Skill Upgrading Research Articles

PELATIHAN AKUPRESUR UNTUK RELAKSASI TUBUH DAN MENGATASI DISMENOREA

Acupressure is a technique using touch / contact to balance the energy channels in the body or Qi. Acupressure contests useful for disease prevention, cure, rehabilitation (recovery), relaxation and increase endurance. Acupressure can also be used to treat pain during menstruation (dysmenorrhea). Target and outcome: an increase in knowledge and skills of women, the leaflets about the relaxation of the body and reduce dysmenorrhea, as well as community service articles published. Methods: divided into four sessions, namely working on the pretest, delivery of content and practice of acupressure, question and answer sessions working on the posttest. Submission of material is done by means of lectures and brainstorming as well as the demonstration of acupressure points used. Result: there is an increased knowledge of the pretest and posttest value of the average value before training (pre-test) 32.86 into 71.84 (post-test), in addition to the upgrading of skills seen from acupressure point positioning accuracy. Conclusion: The community service is to enhance the knowledge and skills of participants on acupressure to relax the body and overcome dysmenorrhoea.

Editorial

Editorial

Challenges faced by micro, small and medium enterprises: a systematic review

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) play a pivotal role in the growth of the economy but their progress has been marred by problems. Given this premise, the authors attempted to identify the challenges faced by MSMEs in India. An examination of the long-standing literature revealed five categories of challenges namely finance, human resource, market/export, technology/infrastructure, and government. The study recommended measures such as simplification of loan disbursal process, provision to accept alternative arrangements of collateral from MSMEs, up-gradation of skills and knowledge of employees, improvement in productivity and product quality, simplification of labour laws and other statutory requirements, usage of IT tools in the business processes amongst others for sustainable growth of MSMEs in India.

Challenges faced by micro, small and medium enterprises: a systematic review

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) play a pivotal role in the growth of the economy but their progress has been marred by problems. Given this premise, the authors attempted to identify the challenges faced by MSMEs in India. An examination of the long-standing literature revealed five categories of challenges namely finance, human resource, market/export, technology/infrastructure, and government. The study recommended measures such as simplification of loan disbursal process, provision to accept alternative arrangements of collateral from MSMEs, up-gradation of skills and knowledge of employees, improvement in productivity and product quality, simplification of labour laws and other statutory requirements, usage of IT tools in the business processes amongst others for sustainable growth of MSMEs in India.

Network Sorting and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from the Chaotic Dispersal of the Viet Kieu

Immigrants' social networks exert considerable influence over their labor market opportunities and yet the pre-sorting of co-nationals by ability and across space, endures as a key challenge for empiricists attempting to establish causal network effects. To surmount this issue, we leverage the chaotic dispersal of Vietnamese refugees across the U.S. in 1975, which was demonstrably exogenous in both initial network size and quality, in tandem with an absence of pre-existing networks of co-nationals, to causally identify the effects of network size and network quality on refugees': occupational outcomes, skill intensity and skill upgrading. Our administrative data provide refugee's precise initial locations and pre-placement characteristics in Vietnam, which we uniquely employ as additional controls, as well as longitudinal information about their locations and occupations six years hence. We construct instruments from the initial quasi-random refugee allocations of network size and quality and leverage refugees' geo-locations to insulate our results from the Reflection Problem. Overall, network quality is a far more important determinant of refugees' labor market outcomes when compared to network size, one interpretation of which is that the type of referrals network members receive are more important than the overall number of referrals. Blue-collar networks: increase the probability of refugees' working in blue-collar jobs, draw additional workers into more manual and less complex intensive employment and serve to up-skill individuals along the manual skill dimension. Given the protracted circumstances under which the Viet Kieu entered the U.S., the composition of their networks played a pivotal role in their ultimate success.

Korean Industrialization, Skill Demand, and Wage Premium

This paper aims to observe the evolution of skilled labor demand and relative wages during the rapid industrialization period. Although this historic episode has attracted the researchers’ attention, the evolution of skill demand and its impact on inequality remained as a black box. To provide first-hand evidence, I construct a 3-digit industry-level dataset that covers 1955-1980 from the Mining and Manufacturing survey. Then I measure skill demand and relative wages following the skill-biased technological change literature. Analysis results show that Korea experiences drastic skill upgrading during its rapid industrialization. The nonproduction workers’ share in wage bill increased throughout the 25 years of 1955-1980. Relative demand rose much faster in industries that were initially less skill-intensive but accumulated capital through investment faster. This implies that there was a strong skill-capital complementarity. Increasing skill demand and skill-capital complementarity are a force of increasing skill premium in wages and wage inequality. It was so until 1973. However, since then relative wages fell while skill demand kept rising. This is unique to the Korean experience, It also implies that the supply of skilled labor expanded even faster than the skill demand. Although it is possible to connect this to the heavy-chemical industrialization, falling skill premium and inequality was most driven by the “within” or common effect. Furthermore, emerging heavy-chemical industries had greater skill demand, therefore a positive effect on relative wage.

