Institutional Developments Research Articles

Teachers learning: understanding continuous professional development in Panama

ABSTRACT Many references to coaching, feedback and reflection, collaboration, and monitoring can be found as an essential component of effective teacher continuing professional development (CPD) in various contexts (Desimone 2009, Avalos 2011, Orr et al. 2012, Psychoyos 2012, Kourany 2017, Darling-Hammond et al. 2017, De León 2017); however, the results of surveys, interviews, and documentary research conducted in 2020 and 2021 suggest that these characteristics seldom appear to be part of the existing CPD in Panama. We analysed interview transcripts using inductive and deductive manual coding methods. The study highlights Panamanian teachers’ desire for innovative CPD focused on pedagogical approaches and subject-specific techniques tailored to regional educational needs and with a school-driven planning approach. Teachers reported barriers to CPD access, including travel difficulties and technology limitations, while expressing interest in international exchanges and financial support for advanced education. They sought engaging training sessions that encourage active learning, provide opportunities for reflection, and demonstrate best practices, emphasising the need for instructors with expertise relevant to the Panamanian context. The results of this study informed public policy recommendations that included the development of an independent apolitical institute that would provide oversight of teacher CPD and well-being in consultation with the Ministry of Education.

Innovative management of the production risks of agricultural enterprises

The article examines the innovative infrastructure in the management of production risks of agricultural enterprises, which is related to the rules for evaluating alternative scenarios for reducing threats in the production system of agricultural production entities in order to obtain the desired result. A methodical approach to the assessment of factors-tools in the innovative management of production risks, which activate the process of economic development of agricultural enterprises in an institutional environment, is presented. It is proved that the institutional determinants that manage the production risks of agricultural enterprises form a system whose effectiveness depends on the implementation of the relevant directions of economic development of agricultural institutes focused on the introduction of innovations into the production cycle. The structural dialectic connection of the concept of innovative development of agricultural enterprises with the cyclical development of the production system is presented. A structural and logical diagram of a methodical approach to the implementation of the mechanism of innovative management of production risks of agricultural enterprises has been built. A mathematical toolkit for evaluating scenarios of innovative management of production risks of agricultural enterprises is defined. Stimulating and disincentive factors-tools in the innovative management of production risks and their impact on the economic development of agricultural enterprises are determined. In order to determine the optimal scenarios for neutralizing threats to the economic development of agricultural enterprises, models of acceleration (deceleration) of the action of stimulating and disincentive factors-tools in the innovative management of production risks were built. The integral index of the economic development of agricultural enterprises of the agro-climatic regions of Ukraine in the pre-war, war-conflict and post-war periods was calculated. It has been established that due to the accumulation of a significant amount of production, financial, material, technical and innovative potential, the level of economic development of agricultural enterprises of the agro-climatic zones of the Forest-Steppe and Polissia increases, which characterizes their ability to reproduce the production system of agriculture in Ukraine.

Regional identity of schoolchildren in foreign language communication

Regional identity of schoolchildren in foreign language communication

Croatian iredentist-hegemonist policy according to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosniaks from 1878 to 1941

Since the first mention, Bosnia, unlike its neighbors, has been a country with a specific development of state institutions and legal institutes. Its statehood is characterized by a unique politogenesis marked by state-legal and territorial-political continuity and specific geopolitical challenges, which can be traced back to the early European and South Slavic Middle Ages. Its uniqueness has been tried many times throughout history primarily by external factors (eastern and western neighbors) expressed through various forms of irredentism, hegemonism, centralism, federalism, fascism, etc. Although there is a wide range of external factors that, either independently or in cooperation with internal political factors, tried to destabilize Bosnia (since 1878, Bosnia and Herzegovina), in the paper we focused on the Great Croatian political course, whose goals are Bosnia and Herzegovina and known to the “good Bosniaks” since the time of bans and kings, that all their cruelty would come to a special expression after the Austro-Hungarian occupation, that is, during the resolution of the Yugoslav issue. In this regard, we tried to open up and analyze the issue of Greater Croatia's hegemony and present its real intentions, often dressed in skillfully used diplomatic forms and phrases about the so-called the right to Croatian lands, the motherland, the constantly stressed threat of the “smallest” constituent people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc. In the paper, we analyzed the issue of Greater Croatia's hegemony and presented its real intentions, often disguised in skillfully used diplomatic forms and phrases about the so-called the right to Croatian lands, the mother-land, etc. When observing the above-mentioned question, we will focus on the period of Austro-Hungarian occupation, and by looking at the key issues of the first Yugoslav period, we will finish constructing a picture of the interference of Croatian politics in the internal affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We emphasize that by analyzing the Greater Croatian policy and all forms of its implementation on the soil of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we are in no way talking about the Bosnian Croats as a people, nor about the Croats as a people in Croatia, but only and exclusively about the ideologies, political projects and programs that have been implemented throughout the centuries, and they are still being planned and implemented to the detriment of Bosnia and Herzegovina and all its citizens, above all the Bosnian Croats, who are alienated by such a policy from their homeland Bosnia and Herzegovina and from their roots in that country, to which the neighboring country Croatia never had nor has any what a right.

