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Internationalization of Higher Education: A Classification Method-Based Literature Review
No full textRecent decades have seen a surge in internationalization in higher education, however, the existing literature lacks a comprehensive overview. Our research addresses this gap by using the TCCM classification method to identify key concepts, theories, models, and challenges related to internationalization. We present a taxonomy of the field and propose future research directions. Our findings hold valuable implications for policymakers at institutional and national levels, facilitating contributions from scholars in this rapidly growing field
Microwave-Assisted Casting of Different Classes of Materials
No full textMicrowave-assisted casting (MAC) is an advanced material processing technique that offers a faster, more energy-efficient alternative to traditional casting methods. By utilizing volumetric microwave heating, MAC enables uniform temperature distribution, refined microstructures, and reduced defects in cast components. This chapter describes the principles, benefits, and diverse applications of MAC across various material types, including metals, ceramics, composites, and glass. It delves into key processing parameters and highlights recent case studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of this technique. The discussion also covers the integration of MAC with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, reflecting its alignment with the goals of smart manufacturing. While challenges such as high equipment costs and limitations in scaling up remain, the potential of MAC in critical industries—especially biomedical, automotive, and aerospace—positions it as a forward-looking and sustainable solution for enhancing material performance and manufacturing efficiency
Dr. Manmohan Singh: The ‘accidental prime minister’ and the quiet architect of India’s economic transformation
Get PDFDr. Manmohan Singh, the first Sikh Prime Minister of India, who was known for his trailblazing economic reforms that propelled India into a global powerhouse died on Thursday, 26 December in New Delhi. He was 92.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid his tribute to Dr. Singh, a distinguished political figure of our times. The Union Cabinet marked their respect for the former Prime Minister by observing a two-minute silence and by adopting a Condolence resolution that read as follows “Dr. Manmohan Singh has left his imprint on our national life. In his passing away, the nation has lost an eminent statesman, renowned economist, and a distinguished leader,” it said
Insights into earthworms and fungi: Pioneering roles in mitigating global food scarcity and combatting land degradation
No full textClimate change significantly impacts terrestrial ecosystems by altering soil moisture, temperature regimes, rainfall patterns, and frequency of extreme weather events. These disruptions lead to shifts in soil community structures, accelerates land degradation processes, which in turn exacerbate the global food crisis. This review explores the roles of earthworms and fungi in improving soil health and mitigating food insecurity through their contributions to nutrient cycling, soil fertility, and plant growth. Earthworms and fungi recognized as key biological agents in nutrient cycling, soil structures enhancement, and carbon sequestration. They play crucial roles in heavy metal remediation, soil quality, fostering sustainable agricultural practices such as organic farming. The review emphasizes the influence of earthworms on nutrient dynamics, particularly in response to organic residues management, soil characteristics, and field conditions. Earthworm activity positively affects soil microbial communities, which in turn impacts plant growth, even under stress factors like soil contamination and temperature extremes. Review identifies key research gaps in the understanding of earthworm and fungi distribution, performance, and their capacity for soil remediation in varied agro-ecological contexts. In addition to biotic factors, present review also examines alternative food habits and superfoods as strategies to address zero hunger, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for zero hunger, poverty eradication, improved health, and overall well-being. By incorporating earthworms and fungi into agricultural systems and addressing critical research needs, there is significant potential to mitigate land degradation and contribute to the alleviation of global food crises
Implementing psychosocial interventions for teachers’ mental health: Protocol for integrating scoping review with teachers lived experiences in LMICs
Get PDFIntroduction
Teachers are pivotal in shaping educational environments and student development but face significant occupational stress and high rates of mental problems. Despite the availability of various psychosocial interventions, comprehensive evidence of their effectiveness and implementation is limited for this occupational group, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This mixed methods study aims to conduct a scoping review of characteristics, effectiveness, and implementation outcomes of psychosocial interventions for teachers’ mental health and mental problems, integrating these with teachers’ lived experiences to inform the implementation of mental health interventions in LMICs.
Methods
The study combines a scoping review with insights from an advisory group of teaching professionals with relevant lived experiences (PWLEs). The review will focus on examining psychosocial interventions studies promoting mental health or addressing mental problems among grade 1–12 school teachers of all genders, ages and contexts, except those working in specialized settings, such as special education centers, or disaster- or crisis-stricken zones. Intervention studies exclusively focusing on physical health or job-related outcomes will be excluded. Using pre-defined search terms, quantitative and qualitative research studies, including unpublished literature, will be searched across multiple databases. Titles and abstracts of identified studies will be screened against inclusion criteria, and the potentially relevant sources will be retrieved in full. Data will be extracted using a data extraction sheet developed for the study covering variables related to participant characteristics, intervention characteristics, study context, effectiveness and implementation outcomes.
