scholarly journals Practices of poverty alleviation by open and distance education: a case report from the Open University of China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuanjin Ju ◽  
Songyan Hou ◽  
Dandan Shao ◽  
Zhijun Zhang ◽  
Zhangli Yu
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Open University ◽  
Learning Centers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Set Up

PurposeThe purpose of this report is to demonstrate open and distance education (ODE) can support poverty alleviation. Taking the practices of the Open University of China (the OUC) as an example, this paper aims to reveal how open universities make contributions to local residents in rural and remote areas.Design/methodology/approachFocusing on 25 poverty-stricken counties, the OUC had invested 58 million RMB to its learning centers in these counties from 2017 to 2020. The first one is to improve ICT and educational facilities in these learning centers. The second approach is to cultivate local residents with degree programs through ODE so as to promote local economic development. The third one is to design and develop training programs according to local context to meet the specific needs of local villagers.FindingsAfter 3 years working, cloud-based classrooms and computer rooms have been set up. Bookstores have been founded and printed books have been donated. Hundreds of thousands of digital micro lectures have been supplied to these learning centers which have been improved and fully played their functions. Nearly 50,000 local residents have been directly benefited. Village leaders have helped lift local residents out of poverty. Poverty-stricken villagers have been financed to study on either undergraduate or diploma programs. Local residents have improved their skills by learning with the training programs offered by the OUC.Originality/valueODE is proved to be an effective way to eradicate poverty. Open universities are proved to be able to make contributions to social justice. By fulfilling its commitments to eliminate poverty within the national strategy framework, the OUC has built its brand nationwide.

Wilderness tourism – alleviating poverty through empowering local people

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Ajagunna ◽  
Fritz Pinnock ◽  
Robert Kerr
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Community Development ◽  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Qualitative Research Methodology ◽  
Local Residents

Purpose – This paper aims to examine how “wilderness tourism” is being successfully used to promote tourism development in the economically depressed community of Bangor Ridge in Jamaica. Through this promotion, its sponsor, Sun Venture Tours, has been able to create employment for local residents and in so doing, contribute to community development and poverty alleviation. The company has also been able to demonstrate that local entrepreneurs have the capacity to address issues in their communities with little or no reliance on government. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a qualitative research methodology using both primary and secondary data. The study focuses specifically on Bangor Ridge in Jamaica with Costa Rica and Belize used as comparators. Findings – This paper concludes that the exclusion of heritage assets from the government's development strategies for tourism in Jamaica has resulted in economic and social stagnation and a decline in economic opportunities for rural communities on the island where unemployment and poverty are rife. It argues that there is a strong case for consultation among all stakeholders as to the value of the country's natural assets and the future of tourism in Jamaica. The paper observes that tourism cannot be sustained unless Jamaica's natural assets are preserved and carefully utilized. Originality/value – This paper explores topical issues and provides a case study that clearly illustrates how government could redirect its interest in terms of support to local communities whose assets form the basis for tourism products on the island.

Urban icons and city branding development

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Rey Castillo-Villar
Keyword(s):  
Local Context ◽  
City Branding ◽  
Local Identity ◽  
Visual Aids ◽  
Content Type ◽  
City Brand ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Positive Experiences ◽  
The City ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how future urban icons can effectively contribute to the development of an authentic city brand linked to local identity. Urban icons have been one of the main tools of city branding to promote a unique and distinctive image of the city. However, the rising of the globalization reflects a series of strong dilemmas regarding the contemporary urban icons because these have been reproduced in a standardized way around the world without any connection to the local context. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory study consisted of 30 in-depth interviews with visual aids of urban icons conducted with local residents of the city of Monterrey, Mexico. Findings The results demonstrate that the acceptance of a contemporary urban icon by local residents depends on their relationship with the most representative aspects of the local identity and their ability to generate positive experiences. The outcomes of the research suggest that future urban icons should favor the local identity and the free coexistence between local residents over the attractive visual design and the private space. Originality/value The article discusses the dynamics between urban icons and the city brand from a new theoretical approach supported by empirical evidence. The novelty of this approach consists of the vision of the urban icon as an element capable of linking the city brand with the values and ideals of local residents.

scholarly journals Rethinking the rationale of open and distance education: a case of the UK Open University

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanmo Jeong
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Open University ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Physical Constraints ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Online Tutorials ◽  
Original Objective ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe how the introduction of new technologies has affected student support at the United Kingdom Open University (UKOU) particularly focusing on face-to-face tutorials and online tutorials, what this impact implies for open universities and in what direction the innovations toward the sustainability of open universities should proceed. Design/methodology/approach Research on the historical development of UKOU and a literature review was conducted. Findings The rationale behind the foundation of UKOU has been to provide higher education to those who have time and physical constraints. There is no doubt that the introduction of advanced technologies has played a significant role in the growth of the university. However, when the university attempted to replace face-to-face tutorials with online tutorials on the basis of its purpose, a number of students and faculty members opposed the decision even though online tutorials fit within its original objective. This paper suggests that face-to-face tutorials have become the essence of the university through the process of identifying the university in the past and the university’s identity may need to be distinguished from the rationale. Originality/value This paper emphasizes the necessity of rethinking the Open and Distance Education rationale and, on the basis of past studies on UKOU, offers a unique perspective about the changes that have taken place at the university.

