Long Thang Van Nguyen, Donna Cleveland, Chi Tran Mai Nguyen and Corinna Joyce
This study explores how problem-based learning (PBL) programs can address Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) via the higher education (HE) curriculum, teaching materials and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores how problem-based learning (PBL) programs can address Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) via the higher education (HE) curriculum, teaching materials and relevant assessments, supporting learning at scale for HE institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
Employing SDGs and their indicators as the coding framework, our two-phase study evaluates the curriculum and teaching materials of seven PBL programs at a leading higher education institution (HEI). The first phase involved a content analysis to assess the degree of sustainability integration in 156 relevant courses. The second phase applied a semi-automated mapping protocol to analyze learning and teaching materials in 120 relevant courses.
Findings
The school aligns with 17 SDGs (100%), covering 94 indicators (55.62%). On average, each program within the school addresses over ten of these goals and incorporates more than 24 associated indicators. However, the study reveals an imbalance in the incorporation of SDGs, with some goals not yet deeply and comprehensively embedded in the curriculum. While there is a substantial focus on sustainability theories, the practical implications of SDGs in emerging countries, particularly through case studies and assessments, require significant enhancement.
Practical implications
Mapping SDGs allows HEIs to identify strengths and gaps in SDG integration, thereby improving the PBL approach to enhance student work readiness in sustainability-focused careers.
Originality/value
Through the lens of transformative learning theory, this study provides evidence of SDG integration into PBL curricula. It highlights a mapping methodology that enables HEIs to evaluate their sustainability readiness in curriculum, teaching materials and relevant assessments.
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Isabella Melissa Gebert and Felipa de Mello-Sampayo
This study aims to assess the efficiency of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) countries in achieving sustainable development by analyzing their ability to convert…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess the efficiency of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) countries in achieving sustainable development by analyzing their ability to convert resources and technological innovations into sustainable outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data envelopment analysis (DEA), the study evaluates the economic, environmental and social efficiency of BRICS countries over the period 2010–2018. It ranks these countries based on their sustainable development performance and compares them to the period 2000–2007.
Findings
The study reveals varied efficiency levels among BRICS countries. Russia and South Africa lead in certain sustainable development aspects. South Africa excels in environmental sustainability, whereas Brazil is efficient in resource utilization for sustainable growth. China and India, despite economic growth, face challenges such as pollution and lower quality of life.
Research limitations/implications
The study’s findings are constrained by the DEA methodology and the selection of variables. It highlights the need for more nuanced research incorporating recent global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical shifts.
Practical implications
Insights from this study can inform targeted and effective sustainability strategies in BRICS nations, focusing on areas such as industrial quality improvement, employment conditions and environmental policies.
Social implications
The study underscores the importance of balancing economic growth with social and environmental considerations, highlighting the need for policies addressing inequality, poverty and environmental degradation.
Originality/value
This research provides a unique comparative analysis of BRICS countries’ sustainable development efficiency, challenging conventional perceptions and offering a new perspective on their progress.
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Olawale Daniel Akinyele, Olusola Mathew Oloba and Gisele Mah
African countries are endowed with both human and natural resources. These resources constitute integral components for any economic development due to the long-lasting…
Abstract
Purpose
African countries are endowed with both human and natural resources. These resources constitute integral components for any economic development due to the long-lasting relationship with all sectors in an economy, yet there is an obvious disagreement between growing economy and employment generation in Africa. Though there has been a growing pattern of economic size, particularly the gross domestic product (GDP) among African countries, most of these economies are low in human development. The disagreement between economic growth and employment generation in Africa despite abundant natural resources located on the continent calls for public discourse among scholars. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to examine the peculiar drivers of unemployment intensity in a region characterized by endowed resources.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts two approaches; the authors employed the pooled mean group (PMG) estimator and utilised stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to generate a government efficiency index between the period 1991 and 2017 among sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries.
Findings
The empirical results through the single output-multiple inputs framework indicate that on average, there is a low level of government efficiency towards increasing the objective of human development in Africa. However, in the long run, natural resource endowment has a positive and significant relationship with employment generation for SSA. Hence, the study established that a low level of government efficiency has a long-lasting effect on low human development experienced in Africa.
Social implications
The need to improve the level of government efficiency towards economic development by making both human and physical capital more effective will spur the exploration of natural resources.
Originality/value
The paper provides an empirical study of the effectiveness and efficiency of government through PMG and SFA in establishing the relationship between government approaches and employment level in selected SSA countries.
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Utilizing the Marxist theory of unequal exchange to explain the terms of trade between nations, this paper elucidates one possible mechanism that…
Abstract
Purpose
Utilizing the Marxist theory of unequal exchange to explain the terms of trade between nations, this paper elucidates one possible mechanism that gives rise to ecologically unequal exchange between developed and developing economies.
Design/methodology/approach
We propose a two-sector linear production model and demonstrate that a decrease in the organic composition of capital and an increase in the rate of surplus value in a sector will lead to a relative price decrease and value transfer out of that particular sector, as well as increasing the environmental costs of trade. Furthermore, we measure the levels of unequal exchange (value transfer) and ecologically unequal exchange of 40 economies and empirically validate their relationship.
Findings
The findings suggest that an important cause of the ecologically unequal exchange is the value transfer between economies caused by the international division of labor and real wage disparities. The inequality in international trade is a significant factor contributing to the gap in the ecological environment level between developed and developing economies.
