Search results for: sustainability European policies

Authors: Bilge Afşar, Zeynep Karaçor, Burcu Guvenek

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The aim of this study is to examine and analyze the effect of macroeconomic policies on foreign trade. In the study, the effect of the macroeconomic policies applied in Turkey after 2001 on foreign trade was scrutinized carrying out a survey study in the sample of the province Konya. In the survey study, the survey was administered to a total of 209 exporter firms, which are the members of Konya Chamber of Commerce. While 51 of the firms, to which the survey was administered, exported below $ 100,000, 158 of them are the firms exporting above $ 100,000. Survey was realized in the way of face to face interview with the firms in the rate of 79%. 47% of the institutions forming the mass were reached. In forming survey questionnaire, in general, 5-point Likert scale was used. In order to assess the study results, SPSS 15 package program was utilized. In the survey, foreign trade activities of the firms in Konya were analyzed; and the problems they face, while performing foreign trade, and those needing to be carried out for increasing foreign trade volume of Konya were revealed by determining how and at what degree they were affected from the macroeconomic policies applied. Thus, foreign trade structure and state of the province Konya were attempted to be analyzed. In the survey study, it emerges that although the problems Konya faces in foreign trade overlap with the problems across Turkey, the province Konya seems to be affected relatively less from the last crisis with its equity capital in either trade or other areas. Until the year 2008, while Konya is in a position of the province continuously increasing its export, also with the effect of global crisis, in 2009, a fall was seen in the amount of export. The results emerging in the survey study also confirm this case. In parallel with demand inadequacy and recession all over the world, firms experience trouble. However, again according to our survey result, foreign market weight of firms shifted from EU countries to Russia, East Bloc, and Middle East countries. This prevented Konya from negative affecting from EU crisis at maximum level. That is, Russian and Middle East market express significance for Konya. That market is diversified, and being relatively rid of dependence to EU is extremely important in terms of Konya export.

Keywords: economy, foreign trade, economic crise, macro economic politicies

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Authors: Rose Mutuota

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Western knowledge have influenced the Kenyan education system through colonisation and policies borrowed from the global North. Researchers argue that studies of education and systems based on Northernframeworks ignore the lived experiences of the global South. The history of colonization is one such example. In light of this, there is a need for schools to consider the lived experience of the Kenyan child and integrate Indigenous knowledge in the education system. The study reported here explored the possibility of creating a blended/hybrid curriculum that values Indigenous knowledge and practices but also selectively use side as from the global North. Acasestudyformat was employed. Teachers and principals in four schools were interviewed. The findings indicated that teachers and students brought indigenous knowledge to the classroom but were limited in their use by existing educational policies.AnotherfindingwasthatpoliciesborrowedfromtheglobalNorthdid not suit the context in the Southincountries with a history of colonization. There was the need for policymakers to ensure the policies borrowed from the North suit the Kenyan context. The recommendations included the deliberate and mandated use of indigenous knowledge in classrooms including indigenous languages for instruction, the use of locally available assets to support students with disabilities in mainstream classrooms, and the use of a hybrid curriculum that privileges indigenous knowledge over Westernknowledgesintheschoolcurriculum.

Keywords: global North, global South, inclusive educate indigenous knowledges

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Authors: Gabriela Tutuanu

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The economic, social and environmental undesirable impact of the existing development pattern pushes to the adoption and use of a new development paradigm that of sustainable development. This paper intends to substantiate how the marketing can help the sustainable development. It begins with the subjects of sustainable development and sustainable marketing as they are discussed in literature. The sustainable development is a three dimensional concept which embeds the economic dimension, the social dimension and the environmental dimension that ask to have in view the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, social equity and environmental quality. A major challenge to achieve these goals at business level and to integrate all three dimensions of sustainability is the sustainable marketing. The sustainable marketing is a relationship marketing that aims at building lasting relationships with the social and natural environment on a long-term thinking and futurity and this philosophy allows helping all three dimensions of sustainability. As marketing solutions that could contribute to the sustainable development. We advance the stimulation of sustainable demand, the constant innovation and improvement of sustainable products, the design and use of customized communication, a multichannel distribution network and the sale of sustainable products and services at fair prices. Their implementation will increase the economic, social and environmental sustainability at a large extent in the future if they are supported by political, governmental and legal authorities.

Keywords: sustainable development, sustainable marketing, sustainable demand, sustainable product, credible communication, multi-channel distribution network, fair price

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Authors: Tiron-Tudor Adriana, Farcas Teodora Viorica, Ciolomic Ioana Andreea

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The issue of human capital mobility inside Europe is still an open one. Even though there were created some tools in order to better move from one country to another to work and study the number of the people doing this is very low because of various factors presented in this paper. The "rethinking educational" agenda of the European Commission has open the floor for new projects which can create steps towards a European language for skills and competences, qualifications. One of these projects is the Partnership for Exchange of experience in Student on-the-job Training. As part of this project, we are interested to see the situation of the human capital inside EU and the elements that were created until now to support this mobility. Also, the main objective of the project is to make a comparison between the four countries involved in PEST project (Romania, Hungary, Finland, and Estonia), at the education and internship level. The results are helpful for the follow of the project, for identifying where changes can be done and need to be done.