A rethink of the incentives programme in the conservation of South Korea’s historic villages

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-201
Author(s):  
Indera Syahrul Mat Radzuan ◽  
Song Inho ◽  
Yahaya Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Heritage Tourism ◽  
Heritage Conservation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Needs ◽  
Cultural Heritage Conservation ◽  
Local Residents

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the overarching question, which was whether the incentives programmes formulated for the community have been found to be suitable to the aspirations and needs of the local residents. Design/methodology/approach – This study has resulted from the authors’ experience through conducting a survey with the local residents in three locations, namely the Bukchon Hanok Village located at Seoul metropolitan city; the Hahoe Village, Angdong and the Yangdong Village, Gyeongju; both the latter are located towards the west of the Korean peninsula in the Gyeongbuk-do Province. This study has hopefully tried to analyse the residents’ perception of the effectiveness of the current incentives policy by using the Bennett’s programme evaluation method. Findings – Results show that there was a divergent direction between the current incentives policy and the local aspirations between sites. In most cases, the cultural heritage conservation has been found to be a catalyst to fulfil a heritage tourism advantage rather than to cater to the local community needs. Originality/value – The paper is the first insightful study of the historic villages which attempts to draw out the importance of the effectiveness of the incentives programme in guiding the conservation efforts for the local economic development.

scholarly journals Sustainable Streetscape and Built Environment Designs around BRT Stations: A Stated Choice Experiment Using 3D Visualizations

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6594
Author(s):  
Ahmad Adeel ◽  
Bruno Notteboom ◽  
Ansar Yasar ◽  
Kris Scheerlinck ◽  
Jeroen Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Mass Transit ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Transit Oriented Development ◽  
Commercial Building ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Housing Projects ◽  
The Road ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Set Up

The incompatibility between the microscale-built environment designs around mass transit stations and stakeholders’ preferences causes dissatisfaction and inconvenience. The lack of a pedestrian-friendly environment, uncontrolled development patterns, traffic and parking issues make the street life vulnerable and unattractive for users, and affect the mass transit usage. How to design the streetscapes around mass transit stations to provide a user-friendly street environment is a crucial question to achieve sustainable transit-oriented development goals. To recognize the specific attributes of streetscape environment relevant in local context of BRT Lahore, this paper presents the results of a visual preference experiment in which nine attributes of built environment were systematically varied across choice sets. Multinomial logit models were set up to identify the preferences of three target groups: BRT users, commercial building users and residents at different locations. The research indicates that not only the road-related factors (bike lane and sidewalk widths, crossings facilities, street greenery) have a significant influence on people’s preference but also that building heights, and the typology of buildings and housing projects around BRT corridor have shaped these preferences. When planning and designing urban design projects around mass transit projects, these significant attributes should be considered.

Gated communities in Ankara: are they a tool of social segregation?

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 687-702
Author(s):  
Leyla Alkan-Gökler
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Gated Communities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive View ◽  
Social Segregation ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Gated communities, surrounded by walls or fences, have emerged as a new trend in almost all cities in Turkey, and are homogenous in terms of the socioeconomic status of their occupants. Within these communities, several facilities and services are provided that are available only to the residents, with restrictions on access from the outside, and this has led to criticisms of social segregation. This study aims to analyze the impact of these communities on social segregation in Ankara, through two different surveys aimed at investigating the attitudes of the residents of local neighborhoods and gated communities toward each other. Design/methodology/approach This paper analyzes how the process of gating has affected social segregation in Ankara through two separate surveys: with the residents of gated communities and with the residents of local neighborhoods around these gated communities. Findings The study revealed that the residents of gated communities tended to have a positive view of the residents of local neighborhoods. In contrast, the responses of the local residents show evidence of feelings of social segregation, based on the presence of the high walls, fences and guards that are in place to keep them out of the community. Originality/value This study shows that, although segregation from the rest of the society is not the main reason for gating, the emergence of gated communities in Ankara leads inevitably to a socially and economically segregated city in which local residents feel excluded from these gated areas.

A look at the Open University Library

1997 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 369-371 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Open University ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Electronic Library ◽  
University Library

Nicky Whitsed is Director of Library Services at the Open University's Jennie Lee Library. The Open University is one of the world's largest suppliers of distance education; it has a student body of over 150 000, the vast majority of whom are not located on campus. The library is at the centre of developing electronic library services to meet the needs of the student body, and so the first question had to be:

Washington will engage more with South-east Asia

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
East Asia ◽  
The United States ◽  
South East Asia ◽  
National Unity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Set Up

Significance She addressed two key issues during her trip: tensions in post-coup Myanmar and China’s growing regional footprint. Shortly after she left the region, the United States announced that it would donate unused COVID-19 vaccines abroad, including to South-east Asia. Impacts Washington will tighten its sanctions on the Myanmar military while supporting ASEAN’s five-point plan to ease the country’s crisis. The National Unity Government, a parallel administration to Myanmar’s junta set up by its opponents, will try to attract greater US backing. Manila and Washington may extend negotiations over renewing their Visiting Forces Agreement to prevent the pact expiring in August.

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