Search results for: school stakeholders

Authors: Amer Ait Sidhoum

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Interest in sustainability has gained ground among practitioners, academics and policy-makers due to growing stakeholders’ awareness of environmental and social concerns. This is particularly true for agriculture. However, relatively little research has been conducted on the quantification of social sustainability and the contribution of social issues to the agricultural production efficiency. This research's main objective is to propose a method for evaluating prices of social outputs, more precisely shadow prices, by allowing for the stochastic nature of agricultural production that is to say for production uncertainty. In this article, the assessment of social outputs’ shadow prices is conducted within the methodological framework of nonparametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). An output-oriented directional distance function (DDF) is implemented to represent the technology of a sample of Catalan arable crop farms and derive the efficiency scores the overall production technology of our sample is assumed to be the intersection of two different sub-technologies. The first sub-technology models the production of random desirable agricultural outputs, while the second sub-technology reflects the social outcomes from agricultural activities. Once a nonparametric production technology has been represented, the DDF primal approach can be used for efficiency measurement, while shadow prices are drawn from the dual representation of the DDF. Computing shadow prices is a method to assign an economic value to non-marketed social outcomes. Our research uses cross sectional, farm-level data collected in 2015 from a sample of 180 Catalan arable crop farms specialized in the production of cereals, oilseeds and protein (COP) crops. Our results suggest that our sample farms show high performance scores, from 85% for the bad state of nature to 88% for the normal and ideal crop growing conditions. This suggests that farm performance is increasing with an improvement in crop growth conditions. Results also show that average shadow prices of desirable state-contingent output and social outcomes for efficient and inefficient farms are positive, suggesting that the production of desirable marketable outputs and of non-marketable outputs makes a positive contribution to the farm production efficiency. Results also indicate that social outputs’ shadow prices are contingent upon the growing conditions. The shadow prices follow an upward trend as crop-growing conditions improve. This finding suggests that these efficient farms prefer to allocate more resources in the production of desirable outputs than of social outcomes. To our knowledge, this study represents the first attempt to compute shadow prices of social outcomes while accounting for the stochastic nature of the production technology. Our findings suggest that the decision-making process of the efficient farms in dealing with social issues are stochastic and strongly dependent on the growth conditions. This implies that policy-makers should adjust their instruments according to the stochastic environmental conditions. An optimal redistribution of rural development support, by increasing the public payment with the improvement in crop growth conditions, would likely enhance the effectiveness of public policies.

Keywords: data envelopment analysis, shadow prices, social sustainability, sustainable farming

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Authors: Mikyung Bak

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The dokkaebi, a beloved icon of Korean culture, is represented as an elf, goblin, monster, dwarf, or any similar creature in different media, such as animated shows, comics, soap operas, and movies. It is often described as a mythical creature with a horn or horns and long teeth, wearing tiger-skin pants or a grass skirt, and carrying a magic stick. Many Korean researchers agree on the similarity of the image of the Korean dokkaebi with that of the Japanese oni, a view that is regard as negative from an anti-colonial or nationalistic standpoint. They cite such similarity between the two mythical creatures as evidence that Japanese colonialism persists in Korea. The debate on the originality of dokkaebi’s visual representation is an issue that must be addressed urgently. This research demonstrates through a diagram the plurality of interpretations of dokkaebi’s visual representations in what are considered ‘authentic’ images of dokkaebi in Korean art and culture. This diagram presents the opinions of four major groups in the debate, namely, the scholars of Korean literature and folklore, art historians, authors, and artists. It also shows the creation of new dokkaebi visual representations in popular media, including those influenced by the debate. The diagram further proves that dokkaebi’s representations varied, which include the typical persons or invisible characters found in Korean literature, original Korean folk characters in traditional art, and even universal spirit characters. They are also visually represented by completely new creatures as well as oni-based mythical beings and the actual oni itself. The earlier dokkaebi representations were driven by the creation of a national ideology or national cultural paradigm and, thus, were more uniform and protected. In contrast, the more recent representations are influenced by the Korean industrial strategy of ‘cultural economics,’ which is concerned with the international rather than the domestic market. This recent Korean cultural strategy emphasizes diversity and commonality with the global culture rather than originality and locality. It employs traditional cultural resources to construct a global image. Consequently, dokkaebi’s recent representations have become more common and diverse, thereby incorporating even oni’s characteristics. This argument has rendered the grounds of the debate irrelevant. The dokkaebi has been used recently for tourist marketing purposes, particularly in revitalizing interest in regions considered the cradle of various traditional dokkaebi tales. These campaign strategies include the Jeju-do Dokkaebi Park, Koksung Dokkaebi Land, as well as the Taebaek and Sokri-san Dokkaebi Festivals. Almost dokkaebi characters are identical to the Japanese oni in tourist marketing. However, the pursuit for dokkaebi’s authentic visual representation is less interesting and fruitful than the appreciation of the entire spectrum of dokkaebi images that have been created. Thus, scholars and stakeholders must not exclude the possibilities for a variety of potentials within the visual culture. The same sentiment applies to traditional art and craft. This study aims to contribute to a new visualization of the dokkaebi that embraces the possibilities of both folk craft and art, which continue to be uncovered by diverse and careful researchers in a still-developing field.

Keywords: Dokkaebi, post-colonial period, representation, tourist marketing

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Authors: Luisa Müting, Wisnu Harto Adiwijoyo

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Agroforestry systems transform the agricultural landscapes in the Sahel region of Africa, providing food and farming products consumed for subsistence or sold for income. In the incrementally dry climate of the Sahel region, the spreading of agroforestry practices is integral for policymaker efforts to counteract land degradation and provide soil restoration in the region. Several measures on agroforestry practices have been implemented in the region by governmental and non-governmental institutions in recent years. However, despite the efforts, past research shows that awareness of how policies and interventions are being consumed and perceived by the public remains low. Therefore, interpreting public policy dilemmas by analyzing the public perception regarding agroforestry concepts and practices is necessary. Public perceptions and discourses can be an essential driver or constraint for the adoption of agroforestry practices in the region. Thus, understanding the public discourse behavior of crucial stakeholders could assist policymakers in developing inclusive and contextual policies that are relevant to the context of agroforestry adoption in Sahel region. To answer how information about agroforestry spreads and is perceived by the public. As internet usage increased drastically over the past decade, reaching a share of 33 percent of the population being connected to the internet, this research is based on online conversation data. Social media data from Facebook are gathered daily between April 2021 and April 2022 in Djibouti, Senegal, Mali, and Nigeria based on their share of active internet users compared to other countries in the Sahel region. A systematic methodology was applied to the extracted social media using discourse network analysis (DNA). This study then clustered the data by the types of agroforestry practices, sentiments, and country. Additionally, this research extracted the text data from online news media during the same period to pinpoint events related to the topic of agroforestry. The preliminary result indicates that tree management, crops, and livestock integration, diversifying species and genetic resources, and focusing on interactions and productivity across the agricultural system; are the most notable keywords in agroforestry-related conversations within the four countries in the Sahel region. Additionally, approximately 84 percent of the discussions were still dominated by big actors, such as NGO or government actors. Furthermore, as a subject of communication within agroforestry discourse, the Great Green Wall initiative generates almost 60 percent positive sentiment within the captured social media data, effectively having a more significant outreach than general agroforestry topics. This study provides an understanding for scholars and policymakers with a springboard for further research or policy design on agroforestry in the four countries of the Sahel region with systematically uncaptured novel data from the internet.

