Stakeholders’ perception of sustainability orientation within a major Romanian University

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 533-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan-Cristian Dabija ◽  
Cătălin Postelnicu ◽  
Vasile Dinu ◽  
Alin Mihăilă
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
The Government ◽  
The University ◽  
The Way

Purpose The research attempts to aim to evaluate the perception that different stakeholder groups have of one of the largest and most important Romanian university with respect to its sustainability orientation. The exploratory empirical research reveals some important aspects which must be closely pursued and properly implemented by the management of the university to further develop sustainability strategies. The paper offers a novel approach regarding the way a university can and must focus on different specific measures on sustainability to gain a better position on the educational market, to attract new students and lifelong learning (LLL) programme participants, as well as to become a trend setter for defining and transferring good practices within the society. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected by questionnaires and in-depth-interview guides which were distributed to different stakeholder groups: bachelor (undergraduate) and master’s students versus LLL programme participants coming from different high schools across the country enrolled on a training course organized by the university and high school principals versus staff members of the university holding coordination and/or management positions. The collected data were then analyzed by means of econometric analysis. Data validity, reliability and internal consistency were checked (Cronbach’s α coefficient, “item-to-total” correlation, the KMO criterion (>0.7) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity). With the help of exploratory factor analysis, the way in which different stakeholders value and perceive the specific measures and efforts undertaken by the university has been extracted. Findings Students, LLL participants and members of the university staff perceived the university’s positive orientation towards sustainability and the measures taken in this respect. All stakeholders expressed highly favourable opinions of the university’s dealings with different sustainability aspects, such as its attitude towards its employees, its performance within the higher education market and its establishment of an attractive and innovative educational programme, in compliance with sustainability principles, environmental protection and modern attitudes towards society. Research limitations/implications The research has been conducted on a sample of students of bachelor and master level, belonging to the biggest faculty of the university (as to number of students and staff). In a more comprising study, the focus should also be on bachelor, master and PhD students of the other faculties of the university, as well as on citizens of the community or in general on people from Transylvania and/or Romania. The university under investigation is one of the most important employers of the region. Further dimensions of sustainable development could also be pursued in a future study. Social implications The university shows an orientation towards civil society by means of specific actions and programs. The university supports and takes part in the organization of cultural and artistic events in cooperation with local authorities and other cultural and/or social institutions and organizations. Respondents also refer to some examples of best practices that might be applied by education institutions to educate young people towards developing a proper sustainable mentality. Originality/value There exist almost no comparative empirical studies of sustainability on Romanian universities that take account of the perspectives of students, LLL participants and staff members. The findings have a high potential in developing a proper strategy for the university involved but could also be used by the government if designing a national wide policy regarding this issue. Different authors argue that young people are more conscious about sustainability, organic stuff, environmental protection, green marketing, etc. Taking into consideration the sensitivity of young peoples (students, staff members, etc.), as well as the fact that the university establishes social trends, the idea of studying sustainability in a university could be regarded as a novelty approach.

Managing graduate unemployment: the case of education students in Cyprus

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-178
Author(s):  
Maria Eliophotou Menon ◽  
Anastasia Athanasoula-Reppa
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Young People ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Graduate Unemployment ◽  
The University ◽  
The Way

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the problems faced by unemployed and underemployed graduate students in a small European country. It focusses on the way young people adjust to unemployment and underemployment and on the specific strategies they use to enhance their employability. Various aspects of these strategies as they relate to student decision making and analysis are discussed. The role of new skills and competencies in managing graduate unemployment is examined. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative research was conducted with 15 graduate students of the Education Department of the University of Cyprus. In-depth interviews and focus-group interviews were used to collect data. Findings The results indicate that the main strategy used by respondents in order to enhance their prospects of employment is the acquisition of additional skills and competencies. A secondary strategy is the pursuit of employment opportunities abroad. Student decisions and perspectives appear to be optimistic, partially rational, placed within a short-term horizon and influenced by the belief in the investment value of education. Research limitations/implications The findings are qualitative and cannot be considered to be representative of the population. However, they allow an in-depth analysis of the way a group of students experiences and manages unemployment and underemployment. Originality/value The way young people deal with unemployment and underemployment has not been investigated in many studies, especially in relation to the degree to which graduates formulate specific strategies in order to manage the transition from the university to the world of work. Students’ and graduates’ perceptions regarding the association between skills and employment can provide the basis for more informed planning and policy making in higher education.