Governance and health system reform: a case study of new health regions in Ireland, 2018-2023

Abstract Background While the significance of good governance is recognised within health systems research, its role in health system reform is underexplored. This research focuses on the establishment of new decentralised regional health structures in Ireland in the period 2018-2023, examining how aspects of governance impacted the decentralisation reform process, from policy design through to implementation. Methods The research applied a qualitative, multi-method approach involving analysis of official documents relevant to the regional decentralisation process, and 12 semi-structured interviews with key informants from across the health sector. The research applies the TAPIC framework for health governance as its analytic framework and the data is analysed using thematic analysis. Results Deficiencies in accountability arrangements, poor transparency within the system and vis-à-vis external stakeholders, and a lack of clarity of roles and responsibilities for various process and key decisions related to the reform were identified as undermining progress at various stages of Ireland’s decentralisation reform process. An underlying distrust between key institutional actors was identified. These findings are grounded in complex social, cultural, and political and institutional developments in Ireland’s history. Also of note is the interwovenness of the five TAPIC domains and the importance of engaging with the complexity and relationality intrinsic to health system reform processes to achieve the aim(s) of the reform in question. Conclusions Large scale health system reform is a complex process and its governance presents distinct challenges and opportunities for stakeholders. To understand and address these, critical analysis of the historical context surrounding the policy reform and the institutional relationships at its core are needed. Key messages • Governance plays a crucial if overlooked role in health systems reform. Effective governance arrangements are central to the successful design and implementation of reform initiatives. • Ensuring a strong link between policy design and implementation processes is crucial to the success of health systems reform.

Managing Climate Change at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Butrint, Albania

Abstract The UN’s panel on climate change identified the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Butrint, Albania, as vulnerable to sea-level changes in the coming decades. This article summarises the site’s history and environment before considering new institutional developments to manage Butrint as a major tourist destination. It also considers the challenges posed by the prospect of subsidence caused by tectonic events and climate change. The article considers appropriate mitigation strategies made possible by the Albanian government’s policy of instituting a new management authority at Butrint.

Not so weak after all: institutional and partisan sources of parliamentary resilience in France and Finland during COVID

AbstractDuring crises, executives are empowered at the expense of legislatures. This applied also to the COVID period. Focusing on two stable yet different European democracies, France and Finland, this article examines the internal and external factors affecting the ability of parliaments to control the executive during the pandemic. The empirical analysis considers institutional developments affecting parliaments as well as the behaviour of MPs. The benefit of hindsight enables us to assess the entire COVID period, showing that in both countries the initial dominance of the executive was followed by more assertive parliamentary behaviour. The results indicate that, despite difficult conditions, parliaments in both countries displayed adaptability and resilience, but power constellations pre-dating the COVID period impacted on the respective roles of the French and Finnish parliaments.

The Minimum Wage in Greece: A Review of Institutional Features, Developments and Effects Between 1975 and 2023

Abstract This paper takes a historical perspective and assesses the evolution of the institutional features in setting the minimum wage in Greece between 1975 and 2023. It also evaluates developments regarding the minimum wage level, its bite and alignment with productivity. The paper reviews the limited available empirical literature on the association of the minimum wage with labour market outcomes (average wages, employment, inequality). It presents new estimates of the elasticity of average wages to the minimum wage. One of the paper’s key points is that the minimum wage setting mechanism has changed over time as the economic environment has changed. Reviewing the evolution of the minimum wage over time to evaluate whether the minimum wage follows productivity developments and whether the minimum wage bites leads to the second and third takeaways of the paper. The minimum wage follows productivity developments over the longer term but not always in the short term. The bite of the minimum wage is high and appears to be higher when government intervention in setting the minimum wage is stronger. As for the impact of the minimum wage on average wages, the new estimates of the elasticity of the average to the minimum wage the paper provides, use more precisely measured wage rates, which show a high elasticity of average to minimum wages. Finally, the review of the existing literature on the employment effects of the minimum wage shows that, as in other countries, the results are mixed with modest negative or no effects.

