Sector Initiatives Research Articles

Innovating business practices: The impact of social media on fostering gender equality and empowering women entrepreneurs

Social media has emerged as a powerful tool for fostering gender equality and empowering women entrepreneurs by providing them with unprecedented access to resources, networks, and markets. This abstract explores the impact of social media on innovating business practices to promote gender equality and empower women entrepreneurs. Social media platforms have democratized access to information and resources, enabling women entrepreneurs to overcome traditional barriers to entry in business. By leveraging social media, women entrepreneurs can build and expand their networks, access mentorship and support, and showcase their products and services to a global audience. Additionally, social media provides a platform for women to collaborate, share experiences, and advocate for gender equality in entrepreneurship. The impact of social media on gender equality in entrepreneurship extends beyond individual empowerment to systemic change. Social media campaigns and movements have raised awareness about gender biases and discrimination, leading to increased calls for gender-inclusive policies and practices in business. Moreover, social media has enabled women to access funding and investment opportunities, breaking down traditional barriers to capital that have hindered women's entrepreneurial endeavors. Overall, social media has revolutionized business practices by empowering women entrepreneurs to overcome barriers, access resources, and advocate for gender equality. However, challenges remain, including online harassment and cyberbullying, digital skills gaps, and the digital divide. Addressing these challenges requires a multi-stakeholder approach, including government intervention, private sector initiatives, and civil society engagement, to ensure that social media remains a force for positive change in fostering gender equality and empowering women entrepreneurs.

Launched 20 Years Ago, Environment, Social and Governance Principles and Market Value Remain Unchanged Despite Recent Challenges

ESG—environment, social and governance—was first introduced in a 2004 report by the United Nations' Global Compact. The institutions1 that participated in the Financial Sector Initiative and endorsed the report believed that:

International climate finance mechanisms: A review with focus on Africa

Climate change poses an unprecedented threat to the global environment, with far-reaching consequences for vulnerable regions, particularly in Africa. This paper provides a comprehensive review of international climate finance mechanisms, shedding light on their effectiveness in addressing climate-related challenges, with a specific focus on the African continent. As climate change continues to exacerbate existing vulnerabilities, understanding and optimizing the mechanisms through which financial support is channeled to affected regions becomes paramount. The paper explores a range of international climate finance mechanisms, including multilateral funds, bilateral agreements, and private sector initiatives. It assesses their strengths and weaknesses in terms of mobilizing resources, promoting sustainable development, and enhancing climate resilience. The analysis also delves into the evolving landscape of climate finance, considering the emerging role of innovative financial instruments and the potential for leveraging private sector investments to complement public funding. Focusing on Africa, the review examines the unique challenges faced by the continent, such as extreme weather events, water scarcity, and agricultural disruptions. It assesses the suitability and impact of existing climate finance mechanisms in addressing these challenges and supporting Africa's adaptation and mitigation efforts. The study also considers the effectiveness of capacity-building initiatives to enhance the ability of African nations to access and utilize climate finance resources efficiently. Furthermore, the paper highlights the need for enhanced transparency, accountability, and governance in the disbursement and utilization of climate finance in Africa. It emphasizes the importance of inclusive and participatory approaches that engage local communities and ensure that climate finance contributes to sustainable development goals while addressing the specific needs of the most vulnerable populations. This review provides a nuanced understanding of international climate finance mechanisms, offering insights into their application and impact in the context of Africa's unique climate challenges. By identifying opportunities for improvement and addressing existing gaps, the paper aims to contribute to the ongoing discourse on optimizing climate finance for a more resilient and sustainable future.

Assessing consumer knowledge, attitudes, and adoption of circular economy practices in Colombia

Consumers play a pivotal role in the successful implementation of the circular economy (CE) model. In Colombia, despite measures designed to support CE, there is a paucity of empirical evidence regarding consumer engagement. This study aimed to assess consumer knowledge, attitudes, and adoption of CE in Colombia. A survey was conducted in three cities known for their strong interest in CE and their significant contributions to national development: Medellin, Pereira, and Barranquilla. The data gathered from 1184 responses were analyzed using descriptive and non-parametric statistical methods. The results revealed that only 26 % of consumer responses denote adequate knowledge of CE, highlighting a substantial lack of awareness regarding the CE concept and both government and private sector initiatives. Consumer attitudes towards CE were notably positive, with 77 % of responses expressing a favorable stance. Concerning the adoption of circular strategies in their daily lives, 53 % of consumer responses involved CE adoption, while 23 % exhibited resistance. Medellin and Pereira's consumers exhibited similar and encouraging circular behavior, while those in Barranquilla faced more barriers. Furthermore, this study reports that the city of residence, educational level, and socioeconomic stratum influence how consumers perceive, value, and adopt CE. These findings emphasize the urgent need to enhance consumer engagement and performance to support Colombia's CE plans. The implications outlined herein will benefit the identification and prioritization of synergistic actions to transform the role of the consumer and turn it into a catalyst for CE.

