Search results for: sustainable business

Authors: Abeer K. Jameel, Harry Evdorides

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The Assessment of the road safety performance is a challengeable issue. This is not only because of the ineffective and unreliability of road and traffic crash data system but also because of its systematic character. Recent strategic plans and interventions implemented in some of the developed countries where a significant decline in the rate of traffic and road crashes considers that the road safety is a system. This system consists of four main elements which are: road user, road infrastructure, vehicles and speed in addition to other supporting elements such as the institutional framework and post-crash care system. To assess the performance of a system, it is required to assess all its elements. To present an understandable results of the assessment, it is required to present a unique term representing the performance of the overall system. This paper aims to develop an overall performance indicator which may be used to assess the road safety system. The variables of this indicators are the main elements of the road safety system. The data regarding these variables will be collected from the World Health Organization report. Multi-criteria analysis method is used to aggregate the four sub-indicators for the four variables. Two weighting methods will be assumed, equal weights and different weights. For the different weights method, the factor analysis method is used. The weights then will be converting to scores. The total score will be the overall indicator for the road safety performance in a national scale. This indicator will be used to compare and rank countries according to their road safety performance indicator. The country with the higher score is the country which provides most sustainable and effective interventions for successful road safety system. These indicator will be tested by comparing them with the aggregate real crash rate for each country.

Keywords: factor analysis, Multi-criteria analysis, road safety assessment, safe system indicator

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Authors: Prakash Singh

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Far-reaching organizational and structural changes are required to address the severe imbalances in the provision and strong bureaucratic controls in many organizations at all levels. Transformational collegial leadership (TCL) is a collective action generated by transforming leadership which empowers all individuals who participate in this process, whether it is in business or education, or in any other organization. Recent research is strongly supportive of collegiality as a key factor in transforming traditional bureaucratic management practices (TBMPs) in organizations. The primary objective of this study was therefore to gauge the extent to which organizations have affected a shift from TBMPs towards TCL and how this can affect the development of human resources. This qualitative study investigated the impact of TCL on developing human resources in two organizations which were purposively selected to participate in this study. The findings of this study affirm that human resource development and TCL embrace the values of collaboration, confrontation, authenticity, trust, support and openness. In order to overcome TBMPs, a clear sense of direction must be communicated by collegial leaders throughout their organizations so that lower-level employees can initiate actions without the same degree of vulnerability. The TCL approach must respond to needs amongst followers and must look for motives, extrinsic and intrinsic, to satisfy those needs by enhancing opportunities, empowering people and giving more freedom, performance evaluation and the full support of the leader. Evidently, the collegial model emphasizes the valuing of individuals where there is a breadth of leadership and an absence of hierarchy.

Keywords: bureaucratic management model, human resource development, transformational collegial leadership model, transforming leader

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Authors: Ayan Giri, Lukaranjan Phukan, Shantanu Karmakar

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Structure and tectonics play a vital role in ore genesis and deposition. The existence of a swelling structure below the current level of a mine leads to the discovery of ores below some permeant developments of the mine. The discovery and the extraction of the ore body are very critical to sustain the business requirement of the mine. The challenge was to extract the ore without hampering the global stability of the mine. In order to do so, different mining options were considered and analysed by numerical modelling in FLAC3d software. The constitutive model prepared for this simulation is the improved unified constitutive model, which can better and more accurately predict the stress-strain relationships in a continuum model. The IUCM employs the Hoek-Brown criterion to determine the instantaneous Mohr-Coulomb parameters cohesion (c) and friction (ɸ) at each level of confining stress. The extra swelled part can be dimensioned as north-south strike width 50m, east-west strike width 50m. On the north side, already a stope (P1) is excavated of the dimension of 25m NS width. The different options considered were (a) Open stoping of extraction of southern part (P0) of 50m to the full extent, (b) Extraction of the southern part of 25m, then filling of both the primaries and extraction of secondary (S0) 25m in between. (c) Extraction of the southern part (P0) completely, preceded by backfill and modify the design of the secondary (S0) for the overall stability of the permanent excavation above the stoping.

Keywords: extraction, IUCM, FLAC 3D, stoping, tectonics

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Authors: Eyup Dogan

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One criticism of the energy-growth-environment literature, to the best of our knowledge, is that only a few studies analyze the influence of tourism on CO₂ emissions even though tourism sector is closely related to the environment. The other criticism is the selection of methodology. Panel estimation techniques that fail to consider both heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence across countries can cause forecasting errors. To fulfill the mentioned gaps in the literature, this study analyzes the impacts of real GDP, renewable energy and tourism on the levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions for the top 10 most-visited countries around the world. This study focuses on the top 10 touristic (most-visited) countries because they receive about the half of the worldwide tourist arrivals in late years and are among the top ones in 'Renewables Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI)'. By looking at Pesaran’s CD test and average growth rates of variables for each country, we detect the presence of cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity. Hence, this study uses second generation econometric techniques (cross-sectionally augmented Dickey-Fuller (CADF), and cross-sectionally augmented IPS (CIPS) unit root test, the LM bootstrap cointegration test, and the DOLS and the FMOLS estimators) which are robust to the mentioned issues. Therefore, the reported results become accurate and reliable. It is found that renewable energy mitigates the pollution whereas real GDP and tourism contribute to carbon emissions. Thus, regulatory policies are necessary to increase the awareness of sustainable tourism. In addition, the use of renewable energy and the adoption of clean technologies in tourism sector as well as in producing goods and services play significant roles in reducing the levels of emissions.

