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Purpose: The pulp and paper industry has been the focus of government policies ever since independence. This is the only industry where government plays a multi-dimensional role – not only as the regulator but also as the supplier of raw material and as the buyer. Despite the government's omnipotent role, there is evidence that industry is not very competitive, as it has very high energy and water intensity and poor productivity. A potent factor identified in the literature for the underperformance of the industry or for that matter any economy is the kind of technology used by the firms in the sector. This paper aims to look into the role of government policy in affecting the growth of the industry and what role embodied technology has played in influencing the efficiency of firms in Indian pulp and paper industry. Design/methodology/approach: For the first question, the study uses 66 years of production data of the industry from 1951 to 2016 and tests for the structural break. For the second question, the study uses cross-section plant-level data for the year 2011-2012 of 160 paper manufacturing units to first estimate the stochastic production frontier (stochastic frontier analysis [SFA]) and then uses the output of SFA to find an association between embodied technology gap (TG) and technical efficiency. A methodological problem in earlier literature is the use of the productivity gap as a proxy for embodied TG. The present study uses technical parameters of papermaking – machine deckle and operating speed – to construct an index of TG. Findings: The results show a structural break in the production trend occurring in 1999 with the delicensing in July 1997 as the possible cause. The SFA results show that the average technical inefficiency (TE) of the firms in the sector is 74 per cent with half of the firms having TE higher than 76 per cent. The study, however, does not find any impact of embodied TG on technical efficiency; rather it is the age, size, ownership and location that have an impact on it. Originality/value: This is an original research, as the author has not come across any study in Indian context or elsewhere using technical parameters to construct TG variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial from the Journal of Management History discusses the challenges of writing editorials and the diverse perspectives within the field of management history. The author emphasizes the importance of understanding how the past informs the present and future, particularly in light of current business controversies and ethical lapses. The editorial introduces several articles that explore topics such as the emergence of revolutionary business techniques, the role of Quakerism in scientific management, the history of Barilla pasta, the impact of political movements on management theory, the use of history in branding, and the measurement of firm performance. These articles provide valuable insights into the field of management history and its relevance to contemporary issues. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the factors that affect housing prices as per Chinese articles indexed in the Chinese Science Citation Database (CSCD). There were different foci regarding what drove housing prices in China in Chinese articles, and international journal articles in English. As most previous English articles only threw light on international research, it motivated the researchers to systematically review Chinese literature's factors that affected housing prices in China. Design/methodology/approach: This paper reviewed housing price research articles indexed in the two largest Chinese academic research databases: the CSCD and China Knowledge Infrastructure Engineering Database (CNKI.NET). It systematically collected the data and adopted descriptive analysis techniques and synthesis. Findings: This research reviewed the literature published from 2015 to 2020 and revealed some unique factors affecting China's housing prices. For example, research focused on administrative aspects such as macroeconomic regulation and control (often known as macro control). Authors of Chinese articles suggested that the two-child policy affected housing prices, which differed from that in the English journal articles. The research results implied that researchers should read top Chinese journals on top of good international journals when they study China's real estate market in the future. Research limitations/implications: Because the domestic real estate market started late, domestic real estate transaction data and real estate-related statistics are more difficult to obtain. The research is mostly based on the relationship between supply and demand, government policy and individual consumer factors, and the sample has a short time span. Practical implications: As China is a planned economy country, administrative factors are one main factor that affects the housing price. There were a significant number of articles in Chinese that considered this factor to be the main driver of the real estate price. It included government investment and macro-control, i.e. direct government intervention to cool down the overheated economy. Yet, there are few English articles that threw light on this factor including the commodity housing supply and government behaviour that affect housing price. The second-child policy, which is unique in China, also played an important role in the determination of the housing price. In the articles indexed in CNKI, the second-child rate, willingness to have a second child or having a second child were mentioned in the Chinese articles but not the English ones. Social implications: In this paper, the economic, social, administrative and environmental factors were summarised, which basically covered all the factors affecting housing prices. The administrative factors were a special group of factors that affect the housing price because of the country's planned economic system. Secondly, it provided useful information to real estate development enterprises in China. To make a correct investment and management decision, real estate development enterprises must understand the actual situation and possible problems of the industry. In this study, we analysed