Keywords: ECVET, human capital mobility, partnership exchange, students on the job mobility, vocational education and training

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Authors: Dafni Kalatzi Pantera

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How globalisation affects environmental activism? Existing research on this relationship focuses on the influence of the world polity on individuals’ willingness to participate in environmental movements. However, globalisation is a multidimensional process which promotes pro-environmental ideas through the world polity, but it also fosters economic growth which is considered antagonistic to the environment. This article models the way that globalisation as a whole affects individuals’ willingness to participate in environmental activism, and the main argument is that globalisation’s impact is conditional on political ideology. To test the above hypothesis, individual and country level data are used for European countries between 1981-2020. The results support the expectation of the article that although globalisation has a positive impact on individuals’ willingness to participate in environmental activism when it interacts with political ideology, its influence differs between ideological spectrums.

Keywords: environmental activism, globalisation, political ideology, world polity

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Authors: Pennapa Palapin

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This study aimed to examine the management and development of forest tourism Kamchanoad. Ban Dung, Udon Thani sustainability. Data were collected by means of qualitative research including in-depth interviews, semi-structured, and then the data were summarized and discussed in accordance with the objectives. And make a presentation in the form of lectures. The target population for the study consisted of 16 people, including representatives from government agencies, community leaders and the community. The results showed that Guidelines for the Management and Development of Forest Tourism Kamchanoad include management of buildings and infrastructure such as roads, water, electricity, toilets. Other developments are the establishment of a service center that provides information and resources to facilitate tourists.; nature trails and informative signage to educate visitors on the path to the jungle Kamchanoad; forest activities for tourists who are interested only in occasional educational activities such as vegetation, etc.; disseminating information on various aspects of tourism through various channels in both Thailand and English, as well as a website to encourage community involvement in the planning and management of tourism together with the care and preservation of natural resources and preserving the local cultural tourist area of Kamchanoad.

Keywords: guidelines for the management and development, forest tourism, Kamchanoad, sustainability

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Authors: Matt Collins, Bernadette O'Regan, Tom Cosgrove

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To determine the potential of a low cost Irish engineered timber product to replace high cost solid timber for use in bending active structures such as gridshells a single Irish engineered timber product in the form of orientated strand board (OSB) was selected. A comparative study of OSB and solid timber was carried out to determine the optimum properties that make a material suitable for use in gridshells. Three parameters were identified to be relevant in the selection of a material for gridshells. These three parameters are the strength to stiffness ratio, the flexural stiffness of commercially available sections, and the variability of material and section properties. It is shown that when comparing OSB against solid timber, OSB is a more suitable material for use in gridshells that are at the smaller end of the scale and that have tight radii of curvature. Typically, for solid timber materials, stiffness is used as an indicator for strength and engineered timber is no different. Thus, low flexural stiffness would mean low flexural strength. However, when it comes to bending active gridshells, OSB offers a significant advantage. By the addition of multiple layers, an increased section size is created, thus endowing the structure with higher stiffness and higher strength from initial low stiffness and low strength materials while still maintaining tight radii of curvature. This allows OSB to compete with solid timber on large scale gridshells. Additionally, a preliminary sustainability study using a set of sustainability indicators was carried out to determine the relative sustainability of building a large-scale gridshell in Ireland with a primary focus on economic viability but a mention is also given to social and environmental aspects. For this, the Savill garden gridshell in the UK was used as the functional unit with the sustainability of the structural roof skeleton constructed from UK larch solid timber being compared with the same structure using Irish OSB. Albeit that the advantages of using commercially available OSB in a bending active gridshell are marginal and limited to specific gridshell applications, further study into an optimised engineered timber product is merited.

Keywords: bending active gridshells, high end timber structures, low cost material, sustainability

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Authors: Jonathan A. Sánchez Muñoz, Gustavo Flores Eraña, Juan M. Silva

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Mexican Mezcal industry has reached attention during the last decade due to it has been a popular beverage demanded by North American and European markets, reaching popularity due to its crafty character. Despite its wide demand, productive processes are still made with rudimentary equipment, and there is a lack of evidence to improve kiln energy efficiency. Tec21 is a challenge-based learning curricular model implemented by Tecnológico de Monterrey since 2019, where each formation unit requires an industrial partner. “Problem processes solution” is a formation unity designed for mechatronics engineers, where students apply the acquired knowledge in thermofluids and apply electronic. During five weeks, students are immersed in an industrial problem to obtain a proper level of competencies according to formation unit designers. This work evaluates the competencies acquired by the student through qualitative research methodology. Several evaluation instruments (report, essay, and poster) were selected to evaluate etic argumentation, principles of sustainability, implemented actions, process modelling, and redesign feasibility.