Technical skill upgradation by project based learning and exposing to state-of-art technologies

Abstract Students learn theoretical concepts and lack practical skills. After completion of their graduation and when they enter the company they are raw and they need exclusive training in the domain. The company where they are employed needs to spend their time and money for training the already qualified graduate. Few students because of their poor practical exposure to solve real world problems remain unemployed. Eventhough they want to pursue their career in a core field, they seldom get an opportunity to work in their area of specialization and take up IT or BPO jobs. There is a need to educate the students and improve their technical expertise to make them capable of handling projects during their course of study. In this proposed research, the technical skill is upgraded by way of experiential learning with live industrial problems.

Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine Experts Committee Consensus Statement on ICU Planning and Designing, 2020.

ABSTRACTBackgroundIndian Society of Critical Care Medicine (ISCCM) guidelines on Planning and Designing Intensive care (ICU) were first developed in 2001 and later updated in 2007. These guidelines were adopted in India, many developing Nations and major Institutions including NABH. Various international professional bodies in critical care have their own position papers and guidelines on planning and designing of ICUs; being the professional body of intensivists in India ISCCM therefore addresses the subject in contemporary context relevant to our clinical practice, its variability according to specialty and subspecialty, quality, resource limitation, size and location of the institution. Aim: To have a consensus document reflecting the philosophy of ISCCM to deliver safe & quality Critical Care in India, taking into consideration the requirement of regulatory agencies (national & international) and need of people at large, including promotion of training, education and skill upgradation. It also aiming to promote leadership and development and managerial skill among the critical care team. Material and Methods: Extensive review of literature including search of databases in English language, resources of regulatory bodies, guidelines and recommendations of international critical care societies. National Survey of ISCCM members and experts to understand their viewpoints on respective issues. Visiting of different types and levels of ICUs by team members to understand prevailing practices, aspiration and Challenges. Several face to face meetings of the expert committee members in big and small groups with extensive discussions, presentations, brain storming and development of initial consensus draft. Discussion on draft through video conferencing, phone calls, Emails circulations, one to one discussion Result: Based upon extensive review, survey and input of experts’ ICUs were categorized in to three levels suitable in Indian setting. Level III ICUs further divided into sub category A and B. Recommendations were grouped in to structure, equipment and services of ICU with consideration of variation in level of ICU of different category of hospitals. Conclusion: This paper summarizes consensus statement of various aspect of ICU planning and design. Defined mandatory and desirable standards of all level of ICUs and made recommendations regarding structure and layout of ICUs. Definition of intensive care and intensivist, planning for strength of ICU and requirement of manpower were also described.How to cite this articleRungta N, Zirpe KG, Dixit SB, Mehta Y, Chaudhry D, Govil D, et al. Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine Experts Committee Consensus Statement on ICU Planning and Designing, 2020. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(Suppl 1):S43–S60.

DISPARITIES IN HUMAN CAPITAL INVESTMENT OVER THE GENDERED LIFE COURSE: AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON

Income disparities by gender are a persistent problem throughout the world. These disparities place women at risk for economic insecurity both while working and in retirement. Education and continued skill upgrading are key to reducing income disparities, but it is well documented that both older men and women are less likely to participate in adult education and training (AET) than their younger counterparts. In this symposium we present gender and age-based differences in AET in Australia, Canada, England/Northern Ireland and the United States. Also, given the increasing use of technology, technology-related problem-solving skills are compared across these four nations. In addition, we discuss current, and potentially new, country level policies and practices that facilitate the provision of AET over the second half of the life course. Yamashita and colleagues use data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) to provide an overview of AET participation, income, and technology-related problem-solving skills by sex and age groups in the four countries. Vickerstaff and van der Horst use data from five different organizations in the United Kingdom to examine attitudes of older workers about participation in training and the extent to which these attitudes result from self-imposed ageism. Taylor presents survey data from Australia that analyzes types of training women are undertaking, factors associated with participation in training, and the importance of employer support. Finally, Harrington and Cummins use PIAAC data to analyze age variations in AET participation and gender differences in employer sponsored training in Canada.

