Search results

As online teaching/learning is a new phenomenon with reference to regular degree programs in institutions of higher education in India (the situation having being thrust upon both students and faculty due to COVID-19 pandemic), an exploratory-descriptive study was carried out to find out how public university students in India perceive online teaching/learning (OTL) during the present pandemic, the methods of OTL being used by faculty and the challenges being faced by the students.

Online interviews with 40 students of three public universities in Delhi/NCR were conducted using open-ended and close-ended questions. The questionnaire was emailed to 82 university students of Commerce and Management specialisation out of which 40 responded. We analysed each participants interview responses using content analysis technique and categorised the themes/factors that emerged under suitable headings using the coding method. The frequencies of the occurrence of the themes/factors were thus determined and documented, and percentages were calculated. The questionnaire also had Likert-scale questions as they are useful to measure latent constructs.

Inadequate bandwidth and poor network connectivity were found to be major hindrances during OT/L. The other challenges were unsuitable home environment for attending online classes, feeling of isolation and demotivation due to lack of face-to-face interaction and excessive screen-time causing fatigue. Active online methods such as live lectures by faculty and article/case study/discussions facilitated live by faculty were most preferred while the passive method of learning such as online certification courses through education portals such as Swayam/ Coursera/Udemy, etc were least preferred. The level of satisfaction from student–faculty interaction was more than that from student–student interaction.

The study covered three public universities in India and the sample size was small because of limitations created by COVID-19 pandemic situation as campuses were closed and it was not possible to meet students personally to get responses.

Universities should provide data cards or access to university computer labs to those students who are from economically weaker sections of society so that online teaching may be effective. This will also help students who live in very small houses and do not have a quiet corner to study online. Other solution would be to reduce online teaching duration. This issue needs the attention of educational institution leaders as most universities have scheduled classes from morning till evening, as it was during real classroom teaching. Eight hours of online classes every day may not be feasible when Internet access is a critical problem. Teachers should encourage interaction between students so that the feeling of isolation may be reduced and students may be motivated to learn and take more interest in virtual classes.

50% of the Indian population does not have access to the Internet, while a large section that does have, cannot afford the cost of high-speed data that is needed for long-duration online classes spanning over months. Those who can afford it, do not have the privacy to engage effectively in classes on video conferencing portals. Both students and teachers suffer due to poor audio and video quality caused by poor infrastructure. COVID-19 has brought to focus, the severe inequality in some societies. Societies need to take serious cognizance of this issue and take appropriate measures.

This study is very unique as the radical change from real classroom to online teaching in Indian public universities is a very unique phenomenon. The disruption was forced due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and students along with their teachers learned the process “on-the-job”. As the issues and challenges faced by students were unexplored, this study aims to contribute knowledge to this existing research gap.

There is a strong consensus among scholars that the international competitiveness of companies strongly depends on the support of institutions, which reduces uncertainty in transactions by giving form to economic interactions, while less attention was paid to the role of international standards within this context. This study intends to propose its contribution by deepening the role of process certifications in the competitiveness and internationalization strategies of companies, with specific reference to the wood-furniture sector.

Data were collected using a questionnaire survey distributed via computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI) methodology and sent to a sample of 2,845 Italian companies which operate in the wood-furniture industry, using simple random sampling. Thanks to the survey administration, 228 companies participated to the survey.

The study shows that it is companies operating in international markets that define this tool as relevant; this underlines how certification is seen as a kind of business card for entering international markets. In this context, the role of business leadership emerges as fundamental in the practical definition of the objectives to be set by adopting a quality management systems and in the subsequent commitment to obtain them.

Up to now, the literature has taken these elements into analysis mainly considering the consumers' perspective. In sectors with a higher content of innovation, technology and design, such as the wood-furniture sector, the literature appears to be poor in terms of contributions.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of distinct types of heating technology and their price impact in German residential real estate markets, considering a wide range of other housing market determinants. The authors aim to test and to verify specifically, whether the obsolescence of heating technology leads to a significant price discount and whether higher technological standards (and environmental friendliness) come with a price premium on the market.

The authors create housing market models for rental and sales segments by constructing generalized additive models with explicit multi-layered spatial components. To elaborate a profound and contemporary answer using these models, the authors perform large-sample regression analyses based on more than 400,000 observations covering German residential properties in 2015.

First and foremost, the heating system indeed shows significant explanatory importance for measuring housing rents and purchasing price. Second, the authors find that it makes a difference whether clean “green” technologies are implemented or whether “brown” systems with obsolete technology or fossil energy sources is on hand. Ultimately, the authors conclude that while low energy consumption indeed comes with a price premium, this needs to be interpreted together with the property’s heating type, as housing markets seem to outweigh the “green premium” by “brown discounts” if low energy consumption figures are powered by a certain type of heating technology system.

Aside of a possible omitted variable bias, the main research limitation is constituted by the integration of asking prices in the analysis, as actual transaction prices are not systematically transparent on national level in Germany. Limitations are discussed at the end of the paper.

This work supports investors who face the challenge of making environmental- and energy-related decisions as well as appraisers who deliver financial fundamentals for such. Third, the paper supports both asset managers as well as investment strategists in argumentation pro-environmental investments beyond all ecological necessity.

This paper contributes to the current discussion on climate change and the eclectic role of real estate in this context. The authors deliver evidence on pricing effects as a measure of socioeconomic acceptance of progressive heating technology and environmental friendliness as an imperative of twenty-first century societies.

This is the first study on “green premiums” or “brown discounts” that includes heating technology as a potential and distinct driver of value and rents. It is a contemporary contribution and delivers original information on the quantitative impact of contemporary and anachronistic technology in heating to researchers as well as investors and appraisers.