An approach for constructing spatially paired pseudo repeat-sales housing price indices in China

AbstractConstructing a reliable housing price index is crucial for accurately reflecting housing price dynamics and enhancing transparency in the housing market. However, existing methods for constructing housing price indices often confront many challenges, such as omitted variable issues in the hedonic model and constrained samples used in the repeat-sales model. To address these challenges, this study identifies a spatially paired relationship between complexes and develops a Spatially Paired Pseudo Repeat-Sales model to construct the housing price index. This approach offers two significant advantages: first, it enlarges the sample size used in the repeat-sales model at least 1.8 times; second, it effectively estimates the effects of spatial dependency and physical housing factors on prices while mitigating the impacts of unobservable factors through differentiation. The findings of this paper suggest that using the spatially paired pseudo repeat-sales model can significantly improve the estimation of housing price volatility, by approximately 13%. Moreover, the constructed housing price index model demonstrates significant robustness, even when the spatial weight settings are altered. This research provides convincing evidence of improved housing market transparency for stakeholders, including governments, institutional developers, and individual investors. Additionally, the constructed model can inform other similar research in housing price index construction by providing a spatially pairing perspective on housing complexes.

80 ЛЕТ НА СЛУЖБЕ ЗДОРОВЬЯ И РАЗВИТИЯ РЕБЁНКА В ОБРАЗОВАНИИ

The article discusses the history and mission of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Institute of Child Development, Health and Adaptation" (Director – E.N. Pristupa, Doctor of Sciences in Pedagogy, Professor), which was founded in November 1944. The article describes the main stages of the Institute's development, its scientific achievements and contributions to the study of child physiology, school hygiene, preschool education, physical education and hospital pedagogy. The main areas of the Institute's research are presented, including studies of children's morphophysiological development, the development of methods and standards for assessing and improving children's physical and mental health, and the methodological support of innovative approaches to health protection and child development in the educational environment. The article presents in chronological order the main scientific and practical achievements of the Institute, including research on functional development of children, cognitive activity, telemetric recording of heart rate and respiratory parameters, physiological bases of pubertal stages of children, and the development of scientific bases of physical education in educational organizations. The article also highlights the modern research of the Institute. In conclusion, the article emphasizes the significance of the Institute of Child Development, Health and Adaptation as a recognized center of innovation that significantly contributes to the development of science and education, and the role of the Institute in the creation of a healthy and successful society.

Global data governance at a turning point? Rethinking China-U.S. cross-border data flow regulatory models

China and the United States have traditionally represented the ‘security paradigm’ and ‘freedom paradigm’ in their regulatory approaches to cross-border data flow. However, with the introduction of new rules governing these flows in both countries, this article challenges that perspective and explores the potential implications of this shift for global data governance. Specifically, it analyzes how the recent regulations in China and the United States serve as critical turning points affecting the transition between these paradigms, focusing on the overall regulatory frameworks and institutional developments in both nations. The article provides legal, institutional, and case-based examples to illustrate these changes. Furthermore, it offers a comparative analysis of the existing models for cross-border data flow regulation between China and the United States. Targeted compliance advice is provided for multinational corporations and other businesses frequently engaging in international operations that may be impacted by these regulatory changes. This research aims to deliver comprehensive insights into the latest regulatory developments in both countries and their existing models for cross-border data governance, thereby assisting enterprises in developing effective compliance strategies in practice.

