COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORK FOR SCHOOL DROPOUT PREDICTION AND PREVENTION: A CASE STUDY OF SCHOOL DROPOUTS IN RURAL AREAS OF MAHBUBNAGAR DISTRICT OF TELANGANA.

The study sought to explore students' views on the utility of non-formal education in addressing the school dropout phenomenon at secondary school level. Qualitative research approach was adopted and a case study design was utilised. The population consisted of all the students in the non-formal programme at the school from which a sample of 11 students (2 male and 9 female) was selected through purposive stratified sampling technique. Data were gathered through structured in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Non-formal education was seen to address the school dropout phenomenon by providing school drop outs with an opportunity to continue their education and hence becomes a form of empowerment. A number of challenges such as lack of adequate tuition in some subjects, lack of conducive learning environment as well as negative perception of non-formal education held by pupils in the formal stream and community members were identified. The study recommends that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should review the staffing situation in schools to ensure the availability of teachers in the various subjects in the non-formal stream. Schools should make an effort to provide appropriate learning facilities for students in the nonformal stream. Furthermore, schools should conscientise their communities on the importance of non-formal education.

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Creating autonomous learners in the teaching of English as a second language (ESL) in Zimbabwean secondary schools : a reality or a myth?

Journal of African Languages and Literary Studies ◽

10.31920/2633-2116/2020/v1n3a6 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 103-132

Author(s):

Rungamirai Matiure ◽

Erick Nyoni

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Second Language ◽

Multiple Case Study ◽

Document Analysis ◽

Learner Autonomy ◽

Case Study Design ◽

Midlands Province ◽

Multiple Case ◽

Comprehensive Framework

This study explored the utility of the learner autonomy concept in the Zimbabwean O Level English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom focusing on three Gweru urban high schools of the Midlands Province. The researchers intended to establish whether learner autonomy was a reality or just a myth in Zimbabwean classrooms. A qualitative multiple case study design was applied focusing on teaching strategies, availability of resources, challenges faced and ways of optimising it. Questionnaires and document analysis were used for data collection. The findings revealed that the concept did not manifest in explicit terms, the learners did not participate in decision making, and the teachers were not adequately prepared to administer autonomous processes with students. For it to be a reality, the Education Ministry is recommended to establish a comprehensive framework of how autonomous learning should be implemented. Teacher training should explicitly focus on how to develop autonomous learners. Teachers ought to be flexible enough to accommodate learners' contributions towards their learning.

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Government Policies and Rural Entrepreneurship- Case Study of an Horticulture Entrepreneur

Journal of Entrepreneurship & Management ◽

10.21863/jem/2016.5.2.028 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Vinod N. Sambrani

Keyword(s):

Rural Development ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Process Development ◽

Full Time ◽

Rural Entrepreneurship ◽

Development Institutions ◽

Startup Time ◽

Nursery Management ◽

The Government

India is a country which is in forefront of being called a developed nation. To be a developed nation, India has to first look at its rural development, because 70 percent of the population live in rural areas, which means more than 700 million people are spread across 6,27,000 villages. Rural development is more than ever before linked to entrepreneurship. Establishments and agencies promoting rural development now look at entrepreneurship as a strategic development medium that could speed up the rural development process. Development institutions believe that rural entrepreneurship offers a huge potential for employment. In this paper a case study of a young entrepreneur who has taken up horticulture (vegetable plants nursery) as his full time profession, with a mission to help the neighbouring farmers is studied, the purpose of this paper is to understand the government role (policies and schemes), the difficulties faced by the entrepreneur during the startup time and knowledge transfer from the horticulture department, nursery management. The methodology followed is in-depth interaction with the entrepreneur. The outcome of paper will be to understand how rural entrepreneurship is helping improve the quality of life for families, communities and individuals leading to sustainable economy and environment.

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A Comprehensive Framework for Standardising System Boundary Definition in Life Cycle Energy Assessments

Buildings ◽

10.3390/buildings11060230 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 230

Author(s):

Hossein Omrany ◽

Veronica Soebarto ◽

Jian Zuo ◽

Ruidong Chang

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Energy Use ◽

Embodied Energy ◽

Building Energy Efficiency ◽

System Boundary ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Energy Assessment ◽

Boundary Definition ◽

Comprehensive Framework

This paper aims to propose a comprehensive framework for a clear description of system boundary conditions in life cycle energy assessment (LCEA) analysis in order to promote the incorporation of embodied energy impacts into building energy-efficiency regulations (BEERs). The proposed framework was developed based on an extensive review of 66 studies representing 243 case studies in over 15 countries. The framework consists of six distinctive dimensions, i.e., temporal, physical, methodological, hypothetical, spatial, and functional. These dimensions encapsulate 15 components collectively. The proposed framework possesses two key characteristics; first, its application facilitates defining the conditions of a system boundary within a transparent context. This consequently leads to increasing reliability of obtained LCEA results for decision-making purposes since any particular conditions (e.g., truncation or assumption) considered in establishing the boundaries of a system under study can be revealed. Second, the use of a framework can also provide a meaningful basis for cross comparing cases within a global context. This characteristic can further result in identifying best practices for the design of buildings with low life cycle energy use performance. Furthermore, this paper applies the proposed framework to analyse the LCEA performance of a case study in Adelaide, Australia. Thereafter, the framework is utilised to cross compare the achieved LCEA results with a case study retrieved from literature in order to demonstrate the framework’s capacity for cross comparison. The results indicate the capability of the framework for maintaining transparency in establishing a system boundary in an LCEA analysis, as well as a standardised basis for cross comparing cases. This study also offers recommendations for policy makers in the building sector to incorporate embodied energy into BEERs.