Keywords: sahel, djibouti, senegal, mali, nigeria, social networks analysis, public discourse analysis, sentiment analysis, content analysis, social media, online news, agroforestry, land restoration

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Authors: Nien-Te Kuo, Yi-Sung Cheng, Kuo-Chien Chang

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Cultural festival tourism is now seen by many as an opportunity to facilitate community development because it has significant influences on the economic, social, cultural, and political aspects of local communities. The potential for tourist attraction has been recognized as a useful tool to strengthen local economies from governments. However, most community festivals in Taiwan are short-lived, often only lasting for a few years or occasionally not making it past a one-off event. Researchers suggested that most governments and other stakeholders do not recognize the importance of building a partnership with residents when developing community tourism. Thus, the sustainable community tourism development still remains a key issue in the existing literature. The success of community tourism is related to the attitudes and lifestyles of local residents. In order to maintain sustainable tourism, residents need to be seen as development partners. Residents’ support intention for tourism development not only helps to increase awareness of local culture, history, the natural environment, and infrastructure, but also improves the interactive relationship between the host community and tourists. Furthermore, researchers have identified the social capital theory as the core of sustainable community tourism development. The social capital of residents has been seen as a good way to solve issues of tourism governance, forecast the participation behavior and improve support intention of residents. In addition, previous studies have pointed out the role of community participation and place identity in increasing resident support intention for tourism development. A lack of place identity is one of the main reasons that community tourism has become a mere formality and is not sustainable. It refers to how much residents participate during tourism development and is mainly influenced by individual interest. Scholars believed that the place identity of residents is the soul of community festivals. It shows the community spirit to visitors and has significant impacts on tourism benefits and support intention of residents in community tourism development. Although the importance of community participation and place identity have been confirmed by both governmental and non-governmental organizations, real-life execution still needs to be improved. This study aimed to use social capital theory to investigate the social structure between community residents, participation levels in festival tourism, degrees of place identity, and resident support intention for future community tourism development, and the causal relationship that these factors have with cultural festival tourism. A quantitative research approach was employed to examine the proposed model. Structural equation model was used to test and verify the proposed hypotheses. This was a case study of the Kaohsiung Zuoying Wannian Folklore Festival. The festival was located in the Zuoying District of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. The target population of this study was residents who attended the festival. The results reveal significant correlations among social capital, community participation, place identity and support intention. The results also confirm that impacts of social capital on support intention were significantly mediated by community participation and place identity. Practical suggestions were provided for tourism operators and policy makers. This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan, Republic of China, under the grant MOST-105-2410-H-328-013.

Keywords: community participation, place identity, social capital, support intention

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Authors: Vangelis Papadimitropoulos

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This paper is part of the research program “Techno-Social Innovation in the Collaborative Economy”, funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) for the years 2022-2024. The paper showcases the Open Food Network (OFN) as an open-sourced digital platform supporting short food supply chains in local agricultural production and consumption. The paper outlines the research hypothesis, the theoretical framework, and the methodology of research as well as the findings and conclusions. Research hypothesis: The model of open cooperativism as a vehicle for systemic change in the agricultural sector. Theoretical framework: The research reviews the OFN as an illustrative case study of the three-zoned model of open cooperativism. The OFN is considered a paradigmatic case of the model of open cooperativism inasmuch as it produces commons, it consists of multiple stakeholders including ethical market entities, and it is variously supported by local authorities across the globe, the latter prefiguring the mini role of a partner state. Methodology: Research employs Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s discourse analysis -elements, floating signifiers, nodal points, discourses, logics of equivalence and difference- to analyse the breadth of empirical data gathered through literature review, digital ethnography, a survey, and in-depth interviews with core OFN members. Discourse analysis classifies OFN floating signifiers, nodal points, and discourses into four themes: value proposition, governance, economic policy, and legal policy. Findings: OFN floating signifiers align around the following nodal points and discourses: “digital commons”, “short food supply chains”, “sustainability”, “local”, “the elimination of intermediaries” and “systemic change”. The current research identifies a lack of common ground of what the discourse of “systemic change” signifies on the premises of the OFN’s value proposition. The lack of a common mission may be detrimental to the formation of a common strategy that would be perhaps deemed necessary to bring about systemic change in agriculture. Conclusions: Drawing on Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory of hegemony, research introduces a chain of equivalence by aligning discourses such as “agro-ecology”, “commons-based peer production”, “partner state” and “ethical market entities” under the model of open cooperativism, juxtaposed against the current hegemony of neoliberalism, which articulates discourses such as “market fundamentalism”, “privatization”, “green growth” and “the capitalist state” to promote corporatism and entrepreneurship. Research makes the case that for OFN to further agroecology and challenge the current hegemony of industrial agriculture, it is vital that it opens up its supply chains into equivalent sectors of the economy, civil society, and politics to form a chain of equivalence linking together ethical market entities, the commons and a partner state around the model of open cooperativism.

Keywords: sustainability, the digital commons, open cooperativism, innovation

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Authors: Siriwan Chatmaneerungcharoen

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An emerging body of ‘21st century skills’-such as adaptability, complex communication skills, technology skills and the ability to solve non-routine problems--are valuable across a wide range of jobs in the national economy. Within the Thai context, a focus on the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy is integrated into Science Education. Thai science education has advocated infusing 21st century skills and Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy into the school curriculum and several educational levels have launched such efforts. Therefore, developing science teachers to have proper knowledge is the most important factor to success of the goals. The purposes of this study were to develop 40 Cooperative Science teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and to develop Professional Development Model integrated with Co-teaching Model and Coaching System (Co-TPACK). TPACK is essential to career development for teachers. Forty volunteer In-service teachers who were science cooperative teachers participated in this study for 2 years. Data sources throughout the research project consisted of teacher refection, classroom observations, Semi-structure interviews, Situation interview, questionnaires and document analysis. Interpretivist framework was used to analyze the data. Findings indicate that at the beginning, the teachers understood only the meaning of Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy but they did not know how to integrate the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy into their science classrooms. Mostly, they preferred to use lecture based teaching and experimental teaching styles. While the Co- TPACK was progressing, the teachers had blended their teaching styles and learning evaluation methods. Co-TPACK consists of 3 cycles (Student Teachers’ Preparation Cycle, Cooperative Science Teachers Cycle, Collaboration cycle (Co-teaching, Co-planning, and Co-Evaluating and Coaching System)).The Co-TPACK enhances the 40 cooperative science teachers, student teachers and university supervisor to exchange their knowledge and experience on teaching science. There are many channels that they used for communication including online. They have used more Phuket context-integrated lessons, technology-integrated teaching and Learning that can explicit Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy. Their sustained development is shown in their lesson plans and teaching practices.

Keywords: technological pedagogical content knowledge, philosophy of sufficiency economy, professional development, coaching system

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Authors: B. Nair, S. Singh

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Oral health behaviors such as dietary preferences and tooth brushing are acquired during a child’s primary socialization period yet many oral health promotion interventions are implemented without taking into account the role and impact of parental influence in supporting healthy oral health behaviors. The aim and objective of this study was to determine the relationship between parental income and level of education with knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of oral health care practices. Methods: The study design was cross-sectional and exploratory, and data collection occurred in two phases. Phase 1 comprised of a self-administered questionnaire. The sample consisted of parents of 313 Grade 1 learners aged between 5-6 years old attending one of twelve selected public primary schools in the Chatsworth Circuit, Durban, South Africa. Phase 2 comprised of focus group discussions held at 5 purposively selected schools. Data collection comprised of a semi-structured face-to-face group interview with the objective of obtaining a deeper understanding of parental knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of dental caries. Results and Discussion: Almost 56% of participants earned a monthly income of less than R6000 (600 US dollars). Nearly three quarters (77.5%) of participants indicated that they did not have medical aid/insurance scheme. More than three-quarters of the participants (76.6%) identified diet as being the primary cause of decayed teeth. More than half of the study sample (56.1%) indicated that milk teeth were important and that rotten teeth (74.6%) could affect the child’s health. Almost half (49.8%) of participants reported that “bad teeth” were inherited. With more than two-thirds of the participants (77.7%), having at most a high school education, there was a correlation between the level of the caregiver’s education and the oral health care of the child. The analysis of the correlation between a child having decayed teeth and income (p=.007); and the manner in which the income is received (p=.003) was statistically significant. The results indicate that more effort needs to be placed in understanding parental knowledge, perceptions and attitudes towards dental caries. Parental level of education, income and oral health literacy is shown to be related to attitudes, and perceptions towards dental caries and its subsequent preventive measures. These findings have important implications for oral health planning at community and facility-based levels.

Keywords: oral health prevention, parental education, dental caries, attitudes and perceptions

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Authors: Sonia Saddiqui, Maya Marcus

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UTS STEAMpunk Girls is an educational program for young women (aged 12-16), to empower them to be more informed and active members of the 21st century workforce. With the number of STEM graduates on the decline, especially among young women, an additional aim of the program is to trial a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts/Humanities/Social Sciences, Mathematics), inter-disciplinary approach to improving STEM engagement. In-line with UNESCO’s recent focus on promoting ‘transversal competencies’ in future graduates, the program utilised co-design, project-based learning, entrepreneurial processes, and inter-disciplinary learning. The program consists of two phases. Taking a participatory design approach, the first phase (co-design workshops) provided valuable insight into student perspectives around engaging young women in STEM and inter-disciplinary thinking. The workshops positioned 26 young women from three schools as subject matter experts (SMEs), providing a platform for them to share their opinions, experiences and findings around the STEAM disciplines. The second (pilot) phase put the co-design phase findings into practice, with 64 students from four schools working in groups to articulate problems with real-world implications, and utilising design-thinking to solve them. The pilot phase utilised project-based learning to engage young women in entrepreneurial and STEAM frameworks and processes. Scalable program design and educational resources were trialed to determine appropriate mechanisms for engaging young women in STEM and in STEAM thinking. Across both phases, data was collected via longitudinal surveys to obtain pre-program, baseline attitudinal information, and compare that against post-program responses. Preliminary findings revealed students’ improved understanding of the STEM disciplines, industries and professions, improved awareness of STEAM as a concept, and improved understanding regarding inter-disciplinary and design thinking. Program outcomes will be of interest to high-school educators in both STEM and the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences fields, and will hopefully inform future programmatic approaches to introducing inter-disciplinary STEAM learning in STEM curriculum.

