Search results for: public education

Authors: Lele Dominic Dummene

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Economic development and environmental development have been a long-lasting debate between capitalist and environmentalist. It is also seen as a debate between modernisation, globalisation at one end, and environmental justice at the other end. Our society today is moving rapidly towards development and increased industrial revolutions, and globalisation. Indigenous communities in Ogoniland are also experiencing such development due to multinationals’ exploration of crude oil in the communities. The oil exploration activities have caused environmental, socio-economic, health, and political problems in indigenous communities in Ogoniland. These issues require depth understanding from all sectors (public, government, and corporate sectors) to address them. Hence, this paper presents the types of environmental education programs used in indigenous communities in Ogoniland to address environmental issues and other problems caused by oil exploration in Ogoniland, Nigeria. These environmental education programs contributes to environmental policy creation, development of environmental curriculum, and pragmatic actions towards mitigating environmental degradation and related environmental socio-economic and political issues in indigenous communities.

Keywords: environmental education, indigenous communities, environmental problems, ogoniland

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Authors: Tao Zhao, Xianshuo Xu

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Low-carbon public passenger transport is an important part of low carbon city. The CO₂ emissions of public passenger transport in Tianjin from 1995 to 2010 are estimated with IPCC CO₂ counting method, which shows that the total CO₂ emissions of Tianjin public passenger transport have gradually become stable at 1,425.1 thousand tons. And then the CO₂ emissions of the buses, taxies, and rail transits are calculated respectively. A CO₂ emission of 829.9 thousand tons makes taxies become the largest CO₂ emissions source among the public passenger transport in Tianjin. Combining with passenger volume, this paper analyzes the CO₂ emissions proportion of the buses, taxies, and rail transits compare the passenger transport rate with the proportion of CO₂ emissions, as well as the CO₂ emissions change of per 10,000 people. The passenger volume proportion of bus among the three public means of transport is 72.62% which is much higher than its CO₂ emissions proportion of 36.01%, with the minimum number of CO₂ emissions per 10,000 people of 4.90 tons. The countermeasures to reduce CO₂ emissions of public passenger transport in Tianjin are to develop rail transit, update vehicles and use alternative fuel vehicles.

Keywords: public passenger transport, carbon emissions, countermeasures, China

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Authors: Ezrah Kipkirui Tonui, George Otieno Orwa

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A survey of 138 farmers was conducted in Rift valley, Kenya, in November and December 2013 in three counties (Uasin-gishu, Elgeyo-marakwet, and Tranzoia) to determine public knowledge and attitude towards genetically modified (GM) maize. Above two third (70%) of the respondents had knowledge of GM maize, mostly those educated and male. Female was found to be having low knowledge on GM maize. Public acknowledged the technology’s potential positive impacts, with more than 90% willing to adopt and more than 98% willing to buy GM seedlings at any given price. A small percentage less than 3% were of a negative opinion about willing to buy and adopt GM seeds. We conclude that GM technology has a role to play in food security in Kenya. However, the public needs more information about the technology, which can be provided through established sources of information and training. Finally, public knowledge and attitude on GM maize should be studied on a regular basis, and the survey population broadened to 47 counties.

Keywords: public, knowledge, attitudes, GM maize, Kenya

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Authors: Xuran Zhang, Huiru Chen

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In recent years, China has made great efforts to cultivate and develop the housing rental market, especially the rental-type public housing, which has been paid attention to by all sectors of the society. This paper takes Hangzhou rental-type public housing as the research object, and divides it into three development stages according to the different supply modes of rental-type public housing. Through data collection and field research, the paper summarizes the spatial characteristics of rental-type public housing from the five perspectives of spatial planning, spatial layout, spatial integration, spatial organization and spatial configuration. On this basis, the paper proposes the optimization of the spatial layout. The study concludes that the spatial layout of rental-type public housing should be coordinated with the development of urban planning. When planning and constructing, it is necessary to select more mixed construction modes, to be properly centralized, and to improve the surrounding transportation service facilities.  It is hoped that the recommendations in this paper will provide a reference for the further development of rental-type public housing in Hangzhou.

Keywords: Hangzhou, rental-type public housing, spatial distribution, spatial optimization

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Authors: A. Meydanlioglu, F. Arikan

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In recent years, thanks to the development of information and communication technologies, the computer and internet have been used widely in higher education. Internet-based education is impacting traditional higher education as online components increasingly become integrated into face-to-face (FTF) courses. The goal of combined internet-based and traditional education is to take full advantage of the benefits of each platform in order to provide an educational opportunity that can promote student learning better than can either platform alone. Research results show that the use of hybrid learning is more effective than online or FTF models in higher education. Due to the potential benefits, an increasing number of institutions are interested in developing hybrid courses, programs, and degrees. Future research should evaluate the effectiveness of hybrid learning. This paper is designed to determine the impact of hybrid learning on higher education.