Keywords: air pollution, tourism, renewable energy, income, panel data

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Authors: Paola Villoria Saez, Mercedes Del Rio Merino, Jaime Santacruz Astorqui, Cesar Porras Amores

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In construction the Circular Economy covers the whole cycle of the building construction: from production and consumption to waste management and the market for secondary raw materials. The circular economy will definitely contribute to 'closing the loop' of construction product lifecycles through greater recycling and re-use, helping to build a market for reused construction materials salvaged from demolition sites, boosting global competitiveness and fostering sustainable economic growth. In this context, this paper presents the latest research of 'Waste to resources (W2R)' project funded by the Spanish Government, which seeks new solutions to improve energy efficiency in buildings by developing new building materials and products that are less expensive, more durable, with higher quality and more environmentally friendly. This project differs from others as its main objective is to reduce to almost zero the Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) generated in building rehabilitation works. In order to achieve this objective, the group is looking for new ways of CDW recycling as raw materials for new conglomerate materials. With these new materials, construction elements reducing building energy consumption will be proposed. In this paper, the results obtained in the project are presented. Several tests were performed to gypsum samples containing different percentages of CDW waste generated in Spanish building retroffiting works. Results were further analyzed and one of the gypsum composites was highlighted and discussed. Acknowledgements: This research was supported by the Spanish State Secretariat for Research, Development and Innovation of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under 'Waste 2 Resources' Project (BIA2013-43061-R).

Keywords: building waste, CDW, gypsum, recycling, resources

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Authors: Malihe Shahidan, Azin Madhi, Meisam Shahbaz

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In recent decades, the role of supply chains in sustaining businesses and establishing their superiority in the market has been under focus. The realization of the goals and strategies of a business enterprise is largely dependent on the cooperation of the chain, including suppliers, distributors, retailers, etc. Supply chains can potentially be disrupted by both internal and external factors. In this paper, resilience strategies have been identified and analyzed in three levels: sourcing, producing, and distributing by considering economic depression as a current risk factor for the machine-made rugs industry. In this study, semi-structured interviews for data gathering and thematic analysis for data analysis are applied. Supply chain data has been gathered from seven rug factories before and after the economic depression through semi-structured interviews. The identified strategies were derived from literature review and validated by collecting data from a group of eighteen industry and university experts, and the results were analyzed using statistical tests. Finally, the outsourcing of new products and products in the new market, the development and completion of the product portfolio, the flexibility in the composition and volume of products, the expansion of the market to price-sensitive, direct sales, and disintermediation have been determined as strategies affecting supply chain resilience of machine-made rugs' industry during an economic depression.

Keywords: distribution, economic depression, machine-made rug, outsourcing, production, sourcing, supply chain, supply chain resilience

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Authors: Qingqing Feng, S. Thomas Ng, Frank Xu

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Energy consumption in domestic sector has been increasing rapidly in China all along these years. Confronted with environmental challenges, the international society has made a concerted effort by setting the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the New Urban Agenda. Thus it’s very important for China to put forward reasonable countermeasures to boost building energy conservation which necessitates looking into the actuality of residential energy end-use profile and its influence factors. In this study, questionnaire surveys have been conducted in Zhuhai city in China, a typical city in hot summer warm winter climate zone. The data solicited mainly include the occupancy schedule, building’s information, residents’ information, household energy uses, the type, quantity and use patterns of appliances and occupants’ satisfaction. Over 200 valid samples have been collected through face-to-face interviews. Descriptive analysis, clustering analysis, correlation analysis and sensitivity analysis were then conducted on the dataset to understand the energy end-use profile. The findings identify: 1) several typical clusters of occupancy patterns and appliances utilization patterns; 2) the top three sensitive factors influencing energy consumption; 3) the correlations between satisfaction and energy consumption. For China with many different climates zones, it’s difficult to find a silver bullet on energy conservation. The aim of this paper is to provide a theoretical basis for multi-stakeholders including policy makers, residents, and academic communities to formulate reasonable energy saving blueprints for hot and humid urban residential buildings in China.

