30793 research outputs found
Sort by
The effect of funding for disadvantaged students on academic underachievement
Get PDFData availability:
The data for this study are protected by a confidentiality agreement and we are precluded from sharing the data with others. Interested readers can contact the corresponding author for information on how to access the data. The R codes to replicate the results are available upon request.We estimate the effect of school funding for disadvantaged students on academic underachievement in primary education. For this purpose, we exploit a policy in Belgium that granted additional funding for schools with a share of disadvantaged students of at least 10%. Combining stochastic frontier analysis (a method to measure efficiency) with regression discontinuity design, we find that while additional funding does not affect achievement, it does help reduce underachievement. As a result, the policy has helped bringing students impacted by it closer to realizing their full potential compared to their peers who were not included in the policy. From a policy perspective, our findings indicate that maintaining targeted remedial measures is essential for enhancing effectiveness. Additionally, we emphasize the importance of analyzing both underachievement and achievement.KDW and OB acknowledge financial support from the Horizon Europe project BRIDGE (Grant Number 101177154). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them
Lean production, agile production and supply chain collaboration
Get PDFThis thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonThe contemporary constantly changing environment is a significant challenge that affects all
organisations including manufacturing firms while implementing concepts underpinning a drive
for sustainability, with government regulations, customer demands and supplier issues impacting
these firms. Literature on sustainability performance has suggested that the combined influence of
lean manufacturing and agile manufacturing can help organisations to overcome those challenges,
yet this relationship has received little empirical attention to date. Furthermore, the extant literature
has suggested that supply chain collaboration (SCC) at the customer and supplier level can affect
sustainability performance in general in firms including those that have adopted lean production
or agile production or both. Likewise, however, little empirical attention has been applied to date.
A major area of concern in this context is the importance of the implementation of economic,
environmental and social sustainability factors in firms and the complications that could arise
while doing so. This research thus examines the complex situation created in manufacturing firms
that adopt lean production and agile production, and how SCC intervenes. The nature and extent
of the combined influence of lean production and agile production on sustainability performance
were investigated alongside the impact of SCC as an intervention. Lean production and agile
production were conceived as independent variables in a single model influencing economic,
environmental and social sustainability performance factors as individually distinct constracuts
and directly. SCC was conceived as a moderating variable to ascertain the extent of its effect on
the direct individual relationship posited between lean production and agile production
respectively and the three sustainability performance factors respectively. The research was
conducted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Medium and large enterprises were chosen for study.
A survey instrument was developed and administered online. A total of 700 manufacturers were
identified to whom the survey instrument was sent in the form of a weblink, and 181valid responses
were received. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the hypothesised relationships
in the theoretical model. The findings revealed that lean production and agile production in
combination cannot influence the individual sustainability performance factors in a single model.
Lean production dominated and influenced the three sustainability performance factors positively
while agile production only acted as the covariant when the two production methods were used in
combination. However, both lean production and agile production were found to individually and independently influence the three sustainability factors. SCC not only moderated the relationship
between lean production and economic sustainability performance factors positively but
moderated all the three relationships between agile production and the three sustainability
performance factors negatively. This research contributes to the body of knowledge concerning
the implementation of interventions to achieve the three sustainability performance factors in
firms, namely lean production and agile production, and contributes important guidance for
managers in manufacturing firms seeking to enhance these sustainability performance factors
through lean and and agile production and when SCC intervenes
Formalization as a strategy of ASM “sanitization”: So far, how far?
Get PDFPurpose:
For decades, a significant number of studies have examined the agenda of the formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) operations. There is now enough anecdotal evidence that formalization of ASM operations can help promote safe working conditions. However, very few studies have examined the internal dynamics and outcomes once ASM operations become formalized. This notwithstanding, these few studies provide very useful insights that could help reshape policy and refine scholarly ideas about formalization. This present study, therefore, performs the task of (re)visiting the empirically oriented insights of the literature that explores the ASM activities of operators that are in possession of mining licenses and are in operation.