Keywords: e-learning, higher education, hybrid learning, online education

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Authors: Julie Lucille H. Del Valle

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To improve its public school education, the Philippines took a radical curriculum reform in 2012, by launching the K-to-12 program which not only added two years to its basic education but also mandated for a replacement of traditional teaching with learner-centered pedagogy, an instruction whose western underpinnings suggest improving student achievement, thus, making pedagogies in the country more or less similar with those in Europe and USA. This policy, however, placed learner-centered pedagogy in a binary opposition against teacher-centered instruction, creating a simplistic dichotomy between good and bad teaching. It is in this dichotomy that this study seeks to explore, using Critical Pedagogy of the Place as the lens, in understanding what constitutes good teaching across a range of learner-centered and teacher-centered pedagogies in the context of public schools in disadvantaged communities. Furthermore, this paper examines how pedagogical homogeneity, arguably influenced by dominant global imperatives with economic agenda – often referred as economisation of education – not only thins out local identities as structures of global schooling become increasingly similar but also limits the concept of good teaching to student outcomes and corporate employability. This paper draws from qualitative research on students, thus addressing the gap created by studies on good teaching which looked mainly into the perceptions of teachers and administrators, while overlooking those of students whose voices must be considered in the formulation of inclusive policies that advocate for true education reform. Using ethnographic methods including student focus groups, classroom observations, and teacher interviews, responses from students of disadvantaged schools reveal that good teaching includes both learner-centered and teacher-centered practices that incorporate ‘academic caring’ which sustains their motivation to achieve in school despite the challenging learning environments. The combination of these two pedagogies equips students with life-long skills necessary to gain equal access to sustainable economic opportunities in their local communities.

Keywords: critical pedagogy of the place, good teaching, learner-centered pedagogy, placed-based instruction

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Authors: Dulani Jayasuriya

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This study outlines the developmental steps of a chatbot for administrative purposes of a large undergraduate course. The chatbot is able to handle student queries about administrative details, including assessment deadlines, course documentation, how to navigate the course, group formation, etc. The development window screenshots are that of a free account on the Snatchbot platform such that this can be adopted by the wider public. While only one connection to an answer based on possible keywords is shown here, one needs to develop multiple connections leading to different answers based on different keywords for the actual chatbot to function. The overall flow of the chatbot showing connections between different interactions is depicted at the end.

Keywords: chatbots, education, technology, snatch bot, artificial intelligence

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Authors: Xiujuan Wang, Weiguo Wang, Lei Yu, Xue Liu

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There are many purported benefits of public bike systems, therefore, it has seen a sharp increase since 2008 in Hangzhou, China. However, there are few studies on the public bicycle system in Chinese cities. In order to make recommendations for the development of public bicycle systems, this paper analyzes the influencing factors by using the system dynamics method according to the main characteristics of Chinese cities. The main characteristics of Chinese cities lie in the city size and process of urbanization, traffic mode division, demographic characteristics, bicycle infrastructure and right of way, regime structure. Finally, under the context of Chinese bike sharing systems, these analyses results can help to design some feasible strategies for the planner to the development of the public bicycles.

Keywords: engineering of communication and transportation system, bicycle, public bike, characteristics of Chinese cities, system dynamics

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Authors: Büşra Güven, Ebru Kerimoğlu

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Relevant departments of universities in creative fields are increasingly facing the challenge of developing curriculum for more employable creative workforce. In Turkey, as a developing country, the creative industries have not yet argued in the political axis and higher education also has not been addressed in this context. Istanbul has the highest creative and cultural industries share also provides both rooted and developing higher education institutes for these sectors in Turkey. With this in mind, the main purpose of the paper attempts to clarify that how does higher education in creative fields deal with the demands of creative industries in Istanbul? First, the paper elaborated creative class theory, second creative industries, employability and curriculum triangle is examined. The research methodology consisted of a qualitative model based on interview analysis. Data are collected by interviews with the head of the relevant departments and professional associations authorities in selected sectors. Four higher education institutes in Istanbul are selected according to the some clarified factors related to the literature. This also offered a comparing between public and private universities in terms of the adaptability of this changing concept of work. Industry expectations and content of educations were compared and found the blind spots in the education-industry relationships. As a consequence, produced inclusive policies for universities and industries to overcome these spots with collaboration, flexibility, adaptability, openness and feedback management and also for future policies in particular outcomes of university-industry collaborations.

