12,767 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Food Security Under a Changing Climate: Exploring the Integration of Resilience in Research and Practice
Climate change poses significant risks to our food systems, thus jeopardising the food security of millions of people worldwide. The concept of resilience is increasingly being proposed as a framework to find solutions to these challenges. In this chapter, we assess how resilience has been integrated in discussions about climate change and food security by both academics and practitioners. We performed a targeted review of the academic literature on climate change, food security, and resilience and found that despite a growing body of literature on the subject, the pathways through which actions translate into resilience and then into food security remain unclear. An examination of a sample of projects implemented through the Adaptation Fund revealed that many good practices with potential for resilience-building are used but also that suitable indicators and methods to monitor and evaluate resilience and its outcomes are lacking. Based on our findings, we conclude that while the concept of resilience has accompanied and may have favoured a transition towards more integrated approaches and interventions in work related to climate change and food security, further efforts are needed to identify an efficient and rational sequence of interventions to improve food security in response to climate threats
Using Contactless Mobile Payment in the Vietnamese Restaurant Industry
This study develops a critical understanding of Contactless Mobile Payment (CMP) in the context of consumer behaviour and explores its use in the Vietnamese restaurant industry. An online survey was used to collect the data (n=153) from Vietnamese consumers. Data analysis was conducted with the use of SPSS and AMOS software. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) in conjunction with Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) were employed to explore consumer perceptions regarding the use of CMP. The findings indicate that consumers find CMP a fast and convenient way to make transactions in Vietnamese restaurants. The findings also indicate the importance of ease of use and security. The study contributes to the understanding of consumer behaviour in regard to technology in the service industries context
The Gradual Disappearance Of Financial Literacy In Today\u27s World. What Is Financial Literacy And Why Is It So Important? My Own Story Of Acquisition
There is a growing concern in this country that the middle class is disappearing and not in the way one would hope. Instead of families moving into a higher socio-economic class and being able to provide richer life experiences for themselves and their children, vast numbers are shifting to a lower socio-economic status level. The gap between the affluent and those barely eking out an existence is increasing at an alarming rate. This trend will directly affect who can successfully attend college and who will be available and capable to perform the blue-collar jobs that are vital to the continuation of our economy. Many of these jobs are becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated. While they may not require a college degree, they do require additional post-secondary training and expertise. Longer reaching concerns are that a dwindling middle class equates to a smaller tax base and contributes to a larger segment of the population that needs financial assistance.
The productive management of money is part of a concept known as financial literacy. People that have money take this knowledge for granted. Somewhere along the line, whether it was at home, in school, or from personal experiences, successful people learned the value of earning money and using it thoughtfully and intentionally in order to achieve a future goal. No one disputes the fact that personal choices and discretion are parts of the picture.
Imagine, however, that the environment in which you grew up did not contain earning possibilities. Perhaps you had to work without pay caring for your siblings, leaving no time to go out and earn your own money. Maybe your family was in the situation where everything that each family member earned was required to try to make ends meet. The result can be a feeling of ignorance and powerlessness around financial literacy and a lack of understanding the difference it could make in your life.