the research literature on the real estate industry in China for the period from 2015 to 2020 one by one and determined the influencing factors of the housing price, which provided references for effective cost control. Thirdly, it allows the public to understand and grasp the real estate industry. As the housing price has been continuously increasing, the public pays increasing attention to the real estate industry. Through the literature analysis of the impact of real estate prices, this paper revealed the elements of house price expenses, which makes it convenient for ordinary people to understand the real estate industry. Originality/value: This study allows foreigners who do not know Chinese to know more about factors that drove housing prices from the Chinese perspective. It also provides insights to overseas developers who wish to enter the property market in China. The results can be generalised to other non-English-speaking real estate research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The farm sector is crucial for rural poverty alleviation, alongside the non-farm sector, which contributes to mitigating risks associated with crop failures. This paper investigates the effects of public policies on productive employment within both the farm and non-farm sectors in sub-Saharan Africa. Design/methodology/approach: A meta-analysis is conducted exclusively on the results of the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP)-funded studies under the Policy Analysis on Growth and Employment (PAGE II) initiative. Selected studies focused on the impact of public policies on productive employment in rural farm and non-farm sectors, encompassing a total of nine sub-Saharan Africa countries in: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa. Findings: The results indicate that public investments in rural areas and public policies that facilitate access to productive resources are likely to enhance productive employment. The overall effect size is positive and significant, ranging from 2% to 10% increases in productive employment. Sources of variation include the sector of activity and the policy instrument. In addition, the policy effects are gender-sensitive and seem more consistent in the non-farm sector. Research limitations/implications: Although the selected working papers addressed several aspects of productive employment, other aspects warrant further investigation. Policies involving restrictions or regulations have received little attention in the impact analysis. Researches to fill this gap would be important. Another suggestion for further research is the analysis of the relative importance of non-farm employment in rural areas in developing countries. It is always assumed that rural households depend heavily on agriculture for their subsistence. Originality/value: The contribution of the paper lies in the comparative analysis of numerous public policies implemented in nine distinct countries. By consolidating data from fourteen 14 different experiences into a single study, the paper offers valuable insights on factors that determine policy effectiveness and contribute to understanding what worked for whom and why. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to apply critical legal analysis to laws, policies and reforms focused on special educational needs (SEN) and equality in England and to suggest a Neurodiversity spectrum statement. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews current legal and policy initiatives in SEN, together with recent reforms in equality law. Findings – While past and current policies may have laudable aims, tensions such as a lack of integration of education, health and social services have had prejudicial outcomes for children with SEN, their families/carers, and the professionals involved. Originality/value – Legal reforms promise to remedy some problems, but must be underpinned by adequate resourcing, appeal procedures, and remedies which foster the enforcement of legal duties. Some resources for families with children with SEN are noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to review the literature extensively by analysing recent work and providing a guide for models, data sets and research findings. Design/methodology/approach: This paper reviews the literature extensively by analysing recent work and providing a guide for models, data sets and research findings within the context of capital market imperfections. The authors further break down the literature into closer-in-nature categories for reader's convenience and comprehension. Finally, the authors address gaps in the existing literature and propose government policies that can tone down the potential effect of credit rationing on employment. Findings: This paper provides a map of the literature so as to help future researchers in the relevant literature and give a short insight of what has been explored so far. Originality/value: This paper is original and is the result of a thorough review of an extensive literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper contributes to the literature by proposing an analysis of digital inequalities in Russia that focuses on two aspects hitherto under explored: the interregionality (by comparing and contrasting eight federal districts) and the multidimensionality of digital inequalities (by taking into account the three levels of digital divide). Therefore, the aim is to address the phenomenon of digital divide in Russia by discussing the three levels of the digital divide (access / skills / benefits) in a comparative and interregional perspective. