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This article focuses on the assessment of entrepreneurship competence by selected vocational teachers in Italy. The exploratory research question addresses the extent to which entrepreneurship assessments are competence based, and the research seeks to identify fully fledged assessment programmes with both a formative and summative component, and the use of assessment rubrics. It also explores the extent to which entrepreneurship competence is referred to in school documentation and later assessed, and the tools and strategies used for such assessment.

This case study is part of a larger European research project promoted by Cedefop; in Italy it focused on six selected vocational IVET and CVET programmes and apprenticeship schemes. It used a wide range of instruments to ensure triangulation and multiple perspectives: analysed policy documents and undertook online interviews with experts and policy makers. At VET providers' premises it deployed: analysis of school documents; observations of learning environments; interviews and focus groups with (in schools) teachers, directors and vice directors, learners and alumni (in companies) instructors, company tutors and employers, apprentices and alumni.

Assessment tasks were rarely embedded within fully fledged assessment programmes involving both formative and summative tasks, and assessment rubric for grading. Most of the time, entrepreneurship programmes lacked self-assessment, peer assessment and structured feedback and did not involve learners in the assessment process. Some instructors coached the students, but undertook no clear formative assessment. These findings suggest institutions have a testing culture with regard to assessment, at the level of both policy and practice. In most cases, entrepreneurship competence was not directly assessed, and learning outcomes were only loosely related to entrepreneurship.

One limitation concerned the selection of the VET providers: these were chosen not on a casual basis, but because they ran programmes that were relevant to the development of entrepreneurship competence.

At the policy level, there is a need for new guidelines on competence development and assessment in VET, guidelines that are more aligned with educational research on competence development. To ensure the development of entrepreneurship competence, educators need in-service training and a community of practice.

So far, the literature has concentrated on entrepreneurship education at the tertiary level. Little is known about how VET instructors assess entrepreneurship competence. This study updates the picture of policy and practice in Italy, illustrating how entrepreneurship competence is developed in selected IVET and CVET programmes and apprenticeships.

This research aims to explore stakeholder perspectives on Ethiopia’s occupational competency assessment and certification systems.

The study utilized a mixed-methods strategy within a concurrent embedded design and adopted a pragmatic perspective. Data collection involved questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussions, selecting respondents via purposive sampling for their significant experience and deep understanding of competency assessment. Analytical methods included descriptive and inferential statistics, as well as narrative techniques.

There is a generally positive perception of the value of competency assessments. However, the study finds several major limitations: inadequate candidate competency assessment, lack of skill gap analysis in TVET institutions for improved training, failure to maintain assessment standards, a high candidate-to-assessor ratio, and assessment tools that do not meet occupational standards. These issues show that the existing method misjudges TVET candidates' skills. To increase employer acceptance of competency assessments, the Center of Competence (CoC) agencies should integrate industry expertise, highlight their benefits, and emphasize the importance of training quality and career goals for candidates and trainers.

A study reveals that African nations like Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda, Morocco, Benin, and Senegal have been implementing competency-based training (CBT) for around two decades, with support from countries like Canada, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Luxembourg, and Japan. However, the programs are often inconsistent and disorganized, with little private sector participation. There is a significant difference between the goals of quality assurance entities and the resources allocated. Although competency assessment is a fundamental part of CBT, there is a lack of research demonstrating its practice. Therefore, we conducted this research in Ethiopia, the second most densely populated nation in Africa. The results apply to other comparable nations implementing CBT programs (IIEP-UNESCO, 2021).

The research on stakeholders' perceptions of competency assessment is still in its early stages, with most studies focusing on training quality-related issues. This study expands on our knowledge of occupational competency assessment by analyzing perspectives from a comprehensive stakeholder perspective, considering contextualized assessment practices, addressing stakeholder needs, providing practical implications, and identifying future research directions. Furthermore, it offers valuable perspectives on developing competency-based education in Africa and other regions.

Compliance risk management in the banking sector is crucial because of its multifaceted nature and its potential repercussions on reputation and financial stability. This study aims to present a systematic approach to mapping compliance risks, leveraging the risk self-control assessment (RSCA) method. Integrating quantitative and qualitative assessment techniques and drawing on human expertise and industry best practices.

The authors followed a methodology that involves conducting semistructured interviews with banking compliance professionals and analyzing professional frameworks to gather pertinent information. This comprehensive approach allows to obtain a holistic view of the risks involved and to refine the risk analysis process.

A step-by-step guide to map compliance risk within banks is proposed. The authors offer a rigorous process to enhance compliance risk management practices within the banking sector, providing actionable insights to effectively navigate regulatory complexities and safeguard financial stability.

The insights from this paper will guide compliance officers and risk managers to better assess and monitor compliance risk within their organizations.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this may be the first thorough paper that tackles the topic of mapping compliance risk in banks, from identifying areas of risk to corrective measures after drawing up the risk map, using the RSCA approach.

The study aims to investigate the characteristics of the current situation of library programs and explore the possible reasons behind the low participation in Hong Kong. It focuses on the development of library programs in the era of digital technology, which can lead to discussion and reflections on the further development of library programs with innovative technology services.

This study applied a mixed-method research approach to investigate the current situation of library programming and the reasons for low participation in Hong Kong. The first part analyzes the characteristics of library programs offered by the Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) through data collection from the HKPL website. The second part of this study investigated the reasons behind the low participation in library programs through quantitative research through an online survey.