Keywords: applied electronic, challenge based learning, competencies, mezcal industry, thermofluids

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Authors: E. Hronyecz

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Guaranteeing the independence of the V4 Member States, the protection of their national values and their citizens, and the security of the Central and Eastern European region requires the development of military capabilities in terms of the capabilities of nations. As a result, European countries have begun developing capabilities and forces, within which nations are seeking to strengthen the capabilities of their armies and make their interoperability more effective. One aspect of this is the upgrading of military equipment, personnel equipment, and other human resources. Based on the author's preliminary researches - analyzing the scientific literature, the relevant statistical data and conducting of professional consultations with the experts of the research field – it can clearly claimed for all four states of Visegrad Group that a change of direction in the field of defense has been noticeable since the second half of the last decade. Collective defense came to the forefront again; the military training, professionalism, and radical modernization of technical equipment becoming crucial.

Keywords: armed forces, cooperation, development, Visegrad Group

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Authors: Blanka Havlickova

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In the last ten years, there are growing numbers of troops with machine guns serving on streets of European cities. We can see them around government buildings, major transport hubs, synagogues, galleries and main tourist landmarks. As the main purpose of armed soldier’s presence in European cities authorities declare the prevention of terrorist attacks and psychological support for tourists and domestic population. The main objective of the following study is to find out whether the deployment of armed soldiers in European cities has a calming and reassuring effect on Czech citizens (if the presence at armed soldiers make the Czech population feel more secure) or rather becomes a stress factor (the presence of soldiers standing guard in full military fatigues recalls serious criminality and terrorist attacks which are reflected in the fears and insecurity of Czech population). The initial hypothesis of this study is connected with the priming theory, the idea that when we are exposed to an image (armed soldier), it makes us unconsciously focus on a topic connected with this image (terrorism). This paper is based on a quantitative public survey, which was carried out in the form of electronic questioning among the citizens of the Czech Republic. Respondents answered 14 questions about two European cities – London and Paris. Besides general questions investigating the respondents' awareness of these cities, some of the questions focused on the fear that the respondents had when picturing themselves leaving next Monday for the given city (London or Paris). The questions asking about respondent´s travel fears and concerns were accompanied by different photos. When answering the question about fear some respondents have been presented with a photo of Westminster Palace and the Eiffel with ordinary citizens while other respondents have been presented with a picture of the Westminster Palace, the and Eiffel's tower not only with ordinary citizens, but also with one soldier holding a machine gun. The main goal of this paper is to analyse and compare data about concerns for these two groups of respondents (presented with different pictures) and find out if and how an armed soldier with a machine gun in front of the Westminster Palace or the Eiffel Tower affects the public's concerns about visiting the site. In other words, the aim of this paper is to confirm or rebut the hypothesis that the look at a soldier with a machine gun in front of the Eiffel Tower or the Westminster Palace automatically triggers the association with a terrorist attack leading to an increase in fear and insecurity among Czech population.

Keywords: terrorism, security measures, priming, risk perception

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Authors: Abosede Mosunmola Odeseye

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The sustainability of nations’ economies today have proven to be unrealistic in a constantly changing world without appropriate accordance to entrepreneurship role and its processes. This role has therefore proven to be a product of the available and discoverable opportunities by an individual/organisation in any pattern – innovation, discovery, diffusion, imitation amidst possible challenges. In light of these, this paper examined the relationship between opportunity development and entrepreneurial processes as well as the factors determining individual’s opportunity development and the success of entrepreneurial processes. Systematic review method was adopted for selecting relevant academic materials. The theoretical base of this paper was anchored on Schumpeter’s entrepreneurial innovation model and Drucker and Stevenson’s opportunity-based entrepreneurship theory. Based on the reviewed literature, it was discovered that rough business idea “opportunity” in any form – techniques/product encounter various obstacles to achieve its development, acceptability and sustainability. In essence, the findings revealed that the birth of every opportunity is as a result of the individual/organisation and environmental factors to be able to scale through the whole process successfully. Due to the outcome of this paper, it was recommended that the organisations/government should endeavour to create an enabling environment for a rough business idea to come to life amidst the hurdles of the entrepreneurial process.

Keywords: entrepreneurial process, entrepreneurship, opportunity, opportunity development, organisation, sustainability

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Authors: Sarika Siraj

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Nothing talks more about the identity of a place than its cultural heritage. More often than ever, it is the architecture of the place that embodies its cultural heritage. With these thoughts in mind, this paper looks closely into the present scene of earthen architecture of Bangladesh and the changes it has been going through due to modernity. Along with the gradual erasure of this sustainable practice, a loss of cultural identity can be observed in present times. This paper intends to examine the loss along with the reasons, taking the village of Maheshkhali, located in south east Bangladesh, as a case study for this research. Based on the empirical findings, this paper will contextualize sustainability as well as discuss western development as a creator of new cultural identities in eastern countries.

