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The foundation is rooted in strategic partnerships with contract research organizations (CROs), vendors, and associations who share collective wisdom to develop best practices or apply knowledge acquired from clinical care to the clinical trial realm. A recent analysis suggests that the global market for DCTs is expected to reach $10 billion by 2026, rising at a 6.5% compound annual growth rate between 2020-2026.2 As evidence of this growth, the SCRS/Medidata survey found that televisits, already used in the past two years by 45.1% of the 204 respondents, are likely to be adopted by an additional 39.2% of respondents in the next two years.1 The survey also reported that only 15.5% of respondents participated in decentralized or completely virtual trials in the past two years. Melissa Nezos, Vice President of Clinical Operations at Firma Clinical Research, a provider of in-home health services, comments on the ongoing shift toward DCTs. Regarding the use of more home-based visits, Rasmus Hogreffe, Vice President of Decentralized Clinical Trial Innovation at Medable, a provider of a DCT platform, says, "We are seeing rising decentralized trial adoption in the industry on a daily basis, including home visits.
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Qualitative social research on the lives of migrants in Chile involves investigating the social suffering that arises from the "migratory condition" that is produced. The progressive recrudescence of migration policies both at national and international level since the end of the 20th century has further deepened the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic, generating a complex scenario for research in this area for two reasons: the online modality assumed by the interviewing exercise, and the increase of frictions in the relationship between Chileans and migrants. In this text we ask ourselves how to investigate someone who suffers, for which we stop, on the one hand, in the interview as an exercise that should be vigilant of the structural conditions in which it occurs and that can produce symbolic violence, while it should tend to the understanding of the social from the singularity of a life that the interview attends. This implies considering that the ethics of research runs through the very exercise of, in this case, the interview, so that it is not an external constraint to the method, but an integral part of its deployment. Informed consents play a fundamental role in the achievement of the above, however, they often turn out to be standardized protocols that fail to protect or inform the participating subjects, given their technical language and the little reflection on the social relationship they establish, with the result that Informed Consent ends up being installed in the distance between the researcher and the research participant. This is why it is necessary to stop and consider what is understood by ethics, in order to make the interview a fair institution that is built on the recognition of the other as part of the research exercise. Thus, ethics in qualitative social research must be recognized as both situated and, therefore, as reflexive and non-standardized. Thus, we conclude by arguing that in qualitative social research, understanding and ethics are imbricated in a single exercise.
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Advances in tissue engineering, microfabrication, and biocompatible microfluidic chambers alongside the governmental (2) and regulatory (3) appetite to seek animal-free innovations in the drug development process has fuelled further interest and investment in this marketplace. According to market research, the global O°C market is forecast to be worth US$388 million (€354 million) by 2028 increasing from US$82 million (€75 million) in 2023, with a compound average growth of 36.4% from 2023 to 2028 (4). In March 2022, Lyon-based NETRI, attracted €8 million series A funding to help develop its novel high throughput (HT) compartmentalized microfluidic brain-on-a-chip and skin-on-a-chip technology for use by the pharma and cosmetic industry (15). Global Organ-onChip Market Size, Share, Trends, COVID-19 Impact and Growth Analysis ReportSegmented by Type (Heart-on-chip, Humanon-chip, Intestine-on-chip, Kidney-on-chip, Liver-on-chip and Lung-on-chip), Application and Region (North America, Europe, AsiaPacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa)-Industry Forecast from 2023 to 2028.
