Lára Jóhannsdóttir
@hi.is
Environment and Natural Resources
University of Iceland
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Strategy and Management, Social Sciences, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Shilpa Khatri Babbar and Lara Johannsdottir
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractThe paper's objective is to study one of the world´s early living civilizations, i.e., India, focusing primarily on its rich ancient philosophy with specific reference to holistic education to understand how it may act as a prototype for target 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals. The study uses Interpretive sociology to understand the meanings contextually from the insider's perspective. Extensive and intensive usage of symbolism in Indian philosophy is studied through social constructionism and phenomenology. India’s ancient philosophy on holistic education has a relevance to modern approaches to address sustainability issues such as by addressing specific aspects of the SDGs, or the SDGs holistically, given the goals interconnects, and potential synergies and trade-offs, thereby serving as a prototype for target 4.7 of SDG 4. The findings also revel a lack of connection to higher power of spirituality. The originality of the study is the effort enabling comparative analysis across contexts, by placing the SDGs in the context of India’s ancient philosophy on holistic education, befitting the expectations of SDGs, specifically target 4.7. Authors are aware of the tendency of the “book view” (Indological Approach) to homogenize but this is in tune with the papers objective as the intention is to draw an ideal–typical proto-type of holistic education.
Mauricio Latapí, Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir, David Cook, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, Andrea Marin Radoszynski, and Kenneth Karlsson
Elsevier BV
Cary Kincaid Corcoran, David Cook, and Lára Jóhannsdóttir
Elsevier BV
Thorey S. Thorisdottir, Lara Johannsdottir, Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen, and Kirsi Niinimäki
Elsevier BV
Gwen K. Healey Akearok, Ay’aqulluk Jim Chaliak, Katie Cueva, David Cook, Christina VL Larsen, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, Lena Maria Nilsson, Miguel San Sebastián, Malory Peterson, Ulla Timlin,et al.
Informa UK Limited
ABSTRACT This paper outlines the methodological approaches to a multi-site Circumpolar case study exploring the impacts of COVID-19 on Indigenous and remote communities in 7 of 8 Arctic countries. Researchers involved with the project implemented a three-phase multi-site case study to assess the positive and negative societal outcomes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in Arctic communities from 2020 to 2023. The goal of the multi-site case study was to identify community-driven models and evidence-based promising practices and recommendations that can help inform cohesive and coordinated public health responses and protocols related to future public health emergencies in the Arctic. Research sites included a minimum of 1 one community each from Canada (Nunavut,) United States of America (Alaska), Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland. The approaches used for our multi-site case study provide a comprehensive, evidence-based account of the complex health challenges facing Arctic communities, offering insights into the effectiveness of interventions, while also privileging Indigenous local knowledge and voices. The mixed method multi-site case study approach enriched the understanding of unique regional health disparities and strengths during the pandemic. These methodological approaches serve as a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, and healthcare professionals, informing future strategies and interventions.
Lara Johannsdottir and David Cook
Informa UK Limited
ABSTRACT Remote Arctic communities have often been depicted as being particularly vulnerable to the challenges of disasters, with their location and lack of infrastructure exacerbating risk. This study explores the characteristics of local resilience in the Arctic using the case study of the communities of the north-western Westfjords. A total of 42 semi-structured interviews were carried out with various community members, seeking to uncover the features of inbuilt resilience that contribute to successes and vulnerabilities. These were transcribed, coded, and categorised in relation to an integrated framework for assessing community resilience in disaster management, which groups topics via the themes of environmental, social, governance, economic, and infrastructure. All themes played a role in the success of local coping strategies, with easy access to the natural environment central to physical and mental well-being. Despite this, vulnerabilities of the community were evident, including insufficient local healthcare workers during a severe COVID-19 outbreak in a care home, the absence of a local quarantine hotel, and insufficient information in foreign languages for non-natives of Iceland. The general trend of following rules and expert advice was demonstrative of strong social capital, with locals trusting those in charge, nationally and locally, to manage the pandemic.