Keywords: cultural identity, sustainability, architecture, heritage

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Authors: Silvia Lucciarini, Antonio Corasaniti

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The issue of democracy in capitalist countries has once again become the focus of debate in recent years. A number of socio-economic and political tensions have triggered discussion of this topic from various perspectives and disciplines. Political developments, the rise of both right-wing parties and populism and the constant growth of inequalities in a context of welfare downsizing, have led scholars to question if European capitalist countries are really capable of creating and redistributing resources and look for elements that might make democratic capital in European countries more dense. The aim of the work is to shed light on the trajectories, intensity and convergence or divergence between political and associative participation, on one hand, and organization, on the other, as these constitute two of the main points of connection between the norms, values and actions that bind citizens to the state. Using the European Social Survey database, some studies have sought to analyse degrees of unionization by investigating the relationship between systems of industrial relations and vulnerable groups (in terms of value-oriented practices or political participation). This paper instead aims to investigate the relationship between union participation and civil/political participation, comparing union members and non-members and then distinguishing between employees and self-employed professionals to better understand participatory behaviors among different workers. The first component of the research will employ a multilinear logistic model to examine a sample of 10 countries selected according to a grid that combines the industrial relations models identified by Visser (2006) and the Welfare State systems identified by Esping-Andersen (1990). On the basis of this sample, we propose to compare the choices made by workers and their propensity to join trade unions, together with their level of social and political participation, from 2002 to 2016. In the second component, we aim to verify whether workers within the same system of industrial relations and welfare show a similar propensity to engage in civil participation through political bodies and associations, or if instead these tendencies take on more specific and varied forms. The results will allow us to see: (1) if political participation is higher among unionized workers than it is among the non-unionized. (2) what are the differences in unionisation and civil/political participation between self-employed, temporary and full-time employees and (3) whether the trajectories within industrial relations and welfare models display greater inclusiveness and participation, thereby confirming or disproving the patterns that have been documented among the different European countries.

Keywords: union membership, participation, democracy, industrial relations, welfare systems

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Authors: Saurav Sharma, Deepshikha Sharma, Pratibha Sharma

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This paper includes fast fashion verses sustainable fashion or slow fashion Indian based consumers. The expression ‘Fast fashion’ is generally referred to low-cost clothing collections that considered first hand copy of luxury brands, sometime interchangeably used with ‘mass fashion’. Whereas slow fashion or limited fashion which are consider to be more organic or eco-friendly. "Sustainable fashion is ethical fashion and here the consumer is just not design conscious but also social-environment conscious". Paper will deal with desire of young Indian consumer towards such luxury brands present in India, and their understanding of sustainable fashion, how to maintain the equilibrium between never newer fashion, style, and fashion sustainability.

Keywords: fast fashion, sustainable fashion, sustainability, India

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Authors: Francesco Scarpati

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Because of their long history, ranging from ancient times to the present day, European cities feature many historical layers, whose single identities are represented by traces surviving in the urban design. However, urban transformations, in particular, the ones that have been produced by the property speculation phenomena of the 20th century, often compromised the readability of these traces, resulting in a loss of the historical identities of the single layers. The purpose of this research is, therefore, a reflection on the theme of the reenactment of the historical memory in the stratified European contexts and on how contemporary architecture can help to reveal past signs of the cities. The research work starts from an analysis of a series of emblematic examples that have already provided an original solution to the described problem, going from the architectural detail scale to the urban and landscape scale. The results of these analyses are then applied to the case study of the city of Naples, as an emblematic example of a stratified city, with an ancient Greek origin; a city where it is possible to read most of the traces of its transformations. Particular consideration is given to the trace of the medieval walls of the city, which a long time ago clearly divided the city itself from the outer fields, and that is no longer readable at the current time. Finally, solutions and methods of intervention are proposed to ensure that the trace of the walls, read as a boundary, can be revealed through the contemporary project.

Keywords: contemporary project, historic memory, historic urban contexts, medieval walls, naples, stratified cities, urban traces

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Authors: Mehmet Savsar

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Reliability and availability of power stations are extremely important in order to achieve a required level of power generation. In particular, in the hot desert climate of Kuwait, reliable power generation is extremely important because of cooling requirements at temperatures exceeding 50-centigrade degrees. In this paper, a particular power plant, named Sabiya Power Plant, which has 8 steam turbines and 13 gas turbine stations, has been studied in detail; extensive data are collected; and availability of station units are determined. Furthermore, a simulation model is developed and used to analyze the effects of different maintenance policies on availability of these stations. The results show that significant improvements can be achieved in power plant availabilities if appropriate maintenance policies are implemented.

Keywords: power plants, steam turbines, gas turbines, maintenance, availability, simulation

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Authors: Jose Funes, Jeff Sauer, Laixiang Sun

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This research examines determinants of multifamily housing development and spillovers in the District of Columbia. A range of socioeconomic factors related to income distribution, productivity, and land use policies are thought to influence the development in contemporary U.S. multifamily housing markets. The analysis leverages data from the American Community Survey to construct panel datasets spanning from 2010 to 2019. Using spatial regression, we identify several socioeconomic measures and land use policies both positively and negatively associated with new housing supply. We contextualize housing estimates related to race in relation to uneven development in the contemporary D.C. housing supply.

