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1 – 10 of 820This paper aims to analyze the financial implications associated with Ugandan universities employing e-learning techniques and to suggest sound policy solutions to the problems…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the financial implications associated with Ugandan universities employing e-learning techniques and to suggest sound policy solutions to the problems the investigation found.
Design/methodology/approach
To illustrate how e-learning is used in Uganda, the study used a descriptive research design. The study used a quantitative methodology to highlight the various experiences associated with utilizing e-learning platforms from various universities. A questionnaire survey was distributed to university students, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in order to understand the usage of e-learning and Persons correlation to understand the degree of the relationship between the study variables.
Findings
The study findings reveal that e-learning approaches in universities are favorably correlated with their financial implications (r = 0.598; p-value 0.05). It was excruciatingly difficult to access online learning resources and platforms, and there was a severe lack of power. Some academic staff members lacked adequate e-learning platform training, and students noted that e-learning eased communication between students and lecturers, whereas Internet subscription and acquisition of mobile devices were expensive.
Research limitations/implications
The research was limited to three districts in western Uganda, and thus, it may not be possible to extrapolate the results to the entire nation.
Practical implications
Universities are open to these changes since the digital world is moving more quickly, overall, and this trend has crept into education as well. Policymakers and other universities may utilize the study's findings to inform their decisions.
Originality/value
The study offers useful insights into how e-learning systems have altered university teaching methods.
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Kinga Xénia Havadi Nagy and Ana Espinosa Segui
The purpose of this paper is to analyse community-based tourism (CBT) initiatives in the post-socialist rural Romania in terms of the holism of the tourist project and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse community-based tourism (CBT) initiatives in the post-socialist rural Romania in terms of the holism of the tourist project and the implementation of the local participation. The paper focusses on chances and challenges of CBT.
Design/methodology/approach
Once the main objective was established, three research interests arose: How and why tourism played a significant role in the economic and social development of the rural local community? How has the local community participated in the starting and maintenance of the CBT projects and who played a key part? How can the level of success of the CBT implementations be qualitatively measured? Qualitative methodologies (interviews, on-site observations, informal discussions) were applied to survey the four case studies.
Findings
Natural and cultural features ensure a versatile potential for touristic exploitation of the Romanian rural area, but the villages are endangered by post-socialist economic and social transformations. Innovative approaches of CBT in rural areas ignited by charismatic leaders with entrepreneurial spirit develop based on the existent social, natural and cultural capital, but on the other hand, endeavours can be vulnerable because of hindering local municipalities or sustainability issues.
Practical implications
The findings facilitate recommendations in favour of effective CBT ventures.
Originality/value
Learning about the contribution of CBT to a sustainable development of rural regions with no/little tradition of private entrepreneurship can contribute to the revitalization of rural areas facing post-socialist challenges.
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Colin Williams and Jan Windebank
The aim of this paper is to evaluate contrasting ways of tackling self-employment in the informal sector. Conventionally, the participation of the self-employed in the informal…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to evaluate contrasting ways of tackling self-employment in the informal sector. Conventionally, the participation of the self-employed in the informal sector has been viewed as a rational economic decision taken when the expected benefits outweigh the costs, and thus enforcement authorities have sought to change the benefit-to-cost ratio by increasing the punishments and chances of being caught. Recently, however, neo-institutional theory has viewed such endeavor as a product of a lack of vertical trust (in government) and horizontal trust (in others) and pursued trust-building strategies to nurture voluntary compliance.
Design/methodology/approach
To evaluate these contrasting policy approaches, data are reported from special Eurobarometer survey 92.1 conducted in 2019 across 28 European countries (the 27 member states of the European Union and the United Kingdom) involving over 27,565 interviews.
Findings
Using probit regression analysis, the finding is that the likelihood of participation in informal self-employment is not associated with the level of expected punishments and chances of being caught, but is significantly associated with the level of vertical and horizontal trust, with a greater likelihood of participation in informal self-employment when there is lower vertical and horizontal trust.
Practical implications
The outcome is a call for state authorities to shift away from the use of repressive policy measures that increase the penalties and chances of being caught and toward trust-building strategies to nurture voluntary compliance. How this can be achieved is explored.
Originality/value
Evidence is provided to justify a shift toward seeking trust-building strategies by state authorities to engender voluntary compliance among the self-employed operating in the informal sector in Europe.
