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The rise of the internet has upended numerous industries, but none more so than news production. The connectivity fostered by digitization has been accompanied by the emergence of content aggregation, the proliferation of fake news, and the extended geographic reach of industry leaders, all of which have served to hollow out local reporting capacity. In this work, we examine the result of changes wrought by the internet on an outcome of theoretical and practical significance: corruption. Inasmuch as newspapers are viewed as an important investigative arm of local communities, it is possible that corrupt local actors will be emboldened in their absence. To test this hypothesis, we employed a difference-in-differences approach, exploiting the phased closure of major daily newspapers across the country. Our results indicate a significant and positive correlation between federal corruption charges and newspaper closures. Further, we observed no evidence that the rise in online news vendors or the democratization of the press ameliorates this effect. This suggests a key issue with the increased geographic reach of digitized firms in the form of "information blindness" to local issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating the theory of workplace deviance with person–environment fit theory, we propose a two‐pathway model to explain why and how employees who feel overqualified engage in time theft behavior. Specifically, we anticipate that feeling overqualified will negatively influence focal employees' experienced authority fairness and erode their work meaningfulness, which in turn will lead to increased time theft behavior. Further, we argue that voice endorsement serves as a key boundary condition mitigating the negative effects of perceived overqualification. We conducted two multi‐waved and multi‐sourced field studies to test our proposed hypotheses. Study 1 (247 employees and 47 supervisors) revealed that perceived overqualification is associated with time theft behavior through the mediators of experienced authority fairness and meaningfulness. Study 2 (405 employees and 73 supervisors) replicated the findings of Study 1 and tested our full model. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tourism sector is one of the fastest-growing services sub-sectors worldwide and promises to unlock job opportunities and improve social inclusion outcomes in developing countries. We focused on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, which houses developing countries with high income inequality and constitutes attractive tourist centres in sub-Saharan Africa. We employed both the disaggregated and composite indicators of tourism development to investigate the tourism-income inequality nexus in the SADC region from 2010 to 2019. Utilizing the panel quantile regression approach, our overall results suggest that tourism development is inequality-worsening, and this is robust to both the composite tourism index and the individual tourism indicators (except in a few instances). While we established that net FDI inflows improve the inequality outcomes in the region, less corruption worsens inequality (except in a few cases). Accordingly, we offer relevant policy options for the governments of the SADC region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some modern conflicts, stronger militaries have displayed poor performance in conflicts, as evidenced by slow military offensives, high battlefield casualty rates, failure to secure planned objectives and defeat in the war. Poor conflict performance, in these cases, is attributed to material and certain non-material state characteristics such as regime type, economic development, and ideology. Current explanations of conflict performance, however, have yet to integrate empirical evidence identifying another state characteristic as a negative influence on state capacity: corruption. To address this gap, we identify direct and indirect theoretical channels by which state-level corruption impacts conflict performance. Corruption decreases the war material available to troops on the ground and negatively impacts strategic decision-making by commanders. An analysis of states in interstate conflicts from 1816 to 1990 confirms the relationship between corruption and several measures of conflict performance. Case evidence from the First Russian-Chechen War is used to illustrate the mechanisms of our argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existence of heterogeneity in the literature that addresses the sources of economic growth, from an empirical point of view, generates a problem of uncertainty. The objective is to identify robust determinants of economic growth in Mexico by reducing the uncertainty of the model. To do so, the Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) methodology is proposed, which analyzes many explanatory variables simultaneously. Thus, 28 possible determinants are considered in a sample that includes the 32 federal entities, to include the period 2010-2021. The BMA constructs various possible combinations of models to extract the most robust determinants. Similarly, the instrumental variables BMA (IVBMA) is used to consider possible endogeneity problems. The results show a set of significant economic, institutional, and social variables to understand economic growth in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aims to establish an overview of the phenomenon of corruption and the failure of anticorruption policies. Analytically the fight against anticorruption focuses on the possibility of collective action as a non-institutional, unexpected form of participation that can break with inertia, fear, passivity, and social inaction in the face of corruption. Under the hypothesis that the role of trust and integrity of individuals are conditioning factors for the construction of a collective action capable of dealing with corruption, the analysis allows us to deduce that the effectiveness of collective action in the fight against corruption will depend on their ability to shape decisions, over and above the incentives inherent to corruption and the reciprocal relationships of social groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction projects are actualized through the involvement of multidisciplinary stakeholders from various cultural and ethnic groups or nationalities who have different levels of exposure to civilization, languages, and world views. Their cultural diversity makes the evaluation of corruption a daunting task and subsequently can adversely affect the team decision-making process, disrupt collaboration among stakeholders, reduce project quality, and hinder outcomes of construction projects. The constant occurrence of building collapse, in which about 83% are linked to corruption, cost overrun, time overrun, and risk to lives in construction projects, often point at corrupt behaviors among construction stakeholders during decision-making, which remain