Kristján Vigfússon, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, Snjólfur Ólafsson, and Mehmet Ali Köseoğlu
Emerald
PurposeThis study focuses on the key success factors (KSFs) for strategy implementation in the fisheries industry in Iceland identified by chief executive officers within the industry. The purpose is to provide a comprehensive categorization of KSFs that influence how strategy is mobilized. The secondary aim is to uncover the level of priority that companies place on the dimensions of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Design/methodology/approachThe methodology involves qualitative case studies based on in-depth elite interviews with nine chief executive officers of Icelandic fishing companies.FindingsThe research indicates strategy implementation can be improved in four main areas. First, by engaging and involving all employees in the implementation process. Second, by enhancing bottom-up innovation and communication. Third, through alignment of the corporate strategy and the UN SDGs, and fourth, by following rigorous action plans with clear, measurable and prioritized objectives and timeframes for the managers to follow. These improvements have both theoretical and practical implications for the fishing industry. Consequently, a conceptual framework for integrated strategy implementation in the fisheries industry is proposed.Research limitations/implicationsA limited number of in-depth elite interviews were conducted since access to the chief executive officers of the country’s largest fishing companies proved challenging. However, the nine companies collectively hold nearly 50% of the country’s total quota, thereby proving a deep understanding of the topic relevant to the industry. The research uncovered a substantial cross-section of viewpoints, and as such, the results are relevant for both academia and practitioners alike.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the debate on KSFs relevant to strategy implementation within a specific industry but also aligns with the UN SDGs by proposing a dedicated framework for implementing strategies in the fisheries industry. Overall, this study can help managers achieve strategy implementation.
Mika Kaibara Portugaise, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, and Shinsuke Murakami
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractElectronic waste is the fastest-growing domestic waste stream globally, continuously outstripping projections. With increasing ubiquity of complex computing, many non-renewables are contained in end-of-life electronics, creating a vast urban mine, potentially hazardous, depending on treatment. The aim of this study is to compare how Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy is applied in two case countries, Japan and Canada, the practical implications of EPR policy design on producer operations, and how EPR affects electronic waste management improvements in each case. These cases share international obligations for electronic waste management but employ contrasting EPR policies. These policies are widespread in both cases, yet are not presided over by larger, regional obligations. Therefore, country-level interviews with electronic waste management stakeholders focusing on how EPR regulation affects producer practice were conducted. The physical application of EPR, as seen in Japan, drives design changes by producers intending to simplify downstream treatment, while financial responsibility in Canada, creates greater concern with cost-savings for producers, complicating end-of-life processing. EPR implementation, along with specific geographical factors, also create contrasting resource recovery results between countries. Regulation primarily drives EPR implementation in both countries, which is consistent with the literature. This study presents new drivers and barriers, namely pre-emptive legislation, and no incentive to improve, classifying the Japanese and Canadian systems as suffering from externalities on an insular system, and lack of harmonization, respectively. This research addresses a gap in comparative studies across regions of physical and financial EPR effects on producer practice.
Throstur Olaf Sigurjonsson, Lara Johannsdottir, and Svala Gudmundsdottir
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Mauricio Latapí, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, and Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir
WORLD SCIENTIFIC (EUROPE)
Mauricio Latapí, Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir, and Lára Jóhannsdóttir
Elsevier BV
Gisele Arruda and Lara Johannsdottir
Routledge
Malory Peterson, Gwen Healey Akearok, Katie Cueva, Josée G. Lavoie, Christina VL Larsen, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, David Cook, Lena Maria Nilsson, Arja Rautio, Ulla Timlin,et al.
Informa UK Limited
Beginning January of 2020, COVID-19 cases detected in Arctic countries triggered government policy responses to stop transmission and limit caseloads beneath levels that would overwhelm existing healthcare systems. This review details the various restrictions, health mandates, and transmission mitigation strategies imposed by governments in eight Arctic countries (the United States, Canada, Greenland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, and Russia) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, through 31 January 2021s31 January 2021. We highlight formal protocols and informal initiatives adopted by local communities in each country, beyond what was mandated by regional or national governments. This review documents travel restrictions, communications, testing strategies, and use of health technology to track and monitor COVID-19 cases. We provide geographical and sociocultural background and draw on local media and communications to contextualise the impact of COVID-19 emergence and prevention measures in Indigenous communities in the Arctic. Countries saw varied case rates associated with local protocols, governance, and population. Still, almost all regions maintained low COVID-19 case rates until November of 2020. This review was produced as part of an international collaboration to identify community-driven, evidence-based promising practices and recommendations to inform pan-Arctic collaboration and decision making in public health during global emergencies.
