Monthly Archives: January 2026

Second-Hand Gift-Giving: More Than Convenience, a Deliberate Act

A fair price, the excitement of discovering something rare or distinctive, and ethical and environmental considerations are key factors motivating consumers to buy second-hand gifts, according to new research from the University of Eastern Finland. Based on a survey of Tori.fi users, one of Finland’s most popular consumer-to-consumer online marketplaces, the study shows that intentions to purchase second-hand gifts often translate into actual purchases. Rather than remaining a tentative idea, the intention to give a pre-owned gift often leads directly to action.

The findings challenge the perception that second-hand gift-giving is driven by impulse or convenience. Instead, the research suggests that such purchases are typically well considered. Assistant Professor Heli Hallikainen of the University of Eastern Finland explains that consumers follow a familiar intention–behaviour pathway when buying second-hand gifts, similar to the process involved in purchasing new products. This indicates that giving a used item is not a lesser or rushed alternative, but a deliberate choice shaped by clear motivations and planning.

The study also highlights differences between product categories. Purchase intentions were most likely to become actual purchases for items that require little inspection, such as books. These products carry lower perceived risk, making consumers more comfortable completing the purchase quickly. In contrast, second-hand furniture and clothing prompted more careful deliberation. Concerns around condition, suitability or fit meant that even motivated buyers tended to spend more time evaluating these options before committing.

According to Maria Ovaska, MSc, a co-author of the study, the growing popularity of consumer-to-consumer marketplaces has transformed second-hand shopping. Digital platforms now offer a broad and diverse selection of products, while improved search functions and smoother buying processes make it easier for consumers to find what they want. Practical obstacles that once limited second-hand purchases have vastly diminished. As these platforms continue to develop, Ovaska believes that purchase intention will become an even stronger predictor of actual buying behaviour.

The researchers also point to a broader shift in social attitudes. Buying second-hand goods, including gifts, is increasingly common and socially accepted. As consumer values evolve and services improve, second-hand products are becoming more firmly embedded in mainstream gift markets. This trend is likely to continue, particularly as sustainability concerns gain prominence and consumers become more confident that second-hand gifts can be both meaningful and appropriate.

Published in the European Journal of Marketing, the study examined what motivates consumers to buy second-hand gifts and how intentions turn into purchase decisions. It also explored the role of environmental values, drawing on two surveys conducted before and after Christmas. The findings suggest that green values not only strengthen consumers’ willingness to buy second-hand gifts but also speed up decision-making. The authors argue that both consumers and retailers have a role to play in expanding this market, encouraging more sustainable gift-giving practices during peak shopping seasons.

More information: Heli Hallikainen et al, What motivates second-hand gift-giving? European Journal of Marketing. DOI: 10.1108/EJM-06-2024-0481

Journal information: European Journal of Marketing Provided by University of Eastern Finland

Hospitality Industry Moves Closer to Fulfilling Its Diversity Commitments

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Despite broad acceptance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) principles across the hospitality and tourism sector, new research suggests that job applicants may still face barriers when seeking employment, particularly through automated recruitment systems used by online job platforms. While many organisations publicly promote inclusive values, these commitments do not always translate into fair or transparent hiring practices, raising concerns about the gap between intention and implementation.

The study, which focused on recruitment sites in the United States, was led by Flinders University researcher Associate Professor Ashokkumar Manoharan in collaboration with international colleagues. The findings serve as a timely reminder that some employers may make surface-level commitments to diversity, paying lip service to inclusiveness while failing to embed it meaningfully into recruitment processes. Automated screening tools, in particular, can unintentionally reinforce bias rather than remove it.

Published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management, the research reinforces existing evidence that a genuinely diverse workforce delivers stronger organisational performance. Diversity among employees has been shown to improve service quality, enhance guest satisfaction, and contribute to better overall business outcomes. However, the authors caution that these benefits can only be realised when inclusive principles are consistently applied, from recruitment through to day-to-day workplace practices.

