Evidence on Research Transparency in Economics

A decade ago, the term “research transparency” was not on economists' radar screen, but in a few short years a scholarly movement has emerged to bring new open science practices, tools and norms into the mainstream of our discipline. The goal of this article is to lay out the evidence on the adoption of these approaches – in three specific areas: open data, pre-registration and pre-analysis plans, and journal policies – and, more tentatively, begin to assess their impacts on the quality and credibility of economics research. The evidence to date indicates that economics (and related quantitative social science fields) are in a period of rapid transition toward new transparency-enhancing norms. While solid data on the benefits of these practices in economics is still limited, in part due to their relatively recent adoption, there is growing reason to believe that critics' worst fears regarding onerous adoption costs have not been realized. Finally, the article presents a set of frontier questions and potential innovations.

THE TARGET DETECTION ON THE SEA SURFACE BASED ON STANDARD DEVIATION OF THE MAXIMUM EIGENVALUE OF THE POLARIZATION COVARIANCE MATRIX

This paper proposes a novel method to detect small sea targets, using polarimetric radar. The standard deviation of maximum eigenvalue of the polarization covariance matrix is ultilized for the detection. In order to evaluate the new algorithm in practical applications, the real data collected from polarimetric IPIX radar at MC Master University is tested with the new algorithm, and the result is displayed on the radar screen. The results of this method is also compared with those of the DoP and SP-GLR methods. Initial results show that the novel method significantly improves the detectability of small sea targets on the sea surface.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR SCHOOL ROLE PLAYERS IN ADDRESSING CYBER INCIDENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Cyber incidents are causing major challenges for school officials who are called upon to respond to these incidents involving learners, globally. Online threats take place off the radar screen of educators and parents, and this makes it difficult to address cyber incidents in schools and more impossible to monitor off school premises. The overwhelming challenges in South African schools are that there are no clear roles and responsibilities for relevant role-players when handling cyber incidents. Therefore, this article is aimed to determine the responsibilities of role players in handling cyber incidents in South African schools. The research used a qualitative approach and purposive sampling to collect data from the learners, to get their experiences and perceptions on reporting cyber incidents. The rationale for selecting learners was based on the view that cyber aggression is a very concerning issue in the school environment. The research went on to document the responsibilities of various role-players, which include the school with its educators, principal and the learners, the Department of Basic Education, the community, and the parents. The article focused on highlighting the roles and responsibilities of role players when handling cyber incidents in South African Schools and the views of learners on adults when handling cyber incidents. The study concludes that if the role players seriously follow their roles and responsibilities, cyber incidents can be reduced in schools. It is also important to note that role players cannot work in isolation; rather, they need a coordinated approach to share the responsibilities, as cyber incidents are not restricted to the classroom or school grounds. This problem requires all role players to work together, in proactive ways to intervene and reduce cyber incidents.

Velomobiles and Urban Mobility: Opportunities and Challenges

As the transport challenges facing urban areas intensify, innovative solutions are required to address the social, economic and environmental impacts arising from overreliance on private motor vehicles. Velomobiles offer a range of advantages but do not feature on the radar screen of urban transport policy makers. This chapter explores the challenges and opportunities of increased adoption of velomobiles as an urban mobility option. A scan of existing velomobiles is used to define typical characteristics of these vehicles and place them into perspective against relevant travel options before they are assessed in the context of typical vehicle regulations and facility design guidelines. The opportunities and challenges associated with greater adoption of velomobiles in the context of urban travel are examined through the lenses of technology adoption and the sociotechnical framing of independent travel options. Shared mobility is identified as one potential way of broadening the base for velomobile adoption in urban areas.