Волонтерская деятельность в сфере культуры: лучшие практики и инициативы

Under the auspices of the public movement "Culture Volunteers", many socially significant projects and volunteer initiatives have been implemented in the field of protecting the historical and cultural heritage of the country and monument conservation activities. The accumulated experience and the current state of the process of forming an autonomous institution of volunteering in the field of culture with its inherent attributive characteristics and distinctive features, with its clearly organized structure, represent the subject of analysis of this article. Detailed attention is paid to the development of priority areas of the social movement and the implementation of its flagship projects. Further prospects for the development of new popular thematic areas for the application of volunteer efforts in the field of culture are outlined: archaeology, genealogy, crafts and trades, local history and tourist routes. Infrastructure, methodological and resource measures to support sectoral public initiatives are highlighted.

THE EUROPEAN EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEMES (EU ETS): SOME LEGAL PERSPECTIVES OF MARKET-BASED MECHANISMS

In this article, the implementation of the Paris Agreement by the European Union, the current stage in the development of the climate policy of the European community in the fight against global warming in accordance with the European Green Deal, which was based on the strategy of achieving climate neutrality by 2030 by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% to 2030 comparing with the level of 1990, are analyzed. The author researches some legal aspects of the implementation of the "Fit for 55" package of sectoral initiatives to the EU legislation, in particular the current phase of the EU Emission Trading Schemes (EU ETS), market mechanisms of interstate trading of certificates on emissions. The author draws special attention to the prospects of introducing EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) with the aim of determining a fair price for emissions during carbon-intensive production of goods that are imported into the EU, as well as stimulating cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries, and to related potential challenges and prospects for the development of climate diplomacy in order to achieve agreed compromises between the participants of the Paris Agreement in combating with global warming.

PUBLIC PRIVATE DIALOGUE: AN INNOVATIVE POLICY APPROACH TO HOUSING DELIVERY IN LAGOS STATE.

Public Private Dialogue (PPD) is an institutional arrangement that engages the public and private sector in discussions to resolve issues. These dialogue sessions may last for a few hours or continue for several months or years until an inclusive policy is formulated. This study focused on public-private dialogue in housing policy formulation in Lagos State. It explored how PPD can create increased housing delivery through innovative changes in policy formulation. Studies show that proactive public and private sector engagements create better opportunities for housing policy formulation. The government should intensify efforts and create opportunities for private participation in discussions through town hall meetings and dialogue sessions to formulate workable housing policies and reforms that will help actualize the housing needs of the citizens. The study employed selective sampling. Data was obtained through administered questionnaires on a population of 150 household heads in IKorodu on how involved they were in formulating Lagos State government housing policies. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results show that State housing policies were designed through public sector initiatives with little or no input from the private sector. The study further revealed that institutions that adopt the PPD approach in their engagements and operations have higher staff motivation and increased productivity

(Invited) Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Based Devices for Digital and Industrial Applications

Wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices based on SiC, GaN and Ga2O3 provide advantages for many strategic initiatives in various industrial sectors, such as data centers, electric vehicles, renewable energy systems like solar and wind power inverters. Innovations in WBG technologies would enable new paths on energy efficiency for pushing towards sustainable perspectives. For instance, higher efficiency and lower power dissipation are always desirable for digital economy/society and power electronic applications owing to the energy saving at the end with the goal to reduce CO2 emissions.Here we will emphasize our ongoing WBG semiconductor related research/development and innovation activities, especially on GaN technology owing its rapid/huge demanding in the market nowadays. Thus, the GaN material growth, device processing/packaging and characterization/verification will be elaborated in detail in this talk.In recent years an epitaxy technique to grow large diameter GaN-on-Si wafers by coalesced nanowire has been established at RISE ProNano Lab. The GaN nanowires are epitaxially grown and then merged into a planar epitaxial film with reduced dislocation density as compared to commercially available substrates. It allows for fabrication of thick GaN layers that required for high-voltage vertical devices on Si. A 4.1-µm-thick GaN device layer on a GaN-on-Si template has been grown successfully. It has a threading dislocation density on the order 108 cm-2 and a root mean square roughness of < 0.4 nm. This result has laid the foundation for scaling to the thicker (10-12 µm) crack-free GaN drift layer on lager wafer diameters up to 200 mm.RISE has long term experience working on GaN based High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs). Since 2019 we have worked on high performance and cost-competitive power HEMTs on buffer-free GaN-on-SiC wafers in frame of EU UltimateGaN project. It has focused not only on verification of the high device performance but also on its yield for revealing its competitiveness in the cost-sensitive power electronics market. The fabricated HEMTs demonstrated the expected threshold voltage, good linearity with gate length and width, Ion/Ioff ratio of 1010 as well as high output current up to 16 A with multiple fingers. In such wafer level device fabrication, different types of multi-finger HEMTs could be included with designed electrodes for flip-chip soldering them into package modules. The power module was designed and produced in house by ceramic additive manufacturing (AM), also known as three-dimensional (3D) printing. The package design has aimed to address the stringent thermal and electrical requirements of these types of HEMTs for power electronic applications. Importantly the ceramic AM package design also enables the incorporation of intricate 3D features into the package structure for achieving increased electrical isolation distance between the source and drain contact pads of the HEMT in the package.In addition, SiC and Ga2O3 based sensors/devices will be briefed in this talk, which will provide a glance for design and fabrication of the hybrid WBG components for various greener applications.

Voluntary Sector Initiative: Journey of Akshadhaa, a Voluntary Sector Organization Providing Support for People with Neuro-Developmental Disability in Bangalore, India

Voluntary Sector Initiative: Journey of Akshadhaa, a Voluntary Sector Organization Providing Support for People with Neuro-Developmental Disability in Bangalore, India

Agency and collaboration: an analysis of the relationship between government-certified social enterprises and the public sector in South Korea

Purpose Public sector institutional entrepreneurship efforts may contribute to addressing social challenges by creating an enabling regulatory environment that promotes social enterprise formation and fosters complementarity between the public sector and social enterprises. The outcomes of such public sector institutional entrepreneurship are explored in this study. To assess the outcomes of such public sector initiatives in South Korea, the perspectives of executives (n = 40) of government-certified social enterprises are assessed.Design/methodology/approach Several research methodologies were combined, including purposive sampling with an 11-point Likert scale, hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis. The literature on government–nonprofit relations as well as public sector institutional entrepreneurship was leveraged.Findings This research results indicate that the enabling regulatory environment with entrenched funding and incubation mechanisms produces mixed-to-positive outcomes if framed with reference to public sector–social enterprise complementarity. The authors identified three perspective-based ideal types that have differential views of isomorphic regulatory pressures, the efficacy of incubation and scaling programs, participation in policymaking and other aspects of public sector patronage.Originality/value This study contributes to relating the literature on public sector institutional entrepreneurship and government–third sector relations by empirically assessing how social enterprises attracted by government demand-side signaling to become certified as social enterprises encounter and perceive an ostensibly enabling regulatory ecosystem, with its derivative policies and mechanisms, crafted by the public sector.

Bilevel optimization for the deployment of refuelling stations for electric vehicles on road networks

This work consists of a procedure to optimally select, among a group of candidate sites where gas stations were already located, a sufficient number of charging points in order to guarantee that an electric vehicle can make its journey without a problem of energy autonomy and that each selected charging station has another one that serves as useful support in case of failure (reinforced coverage service). For this purpose, we propose a bilevel model that, in a former level, minimizes the number of refuelling points necessary to guarantee a reinforced service coverage for all users who transit from their origin to destination and, as a second level, maximize the volume of demand that can be satisfied subject to budgetary restrictions. With the first of the objectives we are addressing the typical requirement of the administration, which consists of guaranteeing the viability of the solutions, and the second of the objectives is a criterion typically used by the private sector initiative, compatible with the profit maximization.

