This Obscure Thing Called Transparency

Transparency is the metaphor of our time. Whether in government or corporate governance, finance, technology, health or the media – it is ubiquitous today, and there is hardly a current debate that does not call for more transparency. But what does this word actually stand for and what are the consequences for the life of individuals? Can knowledge from the arts, and its play of visibility and invisibility, tell us something about the paradoxical logics of transparency and mediation? This Obscure Thing Called Transparency gathers contributions by international experts who critically assess the promises and perils of transparency today.

This Obscure Thing Called Transparency

Transparency is the metaphor of our time. Whether in government or corporate governance, finance, technology, health or the media – it is ubiquitous today, and there is hardly a current debate that does not call for more transparency. But what does this word actually stand for and what are the consequences for the life of individuals? Can knowledge from the arts, and its play of visibility and invisibility, tell us something about the paradoxical logics of transparency and mediation? This Obscure Thing Called Transparency gathers contributions by international experts who critically assess the promises and perils of transparency today.

The Benefit of Thrombectomy in Patients With Low ASPECTS Is a Matter of Shades of Gray—What Current Trials May Have Missed

Randomized trials supporting the benefit of endovascular treatment in acute ischemic stroke patients with a large early infarction are not yet available. Few retrospective studies exist that suggest a potential positive treatment effect on functional outcome, as well as procedural safety. However, potential benefit or harm of MT in patients with low initial ASPECTS is still a subject of current debate, and in particular, how to select these patients for treatment. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate how early tissue water uptake in acute ischemic brain might determine lesion fate and functional outcome in low ASPECTS patients undergoing MT. We observed that the degree of early water uptake measured by quantitative NWU was significantly associated with functional outcome in low ASPECTS patients, yielding a higher diagnostic power compared to other parameters such as ASPECTS, age, or NIHSS. No conclusive evidence of a beneficial effect of successful reperfusion was observed in patients with low ASPECTS and high NWU, which highlights the potential of NWU as a tool to specify patient selection.

Technical Education, Vocational Training and Industrialisation in Sub-Saharan Africa(SSA)

This study contributes to a deeper understanding and perspective on the current debate on structural transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by investigating the effect of technical vocational education and training on industrial performance between 1980 - 2018. The panel data used for this study were obtained from World Development Indicators (WDI), International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Fraser Institute databases. The empirical results derived from the Instrumental Variable (IV) Two-Stage Least Squares (2-SLS) econometric approach highlighted the important role of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as key determinants of industrial performance in SSA. The study found strong and robust relationship between TVET and measures of industrialisation. General secondary education, on the other hand, had a negative effect on industrialisation in SSA. The paper recommends therefore that there is the need for a complete overhaul and revision of the educational system in SSA with more emphasis on TVET in order to meet the required labour demand for industrial needs in the foreseable future.

Agri-food entrepreneurship. Harvesting, growing and reseeding the orchard through a bibliometric study

PurposeScholarly literature on entrepreneurial activities in the agri-food sector has flourished over the years in several different ways. This study uses the metaphor of an orchard to describe how this stream of literature has evolved from its initial “seeds” to the rich and diversified “fruits” of current debate. It is now time to harvest and catalogue these “fruits”. This study aims to map out and systematise the current stock of knowledge on agri-food entrepreneurship, so as to identify gaps and thus “plant” new seeds for the future of the “orchard”.Design/methodology/approachTo identify thematic clusters, this study used a bibliometric analysis coupled with a systematic literature review performed over a dataset of 108 peer-reviewed articles.FindingsThe results revealed six thematic clusters related to agri-food entrepreneurship: ecosystems, formal and informal institutions; contextual entrepreneurial practices; community and stakeholders’ engagement; barriers and opportunities; entrepreneurial orientation; and sustainable entrepreneurship. After investigating each of them, this study created a framework to highlight future avenues through which the topic could be further developed.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to systematise, analyse and critically interpret the literature concerned with agri-food entrepreneurship.