Keywords: co-design, STEM, STEAM, project-based learning, inter-disciplinary

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Authors: Radhika Ralhan

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With the formalization of 2030, Global Agenda for Sustainable Development nations have instantaneously geared up their efforts towards the implementation of a comprehensive list of global goals. The criticality of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is imperative, as it will define the course and pace of development for the next 15 years. This development will entail transformational shifts towards a green and inclusive growth. Leadership, investments and technology will constitute as key ingredients of this transformational shift and governance will emerge as a one of the most significant driver of the global 2030 agenda. Corporate Governance is viewed as one of the key force to accelerate the momentum of SDGs and initiate these transformational shifts. Many senior level leaders have reinstated their conviction that adopting a triple bottom line approach will play an imperative role in transforming the entire industrial sector. In the Indian context, the above occurrence bears an intriguing facet, as the framing of SDGs in the global scenario coincided with the emergence of mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Rules in India at national level. As one of the leading democracies in the world, India is among few countries to formally mandate companies to spend 2% from their CSR funds under Section 135 of The New Companies Act 2013. The overarching framework of SDGs correlates to the areas of CSR interventions as mentioned in the Schedule VII of Section 135. As one of the legitimate stakeholders, business leaders have expressed their commitments to their respective governments, to reorient the entire fabric of their companies to scale up global priorities. This is explicitly seen in the case of India where leading business entities have converged national government priorities of Clean India, Make in India and Skill India by actively participating in the campaigns and incorporating these programmes within the ambit of their CSR policies. However, the CSR Act has received mixed responses with associated concerns such as the onus of doing what the government has to do, mandatory reporting mechanisms, policy disclosures, personnel handling CSR portfolios etc. The overall objective of the paper, therefore, rests in analyzing the discourse of CSR and the perspectives of Indian Inc. in imbibing the principles of SDGs within their business polices and operations. Through primary and secondary research analysis, the paper attempts to outline the diverse challenges that are being faced by Indian businesses while establishing the business case of sustainable responsibility. Some of the principal questions that paper addresses are: What are the SDG priorities for India Inc. as per their respective industry sectors? How can corporate policies imbibe the SDGs principles? How can the global concerns in form of SDGs align with the national CSR mandate and development issues? What initiatives have been undertaken by the companies to integrate their long term business strategy and sustainability? The paper will also reinstate an approach or a way forward that will enable businesses to proceed beyond compliance and accentuate the principles of responsibility and transparency within their operational framework.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, CSR, India Inc., section 135, new companies act 2013, sustainable development goals, SDGs, sustainability, corporate governance

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Authors: Burmansyah Muhammad, Supriyoto Supriyoto

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Crop yield, quality and food safety are three important components that all estate and food crops must put into consideration to lifting the economic value. These measurements should be evaluated because marketplace demand is simultaneously changing and farmers must adapt quickly to remain competitive. The increase in economic value could be done by producing high quality product that aligns with harvest collector preferences. The purpose of this study is to examine the causal effects of value added farming in agriculture economic aspects towards crop yield, quality and food security. This research is using descriptive survey research by employing data from small-scale cocoa farmers listed to off-taker company, located on Sulawesi area of Indonesia. The questionnaire was obtained from 650 cocoa farmers, selected randomly. Major findings of the study indicate that 78% of respondents agree that agriculture inputs have positive effect on crop yield, quality and food safety. The study recommended that cocoa stakeholders should ensure access to agriculture inputs in first priority and then followed by ensuring access to cocoa supply chain trader and micro-financing. Value Added Farming refers to lifting the economic value of a commodity through particular intervention. Regarding access to agriculture inputs, one of significant intervention is fertilization and plant nutrition management, both organic and inorganic fertilizer. Small-scale cocoa farmers can get access to fertilizer intervention through establishment of demo farm. Ordinary demo farm needs large area, selective requirements, lots of field resources and centralization impact. On the contrary, satellite demo farm is developing to wide-spread the impact of agriculture economic aspects and also the involvement in number of farmers. In Sulawesi Project, we develop leveling strata of small-scale demo farm with group of farmers and local cooperative. With this methodology, all of listed small-scale farmers can get access to agriculture input, micro-financing and how to deliver quality output. PT Pupuk Kaltim is member firm of holding company PT Pupuk Indonesia, private company belongs to the government of Indonesia. The company listed as Indonesia's largest producer of urea fertilizers, besides ammonia, Compound Fertilizer (NPK) and biological fertilizers. To achieve strategic objectives, the company has distinguished award such as SNI Platinum, SGS Award IFA Protect and Sustain Stewardship and Gold Rank of Environment Friendly Company. This achievement has become the strategic foundation for our company to energize value added farming in sustaining food security program. Moreover, to ensure cocoa sustainability farming the company has developed partnership with international companies and Non-Government Organization (NGO).

Keywords: fertilizer and plant nutrition management, good agriculture practices, agriculture economic aspects, value-added farming

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Authors: Maria Tagarelli De Monte

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In 2021, the passage of the law recognizing Italian Sign Language (LIS) as the language of the Italian deaf minority was the input for including this visual-gestural language in the curricula of interpreters and translators choosing the academic setting for their training. Yet, a gap remains concerning LIS education of teachers and communication assistants as referring figures for people who are deaf or hard of hearing in mainstream education. As well documented in the related scientific literature, deaf children often experience severe difficulties with the languages spoken in the country where they grow up, manifesting in all levels of literacy competence. In the research introduced here, the experience of deaf students (and their teachers) attending schools is explored in areas that are characterized by strong native bilingualism, such as Friuli-Venezia Giulia (FVG), facing Italian Northeast borders. This region is peculiar as the native population may be bilingual Italian and Friulian (50% of the local population), German, and/or Slovenian. The research involved all schools of all levels in Friuli to understand the relationship between the language skills expressed by teachers and those shown by deaf learners with a background in sign language. In addition to collecting specific information on the degree of preparation of teachers in deaf-related matters and LIS, the research has allowed to highlight the role, often poorly considered, covered by the communication assistants who work alongside deaf students. On several occasions, teachers and assistants were unanimous in affirming the importance of mutual collaboration and adequate consideration of the educational-rehabilitative history of the deaf child and her family. The research was based on a mixed method of structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with the referring teachers. As a result, a varied and complex framework emerged, showing an asymmetry in preparing personnel dedicated to the deaf learner. Considering how Italian education has long invested in creating an inclusive and accessible school system (i.e. with the "Ten Theses for Democratic Language Education"), a constructive analysis will complete the discussion in an attempt to understand how linguistic (and modal) differences can become levers of inclusion.

Keywords: FVG, LIS, linguistic needs, deafness, teacher education, bilingual bimodal children, communication assistants, inclusion model

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Authors: Matthew Conner, Leah Plocharczyk

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This study examines the role of academic libraries in support of the intellectually disabled (ID) in post-secondary education. With the growing public awareness of the ID, there has been recognition of their need for post-secondary educational opportunities. This was an unforeseen result for a population that has been associated with elementary levels of education, yet the reasons are compelling. After aging out of the school system, the ID need and deserve educational and social support as much as anyone. Moreover, the commitment to diversity in higher education rings hollow if this group is excluded. Yet, challenges remain to integrating the ID into a college curriculum. This presentation focuses on the role of academic libraries. Neglecting this vital resource for the support of the ID is not to be thought of, yet the library’s contribution is not clear. Library collections presume reading ability and libraries already struggle to meet their traditional goals with the resources available. This presentation examines how academic libraries can support post-secondary ID. For context, the presentation first examines the state of post-secondary education for the ID with an analysis of data on the United States compiled by the ThinkCollege! Project. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and statistical analysis will show regional and methodological trends in post-secondary support of the ID which currently lack any significant involvement by college libraries. Then, the presentation analyzes a case study of a book club at the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) libraries which has run for several years. Issues such as the selection of books, effective pedagogies, and evaluation procedures will be examined. The study has found that the instruction pedagogies used by libraries can be extended through concepts of Universal Learning Design (ULD) to effectively engage the ID. In particular, student-centered, participatory methodologies that accommodate different learning styles have proven to be especially useful. The choice of text is complex and determined not only by reading ability but familiarity of subject and features of the ID’s developmental trajectory. The selection of text is not only a necessity but also promises to give insight into the ID. Assessment remains a complex and unresolved subject, but the voluntary, sustained, and enthusiastic attendance of the ID is an undeniable indicator. The study finds that, through the traditional library vehicle of the book club, academic libraries can support ID students through training in both reading and socialization, two major goals of their post-secondary education.