Which Factors Influence India’s Intra-Industry Trade? Empirical Findings for Select Sectors

The growing intra-sectoral trade among countries, reflected through simultaneous export and import in parts and components, intermediate products and final goods, is termed intra-industry trade (IIT). Over the past two decades, the multilateral tariff reforms under WTO and deepening of the bilateral preferences through the regional trade agreements (RTAs) have enhanced India’s IIT at both aggregate and sectoral levels. The ‘Make-in-India’ initiative, introduced in 2014 to further deepen India’s growing integration with the Asian international production networks (IPNs) across manufacturing sectors, is also enhancing sectoral IITs. The present article examines the patterns and determinants of India’s bilateral IIT in seven sectors with 25 major trading partners during 2001–2015, through a panel data analysis. The empirical results indicate that Vertical Intra-industry Trade (VIIT), efficiency, trade facilitation reforms, trade agreements and product differentiation dominate India’s IIT pattern at sectoral level. The analysis underlines the need for Indian firms to move up the value chain through innovation and skill upgradation.

Emerging trend of distance education globally and its underlying challenges

The motive of distance education is to provide flexibility to the learners in terms of access, course curriculum or any other elements of educational framework. It is a force which contributes towards the social and economic development of any nation. Over years, developed as well as developing countries have embraced it as an indispensable part of educational system. Increased globalization of distance learning has enabled countries to attain their educational objectives. The ever growing requirements for continuous skill up-gradation and advances in technology have exploited the interests of people in distance learning. However, distance education mode has got various challenges which need to be addressed by the associated stakeholders in order to make distance programmes successful, effective and contribute towards the educational up-liftment of learners. This paper discusses the trends and problems of distance education and also suggests possible actions to eliminate the inefficiencies of distance education system. Keywords: Distance education, Higher education, Geographical barriers, Learner-centred, Real-time multimedia technology.

Samrakshan: An Indian Radiological and Imaging Association program to reduce perinatal mortality in India.

Context:India has a high perinatal mortality rate. The Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (IRIA) is supplementing efforts to address perinatal mortality in India through the Samrakshan program.Aims:To describe various elements of the Samrakshan program that aims to reduce perinatal mortality in India.Methods:Samrakshan focuses on two priority areas, preeclampsia (PE) and fetal growth restriction (FGR). Samrakshan aims at technical skill upgradation, specifically focused on improved interpretative ability, prognostic and therapeutic efficacy using Doppler studies, a free online learning platform and offline continuous medical educations (CMEs), building an evidence base from the program to develop policy and guidelines, and improving synergy with the RAKSHA program of IRIA and other fetal care stakeholders.Results:Two courses on Doppler studies focused on first trimester and third trimester, supplemented by case discussions and journal articles, have started on the online platform with 230 registrants. The first statewide CME was held at Indore. Samrakshan screening identified 10 (17.24%, 95% CI: 8.59, 29.43) women at high risk for preterm PE and 29 (50.00%, 95% CI 36.58, 63.42) women at high risk for FGR in the first trimester. Ten fetuses (7.63%, 95% CI: 3.72, 13.59) including 9 with stage 1 FGR were identified in the third-trimester screening.Conclusions:Samrakshan is a flagship program of IRIA that aims to reduce perinatal mortality in India through a synergistic, holistic approach that complements and supplements existing efforts in India.

EP27.19: Low cost, easy‐to‐use, efficient amniocentesis simulator

Training for the performance of amniocentesis is challenging because this may increase procedure associated risk and failures and can be associated with patient apprehension. The advent of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis has further complicated the situation by reducing the number of patients available for invasive procedures. Training for basic skills and ongoing maintenance and upgrading of skills has, consequently, shifted to amniocentesis simulators. The learning curve has been shifted from real-life patient scenarios to the simulation laboratory. This allows for safer training, reduces the need for repeat interventions for failed procedures, reduces the need for supervision and increases the number of punctures that can be practiced and supervised. Currently available simulators include electronic and mechanical versions. These are expensive or have been too cumbersome to use on a regular basis. A new inexpensive (under 2 Euros) and effective simulator is presented. Amnion and contents are simulated by a water filled condom and fetus-shaped commercial toys. Maternal tissues are simulated by ultrasound gel and kitchen grade plastic clingfilm. These are placed in a disposable food container that is at least five inches deep. The gain of confidence by trainees is assessed by post training questionnaires. Improvement in technical skills is assessed by a Trainee Supervisor and includes techniques of holding the transducer and needle, identifying the target, visualising the entire needle path on the screen, optimising ultrasound settings and smooth aspiration of fluid content. All trainees reported increased confidence, with a greater gain reported by new trainees compared to audit trainees. Supervisor given scores improved when the number of punctures was increased from 10 per trainee to 30 per trainee. Simulator training on a low cost model is feasible and allows for adequate initial training and ongoing skills supervision. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