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Blanca Suarez-Bilbao, Maike Andresen, Marian Crowley-Henry and Edward P. O'Connor
Externalities influence the career trajectories of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) and their respective career crafting. This study aims to explore the international career…
Abstract
Purpose
Externalities influence the career trajectories of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) and their respective career crafting. This study aims to explore the international career crafting of SIEs (encompassing their proactive career reflection and construction), taking the combined external influences of complexity, chance and change into consideration.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employ a qualitative (interpretative) approach, combining career crafting and the chaos theory of careers (CTC) to further understand, from an individual standpoint, the impact of externalities on the career crafting strategies of 24 SIEs who have relocated within the European Union.
Findings
The authors show that SIEs' proactively craft their careers to varying degrees and with varying frequency. The CTC – incorporating complexity, chance and change – allows for a more nuanced understanding of SIEs' career crafting.
Originality/value
This paper applies the concept of career crafting to an international context, exploring the impact of externalities on SIEs' careers. In this way, the authors combine two previously separate theories, extend the application of career crafting to an international career context and emphasise the role of temporality and the whole-life view of career in SIEs’ career crafting approach.
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Mrinmay Mandal and Nilanjana Das Chatterjee
Ecologically habitat is an area of a particular species wherefrom its play every relationship with the surrounding. Therefore, every species hold habitat that supports to survive…
Abstract
Purpose
Ecologically habitat is an area of a particular species wherefrom its play every relationship with the surrounding. Therefore, every species hold habitat that supports to survive its life. The large terrestrial herbivore animal elephant (Elephas maximus) requires deferent kind of habitat for their biological behaviour. Forest habitat one of the landscapes entire their home range is very much responsible for selecting suitable habitat. The nature of habitat selection by an elephant is deeply concerned with landscape attributes.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study started in this opinion. The study area Panchet Forest Division (PFD) has 28 forest patches are not in same size. Generally, forest patches are the most suitable habitat for elephant in every forest landscape as well as in PFD. But which forest patch will be highly suitable that depends on ecological function of other geospatial attributes like patch shape complexity, patch core, road intervention intensity, amount of water body and composition of the forest. The present study measures these attributes by different sequential steps such as field inquiry, satellite image processing and GIS application by using ERDAS 9.3 and ArcGIS 10.3 version software.
Findings
After measuring these attributes value, Habitat Suitability Index is assessed through combined weighted principle method and prepared a suitability map. This map signifies that Joypur-I and II, Upper Peardoba, Brindabanpur, Kalabagan forest patches have good condition for elephant to prefer as a suitable habitat in PFD.
Originality/value
Spatial classification of elephant habitat in PFD helps society and managing authority. It facilitates better management and reducing the chance of human – elephant frequent contact.
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Pilar Beneito and Óscar Vicente-Chirivella
The autonomous governments of two regions in Spain established mobile bans in schools as of the year 2015. Exploiting the across-region variation introduced by such a…
Abstract
Purpose
The autonomous governments of two regions in Spain established mobile bans in schools as of the year 2015. Exploiting the across-region variation introduced by such a quasi-natural experiment, this study aims to perform a comparative-case analysis to investigate the impact of this non-spending-based policy on regional Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores in maths and sciences and bullying incidence.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors apply the synthetic control method and diff-in-diff estimation to compare the treated regions with the rest of regions in Spain before and after the intervention.
Findings
The results show noticeable reductions of bullying incidence among teenagers in the two treated regions. The authors also find positive and significant effects of this policy on the PISA scores of the Galicia region that are equivalent to 0.6–0.8 years of learning in maths and around 0.72 to near one year of learning in sciences.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first empirical study analysing the impact of mobile phone bans in schools on bullying cases, exploiting variation across regions (or other units), years and age intervals. Besides, the scarce formal evidence that exists on the consequences of the mobile phones use in students’ academic achievement comes from a micro perspective, while the paper serves as one more piece of evidence from a macro perspective.
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Kanokwan Srisupornkornkool, Kanphajee Sornkaew, Kittithat Chatkanjanakool, Chayanit Ampairattana, Pariyanoot Pongtasom, Sompiya Somthavil, Onuma Boonyarom, Kornanong Yuenyongchaiwat and Khajonsak Pongpanit
To compare the electromyography (EMG) features during physical and imagined standing up in healthy young adults.