Keywords: academic libraries, intellectual disability, literacy, post-secondary education

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Authors: Lauren Beth Birney

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BOP-CCERS is a consortium of scientists, K-16 New York City students, faculty, academicians, teachers, stakeholders, STEM Industry professionals, CBO’s, NPO’s, citizen scientists, and local businesses working in partnership to restore New York Harbor’s oyster populations while at the same time providing clean water in New York Harbor. BOP-CCERS gives students an opportunity to learn hands-on about environmental stewardship as well as environmental law and policy by giving students real responsibility. The purpose of this REU will allow for the BOP CCERS Project to further broaden its parameters into the focus of environmental law and policy where further change can be affected. Creating opportunities for undergraduates to work collaboratively with graduate students in law and policy and envision themselves in STEM careers in the field of law continues to be of importance in this project. More importantly, creating opportunities for underrepresented students to pursue careers in STEM Education has been a goal of the project over the last ten years. By raising the level of student interest in community-based citizen science integrated into environmental law and policy, a more diversified workforce will be fostered through the momentum of this dynamic program. The continuing climate crisis facing our planet calls for 21st-century skill development that includes learning and innovation skills derived from critical thinking, which will help REU students address the issues of climate change facing our planet. The demand for a climate-friendly workforce will continue to be met through this community-based citizen science effort. Environmental laws and policies play a crucial role in protecting humans, animals, resources, and habitats. Without these laws, there would be no regulations concerning pollution or contamination of our waterways. Environmental law serves as a mechanism to protect the land, air, water, and soil of our planet. To protect the environment, it is crucial that future policymakers and legal experts both understand and value the importance of environmental protection. The Environmental Law and Policy REU provides students with the opportunity to learn, through hands-on work, the skills, and knowledge needed to help foster a legal workforce centered around environmental protection while participating alongside the BOP CCERS researchers in order to gain research experience. Broadening this area to law and policy will further increase these opportunities and permit students to ultimately affect and influence larger-scale change on a global level while further diversifying the STEM workforce. Students’ findings will be shared at the annual STEM Institute at Pace University in August 2022. Basic research methodologies include qualitative and quantitative analysis performed by the research team. Early findings indicate that providing students with an opportunity to experience, explore and participate in environmental science programs such as these enhances their interests in pursuing STEM careers in Law and Policy, with the focus being on providing opportunities for underserved, marginalized, and underrepresented populations.

Keywords: environmental restoration science, citizen science, environmental law and policy, STEM education

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Authors: Venere Ferraro, Silvia Ferraris

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We live in a world pervaded by new advanced technologies that have been changing the way we live and experience the surrounded. Besides, new technologies enable product innovation at different levels. Nevertheless, innovation does not lie just in the technological development and in its hard aspects but also in the meaningful use of it for the final user. In order to generate innovative products, a new perspective is needed: The shift from an instrument-oriented view of the technology towards a broader view that includes aspects like aesthetics, acceptance, comfort, and sociability. In many businesses, the user experience of the product is considered the key battlefield to achieve product innovation. (Holland 2011) The use of new technologies is indeed useless without paying attention to the user experience. This paper presents a workshop activity conducted at Design School of Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with Chiba University and aimed at generating innovative design concepts of high-tech mask. The students were asked to design the user experience of a new mask by exploiting emerging technologies such as wearable sensors and information communication technology (ICT) for a chosen field of application: safety or sport. When it comes to the user experience, the mask is a very challenging design product, because it covers aspects of product interaction and, most important, psychological and cultural aspects related to the impact on the facial expression. Furthermore, since the mask affects the face expression quite a lot, it could be a barrier to hide with, or it could be a mean to enhance user’s communication to others. The main request for the students was to take on a user-centered approach: To go beyond the instrumental aspects of product use and usability and focus on the user experience by shaping the technology in a desirable and meaningful way for the user reasoning on the metaphorical and cultural level of the product. During the one-week workshop students were asked to face the design process through (i) the research phase: an in-deep analysis of the user and field of application (safety or sport) to set design spaces (brief) and user scenario; (ii) the idea generation, (iii) the idea development. This text will shortly go through the meaning of the product innovation, the use and application of wearable technologies and will then focus on the user experience design in contrast with the technology-driven approach in the field of product innovation. Finally authors will describe the workshop activity and the concepts developed by the students stressing the important role of the user experience design in new product development.

Keywords: product innovation, user experience, technological exploitation, wearable technologies

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Authors: Ioannis N. Sergentanis, Stavroula Papadodima, Maria Tsellou, Dimitrios Vlachodimitropoulos, Sotirios Athanaselis, Chara Spiliopoulou

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Introduction: The aim of this study is the investigation of characteristics of suicide, as documented in autopsies during a five-year interval in the greater area of Attica, including the city of Athens. This could reveal possible protective or aggravating factors for suicide risk during a period strongly associated with the Greek debt crisis. Materials and Methods: Data was obtained following registration of suicide cases among autopsies performed in the Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Department, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, during the time interval from January 2011 to December 2015. Anonymity and medical secret were respected. A series of demographic and social factors in addition to special characteristics of suicide were entered into a specially established pre-coded database. These factors include social data as well as psychiatric background and certain autopsy characteristics. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and Fisher’s exact test. The software used was STATA/SE 13 (Stata Corp., College Station, TX, USA). Results: A total of 162 cases were studied, 128 men and 34 women. Age ranged from 14 to 97 years old with an average of 53 years, presenting two peaks around 40 and 60 years. A 56% of cases were single/ divorced/ widowed. 25% of cases occurred during the weekend, and 66% of cases occurred in the house. A predominance of hanging as the leading method of suicide (41.4%) followed by jumping from a height (22.8%) and firearms (19.1%) was noted. Statistical analysis showed an association was found between suicide method and gender (P < 0.001, Fisher’s exact test); specifically, no woman used a firearm while only one man used medication overdose (against four women). Discussion: Greece has historically been one of the countries with the lowest suicide rates in Europe. Given a possible change in suicide trends during the financial crisis, further research seems necessary in order to establish risk factors. According to our study, suicide is more frequent in men who are not married, inside their house. Gender seems to be a factor affecting the method of suicide. These results seem in accordance with the international literature. Stronger than expected predominance in male suicide can be associated with failure to live up to social and family expectations for financial reasons.

Keywords: autopsy, Greece, risk factors, suicide

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Authors: Md. Wasiul Islam, Md. Jamius Shams Sowrov

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The Sundarbans is the largest single tract of mangrove forest in the world. This is located in the southwest corner of Bangladesh. This is a unique ecosystem which is a great breeding and nursing ground for a great biodiversity. It supports the livelihood of about 3.5 million coastal dwellers and also protects the coastal belt and inland areas from various natural calamities. Historically, the management of the Sundarbans was controlled by the Bangladesh Forest Department following top-down approach without the involvement of local communities. Such fence and fining-based blue-print approach was not effective to protect the forest which caused Sundarbans to degrade severely in the recent past. Fifty percent of the total tree cover has been lost in the last 30 years. Therefore, local multi-stakeholder based bottom-up co-management approach was introduced at some of the parts of the Sundarbans in 2006 to improve the biodiversity status by enhancing the protection level of the forest. Various co-management organizations were introduced under co-management approach where the local community people could actively involve in various activities related to the management and welfare of the Sundarbans including the decision-making process to achieve the goal. From this backdrop, the objective of the study was to assess the performance of co-management organizations to facilitate sustainable management of the Sundarbans mangrove forests. The qualitative study followed face-to-face interview to collect data using two sets of semi-structured questionnaires. A total of 40 respondents participated in the research that was from eight villagers under two forest ranges. 32 representatives from the local communities as well as 8 official representatives involved in co-management approach were interviewed using snowball sampling technique. The study shows that the co-management approach improved governance system of the Sundarbans through active participation of the local community people and their interactions with the officials via the platform of co-management organizations. It facilitated accountability and transparency system to some extent through following some formal and informal rules and regulations. It also improved the power structure of the management process by fostering local empowerment process particularly the women. Moreover, people were able to learn from their interactions with and within the co-management organizations as well as interventions improved environmental awareness and promoted social learning. The respondents considered good governance as the most important factor for achieving the goal of sustainable management and biodiversity conservation of the Sundarbans. The success of co-management planning process also depends on the active and functional participation of different stakeholders including the local communities where co-management organizations were considered as the most functional platform. However, the governance system was also facing various challenges which resulted in barriers to the sustainable management of the Sundarbans mangrove forest. But still there were some members involved in illegal forest operations and created obstacles against sustainable management of the Sundarbans. Respondents recommended greater patronization from the government, financial and logistic incentives for alternative income generation opportunities with effective participatory monitoring and evaluation system to improve sustainable management of the Sundarbans.