Keywords: neighborhood effect, sorting, spatial spillovers, multifamily housing

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Authors: Kadrefi Athanasia, Fronimaki Evgenia, Mavri Maria

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3D Printing (3DP) is a distinct, disruptive technology that belongs to a wider group of manufacturing technologies, Additive Manufacturing (AM). In 3DP, a custom digital file turns into a solid object using a single computer and a 3D printer. Among multiple advantages, 3DP offers production with fewer steps compared to conventional manufacturing, lower production costs, and customizable designs. 3DP can be performed by several techniques, while the most common is Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). FDM belongs to a wider group of AM techniques, material extrusion, where a digital file converts into a solid object using raw material (called filament) melted in high temperatures. As in most manufacturing procedures, environmental issues have been raised here, too. This study aims to review the literature on issues that determine technical and mechanical factors that affect the sustainability and resilience of a final 3D-printed object. The research focuses on the collection of papers that deal with 3D printing techniques and use keywords or phrases like ‘3D printed objects’, ‘factors of 3DP sustainability’, ‘waste materials,’ ‘infill patterns,’ and ‘support structures.’ After determining factors, a pilot survey will be conducted at the 3D Printing Lab in order to define the significance of each factor in the final 3D printed object.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, 3D printing, sustainable manufacturing, sustainable production

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Authors: Joel Rookwood

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Sports mega events have become increasingly significant in sporting, political and economic terms, with analysis often focusing on issues including resource expenditure, development, legacy and sustainability. Transnational tournaments can inspire interest from a variety of demographics, and the operational management of such events can involve contributions from a range of personnel. In addition to television audiences events also attract attending spectators, and in football contexts the temporary migration of fans from potentially rival nations and teams can present event organising committees and security personnel with various challenges in relation to crowd management. The behaviour, interaction and control of supporters has previously led to incidents of disorder and hooliganism, with damage to property as well as injuries and deaths proving significant consequences. The Heysel tragedy at the 1985 European Cup final in Brussels is a notable example, where 39 fans died following crowd disorder and mismanagement. Football disasters and disorder, particularly in the context of international competition, have inspired responses from police, law makers, event organisers, clubs and associations, including stadium improvements, legislative developments and crowd management practice to improve the effectiveness of spectator safety. The growth and internationalisation of fandom and developments in event management and tourism have seen various responses to the evolving challenges associated with hosting large numbers of visiting spectators at mega events. In football contexts ‘fan parks’ are a notable example. Since the first widespread introduction in European football competitions at the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany, these facilities have become a staple element of such mega events. This qualitative, longitudinal, multi-continent research draws on extensive semi-structured interview and observation data. As a frame of reference, this work considers football events staged before and after the development of fan parks. Research was undertaken at four World Cup finals (Japan 2002, Germany 2006, South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014), four European Championships (Portugal 2004, Switzerland/Austria 2008, Poland/Ukraine 2012 and France 2016), four other confederation tournaments (Ghana 2008, Qatar 2011, USA 2011 and Chile 2015), and four European club finals (Istanbul 2005, Athens 2007, Rome 2009 and Basle 2016). This work found that these parks are typically temporarily erected, specifically located zones where supporters congregate together irrespective of allegiances to watch matches on large screens, and partake in other forms of organised on-site entertainment. Such facilities can also allow organisers to control the behaviour, confine the movement and monitor the alcohol consumption of supporters. This represents a notable shift in policy from previous football tournaments, when the widely assumed causal link between alcohol and hooliganism which frequently shaped legislative and police responses to disorder, also dissuaded some authorities from permitting fans to consume alcohol in and around stadia. It also reflects changing attitudes towards modern football fans. The work also found that in certain contexts supporters have increasingly engaged with such provision which impacts fan behaviour, but that this is relative to factors including location, facilities, management and security.

Keywords: event, facility, fan, management, park

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Authors: Kunal Mankodi, Sudhir Pandey

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This study aims to assess the factors that play a role in setting up and running a social enterprise driven towards sustainability at the intersection of energy, environment, and poverty alleviation. According to the theory of sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI), conventional organisations adapt their processes to focus on sustainability-oriented innovations. On the other hand, social enterprises that are purpose-driven are also influenced by the context of innovation, which need due attention. This paper presents an account of innovation at Oorja - an Indian social enterprise operating with a farming-as-a-service business model. It aims to illustrate the contexts in which the innovative solutions were developed to work at an intersection between agriculture and clean energy, thereby allowing small farmers access to efficient solutions in the agriculture cycle. Primary data was collected through in-depth interviews, and secondary data was collected from company sources. The study finds that in the case of a social enterprise, the definition of innovation assumes a wider scope by going beyond the introduction of a new product/service. The context of innovation for social enterprise is affected by organisational factors such as organisation’s philosophical mindset, behaviour towards innovation, organisation’s capabilities, regulatory environment, and customer receptiveness. Additionally, the study also finds that the context of innovation for a social enterprise is affected by its organizational structure. A majority of these organizational factors are, in turn, affected by individual (Founder’s) factors such as the founder’s formative years, education, direct exposure to relevant issues, complementary skills of co-founders, and a common calling.