Abstract
Purpose
To compare the electromyography (EMG) features during physical and imagined standing up in healthy young adults.
Design/methodology/approach
Twenty-two participants (ages ranged from 20–29 years old) were recruited to participate in this study. Electrodes were attached to the rectus femoris, biceps femoris, tibialis anterior and the medial gastrocnemius muscles of both sides to monitor the EMG features during physical and imagined standing up. The %maximal voluntary contraction (%MVC), onset and duration were calculated.
Findings
The onset and duration of each muscle of both sides had no statistically significant differences between physical and imagined standing up (p > 0.05). The %MVC of all four muscles during physical standing up was statistically significantly higher than during imagined standing up (p < 0.05) on both sides. Moreover, the tibialis anterior muscle of both sides showed a statistically significant contraction before the other muscles (p < 0.05) during physical and imagined standing up.
Originality/value
Muscles can be activated during imagined movement, and the patterns of muscle activity during physical and imagined standing up were similar. Imagined movement may be used in rehabilitation as an alternative or additional technique combined with other techniques to enhance the STS skill.
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This study surveyed users and librarians who have been transforming libraries into a complex cultural space by reflecting the trends of the times, investigated and analyzed…
Abstract
Purpose
This study surveyed users and librarians who have been transforming libraries into a complex cultural space by reflecting the trends of the times, investigated and analyzed various status of complex cultural spaces, including perceptional differences among different groups and made an attempt to present a direction for the diversification of library's role.
Design/methodology/approach
This study analyzes the difference between the level of importance and the level of satisfaction for the operational style and use of complex cultural spaces, current status and use of programs and services of libraries as well as the perceptual difference between librarians and users. In order to do so, opinions were collected from librarians who operate complex cultural spaces and users who use the spaces.
Findings
First, the study compared to see if there is a difference between the preferred complex cultural space of libraries and the type of complex cultural space actually provided by libraries. Libraries do not only have data spaces but also made education space, performance space, exhibition space, rest space, community space and experience space available for users. Users were found to more frequently use exhibition space, performance space, rest space and education space among other spaces whereas the utilization rate of community space and experience space was identified to be significantly low. Second, this study also compared to see if there is a difference between users' preference for the type of programs operated by library's complex cultural spaces and the actual programs offered. The comparison of perceived differences between librarians who are the operators of the programs and users who participate in the programs is to compare and improve the consistency of supply and demand. As a result, it was found that the supply and demand for educational programs were most consistent, which would lead to higher participation rate and enhanced operational performance and satisfaction with libraries. Lastly, investigations were carried out to see whether there is a difference in the levels of importance and satisfaction for the operation of complex cultural spaces and perceptional difference between libraries and users. Comprehensively analyzing the results, in the first quadrant of “Keep the Good Work,” librarians showed a higher level of perception compared to users. In particular, librarians were found to have a different perception towards programs (contents) compared to users. Based on such results, a systematic program must be considered when planning for library programs in order to increase uses' satisfaction. In addition, in the second quadrant of “Concentrate Here,” with a high importance and low satisfaction, users showed a high level of importance for programs (contents) whereas libraries identified accessibility as a more important factor, indicating a big perceptional difference between users and librarians.
Research limitations/implications
This study examines the differences between the opinions of operators who create complex cultural spaces and operate programs in the spaces and the opinions of users who participate in the spaces and programs, and it was found that no other studies in Korea and overseas have done the same yet. In addition, it carries a significant meaning in that it does not only investigate the perceptions towards importance and satisfaction, but also suggests improvement directions based on the perceptional differences between users and librarians. In other words, librarians who implement policies at actual sites seem to be able to reflect the results of this study and decide the operation direction of the library.
Originality/value
Users also participate in various services and programs that library's complex cultural spaces offer and enjoy their cultural life. It carries a significant meaning in that the study evaluates the importance-satisfaction of factors affecting the use of complex cultural spaces of libraries by examining perceptions of those users who actually have the experience of using library's complex cultural spaces when the number of libraries attempting to transform into a multicultural space increases. The study made an attempt to enrich the knowledge and understanding of users' visit/use of libraries, suggest improvement directions and factors to focus. Continuous efforts and additional studies must be made in order to vitalize library's complex cultural spaces and secure the position of a cultural facility as well as a communication space located at the heart of regional society.
