
the Alboran Basin suggest that bottom water renewal and circulation were
efficient during the early Zanclean, preventing the reduction of δ13C at the
seafloor seen after 7.17 Ma. Furthermore, the slight discrepancies in the benthic
foraminifer repopulation sequences of the marginal basins at the Miocene â
Pliocene boundary, and the much lighter benthic δ13C values in the Malaga
Basin can suggest a diachronous reflooding of the shallower marginal basins
- âŚ