Keywords: creative industries, curriculum, employability, high education, Istanbul

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Authors: Ogbeta I. Joseph, Habiba B. A. Awwalu, Otokiti Jimoh

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This paper entitled science education in Nigeria issues and challenges highlighted the role of science education to the development of science and technology in Nigeria. Science embraces every attempt of human to explore and manage the natural world, the contribution of science education to the technological development of the nation, the role of science education in ICT development, the importance of mathematics in the development of science education, the paper also analyzed the challenges facing the development of science education to include corruption, insecurity, and political instability, the paper concluded by encouraging the government and other stakeholders in educational sector to pay more attention to the teaching and learning of science in our schools. Therefore recommended the development that emphasizes should be on the teaching and learning of science base subjects in the school.

Keywords: education, science, technology and national development, challenges

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Authors: Sai On Cheung, Qiuwen Ma, Fong Chung Lee

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Due to increased project complexity and technological advancement in the last decade, the designers and contractors are expected to put more efforts to achieve project goals. To render extra efforts from the agents, incentivization has become one of the primary strategies for the client. Despite increased academia interest in the design of incentive strategies, there is still a need for discussion about the underlying motivations and favourable conditions to make incentives effective. Therefore, this study focuses on the effects of motivations and favourable conditions for the use of incentives in public projects. Questionnaire survey is used as the data collection tool. The questionnaire survey was piloted through interviews with professionals from Hong Kong public sector. A total of 100 responses were collected for this survey. Accountability and organizational effectiveness were found to be the prime objectives of incentives installed by public clients. Furthermore, a list of favourable conditions for incentivization and its consequent effects on cost, schedule, risk and public opinions were identified. To conclude, this study analyses the means and ends of the use of incentives in public projects in Hong Kong.

Keywords: incentives, public accountability, project effectiveness, public opinions

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Authors: Rinda Kurnia

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Despite the differences and additional needs in the learning process, every individual has the right to receive educational services in order to enhance her/his abilities and potentials. This notion underlies the principle of inclusive education system, something many countries in the world are striving for since the UNESCO Salamanca Statement in 1994. This paper will consider different views that many theorists have published of the term inclusive, the issues, challenges, and dilemmas encountered during the practice, as well as some possible ways forward. It is being described, criticized and analyzed using the standpoint of a shadow teacher in an inclusive secondary school in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Keywords: inclusive education, inclusive education challenges, inclusive education dilemmas, inclusive education future plans, inclusive education issues

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Authors: Pei Wang

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The concept of social-emotional learning (SEL) is becoming increasingly popular in both research and practical applications worldwide. However, there is a lack of empirical studies and implementation of SEL in China, particularly from the perspective of parents. This qualitative study examined how Chinese parents perceived SEL, how their views on SEL were shaped, and how these views affected their decisions regarding their children’s education programs. Using the Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning Interactive Wheel framework and Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory, the study conducted interviews with eight parents whose children attended public, international, and private schools in China. All collected data were conducted a thematic analysis involving three coding phases. The findings revealed that interviewees perceived SEL as significant to children’s development but held diverse understandings and perspectives on SEL at school depending on the amount and the quality of SEL resources available in their children’s schools. Additionally, parents’ attitudes towards the exam-oriented education system and Chinese culture influenced their views on SEL in school. Nevertheless, their socioeconomic status (SES) was the most significant factor in their perspectives on SEL, which significantly impacted their choices in their children's educational programs. High-SES families had more options to pursue SEL resources by sending their children to international schools or Western countries, while lower middle-class SES families had limited SEL resources in public schools. This highlighted educational inequality in China and emphasized the need for greater attention and investment in SEL programs in Chinese public schools.

Keywords: Chinese, inequality, parent, school, social-emotional learning

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Authors: Roozbeh Kardooni, Ahmad Hossein Meidari, Sumiani Binti Yusoff, Fatimah Binti Kari,

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The public opinion on environmental issue was analyzed by means of a survey implemented in Kedah located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia). This work explores public opinions regarding environmental issue such as climate change, green technology and renewable energy in Kedah. Probability sampling and a stratified technique were used to conduct a survey with subjects aged 20 years and over with higher education qualifications. The results shows that the level of concern regarding climate change in Kedah is high and majority of Kedah citizens are concerned about climate change and have heard about green technology. However, only 40% people in this city have used green products. The findings of this study also show that percent use of green products is highest among those who are familiar with such products. It is apparent from study finding that economic barriers and non-economic barriers both play a role in impeding the development of renewable energy policies in Kedah. This finding can be explained by the high price of renewable energy products, lack of knowledge about government policies, and ineffective programs and initiatives.