“While many organisations openly communicate their willingness to embrace diversity, equity and inclusiveness in recruiting a diverse workforce, not all organisations practise what they preach,” says Associate Professor Manoharan. He points to the prevalence of “social washing” in the hospitality industry, where corporate statements and policies create an impression of social responsibility that is not always supported by real action or employee experience.

The research analysed data from more than 100 hospitality companies that advertised roles on the employment website Glassdoor. The analysis revealed frequent inconsistencies between the inclusive language used in job advertisements and employee ratings on fairness, diversity, and workplace culture. In many cases, organisations that strongly promoted inclusivity scored poorly in employee feedback, suggesting a disconnect between stated values and lived reality.

According to the researchers, broader political and regulatory environments also shape how organisations respond to DEI expectations, influencing whether they over-deliver or under-deliver on their commitments. Although the data was collected in the United States, the implications extend globally and across industries. With increasing resistance to DEI in some contexts, the authors argue that responsibility for promoting inclusive recruitment must not rest solely with a small number of committed organisations, particularly as automated hiring systems become more widespread.

More information: Yunxuan Carrie Zhang et al, Woke washing won’t work: The effects of inclusive cues on online employee review sites on job seekers’ application intentions, International Journal of Hospitality Management. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2025.104414

Journal information: International Journal of Hospitality Management Provided by Flinders University

A Researcher’s Years-Long Journey Culminates in a Smart Composite Breakthrough

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Since his postdoctoral work at MIT, Hang Yu, now an associate professor of materials science and engineering, has been grappling with a stubborn materials problem: how to create a shape-memory ceramic that is not only functional, but also durable and scalable. Ceramics that can change their internal structure under stress and then recover their shape have long promised revolutionary applications. Yet, their inherent brittleness has repeatedly caused them to fracture when produced in bulk. What worked at microscopic scales fell apart when scaled up, limiting these materials to laboratory curiosities rather than real-world solutions.

That barrier has now been overcome. Working with PhD student Donnie Erb and postdoctoral researcher Nikhil Gotawala, Yu has developed a new composite material that embeds tiny shape-memory ceramic particles within a metal matrix. The team achieved this using additive friction stir deposition, an advanced manufacturing process that forges materials together in a solid state rather than melting them. By spinning and compressing the feedstock at high speeds, the technique produces a dense, defect-free structure while preserving the unique properties of each component.

The resulting material combines the strength and toughness of metal with the functional behaviour of ceramics. Under mechanical stress, the embedded ceramic particles undergo a phase transformation that absorbs and dissipates energy, allowing the composite to withstand tension, bending, and compression. Crucially, this happens without cracking, a feat that has eluded researchers for decades. Unlike conventional ceramics, the composite can also be 3D-printed in bulk with full density in its as-printed state, making large-scale manufacturing feasible for the first time.

The team’s findings, published in Materials Science and Engineering R: Reports, mark the first demonstration of stress-induced phase transformation in a bulk ceramic–metal composite produced through a scalable, solid-state printing process. For Yu, the breakthrough represents the convergence of two long-standing research interests: shape-memory ceramics and advanced additive manufacturing. By marrying the two, his group has unlocked a pathway from fundamental science to practical engineering.

The implications extend far beyond the laboratory. Materials that can absorb vibration or impact energy without added mechanical complexity are highly attractive for defence, aerospace, and infrastructure applications. Sporting equipment could also benefit, such as golf club shafts designed to dampen vibration while remaining lightweight and strong. Rather than replacing existing metals, the new composite enhances the functionality of materials that already perform well in demanding environments.

More broadly, the work underscores the growing importance of advanced manufacturing techniques in materials science. Additive friction stir deposition, previously explored by Yu with support from federal research agencies, has proven to be a powerful tool for creating novel material systems that were previously impractical or impossible to produce. By enabling bulk production of shape-memory ceramic composites, the research bridges a long-standing gap between academic discovery and industrial application, opening the door to more innovative, tougher materials at meaningful scales.