This dissertation examines these issues. As a Scholarly Personal Narrative, it will also relate the story of my own journey of acquiring financial literacy and how that knowledge has affected my life. It concludes with a proposal that I created for teaching the concepts of financial literacy to underserved members of our society living at the lower socio-economic level. This education is important because understanding financial literacy can build self-confidence, empowerment, and purpose. This knowledge can also set an example that parents can pass on to their children and future generations. I believe this is one possible route toward breaking the cycle of poverty
Towards a sociology of conspiracy theories: An investigation into conspiratorial thinking on Dönmes
This thesis investigates the social and political significance of conspiracy theories, which has been an academically neglected topic despite its historical relevance. The academic literature focuses on the methodology, social significance and political impacts of these theories in a secluded manner and lacks empirical analyses. In response, this research provides a comprehensive theoretical framework for conspiracy theories by considering their methodology, political impacts and social significance in the light of empirical data. Theoretically, the thesis uses Adorno's semi-erudition theory along with Girardian approach. It proposes that conspiracy theories are methodologically semi-erudite narratives, i.e. they are biased in favour of a belief and use reason only to prove it. It suggests that conspiracy theories appear in times of power vacuum and provide semi-erudite cognitive maps that relieve alienation and ontological insecurities of people and groups. In so doing, they enforce social control over their audience due to their essentialist, closed-to-interpretation narratives. In order to verify the theory, the study analyses empirically the social and political significance of conspiracy theories about the Dönme community in Turkey. The analysis comprises interviews with conspiracy theorists, conspiracy theory readers and political parties, alongside a frame analysis of the popular conspiracy theory books on Dönmes. These confirm the theoretical framework by showing that the conspiracy theories are fed by the ontological insecurities of Turkish society. Hence, conspiracy theorists, most readers and some political parties respond to their own ontological insecurities and political frustrations through scapegoating Dönmes. Consequently, this work shows that conspiracy theories are important symptoms of society, which, while relieving ontological insecurities, do not provide politically prolific narratives
Recommended from our members
The influence of blockchains and internet of things on global value chain
Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Despite the increasing proliferation of deploying the internet of things (IoT) in the global value chain (GVC), several challenges might lead to a lack of trust among value chain partners, for example, technical challenges (i.e., confidentiality, authenticity, and privacy); and security challenges (i.e., counterfeiting, physical tampering, and data theft). In this study, we argue that blockchain technology (BT), when combined with the IoT ecosystem, will strengthen GVC and enhance value creation and capture among value chain partners. Therefore, we examine the impact of BT combined with the IoT ecosystem and how it can be utilized to enhance value creation and capture among value chain partners. We collected data through an online survey, and 265 U.K. Agri-food retailers completed the survey. Our data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Our finding reveals that BT enhances GVC by improving IoT scalability, security, and traceability combined with the IoT ecosystem. Moreover, the combination of BT and IoT strengthens GVC and creates more value for value chain partners, which serves as a competitive advantage. Finally, our research outlines the theoretical and practical contribution of combining BT and the IoT ecosystem
Walking with the Earth: Intercultural Perspectives on Ethics of Ecological Caring
It is commonly believed that considering nature different from us, human beings (qua rational, cultural, religious and social actors), is detrimental to our engagement for the preservation of nature. An obvious example is animal rights, a deep concern for all living beings, including non-human living creatures, which is understandable only if we approach nature, without fearing it, as something which should remain outside of our true home. “Walking with the earth” aims at questioning any similar preconceptions in the wide sense, including allegoric-poetic contributions. We invited 14 authors from 4 continents to express all sorts of ways of saying why caring is so important, why togetherness, being-with each others, as a spiritual but also embodied ethics is important in a divided world
A productive response to legacy system petrification
Requirements change. The requirements of a legacy information system change, often in unanticipated ways, and at a more rapid pace than the rate at which the information system itself can be evolved to support them. The capabilities of a legacy system progressively fall further and further behind their evolving requirements, in a degrading process termed petrification. As systems petrify, they deliver diminishing business value, hamper business effectiveness, and drain organisational resources. To address legacy systems, the first challenge is to understand how to shed their resistance to tracking requirements change. The second challenge is to ensure that a newly adaptable system never again petrifies into a change resistant legacy system. This thesis addresses both challenges. The approach outlined herein is underpinned by an agile migration process - termed Productive Migration - that homes in upon the specific causes of petrification within each particular