Keywords: public opinion, climate change, green technology, Kedah

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Authors: Ado Ismail Sabo

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Statement of the Problem: The global trend in tertiary education institutions today is changing and moving towards engagement, promotion and marketing. The reason is to upscale reputation and impact positioning. More prominently, existing rivalry today seeks to draw-in the best and brightest students. A university or college is no longer just an institution of higher learning, but one adapting additional business nomenclature. Therefore, huge financial resources are invested by educational institutions to polish their image and improve their global and national ranking. In Nigeria, which boasts of a vast population of over 180 million people, some of whose patronage can bolster its education sector; standard of education continues to decline. Today, some Nigerian tertiary education institutions are shadows of their pasts, in terms of academic excellence. Quality has been relinquished because of the unquenchable quest by government officials, some civil servants, school heads and educators to amass wealth. It is very difficult to gain student satisfaction and their loyalty. Some of the student’s loyalties factor towards public higher educational institutions might be confusing. It is difficult to understand the extent to which students are satisfy on many needs. Some students might feel satisfy with the academic lecturers only, whereas others may want everything, and others will never satisfy. Due to these problems, this research aims to uncover the crucial factors influencing student loyalty and to examine if students’ satisfaction might impact mediate the relationship between service quality, organisational image and students’ loyalty towards public higher education institutions in Kano State, Nigeria. The significance of the current study is underscored by the paucity of similar research in the subject area and public tertiary education in a developing country like Nigeria as shown in existing literature. Methodology: The current study was undertaken by quantitative research methodology. Sample of 600 valid responses were obtained within the study population comprising six selected public higher education institutions in Kano State, Nigeria. These include: North West University Kano, Bayero University Kano, School of Management Studies Kano, School of Technology Kano, Sa’adatu Rimi College Kano and Federal College of Education (FCE) Kano. Four main hypotheses were formulated and tested using structural equation modeling techniques with Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS Version 22.0). Results: Analysis of the data provided support for the main issue of this study, and the following findings are established: “Student Satisfaction mediates the relationship between Service Quality and Student Loyalty”, “Student Satisfaction mediates the relationship between Organizational Image and Student Loyalty” respectively. The findings of this study contributed to the theoretical implication which proposed a structural model that examined the relationships among overall Organizational image, service quality, student satisfaction and student loyalty. Conclusion: In addition, the findings offered a better insight to the managerial (higher institution of learning service providers) by focusing on portraying the image of service quality with student satisfaction in improving the quality of student loyalty.

Keywords: student loyalty, service quality, student satisfaction, organizational image

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Authors: R. Echeverría Echeverría, C. Carrillo Trujillo, N. Evia Alamilla

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Today, bullying is an expression of violence. It is a present problem in different contexts. Bullying and harassment have become subject matter of professional psychology , anthropology and other social sciences and related areas. However, most research on bullying have focused on peer violence and basic education. There is little attention to harassment in higher education. It also has little generation of research and interventions in universities, undergraduate and postgraduate level. The aim of this paper is to present a proposal for intervention to the attention of college students who have had an experience of harassment and / or bullying in a Public University of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. The methodology was qualitative phenomenological. Semiestructura interview techniques and focus groups were used. 6 students participated who have lived harassment or bullying. Also they are participating teachers and university leaders who play an important role in the presence of such cases. The purpose is to analyze the presence of policies for the prevention, treatment and punishment of those problems. The qualitative data analysis will be based on the general proposal of Rodriguez Gomez Gil Flores and García Jiménez (1999). The results show the need to create a body entrusted to provide timely attention to cases of bullying or harassment that are reported. It is important to take legal and psychological support of the University authorities. It is proposed to create a mechanism to ensure timely care and not victimized who has had the experience; in addition to the punishment of those who exercised to ensure that violence. In discussing the successes and failures of the proposal are highlighted. And the processes that have been facilitated or hampered progress for the project.

Keywords: bullying, harassment, intervention, public university

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Authors: Rim Khemiri, Mariam Dammak

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The aim of this study is to trace the historical evolution of Tunisian higher accounting education and to understand and highlight the circumstances of its birth and its development. A documentary study (archival documents, official documents, public speeches, etc.), as well as semi-directive interviews with key actors, were carried out as part of this research work. These interviews aim to fill a lack of information on this subject and to confirm events addressed by other sources, but for which it lacks the elements necessary for a good understanding. After having put forward the specificities of the Tunisian context, we will, first of all, proceed to a review of the literature related to our theme in various contexts of the world. Then, we will present the evolution of the accounting curriculum by highlighting the circumstances of its birth and those of the successive reforms led by the Tunisian government. The study of higher accounting education in Tunisia and its evolution has several interests. The first lies in understanding the circumstances of its birth and its evolution in relation to the historical, socio-economic, and political context of the country. The second is to propose a reading grid that allows an understanding of the reforms that led to the university accountancy accounting course as we know it today. And, the third, aims to complete the literature on the processes of evolution of higher education accounting, by treating a different context, in order to provide additional knowledge necessary to compare experiences in this area around the world.

