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This study examines how and whether expectancy for success and task values influence students’ persistence in work placement learning tasks (persistence). Also, it examines the mediating role of task values in the expectancy for success and students’ persistence nexus.

This is a two-study finding. In Study 1, we conducted qualitative research using a sample of 21 undergraduate students undertaking work placement learning in seven firms in Nigeria to gain an in-depth understanding of how the two expectancy-value theory’s (ETV) core motivational factors (i.e. expectancy for success and task values) enhance students’ performance or achievement-related behaviour such as persistence. In Study 2, we conducted quantitative research employing structural equation modelling to test our proposed hypotheses. We used a sample of 395 undergraduates undertaking work placement learning in 189 Nigerian firms (public and private) to empirically test the hypothesized model.

The findings show that students who had higher self-confidence that they would succeed in the placement learning tasks and values for the tasks exhibited higher persistence. We found that students with more expectancy for success showed higher task values for their learning tasks. Although not hypothesized, the positive result is necessary and aligns with ETV assumptions. Lastly, the analysis showed that students’ higher persistence was not wholly due to their higher expectancies for success in the placement learning tasks, but rather because they showed higher values for the learning tasks. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Our study progressed the ETV research in the work placement learning context and offers a model of students' persistence in the context of our study. Understanding the important motivational roles of expectancy for success and task values in enhancing students’ persistence is relevant in that it can facilitate quality learning outcomes. From the qualitative and quantitative (our two-study) findings, we made suggestions on how higher education administrators and industries can use our hypothesized model to further improve the work placement learning programme.

Given that this book places the interconnectedness of international sustainable development and education particularly in times of crises at the centre of attention, it is impossible to disregard the nuanced nature of this crisis context. Based on a review of relevant literature, this chapter focuses on the following four main areas. First, it analyses the complex nature of the definition of the crisis, as multiple attempts to understand the phenomenon of crises and their various classifications have been consensual in recognising that crises are multidimensional and interrelated, that they are integral to the process of change and that they present a range of interconnected factors that distort the normal operation of people, organisations, their relationships, resources, etc. Second, this chapter explains the phenomenon of glocalisation in relation to crises to further detail how intertwined different crises are. When applied to the analysis of crises, the phenomenon of glocalisation is paramount in understanding how locally born crises can trigger globally reaching effects and vice versa. Third, this chapter discusses the impact of crises on international sustainable development. Finally, it is proposed in this chapter that education should be viewed as an important tool in tackling crises and, thus, easing the progress towards sustainable development internationally. This chapter provides important contextualisation regarding the evolving multidimensional and intertwined crises against the background of which the discussion in this book embarks on in its subsequent parts.

Entrepreneurship is not limited to managing and creating a business; other diverse domains have been explored by various scholars. The concept has been defined and explored in various aspects including cultural entrepreneurship (Gupta & Anandaram, 2022) ethnic, feminist, institutional, and various others. To obtain further insights into entrepreneurship, Krueger and Welpe (2014) sought to collaborate on the cognitive and emotional aspects and termed it neuro-entrepreneurship. Literature trends on neuro-entrepreneurship are generally confined to opportunity recognition, risk-taking measures, and decision patterns. It is too early to reach any conclusion as no empirical research has been undertaken on the topic yet. Neuroscience techniques such as fMRI and Magneto-encephalography (MEG) are trying to reveal the hidden phenomenon behind the decision-making process in entrepreneurs. The COVID-19 pandemic forced entrepreneurs to face a new reality: That is not only the crisis in physical resources but also caused a disrupted mental state. Entrepreneurs are seeking new ways to get back on track and potentially neuroscience will assist them. This chapter discusses the background literature on neuro-entrepreneurship and an overview of the rationales of neuro-entrepreneurship in organisational settings. It explains the cognitive and emotional dimensions of the brain controlling decision-making in entrepreneurs. This chapter establishes a connection between decision-making and creativity at the workplace with the help of neuroscience techniques of entrepreneurs and future directions towards achieving a creative entrepreneurial system by amalgamating neuroscience techniques and decision-making for improving entrepreneurial activities.

A “state-driven” approach suggests that colonists use census categories to rule. However, a “society-driven” approach suggests that this state-driven perspective confers too much power upon states. A third approach views census-taking and official categorization as a product of state–society interaction that depends upon: (a) the population's lay categories, (b) information intellectuals' ability to take up and transform these lay categories, and (c) the balance of power between social and state actors. We evaluate the above positions by analyzing official records, key texts, travelogues, and statistical memoirs from three key periods in India: Indus Valley civilization through classical Gupta rule (ca. 3300 BCE–700 CE), the “medieval” period (ca. 700–1700 CE), and East India Company (EIC) rule (1757–1857 CE), using historical narrative. We show that information gathering early in the first period was society driven; however, over time, a strong interactive pattern emerged. Scribes (information intellectuals) increased their social status and power (thus, shifting the balance of power) by drawing on caste categories (lay categories) and incorporating them into official information gathering. This intensification of interactive information gathering allowed the Mughals, the EIC, and finally British direct rule officials to collect large quantities of information. Our evidence thus suggests that the intensification of state–society interactions over time laid the groundwork for the success of the direct rule British censuses. It also suggests that any transformative effect of these censuses lay in this interactive pattern, not in the strength of the British colonial state.