Keywords: residential building, energy end-use profile, questionnaire survey, sustainability

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Authors: Abdelali Laamari, Morad Faiz, Ali Amamou And Mohamed Elkoudrim

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This research seeks to develop multi-disciplinary, multi-criteria, and multi-institutional approaches that consider the three main pillars of sustainability (environmental, economic, and social aspects) at the level of decision making regarding the adoption of improved technologies in the targeted case study region in Morocco. The study is aimed at combining sound R&I with extensive skills in applied research and policy evaluation. The intention is to provide new simple, and transferable tools and agricultural practices that will enable the uptake of sustainability and the resiliency of agro-ecosystems. The study will understand the state-of-the-art of the impact of climate change and identify the core bottlenecks and climate change’s impact on crop and livestock productivity of the targeted value chains in Morocco. Studies conducted during 2021-2022 showed that most of the farmers are using since 2010 the direct seeding and the system can be improved by adopting new fertilizer and varieties of wheat. The alley-cropping technology is based on Atriplex plant or olive trees. The introduction of new varieties of oat and quinoa has improved biomass and grain production in a dry season. The research is targeting other issues, such as social enterprises, to diversify women’s income resources and create new job opportunities through diversification of end uses of durum wheat and barley grains. Women’s local knowledge is rich on the different end uses of durum and barley grains that can improve their added value if they are transformed as couscous, pasta, or any other products.

Keywords: agriculture, climate, production system, integration

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Authors: Zhipeng Chen, Peng Zhang, Qingyun Liu, Li Guo

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With the Internet becoming the dominant channel for business and life, many IPs are increasingly masked using web proxies for illegal purposes such as propagating malware, impersonate phishing pages to steal sensitive data or redirect victims to other malicious targets. Moreover, as Internet traffic continues to grow in size and complexity, it has become an increasingly challenging task to detect the proxy service due to their dynamic update and high anonymity. In this paper, we present an approach based on behavioral graph analysis to study the behavior similarity of web proxy users. Specifically, we use bipartite graphs to model host communications from network traffic and build one-mode projections of bipartite graphs for discovering social-behavior similarity of web proxy users. Based on the similarity matrices of end-users from the derived one-mode projection graphs, we apply a simple yet effective spectral clustering algorithm to discover the inherent web proxy users behavior clusters. The web proxy URL may vary from time to time. Still, the inherent interest would not. So, based on the intuition, by dint of our private tools implemented by WebDriver, we examine whether the top URLs visited by the web proxy users are web proxies. Our experiment results based on real datasets show that the behavior clusters not only reduce the number of URLs analysis but also provide an effective way to detect the web proxies, especially for the unknown web proxies.

Keywords: bipartite graph, one-mode projection, clustering, web proxy detection

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Authors: A. Iaaly, O. Jadayel, R. Jadayel

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This paper explores the effectiveness of approaches used for the implementation of technology within central governments specifically Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It examines the extent to which various strategies to GIS implementation and its roll out to users within an organization is crucial for its long term assimilation. Depending on the contextual requirements, various implementation strategies exist spanning from the most revolutionary to the most evolutionary, which have an influence on the success of GIS projects and the realization of resulting business benefits within the central governments. This research compares between two strategies of GIS implementation within the Lebanese Municipalities. The first strategy is the “Technological Approach” which is focused on technology acquisition, overlaid on existing governmental frameworks. This approach gives minimal attention to capability building and the long term sustainability of the implemented program. The second strategy, referred to as the “Ecological Approach”, is naturally oriented to the function of the organization. This approach stresses on fostering the evolution of the program and on building the human capabilities. The Union of the Joumeh Municipalities will be presented as a case study under the “Ecological Approach” and the role of the GIS Center at the University of Balamand will be highlighted. Thus, this research contributes to the development of knowledge on technology implementation and the vital role of academia in the specific context of the Lebanese public sector so that this experience may pave the way for further applications.

Keywords: ecological approach GIS, low income countries, technological approach

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Authors: G. S. Androulakis, G. Deli, M. Kaisari, N. Mihos

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Teaching practices at the university level have changed and developed during the last decade. Implementation of inverted classroom method in secondary education consists of a well-formed basis for academic teachers. On the other hand, distance learning is a well-known field in education research and widespread as a method of teaching. Nonetheless, the new pandemic found many Universities all over the world unprepared, which made adaptations to new methods of teaching a necessity. In this paper, we analyze a model of an inverted university classroom in a distance learning context. Thus, the main purpose of our research is to investigate students’ difficulties as they transit to a new style of teaching and explore their learning development during a semester totally different from others. Our teaching experiment took place at the Business Administration department of the University of Patras, in the context of two courses: Calculus, a course aimed at first-year students, and Statistics, a course aimed at second-year students. Second-year students had the opportunity to attend courses in the university classroom. First-year students started their semester with distance learning. Using a comparative study of these two groups, we explored significant differences in students’ learning procedures. Focused group interviews, written tests, analyses of students’ dialogues were used in a mixed quantity and quality research. Our analysis reveals students’ skills, capabilities but also a difficulty in following, non-traditional style of teaching. The inverted classroom model, according to our findings, offers benefits in the educational procedure, even in a distance learning environment.

