Amzad Hossain, Ying Kong, Harvey Briggs and Kim Laycock
This paper aims to analyze Northern Manitoba employers' indexes of employability skills that influence the UCN (University College of the North) students' employability in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze Northern Manitoba employers' indexes of employability skills that influence the UCN (University College of the North) students' employability in indigenous contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This study constructs the employability skills into six indexes from employers' perspective: reading comprehension, numeracy, technology, soft skills, job searching skills and indigenous cultural awareness. Mixed methods have been applied to this research: survey data are used for empirical analysis of the six indexes of employability skills; secondary sources of similar studies together with functional theory in education as a framework is adopted to explore the breadth and depth of employability skills requested by employers; indexing analysis is adopted to validate the necessity of developing such skills in indigenous contexts in Northern Manitoba.
Findings
The correlation analyses and mean values show that employers in Northern Manitoba take the six indexes as influential factors of students' employability. As such, the study indicates that Northern Manitoba employers consider employability in indigenous contexts as a combination of basic skills, professional requirements, soft skills and cultural awareness. The employers' attested employability is in line with the concept of the technical-function theory, which requires education to meet the demand for updated job skills due to a technological change. Moreover, Northern Manitoba employers' emphasis on indigenous cultural awareness as employability skills rationalizes the necessity to integrate indigenous cultural contents into programs and curriculums in UCN and post-secondary institutes with similar attributes. It confirms that indigenous cultural awareness is required by employers in Northern Manitoba populated with indigenous communities. The research findings suggest that the functional theory of education might help UCN and similar institutions globally to offer programs that will reduce employment inequality.
Research limitations/implications
This research is conducted among the employers in Northern Manitoba, and the indexes and their factors are designed to evaluate UCN students' employability in general.
Practical implications
The outcomes of this paper can be applied as a parameter for upgrading educational strategies to integrate essential and professional employability skills such as reading comprehension, numeracy, technology, soft skills and job searching skills with indigenous cultural components into UCN curriculums and programs. It can be applied to other post-secondary institutes with similar attributes to enhance their students' employability. Furthermore, the research findings can be used as a guideline for UCN to tailor their programs for the job market locally and as references for post-secondary institutions with similar student compositions globally.
Originality/value
This paper provides empirical evidence from the employers' viewpoint to support the necessity of integrating essential and professional employability skills with indigenous cultural awareness into the curriculums and programs of UCN, a post-secondary institution in indigenous populated Northern Manitoba. Furthermore, it is also attested that employers consider indigenous cultural awareness as an influential factor of students' employability in indigenous contexts.
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Amzad Hossain, Harvey Briggs and Ying Kong
The purpose of this study is to analyze the indexes of employability assets that affect students' employability in Indigenous contexts.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyze the indexes of employability assets that affect students' employability in Indigenous contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
The study restructures the indicators developed from the survey the authors did for the Vital Outcome Indicators for Community Engagement (VOICE) research project into six employability indexes. The six indexes are reading and comprehension, numeracy, technological mastery, contribution to organizational performance, job searching skills and cultural awareness. The study has applied mixed research method, which is the combination of survey and secondary data analyses.
Findings
All six indexes have impacts on students' employability in various degrees with a high level of internal consistency among the indicators. The regression analysis reveals that the technological mastery, reading and comprehension and numeracy indexes significantly influence students' contribution to the organizational performance. The results also show that cultural awareness has impacts on employability but students do not connect it to the required employability skills. Such disconnection of cultural awareness with employability skills justifies the necessity to integrate Indigenous cultural contents into programs and curriculums in today's post-secondary education, particularly in the University College of the North (UCN), improving students' cultural knowledge, which, in return, enhances their employability in Indigenous contexts. The result is also applicable globally to countries which have large populations of Indigenous people such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, Mexico and other regions where workplaces are set in Indigenous contexts.
Research limitations/implications
The research survey was only conducted within students of UCN Thompson campus.
Practical implications
The results of this paper can be used as a guideline to adjust teaching/learning strategies with a focus on integrating Indigenous cultural components into UCN courses and programs, including other institutions with similar attributes to enhance Indigenous students' employability. UCN tri-council, faculty, community leaders, researchers, government and NGOs can also use the outcome of this paper to articulate polices that enhance students' employability. The outcome and strategic implication of the study can also be applicable to any institutions in a global Indigenous context.
Originality/value
The authors of the paper provide empirical evidence from the indexes of the employability assets including their indicators affecting students' employability. It is attested that cultural awareness index have impacts on students' employability in Indigenous context.
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The violence was the worst Hong Kong has witnessed since protesters clashed with police during the 2014 'Umbrella Protests' which demanded greater political autonomy from mainland…
H.Y. Lam, G.T.S. Ho, Daniel Y. Mo and Valerie Tang
Under the impact of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), this paper contributes in the deployment of the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT)-based system, namely AIoT-based…
Abstract
Purpose
Under the impact of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), this paper contributes in the deployment of the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT)-based system, namely AIoT-based Domestic Care Service Matching System (AIDCS), to the existing electronic health (eHealth) system so as to enhance the delivery of elderly-oriented domestic care services.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed AIDCS integrates IoT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to (1) capture real-time health data of the elderly at home and (2) provide the knowledge support for decision making in the domestic care appointment service in the community.
