Investigating Indonesian EFL Teachers’ Perceptions on Blended Learning Strategy Amid Post-Covid-19 Era

One of the good news of the new normal era is all humankind’s sectors are opened gradually by following the restricted health protocols. Without an exception, the educational sector is also allowed by the government to open schools in the green zone. As a result, a blended learning strategy is inevitably essential to support this post-covid-19 era. Blended learning strategy is a novel pedagogical approach where the online and offline systems are combined to promote more purposeful, organized, and meaningful learning dynamics for learners. This current small-scale qualitative study aimed to investigate the specific benefits of a blended learning strategy based on Indonesian EFL teachers’ perceptions. Thus, 5 open-ended written narrative inquiry questions were sent to two randomly invited Indonesian EFL teachers working in different elementary school institutions. The obtained research results unveiled that the effective utilization of blended learning strategy had successfully promoted more meaningful language learning enterprises, elevated EFL learners’ learning motivation, and increased their proactive learning behaviors. However, it should also be pondered carefully that the more contextualized language learning approaches, as well as stable internet connection, are urgently needed to strengthen the effectiveness of this learning approach. Due to the obtained research results, it is reasonable to be expected that Indonesian EFL experts, teachers, practitioners, and policy-makers can establish more collaborative networking to better design more qualified and meaningful blended learning activities in the future.

Circular Economy in Construction and Demolition Waste Management in the Western Balkans: A Sustainability Assessment Framework

Population growth, consumerism and linear (take-make-dispose) economy models have been piling up waste for decades. The construction industry is also based primarily on linear economy models, but the good news is that most of the waste can be re-used or recycled. So far, numerous models for managing construction and demolition waste in a sustainable way have been developed, but only a few models have included circular economy approaches. The main objective of this study is to propose an integrated framework for the sustainability assessment of CDW management. Apart from the economic, environmental and social aspects of sustainability, this model also includes circular economy principles. The proposed framework is based on the integration of existing methods: bottom-up materials stock approximation; cost–benefit analysis for criteria calculation; and scenario and multi-criteria decision-making analysis for sustainability. It is suggested that the European average recovery rates should be used for future scenario development. With higher re-use and recycling rates, the potential for the circularity of the recovered waste grows. In an effort to increase circularity in the region, particular attention was devoted to customize the framework and examine its potential for use in the Western Balkan countries. The framework may also be useful in countries with immature construction and demolition waste management.

The Gatekeeper’s Dilemma: “When Should I Transfer This Customer?”

When Should I Transfer This Customer? “Please hold while I transfer you to next level of support.” Most of us have been on the receiving end of this message. In this study, the authors look at transfers from the service worker’s perspective. They create an online experiment in which participants play the role of call center agents who need to decide whether to transfer a virtual service request or continue attempting to resolve it. Consistent with compensation schemes common in call centers, participants receive a bonus for each successful resolution and may pay a penalty if they transfer. The authors find that these incentives generally work well; however, agents appear to overreact to transfer penalties by handling more requests than they should and transferring too few requests. Although this may be good news for customers who dislike being transferred, such behaviors may be costly for the call center; thus, managers need to be careful when rolling out complex compensation schemes.

Quantifying Nature Positive

To become mainstream, Nature Positive development needs positive messaging, measures and metrics to guide, plan and assess urban outcomes. With accelerating climate crisis and negative messages getting the upper-hand, it is important to avoid paralysis by bad news. Whilst striving for a nature positive world, more effort should be on moving beyond zero to qualify and quantify benefits, gains and regenerative outcomes instead of around damage and loss sticking points. Life Cycle Benefit Assessment (LCBA) methods measure gains in accelerating regeneration and climate security that enables a good news focus. Its reach beyond negative quantifies and shows positive gain beyond zero loss outcomes. The aims are to clarify concepts, challenges and quantitative methods then review real-world 3rd party Certified nature positive case studies. Climate security, human wellness and resource viability gains inside safe operating space within planetary boundaries are quantified as positive benefits. contrary to conventional Life Impact Cycle Impact Assessment LCBA assigns damage losses as negatives debts and benefit gains as positive savings. It concludes that LCBA remains under development with more research needed to model economic outcomes.

Trust: the key to social cohesion and growth in Latin America and the Caribbean

Trust is the most pressing and yet least discussed problem confronting Latin America and the Caribbean. Whether in others, in government, or in firms, trust is lower in the region than anywhere else in the world. The economic and political consequences of mistrust ripple through society. It suppresses growth and innovation: investment, entrepreneurship, and employment all flourish when firms and government, workers and employers, banks and borrowers, and consumers and producers trust each other. Trust inside private and public sector organizations is essential for collaboration and innovation. Mistrust distorts democratic decision-making. It keeps citizens from demanding better public services and infrastructure, from joining with others to control corruption, and from making the collective sacrifices that leave everyone better off. The good news is that governments can increase citizen trust with clearer promises of what citizens can expect from them, public sector reforms that enable them to keep their promises, and institutional reforms that strengthen the commitments that citizens make to each other. This book guides decision-makers as they incorporate trust and social cohesion into the comprehensive reforms needed to address the regions most pernicious challenges.

Optoaccoustic Tomography – good news for microcirculatory research

Tomographic imaging is a well established technology in preventive medicine and biomedical research, although not without limitations and concerns. Optoacoustic tomography (OAT) is a recent development that bridges optical and sonographic techniques to solve spatial resolution in deep-tissue imaging. In addition to safety advantages, OAT allows multiple wavelength readings for natural thermoelastic chromophores. In this study, we explore Multi Spectral Optoacoustic Tomography (MSOT) capacities to simultaneously acquire three independent chromophores – deoxygenated haemoglobin (Hb), oxygenated haemoglobin (HbO2), and melanin, from healthy human volunteers, with maximal molar extinction of HbO2 at 950 nm, Hb at 750 nm and melanin at 680 nm. Later we demonstrate how image stability during acquisition is fundamental for optimal resolution, precision and consistency of high throughout MSOT data collection. From recorded scans, a workflow is layered for data evaluation. With the MSOT dedicated software results were extracted from 3D image analysis of deep (15 mm3) vessels. The possibilities offered by this new system, specially in vascular pathophysiology, are immense and can be extended beyond current knowledge.