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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of economic development on the influence of country-level determinants on corporate debt maturity, bearing in mind firm size and the period of financial crisis.

The authors employ panel data estimation with fixed effects to examine the role of economic development in influencing the relationship between country-level determinants on corporate debt maturity. The paper uses a sample of 30,727 listed firms, belonging to 39 countries, over the period 2005–2012.

Corporate debt maturity increases with the efficiency of the legal system and bank concentration and decreases with the weight of banks in the economy. However, the importance of these country determinants is greater in developing than in developed countries. The authors also show that firm size in developed and developing countries influences country determinants of corporate debt maturity. Finally, the results reveal that the financial crisis has affected the debt maturity of firms differently in developed and developing countries, with the effect of bank concentration lengthening debt maturity, this effect being more pronounced in developing countries.

The findings provide useful insights to guide policy decisions providing access to long-term financing, as corporate debt maturity depends on economic development, institutional environment, banking structure and firm size.

This study incorporates economic development in explaining the relationship between country-level determinants and corporate debt maturity.

An ensemble is an intermediate unit of work between action and activity in the hierarchical framework proposed by classical activity theory. Ensembles are the mid‐level of activity, offering more flexibility than objects, but more purposeful structure than actions. The paper aims to introduce the notion of ensembles to understand the way object‐related activities are instantiated in practice.

The paper presents an analysis of the practices of professional information workers in two different companies using direct and systematic observation of human behavior. It also provides an analysis and discussion of the activity theory literature and how it has been applied in areas such as human‐computer interaction and computer‐supported collaborative work.

The authors illustrate the relevance of the notion of ensembles for activity theory and suggest some benefits of this conceptualization for analyzing human work in areas such as human‐computer interaction and computer‐supported collaborative work.

The notion of ensembles can be useful for the development of a computing infrastructure oriented to more effectively supporting work activities.

The paper shows that the value of the notion of ensembles is to close a conceptual gulf not adequately addressed in activity theory, and to understand the practical aspects of the instantiation of objects over time.

This conversation presents the reflections from six international disaster scholars on how disaster capitalism manifested in very different ways in different countries, including Japan, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, India and South Africa, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue.

This paper is based on the conversations that took place on Disasters: Deconstructed Podcast livestream on the September 15, 2020.

The prominent themes in this conversation include profiteering, oppression and the politics of disasters.

The conversation contributes to the ongoing discussions around disaster capitalism and disaster risk creation.

Taking as a case study the city of San Carlos de Bariloche – in northern Patagonia, Argentina – this paper aims to compare its urban structure with previous urbanization models and identify some characteristics of this tourist city that could inspire the construction of an adapted urban model for Latin American tourist cities, particularly those based on natural attractions.

Based on multivariate analysis of population census data and local economic statistics, this paper compares the residential location of different social groups and the location of main economic activities in Bariloche. First, principal component analysis (PCA) is combined with cluster analysis to classify Bariloche’s neighborhoods. Second, different maps are analyzed to study the location of economic activities, in comparison with previous clusters.

The results of this paper show that Bariloche partially adjusts to previous urbanization models, as the landscape and physical environment determine the characteristics of its urban growth, as well as the development of tourist activities. Therefore, this paper then proposes an adapted urban model for the case of Bariloche, which could be also contrasted with other Latin American tourist cities in the future.

Bearing in mind that there is no model of Latin American tourist cities so far, this paper tries to analyze to what extent the assumptions and patterns of previous urban models could be adapted to Latin American tourist cities, such as Bariloche, which base their attractiveness and economic dynamism on its natural physical environment.

In this article, the authors analyse a complex social process affecting historic public paths in rural areas in southern Spain. Despite the fact that urban populations are demanding the enhancement of this type of natural heritage for tourism, sports and recreational use, some parts of the network have been abandoned or usurped.

The study is multidisciplinary, comprising three interlinked studies. The cartographic study comprises an inventory of public paths in rural areas based on administrative sources. The legal study analyses local, regional and national regulations governing agricultural, environmental, heritage, sports and tourism uses of the infrastructure. The sociological study analyses social discourses on the uses of public paths, and identifies conflicts between farmers, landowners, environmentalists, sportspeople and tourists.

The preliminary results identified an important public paths network in Andalusia, approximately 160,000 km. The legal study found that there are laws regulating use, although local authorities do not monitor compliance or provide solutions to enhance management. The sociological study determined the attribution of environmental, cultural and economic value to public paths, but also the existence of conflicts between rural and urban populations.

Given that this is ongoing research, only state of the art and some preliminary albeit sufficiently consistent results are presented.

The results could help to guide public policy and governance of public paths.

Public paths promote rural development and a green/sustainable economy.

The research results and conclusions are original.

This chapter examines in-service teachers’ transformed perspectives and practices for educating emergent bilinguals resulting from graduate study in a bilingual education graduate program in Chicago. This examination is contextualized in consideration of emergent bilinguals relative to the changing face of P-12 classrooms and gaps in teacher education. Findings from autoethnographic and discourse analytic inquiry suggest that teacher preparation in bilingual education (1) prepared and empowered in-service teachers to meet the academic, social, and cultural-linguistic needs of emergent bilinguals in their classrooms and (2) fostered a conscious inner transformation in in-service teachers that resulted in new ways and purposes of interacting with emergent bilingual students, their families, and colleagues. Findings also suggest that although there is institutional progress in meeting emergent bilinguals’ needs, it is incremental and insufficient. There are three major deficiencies: (1) new and increased teacher education standards lack the required specialized coursework in the education of emergent bilinguals; (2) teacher preparation of emergent bilinguals is inadequate; and (3) teacher preparation programs resist requiring specialized coursework in teaching emergent bilinguals.

This paper aims to intend to contextualize touristification with a focus on Asia. It argues that touristification in Asia extends beyond physical transformation and is used as a socio-political mechanism by the state and communities alike. This study aims to broaden the discussions on touristification by noting how the issue of authenticity and state intervention is approached in Asia.

This paper is based on literature review, sourced from academic material discussing touristification and the influence of tourism.

Aside from undertaking physical changes, states in Asia adopt a socio-political angle in the commercialization of culture for tourism so that the culture that is presented to tourists is aligned to its national image. The construction of culture and narration of history for tourism branding predominate touristification in Asia. Conversely, minority culture had also used cultural touristification in asserting their identity, as can be seen in South Thailand and Bali, Indonesia Also, hybridization and recreation of cultural activities in Asia contribute to the evolving debate on authenticity in tourism within Asia.

The paper suggests the implication of state intervention in branding and commodification of tourism among minority communities in Asia.

The paper contributes to an extended discussion on touristification by contextualizing the issue within Asia.