Keywords: Bangladesh, co-management approach, co-management organizations, governance, Sundarbans, sustainable management

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Authors: Roxana D. Maiorescu-Murphy

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In the US, corporations have recently embraced political stances in an attempt to respond to the external pressure exerted by activist groups. To date, research in this area remains in its infancy, and few studies have been conducted on the way stakeholder groups respond to corporate political advocacy in general and in the immediacy of such a corporate announcement in particular. The current study aims to fill in this research void. In addition, the study contributes to an emerging trajectory in the field of crisis management by focusing on the delineation between crises (unexpected events related to products and services) and scandals (crises that spur moral outrage). The present study looked at online reactions in the aftermath of Elon Musk’s endorsement of the Republican party on Twitter. Two data sets were collected from Twitter following two political endorsements made by Elon Musk on May 18, 2022, and June 15, 2022, respectively. The total sample of analysis stemming from the data two sets consisted of N=1,374 user comments written as a response to Musk’s initial tweets. Given the paucity of studies in the preceding research areas, the analysis employed a case study methodology, used in circumstances in which the phenomena to be studied had not been researched before. According to the case study methodology, which answers the questions of how and why a phenomenon occurs, this study responded to the research questions of how online users perceived Tesla and why they did so. The data were analyzed in NVivo by the use of the grounded theory methodology, which implied multiple exposures to the text and the undertaking of an inductive-deductive approach. Through multiple exposures to the data, the researcher ascertained the common themes and subthemes in the online discussion. Each theme and subtheme were later defined and labeled. Additional exposures to the text ensured that these were exhaustive. The results revealed that the CEO’s political endorsements triggered moral outrage, leading to Tesla’s facing a scandal as opposed to a crisis. The moral outrage revolved around the stakeholders’ predominant rejection of a perceived intrusion of an influential figure on a domain reserved for voters. As expected, Musk’s political endorsements led to polarizing opinions, and those who opposed his views engaged in online activism aimed to boycott the Tesla brand. These findings reveal that the moral outrage that characterizes a scandal requires communication practices that differ from those that practitioners currently borrow from the field of crisis management. Specifically, because scandals flourish in online settings, practitioners should regularly monitor stakeholder perceptions and address them in real-time. While promptness is essential when managing crises, it becomes crucial to respond immediately as a scandal is flourishing online. Finally, attempts should be made to distance a brand, its products, and its CEO from the latter’s political views.

Keywords: crisis management, communication management, Tesla, corporate political activism, Elon Musk

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Authors: Georgia Kremmyda, Angelos Georgoulas, Yiannis Koumpouros, James T. Mottram

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There is a growing interest in enhancing the creativity and problem-solving ability of engineering students by expanding their engagement to complex, interdisciplinary problems such as environmental issues, resilience to man-made and natural disasters, global health matters, water needs, increased energy demands, and other global humanitarian challenges. Tackling societal challenges requires knowledgeable and erudite engineers who can handle, combine, transform and create innovative, affordable and sustainable solutions. This view simultaneously complements and challenges current conceptions of an emerging educational movement that, almost without exception, are underpinned by calls for competitive economic growth and technological development. This article reveals a taxonomy of humanitarian attributes to be enabled to professional engineers, through reformed curricula and innovative pedagogies, which once implemented and integrated efficiently in higher engineering education, they will provide students and educators with opportunities to explore interdependencies and connections between resources, sustainable design, societal needs, and the natural environment and to critically engage with implicit and explicit facets of disciplinary identity. The research involves carrying out a study on (a) current practices, best practices and barriers in knowledge organisation, content, and hierarchy in graduate engineering programmes, (b) best practices associated with teaching and research in engineering education around the world, (c) opportunities inherent in general reforms of graduate engineering education and inherent in integrating the humanitarian context throughout engineering education programmes, and, (d) an overarching taxonomy of professional attributes for tackling humanitarian challenges. Research methods involve state-of-the-art literature review on engineering education and pedagogy to resource thematic findings on current status in engineering education worldwide, and qualitative research through three practice dialogue workshops, run in Asia (Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh) involving a variety of national, international and local stakeholders (industries; NGOs, governmental organisations). Findings from this study provide evidence on: (a) what are the professional engineering attributes (skills, experience, knowledge) needed for tackling humanitarian challenges; (b) how we can integrate other disciplines and professions to engineering while defining the professional attributes of engineers who are capable of tackling humanitarian challenges. The attributes will be linked to those discipline(s) and profession(s) that are more likely to enforce the attributes (removing the assumption that engineering education as it stands at the moment can provide all attributes), and; (c) how these attributes shall be supplied; what kind of pedagogies or training shall take place beyond current practices. Acknowledgment: The study is currently in progress and is being undertaken in the framework of the project ENHANCE - ENabling Humanitarian Attributes for Nurturing Community-based Engineering (project No: 598502-EEP-1-2018-1-UK-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP (2018-2582/001-001), funded by the Erasmus + KA2 Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices – Capacity building in the field of Higher Education.

Keywords: professional engineering attributes, engineering education, taxonomy, humanitarian challenges, humanitarian engineering

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Authors: E. Nigris, F. Passalacqua

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Relating to the recent researches in the field of faculty development, this paper aims to present a pilot training programme realized at the University of Milano-Bicocca to improve teaching skills of faculty members. A total of 57 professors (both full professors and associate professors) were trained during the pilot programme in three editions of the workshop, focused on promoting skills for teaching large classes. The study takes into account: 1) the theoretical framework of the programme which combines the recent tradition about professional development and the research on in-service training of school teachers; 2) the structure and the content of the training programme, organized in a 12 hours-full immersion workshop and in individual consultations; 3) the educational specificity of the training programme which is based on the relation between 'general didactic' (active learning metholodies; didactic communication) and 'disciplinary didactics' (didactic transposition and reconstruction); 4) results about the impact of the training programme, both related to the workshop and the individual consultations. This study aims to provide insights mainly on two levels of the training program’s impact ('behaviour change' and 'transfer') and for this reason learning outcomes are evaluated by different instruments: a questionnaire filled out by all 57 participants; 12 in-depth interviews; 3 focus groups; conversation transcriptions of workshop activities. Data analysis is based on a descriptive qualitative approach and it is conducted through thematic analysis of the transcripts using analytical categories derived principally from the didactic transposition theory. The results show that the training programme developed effectively three major skills regarding different stages of the 'didactic transposition' process: a) the content selection; a more accurated selection and reduction of the 'scholarly knowledge', conforming to the first stage of the didactic transposition process; b) the consideration of students’ prior knowledge and misconceptions within the lesson design, in order to connect effectively the 'scholarly knowledge' to the 'knowledge to be taught' (second stage of the didactic transposition process); c) the way of asking questions and managing discussion in large classrooms, in line with the transformation of the 'knowledge to be taught' in 'taught knowledge' (third stage of the didactic transposition process).

