scholarly journals The neoliberal (il)legitimacy of the duty of loyalty

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 405-428
Author(s):  
Daniel Attenborough

The reformulated duty of loyalty now found in s 172 of the Companies Act 2006 has been seen as imprecise or an ambiguous development for directors’ duties. It has generated debate about what is the best reading of the duty, the most fundamental aspect of which is whether this behavioural standard obliges a narrow focus on financial capital or a broader notion of well-being and inclusiveness amongst nonshareholder interests. This article argues that the law as a privileged and constitutive way of society-making can only be understood within a broader conceptual framework rather than the more traditional expository analysis of law. The context in which such an analysis takes place is that of the anti-collectivist, marketbased political project of neoliberalsm. When viewed through this explanatory lens, we see very clearly that English legal doctrine codifies an embedded relationship between managers and shareholders. In doing so, the article shows that the extraction of private benefits of control by shareholders is not an inevitable occurrence, but a decades-long, human-created and contingent phenomenon. While non-shareholder interests are introduced into the duty, this precatory element is merely a potential source of legitimacy to the ideology of the company as a private, exclusively shareholder-oriented enterprise.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Grogan ◽  
Hannah O’Daly ◽  
Jessica Bramham ◽  
Mary Scriven ◽  
Caroline Maher ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Resilience research to date has been criticised for its consideration of resilience as a personal trait instead of a process, and for identifying individual factors related to resilience with no consideration of the ecological context. The overall aim of the current study was to explore the multi-level process through which adults recovering from EDs develop resilience, from the perspectives of clients and clinicians. The objective of this research was to outline the stages involved in the process of developing resilience, which might help to inform families and services in how best to support adults with EDs during their recovery. Method Thirty participants (15 clients; 15 clinicians) took part in semi-structured interviews, and responded to questions relating to factors associated with resilience. Using an inductive approach, data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results The overarching theme which described the process of developing resilience was ‘Bouncing back to being me’, which involved three stages: ‘Who am I without my ED?’, ‘My eating disorder does not define me’, and ‘I no longer need my eating disorder’. Twenty sub-themes were identified as being involved in this resilience process, thirteen of which required multi-level involvement. Conclusion This qualitative study provided a multi-level resilience framework for adults recovering from eating disorders, that is based on the experiences of adults with eating disorders and their treating clinicians. This framework provided empirical evidence that resilience is an ecological process involving an interaction between internal and external factors occurring between adults with eating disorder and their most immediate environments (i.e. family and social). Plain English summary Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder demonstrate high rates of symptom persistence across time and poor prognosis for a significant proportion of individuals affected by these disorders, including health complications and increased risk of mortality. Many researchers have attempted to explore how to improve recovery outcomes for this population. Eating disorder experts have emphasised the need to focus not only on the weight indicators and eating behaviours that sustain the eating disorder during recovery, but also on the psychological well-being of the person recovering. One way to achieve this is to focus on resilience, which was identified as a fundamental aspect of eating disorder recovery in previous research. This study conceptualises resilience as a dynamic process that is influenced not only at a personal level but also through the environment in which the person lives. This study gathered data from adults with eating disorders and their treating clinicians, to devise a framework for resilience development for adults recovering from eating disorders. The paper discussed ways in which these findings and the framework identified can be easily implemented in clinical practice to facilitate a better understanding of eating disorder resilience and to enhance recovery outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 983-992
Author(s):  
Yutaro Nemoto ◽  
Hitesh Dhiman ◽  
Carsten Röcker

AbstractProduct-service systems (PSSs) have attracted researchers in engineering design for the past decades. Recent advances in digital technologies have expanded the potential functionalities that PSSs could deliver and designers' repertoire of tools and techniques to make new value propositions. The key to the success of new value propositions is to achieve customer acceptance and continuous use. However, little is known about the precise routes by which customers accept and use PSSs over time and its dynamics. This conceptual study aims to provide an enhanced view of customer acceptance and continuous use of PSSs by integrating multiple theories and literature streams. In this paper, we suggest three propositions based on the key concepts found in our literature review—well-being, trust and control—, and illustrate a conceptual framework that represents the dynamics of customer acceptance and continuous use of PSSs. Based on the proposed framework, we outline further research questions that could advance our knowledge about design for continuous use of PSSs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manraj N. Kaur ◽  
Anne F. Klassen ◽  
Feng Xie ◽  
Louise Bordeleau ◽  
Toni Zhong ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Generic preference-based measures (PBM), though commonly used, may not be optimal for use in economic evaluations of breast cancer interventions. No breast cancer-specific PBM currently exists, and the generic PBMs fail to capture the unique concerns of women with breast cancer (e.g., body image, appearance, treatment-specific adverse effects). Hence, the objective of this study was to develop a breast cancer-specific PBM, the BREAST-Q Utility module. Methods Women diagnosed with breast cancer (stage 0–4, any treatment) were recruited from two tertiary hospitals in Canada and one in the US. The study followed an exploratory sequential mixed methods approach, whereby semi-structured interviews were conducted and at the end of the interview, participants were asked to list their top five health-related quality of life (HRQOL) concerns and to rate the importance of each item on the BREAST-Q. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded. Constant comparison was used to refine the codes and develop a conceptual framework. Qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated to develop the content of the Utility module  that was refined through 2 rounds of cognitive debriefing interviews with women diagnosed with breast cancer and feedback from experts. Results Interviews were conducted with 57 women aged 55 ± 10 years. A conceptual framework was developed from 3948 unique codes specific to breasts, arms, abdomen, and cancer experience. Five top-level domains were HRQOL (i.e., physical, psychological, social, and sexual well-being) and appearance. Data from the interviews, top 5 HRQOL concerns, and BREAST-Q item ratings were used to inform dimensions for inclusion in the Utility module. Feedback from women with breast cancer (N = 9) and a multidisciplinary group of experts (N = 27) was used to refine the module. The field-test version of the HSCS consists of 10 unique dimensions. Each dimension is measured with 1 or 2 candidate items that have 4–5 response levels each. Conclusion The field-test version of the BREAST-Q Utility module was derived from extensive patient and expert input. This comprehensive approach ensured that the content of the Utility module is relevant, comprehensive, and includes concerns that matter the most to women with breast cancer.


2022 ◽  
pp. 016224392110722
Author(s):  
Miao Lu ◽  
Jack Linchuan Qiu

Technology flows are becoming increasingly diverse in the twenty-first century, calling for an update of concepts and frameworks. Reflecting on the inherent tensions of technology transfer, including its technocratic dreams, insensitivity to technological materiality, and narrow focus on certain human actors, we propose technology translation as a complementary conceptual framework to understand traveling technologies. Taking a socio-technical approach, technology translation views artifacts as socially shaped with distributed agency, which makes technology flows unstable and unpredictable. In so doing, we develop a typology to explain five technology flow scenarios, shedding new light on the mechanisms of technology traveling by foregrounding the role of translators. Last, we discuss the politics of translation and elaborate how technology translation opens new space to engage with the complexity and uncertainty of technology flows, especially in the Global South.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document