Design/methodology/approach:
The study seeks to answer the following question: How far have formalization mechanisms succeeded in “sanitizing” the ASM sector? To achieve this, the authors draw on the findings of qualitative case studies examining the operations of formal ASM actors. Other data for the inquiry were sourced from published documents providing insights and discussions on the dynamics of the formalization of ASM.
Findings:
Synthesizing the findings of the studies that have examined formalized ASM operations, the evidence seems to suggest that monitoring and supervision can mediate good environmental management practices. Formalization seems to have positive impacts on the working conditions and the health and safety of the operators; however, this might not be true for access to credit, reinforcing the fact that unaided formalization cannot completely cure the excesses of informality.
Originality/value:
Analyzing the literature on formal ASM operations, this present study provides useful discussions of where we stand and how research and policy discussions on ASM formalization may proceed from here
Investigating the impact of student-teacher ethnic congruence on school attainment outcomes: an international review
Get PDFConcern is growing internationally over the disproportionality of the ethnicity of teachers compared to the ethnicity of the students they teach. Generally, ethnic minorities are under-represented in the teacher workforce. This is not merely an oddity. It could influence the outcomes for ethnic minority students. Here we present a structured review of the worldwide prior evidence on ethnic disproportionality and student attainment. Our search located 31 reports to describe and synthesise. There are few studies designed to assess a causal relationship between student:teacher ethnic matching and outcomes. Most of the best studies are large-scale but only correlational, mostly from the US than elsewhere, and the context may not always be relevant to countries with different ethnic mixes and histories of diversity. Overall, there is no clear relationship between ethnic congruence and differential attainment. Some studies suggest an advantage for ethnic minority students from having ethnically matched teachers, but most studies also do not. Overall, our study suggests that a system with an ethnic diversity of students could benefit in a variety of ways from also having a more proportional diversity of teaching staff – whether students and their teachers are specifically matched or not.This paper is based on a study funded by the UKRI ESRC ES/X00208X/1
The Effect of Social Media and Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Fear of Missing Out (FoMo) within Kuwait’s Context
Get PDFThis study examines the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Social Media (SM) on the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) among general social media users in Kuwait and employees of the Ministry of Interior (MOI) of Kuwait. Employing a mixed-methods approach, data was gathered from a diverse sample including social media experts, academics, Kuwaiti users, and MOI personnel. In-depth interviews were conducted and analysed using NVivo software.
Qualitative findings highlight significant ethical concerns, particularly regarding privacy and transparency in the integration of AI within social media platforms. Participants emphasized both individual and collective responsibility in curbing the overuse of AI-driven features. Quantitative results indicate that FoMO is widely perceived as an addictive behaviour, and many respondents find it ethically acceptable to utilize FoMO in marketing strategies.
This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how AI-driven algorithms influence user behaviour on social media. It underscores the responsibility of platforms to strike a balance between personalized content delivery and ethical considerations. The findings also call for stronger policy interventions to address privacy violations and the lack of transparency surrounding AI technologies
Surgical removal of subretinal cysticercosis in conjunction with administration of intravenous methylprednisolone: A case report
Get PDFSupplementary data are available online at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451993625000337?via%3Dihub#appsec1 (Multimedia component 1.video (3 MB)).Purpose:
Intraocular cysticercosis in the sub-macular location is a rare but potentially blinding disease. The management requires immediate surgical management and anti-parasitic medications. We present a case of subretinal cysticercosis that was managed with a novel method of intravenous methylprednisolone administration before and after it was surgically removed.
Observations:
A 17-year-old Indian female patient presented to our clinic with a history of vision deterioration through the last 27 days in her left eye (OS). Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 20/20 in the right eye (OD) and hand motion OS. Fundus examination showed a healthy-appearing OD and a whitish glow in the macular region OS. She was diagnosed with subretinal cysticercosis and underwent pars plana vitrectomy with in toto removal of the cyst along with pre/post-surgical intravenous methylprednisolone and anti-parasitic medications. A significant visual recovery of 20/60 was achieved three weeks following the surgery in OS.