The findings show that current library programs were dominated by reading activities and children's programs to a great extent, which both users and non-users are not very interested in. Further, most respondents expressed more interest in cultural and leisure events and hands-on activities (especially new technologies related) than traditional library programming. Many lapsed and non-users chose not to attend the library programs for boredom and uselessness. As a result, there is a need for HKPL to adjust its services to stay relevant to the needs and interests of local communities.

Scant studies explored the reasons behind non-users of public library programs, especially in Asia. This research contributes to the literature by analyzing and proposing the characteristics of the current situation of library programs and exploring the possible reasons behind the low participation in Hong Kong.

Since the last decade, debates regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of the forms of transfer, i.e. in the form of in-kind or cash transfers, have been gaining momentum. This paper aims to explore the preferences revealed by the beneficiaries, the role of contextual conditions in moulding these preferences, factors associated with the transfer scheme that defines the preferences and the rationale behind such responses.

The study conducted involves primary data collected from an Indian state, Odisha. 308 beneficiaries of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) were interviewed concerning specific objectives in a rural district (Mayurbhanj) and another highly urbanised district (Khordha).

The comparative results show that the strength of the contextual conditions significantly influences the preferences of the beneficiaries in the rural district as compared to the effect on the beneficiaries of the urban district. Education seems to have an insignificant impact in rural areas. However, income and standard of living have positive significant effects on shaping the preferences for cash or in-kind transfers.

Examining the strength of the contextual conditions and emphasising beneficiaries' perspectives would stimulate a better understanding of the implementation of the proposed quasi-Universal Basic Income. The study would hence, be instrumental in dealing with the transition towards cash transfers in the Indian context where the co-responsibility of both stakeholders, the government and the beneficiaries, should be given equal weightage.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-03-2023-0158

The main objective of the study was to compare Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) norms with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, so as to establish whether BRSR norms match the global standards and best practices or not. Additionally, an effort was made to ascertain and highlight areas where BRSR norms are more comprehensive, just match, or require further refinement to be at par with the GRI standards. The study highlights the similarities and dissimilarities between the internationally accepted GRI standards and the BRSR framework; thereby suggesting areas of improvement for the BRSR framework.

Scrutinised all the 36 standards of the Global reporting initiative and BRSR format and guidelines of the Securities Exchange Board of India. The Content Analysis Technique was used to ascertain the percentages of similarities between the two frameworks.

The content analysis found that there are 52.30% similarities between BRSR norms and GRI standards. Further, this study shows the factors that led to the dissimilarities between BRSR and GRI standards. This study found 18 areas where BRSR is more informative than GRI, and 7 areas where BRSR could be further refined.

This study contributes to research in the sustainability reporting framework to be adopted by Indian listed companies. There are a few Indian listed companies who are already reporting as per the GRI framework and might perceive the BRSR as a separate reporting altogether. But as found in this study, more than half of the BRSR framework is similar to the GRI framework; thus, half the work is almost done. As such this study helps Indian firms in developing an understanding of the BRSR and puts in perspective its standing among global sustainability reporting standards. This study shall help institutional investors, rating agencies, and external assurers to better visualize an Indian entity, by referring to its Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting.

Researchers piloted a problem-based learning (PBL) activity in a master’s degree-granting strategic studies program to explore how students apply knowledge and skills learned from the curriculum to their formulation of a strategy addressing a real-world global security scenario.

This mixed-methods pilot study used ethnographic observation, participant feedback, document analysis and surveys to assess the learning and engagement of multinational postgraduate students in the context of a PBL environment.

Findings revealed gaps in students’ causal logic and literacy, as well as student discomfort with ambiguity and reliance upon heuristic frameworks over willingness to conduct substantive, current and relevant research. Additionally, observed group dynamics represented a lack of inclusive collaboration in mixed gender and multinational teams. These findings suggest foundational issues with the curriculum, teaching methodologies and evaluation practices of the studied institution.

This study highlights the need to include explicit instruction in problem-solving and causal literacy (i.e. logical reasoning) in postgraduate programs for national and global security professionals, as well as authentic opportunities for those students to practice interpersonal communication.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of design for lean six sigma (DFLSS) on operational functions of the innovation management model by appraising an innovation management assessment framework.

An empirical approach for evaluating causal relationships among various constructs in the model phases that identify optimum pathways in achieving commercial success was adopted. A quantitative analysis of survey data were collected from large, medium and small organiations, including incubators in ANZ (Australia, New Zealand) and TMSV (Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam).

The structural equation modelling recursive path analysis results of the model provide empirical evidence and pathways through the various constructs considered in the model. All these pathways lead to delivering optimum commercialization success (CS). Furthermore, DFLSS is confirmed as an enabler and has direct one-to-one and indirect influence on all the operational function constructs of the model including commercial success.

This study had a relatively small sample size of completed responses obtained from the population and a constrained ability to compare commercialization success (CS) between the two regions in the dataset. Future studies could be conducted on a global scale to increase responses.

The research findings enabled the development of important and practical guidelines for managers and innovation practitioners engaged in planning and management of innovation.

This research offers a holistic approach for integrating DFLSS with stage gate phases of innovation management assessment framework, supported by empirical evidence, to aid organizations in effectively managing the innovation process and achieving greater success in commercialization.