More information: Donnie Erb et al, Solid-state additive manufacturing of shape-memory ceramic reinforced composites, Materials Science and Engineering R Reports. DOI: 10.1016/j.mser.2025.101152

Journal information: Materials Science and Engineering R Reports Provided by Virginia Tech

Uneven SDG Progress: Low-Baseline Goals Move Forward as High-Baseline Ones Stall

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With only five years left before the 2030 deadline for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a new international study reveals a sharply uneven pattern of progress since the goals were adopted in 2015. While some areas continue to advance, others that initially appeared well-positioned are now stagnating or moving backwards, raising concerns about the feasibility of meeting global targets within the remaining timeframe.

Published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study shows that SDGs with high initial benchmark scores have, in many cases, stalled or deteriorated. In contrast, indicators that began from lower baseline levels have continued to register steady gains. Based on current trajectories, the authors caution that most countries are unlikely to meet their 2030 SDG commitments without substantial changes in policy, investment, and international cooperation.

The analysis highlights stark contrasts across goal areas. Indicators related to Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9) rank highest globally, reflecting sustained investment in industrial modernisation and scientific capacity. By contrast, Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3) has experienced the most significant setbacks, despite relatively strong starting conditions. Declines in vaccine coverage and slowed or reversed progress in controlling infectious diseases have been observed not only in low-income regions but also across developed economies.

According to the study’s authors, this divergence points to a more profound structural imbalance in global development. Technological and industrial advances have driven progress in some domains, yet long-standing weaknesses in public health systems and preventive care have been exposed and exacerbated by recent shocks. The findings suggest that technological progress alone cannot compensate for underinvestment in core social infrastructure, particularly as countries confront overlapping pressures from pandemics, conflict, and economic uncertainty.

At the same time, the study finds encouraging evidence that low-baseline indicators can improve rapidly under the right conditions. Several countries with modest starting points in 2015 have made substantial gains in areas such as education, safety, and social inclusion, demonstrating that meaningful transformation is possible even in resource-constrained settings. Conversely, indicators with high initial scores—typically between 70 and 90 per cent—are now more likely to stagnate or regress, reflecting weaker follow-through, complacency, and vulnerability to external shocks.

Looking ahead, the authors project that the global SDG score will reach only around 63 per cent by 2030, with several fragile and conflict-affected countries remaining well below the halfway mark. While a small number of countries continue to set international benchmarks in areas such as gender equality and global partnerships, the overall picture points to widening gaps and mounting implementation challenges. Although fully achieving all SDGs within the remaining five years will be difficult, the researchers emphasise that incremental progress remains vital and that the SDGs continue to serve as the central global framework for advancing a more sustainable and equitable future.

More information: Qiang Xing et al, Country-specific progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals: Past, present, and prospects, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2524299122

Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Provided by Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters

How climate change is transforming business and finance: emerging risks, investment strategies, and digital markets

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Climate change has moved beyond the realm of environmental policy to become a central force shaping global business strategy, financial decision-making, and economic governance. Firms and financial institutions now operate in an environment characterised by intensifying physical risks, such as extreme weather events, alongside expanding regulatory and transition pressures linked to decarbonisation and sustainability goals. As these risks and opportunities become more pronounced, understanding their influence on corporate behaviour, capital allocation, and market stability has become increasingly important. This collection of eight studies, published in China Finance Review International, responds to this challenge by examining how climate-related factors are reshaping firm-level strategies, investment dynamics, and financial markets across diverse institutional and geographic contexts.

