Environmental Studies – Scholar Publishing

Higher Education in Times of Change

The overall common thread of this e-Book is education in general and higher education in particular. At a time of profound changes in the educational arena and across society at large, thinking higher education and its dynamics is paramount. This e-Book gathers five selected articles published by the authors between 2018 and 2020 that tackle, analyse and discuss some very current topics, such as the transversal competences higher education institutions need to provide their students with, considering their relevance to preparing the future professionals; the importance of Sociology of Education in promoting sustainability literacy in higher education; the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is reshaping the educational arena and the learning and teaching process; and the funding of the scientific publication in Open Access, an increasingly central outlet for the dissemination of the scientific production. The authors hope to offer the educational field some insights, hindrances but also possibilities that lie ahead of the higher education dynamics, actors, policies and forces.

Differences between Digital and Physical Cash Availability across Digital Supply Chains: A Case Study about Brazilian Banking Systems

Purpose: This research work differentiates digital and physical cash availability based in the hypothesis that digital money is created using further virtual enterprises efficiency while physical cash, even utilizing digital supply chains, depends fundamentally of material management efficiency. This research was also considering that banks were one segment which very developed virtual integrations due to their peculiarities (high value transportation, storage, and etc.). Design Methodology: They are three different case studies. The first one about BB (Banco do Brasil), Itau, and Bradesco (the three biggest commercial banks) operations in Brazil for availability of Physical money, using official data kept by Central Bank of Brazil, IBGE, and those three above cited Banks. The digital money availability was another case study investigating the whole payment system of Brazil using POS, card, credit, debit information provided by BCB. The third case study was designed for investigating practices of digital supply chains through further usages in BB, Bradesco, and Itau. However, during the research, the original plan got no enough results, turning the last case investigation more about the same whole payment system, informing the clouding computing, the interoperability, and the reduction of physical demands like introductory results. Finding: This dissertation were able of mapping graphically how the physical money is spread across banking operations into the Brazilian territory, better saying, it shows Brazilian Bank – the total sum of Branches of BB , Bradesco and Itaú – concentrations in each municipality, and the availability of M0- Branches Reserves of those same banks across those same municipalities. The Digital money applications pointed the debit, credit, online transferring, STR, TED, DOC, intrabank operations as very used examples of digital money. Visa and Master card are the two main banner card used in Brazil, but this country has challenges of internet and mobile usages for accomplishing its ambitious project of further integration and instantaneous electronic Payments (PIX). Practical Implications: The Digital money today’s availability is not instantaneous (up to 2 workdays), it is expensive (up to R$20.00 each transaction) and not able 24 hours per day, all week (only workdays). The physical money is also compounded by hidden costs of storage, packaging, transportation and purchase, making Central Bank of Brazil spend more than R$700.00 million each year. The second tier, from BCB to Commercial Banks, has also potential of being expensive, once transportation, physical installations, third party services, surveillance, and transport represent the majority of those operational costs and should be also applied to commercial banks physical distribution.

Technology Acceptance Of Information Services

The goal of this research is to develop and test a theoretical model of the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations on user acceptance of Internet-based information services. The model, referred to as the integrated model of technology acceptance, is being developed with two major objectives. First, it should improve our understanding of user acceptance behavior, providing new theoretical insights into the successful design and implementation of Internet-based information services. Second, the integrated model should provide the theoretical basis for a practical system design and analysis approach that would enable practitioners to develop new information services or modify their current services. For user acceptance to be viable, the model of user acceptance must be valid. The present research takes several steps toward establishing a valid motivational model of the user, and aims to provide the foundation for future research that will lead toward this end. Research steps taken in the present research include: (1) choosing U&G (Uses and Gratifications) theory, a well-studied theoretical approach from mass communication to formulate an integrated technology acceptance model with TAM (Technology Acceptance Model); (2) developing and pre-testing the measures for the model’s factors in two pilot studies; (3) conducting two rounds of data collection and analyze them to prove that the integrated model is applicable to the present context; (4) reviewing literature in both information systems and mass communication to demonstrate that empirical support exists for various elements of the proposed model, and (5) using advanced statistical technique, structural equation modeling (SEM), to test the model’s structure. vi The results confirm our proposed integrated model. The model posits that entertainment motivation is another important factor in determining the use of online services in addition to the behavioral intention, as postulated by TAM. The integrated model also confirms that TAM’s belief constructs, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, are predictors of behavioral intention. Furthermore, perceived usefulness predicts behavioral intention. It also argues that the level of use influences the degree of satisfaction. Satisfaction is a construct that is heavily studied due to its important role as an indicator of system success.

