Factors Influencing College Choice of Nepalese Undergraduate Students

Background: College choice decision remains one of the major issues for the students and parents especially during the time of admission. Objective: Understanding this problem, this research, taking colleges of Tribhuvan University and Kathmandu University as the samples, assesses which of the characteristics― institutional, marketing, and social are more dominant in this decision. Method: The study, based on the primary survey; uses the questionnaire to collect data among the management students of bachelor’s level in Lalitpur and Kathmandu district, shows that academic program, quality of education, and social factors are the key factors that impact college choice decision. The study employs convenient sampling techniques. The tendency of students to make college choice decisions depends on the colleges’ academic programs that they have concentrated. Result: The results suggest that college should focus their eyes to apply different types of academic programs, adopt quality education in terms of appointing highly qualified faculties and even contribute certain margin to social support, employability of the students over the market and position of enrolment of the students in higher education. These characteristics enable the colleges to run and sustain in the long run. Conclusion: To mitigate the moderating impact on college choice, the variable gender is used, however, its impact on the relationship of college fees and college choice is not supported by the study.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Problems of Micro-enterprises in Dibrugarh District of Assam: An Empirical Study

Small-scale industries play a crucial role in industrialisation of India. These industries face numerous problems, some of which are peculiar to them, while others are common to both small-scale and large-scale industries. The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed unprecedented threats as well as opportunities on this sector. This article tries to analyse the problems affecting the entrepreneurs associated with 141 micro-manufacturing enterprises in the Dibrugarh district of Assam and puts forward some policy suggestions. In order to identify the most pressing problem faced by the entrepreneurs, the Garrett ranking method is employed in the study. It is found that dearth of skilled labour is the most acute problem encountered by the sector. Lack of proper marketing arrangements, shortage of quality and cheap raw materials, obsolete technology and lack of timely finance are other important hindrances. The significance of skilled labour points to the intense need for continuous skill development of the local workforce by establishing more technical institutes, training programmes, etc. Furthermore, the government should provide special assistance for technological upgradation, develop institutional marketing facilities, and supply cheap and quality raw materials. Further, simplification of procedures in banks’ lending policies, relaxation of requirements like collateral security and margin money may go a long way in enhancing both confidence and performance of small entrepreneurs.

Selling the virtual university : a multimodal discourse analysis of marketing for online learning

When marketing online degrees, institutions are simultaneously telling a story about what it means to be a student at that institution and about what it means to be an online learner. This study is an attempt to investigate and interrogate those stories, to analyze how we talk about online learning and to explore whether that linguistic framing is consistent with a broader socioeconomic critique of academic capitalism in the 21st Century. Using critical discourse and multimodal analysis, I examined the institutional websites devoted to the promotion and marketing of online programs at 18 public universities with high exclusively online enrollment (>4,000). This project describes the consistencies and contradictions embedded in the language and visual artifacts used to market and sell online learning to prospective students in the United States. I explored how these discourses reinforced and reconstituted broader social and lived realities of labor, time, and space. Placing online higher education as a phenomenon within the social context of neoliberalism, and academic capitalism, this study contributes a much-needed critical perspective to the intersection of two areas of inquiry in higher education research, online learning and institutional marketing.

PENINGKATAN DAYA SAING PENDIDIKAN MELALUI MANAJEMEN MUTU ISO 9001 : 2008

Implementation of ISO 9001: 2008 quality management system will be a solution for educational institutions in dealing with problems and threats that can reduce the quality of educational institutions. Institutional marketing and student output generated through a good learning process will result in good academic and non-academic achievements. To realize a better quality educational institution, an institution should always evaluate the quality improvement program continuously, this system will become a strategic tool in increasing the institution's competitiveness in accordance with the demands of the times and the desires of customers, educational institutions as a form of service services are required to form good and capable human resources that are competitive in accordance with educational goals. Adopting the ISO quality management system and implementing its principles well will improve management within an institution so that its management is good and the performance of internal and external members can collaborate well to realize the goals of the institution in accordance with National Education Standards.