Keywords: didactic communication, didactic transposition, instructional development, teaching large classroom

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Authors: Madara Nikolajenko, Jevgenija Kondratjeva

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Stress is a response of the body to physical or psychological environmental stressors. Cortisol level in blood serum is determined as the main indicator of stress, but the blood collection, the animal preparation and other activities can cause unpleasant conditions and induce increase of these hormones. Therefore, less invasive methods are searched to determine stress hormone levels, for example, by measuring the cortisol level saliva. The aim of the study is to find out the changes of stress hormones in blood and saliva in home and experimental dogs in simulated short-term stress conditions. The study included clinically healthy experimental beagle dogs (n=6) and clinically healthy home American Staffordshire terriers (n=6). The animals were let into a fenced area to adapt. Loud drum sounds (in cooperation with 'Andžeja Grauda drum school') were used as a stressor. Blood serum samples were taken for sodium, potassium, glucose and cortisol level determination and saliva samples for cortisol determination only. Control parameters were taken immediately before the start of the stressor, and next samples were taken immediately after the stress. The last measurements were taken two hours after the stress. Electrolyte levels in blood serum were determined using direction selective electrode method (ILab Aries analyzer) and cortisol in blood serum and saliva using electrochemical luminescence method (Roche Diagnostics). Blood glucose level was measured with glucometer (ACCU-CHECK Active test strips). Cortisol level in the blood increased immediately after the stress in all home dogs (P < 0,05), but only in 33% (P < 0,05) of the experimental dogs. After two hours the measurement decreased in 83% (P < 0,05) of home dogs (in 50% returning to the control point) and in 83% (P < 0,05) of the experimental dogs. Cortisol in saliva immediately after the stress increased in 50% (P > 0,05) of home dogs and in 33% (P > 0,05) of the experimental dogs. After two hours in 83% (P > 0,05) of the home animals, the measurements decreased, only in 17% of the experimental dogs it decreased as well, while in 49% measurement was undetectable due to the lack of material. Blood sodium, potassium, and glucose measurements did not show any significant changes. The combination of short-term stress indicators, when, after the stressor, all indicators should immediately increase and decrease after two hours, confirmed in none of the animals. Therefore the authors can conclude that each animal responds to a stressful situation with different physiological mechanisms and hormonal activity. Cortisol level in saliva and blood is released with the different speed and is not an objective indicator of acute stress.

Keywords: animal behaivor, cortisol, short-term stress, stress indicators

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Authors: Daniel Gredig, Annabelle Bartelsen-Raemy

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Social work professionals should underpin their decisions with scientific knowledge and research findings. Hence, research is used as a framework for social work education and research courses have become a taken-for-granted component of study programmes. However, it has been acknowledged that social work students have negative beliefs and attitudes as well as frequently feelings of fear of research courses. Against this background, the present study aimed to establish the relationship between student’s fear of research courses, their research orientation and interest in research courses. We hypothesized that fear predicts the interest in research courses. Further, we hypothesized that research orientation (perceived importance and attributed usefulness for research for social work practice and perceived unbiased nature of research) was a mediating variable. In the years 2014, 2015 and 2016, we invited students enrolled for a bachelor programme in social work in Switzerland to participate in the study during their introduction day to the school taking place two weeks before their programme started. For data collection, we used an anonymous self-administered on-line questionnaire filled in on site. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling (generalized least squares estimates method). The sample included 708 students enrolled in a social work bachelor-programme, 501 being female, 184 male, and 5 intersexual, aged 19–56, having various entitlements to study, and registered for three different types of programme modes (full time programme; part time study with field placements in blocks; part time study involving concurrent field placement). Analysis showed that the interest in research courses was predicted by fear of research courses (β = -0.29) as well as by the perceived importance (β = 0.27), attributed usefulness of research (β = 0.15) and perceived unbiased nature of research (β = 0.08). These variables were predicted, in turn, by fear of research courses (β = -0.10, β = -0.23, and β = -0.13). Moreover, interest was predicted by age (β = 0.13). Fear of research courses was predicted by age (β = -0.10) female gender (β = 0.28) and having completed a general baccalaureate (β = -0.09). (GFI = 0.997, AGFI = 0.988, SRMR = 0.016, CMIN/df = 0.946, adj. R2 = 0.312). Findings evidence a direct as well as a mediated impact of fear on the interest in research courses in entering first-year students in a social work bachelor-programme. It highlights one of the challenges social work education in a research framework has to meet with. It seems, there have been considerable efforts to address the research orientation of students. However, these findings point out that, additionally, research anxiety in terms of fear of research courses should be considered and addressed by teachers when conceptualizing research courses.

Keywords: research anxiety, research courses, research interest, research orientation, social work students, teaching

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Authors: Oris Tom-Lawyer, Michael Thomas

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This paper seeks to analyse the hegemony of the English language in Western Africa through the lens of educational policies and the socio-economic functions of the language. It is based on the premise that there is a positive link between the English language and development contexts. The study aims to fill a gap in the research literature by examining the usefulness of hegemony as a concept to explain the role of English language in the region, thus countering the negative connotations that often accompany it. The study identified four main research questions: i. What are the socio-economic functions of English in Francophone/lusophone countries? ii. What factors promote the hegemony of English in anglophone countries? iii. To what extent is the hegemony of English in West Africa? iv. What are the implications of the non-hegemony of English in Western Africa? Based on a meta-analysis of the research literature between 2003 and 2018, the findings of the study revealed that in francophone/lusophone countries, English functions in the following socio-economic domains; they are peace keeping missions, regional organisations, commercial and industrial sectors, as an unofficial international language and as a foreign language. The factors that promote linguistic hegemony of English in anglophone countries are English as an official language, a medium of instruction, lingua franca, cultural language, language of politics, language of commerce, channel of development and English for media and entertainment. In addition, the extent of the hegemony of English in West Africa can be viewed from the factors that contribute to the non-hegemony of English in the region; they are French language, Portuguese language, the French culture, neo-colonialism, level of poverty, and economic ties of French to its former colonies. Finally, the implications of the non-hegemony of English language in West Africa are industrial backwardness, poverty rate, lack of social mobility, drop out of school rate, growing interest in English, access to limited internet information and lack of extensive career opportunities. The paper concludes that the hegemony of English has resulted in the development of anglophone countries in Western Africa, while in the francophone/lusophone regions of the continent, industrial backwardness and low literacy rates have been consequences of English language marginalisation. In conclusion, the paper makes several recommendations, including the need for the early introduction of English into French curricula as part of a potential solution.

Keywords: developmental tool, English language, linguistic hegemony, West Africa

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Authors: Shunhong Qi, Hui Tian

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Triggered off by the forthcoming 2022 Winter Olympics, ski centers are blossoming in China, the number being 742 in 2018. Although the number of skier visits of ski resorts soared to 19.7 million in 2018, one-time skiers account for a considerable portion therein. In light of the extremely low return rates and skiing penetration level (0.5%) of leisure skiing in China, this study proposes and tests a leisure ski service performance framework which assesses the ski resorts’ service quality, skier satisfaction, as well as their impact on skiers’ behavioral intentions, with an aim to assess the success of ski resorts and provide suggestions for improvement. Three self-administered surveys and 16 interviews were conducted upon a convenience sample of leisure skiers in two major ski destinations within two hours’ drive from Beijing – Nanshan and Jundushan ski resorts. Of the 680 questionnaires distributed, 416 usable copies were returned, the response rate being 61.2%. The questionnaire used for the study was developed based on the existing literature of 'push' factors of skiers (intrinsic desire) and 'pull' factors (attractiveness of a destination), as well as leisure sport satisfaction. The scale comprises four parts: skiers’ demographic profiles, their perceived service quality (including ski resorts’ infrastructure, expense, safety and comfort, convenience, daily needs support, skill development support, and accessibility), their overall levels of satisfaction (satisfaction with the service and the experience), and their behavioral intentions (including loyalty, future visitation and greater tolerance of price increases). Skiers’ demographic profiles show that among the 220 males and 196 females in the survey, a vast majority of the skiers are age 17-39 (87.2%). 64.7% are not married, and nearly half (48.3%) of the skiers have a monthly family income exceeding 10,000 yuan (USD 1,424), and 80% are beginners or intermediate skiers. The regression examining the influence of service quality on skier satisfaction reveals that service quality accounts for 44.4% of the variance in skier satisfaction, the variables of safety and comfort, expense, skill development support, and accessibility contributing significantly in descending order. Another regression analyzing the influence of service quality as well as skier satisfaction on their behavioral intentions shows that service quality and skier satisfaction account for 39.1% of the variance in skiers’ behavioral intentions, and the significant predictors are skier satisfaction, safety and comfort, expense, and accessibility, in descending order, though a comparison between groups also indicates that for expert skiers, the significant variables are skier satisfaction, skill development support, safety, and comfort. Suggestions are thus made for ski resorts and other stakeholders to improve skier satisfaction and increase visitation: developing diversified ski courses to meet the demands of skiers of different skiing skills and to reduce crowding, adopting enough chairlifts and magic carpets, reinforcing safety measures and medical force; further exploring their various resources and lower the skiing expense on ski pass, equipment renting, accommodation and dining; adding more bus lines and/or develop platforms for skiers’ car-pooling, and offering diversified skiing activities with local flavors for better entertainment.