African Discourse- Humanities, Literature and Public Sphere

African Discourse is a literary expression designating the meta-theoretical and metanarrative interpretation of the subject of African predicament in the age of imperialism globalization and imperialism. The issues raised are for good reasons inheritances from the Western modernity, colonialism and neo-colonialism which are largely and collectively acculturation, enculturation and psychological or mental disequilibrium, to use Fraz Fanon analysis or metaphor, of black skin and while mind. This discourse therefore, point blankly and causally places the origin of African predicament or retardation at the door step of European or western modernity which with all its problematic eroded uninterruptedly and calculatively African continent and culture. A definition of African predicament, is therefore, necessary to charting the course of this discourse, it is three fold; the 18th century modernity crisis generated by the problems of the literary and public sphere and as it were inherited by the peripherical states in Africa; the colonial content of modernity and the western invasion of African states; and thirdly the failure of the African to decolonize themselves and propagate their cultural tapestory of literary and public spheres, otherwise, captured here as African philosophy of culture and good governance.

Effect of tillage and plant management on the productivity of different provenances of Jatropha curcasL. in Bargny (Senegal)

Jatropha curcas L. (JCL) is an oleaginous species whose oil can serve as biofuel. This research aimed to study the effects of sub soiling and tree management on the performances of different JCL provenances but also the effect of fruits maturity stage on the oil content and oil quality of their seeds. Four factors (sub soiling, tree management intensity, fruit maturity stage and seeds origins or provenances) were studied. The results have shown a significant effect of all factors (p < 0.05) on JCL growth, branching, and on JCL seed oil content and quality. Tree management favored twigs and fruits production. Besides, dried seeds of yellow fruits gave a higher oil content (30.21g) and viscosity (35.37 ± 0.10 cSt) than those obtained from black fruits (23.45g and 35.285 ± 0.10 cSt, respectively) or from green fruits (17.771g et 35.08 ± 0.10 cSt). So we noticed that tree management increases branching pattern of JCL plants and consequently fruit production and that the yellow fruit stage constitutes the optimal maturity period for higher seed oil content.

Diagnostic De Base Pour La Promotion De La Chaine De Valeur Du Mais Au Burkina Faso

Le maïs constitue actuellement la première culture la plus importante dans le monde, avec une production estimée à plus de milliards de tonnes (FAO, 2015). Les pays en développement représentent 58% des zones maïsicoles mondiales et, 37% de la production mondiale de cette céréale (FAO, 2015). Les États-Unis sont de loin le plus gros producteur de maïs avec 522 millions de tonnes en 2013 (FAO, 2014). En termes d’utilisation, le maïs est une denrée de consommation de base pour une partie importante de la population mondiale. Il constitue un complément alimentaire pour des millions d’autres personnes et est également réservé à l’usage industriel et aux aliments pour bétails. La consommation mondiale de maïs semble s’accélérer, « principalement sous l’effet de la hausse de la demande dans les PED (principalement la Chine et le Mexique), et plus récemment en raison de l’utilisation croissante du maïs dans la production d’éthanol aux États-Unis ». Au niveau du Burkina Faso, le maïs occupe une place de plus en plus importante dans la production céréalière et connait un engouement croissant de la part des acteurs. En effet, longtemps classé troisième culture après le sorgho et le mil, le maïs est depuis 2011, la deuxième culture céréalière en termes de volume de production, avec une part de la production passant de moins de 20% à 32% environ de la production céréalière totale entre 2001 et 2012 (DGESS, 2013). La production actuelle dépasse un million de tonne avec des rendements moyens de 3,7 tonnes en irrigué et 1,5 tonnes en pluviale. Cette croissance est due à l’effet des politiques de promotion d’extension des surfaces emblavées en maïs en conjugaison avec l’amélioration des rendements, rendue possible par l’utilisation des fertilisants chimiques mais également par la mise à disposition de variétés améliorées par la recherche agricole.