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PurposeThis paper explores how entrepreneurial culture (EC) and organizational learning (OL) determine the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of new technology-based firms (NTBFs). These NTBFs are located in Isfahan Science and Technology Town (ISTT), Iran. These entities face substantial challenges in a highly-sanctioned economy, which makes adopting, acquiring or transferring new technologies daunting.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyzes a sample of 200 NTBFs. The participants were trained chief executive officers and observed by applying pre-test and post-test designs. As a final step, empirical data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed accordingly. The structural equation modeling (SEM) with the partial least squares (PLS) approach was used by the SmartPLS2 software.Findings OL was found to mediate the relationship between EC and EO in the studied NTBFs. Additionally, the indirect effect of EC on EO and the direct impact of OL on EO were significant (=1.96). Therefore, this study focuses on selected NTBFs within Iran's particular and distinctive context.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has several limitations. These were the time consuming nature, the lack of cooperation by managers and the COVID-19 pandemic-related challenges. Nonetheless, the findings offer several important implications for practitioners, scholars and policymakers.Originality/valueThe paper sought to explore how EC and OL determine EO in Iranian NTBFs. It, thus, investigates the case of a highly-sanctioned context during the coronavirus pandemic, which imposed several basic and technological limitations on their practices.
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Based on 1692 outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) events of 735 A-share listed companies in China's manufacturing industry from 2010 to 2019, this paper empirically examines the effect of investment motivation and the impact of institutional differences between China and the host country on the choice of OFDI entry mode;the paper also investigates the moderating effect of the "Belt and Road” Initiative (BRI) on Chinese manufacturing enterprises (CMEs) through use of the logit model. The empirical results show that, with greater institutional differences, CMEs become more inclined to choose cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Furthermore, a positive moderating effect of resource-seeking motivation on the choice of M&A OFDI by CMEs is observed. The signing of the "Belt and Road” cooperation document positively moderates institutional differences in promoting CMEs—especially state-owned CMEs—to choose the M&A mode. The "Belt and Road” Initiative provides an efficient supply system for OFDI by CMEs. This study enriches and extends existing institutional theories and provides suggestions for the promotion of the geopolitical pattern and international cooperation regarding the "Belt and Road” Initiative.
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PurposeThe key concern nowadays is smartphone addiction and user profiles. Following the risk and protective factors framework, the authors aim to characterize smartphone users according to two levels: (1) individual: referred to the use (i.e. boredom proneness, compulsive app downloading smartphone addiction) and (2) microsystem: referred to family and peers (i.e. family harmony and phubbing). Besides, the authors will derive useful managerial implications and strategies.Design/methodology/approachFirst, an extensive literature revision and in-depth interviews with experts were employed to identify the addiction-related variables at the individual and microsystem level. Second, information was collected from a sample of 275 Spanish smartphone users, and a K-means clustering algorithm was employed to classify smartphone users.FindingsThe proposed traffic lights schema identifies three users' profiles (red, yellow and green) regarding their smartphone addiction and considering individual and microsystem critical variables.Originality/valueThis study proposes a practical and pioneer traffic lights schema to classify smartphone users and facilitate each cluster's strategies development.
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Despite the challenges, remittances frequently remain a primary source of economic support for those left behind, as well as for national development of post-conflict countries. [...]situations in the wake of recent conflicts are known for heightened remittance flows.3 As a large share of the remittance flows in conflict settings occurs through informal channels, the importance of remittances in these economies has often been underestimated. A focus on broader settings that can provide security, justice, and economic sustenance to individuals and communities affected by the crisis has been reflected in the human security approach6 to post-conflict7 development.8 Remittances can be central to fighting poverty—by diversifying household income sources, providing capital for productive investment and facilitating local markets, and funding education, health, and other social expenses.9 Remittances can contribute to post-conflict recovery in the long term. "20 Horst has shown that among the Somali diaspora in Norway, most political engagements do not occur through state institutions but take place on sub-national levels, including individual and group money transfers and certain humanitarian initiatives.21 Somali diaspora members mediate with clan leaders and elders who can contribute to reconciliation processes through customary mechanisms such as compensatory payments, but as noted above, such involvement can also sustain continued warfare.22 While the role of diaspora in post-conflict reconstruction efforts can be significant, diaspora can also remain an "under-utilized resource" whose strong emotional connection to their home country is offset by unstable institutional environments.23 Weak formal institutions and regulatory frameworks may offer little systematic support for entrepreneurship development, which is constrained by high transaction and compliance costs. Informal institutions and cultural attitudes remain important in the post-conflict assimilation of returning migrants who bring with them beliefs and understandings from their countries of settlement, resulting in hybrid norms and institutions.24 Many forcibly displaced and returning migrants may also lack properly transferable professional skills.25 The transfer of social and political remittances does not always signify "diffusion of democracy"—the effects of returning migrants to democratization depend on their experience of political mobilization as migrant workers, as well as on the status of democratic values in the political order of the host country, among other factors.26 Changing perspectives on conflict-affected remittances Remittances became central in the migration scholarship only in the 1990s, when the analytical focus shifted from migration as a result of [End Page 44] decision-making of rational individuals towards a more nuanced view of the role of households, social networks, and community in migration processes.