Keywords: context of innovation, social enterprise, sustainability oriented innovations, emerging markets, agriculture

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Authors: Revaz Tabatadze

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This research aims to describe and analyze the intricacies of curriculum development within the broader context of general education reforms undertaken in Eastern European Countries. Importantly, this study is the first of its kind, examining Georgian and Ukrainian National Curriculum documents locally and internationally. The significance of this research lies in its potential to guide the Ministry of Education and Science of the mentioned countries in revising existing curriculum documents to address contemporary challenges in general education. The findings will not only benefit post-Soviet countries but also offer insights for nations facing curriculum development and effectiveness issues. By examining the peculiarities of curriculum development amid globalization, this research aims to contribute to overcoming educational challenges at both local and international levels. This study defines key concepts related to curriculum, distinguishing between intended, implemented, and attained curricula. It also explores the historical context of curriculum development in Georgia and Ukraine from 1991 to 2021, highlighting changes in teacher standards and teacher certification examinations. The literature review section emphasizes the importance of curriculum development as a complex and evolving process, especially in the context of globalization. It underscores the need for a curriculum that fosters critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills in students. In summary, this research offers a comprehensive examination of curriculum development in Georgia and Ukraine, shedding light on the challenges and opportunities in the age of globalization, with potential implications for educational systems worldwide.

Keywords: curriculum development, general education reforms, eastern European countries, globalization in education

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Authors: Mehmet Savsar

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This paper presents a practical case application of simulation modeling and analysis in a specific industrial setting. Various maintenance related parameters of the equipment in the system under consideration are determined and a simulation model is developed to study system behavior. System performance is determined based on established parameters and operational policies, which included system operation with and without preventive maintenance implementation. The results show that preventive maintenance practice has significant effects on improving system productivity. The simulation procedures outlined in this paper can be used by operation managers to perform production line analysis under different maintenance policies in various industrial settings.

Keywords: simulation, production line, machine failures, maintenance, industrial bakery

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Authors: Thomai Voulgari, Vasilis Vasilopoulos, Antonis Skamnakis

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The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the European election campaigns (May 23-26, 2019) on Twitter achieving with artificial intelligence tools such as troll factories and automated inauthentic accounts. Our research focuses on the last European Parliamentary elections that took place between 23 and 26 May 2019 specifically in Italy, Greece, Germany and France. It is difficult to estimate how many Twitter users are actually bots (Echeverría, 2017). Detection for fake accounts is becoming even more complicated as AI bots are made more advanced. A political bot can be programmed to post comments on a Twitter account for a political candidate, target journalists with manipulated content or engage with politicians and artificially increase their impact and popularity. We analyze variables related to 1) the scope of activity of automated bots accounts and 2) degree of coherence and 3) degree of interaction taking into account different factors, such as the type of content of Twitter messages and their intentions, as well as the spreading to the general public. For this purpose, we collected large volumes of Twitter accounts of party leaders and MEP candidates between 10th of May and 26th of July based on content analysis of tweets based on hashtags while using an innovative network analysis tool known as MediaWatch.io (https://mediawatch.io/). According to our findings, one of the highest percentage (64.6%) of automated “bot” accounts during 2019 European election campaigns was in Greece. In general terms, political bots aim to proliferation of misinformation on social media. Targeting voters is a way that it can be achieved contribute to social media manipulation. We found that political parties and individual politicians create and promote purposeful content on Twitter using algorithmic tools. Based on this analysis, online political advertising play an important role to the process of spreading misinformation during elections campaigns. Overall, inauthentic accounts and social media algorithms are being used to manipulate political behavior and public opinion.

Keywords: artificial intelligence tools, human-bot interactions, political manipulation, social networking, troll factories

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Authors: Petra Gergelova, Sofia Ioannidou, Davide Arcella, Alexandra Tard, Polly E. Boon, Oliver Lindtner, Christina Tlustos, Jean-Charles Leblanc

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Objectives: To assess chronic dietary exposure to food additives in different European countries and population groups. Method and Design: The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (ANS) estimates chronic dietary exposure to food additives with the purpose of re-evaluating food additives that were previously authorized in Europe. For this, EFSA uses concentration values (usage and/or analytical occurrence data) reported through regular public calls for data by food industry and European countries. These are combined, at individual level, with national food consumption data from the EFSA Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database including data from 33 dietary surveys from 19 European countries and considering six different population groups (infants, toddlers, children, adolescents, adults and the elderly). EFSA ANS Panel estimates dietary exposure for each individual in the EFSA Comprehensive Database by combining the occurrence levels per food group with their corresponding consumption amount per kg body weight. An individual average exposure per day is calculated, resulting in distributions of individual exposures per survey and population group. Based on these distributions, the average and 95th percentile of exposure is calculated per survey and per population group. Dietary exposure is assessed based on two different sets of data: (a) Maximum permitted levels (MPLs) of use set down in the EU legislation (defined as regulatory maximum level exposure assessment scenario) and (b) usage levels and/or analytical occurrence data (defined as refined exposure assessment scenario). The refined exposure assessment scenario is sub-divided into the brand-loyal consumer scenario and the non-brand-loyal consumer scenario. For the brand-loyal consumer scenario, the consumer is considered to be exposed on long-term basis to the highest reported usage/analytical level for one food group, and at the mean level for the remaining food groups. For the non-brand-loyal consumer scenario, the consumer is considered to be exposed on long-term basis to the mean reported usage/analytical level for all food groups. An additional exposure from sources other than direct addition of food additives (i.e. natural presence, contaminants, and carriers of food additives) is also estimated, as appropriate. Results: Since 2014, this methodology has been applied in about 30 food additive exposure assessments conducted as part of scientific opinions of the EFSA ANS Panel. For example, under the non-brand-loyal scenario, the highest 95th percentile of exposure to α-tocopherol (E 307) and ammonium phosphatides (E 442) was estimated in toddlers up to 5.9 and 8.7 mg/kg body weight/day, respectively. The same estimates under the brand-loyal scenario in toddlers resulted in exposures of 8.1 and 20.7 mg/kg body weight/day, respectively. For the regulatory maximum level exposure assessment scenario, the highest 95th percentile of exposure to α-tocopherol (E 307) and ammonium phosphatides (E 442) was estimated in toddlers up to 11.9 and 30.3 mg/kg body weight/day, respectively. Conclusions: Detailed and up-to-date information on food additive concentration values (usage and/or analytical occurrence data) and food consumption data enable the assessment of chronic dietary exposure to food additives to more realistic levels.