Transitioning diets: a mixed methods study on factors affecting inclusion of millets in the urban population

BackgroundThe increasing health challenge in urban India has led to consumers to change their diet preferences by shifting away from staple cereals and making way for healthier foods such as nutri-cereals like millets and other diverse food groups. Taking the case of millets, this study seeks to uncover the exact drivers for this shift of consumers away from a traditional cereal dense diet to a nutritionally more diverse diet that includes nutri-cereal. We also look at deterrents that dissuade consumers from shifting to millets.MethodWe use primary data by surveying respondents through interviews and focused group discussions and online questionnaires. A total of 20 personal consumer interviews and 4 focus group discussions having 8–12 members each were conducted to arrive at the measures for the study. We use logistic regression and Structural Equation Modeling for data analysis. Responses were obtained across major metropolitan cities and tier 2 cities of India thus ensuring representation of geographical, cultural and diet diversity. 875 participants’ responses were analysed for results.ResultsHealth reasons and social networks are the major drivers for shift to millets while lack of awareness, lack of easy availability, high prices, lack of branded products, family being averse to switching to millets and lack of attractive promotional cashbacks and discounts are major deterrents to trying out millets.ConclusionsDiet focussed interventions are urgently needed to curb rising diet related non communicable diseases. Government policies aimed at greater production of millets, running awareness campaigns on mass media and private sector initiatives aimed at generating better value added market offerings could lead the way.

Assessing the governance environment for private sector engagement in health in Africa: Results from a multi-country survey.

The role of the private sector in health is clear in many countries but engagement can be improved. The World Health Organization (WHO) developed a global strategy in 2020 focused on engaging the private sector in health service delivery through governance in mixed health systems and detailed six governance behaviours to guide its Member States. To operationalise these global ideas into practice, the Regional Office for Africa conducted a multi-country study to understand perceptions around the six governance behaviours. This article examines the perceptions of respondents from 13 African countries on the governance environment for private sector engagement in health. Data were collected through an online survey that was distributed to individuals from ministries of health and their partner organisations, private sector institutions and initiatives in countries and development organisations (n = 81) across 13 countries. The survey was based on the following six governance behaviours: build understanding, enable stakeholders, nurture trust, foster relations, align structures and deliver strategy. Results showed that respondents had mixed perceptions of the governance environment for private sector engagement in health in their respective countries. Although 88% of respondents (n = 63/72) were familiar with the general inclusion of the private sector in national health sector plans, 63% of respondents (n = 45/71) noted there was limited or no integration of the private sector in the health system, and further, 28% of respondents noted there was no private sector reporting in health information systems (n = 19/69). Key opportunities presented in more than one governance behaviour include: (i) increasing private sector engagement in public sector activities, (ii) establishing clear roles and responsibilities through formal partnership agreements, (iii) improving data sharing through shared health information systems, (iv) incentives and subsidies, (v) capacity building, (vi) creating norms, guidelines, and regulations and (vii) conducting joint monitoring and evaluation. Many of these outlined overlapping concepts are not exclusive to one behaviour, thus, it is evident that when targeted, there is the potential to improve numerous governance behaviours. This further reiterates the view that the governance behaviours should be understood as connected and not unrelated areas. The study provides insight into the perceptions of respondents from select African countries on the governance environment for private sector engagement in health. These findings can inform the development of strategies and interventions to support and enhance private sector engagement in health in the region.

Creating and sustaining a digital community of practice for quality improvement in South-East Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic

IntroductionEnsuring quality of care in Low and Middle Income countries (LMICs) is challenging. Despite the implementation of various quality improvement (QI) initiatives in public and private sectors, the sustenance of...

(Invited) Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Based Devices for Digital and Industrial Applications

Wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices based on SiC, GaN and Ga2O3 provide advantages for many strategic initiatives in various industrial sectors, such as data centers, electric vehicles, renewable energy systems like solar and wind power inverters. Here we provide an overview of our ongoing WBG semiconductor related research/development and innovation activities, especially on GaN based devices owing to their rapid/huge demanding in the emerging green technology market nowadays. In particular, the innovative GaN material epi growth, the device processing/packaging and related characterization/verification are elaborated.

