Bioenergy is central to UK decarbonisation policy, yet its reliance on imported biomass and crop-based biofuels raises concerns about land use change (LUC) and indirect land use change (ILUC) in supplier countries. This study provides a data-driven, ex-post assessment of land use implications associated with two UK bioenergy policy pathways: forestry-derived biomass supported by the Contract for Difference (CfD), and 1st generation biofuels supplied under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). Import data for 2015–2022 were linked to forestry biomass productivity and country-specific crop yields to estimate direct land use footprints in major supplier countries. Wider ILUC-consistent signals were then assessed using observed land use, production and trade trends from 2000 to 2022, with particular focus on the US and Brazil. Results show that UK-bound forestry-derived biomass was mainly associated with land footprints in the US, Canada, Latvia and Estonia, while UK-bound 1st generation biofuel land demand became increasingly concentrated in the US and Brazil by 2022. Sensitivity analysis showed that lower productivity assumptions increased estimated land requirements, but did not alter the main supplier-country patterns. Overall, UK bioenergy imports represented a small share of total land use in major supplier countries. The study found no persistent national-scale ILUC signal detected in the US or Brazil. The findings suggest that ex-post land use monitoring can complement model-based ILUC assessment and improve the evidence base for bioenergy sustainability policy.
The social care sector across the globe is increasingly witnessing customer mistreatment incidents that pose significant personal and work-related challenges for frontline employees. Extant research suggests that human resource management (HRM) can be instrumental in extending support to the frontline to overcome the adversities of such mistreatment. In this study, we first develop a comprehensive account of the types of customer mistreatment prevalent in social care. Then, drawing on psychological contract theory, we outline the frontline's expectations of support from HRM practices to deal with such incidents. We further elaborate on gaps in social care that inhibit extending such support through HRM practices to the frontline and establish how the HR co-creation approach can be utilized to plug these gaps. In this multistage qualitative study, we collect data in three stages from 51 frontline employees and 15 HR professionals working in the social care sector who have witnessed customer mistreatment. Based on our study's findings, we propose a novel framework called "FRESH against mistreatment" (Frontline Expectations for Support from HRM), which can aid HR professionals in identifying expectations, gaps, and possibilities for extending support through HRM practices to the frontline in social care to handle incidents of customer mistreatment.
Although firms that integrate a sustainability orientation (SO) may experience a significant improvement in their resource efficiency, many, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), still struggle with the complexities of incorporating sustainability into their business models. SMEs, particularly those in resource-constrained regions, struggle to depend on their sustainability approaches to achieve better sustainable innovation (SI) outcomes. Anchored in the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study examines how organisational resilience-conceptualised as a three-order construct: behaviour, resources and capabilities-clarifies the relationship between SO and SI in SMEs. These relationships are examined using two-wave time-lagged data from 232 SMEs. The model was tested using a symmetrical approach (Smart-PLS) to explain the one-dimensional effect and an asymmetrical approach (fsQCA) to clarify the different aspects of resilience, whose presence or absence is necessary and sufficient to cause SMEs' SI outcomes. The symmetrical result reveals that resilience resource and capability mediated the relationship between SO and SI. These interaction effects are identified as full mediation, as SO reports a non-significant effect on SI after the mediation process (beta = 0.016; p > 0.05). With the asymmetrical results, whereas resilience behaviour and SO reported an insignificant relationship in the path analysis, the fsQCA revealed that resilient behaviour had the most significant impact on the configuration analysis, as its presence was required in three of the four generated solutions. These findings offer theoretical and practical insights into how SMEs can leverage resilience to translate sustainability strategies into better innovation outcomes.
Vision impairment is increasingly recognised as a complex condition shaped not only by ocular pathology but also by cognitive, psychological, social and environmental factors that influence participation and quality of life. In line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, contemporary vision rehabilitation frameworks adopt a biopsychosocial perspective that extends beyond treatment of the eye condition alone toward holistic support to improve the lives of individuals with vision loss. An overview of the effectiveness and future directions of multidisciplinary vision rehabilitation in clinical practice is presented, and a summary of the findings concerning the international standards of vision rehabilitation, focusing on adults. Furthermore, some examples of achievements in emerging fields are presented, such as neuroplasticity and visual system recovery, technological interventions and psychosocial support, including their future directions. Multidisciplinary models are widely supported but remain difficult to implement because of limited resources, workforce constraints and differences in culture and health policy. Overcoming these barriers is critical to expanding and strengthening multidisciplinary vision rehabilitation. The evidence highlights the need for implementation-focused research, closer collaboration across disciplines and core outcome measures that capture participation, mental health and quality of life, not just impairment. The overview also points to the importance of structured models that integrate neurorehabilitation (artificial intelligence-based) technology and mental healthcare while adapting to regional and cultural contexts. Embedding multidisciplinary vision rehabilitation within health systems is both a clinical necessity and a prerequisite for advancing global commitments to inclusion and equity for people with vision impairment. As population ageing and global demographic change are expected to increase the absolute numbers of adults with vision loss, strengthening collaboration between research, clinical practice and service delivery will be essential to further improve the quality of life of individuals with vision loss.
Firms typically expand R D in response to underperformance, yet research has treated this response as firm-centric and overlooked how national institutions shape its intensity. Building on the Behavioural Theory of the Firm and literature on government and institutions, we develop a cross-level framework in which two government levers, direct R D support and digital capacity, shape the extent to which firms intensify R D after underperforming. Using a 10-year panel of manufacturing firms, we find that underperformance is positively associated with R D intensity and that both government R D support and government digital capacity strengthen this relationship. We further hypothesise and empirically test that the moderating effect of government R D support is particularly stronger where government digital capacity is high. These results are robust to multiple tests addressing econometric specifications and temporal coverage. Theoretical and practical contributions and avenues for future research are discussed.