unabated. Construction team members with a corrupt mindset may jeopardize the required standards, specifications, manipulate construction bid, inflate construction cost, distort information, and thorough supervision of projects. In fact, discouragement of foreign investors in the construction industry, which often affects the reputation of the industry, can further exacerbate if not curbed. Past studies mainly focused on forms of corruption in the construction industry, while understanding the factors that triggers them can lead to the practical recommendations for minimizing corruption. Therefore, this study used focus groups to explore corruption factors and the ways they inhibit team decision-making on construction projects in Africa. Hence, five focus groups of a total of 30 construction professionals were conducted virtually with consultants, contractors, government officials, developers, and clients in the Nigerian construction industry. The discourses in the focus groups were summarized and analyzed using contextual analysis. The participants identified 15 corruption factors that affected the team decision-making processes on construction projects, and those corruption influences were classified into four main types: (1) individual people's values (e.g., unity, tolerance, harmony, superiority, etc.); (2) project factors (project complexity and project secrecy); (3) organizational variables (organization–government alliances and unethical professionalism); and (4) societal factors (social pressures, social norms, and social ties). The study's findings build an understanding of the critically important corrupt actions that negatively influence construction projects. Even more importantly, the findings can be used to design public enlightenment campaigns against corruption and in favor of project monitoring. Practical recommendations are given, such as positive applications of human values, with utmost sincerity, to achieve the expected goals of team decision-making. The deliberate involvement of female construction professionals in project teams is also advised. In summary, the corruption factors that we investigated in this study form a basis for a future larger-scale study; meanwhile, the approach we employed is suitable for drawing necessary inferences. Practical Applications: The bane of corruption in the construction industry is alarming, especially in developing countries. In this research, the factors of corruption affecting team decision-making on construction projects were explored in an interactive discourse among groups of construction stakeholders. For minimizing the corrupt actions and improving the completion of construction projects within cost, time, and quality, values of individual stakeholders and projects can be the fundamental components in the industry. Transparency in the construction team decision-making process must be ensured by making all contract information available to the public for monitoring and progress tracking. It is expected that corrupt actions as a result of alliances between construction organizations and government officials can then be uncovered and minimized. The construction institutions must also ensure that unethical professionalism among members is punished adequately without favor or prejudice, and every opportunity for corruption to thrive in the society must be discouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Frankfurt School Critical Theory, we examine the political outcomes of how Asian populist authoritarian regimes seized the COVID-19 pandemic context for regime maintenance and power consolidation. The pandemic revealed interesting India-Philippines parallels highlighting three inter-connected political-economic development patterns contextualising analogous state responses to COVID-19. First, how neo-liberal economic policies pursued through old and new technologies of domination accompanied phenomenal economic growth rates without addressing structural socio-economic inequalities. Second, how parallel predisposing conditions of failed political promises, increased rent-seeking opportunities, and corruption under constricted neo-liberal democracies, gave rise to populist authoritarian leaders. Third, how combined neo-liberalism and populist authoritarianism conditioned conflictual and contested government responses to the pandemic, bolstering power consolidation and regime maintenance, on the one hand, and ensuing political contestations on the other. Populist authoritarianism persists during pandemics through three significant connected elements of ideological domination propagated through mass media, the hetero-patriarchal family, and educational system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious organizations, including churches, can play an important role in promoting peace and stability. This role is not always recognized by policymakers and academics in the West. This essay shows how many churches in Kenya recently excluded politicians from their religious gatherings and denied them access to the pulpit. They did this to help prevent violence from breaking out around the elections. With the upcoming elections in the United States, churches and church leaders could learn from their Kenyan colleagues. Americans should cherish the separation of religion and electoral politics since it is meant to prevent politics from becoming corrupt or religion becoming untruthful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While studies show that public opinion and educational workshops promoted by nonprofits affect judicial behavior, it remains unclear whether and how social movements affect judges' decision-making through disruptive actions. I develop a framework to explain the conditions under which and the mechanisms through which social movement mobilization affects the decision-making of judges, drawing on a mixed-methods study of anti-corruption protests in Brazil. I constructed an original dataset of decisions of corruption cases at the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (2003–2016). Results showed that actions that target judicial cases (case-focused protests)—but not protests that simply put the issue on the public agenda—are associated with higher chances that judges will decide in ways that are aligned with the movements' demands. I supplemented this data with a qualitative analysis of appeals on two investigations of similar crimes and some of the same defendants but with different outcomes in appellate courts: Sandcastle (Castelo de Areia) and Car Wash (Lava Jato). Drawing on 110 interviews with prosecutors and judges and document analysis of criminal charges and judicial decisions, I show that case-focused protests affect judicial behavior through two mechanisms: by threatening the personal reputation of judges and the legitimacy of courts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the potential sources and consequences of unfairness in artificial intelligence (AI) predictive tools used for anti-corruption efforts. Using the examples of three