Guatemala’s economy on the way to recovery

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Violent Crime ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Containment Measures ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Way

Significance National GDP nevertheless contracted by just 1.5% in 2020 -- less than almost any other country in Latin America. Resilient remittances and exports, coupled with unprecedented policy support, have mitigated the effects of the pandemic and subsequent containment measures, leaving the country better placed for recovery than its neighbours. Impacts Enduring poverty, inequality and violent crime, and the impacts of accelerating climate change, will drive further migration from Guatemala. The government will pursue banking law reforms, to reduce risks to financial activities in the post-pandemic business environment. Infighting and corruption scandals will hinder the opposition's ability to benefit from the decline of the president's popularity.

No Harm Done – dispelling myths, giving hope and practical help for young people, parents and professionals affected by self-harm

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 134-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Bush
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Parent Engagement ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Advice ◽  
Short Films ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
The Way

Purpose The No Harm Done films provide hope and give support to those affected by self-harm. The accompanying digital packs dispel myths, answer frequently asked questions, provide practical advice and signpost to further help and support. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach YoungMinds employed its sector-leading expertise in youth and parent engagement. Both the films and digital packs were co-created with young people, parents and professionals, reflecting their real-life experiences of self-harm. Findings The project responded to young people who self-harm telling us they feel isolated, alone, in need of hope and help to counteract the negative and frightening messages widely available online. Parents confided they also feel isolated and that it is their fault their child is harming themselves. Teachers told us they see the signs but cannot bring themselves to say anything, and even if they want to, they cannot find the words to reach out to young people. Originality/value Quote from a professional “I personally found the No Harm Done short films to be incredibly valuable resources for my practice with young people. The way the films have been produced will make it a lot harder for young people that I work with to judge the action of self-harm given that there are no graphic harming words/stories and the films themselves do not come across as triggering. I feel enthusiastic that these films will encourage understanding and empathy from peers and spark conversation enabling those who have no knowledge around self-harm to be more accepting, open and supportive of those who have issues with self-harm.”

Wayfinding in hospital landscape: syntactical analysis of planting design in hospitals in Kerman, Iran

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Zabihi ◽  
Mina Safizadeh ◽  
Massoomeh Hedayati Marzbali
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Space Syntax ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Planting Design ◽  
Library Research ◽  
University College London ◽  
The University ◽  
Syntactical Analysis ◽  
The Way

Purpose Hospital landscape is not a useless space within hospital buildings anymore. It is considered as a supportive area providing mental and physical peace. However, the planting design of the hospital landscape and the way it should be in order to not disrupt wayfinding performance is neglected. This paper, which is a case study, aims at investigating the effects of planting design in Kerman hospitals’ landscapes on the users’ wayfinding using space syntax techniques. Design/methodology/approach This research focuses on the effects of planting design on the users’ wayfinding in hospitals. In so doing, library research, computer simulation and analysis with the University College London (UCL) Depthmap software, and comparison techniques are used. Based on axial maps, the measures of integration, connectivity and intelligibility are considered for analysing the wayfinding process of individuals. Findings The findings show that planting configurations in the hospital landscape can affect individuals’ wayfinding. Integrated and regular planting design in addition to combining planted areas with the hospital buildings can pave the way for intelligible space and easier wayfinding. Originality/value According to the authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first to use the space syntax techniques in the health-care landscape architecture in terms of planting design and wayfinding. As wayfinding is an important issue in health-care spaces, the study findings can greatly help the health-care building designers and the related organizations to pay attention to the hospital landscape as much as hospital indoors.

