Information Literacy and Education Policy: An Instrumental Case Study of the Ontario Public School Curriculum

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pia Liv Russell
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Rhetorical Analysis ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Public Education System ◽  
Instrumental Case Study ◽  
Student Access ◽  
Literacy Policy ◽  
Étude Cas

This interdisciplinary case study explores information literacy policy in Ontario’s public education system. Using interviews with policy makers and a rhetorical analysis of information literacy policy documents, it finds Ontario’s current information literacy policy inadequate to the task of providing equitable student access to opportunities for information literacy development.Une étude cas interdisciplinaire explore la politique de littératie informationnelle du système d’éducation publique de l’Ontario. En utilisant des entrevues avec les décideurs et une analyse rhétorique des documents sur la politique de littératie informationnelle, il est démontré que la politique de littératie informationnelle actuelle de l’Ontario est inappropriée pour la mission qui vise à offrir aux étudiants un accès équitable aux possibilités de développement de la littératie informationnelle. 

Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Through Microfinance - A Case of Rural Bangladesh

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Saida Parvin
Keyword(s):  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Donor Agencies ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact

Women’s empowerment has been at the centre of research focus for many decades. Extant literature examined the process, outcome and various challenges. Some claimed substantial success, while others contradicted with evidence of failure. But the success remains a matter of debate due to lack of empirical evidence of actual empowerment of women around the world. The current study aimed to address this gap by taking a case study method. The study critically evaluates 20 cases carefully sampled to include representatives from the entire country of Bangladesh. The study demonstrates popular beliefs about microfinance often misguide even the borrowers and they start living in a fabricated feeling of empowerment, facing real challenges to achieve true empowerment in their lives. The impact of this finding is twofold; firstly there is a theoretical contribution, where the definition of women’s empowerment is proposed to be revisited considering findings from these cases. And lastly, the policy makers at governmental and non-governmental organisations, and multinational donor agencies need to revise their assessment tools for funding.

Effects of Financial Inclusion on Startup Establishment in OECD Countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinh Thi Thanh Van ◽  
Nguyen Thuc Trang
Keyword(s):  
Success Factors ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Economic Research ◽  
Mobile Banking ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
Financial Index ◽  
Enterprise Survey

Financial inclusion and startup are two topics, which recently get attention of academic researchers and policy makers in Vietnam. One of the important factors for setting up a successful startup is the financial capability of the owners. Therefore, financial inclusion has a strong correlation with startup establishment. This article tested the effects of several factors in financial index (findex) developed by World Bank on startup establishment in some OECD countries. The result showed that borrowing from friends and relatives along with from credit institutions and opening a debit account at banks have  significant impacts on startup establishment in these countries. Finally, the article presented several recommendations for policy makers to stimulate the startup growth in Vietnam in the next time. Key words startup, financial inclusion, startup establishment References 1. Colman Msoka (2015), “Financial inclusion and microfinance in Tanzania”, Inclusive growth: Tanzania Country Report2. Endeavor-GEM, 2011, “High-Impact Entrepreneurship Global Report”3. Eric Ries, 2012, “The Lean Startup” book”, http://www.stpia.ir/files/The%20Lean%20Startup%20.pdf 4. European Startup Monitor, 2015, “European Startup Monitor 2015”, http://europeanstartupmonitor.com/fileadmin/presse/download/esm_2015.pdf 5. Jennifer Dahlin Ivarsson (2014), “Mobile-banking and entrepreneurship: Is there a link? A case study on South Africa”, Nationalekonomiska Institutionen, Box 7082, ISSN 0283 – 15896. Maher Al-Mahouq (2010), “Success factors of small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs): The case of Jordan”, Anadol University jourmal of social sciences, Cilt/Vol.: 10 – Say/No:1-16 (2010)7. Mohammed S.Chowdhury (2013), “Success factors of entrepreneurs of small and medium sized enterprises: Evidence from Banladesh”, Business and Economic Research, ISSN 2162 – 4860, 2013, Vol.3, No.2.8. OECD, 2015, “Entrepreneurship at a Glance 2015”9. Roman Angela, 2011, “SME’s sector access to finance: An overview”10. Yao Wang, 2014, “What are the biggest obstacles to growth of SMEs in developing countries? An empirical evidence from an enterprise survey”, JED 210 Paper

An Analytical Approach to Cruise Tourism As an Option For Development: a Case Study of the Sultanate of Oman

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-109
Author(s):  
Heba Aziz ◽  
Osman El-Said ◽  
Marike Bontenbal
Keyword(s):  
Capital City ◽  
Sultanate Of Oman ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Cruise Tourism ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Average Expenditure ◽  
Return Intention

The objective of this study was to measure the level of cruise tourists' satisfaction as well as the relationship between satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. Also, the impact of factors such as nationality, length of the visit, and age on the level of expenditure was measured. An empirical approach for data collection was followed and a total of 152 questionnaires were collected from cruise tourists visiting the capital city of Oman, Muscat, as cruise liners anchor at Sultan Qaboos Port. Results of the regression analysis supported the existence of a causal relationship between satisfaction with destination attributes, overall satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. It was found that the average expenditure varies according to age and length of the visit. Recommendations for policy makers were suggested on how to increase the role of cruise tourism in strengthening the economy.