FORECASTING THE INNOVATIVE AND DIGITAL STRENGTH OF UKRAINE’S ECONOMY ON THE BASIS OF CORRELATION-REGRESS ANALYSIS

The purpose of the research is to present the realised forecasts of Ukraine's economic power in order to find reserves for the recovery of the national economy and opportunities for the formation of digital entrepreneurship on the basis of innovative functioning, which will lead to economic growth in the medium and long term. The object of scientific research is the expenditure on SRD and S&T development by types of work in Ukraine from 2010 to 2022 and the analysis of indicators of GDP the influence of time, employment and inflation factors; expansion of digital capabilities of entrepreneurship due to the conducted R&D, which will become a guarantee of the emergence of breakthrough innovations as one of the key reserves of innovative and digital development of the country during the war and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. Methodology. A study was conducted utilising dialectical, systematic, mathematical and statistical methods to investigate the R&D expenses by types of work in Ukraine from 2010 to 2022 and the GDP from 2011 to 2023. This analysis determined the prospective existing reserve of economic strength with positive dynamics and highlighted the necessity for a strategic format of digital business work based on innovation. A CRA was conducted to determine the strength of the relationship between SRD expenditures and time (i.e., a set of factors that consistently influence SRD funding and drive its growth trend). Fisher's test was calculated, and an econometric analysis was performed based on GDP indicators over 56 quarters, establishing the dependence of the GDP volume on the time factor and the cyclicality of seasonal fluctuations. Resluts. The conditions for accelerating the digitisation of business processes at domestic enterprises are, in particular, the presence of highly qualified S&R personnel, innovators and researchers in the country, the development of new institutes of innovative and digital development, and the transformation and adaptation of old institutes of development to the existing conditions. The obtained data of CRA show that there is a close relationship between the GDP of Ukraine and the time factor, and the direction of the relationship is direct, i.e., linear, which in this case is a positive fact. It is determined that in pursuit of the goal of restoring the innovative potential of the national economy in the post-war period and further active development of digital entrepreneurship in Ukraine, it is necessary to continue financial support for scientific research and scientific and technical developments carried out in various sectors of the economy. Practical implications. The analysed statistical data had a positive impact on the professionalism of the forecast calculations and allowed to state that in 2027, with a probability of error of 6.29%, the volume of expenditures on research and development is projected to range from 20,202.74 to 29,201.18 million UAH. The results of the CRA show that the multiple correlation coefficient (R) is 0.94, which indicates a close overall relationship between the country's GDP and three independent variables (inflation rate, unemployment rate, time factor). The linear regression equation fits the sample data well and the model is qualitative. The results of the forecast are as follows: Ukraine has the potential for post-war recovery and can develop models for post-war economic reconstruction and changes in its structure. Government officials can develop institutional instruments to attract investment and provide effective mechanisms for the future transformation of the existing labour market and human capital institution. Value / Originality. Having conducted a thorough analysis of the statistical data on the dynamics of spending on S&T development and implementation of the SRD in Ukraine in 2010-2022, the authors managed to determine the relative error of approximation – a criterion for assessing the reliability of the forecast, which amounted to 8.74% and considered the approximation to be qualitative, and the forecast for 2027 is reliable. It is determined that the regression equation is most accurate when R2 approaches its maximum value, that is, 1, and in this case, it is 0.9096, which is a good result and means that the linear regression equation fits the sample data well and the model is of high quality. And for Ukraine's economy, which is under martial law, such positive expectations for GDP and the possibility of increasing R&D spending give hope that Ukraine's economic strength is real, as confirmed by the forecast calculations.

Interview: Reflections on Three Decades of Islamic Nonviolence

Abstract This article comprises a discussion with Prof. Mohammed Abu-Nimer, a trailblazer in the field of Peace Studies focusing on Islam and Muslim communities. It explores Prof. Abu-Nimer's reflections on the development of this field over the past three decades. It focuses in particular on methodological, institutional, and inter-cultural challenges and developments during that time. Like Prof. Abu-Nimer's long career, it is international in scope and explores convergences and divergences in the experiences and discourses surrounding Muslim-led nonviolent resistance, peacemaking and peacebuilding initiatives in the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. It also includes discussion of the role played by cultural difference and hybridity in translating the distinct peace and nonviolence repertoires of Western and non-Western cultural and political contexts.

Staging interactivity: platform logics at the participatory museum

ABSTRACT In an effort to remain relevant as meaningful civic institutions under the dynamic socio-technical conditions of contemporary capitalism, participatory museums have adopted commercial technologies, embraced novel organizational models, and deployed interactive pedagogical environments to encourage innovative habits of behavior and thought as governmental imperatives. The historical formation and transformation of the Exploratorium, widely considered to be the birthplace of participatory science and technology education, lends perspective on these institutional developments as well as the politics of interactivity more broadly. What had been conceived of and built as a pedagogical space to promote a scientifically literate and politically engaged citizenry in the aftermath of the Manhattan Project and McCarthyism – the interactive technological environment – has since been taken up as a means to forge self-investing subjects on behalf of political projects of market rule. In the context of austerity politics and the rise of the digital economy, the managerial logics that animated the museum as well as the pedagogical stage of interactivity that underwrote it provided amenable grounds for market rationalities to take root and disseminate. While profit-driven digital platforms are rightfully seen today as mechanisms for the remaking of relations, activities, and subjectivities, the pedagogical stage created at the museum – the embodiment of both historical continuities and innovations in the realm of interactive exhibition – itself became reconfigured along market lines. A focus on the processes by which this reconfiguration took hold highlights how the material conditions of socio-spatial inequality continue to constitute a domain of urgent contest in the digital age.