Unveiling business school interns' satisfaction toward online summer internship program amid COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rashmi Maini ◽  
Sanandi Sachdeva ◽  
Guneet Kaur Mann
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
North India ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The University

PurposeThe objective of this research is to explore factors that influence interns' satisfaction (is) toward the e-internship program, an alternate adopted by management institutes in lieu of the regular summer internship amidst the global pandemic, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional research design with a self-reported questionnaire was conducted on business school (B-school) interns to rate the factors that contribute to their e-internship satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the responses obtained from 203 B-school interns with a diverse demographic background belonging to a government university of North India. Convenience sampling was employed to get valid responses from interested respondents.FindingsResults revealed that although all the four factors under consideration, faculty mentors' preparedness (FMP), industry mentors' preparedness (IMP), interns' readiness toward online internship and interns' Internet efficacy (IIE) are significantly related to IS, industry mentors' role was found to have a major impact on the IS. The study unravels that industry mentors' interaction has a potential role in the successful implementation of e-internships.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has implications for the university as well as the companies to ponder on factors that satisfy interns during the virtual internship and designing an effective internship program by having a collaborative approach.Originality/valueThere is a dearth of empirical studies on internships in general and e-internship in particular, so this study fills the gap and contributes to the existing literature and provides ways to satisfy B-school interns toward e-internship by addressing the key factors.

Governance of the Chinese Super League

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Ma ◽  
Markus Kurscheidt
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
The Body ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Government ◽  
Governance Processes ◽  
Super League

Purpose In 2017, the Chinese Super League (CSL), the first professional football division in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), became the highest-spending league in the international players’ transfer market, with a total spending of €377m. Moreover, the government of the PRC is backing the CSL with an ambitious football plan. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the governance of the CSL by questioning the organisational viability of the league. Design/methodology/approach In addition to the relevant international literature, this study is based on 14 recent scholarly articles published in Mandarin from 2013 to 2018 to reflect the national academic debate. Moreover, website research on all CSL clubs has been conducted. The institutional analysis follows the integrative change model of Cunningham (2002) complemented by agency and bureaucracy theory. Findings The CSL still faces substantial governance problems caused by the divergence of goal setting, organisational inefficiencies and compliance issues. The organisational change is notably constrained by internal competitive value commitments and external power dependency. Research limitations/implications The institutional findings on the CSL provide a starting point for empirical studies. The approach contributes to the theory of sport governance processes. Practical implications The material and insights are informative for decision makers to evaluate the competitiveness of the CSL. Originality/value This paper is the first international in-depth analysis of the governance of the CSL using the body of knowledge published in Mandarin.

Evaluation of the accessibility of archival cartographic documents in digital libraries

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1062-1081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Kuzma ◽  
Albina Moscicka
Keyword(s):  
Digital Library ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Goals ◽  
Metadata Record ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
Access To Data ◽  
The University ◽  
The Way

Purpose This paper aims to present the authors’ attempts to evaluate the access to archival maps available in digital libraries. Its aim was to pinpoint the factors determining the effectiveness of access to old maps and to evaluate which Polish libraries provide resources in such a way as to give the users the best chance of finding the materials necessary for their research. Design/methodology/approach The presented research focussed on archival documents from academic libraries accessible from the Polish Digital Libraries Federation and available from Europeana Collections. The evaluation criteria were established along with features that determine the level of difficulty of access to data describing archival documents. The research took into account the way of recording the data about archival documents in metadata. The authors have also analysed the quantity of available resources and the consistency of metadata record. Findings The results of the research have demonstrated that one-third of the analysed libraries deserve a positive evaluation. The digital library of the Warsaw University and the Jagiellonian Digital Library received the best scores in terms of the description of archival documents. Considering the number of resources, the Jagiellonian Digital Library and the Digital Library of the University of Wrocław are positively distinguished. Originality/value The method of evaluating the access to archival maps has been developed. The criteria and features necessary for this evaluation and the way of their interpretation have also been defined. The future goals leading to the improvement of the access to the archival maps have been also presented.

