Fragmented Geographies of Education: Institutions, Policies, and the Neighborhood

Educational settings, both in and out of the school environment, not only affect one’s educational opportunities, but may also result in structural disadvantages and barriers. In this chapter, we explore political programs and initiatives aimed at improving educational opportunities and related settings on a local scale in Freiburg, Germany. Drawing upon educational statistics and biographical interviews conducted with adolescent students who are confronted with severe educational barriers, we sketch out a local pattern of fragmented geographies. Moreover, we critically assess how the local initiative “Lernen Erleben in Freiburg” (LEIF) implemented the national program “Lernen vor Ort” (Local Learning). With this example, we show that educational programs and initiatives—framed according to the New Public Management paradigm and neoliberal logics of competition, rankings, and best practices—have a limited potential to transform educational landscapes and work against educational inequalities and prevailing fragmented geographies of education.

Effects of Demonetization, GST & Covid-19 Pandemic in the Adoption of Digitalization by Rural MSMEs in India

Purpose: The turbulent times created by the recent uncertain events give only two solutions – either surrender or fight-out. It has been the story so far for the MSMEs in India. Three events that changed the business scenario include the implementation of demonetization & GST and the pandemic-related restrictions. Survival became the only viable factor for businesses. This study dwells deeper into these three events and their influence on the adoption of digitalization by MSMEs in rural India. Methodology: Responses of the rural MSME owners were collected through a structured questionnaire containing multiple-choice questions on a 5-point Likert scale. To have better clarity, responses of 274 rural MSME owners were finally considered for the data analysis. For factor analysis of the data, the process of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was adopted with the help of IBM SPSS 25.0. To find out the validity of the model, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was performed by using IBM AMOS 21.0. Findings: It is found that the pandemic effect has the strongest significance followed by the demonetization effect on MSME owners towards the adoption of digitalization for their business. GST was implemented within a year of demonetization, so its effect is found to be non-significant. Practical Implications: The results of the study will help the government as well as IT solution providers to chalk out their strategies, products, or reforms taking into consideration the particular problems faced by MSMEs related to demonetization and pandemic closure. The outcome will also help in better implementation of the ‘Vocal for Local’ initiative. Originality: The results of the proposed study indicate that during all the three major events, the importance of digitalization has been witnessed by the MSMEs. These uncertain times have prioritized the use of digitalization not only for their survival but also to match the consumers’ demands during those periods. This study shows the importance of digitalization and will help the cup to reach the lip and both the economy and the MSME owners will be benefitted from it.

From Informal Sideline to National Business in Tunisia

Mohammed Yahya is an entrepreneur engaged in the production and sale of essential oils. Getting his enterprise established was not easy. However, things improved when he started receiving support from Youth Participation and Employment (YPE) programme partner the Local Initiative and Development Forum (FIDEL). FIDEL was instrumental in facilitating business grants and business development support. With this more focused approach, Mohammed managed to register his business, participated in national fairs, and opened new market segments. He successfully graduated from the informal labour market to the self-employed category. The training he received from FIDEL helped him to increase the sale of his products. In the future, he hopes to explore the international market and reduce his imports of raw materials by growing ingredients locally.

Supporting Women Entrepreneurs in Tunisia

Mabrouka Hdaya is a craftswoman who has been producing bags and baskets for 20 years. Support from the Youth Participation and Employment (YPE) project helped her overcome the technical and financial obstacles that she has faced since 2018 when she started her entrepreneurial journey. YPE, in partnership with the Local Initiative and Development Forum (FIDEL), selected Mabrouka for training to improve her weaving and business management skills. As a result, she has become more confident and developed working relationships with other people in her trade. Her business was doing well until the COVID-19 pandemic affected markets. She is hopeful she will recover as soon as the markets re-open and national fairs re-start. In the meantime, she sells small quantities of her products through social media platforms and the FIDEL shop. This is the story of an entrepreneur who knows her way forward and is ready to fight uncertainties.

Implementation of Functions Legislation Council of Representatives of the Regional Provincial North Sulawesi Year 2016-2018

Based on field data in 2016-2018, 18 regional regulations have been successfully enacted. However, according to information from the legal bureau, all regional regulations from 2016-2018 have been sourced from regional executive regulations, and there are no DPRD-initiated regulations. Every year, draft regional regulations on DPRD initiatives are included in the priority scales of the regional regulations but have not been enacted. Quality of DPRD members. With the limited quality of board members in understanding legal drafting for the formation of regional regulations, the board members encourage establishing a technical guidance program related to legal drafting. However, in its implementation, it is the members of the council who do not take it seriously, so the substance of the materials for technical guidance is not implemented in forming regional regulations. This study aims to analyze how the implementation of the legislative function of the DPRD of North Sulawesi Province for the 2016-2018 period. In connection with one of the council's functions in terms of legislation, namely forming regional regulations. In it further analyzes the things that make the DPRD less than optimal in the field of legislation. So that it gets a result from the discussion that can be a reference for improving the system and scientific literacy material in the study of public administration management. The approach used in this research is qualitative—data collection using interviews, observations and documentaries. Data analysis uses data analysis techniques according to the Miles and Huberman model, namely Data Reduction, Data Display, and Verification. The results showed that implementing the legislative function of the DPRD of North Sulawesi Province has not run optimally. This refers to the achievements of local initiative regulations, all of which are sourced from regional executive regulations. The timeliness of DPRD in formulating regional regulations has not been optimal. The process of forming regional regulations is less than optimal, hampered by several factors, including the Absence of DPRD members at the special committee meeting for regional regulations, the quality of DPRD members, more lengthy procedures for DPRD initiatives.

