Unruly Mountains: Hydropower assemblages and geological surprises in the Indian Himalayas

Despite a decades long push to develop what is seen as the vast untapped hydropower potential of the Indian Himalayas, hydropower capacity addition has been delayed and become increasingly expensive in India. Policy documents cite “poor” geology as a major reason for these delays. As hydropower in the form of run-of-river projects expand into the Himalayas, their construction activities encounter poor geology more frequently. This paper analyses hydropower development as an assemblage and examines how risk, especially geological risk, is negotiated to allow hydropower development to continue in the Indian Himalayas. We show how the category of “geological surprises” emerges as an institutional response to the problems of run-of-river based hydropower development in a seismically vulnerable landscape. We further show how “geological surprises” act as a boundary object between hydropower policy, project development, infrastructural finance, and hydropower knowledge, allowing for cooperation and negotiation, to allow hydropower development to continue in the geologically complex Himalayas.

Improving Frontline Responses to Domestic Violence in Europe

The monograph on improving the response of first responders to domestic violence in Europe aims to identify gaps in the cooperation of first-line responders and deliver recommendations, toolkits andcollaborative training for European police organizations and medical and social work professionals. The goal is to improve integrate institutional response to domestic violence. Shared training and adequaterisk assessment tools will create a positive feedback loop, increasing reporting rates of domestic violence to police, the medical profession, and community and social work practitioners.

Globalization and Higher Education in Africa (A Review of Literature)

The knowledge industry is credited for accelerating the emergence of global societies where national peculiarities are growingly being replaced by a homogenized global culture. Both theory and research attest that knowledge and innovation is the seedbed of globalization, a widely entrenched concept that has become a typical model of socio-cultural and economic development of the 21st Century. The notion of globalization presents similar and dissimilar opportunities and challenges for communities in different contexts. An awareness of these challenges and opportunities has been at the heart of regional, national and institutional response to globalization. The move towards a Knowledge economy brings to the fore the place of education in any discourse on globalization. Higher education systems (HE) are particularly inextricable themes. Globalization in HE encompasses those forces that push HE systems towards common values, models and structures at regional, continental and global levels. These systems do not only drive and ride on globalization. They are also subject to globalization as evidenced in extant literature. Keywords: Higher Education, globalization, harmonization, accreditation

Institutional Response and Impact of Reporting Sexual Violence: An Examination of Sexual and Gender Minority College Students

Although college students who are sexual and gender minorities (SGM) experience higher rates of sexual victimization than their peers who identify as heterosexual and cisgender, there is a paucity in the literature investigating how college campuses can address the needs of SGM college students in violence prevention and response. The present research examines a subset of data from the Healthy Minds Survey (HMS), a national web-based survey administered across two universities from 2016 to 2017. We examined the role of SGM status in the rates of sexual violence, perceptions of their college/university’s institutional response to reports of sexual violence (e.g., taking a report seriously and taking corrective action), and the perceived impact of reporting sexual violence (e.g., students would support the person making a report). Logistic regression analyses revealed higher rates of sexual victimization among sexual minority students (compared to heterosexual), women (compared to men), and transgender and gender diverse (TGD) students (compared to cisgender). In addition, sexual minority (compared to heterosexual), women (compared to men), and TGD (compared to cisgender) students were more likely to perceive their institution would have a poor response to reports of sexual violence. Women and sexual minority students were also likely to believe that students who report sexual violence would suffer academically. These findings highlight the need for continued efforts to enhance sexual assault prevention and response efforts on college campuses, especially for SGM students.

The G20, climate change and COVID-19: critical juncture or critical wound?

