CULTURAL DISTORTION AND HARMONISATION ON INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS: THE PANACEA FOR SUCCESS

The purpose of this paper was to study and unravel the implications of cultural distortion on businesses, gains and gradual harmonization of culture across national boundaries globally. Despite the national and political boundaries around the world, the activities involving cross-border operations have always persisted, but have had a dramatic growth since the Second World War. Successful business operations globally depend largely on the understanding of the cultural differences of countries which enormously have the tendencies of affecting the degree of business relationship. It is very obvious that every institution across nations of the world is deeply attached to societies with diverse cultures such as language difference, different tradition of trust, individualists and collectivists tendencies which globalization concept intends to harmonise and be accepted by the local market around the world. As a consequence, it is very imperative to strive for gradual harmonization of culture. This however implies making suitable changes on the differences among national norms, traditions, values, beliefs and rituals of different nations in order to achieve uniformity. KEY WORDS: Culture, Cultural Distortion, Cultural Harmonization, Globalization

The Australian Catholic University and DePaul University (Chicago) service-learning partnership

In this paper, we report on the service-learning partnership between Australian Catholic University and DePaul University (Chicago) and how this partnership has enriched the scholarship of service-learning for both institutions. Using a case study methodology, we explore how two large Catholic Higher Education Institutions (CHEIs) with similar, yet distinct missions have partnered to learn about each other’s approaches and contexts. Since 2018, the SteansCenter for Community-Based Service-learning and Community Service Studies (DePaul) and ACU Engagement, the central agency responsible for supporting the extensive service-learning program at ACU, have met to discuss their programs and explore opportunities for collaboration. These discussions have led to new understandings and translations in the pedagogical terminology across Australian and US contexts and the identification of how mission coherence can inform partnerships between CHEIs. The partnership has also led to ongoing collaborations that have furthered the service-learning mission and institutionalisation of both universities. The paper concludes by reflecting upon the value of partnerships between CHEIs across national boundaries and the value of mutually exploring mission, principles, and practice as the field seeks further institutionalisation of service-learning. That is, service-learning for the mutual benefit and transformation of the community and university.

Global Public Policy studies

Globalisation has helped to intensify the international flow of people, information and policies. Following this process there has been increasing global concern regarding problems in areas such as immigration, health, poverty, among others. Various agents are transnationally engaged in common responses to these issues. The classic definition of public policies is related to actions undertaken by governments to solve the problems within their jurisdictions. However, often problems do not respect national boundaries. Sometimes, policies need to involve other nations. This article discusses the main issues, concepts and challenges in the study of global public policies.First, the article presents a review of the existing literature. Second, it introduces the key agents and agendas of global public policy. The discussion section focuses on the latest challenges and opportunities for research in Global Public Policy studies. Finally, new avenues of research are introduced, such as the dimension of power, the impact of the far-right and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Criteria for assessing action undertaken by border municipalities towards a “green smart city”

The article presents a proposal for a research tool that might assess the ecological activity of municipalities, with particular emphasis on those that lie on national boundaries. With climate change, it has become necessary to take into account the principles of sustainable growth while maintaining high living standards in the long term. Systematic research on the action undertaken by municipalities in this area is a necessary requirement in the coming years. For this reason, the main directions and areas of research in the process of approaching the concept of a “green smart city” have been outlined. The available literature is limited to research in the field of smart cities and examines solutions for large urban agglomerations. The evaluation criteria of “ecological maturity” proposed in this paper are designed for small border municipalities. One may accept the thesis that due to their specificity, location, natural diversity and the opportunities for cooperation with a foreign partner that they offer, border municipalities can create a model of ecological behaviour in terms of a “green smart city”. This evolution requires support and monitoring for policymakers, and the proposed online research tool may reveal “ecological immaturities”, decisional errors or just plain negligence. One might only hope that, as a result of these indications, the recommendations will prove valuable for all local government units. On the other hand, a number of doubts and dilemmas are raised that researchers are unable to eliminate at this stage.