Keywords: distance learning, higher education, inverted classroom, mathematics teaching

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Authors: Rasha Ali Dheyab, Edurad Vlad

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Migration is associated with other important global issues, including development, poverty, and human rights. Migrants are often the most dynamic members of society; historically, migration has supported economic development and the rise of nations and enriched cultures. It also presents significant challenges. The word ‘racism’ is not just about beliefs or statements; it also contains the ability to force those beliefs or world views as hegemonic and as a basis for the refusal of rights or equality. For this reason, racism is embedded in power relations of different types. Racism is not only an awareness of distinction and groups, but it also has extremely practical roles in maintaining: First, inequitable social power arrangements; and second, racist behavioral manifestations such as verbal rejection, avoidance, discrimination, physical attack, and elimination. The focus is on aspects of racism in the media to deal with the migration phenomenon. The reproduction and promotion of racism by certain areas of the media is not a simple and straightforward process. It is important to see how the media serves in the reproduction of racism. This article shows attitudes to migration as they have appeared in British periodicals over the last few years. One might conclude that the reproduction of racism by the media is not a simple and straightforward process. It has become obvious that the role of the media in the reproduction of racism is inextricably linked to the general characteristics of racism and white domination in society, particularly the structural and ideological structuring of that kind of group power. This highlights the press's function as a business, social, and cultural institution. The press has to be examined in connection to the institutions of the economic and political as well.

Keywords: British periodicals, culture studies, migration, racism

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Authors: Nadezhda Kvatashidze

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The International Accounting Standards Board updated the conceptual framework for financial reporting. The main reason behind it is to resolve the tasks of the accounting, which are caused by the market development and business-transactions of a new economic content. Also, the investors call for higher transparency of information and responsibility for the results in order to make a more accurate risk assessment and forecast. All these make it necessary to further develop the conceptual framework for financial reporting so that the users get useful information. The market development and certain shortcomings of the conceptual framework revealed in practice require its reconsideration and finding new solutions. Some issues and concepts, such as disclosure and supply of information, its qualitative characteristics, assessment, and measurement uncertainty had to be supplemented and perfected. The criteria of recognition of certain elements (assets and liabilities) of reporting had to be updated, too and all this is set out in the updated edition of the conceptual framework for financial reporting, a comprehensive collection of concepts underlying preparation of the financial statement. The main objective of conceptual framework revision is to improve financial reporting and development of clear concepts package. This will support International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to set common “Approach & Reflection” for similar transactions on the basis of mutually accepted concepts. As a result, companies will be able to develop coherent accounting policies for those transactions or events that are occurred from particular deals to which no standard is used or when standard allows choice of accounting policy.

Keywords: conceptual framework, measurement basis, measurement uncertainty, neutrality, prudence, stewardship

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Authors: Ali Christian Chinedu, Asogwa Vincent Chidindu, Ejiofor Toochukwu Eleazar, Okadi Ashagwu Ojang

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The increasing rate of Boko Haram insurgency, farmer-herder clashes, and kidnapping in Nigeria has resulted in food shortages and high cost of protein sources like beef and fish. This challenge could be curbed with the production of edible insects, which contain several nutritional benefits like calories, protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals, depending on their species, metamorphic stage, and diet. Unfortunately, the benefits and competencies in producing, preserving, and marketing edible insects are still unknown to the public, including prospective farmers in Nigeria. Hence, this study determined teachers’ perception of integrating edible insects into the Animal Husbandry Curriculum in Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria to equip the future generation with the relevant competencies for alternative sustainable protein supply. The study was carried out in Enugu State, Nigeria. The participants for the study comprised 162 agricultural science teachers. A questionnaire titled: Edible Insects Integration in Animal Husbandry Curriculum Questionnaire (EIIAHCQ) was used to collect data using a descriptive survey research design. We conducted data collection with the help of six research assistants. The study identified 11 objectives, 11 contents, 10 teaching methods, and 9 evaluation methods that could be integrated into the existing curriculum of animal husbandry in Nigeria. Among others, the Ministry of Education should integrate the finding of this study into the curriculum of Animal Husbandry in Nigeria to enhance the protein supply and curb food insecurity now and in the future.

Keywords: animal husbandry curriculum, edible insects, entomophagy, integration, secondary school, Nigeria

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Authors: Nadiya Didyk

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This thesis deals with the unique history of the emergence of the Ukrainian feminist movement. Ukrainian feminism is still in its making, so the field is under-investigated in general. Nevertheless, the perspective of political economy and the enabling and constraining effects of capitalist dynamics are almost absent from the research on the emergence and the development of the feminist movement in Ukraine. This research was inspired by Hetland and Goodwin’s approach and an attempt to test their approach on the case of the Ukrainian feminist movement. Hetland and Goodwin claim that many scholars tend to neglect political economy from analysis of feminism as a new social movements, namely because such movement are not about class or materialist concerns, and thus have no discernible connection to capitalism. Both scholars, however, point out that there at least four ways in which capitalism has been of high importance for any social movement. Accordingly, the following issues are analysed in this paper: capitalism as the facilitator of the emergence and development of Ukrainian feminism; the influence of class balance in society on the formation of the Ukrainian feminist movement, and the ways in which class divisions within the movement shape its goals and strategies. This paper also focuses on the role of capitalist institutions and free wage labour expansion in shaping collective feminist identities and solidarities. Specific attention is paid to the representativeness of women in the highest echelons in business and politics under the capitalist systems. This study shows that there is a significant hole in the literature regarding the feminist movement in Ukraine and aims to motivate further detailed research.