Conclusion and importance:
The index case shows a favorable visual recovery in a patient with a subfoveal cyst of relatively long duration. We hypothesize that intravenous methylprednisolone in conjunction with routine treatment may have led to favorable visual outcomes.No funding was received from any individual, institute, or organization to conduct the study. The Byers Eye Institute is a recipient of funding from the National Eye Institute (P30-026,877), and Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc
Prevention and social care for older people in Wales: reflections from a research study
Get PDFPrevention has increasingly become a central principle for health and care services across the UK. Legislatively this is evident in The Care Act 2014 in England or the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014; each making prevention a statutory obligation for governments to enact. Yet, recent research has highlighted how this legislative drive incorporates a ‘definitional slipperiness’[1] that sees prevention linked to multiple agendas all at once: individual well-being; system partnership working; community development and resilience; statutory cost-saving, and financial imperatives, to name a few. Not all these agendas sit easily alongside one another, though, meaning that there is scope for multiple parallel interpretations of
prevention[2] particularly in the social care context, and for older people
How do adults with neurodevelopmental disorders prefer information being presented?
Get PDFSupplementary Information: Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09523987.2025.2544118# .Neurodiverse children do not always benefit from a typical learning environment and therefore may be at a disadvantage when learning alongside their peers. Many of these children have different preferences when it comes to the formatting of learning materials, which may impact their performance. The current study examined the preferences of 204 adults with diagnosed ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dyspraxia to identify formatting preferences for formatting variables previously shown to influence performance: font style, font size, character spacing, line spacing, title design, background colour, reward icon and instruction layout. Preferences were obtained by means of a survey, where participants rated their preferences on 5-point, Likert-type scales (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Participants were also asked to rank the options provided for each formatting variable from least favourite to favourite. Results indicated consistent preference across all neurodiverse groups, with one category in each being significantly preferred across all groups. The exception to this was background colour, in which each neurodiverse group preferred a different colour.The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article
Domestic Implementation of International Human Rights Obligations in Africa
Get PDFAfrican States have ratified a number of human rights treaties that require them to respect, protect and fulfil (facilitate, provide and promote) human rights, as well as to prevent violations of human rights. In practice, States and non-State actors have paid very little attention to the obligation to prevent human rights violations. This article examines the obligation of States to prevent violations of human rights and remedies for human rights violations. It considers the application of international human rights law within the national law of the State. It further examines discrimination based on sexual orientation drawing on State practice as reflected in domestic legislation and judicial decisions from Zimbabwe, Uganda and Malawi. It is observed that the obligation to prevent violations of human rights requires a new approach to human rights in Africa and what States must do to comply with international human rights obligations. The obligation to prevent requires States to refrain from acts or omissions they foresee or ought reasonably to foresee will create, contribute to or result in violations of human rights before they occur within and beyond State borders, and to take effective measures to prevent similar violations in the future. Despite the fact that most attention to violations of human rights has tended to be retroactive, the obligation to prevent violations of human rights necessitates taking action before individuals or groups of individuals suffer violations of human rights...
Psychic distance and inter-organizational relationships: theoretical foundations, methodological approaches, and future research directions
Get PDFPurpose:
This paper presents a comprehensive and integrated review of the literature on the role of psychic distance in shaping inter-organizational relationships, by uncovering the theoretical, methodological, and thematic foundations of this research domain.
Design/methodology/approach:
Leveraging a systematic literature review in combination of text mining techniques using Leximancer, the study identified 62 relevant articles published between 1980 and 2024. The analysis revealed four key areas of focus: (1) interfirm business relationships, (2) relational governance and performance, (3) relationship quality, and (4) relationship violation.
Findings:
The findings indicate that this body of research is grounded in well-established theoretical frameworks, with social exchange theory, transaction cost analysis, relational exchange theory, and the resource-based view being the most frequently employed. The literature predominantly emphasizes the role of psychic distance in the formation and maintenance of interfirm business relationships, while the other three areas remain comparatively underexplored.
Originality/value:
By offering a more robust framework and a holistic understanding of psychic distance in inter-organizational relationships context, this study paves the way for further theory-driven studies, which is a theoretical contribution towards advancing this research are
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Open Research Online? Become a CORE Member to access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard! 👇