Keywords: accounting history, higher accounting education, socio-economic and political context, Tunisian context

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Authors: Rodrigo Coelho

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We believe that in the majority of the “recent production of public space", the overvaluation of the "image", of the "ephemeral" and of the "objectual", has come to determine the configuration of banal and (more or less) arbitrary "public spaces", mostly linked to a problem of “outdoor decoration”, reflecting a clear sign of uncertainty and arbitrariness about the meaning, the role and shape of public space and public art.This "inconsistency" which is essentially linked to the loss of urban, but also social, cultural and political, vocation of the disciplines that “shape” the urban space (but is also linked to the lack of urban and technical culture of techinicians and policy makers) converted a significant set of the recently built "public space" and “urban art” into diffuse and multi-referenced pieces, which generally shares the inability of confering to the urban space, civic, aesthetic, social and symbolic meanings. In this sense we consider it is essential to undertake a theoretical reflection on the values, the meaning(s) and the shape(s) that open space, and urban art may (or must) take in the current urban and cultural context, in order to redeem for public space its status of significant physical reference, able to embody a spatial and urban identity, and simultaneously enable the collective accession and appropriation of public space. Taking as reference public space interventions built in the last decade on the European context, we will seek to explore and defend the need of considering public space as a true place of exception, an exceptional support where the emphasis is placed on the quality of the experience, especially by the relations public space/urban art can established with the city, with nature and geography in a broad sense, referring us back to a close and inseparable and timeless relationship between nature and culture.

Keywords: art, city, nature, public space

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Authors: Tuba Senel Zor, Oktay Aslan

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With current trends in nanoscience and nanotechnology (NST), scientists have paid much attention to education and nanoliteracy in parallel with the developments on these fields. To understand the advances in NST research requires a population with a high degree of science literacy. All citizens should soon need nanoliteracy in order to navigate some of the important science-based issues faced to their everyday lives. While the fields of NST are advancing rapidly and raising their societal significance, general public’s awareness of these fields has remained at a low level. Moreover, students enrolled different education levels and teachers don’t have awareness at expected level. This problem may be stemmed from inadequate education and training. To remove the inadequacy, teachers have greatest duties and responsibilities. Especially science teachers at all levels need to be made aware of these developments and adequately prepared so that they are able to teach about these advances in a developmentally appropriate manner. If the teachers develop understanding and awareness of NST, they can also discuss the topic with their students. Therefore, the awareness and conceptual understandings of both the teachers who will teach science to students and the students who will be introduced about NST should be increased, and the necessary training should be provided. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of NST education on preservice science teachers’ awareness of NST. The study was designed in one group pre-test post-test quasi-experimental pattern. The study was conducted with 32 preservice science teachers attending the Elementary Science Education Program at a large Turkish university in central Anatolia. NST education was given during five weeks as two hours per week. Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Awareness Questionnaire was used as data collected tool and was implemented for pre-test and post-test. The collected data were analyzed using Statistical package for the Social Science (SPSS). The results of data analysis showed that there was a significant difference (z=6.25, p< .05) on NST awareness of preservice science teachers after implemented NST education. The results of the study indicate that NST education has an important effect for improving awareness of preservice science teachers on NST.

Keywords: awareness level, nanoliteracy, nanoscience and nanotechnology education, preservice science teachers

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Authors: Shaker A. Aladwan

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This paper aims to explore the Barriers to innovation leadership in Jordanian public sector organizations. Qualitative approach was adopted, and content analysis was used to analyze the 18 assessment reports which are extracted from the public innovation award in Jordan, then, 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with the key persons who are involved with innovation initiatives in the public sector organizations in Jordan. Several Barriersthat face the innovation leadership in the Jordanian public sector organizations. Managerially, the challenges include lack of innovation vision, implementation lack of innovation core values, lack of strategic planning for innovation, bad bureaucracy culture, and excessive centralization. Technically, the challenges include lack of task assignment for employees, lack of resources, lack of innovative training programs, lack of knowledge sharing, and the failure of governments to formulate policies and regulations. most of the studies focused on innovation in the non-public sector organizations, and most of them were conducted in the American and Western countries, which are different in terms of culture, kinds of innovation, barriers, and drivers. Thus, this paper provides new insights into barriers to innovation leadership in the public sector and in a new research context. This paper also provides a theoretical contribution by diagnosing the barriers facing innovation within the context of public administration in developing countries.