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

Buildings ◽  
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.

scholarly journals “How about We Give It a Go?”: A Case Study on Supporting Breastfeeding Families in an Australian Child Care Centre

Children ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 195
Author(s):  
Emma Woolley ◽  
Shirley Wyver
Keyword(s):  
Child Care ◽  
World Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Care Centre ◽  
Breastfeeding Support ◽  
Child Care Centre ◽  
Collective Case Study ◽  
Instrumental Case Study ◽  
Health Organization

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months and continuation of breastfeeding for up to two years. Formal child care has an important role in supporting breastfeeding, as many Australian infants commence care before two years of age. Currently, little is known about support or barriers in child care contexts. The present qualitative instrumental case study explores practices which protect, promote and support breastfeeding at a child care centre located in the Australian Capital Territory’s outer suburbs. Extending from a previously published collective case study, a cultural-institutional focus of analysis was used to explore the roles of proximity, flexibility and communication in supporting breastfeeding within a child care centre located close to an infant’s home. Interviews with centre staff and mothers, triangulated with observations of the centre environment and policy documents provide insight into the environment. Affirming the roles of flexibility in routine and staff rostering and two-way communication, findings suggest longer-term benefits may be derived from selecting a child care centre close to an infant’s home, provided mothers can overcome barriers to breastmilk expression in the workplace. The study recognises the role of non-lactating caregivers in the transition to formal child care, and of the support culture for educators who breastfeed. This study extends the knowledge base of breastfeeding support interventions in the child care setting to inform future research and policy.

Non-R&D Innovation Patterns in Chinese SMEs: An Empirical Study from Zhejiang Province

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (06) ◽  
pp. 1640014
Author(s):  
Gang Zheng ◽  
Yanting Guo ◽  
Yajuan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Zhejiang Province ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Marketing Innovation ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Innovation Patterns ◽  
Policy Incentives

During the last few decades, research and development (R&D) have always been regarded as the most important or even the only factor in the attempt to explain the innovation capability and performance of enterprises, industries and economies, while to a large extent, those heterogeneous innovation activities beyond formal R&D are ignored or underestimated. Some research has shown that non-R&D innovation activities contribute to make full use of resources beyond R&D to promote performance, especially to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with weak R&D capability. However, non-R&D innovators’ behavior is still a black box by far, and especially few empirical research have been conducted in China context. This paper first explores the heterogeneous innovation patterns of non-R&D innovation by survey among Chinese SMEs in Zhejiang Province. It shows that, product and service customization, imitation and design, technology adoption and incremental modification, organizational innovation and marketing innovation are the main patterns of non-R&D innovation in China. Then, a case study is followed to cross-validate the patterns and relationships between non-R&D innovation and growth of SMEs in China. Generally, this study has implications for both academia and policy-makers. As it demonstrates, non-R&D innovation is an effective way for SMEs to quickly grow and sustain competitiveness in competition. On the other hand, this study helps to optimize some of current innovation policies for SMEs in China, where policy incentives are mainly R&D-focused. It also likely sheds light on the SMEs in other emerging economies.

Performance Evaluation of a Solar Water Heating System for Industrial Application

2012 ◽  
Vol 512-515 ◽  
pp. 130-136
Author(s):  
Keh Chin Chang ◽  
Wei Min Lin ◽  
Yi Mei Liu ◽  
Tsong Sheng Lee ◽  
Kung Ming Chung
Keyword(s):  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Heating System ◽  
Economic Viability ◽  
Solar Collectors ◽  
Water Heating ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Solar Water Heating ◽  
Solar Water ◽  
Solar Water Heating System

The total area of solar collectors installed in Taiwan had exceeded 2 million square meters by the end of 2010. However, there were only 98 systems in operation with area of solar collectors installed exceeding 100 square meters from 2001 to 2010. To increase industrial awareness of solar water heating technologies, a nursery greenhouse was chosen as the case study to evaluate its thermal performance throughout the months of May 2010 to April 2011. The results showed that the solar energy collected and heat loss during the night hours would affect the thermal efficiency, economic viability and attractiveness of a SWH. This study would provide useful information for all parties related to this market, manufacturers, potential users and policy-makers.

Territorial capital as a company intangible

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariachiara Barzotto ◽  
Giancarlo Corò ◽  
Mario Volpe
Keyword(s):  
Great Difficulty ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Capital Growth ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
A Company

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to explore to what extent being located in a territory is value-relevant for a company. Second, to understand if a company is aware of, and how it can sustain, the territorial tangible and intangible assets present in the economic area in which it is located. Design/methodology/approach – The study presents an empirical multiple case-study, investigating ten mid-/large-sized Italian companies in manufacturing sectors. Findings – The results indicate that the sampled manufacturing companies are intertwined with the environment in which they are embedded, both in their home country and in host ones. The domestic territorial capital has provided, and still provides, enterprises with workers endowed with the necessary technical skills that they can have great difficulty in finding in other places. In turn, companies support territorial capital generation through their activities. Research limitations/implications – To increase the generalisability of the results, future research should expand the sample and examine firms based in different countries and sectors. Practical implications – Implications for policy makers: developing effective initiatives to support and guide a sustainable territorial capital growth. Implications for managers and investors: improving managerial and investors’ decisions by disclosing a complete picture of the enterprise, also outside the firm boundaries. Originality/value – The study contributes to intangibles/intellectual capital literature by shedding light on the importance of including territorial capital in a company’s report to improve the definition of the firm’s value. Accounting of the territorial capital would increase the awareness of the socio-economic environment value in which companies are located and its use.

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