AI-based anti-corruption tools from Brazil—risk estimation of corrupt behaviour in public procurement, among public officials, and of female straw candidates in electoral contests—it illustrates how unfairness can emerge at the infrastructural, individual, and institutional levels. The article draws on interviews with law enforcement officials directly involved in the development of anti-corruption tools, as well as academic and grey literature, including official reports and dissertations on the tools used as examples. Potential sources of unfairness include problematic data, statistical learning issues, the personal values and beliefs of developers and users, and the governance and practices within the organisations in which these tools are created and deployed. The findings suggest that the tools analysed were trained using inputs from past anti-corruption procedures and practices and based on common sense assumptions about corruption, which are not necessarily free from unfair disproportionality and discrimination. In designing the ACTs, the developers did not reflect on the risks of unfairness, nor did they prioritise the use of specific technological solutions to identify and mitigate this type of problem. Although the tools analysed do not make automated decisions and only support human action, their algorithms are not open to external scrutiny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption is a ubiquitous problem, but implementing serious anti-corruption measures is politically hard – the backlash from the corrupt is certain, but the broader political benefits are uncertain. Consequently, reformers face a dilemma in that even if they can pass reforms, it is not clear that the public will notice or reward them. To date, we have limited evidence on whether citizens notice anti-corruption reforms, how such reforms shape corruption perceptions, and whether there are real political benefits to reformers. In this article, we exploit a quasi-experiment embedded in the rollout of traffic police reform in Ukraine following the Euromaidan Revolution of 2013–14 to address each of these issues in turn. We find that citizens do respond quite accurately and durably in their evaluations of the most immediately affected institutions, but the spillovers to other political institutions are limited, short-lived, and offer little electoral gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The factors contributing to corruption within the construction sector have yet to be associated with the phenomenon of greed—the pursuit of self-interest and a widely recognized and extensively studied primary catalyst for corrupt practices. The mechanisms by which self-centeredness culminates in corruption within the construction industry, the prevalence of greed among the various stakeholders involved in the construction industry, and the potential impact of greed and its diverse manifestations on corruption within the construction industry remain elusive. Thus, this study analyses the diverse impacts of different manifestations of greed and self-interest on the various forms of corruption observed among construction stakeholders. The individuals involved in this study are contractors who are actively involved in the execution of building and construction projects within the geographical boundaries of Nigeria. A factor structure validity, construct validity, convergent validity, and hypothesis test using structural equation modeling were performed on the items assessed in the questionnaire. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between greed and self-interest in five specific pathways. The study found that the manifestations of corruption among contractors are subject to varying degrees of strength, contingent upon the influence of greed and self-interest. It was evident in the findings that the coexistence of biological, psychological, and social disorders contributes to an increased susceptibility to partake in corruption. The study contributes to knowledge by revealing that corruption is a sequential phenomenon initiated by greed, intensified by insatiable desires, and ultimately manifested through self-interested associations. These associations create an intricate web of influences and a complex network that enable corrupt practices within the construction industry. Practical Applications: Practical applications of this study's findings are in terms of understanding the multifaceted nature of corruption and designing effective interventions aimed at addressing greed and self-interest-related issues within the construction sector. The study enables an understanding of the drivers behind insatiable needs by explaining that the types and severity of corruption are inherent in the different levels of greed and the different ways in which self-interest drives individuals to engage in corrupt activities. The study's practical application in developing corruption interventions or prevention strategies is the need to promote transparency, accountability, and integrity in both the public and private sectors by exploring the relationship between socioeconomic disparities, cultural norms, political systems, international cooperation, technology, and economic consequences. The interventions should focus on education, raising awareness about the negative consequences of greed, and promoting empathy and altruism as a means to counter excessive self-interest, and laying emphasis on the benefits of cooperation and collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution develops previous work analysing forms of misconduct by knowledge-intensive professional business services (P-KIBS) firms, globally located and client-interactive on all five continents. Here we focus on accountancy partnerships, having previously investigated management consultancies. In the former, the infractions range from condoning systematic cheating at accountancy examinations, to unchecked client accountancy estimates signed-off as satisfactory, to covering up inflated budgetary estimates, to advising clients on fraudulent practice, to advising on tax evasion, to acting complicitly in corrupt government practices, including engaging in 'state capture' by channelling internal state revenue into private holding bank accounts. Because the litany of misconduct is too enormous for encompassing in a single contribution and in the spirit of this task, the spotlight is only on a few cases that represent typical 'creative economy' companies contracted to 'Big 4' accountancy P-KIBS in relation to sustainability and social equity issues. For interpretation of data discovery, we utilize evolutionary 'pattern recognition' methodology set within a 'Thirdspace-assemblage' theoretical framework. As a test, we sketch the 'sustainability' complexities of the Pacific Gas & Electricity (PG&E) and Deloitte/Lloyds Register relationship. Among the 'creativity' studies reported are the PWC-Walt Disney, KPMG-Conviviality and their EY-KPMG-Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon scandals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ethical conflict is embedded in healthcare and is common in critical care setting. However, there is a paucity of research on the nature of ethical conflict in China. Ethical conflict has cultural and context sensitivity. Therefore, evidence is needed from different backgrounds to help discuss this issue across borders. Aim: This study aimed to qualitatively identify the experience of ethical conflict in critical care professionals in China. Study design: From December 2021 to February 2022, we performed semi‐structured, face‐to‐face interviews with 21 critical care professionals from five intensive care units in a tertiary general hospital in China. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data. Results: Five themes and 14 sub‐themes emerged from the data. Critical care professionals probably felt unable to navigate uncertainty, torn by family issues, outraged by unprofessional behaviours of medical staff, being trapped in a socioeconomic dilemma when having experience of ethical conflict. In addition, they also perceived that they could turn struggle into growth. Conclusions: The experience of ethical conflict in critical care professionals involved a mixture of feelings. This study builds a comprehensive understanding of how ethical conflict affected their perceptions of themselves and their profession and provides implications to develop effective coping strategies. Relevance to Clinical Practice: The identification of critical care professionals' experience of ethical conflict would help identify what might trigger the ethical issues and what would be the potential target to optimize in critical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the performance of democratic leadership in the Nigerian state in sub-Saharan Africa to determine if democracy dividends accrue to the citizens. The study suggests that in the fight against corruption, the government must guarantee the independence of the anticorruption institutions and fix the socioeconomic factors plaguing the nation. Evidence from the descriptive statistical outputs of the moderator factors such as corruption, inflation, infrastructure and insecurity suggests a deleterious moderation in the relationship between 'democratic leadership performance' and 'democracy dividends'. Thus, the diminutive influence of the former on the latter potentially leaves the citizens vulnerable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Declining democracy in Central America, from oppressive policies in El Salvador and detaining journalists in Guatemala to emerging anti-press rhetoric in Costa Rica, reinforces a history of violent censorship for Latin American media, complicating journalists' abilities to influence communication. Through interviews with journalists in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, this study analyzes the role of social media in Central American journalism. The interviews reveal that while the dominance of algorithms and information monopolies may assist financially controlled mainstream journalists, social media provide opportunities for alternative journalists in Central America to circumvent economic constraints and become more prominent gatekeeping actors in political communication. These findings indicate a shift in the news agenda, facilitated by social media but hindered by the lingering darkness of constrained media systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia has been the site of major advances in the creation of public sector anticorruption commissions since 1989. However, commissions with broad jurisdiction have been limited to the six states until 2023. The federal jurisdiction lagged behind, with a series of scandals driving intensified debates from 2013. Performance issues associated with state agencies formed part of the debate. The present paper reviews this history, focusing on the intensification of research and lobbying efforts leading to the establishment of a National Anti-Corruption Commission in 2023. The paper also critiques the legislation behind the new agency, arguing it entails considerable limitations and that agency legitimacy and effectiveness will only be achieved through the inclusion of integrity issues of concern to citizens, a strong focus on prevention, and significant independence in investigations and adjudication. These lessons are of relevance to other jurisdictions facing the issue of effective institutional responses to public sector misconduct risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While state culpability in compounding disasters is nothing new, in the aftermath of the recent earthquake in Turkey the extent of state dysfunction characterized by paralysis of the administrative institutions was unprecedented. Autocratization does not mesh well with effective disaster and crisis management, neither in theory nor in practice. Over the last two decades, rising competitive authoritarianism in the country has undermined accountability, participation, predictability, and transparency in Turkish governance structures, all of which are key factors that support risk reduction and disaster management. Relying on a conceptual and theoretical inquiry informed by the concepts of autocratic legalism and tailor-made laws, this case study argues that countries characterized by competitive authoritarianism are less effective in managing disasters, because they abuse state institutions for partisan goals, create disparities in access to public resources, and diminish accountability mechanisms. The elimination of democracy as a guiding principle in public-sector management is proving ever more disastrous as details concerning the response to the earthquake emerge. This analysis offers lessons and insights regarding the strategies that were used to sideline the bureaucracy and oversight processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the relationship between democracy, authoritarianism, and political corruption through a comparative case study of Elite Cartel corruption in Hungary and Italy. While perceptions of corruption have significantly worsened in Hungary over the last 10 years, they have significantly improved in Italy. We utilize the theory of deep democratization as a way of explaining these trends. Deep democratization is a long-term process resulting in social and political changes leading to rules and mechanisms of accountability that provide wider inclusion in the governance process and autonomy from corrupt networks of elites. The five key characteristics of a country that has achieved deep democratization include competitive multi-party elections, professionalism in the civil service, a strong and independent judiciary, a free and independent press, and a strong and vibrant civil society. In the case of Hungary, each of these five characteristics have been significantly weakened as a result of its backsliding towards authoritarianism. In the case of Italy, however, the relative strengthening of these characteristics has led to