Keywords: innovation, excellence award, challenges, public sector, jordan

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Authors: Denise Levy, Anna Lucia C. H. Villavicencio

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Food irradiation is a processing and preservation technique to eliminate insects and parasites and reduce disease-causing microorganisms. Moreover, the process helps to inhibit sprouting and delay ripening, extending fresh fruits and vegetables shelf-life. Nevertheless, most Brazilian consumers seem to misunderstand the difference between irradiated food and radioactive food and the general public has major concerns about the negative health effects and environmental contamination. Society´s judgment and decision making are directly linked to perceived benefits and risks. The web-based project entitled ‘Scientific information about food irradiation: Internet as a tool to approach science and society’ was created by the Nuclear and Energetic Research Institute (IPEN), in order to offer an interdisciplinary approach to science education, integrating economic, ethical, social and political aspects of food irradiation. This project takes into account that, misinformation and unfounded preconceived ideas impact heavily on the acceptance of irradiated food and purchase intention by the Brazilian consumer. Taking advantage of the potential value of the Internet to enhance communication and education among general public, a research study was carried out regarding the possibilities and trends of Information and Communication Technologies among the Brazilian population. The content includes concepts, definitions and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about processes, safety, advantages, limitations and the possibilities of food irradiation, including health issues, as well as its impacts on the environment. The project counts on eight self-instructional interactive web courses, situating scientific content in relevant social contexts in order to encourage self-learning and further reflections. Communication is a must to improve public understanding of science. The use of information technology for quality scientific divulgation shall contribute greatly to provide information throughout the country, spreading information to as many people as possible, minimizing geographic distances and stimulating communication and development.

Keywords: food irradiation, multimedia learning tools, nuclear science, society and education

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Authors: Shivangi Agrawal, Hsiu-I Ting

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Entrepreneurship is an essential source of economic growth and a prominent factor influencing socio-economic development. Entrepreneurship education educates and enhances entrepreneurial activity. This study aims to understand current trends in entrepreneurship education and evaluate the effectiveness of diverse entrepreneurship education programs. An increasing number of universities offer entrepreneurship education courses to create and successfully continue entrepreneurial ventures. Despite the prevalence of entrepreneurship education, research studies lack inconsistency about the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education to promote and develop entrepreneurship. Strategies to develop entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions among individuals are hindered by a lack of understanding of entrepreneurs' educational purposes, components, methodology, and resources required. Lack of adequate entrepreneurship education has been linked with low self-efficacy and lack of entrepreneurial intent. Moreover, in the age of digitisation and during the COVID-19 pandemic, digital learning platforms (e.g., online entrepreneurship education courses and programs) and other digital tools (e.g., digital game-based entrepreneurship education) have become more relevant to entrepreneurship education. This paper contributes to the continuation of academic literature in entrepreneurship education by evaluating and assessing current trends in entrepreneurship education programs, leading to better understanding to reduce gaps between entrepreneurial development requirements and higher education institutions.

Keywords: entrepreneurship education, digital technologies, academic entrepreneurship, COVID-19

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Authors: Chiahsu Yang, Peiling Wu, Ted Ho

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From emphasizing economic development to stressing public happiness, the international community mainly hopes to be able to understand whether the quality of life for the public is becoming better. The Better Life Index (BLI) constructed by OECD uses living conditions and quality of life as starting points to cover 11 areas of life and to convey the state of the general public’s well-being. In light of the BLI framework, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) of the Executive Yuan instituted the Gross National Happiness Index to understand the needs of the general public and to measure the progress of the aforementioned conditions in residents across the island. Whereas living conditions consist of income and wealth, jobs and earnings, and housing conditions, health status, work and life balance, education and skills, social connections, civic engagement and governance, environmental quality, personal security. The ICT area consists of health care, living environment, ICT-enabled communication, transportation, government, education, pleasure, purchasing, job & employment. In the wake of further science and technology development, rapid formation of information societies, and closer integration between lifestyles and information societies, the public’s well-being within information societies has indeed become a noteworthy topic. the Board of Science and Technology of the Executive Yuan use the OECD’s BLI as a reference in the establishment of the Taiwan-specific ICT-Enabled Better Life Index. Using this index, the government plans to examine whether the public’s quality of life is improving as well as measure the public’s satisfaction with current digital quality of life. This understanding will enable the government to gauge the degree of influence and impact that each dimension of digital services has on digital life happiness while also serving as an important reference for promoting digital service development. The content of the ICT Enabled Better Life Index. Information and communications technology (ICT) has been affecting people’s living styles, and further impact people’s quality of life (QoL). Even studies have shown that ICT access and usage have both positive and negative impact on life satisfaction and well-beings, many governments continue to invest in e-government programs to initiate their path to information society. This research is the few attempts to link the e-government benchmark to the subjective well-being perception, and further address the gap between user’s perception and existing hard data assessment, then propose a model to trace measurement results back to the original public policy in order for policy makers to justify their future proposals.

Keywords: information and communications technology, quality of life, satisfaction, well-being

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Authors: Guantao Bai

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Public space is an indispensable and important component of the urban built environment. How to more accurately evaluate the usage characteristics of public space can help improve its spatial quality. Compared to traditional survey methods, computer vision technology based on deep learning has advantages such as dynamic observation and low cost. This study takes the public space of Shaping Park as an example and, based on deep learning computer vision technology, processes and analyzes the image data of the public space to obtain the spatial usage characteristics and spatiotemporal characteristics of the public space. Research has found that the spontaneous activity time in public spaces is relatively random with a relatively short average activity time, while social activities have a relatively stable activity time with a longer average activity time. Computer vision technology based on deep learning can effectively describe the spatial usage characteristics of the research area, making up for the shortcomings of traditional research methods and providing relevant support for creating a good public space.