Educational expansion and educational wage premiums of young male employees: A long-term analysis for West Germany 1976–2010

For decades, Western societies have experienced educational expansion accompanied by an upgrading of skills. The literature provides competing hypotheses on the consequences for educational wage returns — among them are the positional value theory, routine-biased technological change, and the social closure theory. We test these theoretical perspectives empirically on young, male full-time workers in West Germany between 1976 and 2010 in two ideal-type occupational segments using 2.34 million administrative earnings records (Sample of Integrated Labor Market Biographies, SIAB). Our findings show no credential inflation across all levels of education. Instead, the picture in both segments — negative effects of educational expansion on the returns to medium- but not high-level skills — confirms the predictions of routine-biased technological change. Wage premiums for medium-skilled workers differ between segments: the premiums worsen over time in the general segment whereas social-closure mechanisms seem to weaken this negative trend for vocational graduates in the specific segment.

Directed technological change & cross-country income differences: A quantitative analysis

Understanding international income differences requires measuring supplies of multiple production factors and their productivity. Recent work suggests that heterogeneous workers should be treated as imperfect substitutes. Using a model of endogenous directed technological change and a new data set on labor force composition we construct productivity for workers in three skill categories for 63 countries from 1910 to 2010 (up to 83 additional countries for 1950–2010). Rich countries use all skill categories more efficiently. Poor countries have a large technology adoption wedge, which prevents them from using low-skill labor more efficiently. Reducing the technology adoption wedges would have a much larger impact on standards of living than skill upgrading of the workforce.

Sahaj Crafts: the challenge of alleviating poverty in Western Rajasthan

Learning outcomes The learning objectives of this case are as follows: identify and understand the major challenges/problems faced by a social enterprise in promoting handicraft business; examine the value chain architecture of handicraft products; assess the role of the protagonist (Sanjay) as a social change agent in shaping a successful social enterprise; assess Sahaj Crafts' initiatives and analyze whether the key intervention/s planned/executed were required for skilling up of rural artisans and upgradation of handicraft business; know the marketing strategies for handicraft products; and understand the “strategies” which need to be applied for uplifting people's lives at the bottom of pyramid in general and for enlivening of artisans’ clusters in particular. The outcomes are as follows: examining the value chain architecture of handicraft product; understanding the difficulties and challenges of structuring a viable social business model; examining the role of Sanjay as a social change agent in shaping a successful social enterprise; and examining the model of Craft Incubation Center and design education proposed by Sahaj Crafts for improving rural artisans’ livelihood and skills upgradation. Case overview/synopsis Sanjay Joshi – the promoter and CEO of “Sahaj Crafts” (a social enterprise established in Western Rajasthan, India), an initiative to strengthen indigenous skills and mainstream rural craft products and artworks – is faced with the question of how to scale up his organization’s operations. Doing so requires that he address these fundamental challenges in terms of – how to deal with unorganized craft communities; match up product orientation to market demands; integrate modern technology / processes in craft business; combat restricted mobility of women artisans; and make effective interventions so that the artisans learn and enjoy working in the current model and solve the financial issues faced by the social enterprise. Providing effective and implementable answers to those questions is vital to Sahaj Craft’s development in attaining its mission to alleviate poverty in the region. Failing to expand operations above a critical scale may leave Sahaj Crafts vulnerable in meeting sufficient demand for contemporary craft products in the mainstream markets. Complexity academic level This case study is primarily suitable for post-graduate level management students to teach the concepts of designing and operationalizing a “social” business model in a social entrepreneurship module. This case study can also be used for highlighting business model innovations in the social sector of emerging markets. The case could be taught in the following academic domains: social entrepreneurship; bottom of the pyramid; social inclusion; supply chain consolidation (vertical integration in a value chain); marketing strategies for handicraft products; branding; brand positioning; cost and management accounting. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship

Measuring industrial upgrading: applying factor analysis in a global value chain framework

ABSTRACTA key question for promoting international competition is how to improve the position of countries and industries in global value chains (GVCs). The first step is to properly measure industrial upgrading in GVCs. This is not a trivial issue because upgrading has not been defined unambiguously. Several authors have used different (and sometimes related) measures, all of which indicate certain aspects of upgrading. Rather than trying to find the single, ultimate measure of upgrading, we propose a different approach. We examine the multidimensionality of industrial upgrading, using eight indicators in factor analysis. Four of the eight indicators adopt the GVC perspective and include, for example, the growth of the share in value-added exports. We provide three quantitative dimensions of industrial upgrading: process upgrading, product upgrading, and skill upgrading. With these dimensions, we compare and analyze the upgrading of different countries and industries using the World Input–Output Database.