Keywords: behavioral intentions, leisure skiing, service quality, skier satisfaction

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Authors: Zhuang Ma, Zihan Zhang, Yu Li

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Environmental concerns from stakeholders (e.g., governments & customers) have pushed firms to integrate environmental management systems into business processes such as R&D, manufacturing, and marketing. Environmental systems include managing environmental risks and pollution control (e.g., air pollution control, waste-water treatment, noise control, energy recycling & solid waste treatment) through raw material management, the elimination and reduction of contaminants, recycling, and reuse in firms' operational processes. Despite increasing studies on firms' proactive adoption of environmental management, their focus is primarily on large corporations operating in developed economies. Investigations in the environmental management efforts of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are scarce. This is problematic for SMEs because, unlike large corporations, SMEs have limited awareness, resources, capabilities to adapt their operational routines to address environmental impacts. The purpose of this study is to explore how SMEs develop organizational capabilities through interactions with business partners (e.g., environmental management specialists & customers). Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) and an organizational capabilities perspective, this study investigates the interactively developed capabilities that allow SMEs to adopt environmental management systems. Using an exploratory approach, the study includes 12 semi-structured interviews with senior managers from four SMEs, two environmental management specialists, and two customers in the pharmaceutical sector in Chongqing, China. Findings of this study include four key organizational capabilities: 1) ‘dynamic marketing’ capability, which allows SMEs to recoup the investments in environmental management systems by developing environmentally friendly products to address customers' ever-changing needs; 2) ‘process improvement’ capability, which allows SMEs to select and adopt the latest technologies from biology, chemistry, new material, and new energy sectors into the production system for improved environmental performance and cost-reductions; and 3) ‘relationship management’ capability which allows SMEs to improve corporate image among the public, social media, government agencies, and customers, who in turn help SMEs to overcome their competitive disadvantages. These interactively developed capabilities help SMEs to address larger competitors' foothold in the local market, reduce market constraints, and exploit competitive advantages in other regions (e.g., Guangdong & Jiangsu) of China. These findings extend the RBV and organizational capabilities perspective; that is, SMEs can develop the essential resources and capabilities required for environmental management through interactions with upstream and downstream business partners. While a limited number of studies did highlight the importance of interactions among SMEs, customers, suppliers, NGOs, industrial associations, and consulting firms, they failed to explore the specific capabilities developed through these interactions. Additionally, the findings can explain how a proactive adoption of environmental management systems could help some SMEs to overcome the institutional and market restraints on their products, thereby springboarding into larger, more environmentally demanding, yet more profitable markets compared with their existing market.

Keywords: capabilities, environmental management systems, interactions, SMEs

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Authors: Jakub Marek, Marie Vagnerova, Ladislav Csemy

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Background: The length of time spent on the street influences the degree of adjustment to homelessness. Over the years spent sleeping rough, homeless people gradually lose the ability to control their lives and their return to mainstream society becomes less and less likely. Goals: The aim of the study was to discover whether and how men who have been sleeping rough for more than ten years differ from those who have been homeless for four years or less. Methods: The research was based on a narrative analysis of in-depth interviews focused on the respondent’s entire life story, i.e. their childhood, adolescence, and the period of adulthood preceding homelessness. It also asked the respondents about how they envisaged the future. The group under examination comprised 51 homeless men aged 37 – 54. The first subgroup contained 29 men who have been sleeping rough for 10 – 21 years, the second group contained 22 men who have been homeless for four years or less. Results: Men who have been sleeping rough for more than ten years had problems adapting as children. They grew up in a problematic family or in an institution and acquired only a rudimentary education. From the start they had problems at work, found it difficult to apply themselves, and found it difficult to hold down a job. They tend to have high-risk personality traits and often a personality disorder. Early in life they had problems with alcohol or drugs and their relationships were unsuccessful. If they have children, they do not look after them. They are reckless even in respect of the law and often commit crime. They usually ended up on the street in their thirties. Most of this subgroup of homeless people lack motivation and the will to make any fundamental change to their lives. They identify with the homeless community and have no other contacts. Men who have been sleeping rough for four years or less form two subgroups. There are those who had a normal childhood, attended school and found work. They started a family but began to drink, and as a consequence lost their family and their job. Such men end up on the street between the ages of 35 and 40. And then there are men who become homeless after the age of 40 because of an inability to cope with a difficult situation, e.g. divorce or indebtedness. They are not substance abusers and do not have a criminal record. Such people can be offered effective assistance to return to mainstream society by the social services because they have not yet fully self-identified with the homeless community and most of them have retained the necessary abilities and skills. Conclusion: The length of time a person has been homeless is an important factor in respect of social prevention. It is clear that the longer a person is homeless, the worse are their chances of being reintegrated into mainstream society.

Keywords: risk factors, homelessness, chronicity, narrative analysis

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Authors: Jonardan Koner, Avinash Purandare

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In today’s globalized world international business is a very key area for the country's growth. Some of the strategic areas for holding up a country’s international business to grow are in the areas of connecting Ports, Road Network, and Rail Network. India’s International Business is booming both in Exports as well as Imports. Ports play a very central part in the growth of international trade and ensuring competitive ports is of critical importance. India has a long coastline which is a big asset for the country as it has given the opportunity for development of a large number of major and minor ports which will contribute to the maritime trades’ development. The National Economic Development of India requires a well-functioning seaport system. To know the comparative strength of Indian ports over South-east Asian similar ports, the study is considering the objectives of (I) to identify the key parameters of an international mega container port, (II) to compare the five selected container ports (JNPT, Chennai, Singapore, Dubai, and Colombo Ports) according to user of the ports and iii) to measure the growth of selected five container ports’ throughput over time and their comparison. The study is based on both primary and secondary databases. The linear time trend analysis is done to show the trend in quantum of exports, imports and total goods/services handled by individual ports over the years. The comparative trend analysis is done for the selected five ports of cargo traffic handled in terms of Tonnage (weight) and number of containers (TEU’s). The comparative trend analysis is done between containerized and non-containerized cargo traffic in the five selected five ports. The primary data analysis is done comprising of comparative analysis of factor ratings through bar diagrams, statistical inference of factor ratings for the selected five ports, consolidated comparative line charts of factor rating for the selected five ports, consolidated comparative bar charts of factor ratings of the selected five ports and the distribution of ratings (frequency terms). The linear regression model is used to forecast the container capacities required for JNPT Port and Chennai Port by the year 2030. Multiple regression analysis is carried out to measure the impact of selected 34 explanatory variables on the ‘Overall Performance of the Port’ for each of the selected five ports. The research outcome is of high significance to the stakeholders of Indian container handling ports. Indian container port of JNPT and Chennai are benchmarked against international ports such as Singapore, Dubai, and Colombo Ports which are the competing ports in the neighbouring region. The study has analysed the feedback ratings for the selected 35 factors regarding physical infrastructure and services rendered to the port users. This feedback would provide valuable data for carrying out improvements in the facilities provided to the port users. These installations would help the ports’ users to carry out their work in more efficient manner.