Keywords: feminism, hetland, goodwin, new soical movements, political economy

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Authors: George Vernon Byrd, Bhim Bahadur Ghaley, Eri Hayashi

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In urban farming, research and innovation are taking place at an unprecedented pace, and soilless growing technologies are emerging at different rates motivated by different objectives in various parts of the world. Local food production is ultimately a main objective everywhere, but adoption rates and expressions vary with socio-economic drivers. Herein, the status of hydroponics and aquaponics is summarized for four countries with diverse socio-economic settings: Europe (Denmark), Asia (Japan and Nepal) and North America (US). In Denmark, with a strong environmental ethic, soilless growing is increasing in urban agriculture because it is considered environmentally friendly. In Japan, soil-based farming is being replaced with commercial plant factories using advanced technology such as complete environmental control and computer monitoring. In Nepal, where rapid loss of agriculture land is occurring near cities, dozens of hydroponics and aquaponics systems have been built in the past decade, particularly in “non-traditional” sites such as roof tops to supplement family food. In the US, where there is also strong interest in locally grown fresh food, backyard and commercial systems have proliferated. Nevertheless, soilless growing is still in the research and development and early adopter stages, and the broad contribution of hydroponics and aquaponics to food security is yet to be fully determined. Nevertheless, current adoption of these technologies in diverse environments in different socio-economic settings highlights the potential contribution to food security with social and environmental benefits which contribute to several Sustainable Development Goals.

Keywords: aquaponics, hydroponics, soilless agriculture, urban agriculture

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Authors: Ali panahi-Kosar Khosravi

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Earthquake resilience is one of the most important theoretical and practical concepts in crisis management. Over the past few decades, the rapid growth of urban areas and developing lower urban areas (especially in developing countries) have made them more vulnerable to human and natural crises. Therefore, the resilience of urban communities, especially low-income and unhealthy neighborhoods, is of particular importance. The present study seeks to assess and evaluate the resilience of neighborhoods in the center of district 6 of Tabriz in terms of awareness, knowledge and personal skills, social and psychological capital, managerial-institutional, and the ability to return to appropriate and sustainable conditions. The research method in this research is descriptive-analytical. The authors used library and survey methods to collect information and a questionnaire to assess resilience. The statistical population of this study is the total households living in the four neighborhoods of Shanb Ghazan, Khatib, Gharamalek, and Abuzar alley. Three hundred eighty-four families from four neighborhoods were selected based on the Cochran formula using a simple random sampling method. A one-sample t-test, simple linear regression, and structural equations were used to test the research hypotheses. Findings showed that only two social and psychological awareness and capital indicators in district 6 of Tabriz had a favorable and approved status. Therefore, considering the multidimensional concept of resilience, district 6 of Tabriz is in an unfavorable resilience situation. Also, the findings based on the analysis of variance indicated no significant difference between the neighborhoods of district 6 in terms of resilience, and most neighborhoods are in an unfavorable situation.

Keywords: resilience, statistical analysis, earthquake, district 6 of tabriz

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Authors: Cabangile Ncengeni Ngwane, Gerald Mills

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Anthropogenic climate change is exacerbating natural hazards such as droughts, heat waves and sea-level rise. The associated risks are the greatest in places where socio-ecological systems are exposed to these changes and the populations and infrastructure are vulnerable. Identifying the communities at risk and enhancing local resilience are key issues in responding to the current and project climate changes. This paper explores the types of risks associated with multiple overlapping hazards in Durban, South Africa where the social, cultural and economic dimensions that contribute to exposure and vulnerability are compounded by its history of apartheid. As a result, climate change risks are highly concentrated in marginalized communities that have the least adaptive capacity. In this research, a Geographic Information System is to explore the spatial correspondence among geographic layers representing hazards, exposure and vulnerability across Durban. This quantitative analysis will allow authors to identify communities at high risk and focus our study on the nature of the current human-environment relationships that result in risk inequalities. This work will employ qualitative methods to critically examine policies (including educational practices and financial support systems) and on-the-ground actions that are designed to improve the adaptive capacity of these communities and meet UN Sustainable Development Goals. This work will contribute to a growing body of literature on disaster risk management, especially as it relates to developing economies where socio-economic inequalities are correlated with ethnicity and race.

Keywords: adaptive capacity, disaster risk reduction, exposure, resilience, South Africa

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Authors: Charles Deodat Otami

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This paper documents an ongoing investigation which seeks to explore the consequences of repeated science curriculum reforms at basic level of education in Ghana. Drawing upon data collected through document analysis, semi-structured interviews and classroom observations linked with a study of teaching practices in Junior High Schools of educational districts that are well served with teachers and yet, produce poor students’ achievements in science in the national Basic Education Certificate Examinations. The results emanating from the investigation highlight that the repeated science curriculum reforms at the basic level of education have led to the displacement of scientific knowledge in junior high schools in Ghana, a very critical level of education where the foundation for further science education to the highest level is laid. Furthermore, the results indicate that the enactment of centralised curriculum reforms in Ghana has produced some unpleasant repercussions. For instance, how the teachers interpret and implement the curriculum is directly related to their own values and practices as well as students feedback. This is contrary to the perception that external impetus received from donor agencies holds the key to strengthening reforms made. Thus, it is argued that without the right of localised management, curriculum reforms themselves are inadequate to ensure the realisation of the desired effects. This paper, therefore, draws the attention of stakeholders to the fact that the enactment of School Science Curriculum reform goes beyond just simple implementation to more complex dynamics which may change the original reform intents.