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Digital tools have evolved into a way of life, and as a result, they have become a growing area of interest for academics who research teaching and learning. Scholars increasingly agree that because digital tools affect human-to-human connection, a greater emphasis on understanding their function in engagement from an interdisciplinary viewpoint is required. However, there does not appear to have been much research on how these tools facilitate social engagement, especially in teaching and learning. This mixed methods study employs a case-study design and explores how digital tools help or hinder social engagement in teaching and learning at a South African-based tertiary institution. A questionnaire consisting of open and closed questions was used to collect data from 88 students from four academic departments at a University of Technology (UoT): Media, Retail and Business Management, Entrepreneurship, and Food Science. Based on the concept of social engagement and the uses and gratifications theory, this interdisciplinary project examines how different fields employ digital tools for social engagement. Some of the findings are that of the communication technologies considered, WhatsApp (97%), video conferencing via Blackboard Collaborate (96.6%) and blackboard course content (95.5%) were the top three ranked tools. Further, WhatsApp was the preferred digital tool for communication with lecturers and peers, while Blackboard was the preferred platform for accessing course materials such as readings and videos. Other than video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, Blackboard Collaborate and YouTube, students use digital tools for engagement with peers. For example, around a quarter of students who used Blackboard Discussion Forums reported engaging with each other. From the qualitative reflections, the study found that students were communicating more with their lecturers through digital tools. Despite having access to lecture recordings, there was still a sense that the educational experience was not as engaging as students wanted it to be because of the lack of in-person engagement.
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The application of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) in the field of logistics leads to the emergence and development of the concept of logistics 4.0. Many I4.0 technologies have been applied in the field of logistics. The goal of this research is to analyze the applicability of nine key I4.0 technologies in logistics centers (LC). For this purpose, an integrated MEREC (MEthod based on the Removal Effects of Criteria)—fuzzy MARCOS (Measurement of Alternatives and Ranking according to COmpromise Solution) model was developed. The applicability of nine I4.0 technologies was evaluated based on 15 subcriteria within three main groups of criteria, namely, technological, social and political, and economic and operative. Using the MEREC method, the weight values of the criteria and subcriteria were determined, while the technologies were ranked using the fuzzy MARCOS method. Based on the results obtained by applying this integrated MCDM (multicriteria decision-making) model, CC was identified as the best alternative, i.e., the technology that is most applicable in logistics centers, followed by IoT and big data. An analysis of the sensitivity of the obtained results to the change in the importance of the criteria was carried out, which shows certain changes in the ranking when the importance of the most important criterion changes.