This chapter offers a conceptual framework to explicate the current configurations of temporary art spaces in the United Kingdom and how they seek to support the interests of artists as self-employed individuals. This chapter begins with a review of the literature on artists’ (temporary) spaces. Next, we present a conceptual framework of the dimensions of temporary art spaces and explore how they support or hinder entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative industries to create and sustain their businesses and their wellbeing. The framework questions notions of temporary art space design that are often taken for granted by putting the most fundamental facets of the space (time and use) under a microscope. It can be used as a basis for future research into temporary art spaces and as a way to design better spaces that prioritise artists and their ways of working.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of “Connect the circle” systems thinking tools for improving contextualised systems thinking from sustainability perspectives. The guiding question is could “Connect the circle” improve sustainability education?

The effect of the “Connect the circle” tool on the development of learning dimensions, especially improved problem understanding, shared vision and quality of communication in STEM modules, was analysed by qualitative and quantitative methods.

Authors find that “Connect the circle” is an effective tool for thinking skills development. However, scaffolding in education is required to achieve higher-order thinking skills by empowering students to become active agents of change, capable of envisioning and implementing sustainable solutions at multiple levels.

Educators must bridge gaps between systems theory and understanding how systems thinking skills should be developed in sustainability contexts. Insights from this research will support the development of knowledge and skills required for higher education institutions graduates to address complex sustainability issues.

Applying this tool to STEM curricula represents an original way to explain student holistic vision to connect systems theory to the application of systems thinking skills for sustainability change.

Status characteristics and status cues theories posit that those with highly valued status attributes are expected to be more competent and influential than their lower status/skilled task partners. With a focus on beauty and a task cue we term “working smart,” our aim was to specify the combined attributes that led certain women to attain higher status than their female, dyadic task partners.

Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), we reanalyzed data from a published study about the impact of women's beauty on a paraverbal measure of status. The approach determines how combined conditions, such as being attractive and task efficient, explain an outcome, such as a status difference, between partners. QCA was paired with qualitative coding of interactants' speech to further interrogate the data.

More task-efficient women always attained higher status than their partners, yet a status difference was stronger if the more efficient partner was beautiful. Although gendered deviance was found to lower women's relative status, it does not constitute a status violation.

Social and Research Implications: Variants of expectation states theory are supported based on our unique QCA approach. Applying QCA as a triangulation tool to evaluate the validity of past findings is a novel usage. Social psychology benefits from QCA's ability to treat micro-level data.

“Working smart” was always associated with higher relative social status but not always beauty or task ability. After 50 years, the “what is beautiful is good” thesis continues to be supported and expanded to “what is beautiful works smarter.”

This study evaluated a programme, CAP Youth Empowerment Institute (CAPYEI) that uses Basic Employability Skills Training (BEST) model to contribute the evidence and generate lessons on the type of skills needed to enhance women economic empowerment. The purpose of the study is to generate evidence of what works in women skill acquisition and employability in Kenya.

This study adopted a mixed research design incorporating both quantitative and qualitative approaches to conduct an impact evaluation of the CAP YEI training programme on the employability and entrepreneurship of women and girls in Kenya. The design allows for the consideration of two groups: treatment and control groups thus allowing for a clear comparison of outcomes between those who received the training (treatment group) and those who did not (control group). Project evaluation data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. Given that the study was conducted post evaluation, it did not have baseline survey data, therefore an ex post baseline evaluation using a retrospective approach was computed. In the absence of a true baseline, the questionnaire was tailored to allow beneficiary recall. A key design consideration of impact evaluation study was the identification of a valid control group that could generate a suitable counterfactual outcome.

The results indicate positive self-evaluation on most of the selected soft skills. For instance, over 80% of both the beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries indicated that they possessed communication, teamwork, interpersonal, decision-making, prioritization, assertiveness and negotiation skills, whereas 58 % and 63 % of the beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, respectively, indicating that they possessed information and communication technology (ICT) skills. Results indicate that skills development improves chances of employment among the target group and especially women. The results indicate that addressing gender inequality requires targeted interventions. The targeted interventions could be aimed at ensuring that women and girls are empowered to compete favourable with men and boys in the labour market.

This study was an evaluative study of the impact of an intervention in a single case study. This means while the findings of the study are relevant to policy and practice, they cannot be generalized to a broader populace. The absence of base-line data rendered the use of comparative data impossible. Data generated through self-reported assessment of intervention impacts are prone to responder biases, which may raise questions about the validity of the findings.

This study recommends integration of transferable skills training in teaching and training institutions to enhance competitiveness, employability and entrepreneurship chances of the graduates in the labour market. The study is significant in informing policy direction in Kenya.

This study evaluated a model of integrating transferable skills into a young women training programme and evaluated its impacts with a view of documenting what works for women employability. This case is a unique one in the country specific context.