Keywords: basic education, basic education certificate examinations, curriculum reforms, junior high school, educational districts, teaching practices

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Authors: Anil Anand

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Despite enormous strides made during the past decade, particularly with the adoption and expansion of community policing, there remains much that police leaders can do to improve police-public relations. The urgency is particularly evident in cities across the United States and Europe where an increasing number of police interactions over the past few years have ignited large, sometimes even national, protests against police policy and strategy, highlighting a gap between what police leaders feel they have archived in terms of public satisfaction, support, and legitimacy and the perception of bias among many marginalized communities. The decision on which one policing strategy is chosen over another, how many resources are allocated, and how strenuously the policy is applied resides primarily with the police and the units and subunits tasked with its enforcement. The scope and opportunity for police officers in impacting social attitudes and social policy are important elements that cannot be overstated. How do police leaders, for instance, decide when to apply one strategy—say community-based policing—over another, like intelligence-led policing? How do police leaders measure performance and success? Should these measures be based on quantitative preferences over qualitative, or should the preference be based on some other criteria? And how do police leaders define, allow, and control discretionary decision-making? Mending Broken Fences Policing provides police and security services leaders with a model based on social cohesion, that incorporates intelligence-led and community policing (IP-CP), supplemented by a quality/quantity/crime (QQC) framework to provide a four-step process for the articulable application of police intervention, performance measurement, and application of discretion.

Keywords: social cohesion, quantitative performance measurement, qualitative performance measurement, sustainable leadership

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Authors: Omer Shujat Bhatti, Afshan Huma

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Online educational system were considered a great opportunity for distance learning. In recent days of COVID19 pandemic, it enable the continuation of educational activities at all levels of education, from primary school to the top level universities. One of the key considered element in supporting the online educational system is video lectures. The current research explored the usefulness of the video lectures delivered to technical students of masters level with a focus on MSc Sustainable Environmental design students who have diverse backgrounds in the formal educational system. Hence they were unable to cope right away with the online system and faced communication and understanding issues in the lecture session due to internet and allied connectivity issues. Researcher used self prepared video lectures for respective subjects and provided them to the students using Youtube channel and subject based Whatsapp groups. Later, students were asked about the usefulness of the lectures towards a better understanding of the subject and an overall enhanced learning experience. More than 80% of the students appreciated the effort and requested it to be part of the overall system. Data collection was done using an online questionnaire which was prior briefed to the students with the purpose of research. It was concluded that video lectures should be considered an integral part of the lecture sessions and must be provided prior to the lecture session, ensuring a better quality of delivery. It was also recommended that the existing system must be upgraded to support the availability of these video lectures through the portal. Teachers training must be provided to help develop quality video content ensuring that is able to cover the content and courses taught.

Keywords: video lectures, online distance education, synchronous instruction, asynchronous communication

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Authors: Anandit Sachdev

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Auroville, a settlement in Tamil Nadu, India, is based on the principles of ‘human unity’as defined by Indian philosopher Sri Aurobindo. The settlement was conceptualized on these principles by Sri Aurobindo’s spiritual partner Mirra Alfassa, known as ‘The Mother’ to the Aurovillians. In common perception, the settlement is an experiment in achieving ‘human unity’ through sustainable living. Since its inception in late 1960s, the settlement has attracted people from a variety of nationalities, each understanding, seeking, and rendering ‘human unity’ in their own unique way. This multiplicity of inhabitation has created and continues to create complex and layered human and more-than-human geographies, which are collectively understood as Auroville. This essay builds on these multiple narratives of local metaphysical and every inhabitation of spiritual and philosophical ideas of Sri Aurobindo as rendered in materiality by the Mother. The research aims to assess how theseforms of everyday spirituality conflict, interact, and engage with the principles of Auroville. The research further aims to understands how, if at all, the diverse landscapes of social, cultural, and infrastructural conflictssynthesizewhen perceived through the lens of spirituality. The research does so by detailing the different forms of the built environment which evoke the transcendental and its underlying processes. While doing so, it aims to understand how different manifestations of interiority within the Aurovillian landscape tie back to the self and its entanglements. By analysing the settlement through a spiritual lens, the research ultimately ties together questions relating to the built environment and ontology and asks how each facilitates a continuous synthesis with the other. Lastly, the paper enquires if these ongoing processes of synthesis of built space and ontological entanglements are what can be conceptualized as ‘human unity’ as perceived by Sri Aurobindo himself.