Findings
A case study was conducted in a local domestic care centre which provided elderly oriented healthcare services to the elderly. By integrating IoT and AI into the service matching process of the mobile apps platform provided by the local domestic care centre, the results proved that customer satisfaction and the quality of the service delivery were improved by observing the key performance indicators of the transactions after the implementation of the AIDCS.
Originality/value
Following the outbreak of COVID-19, this is a new attempt to overcome the limited research done on the integration of IoT and AI techniques in the domestic care service. This study not only inherits the ability of the existing eHealth system to automatically capture and monitor the health status of the elderly in real-time but also improves the overall quality of domestic care services in term of responsiveness, effectiveness and efficiency.
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Stephen Siu‐Yiu Lau, Renato Garcia, Ying‐Qing Ou, Man‐Mo Kwok, Ying Zhang, Shao Jie Shen and Hitomi Namba
The aims of the study are to analyze the features of a socially self‐contained society; to analyze the features of an environmentally sustainable society; and to generate a…
Abstract
Purpose
The aims of the study are to analyze the features of a socially self‐contained society; to analyze the features of an environmentally sustainable society; and to generate a discussion on an indigenous approach towards the sustainable design of communities, particularly through the study of the round village for its unique form and performance in terms of sustainable construction.
Design/methodology/approach
Researchers from an international group undertook a field study of a number of specimen round and square shape Hakka villages in December 2004. They discussed their preliminary findings with local academics regarding significant attributes for sustainable design principles, and summarized lessons by means of spatial and construction studies that inform contemporary urban designers' knowledge and practice of sustainability through indigenous architecture.
Findings
Through reinterpretation of Feng‐shui theory, various observations made were easily and naturally correlated to basic laws of sustainability. The biggest message that comes from Fujian round architecture is that a genuine practitioner of environmental and social sustainability relies on a simplicity of approach – a respect for nature.
Research limitations/implications
The study is confined primarily to observations by a team of architects and engineers.
Practical implications
Field study of vernacular architecture provides useful information and first‐hand data for researchers on rammed earth structures.
Originality/value
The study of rammed earth structures in remote areas of China, in both coastal and earthquake active zones, offers fresh insight into the integrity and ingenuity of early settlers in sustainable construction. The research provides preliminary findings regarding environmental and construction practice in age‐old Hakka round houses.
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This paper uses an econometric approach to examine the relationship between real ( ex post) and rationally expected housing prices in Hong Kong over its boom and bust cycle…
Abstract
This paper uses an econometric approach to examine the relationship between real ( ex post) and rationally expected housing prices in Hong Kong over its boom and bust cycle. Models of market fundamentals are developed from a rational expectation hypothesis to compare the ex post housing prices and expected housing prices, and to test whether the housing price can reflect the market fundamentals. The findings suggest that the private housing price in Hong Kong is cointegrated to the market fundamentals in the long‐runP only; and exhibits a volatile performance in the short‐run. The short‐term market “noises” are believed largely to be the result of government intervention and unexpected market fluctuations.
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Siu Chan and Ying Heidi
Despite the rich literature on the effects of parental mental health problems on child development, the needs of children of mentally ill parents have been overlooked in both…
Abstract
Despite the rich literature on the effects of parental mental health problems on child development, the needs of children of mentally ill parents have been overlooked in both research and services. This study investigated the needs of a neglected group, namely Chinese adolescent children of parents with schizophrenia, in order to gain insights into the design of programmes for these adolescents. In‐depth interviews were conducted individually with five Chinese adolescent girls whose mother or father was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Analysis of the interview data revealed four common themes: stigma and discrimination; mixed feelings of love and anger; the role of being a carer; and positive gains. The results shed light on the importance of taking cultural context into consideration when providing services for these children and further conducting research in this area. Although mental health problems are regarded as a taboo and associated with shame in Chinese culture, these children, out of a respect for their parents (‘filial piety’1), showed a strong sense of loyalty to their parents and suppressed their anger and sorrow for their parents' sake. Implications for social services for children whose parents have mental health problems and suggestions for future research are discussed.
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Ping‐Kit Lam, Kwai‐Sang Chin and Wai‐Ying Cheung
Client‐supplier collaboration has been an imperative approach to new product development (NPD), in which a good product specification management system and practice is crucial to…
Abstract
Client‐supplier collaboration has been an imperative approach to new product development (NPD), in which a good product specification management system and practice is crucial to the assurance of product quality. This study investigates product specification management in client‐supplier collaborative NPD. Based on the interviews and survey study, 12 problems and 13 good practices of product specification management are identified. It also compares the importance and degree of the implementation of the product specification practices in Hong Kong electronics industry. The results suggest that more intensive practices should be implemented for better product specification management.
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Issa Danjun Ying, Amanda McGraw and Amanda Berry
In this chapter, the relationship between self and community is addressed through inquiring into the impact of the International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching (ISATT…
Abstract
In this chapter, the relationship between self and community is addressed through inquiring into the impact of the International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching (ISATT) on the professional learning, teaching, and research of members specifically in the Asia-Pacific region. The authors employ qualitative methods, primarily self-study and narrative inquiry, and use descriptive statistics derived from survey responses to support their claims. The work not only speaks to ISATT’s significant shaping effects but also to historical and contemporary challenges the organization faces as it moves toward the future.