Rethinking Education and Livelihoods in India

The COVID-19 crisis has revealed a need for rethinking approaches to education and livelihoods. Education in its present dispensation does not provide equitable access to children from marginalized segments of the population. It also suffers from deficits in the areas of social and emotional skills, over-emphasis on the three Rs, language used as a medium of instruction, and excessive competition for scoring marks, among others. There is very low uptake of vocational education. The National Education Policy 2020 tries to address some of these issues and plans on closer integration of vocational education with the school framework. High unemployment rates of educated youth, along with underemployment due to skill mismatch, show poor school-to-work transition and underscore the importance of TVET for youth in the future. Skill already exists in the economy in informal knowledge systems which are largely undocumented and thus not acknowledged in the formal system. These need to be combined with Western-centric knowledge systems so that the imbalance between formally educated/trained workers and informally trained workers is redressed. There is also a need to bring back the joy of learning, as Tagore’s experimentation with education has demonstrated.

Role of a Strategic Management Team in Conflict Resolution: A Case Study of IKEA

The thesis looked into and investigated the topic at hand as a case study of IKEA's strategic management team in dispute resolution. Organizational operations changes have a cascade effect on marketing and human resource management, undermining efforts at standardization and localization. Workplace disagreement can jeopardise organizational goals, leading to dysfunction and excessive competition. Workplace conflict must be addressed before it has a detrimental impact on team productivity and leads businesses to lose money. However, workplace disagreements can lead to the formation of positive relationships, peer learning, enhanced communication, new ideas, and increased motivation. We used transformational leadership theory to look at how senior account managers deal with conflict at work for this study. The thesis looked at IKEA's marketing techniques for forming a strategic management team to handle conflicts, and it was based on extensive research and accurate data.

Effect of Sinapis alba L. as an Insectary Plant on the Occurrence of Aphis fabae Scop., Coccinellidae and Syrphidae in Broad Bean

Introducing insectary plants along with principal crops is an effective way to increase the biological diversity of beneficial insects and improve the stability of ecological equilibrium in agrocenoses and could be an alternative to chemical plant protection, particularly in organic farming. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of white mustard as a companion plant in broad bean cultivation on the occurrence of Aphis fabae Scop., Syrphidae, and Coccinellidae. The study also aimed at finding the optimum row separation of broad bean plants. It also evaluated the effectiveness of the thinning of mustard in a specific time to eliminate excessive competition with the main crop. The results showed that white mustard contributed to visible suppression of A. fabae abundance on broad bean (to the level similar as with the use of chemical protection). S. alba contributed to an increased abundance of hoverflies and lady beetles on broad bean despite the relatively low abundance of their prey, i.e., aphids. Mustard thinning positively affected abundance of larvae and adults of lady beetles as well as improved predator-prey ratio for hoverfly larvae and adult lady beetles. The most appropriate distance between broad bean rows when white mustard was introduced was 65 cm, with the concomitant conduct of mustard thinning when the broad bean plants reached flower bud formation. White mustard can be recommended as an element increasing the role of natural enemies of aphids in mixed crops, however, its strong growth should be taken into account and the plant density should be properly adjusted to avoid excessive competition with main plant.

Transmission Delay-Based Uplink Multi-User Scheduling in IEEE 802.11ax Networks

As the demands for uplink traffic increase, improving the uplink throughput has attracted research attention in IEEE 802.11 networks. To avoid excessive competition among stations and enhance the uplink throughput performance, the IEEE 802.11ax standard supports uplink multi-user transmission scenarios, in which AP triggers certain stations in a network to transmit uplink data simultaneously. The performance of uplink multi-user transmissions highly depends on the scheduler, and station scheduling is still an open research area in IEEE-802.11ax-based networks. In this paper, we propose a transmission delay-based uplink multi-user scheduling method. The proposed method consists of two steps. In the first step, the proposed method makcreateses station clusters so that stations in each cluster have similar expected transmission delays. The transmission delay-based station clustering increases the ues of uplink data channels during the uplink multi-user transmission scenario specified in IEEE 802.11ax. In the second step, the proposed method selects cluster for uplink multi-user transmissions. The cluster selection can be performed with a proportional fair-based approach. With the highly channel-efficient station cluster, the proposed scheduling method increases network throughput performance. Through the IEEE 802.11ax standard compliant simulations, we verify the network throughput performance of the proposed uplink scheduling method.

Risk-taking behavior, competition, diversification and performance of frontier and emerging economy banks

PurposeThe study examines the dynamic association between competition, risk-taking, performance and income diversification of frontier and emerging economy (FEE) banks. It additionally, explores the effect of banking sector depth and economic performance on the level of competition, performance and risk-taking behavior of banks in these economies.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts a panel vector auto-regressive technique and collects data across ninety (90) FEEs.FindingsThe paper finds that competition increases with improvement in the depth of the banking sector, a surge in risk-taking behavior and the adoption of focused strategy by banks. Similarly, income diversification activities are driven by competition, banking sector depth, the state of the economy and bank performance. Additionally, risk-taking behavior, banking sector depth and the state of the economy are relevant in describing bank performance. Also, risk-taking behavior is influenced by bank performance, banking sector depth and economic growth.Originality/valueThe evidence indicates that although competition improves banking sector health, excessive competition and non-competitive banking environment constrain banks’ performance and stability.