Keywords: sacrality, sacred, spirituality, philosophy, Indian philosophy, auroville, India

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Authors: Amleset Haile

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Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are harvested for both subsistence and commercial use and play a key role in the livelihoods of millions of rural people. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are important in rural southwest Ethiopia, Kaffa as a source of household income. market players at various levels in marketing chains are interviewed to getther information on elements of marketing system–products, product differentiation, value addition, pricing, promotion, distribution, and marketing chains. The study, therefore, was conducted in Kaffa Biosphere reserve of southwest Ethiopia with the main objective of assessing and analyzing the contribution of NTFPs to rural livelihood and to the conservation of the biosphere reserve and to identify factors influencing in the marketing of the NTFP. Five villages were selected based on their proximity gradient from Bonga town and availability of NTFP. Formal survey was carried out on rural households selected using stratified random sampling. The results indicate that Local people practice diverse livelihood activities mainly crops cultivation (cereals and cash crops) and livestock husbandry, gather forest products and off-farm/off-forest activities for surviva. NTFP trade is not a common phenomenon in southwest Ethiopia. The greatest opportunity exists for local level marketing of spices and other non timber forest products. Very little local value addition takes place within the region,and as a result local market players have little control. Policy interventions arc required to enhance the returns to local collectors, which will also contribute to sustainable management of forest resources in Kaffa biosphere reserve.

Keywords: forest management, biosphere reserve, marketing, local people

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Authors: Feng-Tsung Cheng, Shu-Li Wang, Mei-Fang Wu, , Hui-Yu Chuang

Abstract:

Due to the rapid development of modern technology, the widespread usage of the Internet makes business environment changing quickly. In order to be a leader in the global competitive market and to pursuit survive, “changing” becomes an unspoken rules need to follow for the company survival. The purpose of this paper is to build change model by using SWOT, strategy map, and balance scorecard, KPI and change management theory. The research findings indicate that organizational change plan formulated by the case company should require the employee to resist change factors and performance management system issues into consideration and must be set organizational change related programs, such as performance appraisal reward system, consulting and counseling mechanisms programs to improve motivation and reduce staff negative emotions. Then according to the model revised strategy maps and performance indicators proposed in this paper, such as strategy maps add and modify corporate culture, improve internal processes management, increase the growth rate of net income and other strategies. The performance indicators are based on strategy maps new and modified by adding net income growth rate, to achieve target production rate, manpower training achievement rates and other indicators, through amendments to achieve the company’s goal, be a leading brand of precision machinery industry.

Keywords: organizational change, SWOT analysis, strategy maps, performance indicators

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Authors: Sandeep Bandarwadkar, Tadas Zdankus

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To maintain a comfortable indoor temperature for its residents in the colder season, heating a building is necessary. Due to the expansion in the construction sectors, the consumption of heating energy is increasing. According to Eurostat data, in the European Union, the share of energy consumption of heating energy for space and cooling in residential buildings was around 63% in 2019. These figures indicate that heating energy still accounts for a significant portion of total energy consumption in Europe. Innovation is crucial to reduce energy consumption in buildings and achieve greater energy efficiency and sustainability. It can bring about new solutions that are smarter and more natural energy generation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The ground can serve as an effective and sustainable heat accumulator for heating and cooling. The temperature of the ground is higher than that of the ambient air in the colder period and lower in the warmer period. The building deep in the soil could use less thermal energy compared to the above-ground buildings that provide the same amount of thermal comfort. The temperature difference between the soil and the air inside the building decreases as the temperature of the soil increases. In progress, this process generates the condition that acts against heat loss. However, heat dissipates further to the consecutive layers and reaches thermal equilibrium. The charging of the ground by heat and its dissipation through the adjacent soil layers was investigated experimentally. The results of this research showed that 9% of the energy savings in partially underground buildings and 44.4% in completely underground buildings were derived from heating the space. Heat loss to the ground is treated as a charge of the soil by thermal energy. The dependence of the intensity of the charge on time was analysed and presented.

Keywords: heat transfer, accumulation of heat, underground building, soil charge

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Authors: Prakash Chandra Subedi

Abstract:

Family farming is the family based farming activities, where the farmers cultivate their farm themselves and all the members of the family are engaged in farming as per their skill, age, and physical strength. This study was conducted to examine the food sufficiency level of family farmers and, was carried in the four VDCs of Kavrepalanchowk district -Jaisithok Mandan, Mahadevsthan Mandan and Gairi Bisouna Deupur. A total of 115 households determined as the sample size from each of the four VDCs were randomly visited for interview in the study. The size of land holding was found to be very small and fragmented. The quality of soil was fertile and could yield high production if irrigation existed. The labour used patterns were significant number of family labour but due to high youth migration there were labour shortage. The rate of adoption of agri-technology was low but the households adopting insectides/pesticides and chemical fertilizers were found to be high without any knowledge regarding its using techniques. In conclusion, the study highpoint that the crop production and food sufficiency level of the family farmers of the Kavrepalanchowk district is decreasing. Many farmers were leaving their farming and started seeking opportunity to go for foreign employment or engaged in non-agricultural activities in urban areas. If no action is taken timely, there may come situation that we will have to depend on imports for all the food requirements. Thus, the study reveals that the family farming could act as an agent for ensuring food sufficiency for all, if proper policies is promoted to family farmers with legal titles to their land or promoted with sustainable agriculture methods or provided with proper agri-technology or given their share of respect and responsibilities that farming as honorable profession.