The Effectiveness of Private Forest Institutional and Policy in Banjarnegara and Banyumas Regency

This research aimed to analyze the effectiveness of institusional and policy on private forest. The research was conducted in Banjarnegara and Banyumas Regency in August 2012 - May 2013. The methods used in this study are structured interview, open interview and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Assessment of institutional effectiveness was done to government institutional, marketing institututional, and farmer institutional using recommended indicator namely: 1) user and resource boundaries, 2) appropriation and provision, 3) collective-choice arrangements, 4) monitoring, 5) graduated sanctions, 6) conflict-resolution mechanisms, and 7) recognition of appropriators’ rights to organize. The collected data were processed using likert scale and analyzed descriptively. The results showed that effectiveness of institutional in Kabupaten Banjarnegara and Banyumas Regency was moderate condition (quite effective). The effectiveness of private forest policy is seen from four policy viewpoints: policy accuracy, policy implementation, target accuracy, and environmental accuracy. Private forest policy in Kabupaten Banjarnegara is effective based on policy accuracy and environmental accuracy, while private forest policy in Banyumas Regency is effective based on target accuracy and environmental accuracy. This difference in assessment is due to the different of policy or program at the location according to the condition and the desire of community.Keywords: effectiveness, private forest, institutional, policy

OS CANAIS DE COMERCIALIZAÇÃO DO PINHÃO E SEUS AGENTES, EM SÃO FRANCISCO DE PAULA – RS

O pinhão é uma importante fonte de alimento e renda para comunidades rurais que residem na região de ocorrência da Floresta Araucária (Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze). Assim, este estudo objetivou compreender aspectos da comercialização do pinhão em São Francisco de Paula, RS. Para tanto, realizou-se entrevistas estruturadas e semi-estruturadas com 56 agentes ligados a comercialização do pinhão. Identificou-se a existência de canais longos e canais curtos. Observou-se que pinhão in natura é vendido nos dois tipos de canais. Quando o pinhão in natura é vendido via canais curtos, o preço praticado pelo produtor é mais elevado. Contrariamente à maioria das cadeias produtivas de produtos florestais não madeireiros (PFNM), os produtos derivados de pinhão são vendidos, exclusivamente, em canais curtos. Constatou-se ainda que, na região estudada, os canais longos de comercialização de pinhão não são estruturados, que o pinhão processado é comercializado basicamente por agricultores que possuem acesso às feiras e, também, que não há comercialização para os mercados institucionais. Tal situação foi relacionada à grande informalidade das relações comerciais, à falta de instituições que auxiliem no ambiente organizacional desses canais e a um ambiente institucional que desestimula a atividade de coleta.Palavras-chave: extrativismo; produtos florestais não madeireiros; pinhão; canais de comercialização. AbstractMarketing channel of pine nut and its agents in São Francisco de Paula - RS.The Brazilian-pine nut is an important source of food and income for rural communities that reside in the region of Araucaria Forest. This study aimed to understand the marketing aspects of the Brazilian-pine nut in São Francisco de Paula, RS. Thus, we carried out structured and semi-structured interviews with 52 agents related to the marketing of this nut. It was identified the existence of short chains and long chains. We observed that the Brazilian-pine nut in natura is sold in both types of chains. However, products derived from Brazilian-pine nut are sold exclusively in short chains. Also, when the nut is sold in short chains, the price of the producer is higher. It was further observed that, in the region studied, long supply chains of the nut are not structured and the processed product is mainly marketed by farmers who have access to fairs. We also observed that there is no institutional marketing of the Brazilian-pine nut. This situation was related to informal trade relations, the lack of institutions to assist the organizational environment of food supply chains of the Brazilian-pine nut and to the institutional environment that discourages the collecte activity.Keywords: extractivism; non timber forest products; Brazilian-pine nut; supply chains

ANALISIS EFISIENSI DAN KELEMBAGAAN PEMASARAN JAGUNG DI KABUPATEN BENGKAYANG

This research aim is to analyze the efficiency and institution of corn marketing. The study is done by using survey method. Primary data are collected comprises122 household’s farmers which are randomly selected. Meanwhile, there are nine traders selected by purposive sampling based on information of the farmer. The result of this research concluded some important informations, as follow: (a) the relationships among institutions of corn marketing is frequent based on the implementation of social value and norm (social capital) which is important role in improving efficiency and efectivity of whole institutional marketing, (b) based on whole (totality) of cost and benefit analyze which is obtained on each marketing institution, it can be concluded that the corn marketing has been done enough efficient. This reality can be shown by farmer’s share of corn price which is enough big that is 76.92 percent and the fact that every marketing institution has got logical benefit which is appropriate with its role. Keywords: efficiency, institution, social capital, farmer’s share