substantive progress in its fight against corruption. Our findings support previous research that indicates authoritarianism breeds corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of fiscal transparency on governance and corruption within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with a specific focus on Egypt's standing compared to its regional counterparts. Utilizing data from the Open Budget Survey and the Bayesian Corruption Index, alongside a review of fiscal policies and economic performance metrics, the research highlights the nuanced role of fiscal transparency in combating corruption and fostering effective governance. Findings indicate that higher levels of budgetary transparency correlate with reduced perceptions of corruption, suggesting the critical importance of transparent fiscal practices for governance improvement. The study also explores the relationship between fiscal policies, economic performance, and investment, underlining the significance of transparency in enhancing economic outcomes. This research contributes to the broader scholarly discourse on fiscal governance by providing empirical evidence of the benefits of transparency within the challenging context of the MENA region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The persistence of corruption in Malawi is well documented as are its heinous effects. Malawi's response to combating corruption has involved the adoption of legislation and the establishment of a dedicated agency for dealing with the vice. These efforts notwithstanding, the fight against corruption continues to be a lopsided undertaking with the country registering negligible commendable progress while reports of serious corrupt practices are a regular occurrence. Corruption in Malawi, arguably, has become systemic. Corruption seems particularly rife in the realm of public procurement. This paper posits that while the law may commonly be invoked in aid when tackling corruption, it is important to critically reflect on its contribution in fostering and/or enabling corruption. By specifically focusing on the law on public procurement, the paper demonstrates that this regime of law, by containing ambiguous terms, giving public officials broad discretion, conferring public officials with overboard freedom to create subsidiary legislation or regulations, creating burdensome processes, having lacunas in regulatory or administrative procedures, and giving certain groups preferential treatment during procurement processes motivates, enables and creates opportunities for corruption. As a possible solution, the paper proposes that Malawi should adopt corruption proofing of legislative enactments as an ex ante mechanism for dealing with corruption to supplement investigations and prosecutions, which are ex post facto procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anticorruption community largely views corruption as a government or development issue. But in the Philippines, corruption is a social structure. The very social bonds and social structures that are good at building civic unity and solidarity are also good at spreading and maintaining corruption, and this is why corruption is so difficult to remove. Patrons use these societal features to implement a ubiquitous social structure of corruption by means of maneuvered friendships that makes it difficult for the masses to know when a patron is acting as a friend or foe. The social structure encompasses the whole of society and corrupts the encircled government, political, and development systems as easily as it infiltrates all other segments of society. It is why oversight and sector-based anticorruption initiatives underperform, and why initiatives must pivot towards addressing this social structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan has suffered from pervasive corruption since its foundation. It deals with an unstable political atmosphere and unsustainable economic development due to its fragile institutional setting. The predominance of military power that does not hesitate to overrule any government when it faces a potential threat to its economic-profit channels plays an important role in institutional fragility. Moreover, incompetent civilian rules and the British heritage comprise a vicious cycle that is hard to break. An anemic institutional environment struggles within an embedded cultural structure exacerbated by corruption. This paper discusses corruption in Pakistan from historical, institutional, and economic standpoints. It provides a historical background of corruption. Then, it analyzes the negative economic reverberations of the corruption phenomenon. As an institutional case study, the paper concentrates on National Accountability Bureau (NAB), suggesting that institutional quality can be accomplished through bureaucratic accountability and determination, not through political victimization and abuse of institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically examines the moderating role of country-level governance indicators (CGIs) in the relationship between macro-prudential policy instruments (MPI) and systemic risk. Results from 68 countries, during the period 2000–2017, show that CGIs in terms of corruption controls, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, and rule of law play a negative moderating role in the MPI-systemic risk nexus. Countries scoring high (low) on these CGIs experience stability benefits (instability costs) from MPIs. These findings suggest that the mere implementation of macro-prudential regulations may not perform the intended function of systemic stability. Overall, institutional development in a country's governance ecosystem is necessary; hence, a coordinated effort is required from all the stakeholders of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research looks at how plausible the tourism-led growth hypothesis is in the midst of corruption and political unpredictability. For empirical investigation, we utilize panel data from 1995 to 2018 for across the world. A dynamic panel data estimation method is employed for the estimation purpose. The outcomes of our analysis show that tourism-led growth is a phenomenon, but this is contingent on institutional factors. Specifically, high levels of corruption, political instability, and violence pose a significant barrier to beneficial effects of tourism on economic prosperity. We also employ panel quantile regression to estimate the asymmetric effects of tourism. Results of the analysis show that tourism is particularly beneficial for low-income economies. However, results also confirm that institutional factors such as corruption and political instability prevent countries, especially developing nations, from taking advantage of tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflection and reflective practise are well recognised tools that are utilised by healthcare professionals to support self‐awareness and self‐care. In turn, self‐care is a critical component of the wellbeing and the capacity