Forced to Green’ or ‘Willingness to Green’? Behaviours under Uncertainty of Quota Evidence from China’s Adoption of New Energy Vehicles

Regarding China’s studies, it can be categorized as classical studies, contemporary and interdisciplinary researches, but under the criticism of theoretical absence as an ‘area study’. This research relates to the social, environmental, political and economic policies, subconsciously, it is also affected by the philosophy and history for the decision made by the government and people, namely, in term of the macro-perspective, it covers the philosophy, history, social, politics, and the environment, economics, industry reform. More importantly, it integrates the macro with the microperspectives, digging into individuals’ decision under a micro-perspective, providing a comprehensive insight, where it not only has a big picture on the evolution process in the longitudinal historical spectrum, but also a micro-world on its own functional mechanism regarding the individuals’ decision making. Accordingly, it is an interdisciplinary research providing a micro insight of behaviours from the evidence of emerging industry of new energy vehicles.

Demographic variables and related Mental Disorders of Parasuicide Psychiatric Patients

Studies of parasuicide in the general population indicate that where there is one person committing suicide, there is a possibility of 8-10 people that fail, and mental illness is one of the major contributors to suicide. This study was an archival epidemiological survey to determine the prevalence of parasuicide in relation to demographic variables and related mental disorders. Files of 248 patients who were admitted at Butabika Hospital because of parasuicide were analyzed. Most patients came from Kampala District, tended to be young (15-39 years), came from the student population and were unmarried. Common methods used were hanging, drowning, self poisoning and overdose. Women tended to use less physical lethal methods. Many of the subjects suffered from more than one mental disorder

Legal Framework and Economic Analysis for the Valuation and Management of External Costs caused by Depreciation of Public Goods

Assigning a value to a pubic good is a challenge mainly due to the lack of commercial value. This type of goods, being non marketable, cannot be validated by means of supply and demand. From the other, the evaluation is necessary. A number o economical and social parameters are affected by the assigned value of a public good and in turn, they affect the price of marketable goods. This kind of parameters are taxation, management and preservation of the environment, full use of natural and social resources. The provider of the good- usually the state- have to evaluate rationally and correctly the price in monetary units to avoid loss of capital or failure to preserve and protect the good, something that might lead to the final loss of the good. It therefore necessary the development of specific methodologies that will allow the direct and relatively easy evaluation of public goods. Directness and simplicity are the mainframe for the challenge faced in the present study. The abstract nature of the majority of public goods leads, at best, to difficulties in describing benefits and costs. In the worst case, a non-expert, a simple citizen asked to pay tax for such a provision, more often than not has complete lack of awareness even for the existence of the specific good, even if he benefits from it in everyday life.

Technical-economic Evaluation of Urban and Natural Environment Programs

The estimation of the value of public goods is challenging for two reasons: (a) the classic methods of estimation are suitable for marketed goods and not for nonmarketed goods for which the supply – demand curve does not apply and (b) the variety and abstract nature of such goods cannot facilitate the quantization of any of their properties, whereas the good per se might not be perceived by the population that enjoy the benefit offered. This study presents an attempt to adapt and modify suitable methodological tools for the valuation of such goods in techno-economic analyses of upgrading the quality of the environment. A variety of programmes have been designed and studied in this work, including the enhancing of urban environment, the protection and restoration of cultural heritage, noise pollution reduction, wetland restoration and port restoration. The diverse nature of these programmes necessitates the use of a versatile and easy – to – apply generalized methodology, readily adaptable to each case.