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Firms have often used strategic alliances as a strategy to cope with increased uncertainty. This paper argues that a firm needs to learn to leverage its absorptive capacity to exploit and explore the contracting knowledge in strategic alliances so as to enhance efficiency, scope, and flexibility. It conceptually examines how a firm's contractual absorptive capacity co-evolves with its knowledge environment under uncertainty as part of learning. By integrating transaction cost economics and absorptive capacity literatures, this paper offers a rich picture of the co-evolutionary processes underlying contractual absorptive capacity in strategic alliances under uncertainty. It also incorporates a more refined (and underexplored) conceptualization of asset specificity and uncertainty, two key constructs in transaction cost economics, into the coevolutionary framework of absorptive capacity in strategic alliances. It illustrates some of the concepts with examples from the hospitality industry, where the impact of uncertainty is clearly evident - particularly in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the role of procurement digitalization in reducing uncertainty in the supply chain (SC) and how it relates to mitigating SC risks and improving SC resilience (SCRES).Design/methodology/approachBased on survey data collected from the procurement functions of 147 Finnish firms, this study conceptualizes data analytics, information sharing and procurement process digitalization as drivers of procurement digitalization and investigates their impact on SC risk management and SCRES by using partial least squares path modeling.FindingsProcurement digitalization through data analytics and digital process maturity requires effective information sharing among SC partners and SC risk management to be able to improve SCRES. Procurement digitalization increases information-processing capacities and reduces uncertainty in the SC.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the understanding on the relationships between procurement digitalization and SCRES.
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Emotions are part of every human being;they are part of the biological structural system. They are sensations that are acquired through neurological transmitters. Therefore, they play an important role in the development ofpeople. From the sentimental perspective, which are internal feelings that, in turn, are divided into secondary and adaptive emotions, rumination consists of repetitive, intrusive, and unwanted ideas with feelings of worry, sadness, among others, that generate symptoms of emotional discomfort. Therefore, obsessive and difficult to handle ideas are presented. The general objective of the research was to know the rumination levels of university students according to age and gender. The quantitative approach was used, the descriptive method, the type of study was substantive with a sample of850 students of the health career under a random probabilistic sampling. The Ruminative Response Scale instrument was used with two dimensions: reproaches and reflection. The results showed that women obtained a high level of rumination with 44.4%;regarding age, between 21 and 23 years old, they obtained a high level of rumination of 39.4 and, in the reproach dimension, they obtained a percentage of 42%. It is concluded that these students presented obsessive ideas and, sometimes, were compulsive due to the situation of confinement to which they were subjected for more than two years of the pandemic.
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PurposeThe aim of this paper is to explore the evolving nature of the work of cabin crew in a Scandinavian carrier in three eras, drawing on theories of gender and emotional labour.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on ethnographic data from fieldwork, interviews and documents.FindingsFrom being a feminized and temporary occupation for young, upper- and middle-class women in the 1970s, the occupation became a full-time job and with greater diversity of cabin crew. Today there are signs of the job becoming a precarious and temporary one of demanding and devalorized work in a polarized and class-divided labour market. Changing circumstances impact on the emotional labour requirement and terms and conditions at work.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation is that the research design was not initially longitudinal in the sense that the author does not have exactly the same kind of data from each era. The author has, however, been involved in this field for two decades, used multiple methods and interacted with different stakeholders and drew on a unique data material.Practical implicationsThe development in aviation is contributing to new discriminatory practices, driving employee conditions downwards and changing the job demands. This development will have practical consequences for the lives and families of cabin crew.Social implicationsThe analysis illustrates how work ‘constructs' workers and contributes in creating jobs that are not sustainable for the employees. Intensification of work, insecurity and tougher working conditions also challenge key features in the Nordic model such as proper pay, decent work and a life-long employment. Much indicates that the profession is again becoming a temporary one of demanding work with poor working conditions in a polarized and class-divided labour market.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the literature on emotional labour, gender and the evolving nature of the work of cabin crew. The unique data material, the longitudinal aspect of the research and the focus on a single network carrier are good in charting changes over time.
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The governance indicators of any country may reflect how safe is it to invest in its markets. The question is whether these indicators are being considered by foreign investors in the stock markets. A quantitative approach was used in this study to answer this question and explore how governance indicators can affect the size of the foreign ownership in the stock markets of the Middle East. The study covered the period from 2010 to 2019 excluding the time of financial crisis and the time of COVID-19. The collected data were analyzed using ordinary least squares method. Study results revealed that foreign investors in the stock markets of the Middle East do not consider governance indicators when taking their investment decisions because the foreign ownership in the equity markets was not affected by the governance indicators even when testing each country and each indicator individually.