Keywords: throughput, twenty equivalent units, TEUs, cargo traffic, shipping lines, freight forwarders

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Authors: Innocent Atuhe, Babra Nalwadda, Grace Mulyowa, Annabella Habinka Ejiri

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Background: Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is one of the most prevalent and growing chronic inflammatory skin diseases in African prisons. AD care is limited in African due to a lack of information about the disease amongst primary care workers, limited access to dermatologists, lack of proper training of healthcare workers, and shortage of appropriate treatments. We designed and implemented the Prisons Telederma project based on the recommendations of the International Society of Atopic Dermatitis. We aimed at; i) increase awareness and understanding of teledermatology among prison health workers and ii) improve treatment outcomes of prisoners with atopic dermatitis through increased access to and utilization of consultant dermatologists through teledermatology in Uganda prisons. Approach: We used Store-and-forward Teledermatology (SAF-TD) to increase access to dermatologist-led care for prisoners and prison staff with AD. We conducted five days of training for prison health workers using an adapted WHO training guide on recognizing neglected tropical diseases through changes on the skin together with an adapted American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Childhood AD Basic Dermatology Curriculum designed to help trainees develop a clinical approach to the evaluation and initial management of patients with AD. This training was followed by blended e-learning, webinars facilitated by consultant Dermatologists with local knowledge of medication and local practices, apps adjusted for pigmented skin, WhatsApp group discussions, and sharing pigmented skin AD pictures and treatment via zoom meetings. We hired a team of Ugandan Senior Consultant dermatologists to draft an iconographic atlas of the main dermatoses in pigmented African skin and shared this atlas with prison health staff for use as a job aid. We had planned to use MySkinSelfie mobile phone application to take and share skin pictures of prisoners with AD with Consultant Dermatologists, who would review the pictures and prescribe appropriate treatment. Unfortunately, the National Health Service withdrew the app from the market due to technical issues. We monitored and evaluated treatment outcomes using the Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) tool. We held four advocacy meetings to persuade relevant stakeholders to increase supplies and availability of first-line AD treatments such as emollients in prison health facilities. Results: We have the very first iconographic atlas of the main dermatoses in pigmented African skin. We increased; i) the proportion of prison health staff with adequate knowledge of AD and teledermatology from 20% to 80%; ii) the proportion of prisoners with AD reporting improvement in disease severity (POEM scores) from 25% to 35% in one year; iii) increased proportion of prisoners with AD seen by consultant dermatologist through teledermatology from 0% to 20% in one year and iv)Increased the availability of AD recommended treatments in prisons health facilities from 5% to 10% in one year. Our study contributes to the use, evaluation, and verification of the use of teledermatology to increase access to specialist dermatology services to the most hard to reach areas and vulnerable populations such as that of prisoners.

Keywords: teledermatology, prisoners, reaching, un-reachable

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Authors: Ana Rodrigues, Maria Cadilhe, Filipa Ferreira, Claudia Pereira, Marta Santos

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Professional paths must be understood in the multiplicity of their possible configurations. While some actors tend to represent their path as a harmonious succession of positions in the life cycle, most recognize the existence of unforeseen and uncontrollable bifurcations, caused, for example, by a work accident or by going through a period of unemployment. Considering the intensified challenges posed by the ongoing societal changes (e.g., technological and demographic), and looking at the Portuguese context, where the unemployment rate continues to be more evident in certain age groups, like in individuals aged 45 years or over, it is essential to support those adults by providing strategies capable of supporting them during professional transitions, being this a joint responsibility of governments, employers, workers, educational institutions, among others. Concerned about those issues, Porto City Council launched the challenge of designing and implementing a Lifelong Career Guidance program, which was answered with the presentation of a customized conceptual and operational model: groWing|Lifelong Career Guidance. A pilot project targeting working-age adults (35 or older) who were unemployed was carried out, aiming to support them to reconstruct their professional paths, through the recovery of their past experiences and through a reflection about dimensions such as skills, interests, constraints, and labor market. A research action approach was used to assess the proposed model, namely the perceived relevance of the theme and of the project, by adults themselves (N=44), employment professionals (N=15) and local companies (N=15), in an integrated manner. A set of activities were carried out: a train the trainer course and a monitoring session with employment professionals; collective and individual sessions with adults, including a monitoring session as well; and a workshop with local companies. Support materials for individual/collective reflection about professional paths were created and adjusted for each involved agent. An evaluation model was co-build by different stakeholders. Assessment was carried through a form created for the purpose, completed at the end of the different activities, which allowed us to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Statistical analysis was carried through SPSS software. Results showed that the participants, as well as the employment professionals and the companies involved, considered both the topic and the project as extremely relevant. Also, adults saw the project as an opportunity to reflect on their paths and become aware of the opportunities and the necessary conditions to achieve their goals; the professionals highlighted the support given by an integrated methodology and the existence of tools to assist the process; companies valued the opportunity to think about the topic and the possible initiatives they could implement within the company to diversify their recruitment pool. The results allow us to conclude that, in the local context under study, there is an alignment between different agents regarding the pertinence of supporting adults with work experience in professional transitions, seeing the project as a relevant strategy to address this issue, which justifies that it can be extended in time and to other working-age adults in the future.

Keywords: professional paths, research action, turning points, lifelong career guidance, relevance

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Authors: Irina-Emily Hansen, Ola Jon Mork

Abstract:

The European economic growth strategy and supporting it framework for research and innovation highlight the importance of nurturing new open innovation in order to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness. One of the main approaches to enhance innovation in European society is the Triple Helix model that centres on science- industry collaboration where the universities are assigned the managerial role. In spite of the defined collaboration strategy, the collaboration between academics and in-dustry in Europe has still many challenges. Many of them are explained by culture difference: academic culture aims towards scientific knowledge, while businesses are oriented towards pro-duction and profitable results; also execution of collaborative projects is seen differently by part-ners involved. That proves that traditional management strategies applied to collaboration between researchers and businesses are not effective. There is a need for dynamic strategies that can support the interaction between researchers and industry intensifying knowledge co-creation and contributing to development of national innovation system (NIS) by incorporating individual, organizational and inter-organizational learning. In order to find a good subject to follow, the researchers of a given paper have investigated one of the most rapidly developing knowledge-based, innovation society, Singapore. Singapore does not dispose much land- or sea- resources that normally provide income for any country. Therefore, Singapore was forced to think differently and build society on resources that are available: talented people and knowledge. Singapore has during the last twenty years developed attracting high rated university camps, research institutions and leading industrial companies from all over the world. This article elucidates and elaborates Singapore’s national innovation strategies from Knowledge Management perspective. The research is done on the variety of organizations that enable and support knowledge development in this state: governmental research and development (R&D) centers in universities, private talent incubators for entrepreneurs, and industrial companies with own R&D departments. The research methods are based on presentations, documents, and visits at a number of universities, research institutes, innovation parks, governmental institutions, industrial companies and innovation exhibitions in Singapore. In addition, a literature review of science articles is made regarding the topic. The first finding is that objectives of collaboration between researchers, entrepreneurs and industry in Singapore correspond primary goals of the state: knowledge- and economy growth. There are common objectives for all stakeholders on all national levels. The second finding is that Singapore has enabled system on a national level that supports innovation the entire way from fostering or capturing the new knowledge, providing knowledge exchange and co-creation to application of it in real-life. The conclusion is that innovation means not only new idea, but also the enabling mechanism for its execution and the marked-oriented approach in order that new knowledge can be absorbed in society. The future research can be done with regards to application of Singapore knowledge management strategy in innovation to European countries.

Keywords: knowledge management strategy, national innovation system, research industry and business collaboration, knowledge enabling

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Authors: E. N. Jansen van Vuuren

Abstract:

When visiting Foundation Phase (FP) students during their Teaching Practice at schools in rural Mpumalanga, the lack of music education is evident through the absence of musical sounds, with the exception of a limited repertoire of songs that are sung by all classes everywhere you go. The absence of music teaching resources such as posters and music instruments add to the perception that generalist teachers in the FP are not teaching music. Pre-service students also acknowledge that they have never seen a music class being taught during their teaching practice visits at schools. This lack of music mentoring impacts the quality of teachers who are about to enter the workforce and ultimately results in the perpetuation of no music education in many rural schools. The situation in more affluent schools present a contrasting picture with music education being given a high priority and generalist teachers often being supported by music specialists, paid for by the parents. When student teachers start their music course, they have limited knowledge to use as a foundation for their studies. The aim of the study was to ascertain the music knowledge that students gained throughout their school careers so that the curriculum could be adapted to suit their needs. By knowing exactly what pre-service teachers know about music, the limited tuition time at tertiary level can be used in the most suitable manner and concentrate on filling the knowledge gaps. Many scholars write about the decline of music education in South African schools and mention reasons, but the exact music knowledge void amongst students does not feature in the studies. Knowing the parameters of students’ music knowledge will empower lecturers to restructure their curricula to meet the needs of pre-service students. The research question asks, “what is the extent of the music void amongst rural pre-service teachers in a B.Ed. FP course at an African university?” This action research was done using a pragmatic paradigm and mixed methodology. First year students in the cohort studying for a B.Ed. in FP were requested to complete an online baseline assessment to determine the status quo. This assessment was compiled using the CAPS music content for Grade R to 9. The data was sorted using the elements of music as a framework. Findings indicate that students do not have a suitable foundation in music education despite supposedly having had music tuition from grade R to grade 9. Knowing the content required to fill the lack of knowledge provides academics with valuable information to amend their curricula and to ensure that future teachers will be able to provide rural learners with the same foundations in music as those received by learners in more affluent schools. It is only then that the rich music culture of the African continent will thrive.

Keywords: generalist educators, music education, music curriculum, pre-service teachers

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