Rather than presenting a single empirical investigation, the editorial draws together insights from a diverse body of research using a wide range of methodological approaches. These include quantitative analysis of firm-level financial and environmental data, textual and sentiment analysis of corporate disclosures, modelling of policy uncertainty, and evaluation of macroeconomic and regulatory frameworks. The studies span multiple settings, including China, emerging Asian economies, and global markets, enabling comparisons across different regulatory regimes and stages of economic development. Thematically, the research addresses the role of state capital and regulation in driving environmental investment, the financial implications of climate-related opportunities, the impact of climate sentiment and policy uncertainty on firm value and behaviour, and the growing intersection between climate risk and digital asset markets, particularly cryptocurrencies.

Several significant findings emerge from this body of work. State ownership plays a significant role in promoting environmental investment and improving ESG performance in China, suggesting that public capital can act as a catalyst for corporate sustainability. While environmental regulations may initially constrain corporate investment, firms with strong green innovation capabilities and sufficient cash reserves are better positioned to adapt over time. Exposure to climate-related opportunities is associated with a lower cost of capital, especially in countries that are more vulnerable to climate change, highlighting the financial benefits of aligning business models with the low-carbon transition. At the same time, transparent and credible climate disclosure enhances corporate reputation and attracts environmentally conscious investors. The research also demonstrates that heightened climate policy uncertainty encourages firms, particularly private and pollution-intensive ones, to strengthen ESG performance as a form of risk management. Although negative climate sentiment can depress firm value, robust ESG practices can provide some resilience. Beyond traditional finance, the studies show that both physical climate events and transition risks significantly increase volatility in cryptocurrency markets, indicating that digital assets are not insulated from climate-related disruptions.

Collectively, these findings underscore that climate change is now deeply embedded in financial valuation, risk pricing, and strategic decision-making. Climate considerations increasingly shape how capital is allocated, how investors assess firms, and how markets respond to uncertainty. This has important implications as jurisdictions move towards more standardised climate disclosure regimes, such as IFRS S2, and as policymakers seek to align financial systems with climate objectives. The research highlights the need for firms to proactively identify climate-related opportunities, strengthen ESG disclosure, and maintain strategic liquidity to withstand regulatory and physical shocks. Investors can draw on climate opportunity indicators and sentiment analysis to inform portfolio allocation, favouring firms that demonstrate credible sustainability practices. For policymakers and regulators, the findings underscore the importance of coordinated monetary, fiscal, and environmental policies, as well as the need to incorporate climate risk into oversight of both traditional financial markets and emerging digital asset classes.

More information: Badar Nadeem Ashraf et al, Guest editorial: Climate change and business: challenges and innovations, China Finance Review International. DOI: 10.1108/CFRI-09-2025-771

Journal information: China Finance Review International Provided by Shanghai Jiao Tong University Journal Center

Tracking Unemployment Trends with Social Media Data

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Recent research suggests that social media discussions about job loss can anticipate official unemployment figures by up to two weeks. Losing a job is often a stressful and personal experience, and many people express their situation online. By analysing these public disclosures, researchers have shown that digital conversations can provide early signals of labour market changes, often emerging well before they appear in government statistics. This work highlights the growing potential of online data to complement traditional economic measurement.

The study, led by Sam Fraiberger and colleagues, introduces an artificial intelligence model designed to detect self-disclosures of unemployment on social media. The model, known as JoblessBERT, is based on a transformer architecture and was trained on posts from 31.5 million Twitter users between 2020 and 2022. Crucially, it recognised informal language, slang, and misspellings common in everyday online communication. Expressions such as “I needa job!” and similar non-standard phrasing, which often evade simpler keyword-based systems, were successfully identified, enabling a much broader capture of unemployment-related content.

Because social media users are not fully representative of the general population, the researchers applied demographic adjustments to correct for known biases. By inferring user characteristics and using post-stratification techniques, they accounted for differences in age, location, and other factors that can distort online data. After making these corrections, the team used the detected unemployment disclosures to forecast US unemployment insurance claims at national, state, and city levels. This approach offered not only faster insights but also finer geographic detail than is typically available through conventional labour market data.