scholarly journals Blame game or dialogue? Financial, professional and democratic accountabilities in a complex health care setting

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 626-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jukka Pellinen ◽  
Toni Mättö ◽  
Kari Sippola ◽  
Antti Rautiainen
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Network Governance ◽  
Organizational Characteristics ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
Care Organization ◽  
Democratic Accountability ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stakeholder Groups

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the complexity of the network governance setting affects accountability practices. The authors pay particular attention to the organizational characteristics that may enable a common understanding of multiple accountability relationships, or lead to problems in reconciling competing forms of accountability, thereby appearing as blame game-type behavior. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a case study with 31 semi-structured interviews in a Finnish health care organization (FHC) that offers basic public health care services. The organization represents a co-operative arrangement with the main city and three smaller municipalities. The FHC has faced difficulties in balancing budget constraints with the provision of statutory care to citizens. This case is analyzed with the help of theories relating to accountability, the blame game, and dialogue. Findings The authors found that in the FHC operating under austerity constraints, attempts to reconcile financial, professional, and democratic accountability were made but, instead of dialogue and consensus, the different stakeholder groups resorted to defensive tactics in order to protect their resources, position, or sense of professional obligation. The authors suggest that in a context of network governance, accompanied by an increasing emphasis on financial accountability, organizational practices are susceptible to conflicting accountabilities and behavior characterized in this paper as a blame game. Originality/value The study contributes to the empirical studies on accountability in the new public governance context by analyzing the complex accountability relations between stakeholder groups with different agendas. The authors suggest organizational characteristics that may exacerbate conflicts between different stakeholder groups and prevent constructive dialogue. Furthermore, the study analyzes the composition of democratic accountability within the studied organization.

Self-harm: A guide for schools on how to respond

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 295-297
Author(s):  
Charlie Waller
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Young People ◽  
School Nurses ◽  
School Staff ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
University Of Oxford ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
The University

A guide from the University of Oxford and the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust offers practical ways in which schools can support young people at risk from self-harm, which school nurses can share with school staff members to help them respond.

A framework for quality assurance for archives and records management education in an open distance e-learning environment in Eswatini

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vusi Tsabedze ◽  
Mpho Ngoepe
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Records Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Scientific Databases ◽  
National Archives ◽  
Adequate Quality ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Conceptual Study ◽  
The University

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine quality assurance for archives and records management (ARM) education in an open distance e-learning (ODeL) environment in Eswatini with a view to conceptualise a framework for quality assurance in the development and implementation of an ARM programme in the context of ODeL.Design/methodology/approachThe study is anchored on the interpretive research paradigm, which surrounds a systematic literature review. The researcher searched for literature online, using scientific databases such as Ebsco, Scopus and Google Scholar. The search applied the publications from 2005 to 2019. The main search keywords are “archives”, “records management”, “open distance e-learning” and “quality assurance”. A total of 15 articles, which included documents, journal articles, reports, web pages and monographs, were retrieved, reviewed and analysed in this study. This conceptual study was preliminary, and the researcher hopes that further empirical studies based on the findings of this study could be pursued in future.FindingsARM as a form of study and delivered on ODeL platforms have been proposed in Eswatini. The major concern among stakeholders is how to ensure the quality of such programmes.Research limitations/implicationsThis conceptual study was preliminary, and the researcher hopes that further empirical studies based on the findings of this study could be pursued in future.Practical implicationsThe findings and recommendations will help in the development of ARM programmes to be offered effectively by way of ODeL, there is a need to develop a transparent quality assurance framework for such an application and its implementation.Originality/valueThis is the first study on quality assurance for ARM education in an ODeL environment in Eswatini. As part of the study, a quality assurance framework was designed for the implementation of ARM education on an ODeL platform. This quality assurance framework is intended to help higher education institutions in Eswatini such as the University of Eswatini as well as stakeholders such as the Eswatini National Archives and others to design ARM education and deliver it on an ODeL platform in a manner that guarantees adequate quality.

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