for resilience of healthcare professionals in response to day‐to‐day exposure to emotionally and psychologically challenging situations. Affective reflection, the process of considering and analysing thoughts, feelings and emotions though written dialogue (the act of reflective writing), has been shown to be beneficial for promoting and building resilience in healthcare professionals. Despite the known benefits of these strategies for maintaining wellbeing and avoiding compassion fatigue and burnout, the discourse on the use of affective reflection and reflective writing in the sonography profession is limited. Interventions such as reflection, reflective practise and reflective writing should not be underestimated as tools to promote the adaptive abilities and the degree of individual emotional resilience of sonographers. Long term positive outcomes supported by utilising and practising reflection include the maintenance of emotional stability and an increase in the scope for empathy and subsequently, an enhancement of quality of practise and patient care. This article aims to provide a broad discussion on the practise of affective reflection and showcase the process of reflective writing using written reflective dialogue guides with practical examples relevant to sonography practise. In addition, this paper outlines how these strategies can be incorporated and enacted in the sonography workplace to build resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Lost" is a film that explores the themes of crime, corruption, and the role of investigative journalism in uncovering the truth and holding those in power accountable. The movie follows the story of Vidhi Sahani, a young crime reporter who investigates the disappearance of a youth and uncovers a nexus between crime, corruption, law enforcement, and politics. The film authentically portrays the media spaces and the challenges faced by journalists, while also addressing issues such as caste discrimination, male chauvinism, and gender inequality. Although the film has some flaws in its pacing and character development, it provides a thought-provoking exploration of these important topics. [Extracted from the article]

I present a problem concerning the predication of elemental qualities in Aristotle's On Generation and Corruption: What is the subject of predication for the elemental qualities? The usual answer in the scholarship is either the elements themselves, or prime matter (traditionally conceived). I argue that neither can perform this role. Instead, I explore the possibility that the elemental qualities are individually predicated of their own material principle. I show that this solution fits the text and solves the problem of predication of elemental qualities. I conclude by offering some comments on the status of the elemental contraries and demonstrate the benefits of my view in conjunction with some recent scholarship on the elemental contraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Plato's Philebus, Socrates' second account of 'false' pleasure (41d-42c) outlines a form of illusion: pleasures that appear greater than they are. I argue that these pleasures are perceptual misrepresentations. I then show that they are the grounds for a methodological critique of hedonism. Socrates identifies hedonism as a judgment about the value of pleasure based on a perceptual misrepresentation of size, witnessed paradigmatically in the 'greatest pleasures'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigate the relationship between corruption and total factor productivity (TFP) in Turkey. Our study contributes to the literature in several ways in terms of data, empirical specification, and method. First, we use a new and novel index of corruption for Turkey between the years 1950 and 2014. Second, we estimate the long-run cointegrating relationship between corruption and TFP in Turkey. Finally, we not only investigate how corruption affects TFP, but also if this effect is conditional on government size. We find that corruption decreases TFP in the long-run and its adverse effects on TFP increases with government size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In light of the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, electronic auditing otherwise known as computer-assisted audit tools and techniques (CAATTs) has become inevitable to automate the auditing process worldwide. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to examine the influence of technological, organizational and environmental (TOE) factors on public sector adoption of CAATTs in developing countries such as Jordan under the COVID-19 pandemic conditions. Design/methodology/approach: This study used 136 usable responses from the managers of internal audit (IA) of the Jordanian public sector entities. The data collected were analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling. The TOE framework has been used in this study to consider a wide set of TOE factors. Then, this study suggests a CAATTs adoption model that incorporates the related technology factors of the diffusion of innovation theory to environmental and organizational factors. Further, this study contributes to the TOE framework by addressing government regulations, audit bodies' support and audit task complexity as environmental factors affecting CAATTs adoption in the context of the public sector. Findings: The results revealed that for technological factors, only the compatibility affects CAATTs adoption by the IA departments. For organizational factors, organizational readiness, top management support, auditors' information technology competency and entity size were found to be significant factors. From the environmental factors, both government regulation and audit task complexity influence the CAATTs adoption. Besides, entity size moderates the influence of top management support on the CAATTs adoption in the public sector. Practical implications: The findings could highlight the significance of the CAATTs adoption in the public sector institutions (by internal auditors) post-COVID-19, taking into consideration the TOE framework's factors. Also, the findings are significant for the decision-makers and regulators in declaring new legislation for the electronic IA profession in the Jordanian public sector. Social implications: It turns out that the CAATTs adoption in the public sector can definitely enhance their ability to achieve the role of IA in preserving public funds and restricting corrupt practices within the public sector. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is one of the first studies that address the professional audit agency support and audit task complexity as environmental factors, as well as the entity size as an organizational factor, that affect CAATTs adoption in the IA department of the public sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Effective government rules and regulations, as well as the ability of the regulator to curb corruption and promote voice and accountability, can influence the ability of bank management to allocate resources and ensure high performance. Based on this assumption, we aim to find out whether institutional quality is able to improve bank performance in Italy. To do so, we rely mainly on the diversity of banks, thus capturing the different behaviors of the two main categories, i.e. cooperative and for‐profit banks. Using a parametric method, the results show a clear impact of most dimensions of institutional quality on reducing banks' cost inefficiency. Some robustness checks, especially regarding the role of market structure, confirm our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firms benefit from being reliable and trustworthy towards their customers. In many countries, however, corruption spills over to supply chain relationship practices and weakens a firm's credibility towards its customers (CTC). In this study, we investigate the influence of corruption on the relationship between CTC and firm performance. Empirical analyses of manufacturing firms in multiple countries demonstrate that corruption diminishes the effect of CTC on firms' operational performance. Moreover, a country's information and communication technology (ICT) readiness can counteract the negative impact of corruption. Our study adds to the literature on supply chain relationship management by considering the influence of two institutional contingencies (i.e. corruption and ICT readiness) on the effectiveness of CTC as an important mechanism of supply chain governance. Our study complements the literature on transaction cost economics and urges managers to consider the two characteristics of their firms' institutional environments when managing relationships in their supply chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific article explores the issue of corruption in the local self-government bodies of Ukraine and provides suggestions for its prevention and eradication. The article emphasizes examining the reasons and mechanisms for the formation of corrupt practices at the local level, pointing to insufficient transparency and openness in governmental processes, instability in governance structures, and political influences as key factors contributing to the spread of corruption. One of the main recommendations is the necessity of ensuring consistency and stability in legal regulation. It is believed that laws and regulatory acts should be appropriately updated and adapted to changes in society, as well as accessible and understandable to all citizens, which is an important factor in preventing corruption. The active participation of the public in monitoring the activities of governmental structures is also recognized as an effective mechanism for combating corruption. Civil society organizations, activists, and journalists can act as important parties tracking the activities of authorities and contributing to the detection of corrupt practices. Furthermore, the implementation of electronic governance and reporting can significantly enhance transparency and openness in the activities of local self-government bodies and contribute to the detection and prevention of corrupt practices. An important aspect of combating corruption is the role of anti-corruption agencies and international partners. For example, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) in Ukraine oversees the financial activities of officials, including representatives of local self-government bodies. International organizations and programs, such as the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank, provide financial and technical support for the implementation of anti-corruption measures at the local level. Achieving progress in combating corruption in local self-government bodies requires a systematic approach to improving legal regulation and active citizen participation. Ensuring accessibility and transparency of information about the activities of local authorities, implementing mechanisms of accountability, and increasing the level of legal literacy among citizens are key factors in successfully combating corruption. Therefore, by analyzing the political, legal, and social prerequisites of corruption in local self-government bodies, the article emphasizes the necessity of comprehensive measures to improve legal regulation, engage civil society, and involve international partners in the fight against this negative phenomenon. Only through joint efforts can significant reduction of corruption levels be achieved and improvement of democratic governance at the local level in Ukraine be ensured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of electoral competition on corruption, rent-seeking and informality remains poorly understood, especially in the context of post-communist economies. In a context where there is little moral value attached to law abidance, businesses or households that engage in informal activities might perceive a tolerant government as "magnanimous" and might be persuaded to support it in upcoming elections. In this paper, we investigate the case of Albania, a post-communist transition economy, characterized by high levels of corruption. The objective of this paper is to obtain insight into fiscal enforcement during elections, hence to further our understanding of the relationship between corruption, clientelism, informality and elections in the context of a transition/post-communist country. To this end, we report complementary quantitative and qualitative analysis suggesting that the incumbent deliberately lowers monitoring of enforcement vigilance before elections (e.g., through lower/fewer fines) and yielding insights into how such behaviour effects come about. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The foreign aid-corruption relationship is a controversial unresolved topic, which has not been explored adequately in the context of popular and bloody uprisings such as the 2010–2011 Arab Spring. We examine the quantitative effects of the Arab Spring on the foreign aid corruption relationship, using 2SLS and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to address the problems of causality, misspecification, and nonlinearity, which arise in Ordinary Least Squared (OLS) models. We find support for a positive relationship between foreign aid and corruption in Arab States and show that this relationship strengthened following the Arab Spring. Results suggest uprisings against authoritarian regimes can result in counter-productive outcomes when regimes are not overthrown, or simply replaced by a new form of dictatorship, or military coup d'etat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compliance systems aim to prevent the commission of fraud and corruption by promoting internal procedures and ethical behaviour among individuals. This research analyzes how the existing accounting literature examines the evolution of internal control and how it can reflect the implementation of compliance systems' features. The starting presumption of this research is that compliance