SARS: A Crisis Analysis Case Study

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) crisis was the first epidemic caused by a novel virus in the 21st century, killing nearly 774 globally and 349 in China. Started in late 2002, it escalated from a localized outbreak into a national and ultimately an international crisis within just a few months, before the outbreak was finally brought under control in June 2003. The governmental actors were caught off guard before a timely and comprehensive response was put in place in mid-April 2003. As pandemics are becoming both more frequent and more devastating, it is important that efforts be made to intervene early in an outbreak to prevent a potential national and even global threat. The provincial and national governments did not take prompt and comprehensive actions, even after the disease began spreading quickly and taking lives. The Chinese government dramatically revamped their approach to SARS and took very decisive action to respond to the spread of the SARS virus in April 2003; this occurred only when decision makers had been informed of this crisis situation and put on notice to put crisis management on their radar screen and make it a “top priority.” Therefore, it’s necessary to understand what factors influenced the initial delayed response by local and national Chinese governments, from the perspective of information management and governmental political agenda.

The Equustek Effect: A Canadian Perspective on Global Takedown Orders in the Age of the Internet

This chapter examines the Canadian Equustek case, tracing the development of internet jurisdiction cases in the late 1990s to the current legal battles over the appropriate scope of court orders that wield far greater effect than conventional, domestic-based orders. The chapter begins by recounting the Yahoo France case, the internet jurisdiction case that placed the conflict challenges squarely on the legal radar screen. It continues with a detailed examination of the Equustek decision and its aftermath, including efforts by Google to curtail the effect of the Canadian court order by obtaining a countervailing order from a US court and the use by Canadian courts to extend the ruling to other internet platforms and online issues. It also cites one additional risk with overbroad national court orders related to online activity, namely the prospect of further empowering large internet intermediaries, who may selectively choose which laws and orders to follow, thereby overriding conventional enforcement of court orders and national regulation.

The role of high-performance people management practices in Industry 4.0: the case of medium-sized Spanish firms

Purpose: This paper wants to build the case for the key role of high-performance people management practices in the development of I4.0 in SMEs. The research upon which this paper is based wants to prove that the consolidation of those practices should be a priority for any company willing to embark in this journey. The paper deals specifically with medium-sized Spanish firms which, on top, are already having significant issues with digitization.Design/methodology/approach: The paper starts by digging into the literature to see how past technologies have impacted productivity, followed by a review of the material available on digitization and Industry 4.0. It moves on to explore the relationship between people management practices, productivity and innovation. Finally, the focus is placed on Spanish medium-sized companies, understanding their current levels of consolidation of high-performance people management practices as well as digitization. With all this information, several propositions are posited for validation using the Delphi methodology.Findings: I4.0 is, at its core, about productivity improvements through business process and business model innovation. People management practices are found to be strongly correlated with both productivity and innovation. It has also been found that Spanish medium-sized firms already have a significant initial gap compared to those of other OECD countries not only in productivity, but also people management practices and digitization. The experts seem to agree on the key role of people management practices and that they should be a high priority for any firm seriously thinking about industry 4.0. This is not to say that strategy or leadership will not play a paramount role in any digital transformation, but to emphasize the fact that the normally-forgotten people management practices will be important enablers in this process.Originality/value: It is believed that this is a topic that has been mostly neglected in the I4.0 literature. In that sense, the findings of this paper could be relevant for small and medium-sized businesses embarking on the industry 4.0 journey. This will entail a significant investment of time and money and, if the key role of people management practices is not on the radar screen, it may have significant implications for the success of those ventures.

Projecting Success

Changing the trajectory of Black male students may not yet be a national conversation, but it's on the national radar screen. The success of Black males has increasingly become a topic of research, dialogue, debate, and strategic planning. As we engage in the conversation, however, talking with Black male students is a reminder that we're educating kids, not statistics, and that, as one Black student affirms, “The truth doesn't live in numbers. It lives in the person.” The challenges facing Black males throughout the educational pipeline have been discussed by researchers in detail. However, missing from this research are discussions from the perspective of researchers, educators, and community members united on how to better support Black males. This case study examines the field placement partnership between Perimeter College and Project Success: 100 Black Men of Atlanta. The case study documents the goals, plans, and outcomes of the three-year partnership.