Keywords: α-tocopherol, ammonium phosphatides, dietary exposure assessment, European Food Safety Authority, food additives, food consumption data

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Authors: Avani Chhajlani

Abstract:

Fashion is considered to be the most destructive industry, second only to the oil rigging industry, which has a greater impact on the environment. While fashion today banks upon fast fashion to generate a higher turnover of designs and patterns in apparel and related accessories, crafts push us towards a more slow and thoughtful approach with culturally identifiably unique work and slow community-centered production. Despite this strong link between indigenous crafts and sustainability, it has not been extensively researched and explored upon. In the forthcoming years, the fashion industry will have to reinvent itself to move towards a more holistic and sustainable circular model to balance the harm already caused. And closed loops of the circular economy will help the integration of indigenous craft knowledge, which is regenerative. Though sustainability and crafts of a region go hand-in-hand, the craft still have to find its standing in the mainstream fashion world; craft practices have a strong local congruence and knowledge that has been passed down generation-to-generation through oration or written materials. This paper aims to explore ways a circular economy can be created by amalgamating fashion and craft while creating a sustainable business model and how this is slowly being created today through brands like – RaasLeela, Pero, and KaSha, to name a few.

Keywords: circular economy, fashion, India, indigenous crafts, slow fashion, sustainability, up-cycling

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Authors: Rubens Duarte Coelho, Timóteo Herculino da Silva Barros, Jefferson de Olveira Costa

Abstract:

Brazil has an electrical matrix of predominantly renewable origin, with emphasis on water sources, which account for 65.2%, biomass energy for 8.2%, wind for 6.8% and solar for 0.13% of the domestic supply. Among these sources, sugarcane cultivation stands out, aiming both at the production of bioethanol and biomass to supply “clean energy”. However, like all other crops, sugar cane demands a large volume of a natural resource that is increasingly “scarce” in quantity and quality: water. Adequate and strategic water management throughout the entire sugarcane cycle is of fundamental importance, and water productivity can be used to adjust irrigation planning and decision-making, increasing the productivity of stalks, bioethanol, biomass, and sugar. In this way, water productivity is a good indicator for analysis and decision-making considering the sustainability of cultivation, as it allows evaluation of the variation in the ratio between production and the amount of water used, suggesting values that maximize the use of this natural resource. In this context, studies that relate water demand, in this case, expressed by water productivity, with the energy production of this crop, in this case, expressed by the production of bioethanol, biomass and sugar, are fundamental to obtaining an efficient production of renewable energy, which aims at the rational use of natural resources, especially water. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the response of sugarcane varieties subjected to different water availability to obtain better sustainability in bioenergy production, presenting water productivity indices for Bioethanol, Sugar and Biomass. The variety that responded best was RB966928, with a bioethanol yield of 68.7 L Mg-1. Future research should focus on the water response under each of the sugarcane fractions in terms of their elemental composition so that the influence of water on the energy supply of this crop can be better understood.

Keywords: energy matrix, water use, water use efficiency, sustainability

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Authors: Rogerio Vieira Dos Reis

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Countries like Brazil that despite fighting hard against corruption are not improving their corruption perception, especially due to systemic political corruption, should review their corruption prevention strategies. This thesis brings a case study based on an alternative way of preventing corruption: addressing the corruption drivers in public policies that lead to poor economic performance. After discussing the Brazilian industrial policies adopted recently, especially the measures towards the automotive sector, two corruption issues in this sector are analyzed: facilitating payment for fiscal benefits and buying the extension of fiscal benefits. In-depth interviews conducted with a policymaker and an executive of the automobile sector provide insights for identifying three main corruption drivers: excessive and unnecessary bureaucracy, a complex tax system and the existence of a closed market without setting performance requirements to be achieved by the benefited firms. Both the identification of the drivers of successful industrial policies and the proposal of anti-corruption strategies to ensure developmental outcomes are based on the economic perspective of industrial policy advocated by developmental authors and on the successful South Korean economic development experience. Structural anti-corruption measures include tax reform, the regulation of lobbying and legislation to allow corporate political contribution. Besides improving policymakers’ technical capabilities, measures at the ministry level include redesigning the automotive regimes as long-term policies focused on national investment with simple and clear rules and making fiscal benefits conditional upon performance targets focused on suppliers. This case study is of broader interest because it recommends the importance of adapting performance audits conducted by anti-corruption agencies, to focus not only on the delivery of public services, but also on the identification of potentially highly damaging corruption drivers in public policies that grant fiscal benefits to achieve developmental outcomes.

