Quality and Inequality of Elementary Education in the State of West Bengal of India

The chapter has two main objectives: i) To analyze the quality of elementary education in West Bengal in terms of the learning achievement in mathematics, reading and writing and the inequality among students across different groups. ii) To analyze the factors influencing the performance of the students in mathematics and language. Using secondary data from the Government of West Bengal's Utkarsha Abhiyan for 123980 students of class 4 across 12,912 schools it was observed that on average girls significantly outperform boys in all three subjects. Moreover, the inequality in learning outcomes is lesser for the girls than that of boys. Schools with basic infrastructural facilities have performed better. The Tobit Regression analysis indicates that various school-level and environmental factors have a significant impact on performances. Interestingly, funds per student and the gender of the teacher in primary education turned out to be insignificant. The chapter focuses on the fact that merely increasing funds does not ensure improvement in learning outcomes.

Institutional Capital on Trade Marketing and Environmentally-Sustainable Development Policy Making

The aim of this study is to critically analyze the implications in terms of the relationship between cooperation, conflict, and institutional capital, as well as their interactions with trade marketing and environmentally sustainable development policy making under the framework of NAFTA. The methodology is based on a literature review aimed to create a relationship between the analytical variables in order to obtain a research construct. This research model is used to critically analyze the implications in terms of cooperation and conflict relationships as institutional capital and their interactions with trade marketing and environmentally sustainable development policy making. It is concluded that, although the existence of NAFTA is severely questioned, its institutional capital has positive effects on the implications of trade-marketing; however, environmentally sustainable development proves to be conflictive and highly contentious, although some positive effects are developing.

Collaborative Economy, Sustainability, and Retail Cooperatives

Guayaquil is the most industrial city of Ecuador and is currently in the process of structural transformation. The combination of solidarity, co-responsibility, cooperation, and coordination among all the inhabitants bases the environmental management in Ecuador, are aimed at guaranteeing sustainable development and is based on the balance and harmony between different social, ecological, economic, and social aspects of the country. The creation of cooperatives can transform Ecuador to benefit its citizens and consumers. Similar criteria guides Ecuador in its relations with other countries to avoid environmental harm on other nations through the use of rational and sustainable management of resources. The objective of this book chapter is to define, propose, and analyze how retail cooperatives located in the city of Guayaquil (Ecuador), following public-private schemes, can contribute to creating sustainable economic growth.

Future of Life-Cycle Assessment in a Smart and/or Sustainable World

Today, even in developed countries, performing life-cycle assessment (LCA) is still a challenging and complex process, mixed with the possibility of significant errors—namely due to unreliable input data derived from unrepresentative sampling. Some scientific texts illustrate the so-called Smart World—where such errors are minimized via the exchange of information between everything globally. This may sound contradictory to the fact that now almost half the world population do not even have internet access. However, this chapter shows—by reasoning, review, and synthesis of the literature, theories, and data—that the emergence of the Smart World is plausible. Yet, it will not necessarily be sustainable, unless “smartness” is (re)defined in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. Otherwise, also, LCA might become obsolete, or its goals may transmute to non-sustainable ones. Focusing on examples from the construction industry and their interactions with other sectors, some shortcuts are also suggested to facilitate innovations and development of LCA and decision-making procedures.

The Problem of Climate-Induced Displacement

The members of a community owe their identity to the State to which they belong which inculcates a sense of belongingness to their own community, people, and land. The loss of identity to a State due to disruptive climate change is a fear in this century. Excessive utilization and consumption of fossil fuels and non-renewable energy sources across the globe have caused unprecedented increase in global temperatures. Sudden incidents of unprecedented floods on Bhola Islands in Bangladesh, or the disappearance of the Kiribati and Lohachara Islands due to rising sea-level have forced communities to flee their own country. This has raised questions about the status of such climate migrants. Media reports have designated them as “climate refugees.” But are they really refugees? The research aims at understanding the nexus between climate change and mass displacement of communities, the status of such migrants and the International legal framework on the status of such migrants.

Ethical Discussion on Supply Chain and Environment Investments

This chapter presents the importance of understanding how a country's competitiveness is evaluated according to international reports as well as in specific terms that assess the country logistics achieved. These results show the main variables to determine why certain levels of competitiveness are reached. On the other hand, a reflection will be presented, showing that it is necessary to include variables that must be taken into account, that promote or will be possible barriers to sustainable development, which in the long term define the sustainable development of a country. Subsequently, the structure of the supply chain management (SCM) proposed by different authors and which is required to allows to define in a company what are the elements required to be able to structure of its SCM are shown. Additionally, a relationship between the elements necessary for development of competitiveness and sustainability will be established, integrating these components with the concepts of the SCM, where the results will be environmental SCM, i.e. ESCM.

Gender Equality and Sustainable Development Within the Scope of Peace as a Global Public Good

In this chapter, it aimed to bring a multidimensional approach to the “peace” process. The elements of this multiple approach are gender equality and global public policies. It is thought that the mobilization of these two elements in the peace process will be the cornerstone of sustainable development in the world. In this context, gender equality (Goal 5) and peace, justice and strong insights (Goal 16), which is one of the United Nations' sustainable development goals, are engaged in the global public policies. Accordingly, public policies and the peace process involving women will lead to a chain impact that will support sustainable development. While ensuring gender equality provides a solution in the peace process, peace building, and gender equality contribute to sustainable development together. Because the empowerment of the most damaged society in the post-war period will undoubtedly contribute to sustainable development.

Methods and Capacities for Institutional Policy Making in Environmental Governance

Environmental governance is the range of rules, practices and institutions related to the management of the environment in its different forms ranging from conservation, protection and exploitation of natural resources. It also indicates all the processes and institutions, both formal and informal, that encompasses the standards, values, behaviour, and organizing mechanisms used by citizens, organizations and social movements as well as the different interest groups as a basis for linking up their interests, defending their differences, and exercising their rights and obligations in terms of accessing and using natural resources. Globally environmental governance is deciphered as the sum of organizations, policy instruments, financing mechanisms, rules, procedures, and norms that regulate the processes of global environmental protection. The need for environmental regulation is the result of identification of factors resulting in environmental degradation.

History, Policy Making, and Sustainability

Public policy and policy making is an inherent task of the institutions and state for the purpose of well-knit and sustainable governance in the society and organisation as well as in the state. The quality of governance is based upon how visionary the public policy is and how far it has been implemented. The aspect of sustainability thrives on the perspective that policy making should be inclusive having inter-generational justice. The chapter attempts to look into how far history has played its role in policymaking of the state and civil society. It also looked into how history had a role in the foreign policy making of the state. Analogies can be drawn from the past experience into the present decision making which can have a reflection in the future as well. Lyndon Johnson's administration prepared internal histories to key policy issues, in hopes of better informing the initial efforts of its successor. The illustrations and examples in the chapter are not confined to the geographical boundaries of any particular nation but rather have a global dimension.

The Role of Corporations in Achieving Ecological Sustainability

Industrial development of the past 200 years has brought immeasurable wealth and prosperity. However, it has also caused an unintended eco-logical degradation. Hence, the focus of environmental law has shifted from the creation of global frameworks to deal with environmental problems to comply with those frameworks. As a result, the primary actors in environmental law have shifted from the state and the global community to corporations. As a consequence, environmental policies must develop along legally holistic lines. The role corporations have had in achieving ecological sustainability is poorly understood. In the backdrop of the above issues, the chapter examines the implications of ecologically sustainable development for corporations. It articulates corporate ecological sustainability through the concepts of environmental management and ecologically sustainable competitive strategies. It further examines the implications that these concepts have for a corporation in the long run.