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses secondary data for its analysis, including both national (e.g. the total number of daily Internet users in Russia) and more regionalized data (related to particular federal districts of Russia). The choice of data sources was determined by an attempt to provide a detailed and multifaceted coverage of all three levels of the digital divide in Russia, which is not limited to the access problem only. For this purpose, we are using and re-elaborating various reports about the development of the Internet and ICTs in Russia prepared by national and international organizations to cover the first level of the digital divide. To shed light upon the second and third levels of the digital divide, we discuss digital literacy report (2018), the report on Internet openness index of Russian regions (2017) and the report on the digital life index of the Russian regions (2016). Finally, in the attempt to map out the key directions of the state policy aimed at decreasing digital inequality in Russia, on both federal and regional levels, we analyze the most important regional and national policy measures to foster digitalization such as the digital Russia program, the digital government program and the program of eliminating digital inequality in Russia. Findings: We consider this study to be both a first exploration and a baseline of the three level digital divides in Russia. The paper shows how the level of socioeconomic development of the federal districts, as well as a number of objective factors (distance/isolation, urbanization level, availability of infrastructure and costs for building new infrastructure, etc.) have impact upon digitalization of the regions. As a result, several federal districts of Russia (Central, Northwestern, and, in a number of cases, Ural and Volga federal districts) more often than others take leading positions in rankings, in terms of degree of Internet penetration, audience numbers, use of e-services, etc. This correlation, however, is not universal as we will show, and some regions lacking behind in terms of access can be booming in terms of digital literacy or other factors, like it happened with the Far Eastern Federal district for example. All in all, our research showed that digital inequality in Russia is still on place and will require more time for complete elimination, even though current state and public initiatives are being actively developed. Originality/value: This paper will bring to light meaningful insights into the three levels of digital divides in Russia. Based on a multilevel (three levels of digital divide) and multi-sectional approach (the interplay of different types of inequalities), this paper contributed to overall better understanding of the digital inequalities phenomenon in Russia. It also allowed for a comparative interregional perspective, which has been missing in most papers on digital inequalities in Russia so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter conceptualizes forms and processes of erasure and visibility of migrant domestic workers through the analysis of interview data, media coverage, and public policy. This chapter builds on the existing literature on foreign domestic labor by synthesizing a framework to better represent the mechanisms that produce instances of visibility and erasure; these include transnational forces of erasure like sexism, xenophobia, and domestic labor stigma that interact with country-specific policies and norms. Within this framework of visibility and erasure, we also delineate different aspects of each, such as spatial erasure, erasure in the media, and self-erasure. Finally, this chapter explores how each of these components interconnect into a system of erasure, each aspect enabling another aspect in dampening the individuality of migrant domestic workers. This chapter is intended to illuminate the realities of erasure with careful specificity, while still crediting domestic workers for their resilience and creativity in promoting their own visibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

16 Wahl, B., Germann, C.-G.A., S., et al. (2018), "Artificial intelligence (AI) and global health: how can AI contribute to health in resource-poor settings?" Artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT)/Internet of Everything, blockchain and Big Data are expected to disrupt public and private sectors in Asian countries. It has three possibilities: cutting-edge technology will certainly make changes (technological determinism), People/organizations and cutting-edge technology can make changes (sociotechnical perspective), or only people/organizations can make changes (organizational or social determinism). The paper F " I Smart technologies challenges and issues in social inclusion: case of disabled youth in a developing country i " examines how smart technologies promote the social inclusion of disabled people in Lebanon. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate how embedding accounting techniques of cost and budgeting within the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) potentially perpetuates colonial practices for Australian First Nations people living in remote areas. Further, the paper aims to explore how accounting might help to integrate the unique modes of accountability First Nations people have over disability care into the NDIS funding system. Ultimately, the aim is to discern whether accounting practices can be mobilised as a means to decolonising the NDIS framework. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a qualitative methodology to analyse public hearings from the Australian Disability Royal Commission. Drawing on Bhabha's (1994) concept of the "third space", this study investigates how accounting techniques can be used to potentially decolonise the NDIS. This study also borrows Bhabha's (1994) concept of the third space to explore the potential for decolonising the NDIS through accounting techniques. Findings: Findings show that the accounting techniques pertaining to funding and costs embedded within the NDIS contribute to displacing and disconnecting First Nations people from their cultural practices and ways of life. Further, the analysis reveals that the NDIS funding system could help to decolonise the NDIS space if it were modified to incorporate First Nations' perspectives on accountability for disability care. Originality/value: The case of the NDIS exposes glimpses of colonisation in contemporary Australia, where Western institutional and economic systems dominate over the structure and authority of the practice. In this paper, this study demonstrates that the accounting system used by the NDIS plays a role in marginalising First Nations people. However, accounting, as a technology of negotiation, could also be mobilised to enhance accountability for disability care outcomes and pave the way for decolonising public policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]