scholarly journals CSR in automotive sector - leaders or deceivers? The case of Audi AG

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-19
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Witkowski ◽  
Mateusz Kurowski ◽  
Dariusz Lesicki
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Large Degree ◽  
External Effects ◽  
Car Industry ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Report Analysis ◽  
The One

Car production is a kind of activity that affects environment, society and global economy to a large degree. The most negative impact can be observed in the first of mentioned fields. Every day automotive companies consume big amount of energy and resources. What is more, their final products are considered as one of the main pollution sources. Nevertheless many car producers made effort to minimize negative external effects of their businesses. Year by year various CSR classifications and rankings showed that those efforts were resultful but Volkswagen emissions scandal and anti-diesel lobby shed new light on car industry in the terms of CSR. The aim of the article is to review CSR activities undertaken by Audi AG. Literature review and report analysis performed within the case study shows that the company is active in the field of ecology, society and corporate governance. In many terms Audi AG can be considered as the one of global CSR leaders. It is characterized by wide range of long term initiatives, high employee satisfaction and constant dialogue with stakeholders. On the other hand Audi AG can not be seen as a responsible company in the light of misleading customers to raise sales volume.

Interrelationships between municipal spatial policy strategy and airport operation and development. Lodz Airport case study

2018 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-79
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Nikorowicz-Zatorska
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
The Other ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Spatial Management ◽  
The One ◽  
Surrounding Areas

Abstract The present paper focuses on spatial management regulations in order to carry out investment in the field of airport facilities. The construction, upgrades, and maintenance of airports falls within the area of responsibility of local authorities. This task poses a great challenge in terms of organisation and finances. On the one hand, an active airport is a municipal landmark and drives local economic, social and cultural development, and on the other, the scale of investment often exceeds the capabilities of local authorities. The immediate environment of the airport determines its final use and prosperity. The objective of the paper is to review legislation that affects airports and the surrounding communities. The process of urban planning in Lodz and surrounding areas will be presented as a background to the problem of land use management in the vicinity of the airport. This paper seeks to address the following questions: if and how airports have affected urban planning in Lodz, does the land use around the airport prevent the development of Lodz Airport, and how has the situation changed over the time? It can be assumed that as a result of lack of experience, land resources and size of investments on one hand and legislative dissonance and peculiar practices on the other, aviation infrastructure in Lodz is designed to meet temporary needs and is characterised by achieving short-term goals. Cyclical problems are solved in an intermittent manner and involve all the municipal resources, so there’s little left to secure long-term investments.

Implementing Client-Support for Collaborative Spaces

2011 ◽  
pp. 582-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Todd Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
Fortune 500 ◽  
Strategic Direction ◽  
Collaborative Spaces ◽  
Business User ◽  
Self Service ◽  
Day To Day Operations ◽  
Service Procurement

This chapter examines the critical task of providing client support for virtual environments. The vast majority of information workers are not familiar with virtual solutions and need guidance on how to best utilize and integrate this technology into their day to day operations. A company’s ability to manage information effectively over its life cycle, including sensing, collecting, organizing, processing, and maintaining information, is crucial to the long term success in a global economy. Over the past few years, the case study organization has been actively engaged in building, deploying, and managing the procurement, education, and strategic direction for a Fortune 500 company. The success of the studied organization can be seen by reviewing the metrics as the collaborative content continues to grow by an average 28.08% per month and the usage rates have grown by 21% per month. This growth rate was accomplished by focusing on building communities of practice, physical and electronic training programs, promotional road shows, self-service procurement processes, templates, pattern libraries, and an evolving online environment that supports the business user every step in the learning process.

scholarly journals Jealousy Incarnate: Quiet Ego, Competitive Desire, and the Fictional Intelligence of Long-Term Mating in a Romantic K-Drama

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 134
Author(s):  
Lorenza Lucchi Basili ◽  
Pier Luigi Sacco
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Experimental Research ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Male Partner ◽  
Quiet Ego ◽  
The One ◽  
Mating Interaction ◽  
Human Mating

In this paper, we analyze a K-drama aired by the Korean TV network SBS in 2016, Jealousy Incarnate, as a case study of the application of the Tie-Up Theory to a romantic narrative as a form of simulation of human mating processes with social cognition valence. We find that this case provides us with an example of a mating process where the choice of the male partner by the female lead character does not privilege the one that should be preferable on the basis of the standard prediction of the experimental research on human mating. This discrepancy is a signal of a basic limitation of experimental research, that highlights the subjects’ preferences for abstract potential partners but is not able to fully account for the mechanisms that lead to the choice of a specific partner in a specific mating interaction. We argue that the narrative simulation viewpoint provides insights that are complementary to those of experimental research, and that a more comprehensive theoretical approach, such as the one offered by the Tie-Up Theory, may be helpful to account for both perspectives.