PurposeThe Group of 20 (G20) is tasked with responding to economic shocks in the global financial system, with COVID-19 having proved to be the most significant shock since the G20's inception. COVID-19 also represents the first economic crisis accompanied by a concerted attempt to “build back better”, principally through a climate-compatible recovery. In 2021, there is little clarity as to the G20's response to this challenge, primarily due to considerable divergence in the green stimulus practices of its member states. The paper aims to investigate whether the G20, climate change and COVID-19 are critical juncture or critical wound.Design/methodology/approachHistorical institutionalism (HI) suggests that one can explain an institution's future response by reference to its developmental pathway to date. This contribution adopts its concept of “critical junctures” to shed light on the G20's possible institutional response to COVID-19. The contribution undertakes a comparative analysis of the global financial crisis (GFC) and COVID-19 as possible critical junctures for the G20.FindingsIn doing so, the work demonstrates that the G20 “building back better” from COVID-19 requires a shift away from its institutional orthodoxy to a much larger degree than its response to the GFC. Accordingly, whilst both the GFC and COVID-19 may be considered critical junctures for the G20, only COVID-19 has the potential to be a “critical wound” that leads to institutional redundancy.Research limitations/implicationsThrough interrogating this further, this exposition prospectively outlines two possible futures the G20 faces as a consequence of COVID-19: reform or redundancy. In this way, it offers an ex ante perspective on policy-reform options for the G20's ongoing response to COVID-19.Practical implicationsWhichever choice the G20 makes in its response to COVID-19 has profound consequences for global governance in an increasingly unpredictable world.Originality/valueHerein lies the importance of an exploratory assessment of COVID-19 as a critical juncture or a critical wound for the G20.

From Democratic Exception to State of Exception: Covid-19 in the Context of Tunisia’s State of Law

Through an analysis of the early legal and institutional response to Covid-19 in Tunisia, this article demonstrates that the narrative of Tunisia’s democratic exceptionalism following the 2011 revolution is not translated into a liberal legal practice but is instead upheld by an authoritarian rationale that serves the role of a formal channel that legitimizes power discourse. Specifically, this article focuses on what the state of exception, which was declared during the ongoing state of emergency, reveals about the various uses of law in Tunisia. It argues that the state of emergency has become the norm to the Tunisian way of governance post-2011, allowing for the survival of past authoritarian practices where the legal apparatus is used and deployed as a tool of policing and control.

Prevalence of Second Victims, Risk Factors, and Support Strategies among German Nurses (SeViD-II Survey)

Background: Second victim phenomena (SVP) are critical to workplace and patient safety, and epidemiological data are limited to investigate the causes and impact on German health care. We investigated SVP in German nurses regarding prevalence, causes, and predisposition compared to a preceding study on German physicians (Second Victims in Deutschland/SeViD-I). Methods: We conducted a nationwide anonymous cross-sectional online study in 2020 using a modified SeViD questionnaire including the BFI-10 (personality traits). Statistical analysis was conducted using chi² tests and binary logistic regression models. Results: Of 332 nurses, 60% reported to experience SVP at least once a working lifetime, with a 12-month prevalence among SVP of 49%. Of the nurses, 24% reported recovery times of more than 1 year. In contrast to physicians from SeViD-I, a main cause for becoming a second victim was aggressive behavior by patients. High neuroticism values, higher age, and medium work life experience, but neither gender nor workplace position, were predisposing for SVP. Like SeViD-I, nurses reported demand for an institutional response in cases of SVP. Conclusions: SVP is common among German nurses and comprises other causes and a different course than in physicians. Further research should concentrate on specific prevention strategies, e.g., profession- and workplace-based educational programs.

Learning at SMA Muhammadiyah 4 Porong during The Pandemic Covid 19

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major challenge for the education system. This viewpoint offers guidance for teachers, heads of Institutions in dealing with crises. What preparations do institutions have to undertake in a short period of time and how do they meet the needs of students by level and field of study? Reassuring students and parents is an important element of the institutional response. In increasing capacity to teach remotely, schools and colleges should take advantage of asynchronous learning. So this study aims to analyze learning in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic. This study used a qualitative method that relied on data obtained from interviews conducted in a natural setting. This research was conducted at the Muhammadiyah vocational school level which examined the history of school formation and school activities. Because the research took place during the pandemic period, the researchers also examined methods, media, and constraints for learning. The data were then collected, analyzed and concluded as statements.

Training Faculty as an Institutional Response to COVID-19 Emergency Remote Teaching Supported by Data

Biology faculty across the United States were surveyed to chronicle their experiences with the COVID-19 emergency transition to remote teaching. Polarizing differences were seen in faculty responses based on previous experience teaching online and formal training received. The results underline the importance of training and highlight difficulties to address.