Gisele M. Arruda and Lara Johannsdottir
Springer International Publishing
David Cook, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, Sarah Kendall, Catherine Chambers, and Mauricio Latapí
MDPI AG
This study utilizes a recently developed framework for the well-being economy to evaluate the impacts of COVID-19 in the sparsely populated Westfjords region of northwestern Iceland. A total of 42 semi-structured interviews were conducted with a broad spectrum of local community members, nearly all undertaken in October 2021. Local impacts to human and social capital were very evident, whilst economic consequences to individuals and business were largely mitigated through national economic packages. The remoteness of the Westfjords and pre-existing challenges, such as exposure to nature disasters, a harsh climate, and limited infrastructure, provided a bedrock of resilience with which to tackle the pandemic. This underpinned the sustainability of the communities, and flexible approaches to work and education constrained some of the worst potential effects of social distancing and isolation. Nevertheless, some socio-demographic groups remained harder hit than others, including the elderly in nursing homes and non-Icelandic speaking foreigners, who were marginalized via isolation and lack of information provision in the early, most severe outbreaks of COVID-19. The study demonstrated the coping mechanisms and solutions that were adopted to sustain subjective and community well-being, whilst reinforcing the importance of utilizing local community strengths in tackling the many challenges induced by a pandemic crisis.
Kristjan Reykjalin Vigfusson, Lara Johannsdottir, and Snjolfur Olafsson
Elsevier BV
Lára Jóhannsdóttir, David Cook, Sarah Kendall, Mauricio Latapí, and Catherine Chambers
MDPI AG
Human resource management (HRM) is challenging in times of crisis, more so than when there is a stable business environment. Consequently, the overall aim of the study is to identify the preparedness, transition process, learning, and growth that businesses in the Westfjords region experienced because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, 42 semi-structured interviews were conducted with various members of the society, such as health authorities, healthcare workers, staff of a university center, social workers, and business owners, to gain as broad of an understanding of the local impacts as possible, as well as the coping strategies that emerging or were employed. The model employed for the analysis is an organizational resilience and organizational coping strategies model, which considers both the pre- and post-crisis situation. The core components of this model—anticipate and plan, manage and survive, and learn and grow—were the themes that were used in the thematic analysis of the interviews presented in the results. The findings of the study suggest that the preparedness aspect of the model employed, namely anticipate and plan, was negligible, as institutions were neither very ready for disruption prior to the crisis, nor had plans in place to deal with such a situation. Despite the lack of pre-crisis anticipation and planning mechanisms, examples of how institutions managed and coped during the pandemic were evident in the data. Also, during the crisis, some institutions managed to not just learn and grow, but, through adaptation to the situation, they were able to thrive. The findings also suggest both positive and negative aspects to HRM in public and private institutions. The implications of the study are theoretical in cases of alteration to the analytical model employed, practical in the case of coping mechanisms and practical solutions suggested, and have policy relevance, as the study emphasizes the importance of integrating flexible approaches to national mandates, thus enabling local conditions to be taken into account.
Bjorg Jonsdottir, Throstur Olaf Sigurjonsson, Lara Johannsdottir, and Stefan Wendt
MDPI AG
Institutional investors who commit to integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects into investment decisions require ESG data of sufficient quality. However, concerns have risen over a lack of quality in ESG data, as outlined by the Global Reporting Initiative. The lack of quality in ESG data deters institutional investors from using the data for investment decisions. This study outlines the ESG data reporting process and explores where in the process quality concerns emerge. Semi-structured interviews are applied with professionals involved in ESG data analysis and reporting of listed companies, a rating agency and institutional investors. The results show that current barriers to using ESG data include a lack of materiality, accuracy and reliability. Interviewees agree that access to data collected by governmental institutions is lacking, and that companies’ purchase of carbon credits raise questions about the reliability of ESG data. Companies hold contrasting views to the institutional investors on the useability of the data they disclose. The results enhance our understanding of the common and contrasting concerns about the lack of quality in ESG data. The results can be used as guide for companies, investors and regulators for actions to mitigate barriers related to the lack of quality in ESG reporting.