An Empirical Study on the Influence of Diversification on the Operating Cost of Commercial Banks

The majority of the literature has focused on the impact of diversification on bank performance, while the research on the impact of diversification on bank costs is inadequate. Therefore, in this paper we empirically analyzed the impact of diversification on operating costs through a panel regression model, collecting the data of 47 Chinese commercial banks from 2005 to 2015. The empirical results showed that an increase in the non-interest income ratio significantly promoted a decrease in the cost–income ratio, and the robustness tests of different time intervals and different types of banks were consistent. This suggests that diversification effectively reduced the operating costs of banks by means of the sharing of information and equipment, the reduction of asset specificity, and the improvement of operation management synergy. This also indicates that excessive competition costs and the agency costs of diversification were lower. Further analysis showed that the diversification of national banks compared with local banks was more significant in reducing operating costs, and, for the national banks, the effects of economies of scope and scale were stronger. Diversified management strategies for local banks should be carefully promoted through the construction of strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, etc.

Markets and communities: the social cost of the meritocracy

Critiques of the meritocracy have centered on its narrow definition and biased assessment of merit, its stigmatization of the unsuccessful, and excessive competition. This paper identifies a different mechanism that could have pernicious social and political consequences. Economic mobility sorts people based on certain ‘productive’ traits, separating them into classes, and thus alters social externalities. This sorting–separation–externalities mechanism can produce between-class polarization in social outcomes (e.g. alcoholism and drug abuse) and worsen aggregate outcomes over all classes, consistent with rising ‘deaths of despair’ in the United States (Case and Deaton, 2020, Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism. Princeton University Press). When traits are endogenous, transition out of a caste-based society produces an initial burst of economic mobility which dissipates over time. Thus, a dynamic meritocratic society devolves into a static class-based society. I set out an alternative model called the ‘experimental society’, which is less susceptible to these problems.

Updated System Supporting Regional Development in Germany

The long-term trajectory of the German regional policy is formed by the terms of overcoming the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. The article discusses in this context the comprehensive all-German system for financing structurally weak regions, provides information on specific programs in 2020–2021, and also shows the connection with European instruments for financing regional policy in 2021–2027. The restructuring of this system of support measures was designed to improve the situation in underdeveloped territories and to help reduce differences in the conditions of recent challenges in technology, energy, and ecology. It is determined that Germany continues to be characterized by the differentiation in terms of economic potential between the East and West of the country. The paper demonstrates that the pandemic only highlighted the demands for the development of new mechanisms and a more active regional policy. It is emphasized that all eligible regions in the country now have access to more than 20 funding programs that were previously restricted to the regions of East Germany. It is determined that the streamlining of such measures is clearly only an auxiliary function in the public administration system and is aimed, first of all, at better coordination of existing instruments. Efficiency limitations are also the continuing autonomy of many programs, the possibility of excessive competition from now all underdeveloped regions of Germany for financial resources.

Access to Digital Financial Services and Green Technology Advances: Regional Evidence from China

Using data of 265 Chinese cities from 2010 to 2017, we studied the impact of access to digital financial services on green technology advances in the context of regional competition. We found that access to digital financial services significantly promotes green technology advances within the region but inhibits those in other regions. We also found that modest regional competition can promote green technology advances, whereas excessive competition impairs the positive relationship between access to digital financial services and green technology advances. We identified a significantly positive spatial spillover effect for green technology advances.

BECOMING A PHYSICIAN: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF MEDICAL STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES ON THEIR ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT, WELL-BEING AND MENTAL HEALTH

Background: Medical students are a population at higher risk for psychological distress and mental health disorders when compared to the general population. Evidence-based interventions to promote well-being are available, but the rates of anxiety, burnout, depression, and suicide are not decreasing as expected. This scenario can lead to poor academic outcomes and lower assistance capability. Students are frequently targeted in interventions, but the academic environment itself is seldomly a target. Qualitative research is an insightful approach in deriving a deeper understanding of phenomena that are suitable to culture-sensitive interventions. Objective: To explore student’s perception of medical school and their understanding of which factors underly the path from well-being to impaired mental health. Methods: A qualitative exploratory study was performed. Focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted, comprising students from all medical school years. Grounded theory was used to analyze data, and Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research were followed. Feedback from participants and through external supervision were conducted in ensuring saturation, reliability, and coherence. Results: Five main categories were identified: socioeconomic aspects, university environment (including culture, institutional functioning, and relationships), training issues, career demands, and mental health. Both personal and environmental factors were highlighted as contributors and stressors. Conclusion: A medical career appears to be related to a culture of omnipotence where excellence is frequently misconstrued as perfection. The complex relations between personal and environmental factors demand comprehensive strategies. Institutional rules could be adapted to avoid enhancing excessive competition. In some cases, individual assistance is needed. Inclusion of the academic community’s perspective and targeting the negative aspects of the medical culture seem essential to move forward in the field of mental health and person-centered learning.