Keywords: family farming, technology transfer, crop production, food sufficiency

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Authors: Kenneth N. Ohei, Roelien Brink

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For decades, teaching and learning processes have centered on the traditional approach (Web 1.0) that promoted teacher-directed pedagogical practices. Currently, there is a realization that the traditional approach is not adequate to effectively address and improve all student-learning outcomes. The subsequent incorporation of social software, Information, and Communication Technology (ICT) tools in universities may serve as complementary to support educational goals, offering students the affordability and opportunity to educational choices and learning platforms. Consequently, educators’ inability to incorporate these instructional ICT tools in their teaching and learning practices remains a challenge. This will signify that educators still lack the ICT skills required to administer lectures and bridging learning gaps. This study probes a methodological concept with the aim of developing a framework towards the adoption of social software in HES to help facilitate business processes and can build social presence among students. A mixed method will be appropriate to develop a comprehensive framework needed in Higher Educational System (HES). After research have been conducted, the adoption of social software will be based on the developed comprehensive framework which is supposed to impact positively on education and approach of delivery, improves learning experience, engagement and finally, increases educational opportunities and easy access to educational contents.

Keywords: blended and integrated learning, learning experience and engagement, higher educational system, HES, information and communication technology, ICT, social presence, Web 1.0, Web 2.0, Web 3.0

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Authors: K. Ö. Kartal, L. Maul, M. Hägele

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With the development of new technologies come additional opportunities for the founding of companies and new markets to be created. The barriers to entry are lowered and technology makes old business models obsolete. Incumbent companies have to be adaptable to this quickly changing environment. They have to start the process of digital maturation and they have to be able to adapt quickly to new and drastic changes that might arise. One of the biggest barriers for organizations in order to do so is their culture. This paper shows the core elements of a corporate culture that supports the process of digital maturation in incumbent organizations. Furthermore, it is explored how ideation and innovation can be used in a strategy in order to facilitate these core elements of culture that promote digital maturity. Focus areas are identified for the design of ideation strategies, with the aim to make the facilitation and incitation process more effective, short to long term. Therefore, one in-depth case study is conducted with data collection from interviews, observation, document review and surveys. The findings indicate that digital maturity is connected to cultural shift and 11 relevant elements of digital culture are identified which have to be considered. Based on these 11 core elements, five focus areas that need to be regarded in the design of a strategy that uses ideation and innovation to facilitate the cultural shift are identified. These are: Focus topics, rewards and communication, structure and frequency, regions and new online formats.

Keywords: digital transformation, innovation management, ideation strategy, creativity culture, change

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Authors: Xiaolei Hu, Enrico Ferrera, Riccardo Tomasi, Claudio Pastrone

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Load Forecasting plays a key role in making today's and future's Smart Energy Grids sustainable and reliable. Accurate power consumption prediction allows utilities to organize in advance their resources or to execute Demand Response strategies more effectively, which enables several features such as higher sustainability, better quality of service, and affordable electricity tariffs. It is easy yet effective to apply Load Forecasting at larger geographic scale, i.e. Smart Micro Grids, wherein the lower available grid flexibility makes accurate prediction more critical in Demand Response applications. This paper analyses the application of short-term load forecasting in a concrete scenario, proposed within the EU-funded GreenCom project, which collect load data from single loads and households belonging to a Smart Micro Grid. Three short-term load forecasting techniques, i.e. linear regression, artificial neural networks, and radial basis function network, are considered, compared, and evaluated through absolute forecast errors and training time. The influence of weather conditions in Load Forecasting is also evaluated. A new definition of Gain is introduced in this paper, which innovatively serves as an indicator of short-term prediction capabilities of time spam consistency. Two models, 24- and 1-hour-ahead forecasting, are built to comprehensively compare these three techniques.

Keywords: short-term load forecasting, smart micro grid, linear regression, artificial neural networks, radial basis function network, gain

Procedia PDF Downloads 442

Authors: Thomas Yeboah

Abstract:

In contemporary times, the incessant movement of northern children especially girls to southern Ghana at the detriment of their education is worrisome. Due to the misplaced mindset of the migrants concerning southern Ghana, majority of them move without an idea of where to stay and what to do exposing them to hash conditions of living. Majority find menial work in cocoa farms, illegal mining and head porterage business. This study was conducted in the Kumasi Metropolis to ascertain the major causes of child migration from the northern part of Ghana to the south and their living conditions. Both qualitative and quantitative tools of data collection and analysis were employed. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 90 migrants below 18 years. Specifically, interviews, focus group discussions and questionnaires were used to elicit responses from the units of analysis. The study revealed that the major cause of child migration from northern Ghana to the south is poverty. It was evident that respondents were vulnerable to the new environment in which they lived. They are exposed to harsh environmental conditions; sexual, verbal and physical assault; and harassment from arm robbers. The paper recommends that policy decisions should be able to create an enabling environment for the labour force in the north to ameliorate the compelling effects poverty has on child migration. Efforts should also be made to create a proper psychological climate in the minds of the children regarding their destination areas through sensitization and education.

Keywords: child migration, vulnerability, social exclusion, child labour, Ghana

Procedia PDF Downloads 420