Keywords: Brazilian automotive sector, corruption, economic development, industrial policy, Inovar-Auto

Procedia PDF Downloads 199

Authors: A. Chabert

Abstract:

The present paper is motivated by the current influence of communicative approaches in language policies around the globe (especially through the Common European Framework of Reference), along with the exponential spread of English as a Lingua Franca worldwide. This study focuses on English language learning and teaching in the last year of primary education in Spain (in the bilingual Valencian region), Norway (in the Trondelag region), and China (in the Hunan region) and proposes a plurilingual communicative approach to ELT in line with ELF awareness and the current retheorisation of ELF within multilingualism (Jenkins, 2018). This study, interdisciplinary in nature, attempts to find a convergence point among English Language Teaching, English as a Lingua Franca, Language Ecology and Multilingualism, breaking with the boundaries that separate languages in language teaching and acknowledging English as international communication, while protecting the mother tongue and language diversity within multilingualism. Our experiment included over 400 students across Spain, Norway, and China, and the outcomes obtained demonstrate that despite the different factors involved in different cultures and contexts, a plurilingual approach to English learning improved English scores by 20% in each of the contexts. Through our study, we reflect on the underestimated value of the mother tongue in ELT, as well as the need for a sustainable ELF perspective in education worldwide.

Keywords: English as a Lingua Franca, English language teaching, language ecology, multilingualism

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Alexander David Natanson

Abstract:

This paper focuses on the effect of Sanctuary and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policies on local economies. "Sanctuary cities" refers to municipal jurisdictions that limit their cooperation with the federal government's efforts to enforce immigration. Using county-level data from the American Community Survey and ICE data on economic indicators from 2006 to 2018, this study isolates the effects of local immigration policies on U.S. counties. The investigation is accomplished by simultaneously studying the policies' effects in counties where immigrants' families are persecuted via collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in contrast to counties that provide protections. The analysis includes a difference-in-difference & two-way fixed effect model. Results are robust to nearest-neighbor matching, after the random assignment of treatment, after running estimations using different cutoffs for immigration policies, and with a regression discontinuity model comparing bordering counties with opposite policies. Results are also robust after restricting the data to a single-year policy adoption, using the Sun and Abraham estimator, and with event-study estimation to deal with the staggered treatment issue. In addition, the study reverses the estimation to understand what drives the decision to choose policies to detect the presence of reverse causality biases in the estimated policy impact on economic factors. The evidence demonstrates that providing protections to undocumented immigrants increases economic activity. The estimates show gains in per capita income ranging from 3.1 to 7.2, median wages between 1.7 to 2.6, and GDP between 2.4 to 4.1 percent. Regarding labor, sanctuary counties saw increases in total employment between 2.3 to 4 percent, and the unemployment rate declined from 12 to 17 percent. The data further shows that ICE policies have no statistically significant effects on income, median wages, or GDP but adverse effects on total employment, with declines from 1 to 2 percent, mostly in rural counties, and an increase in unemployment of around 7 percent in urban counties. In addition, results show a decline in the foreign-born population in ICE counties but no changes in sanctuary counties. The study also finds similar results for sanctuary counties when separating the data between urban, rural, educational attainment, gender, ethnic groups, economic quintiles, and the number of business establishments. The takeaway from this study is that institutional inclusion creates the dynamic nature of an economy, as inclusion allows for economic expansion due to the extension of fundamental freedoms to newcomers. Inclusive policies show positive effects on economic outcomes with no evident increase in population. To make sense of these results, the hypothesis and theoretical model propose that inclusive immigration policies play an essential role in conditioning the effect of immigration by decreasing uncertainties and constraints for immigrants' interaction in their communities, decreasing the cost from fear of deportation or the constant fear of criminalization and optimize their human capital.

Keywords: inclusive and exclusive institutions, post matching, fixed effect, time trend, regression discontinuity, difference-in-difference, randomization inference and sun, Abraham estimator

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Authors: Hung-Chi Chang

Abstract:

For an extended EPQ model with random yield, the existent study revealed that both the disaggregating and consolidating shipment policies for the imperfect quality items are independent of holding cost, and recommended a model with economic benefit by comparing the least total cost for each of the three models investigated. To better capture the real situation, we generalize the existent study to include different holding costs for perfect and imperfect quality items. Through analysis, we show that the above shipment policies are dependent on holding costs. Furthermore, we derive a simple decision rule solely based on the thresholds of problem parameters to select a superior model. The results are illustrated analytically and numerically.

Keywords: consolidating shipments, disaggregating shipments, EPQ, imperfect quality, inventory

Procedia PDF Downloads 359