The Strategy of Strengthening Pancasila Ideology In The Digital Age

This research attempts to analyze the implementation of the Pancasila ideology amid current digitalization. One of the markers of this digital era is the erosion of space and national boundaries for every citizen. Indonesia's large population can be a strength or weakness of the Pancasila ideology. For this reason, systematic steps are needed to make the values of Pancasila remain as a way of life for the Indonesian. This type of research is normative research that uses literature as a primary data source. The presentation of the data is conveyed by a qualitative descriptive method. The conclusion of this study is the need to strengthen Pancasila ideology in the digital era through efforts to reaffirm the fundamental values of Pancasila to society in general and the younger generation in particular. To ground the values of Pancasila, it is deemed necessary to involve millennial participation through digital influencer programs and the development of digital literacy based on Pancasila values and the doctrine of national values.

Review of J. L. Talmon, Political Messianism: The Romantic Phase (London: Secker & Warburg, 1960)

Wight noted that in an earlier book, The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy, Professor Talmon identified Rousseau as the ‘main source’ of ‘the totalitarian messianism of the French Revolution’. In this sequel he examines ‘the vast effervescence of utopian political thought between 1815 and 1848, which produced modern nationalism and Communism’. He aims to place the genesis of Marxism ‘in a wider historical setting than histories of socialism usually supply, against a background not only of Owen and Fourier, Fichte and Hegel, but of the whole romantic range of the Saint-Simonists and Lamennais, Michelet, Mazzini, and Mickiewicz’. The complex outcome is ‘the world we still live in, where national particularities seek to justify themselves in the service of a universal ideal, but revolutionary war makes national frontiers irrelevant; where national uniqueness is the strongest adversary of international revolution, nationalism finds its fulfilment by turning socialist, and socialism cannot establish itself except within national boundaries’.

From the Lab to the Last Mile: Deploying Transgenic Approaches Against Mosquitoes

Ingenious exploitation of transgenic approaches to produce malaria resistant or sterile mosquitoes, or hypervirulent mosquito pathogens, has produced many potential solutions to vector borne diseases. However, in spite of technological feasibility, it has not been determined how well these new methods will work, and how they should be tested and regulated. Some self-limiting transgenic fungal pathogens and mosquitoes are almost field ready, and may be easier to regulate than self-sustaining strategies. However, they require repeat sales and so must show business viability; low-cost mass production is just one of a number of technical constraints that are sometimes treated as an afterthought in technology deployment. No transgenic self-sustaining approach to anopheline control has ever been deployed because of unresolved ethical, social and regulatory issues. These overlapping issues include: 1) the transparency challenge, which requires public discourse, particularly in Africa where releases are proposed, to determine what society is willing to risk given the potential benefits; 2) the transboundary challenge, self-sustaining mosquitoes or pathogens are potentially capable of crossing national boundaries and irreversibly altering ecosystems, and 3) the risk assessment challenge. The polarized debate as to whether these technologies will ever be used to save lives is ongoing; they will founder without a political answer as to how do we interpret the precautionary principle, as exemplified in the Cartagena protocol, in the global context of technological changes.

Kekhilafahan Islam, Globalisasi dan Gerilya Maya: Studi Kasus Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia

<p class="06IsiAbstrak"><span lang="EN-GB">This paper aims to explain the role of radical Islamic organizations in the era of globalization. The case study taken in this research is Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI). As a transnational organization, Hizb ut-Tahrir grew and crossed national boundaries, including arriving in Indonesia and playing an essential role in shaping public opinion in Indonesia. This study uses qualitative research methods to collect data through online observation, which is described by content analysis. The findings of this study are Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia is part of the players of globalization. This is evidenced by the organization's involvement in 50 countries and five continents globally supported by their global media. In Indonesia, although the Government disbanded it in 2017, Hizb ut-Tahrir's activities are still strengthened and maintained through globalization instruments such as the internet. HTI then carried out virtual guerrilla activities to keep the idea of a caliphate grounded.</span></p>

Global Strategy and Multinational Corporation Capabilities

Strategy in a global setting involves competition in industries that extend across national boundaries and among firms with different national home bases that may tap into strategic resources in more than one location. The resources that the firm accesses from its home country provide it with international competitive advantage only if they are relevant in other markets, if the value they create is appropriable, and if they are transferable to those markets (RAT), These resources include tangible assets and factors of production, but, importantly, also the capabilities the firm develops. Similarly, the resources that it taps from other contexts provide it with further competitive advantage only if these resources are complementary to the firm’s existing resources, appropriable, and transferable to the locations where it can exploit them (CAT). These two sets of factors—RAT and CAT—provide a framework for international strategic decisions that emphasizes developing, acquiring, and transferring capabilities.