Emerging Platform Work in the Context of the Regulatory Loophole (The Uber Fiasco in Hungary)

Platform works are swiftly turning into a big, perhaps game-changing force in the labor market. From low-skilled, low-paid services (like passenger transport) to high-skilled, high-paying project-based labor (like developing artificial intelligence algorithms), digital platforms can handle a wide range of tasks. Our paper discusses the platform-based content, working conditions, employment status, and advocacy problems. Terminological and methodological problems are dealt with in-depth in the course of the literature review, together with the ‘gray areas’ of work and employment regulation. To examine some of the complex dynamics of this fast-evolving arena, we focus on the unsuccessful market entry of the digital platform company Uber in Hungary 2016 and the relationship to institutional-regulatory platform-based work standards. Dilemmas about the enforcement of labor law regarding platform-based work are also paid special attention to the study. Employing a digital workforce is a challenge not only for labor law regulation but also for stakeholder advocacy.

Patriarchy as Institutional

In considering patriarchy as potentially institutional and as a characteristic also of contemporary Western societies, a fundamental issue concerns how to make sense of largely informal institutions to begin with. Traditional accounts of institutions have often focused on formalized ones. It is argued here, however, that the principal idea behind one commonly accepted conception of institutions can be developed in a way that better facilitates an explication of informal institutions. When applied to the phenomenon of patriarchy, such an approach can then also allow us to ontologically make sense of gray areas and hierarchies of authority, as well as the intersectionality of social positions.

Democracy’s Autonomy Dilemma: Whistleblowing and the Politics of Disclosure

Democracy has been characterized from its outset by an autonomy dilemma. On the one hand, we think it vital that organizations work according to their own codes and logics. On the other hand, we insist that autonomy must never be complete, that citizens have a right to transgress boundaries to expose wrongdoing. With their insider position in the organizations where wrongdoing occurs, whistleblowers hold a unique place within this democratic politics of disclosure, which has so far not been sociologically theorized. This article takes four steps to address this lacuna: First, I situate whistleblowing within the democratic landslides that took place during the 1960s and 1970s; second, I disentangle it from practices such as journalism and activism; third, I argue that whistleblowers are particularly well positioned to detect normalized wrongdoing within organizations; and fourth, I discuss how whistleblowers’ most pronounced effect is the disclosure of gray areas that have gone under the democratic radar.

Litigations with the home State and internationalization

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) can be driven by the creative compliance knowledge that firms gather in their home country through litigations with the government. Design/methodology/approach The authors draw on the knowledge-based view and organizational learning theory to argue that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between experience in litigating with the home State and a firm’s level of FDI. The authors test this hypothesis using negative binomial regressions on a sample of Spanish listed firms for the period between 1986 and 2008. Findings The findings of this study confirm the hypothesized inverted U-shaped relationship between a firm’s experience in litigating with the home State and its FDI levels. Firms seem to face an exploration–exploitation dilemma regarding their compliance with domestic regulation. Once they have accumulated a certain amount of creative compliance knowledge, it would be better for them to exploit it both domestically and internationally in the form of creative compliance routines, instead of continuing to push the limits of regulation. Originality/value Firms willing to explore the gray areas of the law are usually forced to litigate with the State. As a result, they develop creative compliance knowledge that they can incorporate into their legal routines and capabilities so that they can later exploit it in foreign countries. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that attempts to understand the influence of creative compliance knowledge on a firm’s international investments.

THE CAUSES AND IMPLICATION OF DELAYED PASSAGE OF 2018 BUDGET ON THE NIGERIAS ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND GROWTH PLAN

The study utilized descriptive techniques in the assessment of the impact of sectoral allocations of Nigerias 2018 annual budget on selected macroeconomic variables of GDP growth rate, Exchange rate, Inflation, Oil prices, Oil production, Debt servicing among others and the 2016 Nigerias Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP). We identified some gray areas in the budget, budget padding, constitutional lacuna, non-compliance with fiscal responsibility Act, late preparation and consideration of medium-term expenditure framework, political face-off between the National Assembly and the executive, lack of patriotism as the causes of the long delay in the consideration and passage of the 2018 budget by the national Assembly. The study therefore recommends amendment of the 1999 constitution, sanctioning of erring Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and deployment of ICT in budgeting tracking by civil society groups, communities and the general public.

What is considered deception in experimental economics?

In experimental economics there is a norm against using deception. But precisely what constitutes deception is unclear. While there is a consensus view that providing false information is not permitted, there are also “gray areas” with respect to practices that omit information or are misleading without an explicit lie being told. In this paper, we report the results of a large survey among experimental economists and students concerning various specific gray areas. We find that there is substantial heterogeneity across respondent choices. The data indicate a perception that costs and benefits matter, so that such practices might in fact be appropriate when the topic is important and there is no other way to gather data. Compared to researchers, students have different attitudes about some of the methods in the specific scenarios that we ask about. Few students express awareness of the no-deception policy at their schools. We also briefly discuss some potential alternatives to “gray-area” deception, primarily based on suggestions offered by respondents.

The Push and Pull of Inclusive Practices in Contemporary Public Schooling

In this Voices: Reflective Accounts of Education essay, Carrie C. Snow reflects on her experiences as both a recipient of pull-out services as a young child and as a special educator. She highlights the complex nature of special education services and how their provision is rife with gray areas. Negotiating various tensions in decision-making around whether to provide push-in or pull-out services to students with special educational needs, special educators can embrace this sense of gray to create and sustain flexible practices that forefront quality learning for their students. She discusses ways that pull-out services for students with distinct needs can work to support their learning, as well as ways they do not. For students to cultivate a trust for schooling, feel an interconnectedness, and experience joy in learning, teachers’ decisions around special education service delivery can never be cut and dried.

Gray Areas and Doubtful Matters (al-Shubhat, Mashbuh, Mashkuk)

The term “gray areas” refers to certain intervening (and often undetermined) matters that fall between the halal and haram. The rules of halal and haram are not exhaustive of all situations and animal types. Doubts may arise mainly because of two factors: either the source evidence of the shariah is not free from doubt in respect of meaning or authenticity, or its application to a particular subject or case is uncertain. Some animals (birds, marine creatures, etc.) are not mentioned in the fiqh books, and one is not sure whether they are lawful or otherwise. Items such as gelatin, insulin, and food additives are also doubtful. This chapter examines these and other doubtful situations, and also what should be done when they arise.