scholarly journals Preventing co-infection: a viral strategy with short-term benefits and long-term drawbacks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Hunter ◽  
Diana Fusco
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Life History ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Viral Evolution ◽  
Viral Fitness ◽  
Viral Population ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Life History Parameters ◽  
Wide Range

ABSTRACTViral co-infection occurs when multiple distinct viral particles infect the same host. This can impact viral evolution through intracellular interactions, complementation, reassortment and recombination. In nature many viral species are found to have a wide range of mechanisms to prevent co-infection, which raises the question of how viral evolution is impacted by this strategic choice. Here, we address this question in a model viral system, the ubiquitous bacteriophage and its host bacteria. Using a stochastic model of phage-host interactions in agent-based simulations, we first characterise the behaviour of neutral mutants and find that co-infection decreases the strength of genetic drift. We then quantify how variations in the phage life history parameters affect viral fitness. Importantly, we find that the growth rate (dis)advantage associated with variations in life history parameters can be dramatically different from the competitive (dis)advantage measured in direct-competition simulations. Additionally, we find that co-infection facilitates the fixation of beneficial mutations and the removal of deleterious ones, suggesting that selection is more efficient in co-infecting populations. We also observe, however, that in populations which allow co-infection, a mutant that prevents it displays a substantial competitive advantage over the rest of the population, and will eventually fix even if it displays a much lower growth rate in isolation. Our findings suggest that while preventing co-infection can have a negative impact on the long-term evolution of a viral population, in the short-term it is ultimately a winning strategy, possibly explaining the prevalence of phage capable of preventing co-infection in nature.

scholarly journals Fiat Auto: Industrial Relations Lost in Globalisation

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 672-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Caputo ◽  
Antonino Campenni ◽  
Elisabetta Della Corte
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
The Other ◽  
Car Industry ◽  
Union Activists ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

In the actual context of globalization, carmakers face a highly competitive market. The pace of technological innovation, the increase in international competition, the saturation of markets and the shortening of product lifespan are but some of the factors requiring a new organization of production. In order to face these radical changes, carmakers are implementing new strategies, not only by embracing the concept of globalization, but also by promoting changes in labour management practices, work organization and industrial relations. The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of Fiat’s new managerial strategies in response to increased global competition on the situation of the industrial relations, on the role of the Unions and on the condition of workers. These strategies include an intensification of work, shift and wage flexibility, plus a severe limitations of workers’ rights (including the right to strike). On the one hand, such a strategy was presented and justified to the workers and the public as an objective necessity of global economy, and was even submitted to a referendum; on the other, the process was conducted unilaterally, under the recurring threat of transferring production abroad if the workers and their Unions refused to accept the new method. This brought to a split of the Unions and dialogue was maintained only with collaborative organisations, causing the discrimination of the other Unions and a situation of great dissatisfaction amongst all the workers. Through the words of workers and Union activists, the research showed evidence of the failure of claims that new management strategy can ensure both productivity and a new form of workplace democracy in the post-fordist factory. Despite new labour-saving technologies, lean production organisation and the adoption of new metric systems (such as Ergo-UAS), car industry would need, more than in the past, the involvement and active participation of Unions and workers. On the contrary, the paper points out how Fiat’s actual form of production organization generates new tensions and increases employee’s discontent, likely to ignite industrial conflict.

scholarly journals Cultural Workers from the Paintbrush Factory. Between Institution-Building and Urban Development Challenges

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-106
Author(s):  
Marina Mironică
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Contemporary Art ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Institution Building ◽  
Cultural Workers ◽  
Cultural Policies ◽  
Art Scene ◽  
The One

Abstract The paper is an ethnography of cultural workers from the contemporary art centre from Cluj-Napoca, Romania – The Paintbrush Factory. The one-decade existence of the alternative space contributed to a range of changes in the local cultural scene and evolved from a physical space into a resource for the city’s culture-led development strategy. It also became affected and reshaped by wider changes in terms of applied cultural policies. Cultural workers’ perspective, their precarity and their involvement in the local art scene influenced the current commodification and entrepreneurialisation of the cultural offer. The Paintbrush Factory’s expansion and contraction are vividly presented through the reflexive lenses of the cultural workers and managers, whose case-study could easily be regarded as a signal and a symbol of the deficient cultural policies mostly oriented to profit and lacking any local and long term-vision.

scholarly journals Ecological Correlates of 20-Year Population Trends of Wintering Waterbirds in Deep Bay, South China