Keywords: computer vision, deep learning, public spaces, using features

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Authors: Bahadır Erişti

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Values are the behavioral procedures of society based communication and interaction process that includes social and cultural backgrounds. The policy of learning and teaching in higher education is oriented towards constructing knowledge and skills, based on theorist framework of cognitive and psychomotor aspects. This approach makes people not to develop generosity, empathy, affection, solidarity, justice, equality and so on. But the sensorial gains of education system provide the integrity of society interaction. This situation carries out the necessity of values education’s in higher education. The current study aims to consider values education from the viewpoint of students in higher education. Within the framework of the current study, an open ended survey based scenario of higher education students was conducted with the students’ social, cognitive, affective and moral developments. In line with this purpose, the following situations of the higher education system were addressed based on the higher education students’ viewpoint: The views of higher education students’ regarding values that are tried to be gained at the higher education system; The higher education students’ suggestions regarding values education at the higher education system; The views of the higher education students’ regarding values that are imposed at the higher education system. In this study, descriptive qualitative research method was used. The study group of the research is composed of 20 higher education postgraduate students at Curriculum and Instruction Department of Educational Sciences at Anadolu University. An open-ended survey was applied for the purpose of collecting qualitative data. As a result of the study, value preferences, value judgments and value systems of the higher education students were constructed on prioritizes based on social, cultural and economic backgrounds and statues. Multi-dimensional process of value education in higher education need to be constructed on higher education-community-cultural background cooperation. Thus, the act of judgement upon values between higher education students based on the survey seems to be inherent in the system of education itself. The present study highlights the students’ value priorities and importance of values in higher education. If the purpose of the higher education system gains on values, it is possible to enable society to promote humanity.

Keywords: higher education, value, values education, values in higher education

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Authors: Shih-Tsung Chen, Yenchin Hsiao

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Evergreen Lily is a newly-built school after Morakot Typhoon took place. The school is located on Majia farm, which is surrounded by mountains. The fund in the construction of the school is solely sponsored by Chang Yung-Fa Foundation. There are 483 permanent houses near the school belonging to three tribes, Dashe, Majia, and Haocha. Due to the most ancient heritages of Paiwan and Rukai in these three tribes, the school is full of cultural atmosphere. From modern and traditional perspectives, Evergreen Lily strives to establish and develop a long-lasting educational model to meet the expectation of the tribes, parents, and the public. This study is a case study of how to develop indigenous education in newly established schools after the Morakot Hurricane disaster to meet the concept of environmental education. The systematic curriculum construction of education and cultural integration and the systematic practice of curriculum practice will be discussed, and the concept and practice of tribal education curriculum and sustainable environmental education will be understood. This study found that this school integrates the spirit of natural philosophy, democratic education, ethnic and experimental education, and constructs a knowledge system that includes three levels of spiritual culture, institutional culture, and material culture, as well as six dimensions of life philosophy, natural ecology, organizational system, tribal literature and history, song and dance, and technical and artistic methods. Adhering to the concept of harmonious education and the sustainable common good, the development of school-based tribal academic courses accounts for about one-third of the total number of teaching sessions, and there are different cultural themes in grades one to six, and there are clear teaching modules to effectively enhance students' potential inspiration. The complete curriculum implementation model can be described as a model for the development of indigenous schools to sustainable environmental education.

Keywords: environmental education, indigenous education, sustainable development, school-based curriculum

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Authors: Aziz Zulazmi Samsudin, Siti Norhedayah Abdul Latif

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The lack of normalization of mental health as a conversational topic is becoming increasingly evident in certain cultures. The fact that students underutilize mental health services in schools can be attributed to the presence of various barriers that impede their willingness to seek for help. Stigma surrounding mental health services continue to be the most prevalent barrier for help seeking behavior. Alternative barriers have emerged that are both personal and public in nature that can have a substantial impact on students’ preference to seek for help in schools. A sequential explanatory study was carried out among 256 Muslim students in a school with dual education system in exploring both their Self-Stigma of Seeking Help (SSOSH) and Mental Health Help-Seeking Attitude (MHSA). In addition, 12 students were interviewed in a focus group setting to explore further the phenomena of help seeking approach by students to understand the initial quantitative analysis. Preliminary findings indicated that the students’ level of self-stigma was only moderate, but they had a favorable attitude towards counselling help. There was no significant difference on gender for both variables; however, the lower the self-stigma, the higher the mental help-seeking attitude for this current study, which is a common trend of relationship between the two variables. The interview revealed that, apart from public stigma, the absence of a qualified counsellor, a lack of ethical principles of counselling, a confidentiality issue, and the emotional openness of the students were identified as other barriers to their help-seeking attitudes. This paper also discussed the recommendation made by students in addressing barriers to counselling and facilitating their counselling needs for the improvement of students' mental and academic well-being. Additionally, this research offers the most recent data about mental health in the context of schools with a dual education system in Brunei Darussalam. It is hoped to serve as a guide for policy makers to consider the provision of mental health services that is more appealing to the students’ mental and academic well-being.