Public governance, agility and pandemics: a case study of the UK response to COVID-19

The UK government’s leaders initially believed that it was among the best-prepared governments for a pandemic. By June 2020, the outcome of the collision between the government’s initial confidence, on the one hand, and the aggressiveness and virulence of COVID-19, on the other, was evident. The UK had one of the worst COVID-19 mortality rates in the world. This article explores the UK government’s response to COVID-19 from a public administration and governance perspective. Using factual information and statistical data, it considers the government’s preparedness and strategic decisions, the delivery of the government response, and public confidence in the government. Points for practitioners Possible lessons for testing through application include: Use the precautionary principle to set planning assumptions in government strategies to create the possibility of government agility during a pandemic. Use central government’s leadership role to facilitate and enable local initiative and operational responses, as well as to take advantage of local resources and assets. Choose smart government responses that address tensions between the goal of saving lives and other government goals, and beware choices that are unsatisfactory compromises.

The individualized, accompanied transition program “TraiN” for adolescent kidney patients – a local initiative

Since the transition from pediatric and adolescent to adult care often proceeds unaccompanied and unplanned, young patients with chronic kidney disease may experience health risks and non-adherence after the transfer. The psychosocial team at the Department of Pediatric Nephrology at the University Hospital of Cologne has therefore developed its local transition program “TraiN” for patients with chronic kidney disease aged 13 years and older. It combines structure and flexibility through predefined content modules that can be individually adapted to the patients, offering continuity and sustainability through a transition contact person. In addition, the family members are offered regular psychological consultations. The timing of the transfer is chosen individually depending on the level of psychosocial and medical transition readiness. The aim of “TraiN” is to strengthen the patients’ transition competence and the responsibility for their disease management and to provide them and their families the best possible support during the transition in order to prevent possible health risks. In the near future, a scientific evaluation will be conducted aiming to determine whether “TraiN” can support young people in their independence and self-reliant disease management.

Ecosystem Services of Indigenous Kaliwu Agroforestry System in Sumba, Indonesia

Agroforestry is an environmentally friendly land resource management applied by farmers in various countries. The differences in ethnicity, geography, biophysical environment, and socio-economic background influence the application of this agricultural model, known as indigenous agroforestry. However, information on the management and ecosystem services of indigenous agroforestry in semi-arid ecosystems is not widely known. This research examined the management and provision of service for the Indigenous Kaliwu Agroforestry System (IKAS) on Sumba island. It was carried out in the Central Sumba regency using survey and observation methods in 70 sample units of farmer households distributed in 7 villages. Data were collected through interviews and observations on IKAS management initiatives, including provision services for foodstuff, fuelwood, timbers, and fodders. The results showed that IKAS is a local initiative model for the management of flora biodiversity through the replication of natural forest models in traditional cultivation environments. This is reflected by the plant’s biodiversity developed at IKAS, including endemic and cultural keystone species. The development of various plant species has implications for the provision services for foodstuff in form of tubers and fruits, fuelwood, timbers, and fodder. In addition, IKAS plays a role in supporting sustainable dryland management, biodiversity conservation, and farmers’ livelihoods. This research recommends that the optimization of the IKAS role for community livelihoods and environmental conservation be carried out through the support of its development policies by local government in Sumba.

Current Issues in Early Warning and Development Initiatives Towards Enhanced Flood-Related Resilience in Nigeria

More than 4 years since the UNISDR Sendai framework replaced its predecessor, Hyogo, communities’ resilience to flooding is still a major issue for especially the developing countries (DCs) such as Nigeria where there are unresolved limitations with early warning systems. The recent increase in human and economic damages caused by floods and the inability of communities to recover from the effects, despite years after the disaster, indicate that the global concept of resilience has not been fully grasped. Nigeria, which is the subject of this chapter, typifies this situation. Evidently, the historic flooding of 2012 and its predecessors affected many communities and individual victims most of whom are still struggling with disaster recovery and reconstruction. This raises important research questions. What is not understood in the present context is that government institutions have made a lot of politicizing various interventions and local initiative, but the present reality is a “pathetic travesty of disaster recovery.” This chapter elucidates on these issues through theoretical discussions on community participation, risk-informed investment, and rural adaptation, all of which can be advocated to facilitate community resilience and coping capacity to all variants of flood hazards in Nigeria.