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The purpose of this paper is to show that the microfinance industry practices can benefit from the culture and spiritual traditions of a country.

The authors use the Bhagavad Gita and the codes of Manu and Kautilya to describe the background of Hindu teaching and practical wisdom. The authors use a case study of a Hindu microfinance institution (MFI).

The authors find that Indian spirituality is a case-based application of learning through experience.

The case used in this study is one of a religious organization led MFI. It would be interesting to have follow up case studies of for-profit organizations and study their philosophy and links to spiritual traditions.

The authors find that business in general, and MFIs in particular, should adopt risk-based pricing. The specificities of each product, its delivery and price should be based on continuous learning from experience of helping customers. Thus a case-based approach to product development and pricing is required.

This paper is a response to the current criticism of microfinance and argues for more tolerance on the part of society and more sensitivity on the part of MFIs. The case study shows that with the right attitude, it is possible to balance societal interests, customer needs and the institution's growth.

This is the first paper on microfinance which looks at outsourcing from a spiritual viewpoint and launches a debate on whether “playing God” is useful.

Given Bali's prominence in Indonesia's hospitality industry, tourist hypermobility regarding food preferences following the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a source of contention. As such, this chapter will investigate extreme mobility by examining how ‘the flashpackers’ construct their nomadic lifestyles. This chapter focuses on the ‘freedom to eat’ in a variety of different types of restaurants throughout the destination – creating a pattern of hypermobility. Flashpacker's hypermobility data come from a network analysis of TripAdvisor reviews – with Bali (Indonesia) serving as the case study location. According to the analysis's findings, there are eight distinct preference groups for food and beverage products in Bali. It was discovered that at least five ‘star factors’ contributed to preferences across the eight groups, including (1) ratings, (2) popularity, (3) ownership, (4) social media and (5) price. In light of these factors, the chapter concludes that research into hypermobility in small island destinations is still in its infancy. It is critical to promote thorough research into the influence and impact of hypermobility on all facets of the tourism industry, including local communities and to demonstrate the industry's economic contribution.

In pre‐war Russia the canning industry would seem to have been limited to the preparation of canned meat—beef—for army purposes. The average annual output in round figures was 47,500 tons according to K. I. Rubinstein—who last year published a monograph on the canning industry as conducted in Russia—which is equivalent to about 120 millions of standard cans with a nett content of 400 grams each. The demands of the war caused this output to be raised to 150 million cans. Some of the then existing packing centres were at that time moved so as to be nearer to the supply of raw material. Thus new canning centres were opened at Rastov and Stavropol in substitution for some already existing at Petrograd, Moscow, and Kamenetz‐Podolsk.

The reflections in this chapter explore the genesis of tourism geography in the Netherlands and Belgium marked by political and linguistic constraints, plus historical, political, and cultural factors, as well as the footprints of some pioneers. The dual language use of French and Dutch/Flemish has often been offered as an excuse for the low profile of the region’s universities in international knowledge networks. However, thanks to the involvement in thematic networks and a growing pressure for researchers to publish internationally in peer-reviewed journals, the research landscape in tourism has definitely changed. Geographical and spatial approaches to tourism have led to a colorful research landscape today.

In both Norway and Sweden the law governing food hygiene is similar to that in Britain. Powers are vested in local authorities by one general Act couched in wide terms, and by more detailed regulations or byelaws drawn up as required. The degree of severity with which local authorities interpret the regulations varies, and in both countries the functions of central government in relation to food hygiene are mainly advisory. Outbreaks of food poisoning are rare. The various salmonella infections and the cattle diseases liable to infect food are well known, and the supervision in slaughterhouses and on farms is such that the organisms, if present, are identified. Salmonella out‐breaks due to infected imported dried eggs have also been traced. Yet such knowledge and careful supervision is common to other countries where notified outbreaks of food poisoning are comparatively numerous. Whether the relative absence of notified outbreaks in Norway and Sweden is entirely due to a higher standard of food hygiene, or to the prevailing custom of preparing food immediately before or even during a meal, is not clear. It is noticeable that in restaurants some time elapses between ordering a meal and receiving it, and that the food is always freshly prepared. In neither country are food handlers examined medically, except those in the milk trade, who are said to be examined every year. Some doubt exists about the value of this examination and the extent to which it is enforced, though in Stockholm enforcement would not be difficult as over 90 per cent of the milk supplied to that city is handled by one combine, controlled by the farmers' co‐operatives. In both countries all milk supplied in towns must be pasteurised, though bovine tuberculosis has been almost eliminated. Owing to a shortage of glass, milk is still sold “ loose ”, but it is hoped to introduce compulsory bottling in the near future. As the result of requests for more detailed instructions from Medical Officers of Health of small towns and country districts new regulations governing the sale of food have recently been drawn up. Restaurants, hotels and food shops must be licensed by local authorities; they are not licensed until they have been inspected and approved. The local authority can revoke a licence, but the proprietor of the establishment concerned has the right of appeal to the courts.

Highlights the need to improve organizational communication and training. Discusses the need for organizations to develop staff values and objectives before considering the role of communications in such a company.

As the center of the fourth industrial revolution, artificial intelligence (AI) has marked its presence in various disciplines including the education field in the form of AI-powered learning applications. The purpose of this study is to build a research model capturing the relationships among use contexts, user gratification, attitude, learning performance and continuous intention to use an AI-powered English learning application.

Using the use and gratification theory, use contexts and the belief-attitude-intention theory, this paper uses a quantitative approach based on a survey method for data collection and structural equation modeling for analysis. A total of 478 students from an international university in Guangdong, China, participated in the survey after using Liulishuo for two weeks.

The results showed that perceived use contexts affected all variables associated with gratifications-obtained and gratification-opportunities. With the exception of social integrativeness, all other gratification-based factors significantly affected attitude. The attitude in turn significantly influenced learning performance and continuous use intention.

Mobile AI-powered learning applications are at the center of research on technology-enhanced learning in the age of media and technology convergence. The study is timely and contributes to the discussion of the roles of use context and gratifications on technology users’ attitudes and behavioral intentions.

This paper sets out to describe a small case study which aimed to unravel the complexity of pupil participation in secondary schools.

A secondary school in the south of England was selected as the case. Four group interviews, one individual interview and collection of relevant Healthy School documents provided data from which to begin to understand the mechanism, context and outcome of pupil participation in the case school.

The paper attempts to illuminate the theoretical underpinning for pupil participation with comments made by staff and pupils from the case study school. The mechanisms of participation are discussed briefly; however, it is recognised that individual schools will select initiatives according to their preference. Tentative evidence of a positive outcome for pupils who participate in school decision making is revealed. By exploring the context, or conditions, under which involvement occurs possible strategies for effective pupil participation are elicited.

The paper offers a framework for effective pupil participation.

The paper attempts to go some way towards illuminating the theory and practice of effective pupil participation.