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This paper investigates the factors responsible for the emergence of different arrangements of state–society relations. Being concerned with the relations related to the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the factors responsible for the emergence of different arrangements of state–society relations. Being concerned with the relations related to the industrial sector, this study focuses more on state–business–labor relations (SBLRs), especially on power dynamics between the main actors in these relations, namely, the state, tycoons, entrepreneurs and labor.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on power dynamics, four SBLR modes are identified and differentiated according to state power vis-à-vis non-state actors and tycoon power vis-à-vis the other non-state actors. The balanced mode is characterized by balanced power relations among the four considered actors. In the capture mode, tycoons are more powerful than other actors, including the state, although other nonsocial actors have organizational rights. The crony mode has powerful state, subservient tycoons who enjoy high levels of favoritism and low organizational power for the other social actors. Finally, the state-dominance mode has powerful state, low levels of favoritism to tycoons and low organizational power for all social actors. The paper then explores the factors responsible for the emergence of each of these modes by investigating the factors’ effects on state power and favoritism to tycoons. The investigated factors include historical political–economic, geographical, legal and cultural factors. The hypothesized effects of these factors are then tested using a random-effects probit regression model, investigating how the different factors affect the probability of the existence of the studied SBLR modes.
Findings
The results support much of the hypothesized relations and place more emphasis on some of the investigated factors. Earlier development is clearly responsible for the emergence of either the balanced or the state-capture SBLR mode. Geographical conditions favorable for development, such as latitude and metal richness, also lead to the emergence of either mode. The communist heritage, and more accurately the post-communist economic and incomplete political liberalism of the transition stage, contributed to the emergence of the state-capture SBLR mode. The British legal system, with the power it provides to non-state actors through the independence of judges and other measures, contributes to the emergence of the balanced SBLR mode. Cultural factors are largely responsible for the emergence of the crony SBLR mode, especially hierarchical and collectivist cultures, as well as ethnic fractionalization. On the other hand, the culture of Confucians has the strongest influence on the emergence of state dominance, while other cultures play a marginal role in its rise, and ethnic fractionalization marginally defuses the ability of the state to dominate without resorting to favoritism. Finally, access to rich natural resources, by enriching the state independently from social actors’ financial resources (e.g. taxation), marginally increases the probability of the emergence of the state-dominance mode.
Research limitations/implications
There is room for path dependency to explain the emergence of different SBLR modes in many countries. Unfortunately, the introduced regression model and any quantitative empirical work would not be able to effectively investigate such a process. Instead, an approach depending on case studies and a deeper investigation of country-specific historical political development is needed to complement the research done here. Conducting such an additional quest would help in reaching a more comprehensive understanding of why different countries have different SBLR modes. This should ultimately help in answering an equally important question: How to reverse engineer the emergence of favorable SBLR modes?
Practical implications
Although this paper did not investigate the economic merits or mischiefs of each of the studied modes, it is plausible to think of the balanced SBLR as the best mode. This is supported not only by the fact that most of the countries of this mode are developed countries but also by the attractiveness of the power dynamics governing this mode—a more balanced power among different SBLR actors. While some factors are almost impossible to replicate, for example, geographical factors, reform could target the factors that could be changed or mitigated. This is true for legal reform, especially for fostering the independence of judges. Culture is often regarded as a sticky institution. However, this is not always true, even though the change happens in the long run. A sort of dynamism should always be considered when referring to culture through time and space. Institutional reform could be instrumental in the long run in this regard. Conducting such reform with the help of such “exogenous” institutions should always consider the match between these institutions and “endogenous” institutions, such as culture. That is to say, the connection between democratization, fostering accountability and curbing favoritism and cultural values leaning toward these principles should be firmly established. Finally, a point of optimism is that—based on the results of this paper—reaching a high state of development could increase the chances of realizing a more balanced SBLR mode in the long run.
Originality/value
This paper represents a novel contribution to a topic that has hardly been addressed in the literature. The methodology that is used identifies different state–society relation modes and focuses on power relations in SBLRs is another important contribution to the present literature in many fields, such as institutional economics, socioeconomics and political economy.
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