The results showed a clear improvement over existing methods. JoblessBERT captured nearly three times as many genuine unemployment disclosures as previous rule-based approaches while maintaining high precision. When used for forecasting, the model reduced prediction errors by more than 50 per cent compared with industry consensus forecasts. These gains were observed both during relatively stable economic periods and during times of significant disruption, suggesting that the method is robust across different financial conditions.

The advantages of this approach were particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, as lockdowns led to a sudden and dramatic rise in job losses, official statistics lagged behind events on the ground. The AI-based system detected the surge in unemployment-related posts days before government data were released, demonstrating its potential as an early warning tool. In fast-moving crises, such time savings can be critical for policymakers seeking to respond quickly.

More broadly, the study addresses long-standing concerns about the reliability of digital trace data. By focusing on individual self-disclosures and combining machine learning with established statistical adjustments, the methodology shows how social media data can be used responsibly and effectively. Rather than replacing traditional surveys and administrative records, this approach complements them, offering more timely and geographically detailed insights. The findings underline how integrating AI with statistical modelling can strengthen economic monitoring and support better-informed policymaking, especially during periods of financial turbulence.

More information: Do Lee et al, Can social media reliably estimate unemployment?, PNAS Nexus. DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf309

Managing the Unknown and Guiding the Nation: An Interpretation of Professor Lim Siong Guan’s Ideas

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As global uncertainty intensifies, governments are under growing pressure to make decisions that preserve long-term stability while remaining responsive to rapid, unforeseen change. In a recent interview published in the journal Risk Sciences, Lim Siong Guan, one of Singapore’s most experienced public-sector leaders, provides a rare insider’s perspective on how uncertainty can be addressed through governance, leadership, and organisational culture.

Lim challenges conventional notions of risk management in government, arguing that the real task is not to eliminate risk but to prepare for an uncertain future. “In government, we rarely use the word risk,” he explains. “A more accurate description is managing uncertainty with a future orientation.” Rather than responding only when crises arise, he stresses the importance of continual preparation for a range of possible futures.

A central pillar of this approach is Singapore’s long-standing practice of scenario planning. This structured method explores alternative future pathways without assigning probabilities, allowing policymakers to test whether strategies remain effective under different conditions. According to Lim, scenario planning strengthens institutional resilience by ensuring that decisions are robust even when circumstances shift. Complementing this is horizon scanning, which focuses on detecting early signals of emerging risks or opportunities so that governments can respond before challenges fully materialise.

However, Lim is clear that formal planning tools have limits, particularly when dealing with what he calls the “unknown unknowns” — events that cannot be anticipated in advance. In such situations, organisational culture becomes critical. He argues that shared values, adaptability, and a willingness to learn from mistakes enable institutions to cope when established plans fall short. For Lim, culture provides the flexibility and judgment needed when uncertainty exceeds the bounds of analytical models.

Leadership, he suggests, must also adapt to increasingly complex and unpredictable environments. Using metaphors such as the dragon boat race, the symphony orchestra, and the football match, Lim illustrates how leadership styles must evolve. In today’s world, leaders can no longer control every decision from the top. Instead, they must build capable teams, empower individuals at different levels, and trust them to make sound decisions in real time.

Trust itself is a recurring theme in Lim’s reflections on governance. Drawing on experiences during crises such as COVID-19, he notes that public trust allows governments to adjust policies as new information emerges. When citizens perceive their leaders as caring, competent, and credible, they are more likely to accept policy changes in uncertain circumstances.

Overall, Lim Siong Guan’s insights highlight how long-term strategic thinking, adaptive leadership, and a resilient institutional culture can help governments navigate uncertainty. In a rapidly changing world, these elements together form the foundation for effective and responsive governance.

More information: Yexin Chen et al, From managing uncertainty to national strategy: An interview with Lim Siong Guan, Risk Sciences. DOI: 10.1016/j.risk.2025.100047

Journal information: Risk Sciences Provided by KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.