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yik-Hei Sung ◽  
Chun-chiu Pang ◽  
Tom Chung-hoi Li ◽  
Paulina Pui Yun Wong ◽  
Yat-tung Yu
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
Population Trends ◽  
The Yellow Sea ◽  
Bay Area ◽  
Waterbird Species ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Deep Bay

Along the East Asian-Australasian flyway (EAAF), waterbirds are threatened by a wide range of human activities. Studies have shown that wintering populations of many species have declined in Australia and Japan; however, long term data along China’s coast are limited. In this study, we analyzed data collected from monthly bird surveys to quantify population trends of wintering waterbirds from 1998 to 2017 in the Deep Bay area, South China. Of the 42 species studied, 12 declined, while nine increased significantly. Phylogenetic comparative analysis revealed that population trends were negatively correlated to reliance on the Yellow Sea and body size. Further, waterbird species breeding in Southern Siberia declined more than those breeding in East Asia. These findings, coupled with a relatively high number of increasing species, support the continual preservation of wetlands in the Deep Bay area. This study provides another case study showing that data collected from wintering sites provide insights on the threats along migratory pathway and inform conservation actions. As such, we encourage population surveys in the EAAF to continue, particularly along the coast of China.

scholarly journals A Warning Call for Fertility Preservation Methods for Women Undergoing Gonadotoxic Cancer Treatment

Medicina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (12) ◽  
pp. 1340
Author(s):  
Claudia Mehedintu ◽  
Francesca Frincu ◽  
Andreea Carp-Veliscu ◽  
Ramona Barac ◽  
Dumitru-Cristinel Badiu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Fertility Preservation ◽  
Ovarian Reserve ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Future Fertility ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The One

Malignant hematological conditions have recognized an increased incidence and require aggressive treatments. Targeted chemotherapy, accompanied or not by radiotherapy, raises the chance of defeating the disease, yet cancer protocols often associate long-term gonadal consequences, for instance, diminished or damaged ovarian reserve. The negative effect is directly proportional to the types, doses, time of administration of chemotherapy, and irradiation. Additionally, follicle damage depends on characteristics of the disease and patient, such as age, concomitant diseases, previous gynecological conditions, and ovarian reserve. Patients should be adequately informed when proceeding to gonadotoxic therapies; hence, fertility preservation should be eventually regarded as a first-intention procedure. This procedure is most beneficial when performed before the onset of cancer treatment, with the recommendation for embryos or oocytes’ cryopreservation. If not feasible or acceptable, several options can be available during or after the cancer treatment. Although not approved by medical practice, promising results after in vitro studies increase the chances of future patients to protect their fertility. This review aims to emphasize the mechanism of action and impact of chemotherapy, especially the one proven to be gonadotoxic, upon ovarian reserve and future fertility. Reduced fertility or infertility, as long-term consequences of chemotherapy and, particularly, following bone marrow transplantation, is often associated with a negative impact of recovery, social and personal life, as well as highly decreased quality of life.

scholarly journals Global sugar, regional water, and local people: EU sugar regime liberalisation, rural livelihoods, and the environment in the Incomati River Basin

2009 ◽  
Vol 105 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Lorentzen
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Rural People ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
The World ◽  
The One ◽  
Distant Part

This paper is concerned with how changes in the global economy, triggered by actions undertaken in one part of the world, can affect the lives and the prospects of poor rural people, as well as the environment they live in, in another very distant part of the world. It analyses the linkages between changes in the European Union (EU) sugar regime and the economic fortunes and the environmental future of a very poor and highly water-stressed area in southern Africa—the Incomati River Basin—where sugar production is the single most important economic activity. The case study epitomises the complex interactions between trade liberalisation on the one hand and poverty and the environment on the other.

scholarly journals Community-School Partnerships: Assisting Newcomer Youth In Montreal

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yamie Tremblay
Keyword(s):  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Community Organizations ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
School Partnerships

As universal and mandatory institutions, schools are the first institutional frame of reference newcomer youth encounter upon their arrival in Canada, and as such they play a central role in their settlement process. Although the Quebec Ministry of Education provides guidelines regarding the integration of immigrant students into Quebec educational institutions, some secondary schools in Montreal seem unprepared to respond to theunique needs of newcomer youth.This qualitative case study involving six key informantsreveals that schools need experts from community organizations who have a greater capacity to assist youth in their settlement experiences. However, partnering between school and community organizations are often based on difficult and unequal relationships which have a negative impact on the programs and services offeredto newcomer students. It is crucial that the various ministries involved in the well-being of youth provide long-term funding for collaborative programs targeting newcomers. This could fortify programs that are already implemented, encourage new initiative, and spread them to educational institutions around the province.

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