legacy system and provides guidance upon how to address them. That guidance comes in part from a personalised catalogue of petrifying patterns, which capture recurring themes underlying petrification. These steer us to the problems actually present in a given legacy system, and lead us to suitable antidote productive patterns via which we can deal with those problems one by one. To prevent newly adaptable systems from again degrading into legacy systems, we appeal to a follow-on process, termed Productive Evolution, which embraces and keeps pace with change rather than resisting and falling behind it. Productive Evolution teaches us to be vigilant against signs of system petrification and helps us to nip them in the bud. The aim is to nurture systems that remain supportive of the business, that are adaptable in step with ongoing requirements change, and that continue to retain their value as significant business assets
The influence of blockchains and internet of things on global value chain
Despite the increasing proliferation of deploying the Internet of Things (IoT) in global value chain (GVC), several challenges might lead to a lack of trust among value chain partners, e.g., technical challenges (i.e., confidentiality, authenticity, and privacy); and security challenges (i.e., counterfeiting, physical tempering, and data theft). In this study, we argue that Blockchain technology, when combined with the IoT ecosystem, will strengthen GVC and enhance value creation and capture among value chain partners. Thus, we examine the impact of Blockchain technology when combined with the IoT ecosystem and how it can be utilized to enhance value creation and capture among value chain partners. We collected data through an online survey, and 265 UK Agri-food retailers completed the survey. Our data were analyzed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Our finding reveals that Blockchain technology enhances GVC by improving IoT scalability, security, and traceability when combined with the IoT ecosystem. Which, in turn, strengthens GVC and creates more value for value chain partners – which serves as a competitive advantage. Finally, our research outlines the theoretical and practical contribution of combining Blockchain technology and the IoT ecosystem
Reforming the United Nations
The thesis deals with the financial crisis that the United Nations faced starting in 1985 when the US Congress decided to withhold a significant part of the US contribution to the UN regular budget in order to force a greater say for the major contributors on budgetary issues, budgetary restraint and greater efficiency. The UN responded by the adoption of resolution 41/213 of 19 December 1986 that was based on the recommendations of a Group of High-level Intergovernmental Experts ("G-18") set up a year earlier. A new system was introduced regarding the formulation of the regular budget of the United Nations Organisation and a broader process of reform was initiated including a restructuring of the Secretariat and of the intergovernmental machinery in the economic and social fields. After an introductory chapter (Chapter I), the thesis examines the UN problems at the budgetary/financial and administrative/structural levels, the solutions proposed from within and without the United Nations established framework and the actual attempts at reform (Chapters II and ifi). The realisation that the implementation of reforms is rather disjointed and often unsuccessful (e.g. the failure to restructure the intergovernmental machi.neiy) prompts a search for the deeper causes of the UN problems at the political level and the attitudes of the main actors, namely the USA, the USSR, some up-and-coming states, notably Japan, the Third World states and, finally, of the UN Secretary-General and the Secretariat (Chapter 1V). Although the financial crisis may have subsided since 1988 and the USA seem committed to paying up their dues, the deeper UN crisis of identity has not been resolved and is expected to resurface if no bold steps are taken. In that direction, some possible alternative courses for the UN in the future are discussed drawing upon theory and practice (Chapte
Recommended from our members
Diverging influences of usability in online authentication system: the role of culture (US vs Korea)
Purpose:
Although the use of online authentication systems in banking services is expanding globally, little is known about cultural differences in forming consumers' responses to these services. This paper examines how the usability of an online security service and culture impact consumers' behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach:
The authors conduct a 2 (usability: high vs low) Ă— 2 (culture: US vs Korea) between-subjects, full factorial design.
Findings:
The results indicate a differential influence of the usability of a security system by culture. In particular, US consumers exhibit greater behavioural intention in a high (vs low) usability condition, whereas Korean consumers showed more favourable responses in a low-usability condition. Moreover, perceived effort is confirmed as a crucial mediator that explains the psychological mechanism of the proposed effect.
Practical implications:
This research contributes to the literature on online banking where security is an important determinant of success. Especially for managers involved in international banking services, the findings of cultural differences offer insights about the importance of local understanding and differentiation of bank services for specific target markets which can enhance consumers' response towards an online security service.
Originality/value:
The current study is one of a very few attempts to examine the role of usability of an online security system in forming consumers' behavioural intention. More importantly, this study integrates the concept of culture to explain how usability influences positive or negative behavioural intention in an international market
- …