A purposively selected sample of 10 PWLEs will form the study advisory group and participate in four online workshop-group discussions. The meetings will include a presentation of the scoping review findings, followed by discussions on the relevance of these intervention packages for LMICs, adaptations needed to make them acceptable among school teachers and feasible for delivery in low-resourced settings like India. The synthesis of the data will employ narrative and thematic approaches to generate actionable insights for implementing psychosocial interventions in LMICs.
Discussion
This study will provide comprehensive evidence on the characteristics and outcomes of psychosocial interventions for teachers’ mental health and mental problems. By integrating insights from teachers with relevant lived experiences, the study will provide practical guidelines for adapting and implementing psychosocial interventions among school teachers in LMICs
Navigating the COVID-19 crisis: A study of healthcare leadership response in India and the USA
No full textPurpose
The COVID-19 pandemic has reignited the debate on effective leadership during a crisis. The study examined healthcare leaders' experiences, challenges and responses amid the COVID-19 crisis in India and the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
Thematic analysis culminated in developing a thematic framework that encapsulates the behavior of operational healthcare leaders in India and the USA to illustrate how they responded to the global pandemic. Twelve hospital leadership experiences were collected through in-depth Interviews.
Findings
The study highlighted comparable experiences and leadership responses from the USA and India. Thematic framework induced from three themes and eight sub-themes to illustrate how leaders handled unknown challenges of the pandemic, which they countered with increased accountability as a leader, extended need-based networking with inevitable experience of self-role distance, leading to their pragmatic approach and reinforcement of self-belief.
Research limitations/implications
The study findings provide a way forward for revisiting existing crisis management frameworks and cross-cultural leadership theories in terms of behavioral aspects integration with the technical or operational aspects of crisis management.
Practical implications
Healthcare leaders aiming to rebuild hospital systems would benefit from the study by incorporating identified skills such as coping with emotional labor, self-role distance, perseverance, pragmatic approach, networking with extended stakeholders, and extra-role behaviors into training and mentoring programs.
Originality/value
Using a thematic analysis approach, the study’s two-country research design identified a homogeneous leadership response despite a distinct countrywide context
Epistemic justice and the university: Reclaiming the academy for emancipatory urban praxis
Get PDFThis essay offers provocations on the possibilities and challenges of advancing ‘epistemic justice’ in urban research, with particular care for the growing ‘academic precariat’. We explore some of the institutional barriers and possibilities of doing collaborative justice-oriented work within urban and built environment scholarship, especially for those fixed-term, early career, casual academics, independent scholars or those with career breaks. To do so, we refer to and reframe three concepts that are core within academic institutions: ethics, engagement and excellence. We explore the potentials of the urban as a site of political struggles, the projective potential of urban disciplines and the university as an urban actor to offer our intentionalities—alternative pathways—through which we can reclaim the radical role of the university towards an emancipatory urban praxis
India must embrace green hydrogen
Get PDFThe global carbon emissions from fossil fuels reached a record high in 2024. According to the World Meteorological Organisation, Earth’s average surface temperature temporarily hit 1.5°C above the pre-industrial era in 2024. Global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels is considered a threshold beyond which we may start experiencing the worst impacts of climate change. Keeping this value below 1.5°C is a key target in international climate negotiations
Ancient Trade between the Indus Region and the Near East
Get PDFAncient trade relations gave way to interesting religious mixing, as people traversed across long stretches of land masses or water bodies — taking with them their religious beliefs and world views. The intermixing, in turn, left material imprints or signatures that are of relevance to archaeologists and historians of our contemporary times — interested in tracing movement of people and their convictions. This essay explores ancient trade linkages that existed between: a) the Indus cities — that flourished during the second half of the third millennium BCE — and the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) in Central Asia, which included parts of present-day Turkmenistan, northern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Uzbekistan, and western Tajikistan and b) Mesopotamia (parts of present-day Iraq, Kuwait, Türkiye, and Syria) and the Indus sites. The focus of deliberative endeavor will be on a particular motif — Mistress/Master of Animals/Lord of Animals — discovered on antique seals
Grand Narratives of Constitutional Journeys and the Crisis of Democracy: Introduction to the Symposium
Get PDFIn his thought-provoking piece of contemporary global relevance, Theunis Roux makes an important intervention in the debates around the design, character, and effects of the Indian and South African constitutions, with the primary aim of nudging our politics towards securing, albeit incrementally, an inclusive and democratic vision of constitutionalism. In this exercise, Roux attempts to manage a herculean task within the confines of an academic article, which has its shortcomings and omissions. Yet, he achieves something remarkable and thus, acts as the locus of this symposium