Keywords: mental health help-seeking attitude (MHSA), public stigma, school counselling, self-stigma, self-stigma of seeking help (SSOSH), well-being.

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Authors: Amenawo I. Offiong, Hodo B. Riman

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Public debt profile of Nigeria has continuously been on the increase over the years. The drop in international crude oil prices has further worsened revenue position of the country, thus, necessitating further acquisition of public debt to bridge the gap in revenue deficit. Yet, when we look back at the increasing public sector spending, there are concerns that the government spending do not amount to increase in public goods provided for the country. Using data from 1980 to 2014 the study therefore seeks to investigate the factors responsible for the poor provision of public goods in the face of increasing public debt profile. Using the unrestricted VAR model Governance and Tax revenue were introduced into the model as structural variables. The result suggested that governance and tax revenue were structural determinants of the effectiveness of public goods provisioning in Nigeria. The study therefore identified weak governance as the major reason for the non-provision of public goods in Nigeria. While tax revenue exerted positive influence on the provisions of public goods, weak/poor governance was observed to crowd the benefits from increase tax revenue. The study therefore recommends reappraisal of the governance system in Nigeria. Elected officers in governance should be more transparent and accountable to the electorates they represent. Furthermore, the study advocates for an annual auditing of all government MDAs accounts by external auditors to ensure (a) accountability of public debts utilization, (b) transparent in implementation of program support funds, (c) integrity of agencies responsible for program management, and (d) measuring program effectiveness with amount of funds expended.

Keywords: impulse response function, public debt shocks, governance, public goods, tax revenue, vector auto-regression

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Authors: Corlia van der Walt, Michele K. Havenga

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The study considers corporate governance regulation and practice in South African higher education institutions and makes recommendations for the improvement of current governance practices in this sector. The development of corporate governance principles and practices in South Africa, culminating in the King IV Report on Corporate Governance which was launched in November 2016, is discussed. King IV enjoys international recognition as a progressive corporate governance instrument. It was necessitated by the fundamental changes in business and society nationally and globally, as well as by the significant changes to South African company law introduced by new legislation. Corporate governance and the corporate form are narrowly associated, but there is general recognition that the principles of ethical and effective leadership are not restricted to corporations. Thus King IV was drafted with the express aim that it should apply to all organisations, regardless of their form of incorporation, and the report includes specific sector supplements in support of this aspiration. The South African higher education sector has of late been under intense scrutiny, and a few universities have been placed under administration because of poor governance practices. Universities have also been severely impacted by the consequences of what is generally known as ‘#FeesmustFall’, a student led protest movement initially aimed against the increase of fees at public universities, but which rapidly expanded to also include other concerns. It was clearly necessary to revisit corporate governance policy and practice in the sector. The review of the current higher education governance regime in light of the King IV recommendations, lessons from company law regarding the entrenchment and enforcement of corporate governance principles, and a comparison of higher education governance practices in selected other jurisdictions led to recommendations for the improvement of governance practices in South African higher education. It is further suggested that a sector supplement for higher education institutions may provide additional clarity. Some of the recommendations may be of comparative value for international higher education governance.

Keywords: committees, corporate governance, ethical leadership, higher education institutions, integrated reporting, King IV, sector supplements, sustainability

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Authors: Tasneem Alfalah, Salsabeel Alfalah, Jannat Alfalah

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The quality of higher education as a service is fundamental to a country’s development because universities prepare the professionals who will work as managers in companies and manage public and private resources and care for the health and education of new generations. Knowledge sharing involves the interaction of all activities between individuals. Thus, the higher education institutions are aiming to improve and assist their academics in generating new ideas by encouraging them to work as a team, to simplify the exchange of the new knowledge and to further improve the learning process and achieving institutional aims. Moreover, the sources of competitive advantage in universities derive from intellectual capital and innovations in which innovation comes through knowledge sharing. Using quality tools is to define the exact requirements needed to create the concept of knowledge sharing and what are the barriers to achieve this in universities. The purpose of this research is critically evaluating the role of using quality tools to facilitate the concept of knowledge sharing and improve the academic staff level in the Jordanian universities.

Keywords: higher education, knowledge sharing, quality, management tools

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