Query Interface for Smart City Internet of Things Data Marketplaces: A Case Study

Cities are increasingly becoming augmented with sensors through public, private, and academic sector initiatives. Most of the time, these sensors are deployed with a primary purpose (objective) in mind (e.g., deploy sensors to understand noise pollution) by a sensor owner (i.e., the organization that invests in sensing hardware, e.g., a city council). Over the past few years, communities undertaking smart city development projects have understood the importance of making the sensor data available to a wider community—beyond their primary usage. Different business models have been proposed to achieve this, including creating data marketplaces. The vision is to encourage new startups and small and medium-scale businesses to create novel products and services using sensor data to generate additional economic value. Currently, data are sold as pre-defined independent datasets (e.g., noise level and parking status data may be sold separately). This approach creates several challenges, such as (i) difficulties in pricing, which leads to higher prices (per dataset); (ii) higher network communication and bandwidth requirements; and (iii) information overload for data consumers (i.e., those who purchase data). We investigate the benefit of semantic representation and its reasoning capabilities toward creating a business model that offers data on demand within smart city Internet of Things data marketplaces. The objective is to help data consumers (i.e., small and medium enterprises) acquire the most relevant data they need. We demonstrate the utility of our approach by integrating it into a real-world IoT data marketplace (developed by the synchronicity-iot.eu project). We discuss design decisions and their consequences (i.e., tradeoffs) on the choice and selection of datasets. Subsequently, we present a series of data modeling principles and recommendations for implementing IoT data marketplaces.

Advancing a New Generation of Sustainability-Based Assessments for Electrical Energy Systems: Ontario as an Illustrative Application—A Review

Negative social and ecological trends are putting essential life-support systems at risk. Necessary responses include sustainability transformations in diverse sectors to enhance the planetary capacity to deliver more positive effects to all. Sustainability-based assessment frameworks are tools to guide the evaluation of initiatives in different human sectors and promote decisions that enhance overall social and ecological well-being. However, advancing sustainability remains difficult, in part because it must be pursued in a world of complex interactions and must respect the specifics of each case and context. This paper reports the process of building a sustainability-based assessment framework for electrical energy systems carried out by Aguilar. This work further specified the framework for electrical energy systems for application in the case and context of the electrical energy system in the Canadian province of Ontario. The illustrative application revealed that Ontario’s electrical energy system has made some progress towards contributions to sustainability but requires improved efforts to be on a path to adequate transformation. The research found that the sustainability-based assessment framework for electrical energy systems is promising and well-suited for further application to particular electricity-related initiatives. However, more applications are needed to further test the utility of the framework and refine the proposed criteria.

Soil Health Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa: Status and Solutions

Soil health is an essential foundation for providing the food requirements of a growing population. Technologies for improving soil health are available, but many are only practiced to a limited extent. Partnerships involving governments, the private sector, and research and development initiatives promise to accelerate the packaging of the available data and information; and develop and deliver tailored recommendations that support sustainable soil health management.

The development of green skills for the informal sector of Ghana: towards sustainable futures

ABSTRACT Informed by the capability approach and critical discourse analysis, this article examines how the development of green skills among master craftspersons and apprentices in the informal sector of Ghana could be promoted for cleaner production and sustainable futures. The findings show that inequality and poverty; cyclical policy trap; sectoral green initiatives and the green coordination gap; and limited human resource capacity including uncoordinated informal learning approaches serve to constrain the development of green skills among master craftspersons and apprentices in the informal sector of Ghana. To address these challenges, the current study proposes the development of a framework that (1) harmonises the different sectoral initiatives and strategies on green skills to avoid the cyclical policy trap; (2) expands the current green Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) agenda to include green skills development for individuals in the informal TVET sector; (3) closes the coordination gap in government green initiatives by creating an agency responsible for national green agenda; and (4) creates clear qualification models and strategies for the development of green skills in the informal sector.

A Study on Hotel Residence Using Adhaar

The Hotel Residence Verification System is an all-encompassing system created to improve the procedure for confirming hotel guests' identification and guaranteeing a safe and quick check- in process. The system has a mobile application for customers to book hotels as well as a web portal for administrators and hotel authorities. During the booking procedure, users must use their Aadhaar card, an exclusive form of identification in India, to confirm their identity. The Hotel Residence Verification System's main goal is to improve security and authentication procedures in the hotel business while giving visitors a smooth user experience. The method guarantees that only legitimate and verified visitors are accommodated, lowering the danger of doing so and boosting general security. This is done by incorporating Aadhaar card verification into the booking process. The Hotel Residence Verification System provides hotels with a complete solution to verify visitors' identity and speed up the check-in procedure. Aadhaar card verification is integrated into the mobile application, which improves security while giving consumers a smooth and comfortable experience. The technology aids the hotel sector's initiatives to improve guest verification procedures, lessen fraud, and provide a safe and secure environment for all visitors. Keywords: Hotel residence, Aadhar, Security, Web application, Mobile application