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In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the emotional, spiritual, and social well-being of 1,036 German Seventh-day Adventists were analyzed;usage of the Church's digital media resources was also analyzed. This study found that older peoples' well-being was particularly high, and this group also benefited from digital media resources. The findings presented in this article may encourage Christian and non-Christian communities alike to further expand their digital media resources to provide helpful resources during the successive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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This article explores the linkages between queerness, racialization, activism, and community care in the South Asian diaspora. It examines activism, organizing, and social movement work practiced by queer diasporic South Asians in the UK and the United States. By analyzing the South Asian activist relationship to, and solidarity and partnership with, Black liberation activism, this article conceptualizes a framing of queer South Asian diasporic solidarity. This solidarity is framed through contrasting articulations of joint struggle, allyship, and kinship in queer communities. To articulate this struggle, the article contrasts histories of South Asian racialization, politicization, and queerness in the UK and the United States, and synthesizes first-person activist accounts of modern-day queer South Asian activists in the diaspora. Finally, it argues that queer feminist South Asian activists in both countries are employing a model of queered solidarity with Black activists and Black liberation, though in differing forms in each country, that centers queer intimacies and anti-patriarchal modes of organizing for liberation across queer communities of color.
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In this formulation, the US-ROK Alliance—what the State Department deems the "linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity" in the region—stands not as a form of military occupation or imperial clientelism, but one of righteous defense from regional bogeyman such as the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).3 The endemic violence of US militarism—from sexual exploitation in military "camptowns" to the extralegal status of US servicemen—is rendered a mere footnote to a program of liberal internationalism which claims to preside over what the US military euphemistically terms a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific. "4 Blinken's easy distinction between the singular act of the Atlanta shootings and the routinized violence of US imperialism speaks to the contradictions at the heart of the Biden administration's aspiration to restore both racial liberalism and global US power.5 Since the campaign trail, platitudes about restoring global US leadership have made up the core of the Biden administration's foreign policy platform. [...]Biden pitched his presidency as a means to reinstate the era of racial liberalism in order to "restore the soul of the nation" from the crude racism of the Trump era.7 Asian /Americans have been cast to perform the work of legitimation under the intersecting projects of racial liberalism and US hegemony—from the symbolic inclusion of Asian /Americans into the US national body to the incorporation of allied Asian states into a US-led orbit of militarized peace.8 On the one hand, Asian /Americans have become a performative symbol of a reascendant racial liberalism. What does it mean, then, in a region still shaped by Cold War imperialism, to proclaim that "America is back," as Kamala Harris did on her first trip to Asia as Vice President in August 2021?13 Even more, how do we make sense of the declaration of a "new" Cold War, emerging as it does from the unfinished business of an "old" Cold War that never ended?
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The authors stress that both economic and military investments will be required to counter China's integration of statecraft and industry.1 It is further suggested that a selective procurement of allies within the Asian-Pacific region is necessary to counter Chinese economic dominance, military aggression, and coercive practices.2 An Open World suggests that the United States should look to build on existing relationships within trade and security cooperatives in the Indo-Pacific region and bolster the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, known as the Quad, to become a formal alliance that projects a robust military presence to counter Chinese aggression and encroachment within the South China Sea. [...]the authors point out the current dearth of expertise, talent, and diplomatic finesse that exists within the United States Department of State. In November 2020, the four members participated in a joint naval exercise meant to improve sea readiness for their fleets.6 This exercise was followed by a virtual meeting the following March and the establishment of working groups to tackle challenges such as supply-chain resilience and COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution.7 If these working groups are the extent of the Quad's influence, then the United States needs to seek other alliances to combat China's aggressive economic and military tactics. Coupling public and private sector goals While this type of partnership with private firms is promising, the authors admit to the widening gap between the national security interests of the public sector and the industrial mission of private corporations, which seems to weaken their argument.