Lara Johannsdottir and James Wallace
Springer International Publishing
David Cook and Lara Johannsdottir
Springer International Publishing
Gisele M. Arruda, Lara Johannsdottir, Stefan Wendt, and Throstur Olaf Sigurjonsson
Springer International Publishing
Anđela Ivic, Nína María Saviolidis, and Lara Johannsdottir
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractMining activities cause negative environmental impacts and social conflicts but also provide economic benefits to communities and secure the minerals necessary for low-carbon technology. The aim of this multiple case study is to analyze, compare and critically evaluate sustainability reports of 10 European mining companies for the 2016–2018 period to determine the drivers for implementation of sustainability practices and their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The findings suggest that European mining companies act under pressures from international initiatives and industry associations, the European Union, governments, stakeholders, and maintaining social license to operate. The companies report on the core subjects of corporate governance, employees, the environment, stakeholders’ engagement and occupational health and safety. Positive trends were observed in stakeholders’ engagement and health and safety, while air emissions and water and energy usage increased for most companies. Furthermore, there was an absence of improvement in gender diversity, utilization of renewable energy, and waste recycling. Even though all analyzed companies mentioned SDGs in the reports, the reports lacked a comprehensive explanation of mining activities’ contribution to the SDGs. This study addresses a gap in the existing literature on the European mining context of sustainable development and SDGs relevant for researchers, policymakers, and other impacted stakeholders and adds new theoretical knowledge on the external drivers of CSR activities based on institutional theory.
Auður Pálsdóttir and Lára Jóhannsdóttir
MDPI AG
Sustainability is a pressing topic in all universities. Institutions are determining what the implications of such a development are, e.g., on how courses that students are provided with should develop, what to change, what to add, and how these changes could be brought about. The purpose of this research was to provide an overview of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the curriculum of five schools at the University of Iceland and an overview of individual SDGs for the university, to identify the main challenges and opportunities for improvement. Data collection included analysis of every single university’s course description and learning outcomes using a curriculum analysis key designed for the SDGs. Results indicated strong signs of SDG 4 (quality education) at the School of Education and the School of Social Sciences and SDG 3 (good health and well-being) at the School of Health Sciences. For the university, the results revealed a very limited emphasis on four SDGs, i.e., SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), and SDG 13 (climate actions). The results can serve as a benchmark for other universities, e.g., for comparison of results and their situation when creating policy and practices that include implementing the SDGs. Additionally, they can be used for comparison within the University of Iceland as a whole or within each school to monitor change.
Auður Pálsdóttir and Lára Jóhannsdóttir
MDPI AG
Sustainable development is growingly being developed in universities around the world. The United Nations presented eight Sustainability Key Competencies (SKCs) that represent cross-cutting competencies crucial to advance sustainable development and achieve Sustainable Development Goals. The aim of this research is to know to what extent the University of Iceland courses seem to include the emphasis of the SKCs, either in the course description text or the learning outcomes. Data collection took place in early 2020 and included analysing every single university’s course description text and learning outcomes using a curriculum analysis key for SKCs. Results show that proportionally, most signs of SKCs were found for SKC 3 (Normative competency) in 53% of courses in the university, and SKC 6 (Critical thinking competency) in 46% of the university’s courses. For individual schools of the university, the far highest proportion of signs of SKC was found for the School of Education (5.0 signs per course) and the relatively fewest for the School of Humanities (1.1 sign per course). The results are discussed both in relation to identified competencies needed for the pressing sustainability problems humanity faces, and in the light of a discrepancy appearing between the university’s ranking according to Times Higher Education University Ranking by citations, research, and teaching, and the proportional signs of individual SKCs within the University of Iceland.