Development of labeling institute in supply chains

Development of labeling institute in supply chains

Geomorphology without borders — The history of the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG) and reappraisal in the 35th anniversary

AbstractThis paper reviews the history of the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG), an organization formally established in 1989, but with the foundations laid at the First International Conference on Geomorphology in Manchester in 1985. It recreates the spirit of the 1980s, when the need for more efficient international cooperation on an equal basis was argued for, and outlines steps which led to its setting up. The model of operation of the IAG is presented, emphasizing membership by countries, followed by milestone institutional developments, listing of IAG officers and its Honorary Fellows. Key IAG activities are conferences, projects run by working groups, training and support programmes for early career geomorphologists, and publications. A summary of major achievements and challenges for the future concludes the paper.

E-Learning is Effectively Used for Management for IT Service Courses

This development research ailems to develop learning media (E-Learning) for employee class in management for IT service courses at Metamedia University. E-Learning is designed to improve student learning outcomes, so students can fully understand the material provided. This study uses the Instructional Development Institute development method. IDI procedures are defining, developing, and evaluating. The type of data is primary data where the data obtained from media experts, lecturers and students. Data were analysed using Descriptive Data Analysis Techniques which describe the validity, practicality, and effectiveness of using E-Learning. The results obtained from this research and development are as follows; (1) The validity of E-Learning is stated to be very valid in terms of content and interest with a total validity value of 84%, while the design aspect is stated to be valid with a total value of 85% (2) The practicality of E-Learning is based on the lecturer's response after through validation is stated to be practical with a total score of 87.5%, while the practicality of E-learning based on student responses after going through validation is stated to be practical with a total score of 80% (3) The results obtained from this study are E-Learning is effectively used by employee class students with a graduation rate of 48 student or 89% of 54 students. Based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that E-Learning is valid, practical and effective for use as a learning medium.

Environmental Impact of Agricultural Land Transfer in China: A Systematic Review on Sustainability

Farmland holding fragmentation facilitates more extensive use of agricultural chemicals, which harm the natural environment. Agricultural land transfer in China aims to consolidate agricultural holdings, promoting economies of scale and addressing socio-economic and environmental concerns. This systematic review aims to examine the impact of agricultural land transfer on the environment. The review evaluates 60 empirical research articles retrieved through the Web of Science and SCOPUS databases, which discuss the relationship between agricultural land transfer and the environment. The findings indicate that agricultural land transfer has both positive and negative impacts on the environment. Farmers who engage in land rental and adopt sustainable agricultural practices, including the utilization of organic fertilizers, implementation of conservation measures, and application of efficient carbon reduction techniques, have demonstrated a notable positive influence on the environment. The lack of regulatory mechanisms concerning agricultural land transfer, including non-adjacent agricultural land transfer and large-scale farmers’ improper chemical utilization, causes significant negative environmental consequences such as biodiversity loss and ecosystem destruction. As such, we recommend innovative institutional developments addressing spatial and temporal considerations, land use, market systems, and household conditions to reconcile the links between agricultural land transfer policy and environmental outcomes. We urge continued research into the multidimensional and potential effects of agricultural land transfer to facilitate better-informed policy-making.

A Tale of Two Ṭarīqas: The Iraqi and Khurasani Shāfiʿī Communities in the Fourth/Tenth and Fifth/Eleventh Centuries

Abstract This article provides a new account of Shāfiʿī legal history in the fourth/tenth and fifth/eleventh centuries: a tale of two ṭarīqas, or interpretive communities, one in Iraq and the other in Khurasan. I show that these two Shāfiʿī communities developed as distinct social and scholarly collectives before gradually converging in Ayyubid Damascus and eventually coalescing around one authoritative school doctrine in the Mamluk period. I reconstruct the networks of Shāfiʿī jurists in the two regions and show how and why the two groups differed in their legal reasoning and their paradigm of the madhhab (legal school). Although all of these jurists shared a transregional affiliation with the Shāfiʿī madhhab that distinguished them from jurists belonging to other legal schools, I argue that these affinities were countered by geographical boundaries and diverging local developments that led to the differentiation of the Iraqi and Khurasani Shāfiʿī communities. These insights not only complicate our understanding of what constitutes the post-formative madhhab as an institution but also demonstrate how broader intellectual and institutional developments, such as the ascendancy of Ashʿarism, the emergence of new centres of scholarship, and the introduction of the madrasa, shaped the internal workings of the madhhab.

Modalities of dismissal in Serbia

The development of any legal institute, as well as the valid form of such an institute, largely depends on the state itself, that is, on its state and social organization, culture, tradition and history. Same can be said about dismissal. In this paper, therefore, various modalities of dismissal in Serbia will be presenteed, both through the eyes of the Labour law, as the main law in the field of labour relations, but also through the practice of Serbian courts. However, the paper will be limited to the issue of dismissal within the sphere of general employment regime, thus leaving out the specifities of special regimes.