Employee Stock Ownership in Morocco

Today, the notion of social interest occupies an essential place in legal science. For a long time limited to the shareholders' own interests, today a large part of the legal doctrine insists on the necessity to take into consideration all the interests that contribute to the prosperity of the company, such as its employees, its suppliers, its customers. This is the sense in which the current debate on corporate governance and CSR (corporate social responsibility) is heading. In the context of this study, attention will be focused on the case of the employee. How does one take into consideration the interest of the latter in the company? Both forms of involvement are important, but the authors limit themselves to the second one, namely employee stock ownership.

THE CONCEPT OF BASIC INCOME IN THE BRITISH POLITIAL CONTEXT

The article explores the current debate on basic income in the UK. The growing interest in this concept, which implies the introduction of unconditional and equal for all regular cash payments, is caused by problems common to Western European countries, i.e. an increase in income inequality, the risk of technological unemployment, as well as the need to take urgent measures to support the population at times of pandemic. In the British context, however, ideological and political factors play a significant role, such as a rich intellectual tradition of developing universal approaches to social security and the desire of a number of parties, both national and regional, to use this increasingly popular concept for their own political purposes. It is concluded that in the medium term, the UK's transition to basic income is unlikely, but the very discussion on its introduction can serve as a catalyst for serious social transformations.

Gender-Based violence in Pakistan: Incidences, Emerging Statutes, Intrusions & Factual Strategies

This article discovers by facilitating a brief recognition of Gender-based violence (hereinafter GBV) and its impact in society as breach of human rights which administration is abandoning for years. It’s a misery for our country to lack in making good policies regarding gender disputes and social rights related to human beings. The article reconnoitres different behaviours in which women are being victimized, degree of violence, its effect on victims and society at large. The current investigation will also covers adequacy of prevailing laws for women’s safety; acquiescence by Government and to what extent Pakistan fulfils its legal pledge related to CEDAW? Moreover flaw existing in CEDAW and Pakistan’s current debate in parliament to have new regulations in this sphere is also being discussed. In the end, suggestions and recommendations are made for Government, United Nations and Global Community for applied purpose through which women can be provided legal safeguard.

THE STRATEGIC CHOICES IN ACHIEVING TOURISM'S COMPETITIVENESS AND PERFORMANCE AMONG HOTELS IN INDONESIA

The current debate between external strategy and a resource-based approach as a driver of competitiveness is rarely investigated in a developing region. This study investigates whether an external focus or a resource-based strategy is better for leveraging the hotel industry's competitiveness and performance in a developing area in Indonesia. The authors obtained saturated responses from 204 managers and analyzed them with PLS-SEM's two-stage and repeated indicator approach while interviewing some of them. This study developed a formative model in PLS-SEM as a better method for investigating an organization's performance than a reflective approach. Quantitative analysis revealed the resource-based view as a better basis for supporting hotels' competitiveness and performance; however, the interview revealed considerable concerns over arising externalities. This paper suggests that hotel managers improve their internal core competence instead of wasting resources and worrying about external issues.

Utilising police knowledge and skills: Experiences from police practitioners studying a police specific degree

This article presents preliminary findings from a longitudinal study contributing to the current debate about police education and professionalising the police in England and Wales. The findings in this article are taken from a survey administered in 2016 to third-year students enrolled in a policing degree. Surveys were distributed to police officer students in the last year of their degree programme asking for their perceptions of the degree, their organisation's support for their learning and how they felt that learning was utilised in their workplace. Supplementary to the survey, interviews were conducted with the students after their graduation in 2018. The research findings suggest that students perceived the benefits of obtaining a degree-level qualification as fundamentally important to their professional development and personal decision-making at work. Early support initially received for study leave purposes, rarely extended beyond this practical provision. The extent to which police organisations valued the learning from the degree was perceived to be lacking. Senior-ranked students were more likely to be able to use and promote their newly acquired skills and knowledge in the workplace compared with lower-ranked students. Such findings may inform scholars’ and practitioners’ continued evaluation of police education reforms in England and Wales.