systems result from a process of audit implosion in which the characteristics of the audit society influence the organisation's internal control. New regulations turned firms out-inside by requiring internal assurance about the effectiveness of their internal control. Compliance can be considered the last step within the evolution of internal control, providing a self-oversight and ethical perspective. This paper contributes to the accounting literature by showing that compliance systems can foster the bridge between two trends of research: management control and risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While popular with voters, politicians rarely advance anticorruption policies because they can personally inconvenience them. When do the benefits of anticorruption reform outweigh the costs? I explore the role of electoral incentives by leveraging original data on over 600 anticorruption initiatives introduced to state legislatures in Mexico and an overlap between two reforms—one that required states to create local anticorruption systems and one that lifted an 80‐year‐old ban on reelection. Results show that legislators with reelection incentives were more likely to advance anticorruption initiatives and more likely to comply with the creation of local anticorruption systems. Findings underscore that while anticorruption reform is often met with resistance because corruption benefits those in power, electoral incentives can generate conditions under which reform takes place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic, drought and internal conflict have worsened Ethiopia's already weak healthcare system. Antenatal and intrapartum care are especially prone to interruption under these circumstances. Objective: To explore women's experiences receiving antenatal and intrapartum care during the pandemic. Design: A descriptive qualitative approach was utilised. Methods: We conducted in-depth interviews with 17 women and held 4 focus group discussions with women who gave birth at 4 public hospitals during the pandemic. A study was conducted at four public hospitals in the Sidama region of Ethiopia, during which data were collected from 14 February to 10 May 2022. Thematic analysis was performed to generate themes. Results: The peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia presented several barriers to access and uptake of antenatal and intrapartum care at public hospitals. Four themes and 10 subthemes emerged from the thematic analysis. The themes were 'Barriers to maternity care uptake during COVID-19', 'Shortage of resources during COVID-19', 'Delays in maternity care uptake during COVID-19' and 'Mistreatment of women during maternity care during COVID-19'. The subthemes included 'Fear of contracting COVID-19', 'People in the hospital neglecting COVID-19 prevention', 'Women losing their job during COVID-19', 'Shortage of beds in the labour ward', 'Shortage of medical supplies', 'Delays in seeking care', 'Delays in receiving care', 'Complications during childbirth', 'disrespectful' and 'suboptimal care'. Conclusion: The findings of this study underscore the impact of COVID-19 on antenatal and intrapartum care, leading to delays in seeking and receiving care due to reduced rapport, resource shortages, companion restrictions, disrespectful care and suboptimal care. These factors contribute to increased obstetric complications during COVID-19. It is imperative for policymakers to prioritise essential resources for antenatal and intrapartum care in the present and future pandemics. Moreover, healthcare providers should maintain respectful and optimal care even amid challenges. Plain Language Summary: Women's experiences in receiving antenatal and intrapartum care during COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a significant challenge in seeking and receiving care of antenatal care and institutional childbirth. Women could experience delays in booking antenatal care appointments, postponing antenatal care visits, and facing delays in receiving care at hospitals, which has disrupted their access to routine antenatal care and institutional birth during the pandemic. This study highlights a range of barriers that hinder access to and utilisation of antenatal care and institutional birth, including lack of transport, shortage of resources, fear of contracting the virus, companion restrictions, disrespectful care and suboptimal care that leads to increased obstetric complications during COVID-19. This study provides recommendations for policymakers to prioritise resources and enhance respectful and optimal care for pregnancy and institutional birth to lessen the indirect impact of present and future pandemics on pregnant women and their unborn babies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the impact of everyday corruption in North Korea on perceptions of authoritarian leadership. Analyzing survey data from North Korean defectors, we find that experience with everyday corruption does not affect perceptions of the Supreme Leader’s responsibility for economic difficulties, but it does negatively affect perceptions of the Party leadership’s responsibility. This suggests that widespread petty corruption is unlikely to be a source of dissatisfaction with the system as a whole and with the Supreme Leader. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the increasing centralization of power by the current 'reformist' Malaysian government through the co-optation of civil society organizations (CSOs) to bolster the moral legitimacy of the integral state. We argue that Anwar Ibrahim's transition from a unifying figure in oppositional politics to his current role has inadvertently led to the muting of civil society actors (CSAs) and CSOs. This co-optation has significantly diminished the autonomy and influence of civil society in Malaysia's political landscape. A comparative analysis of the socio-economic strategies employed by Anwar and his predecessor, Najib Razak, reveals that Anwar's efforts towards wealth redistribution and empowerment of marginalized communities have been limited. This policy approach has disproportionately affected rural constituencies, potentially altering the dynamics of political support. Furthermore, the current administration under Anwar faces criticism for failing to fulfill its campaign promise of holding corrupt politicians accountable. This situation is exacerbated by the involvement of two prominent lawyers representing politicians across party lines, raising questions about conflicts of interest and the integrity of the judicial process. Drawing on Gramscian theory, this paper posits that legal professionals should be incorporated into the concept of the 'integral state' due to their capacity to interpret, manipulate, and shape laws in ways that often benefit the ruling elite. This theoretical expansion provides a more comprehensive framework for understanding the mechanisms of power consolidation in contemporary Malaysian politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]