Originality/value
By introducing the theory of unequal exchange or value transfer into the analysis of ecological unequal exchange, we provide a mathematical framework for analyzing ecological unequal exchange and a method for calculating the scale of ecological unequal exchange and value transfer, thereby enhancing the theoretical depth and practical significance of the ecological unequal exchange theory.
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Simone Fanelli, Lorenzo Pratici, Fiorella Pia Salvatore, Chiara Carolina Donelli and Antonello Zangrandi
This study aims to provide a picture of the current state of art in the use of big data for decision-making processes for the management of health-care organizations.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to provide a picture of the current state of art in the use of big data for decision-making processes for the management of health-care organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review was carried out. The research uses two analyses: descriptive analysis, describing the evolution of citations; keywords; and the ten most influential papers, and bibliometric analysis, for content evaluation, for which a cluster analysis was performed.
Findings
A total of 48 articles were selected for bibliographic coupling out of an initial sample of more than 5,000 papers. Of the 48 articles, 29 are linked on the basis of their bibliography. Clustering the 29 articles on the basis of actual content, four research areas emerged: quality of care, quality of service, crisis management and data management.
Originality/value
Health-care organizations believe strongly that big data can become the most effective tool for correctly influencing the decision-making processes. Thus, more and more organizations continue to invest in big data analytics, and the literature on this topic has expanded rapidly. This study seeks to provide a comprehensive picture of the different streams of literature existing, together with gaps in research and future perspectives. The literature is mature enough for an analysis to be made and provide managers with useful insights on opportunities, criticisms and perspectives on the use of big data for health-care organizations. However, to date, there is no comprehensive literature review on the big data analysis in health care. Furthermore, as big data is a “sexy catchphrase,” more clarity on its usage may be needed. It represents an important tool to be investigated and its great potential is often yet to be discovered. This study thus sheds light on emerging issues and suggests further research that may be needed.
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Ulpiana Kocollari, Alessia Pedrazzoli, Maddalena Cavicchioli and Andrea Girardi
The authors investigate the contributions of social capital (SC) dimensions (bridging, bonding and linking) in crowdfunding campaigns by comparing the dynamics of agri-food…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors investigate the contributions of social capital (SC) dimensions (bridging, bonding and linking) in crowdfunding campaigns by comparing the dynamics of agri-food businesses with those of two other sectors – cultural and technological.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors develop linear regressions on a proprietary data set of 5,290 projects launched on the Italian platform “Produzionidalbasso.com”, from 2014 to 2020.
Findings
The authors’ findings suggest that combining the three social capital dimensions (bridging, bonding and linking) has a more substantial overall effect on the number of backers involved in agri-food projects than in cultural and technological projects. Agri-food entrepreneurs effectively mobilize all resources embedded in the SC dimensions and therefore create the conditions to develop new ties that financially support the project.
Practical implications
Agri-food entrepreneurs may benefit from those results improving their funding strategies. Therefore, agri-food entrepreneurs can explore and exploit the instruments available on the CFD platform – video and rewards associated with the campaign – gaining more benefit from the backers involved compared with other project categories.
Originality/value
The study proposes a broader perspective regarding SC that encompasses the proponent, the company and the campaign with three different types of ties: bonding, bridging and linking. These SC dimensions can differently shape diverse sectors and this eclectic configuration can differentiate the effects of SC in crowdfunding campaigns. This study pinpoints how crowdfunding determinants change, based on project categories.
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Anne Margarian and Christian Hundt
This study aims to elucidate the quantitative and qualitative differences in employment development between German districts. Building on ideas from competitive development and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to elucidate the quantitative and qualitative differences in employment development between German districts. Building on ideas from competitive development and resource-based theory, the paper particularly seeks to explain enduring East-West differences between rural regions by two different forms of competitive advantage: cost leadership and quality differentiation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study follows a two-step empirical approach: First, an extended shift-share regression is conducted to analyze employment development in Western and Eastern German districts between 2007 and 2016. Second, the competitive share effect and other individual terms of the shift-share model are further examined in additional regressions using regional economic characteristics as exogenous variables.
Findings
The findings suggest that the above-average employment growth of the rural districts in the West is owed to the successful exploitation of experience in manufacturing that has been gathered by firms in the past 100 years or so. While their strategy is largely based on advanced and specialized resources and an innovation-driven differentiation strategy, the relatively weak employment development of Eastern rural districts might be explained by a lack of comparable long-term experiences and the related need to focus on the exploitation of basic and general resources and, accordingly, on the efficiency-based strategy of cost leadership.
Originality/value
This study offers an in-depth empirical analysis of how the competitive share effect, i.e. region-specific resources beyond industry structure, contributes to regional employment development. The analysis reveals that quantitative differences in rural employment development are closely related to qualitatively different levels of input factors and different regimes of competitiveness.
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José García Solanes, Arielle Beyaert and Laura Lopez-Gomez
This paper aims to examine income convergence among the Euro members from 1995 to 2021.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine income convergence among the Euro members from 1995 to 2021.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses Phillips and Sul’s test (2007, 2009) extended by Lyncker and Thoennessen’s (2017) algorithm jointly with
Findings
This analysis identifies three clubs of countries in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita with notable disparities between and within them, which implies that the theory of optimal currency areas has not been fulfilled.
Originality/value
These results rule out the core/periphery divide as presented in the literature to date. Finally, by estimating an endogenous economic growth model, this study finds the primary factors underpinning the differences between the three stationary states: labor productivity, physical and human capital, investment and international trade.