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Policy Strategies to Revive Rural Land in Peri-Metropolitan Towns: Resource Identification, Capitalization, and Financialization

Land ◽

10.3390/land10020132 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 132

Author(s):

Wei Li ◽

Zhanwei Zhang ◽

Yang Zhou

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Master Planning ◽

Leading Role ◽

Multifunctional Land Use ◽

Key Stakeholders ◽

Resource Identification ◽

The Government ◽

Interpretative Approach ◽

The Town

Previous planning for rural revival in towns has emphasized construction and government-led policies. However, we argue that the dilemmas of peri-metropolitan rural areas, such as Desakota in China, are far more complex faced with rural super village and hollowed village transformations. Rural revival planning needs to coordinate with the development of urbanized and rural areas towards multifunctional goals and plans as a whole. Therefore, we selected the town master plan of Lijia, a typical peri-metropolitan village in China, as a case study. Through a historical–interpretative approach involving analysis of planning policies, questionnaires, and in-depth interviews with the key stakeholders involved, we structured the process and mechanism of rural revival in Lijia into three phases: resource identification, capitalization, and financialization. In different phases, different stakeholders adopt different roles. The government takes a leading role in resource identification and capitalization, while firms take a leading role in the process of financialization. “Market-dominant and government-guided” planning stimulates villagers to participate in rural revival. We highlight the importance of multifunctional land-use in terms of rural revival in the master planning of peri-metropolitan villages and provide a practical reference for uniting multiple stakeholders, including governments, firms, and villagers.

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A Capabilities-Led Approach to Assessing Technological Solutions for a Rural Community

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14051398 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 1398

Author(s):

Xinfang Wang ◽

Rosie Day ◽

Dan Murrant ◽

Antonio Diego Marín ◽

David Castrejón Botello ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rural Community ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Assessment Method ◽

Unintended Consequences ◽

Energy Services ◽

Grid Systems ◽

Technological Interventions ◽

Solution Design ◽

Improve Access

To improve access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy in rural areas of the global south, off-grid systems using renewable generation and energy storage are often proposed. However, solution design is often technology-driven, with insufficient consideration of social and cultural contexts. This leads to a risk of unintended consequences and inappropriate systems that do not meet local needs. To address this problem, this paper describes the application of a capabilities-led approach to understanding a community’s multi-dimensional energy poverty and assessing their needs as they see them, in order to better design suitable technological interventions. Data were collected in Tlamacazapa, Mexico, through site visits and focus groups with men and women. These revealed the ways in which constrained energy services undermined essential capabilities, including relating to health, safety, relationships and earning a living, and highlighted the specific ways in which improved energy services, such as lighting, cooking and mechanical power could improve capabilities in the specific context of Tlamacazapa. Based on these findings, we propose some potential technological interventions to address these needs. The case study offers an illustration of an assessment method that could be deployed in a variety of contexts to inform the design of appropriate technological interventions.

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Rwanda’s Land Policy Reform: Self-Employment Perspectives from a Case Study of Kimonyi Sector

Land ◽

10.3390/land10020117 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 117

Author(s):

Mireille Mizero ◽

Aristide Maniriho ◽

Bosco Bashangwa Mpozi ◽

Antoine Karangwa ◽

Philippe Burny ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Policy Reform ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Literacy Skills ◽

Land Policy ◽

Binary Logistic Regression Analysis ◽

Self Employment ◽

Expropriation Risk ◽

Main Activity

Rwanda’s Land Policy Reform promotes agri-business and encourages self-employment. This paper aims to analyze the situation from a self-employment perspective when dealing with expropriation risk in rural areas. In this study, we conducted a structured survey addressed to 63 domestic units, complemented by focus groups of 47 participants from Kimonyi Sector. The binary logistic regression analysis revealed that having job alternatives, men heading domestic units, literacy skills in English, and owning land lease certificates (p < 0.05) are positively and significantly related to awareness of land expropriation risk. The decision of the head of the domestic unit to practice the main activity under self-employment status is positively influenced by owning a land lease certificate, number of plots, and French skills, while skills in English and a domestic unit’s size have a positive and significant influence on involvement in a second activity as self-employed. Information on expropriation risk has no significant effect on self-employment. The domestic unit survey revealed that 34.9% of the heads of domestic units only have one job, 47.6% have at least two jobs in their everyday life, 12.7% have a minimum of three jobs, and 4.8% are inactive. The focus group synthesis exposed the limits to self-employment ability and facilities.

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