Explicating the future of work: perspectives from India

PurposeThe world is witnessing the advent of a wide range of technologies like machine learning, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, robotics, additive manufacturing, augmented and virtual reality, cloud computing, Internet of Things and such others. Amidst this concoction of diverse technologies, the future of work is getting redefined. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to understand the future of work in the context of an emerging economy like India.Design/methodology/approachThe authors undertook a qualitative research with a positivist approach. The authors undertook expert interviews with 26 respondents. The respondents were interviewed with a semi-structured open-ended questionnaire. The responses were content analyzed for themes. System dynamics was applied to explicate the phenomenon studied.FindingsThe authors found that the future of work has multiple facets. The authors found that in future, organizations would not only use automation for lower end routine manual jobs, but also for moderate knowledge-centric tasks. Future jobs would have significant data dependency, and employees would be expected to analyze and synthesize data for sense making. Another finding pointed out that in future, individuals would be constantly required for skills upgradation and thus learning would become a continuous lifelong process. In future, individuals would get short-term tasks rather than long-term secured jobs. Thus, job flexibility would be high as freelancing would be a dominant way of work. Organizations would reduce dedicated workspaces and would use co-working spaces to reduce office space investments. In future, jobs that are impregnated with novelty and creativity would remain. A finding of concern was that with the advent of automated technologies a larger portion of workforce would lose jobs and there could be widespread unemployment that might lead to social unrest. The provision of universal basic income has been advocated by some experts to handle social crisis.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is based on an organization centric view that is anchored in the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities. The research contributes to the conversation of human resource co-existence with automated technologies for organizations of tomorrow. Thus, this work specifically contributes to strategic human resource with technology capabilities in organizations.Practical implicationsThese research findings would help organizational design and development practitioners to comprehend what kind of interventions would be required to be future ready to both accommodate technology and human resources. For policy makers, the results of this study would help them design policy interventions that could keep the nation’s workforce job ready in the age of automated technologies through investments in automated technology education.Originality/valueIndia is bestowed with one of the largest English-speaking, technically qualified young workforce working at lower salary levels than their developed county counterparts. The advent of automated technologies ushers in challenges and opportunities for this young qualified workforce to step into future. This is the first study from India that deliberates on the “future of work” in India.

Penguatan Soft Skill Guru PAI di SDI Tebuireng ir.Soedigno Kesamben

Abstract:
 This study aims to describe the competence of the Islamis Studies (PAI) teacher at SDI Tebuireng, Kesamben. The results obtained from this research are; 1. PAI Teachers’ soft skills in SDI Tebuireng Ir. Soedigno Kesamben is very good, that consist of communication skills, time management skill, flexibility in carrying out work and responsibilities, emotion management skill, giving motivation skills, team-working skills, having ethics and morals, polite in appearance, having SQ spiritual skills, self-developing and tolerating. 2. Making efforts to strengthen PAI teachers’ soft skills at SDI Tebuireng Ir. Soedigno Kesamben that are teacher planning system, (which includes religious exams, personality psychology exams, professional examinations and practice exams), teacher-apprenticeship programs, the Quran science skill upgrading, teacher’s character upgrading, the ‘wise week’ program, students’ home visit, conducting Friday pahing prayer, rolling leadership and coffee break. It it is suggested for teachers to always develope their soft skills by reading a lot of literature and also reminding one another

Foreign ownership and skill-biased technological change

We conduct an empirical investigation into the effects of foreign ownership on worker skills using firm-level data from Spain. To control for endogeneity bias due to selection into foreign ownership, we combine a difference-in-differences approach with a propensity score weighting estimator. Our results provide novel evidence that foreign-acquired firms actively raise the skills of their workforce in response to the acquisition by hiring high-skilled workers and providing worker training. To pin down the mechanism, we exploit unique information on whether firms use their foreign parent in exporting to foreign markets. Our results suggest a fundamental role for market access through the foreign parent in explaining skill upgrading in foreign-acquired firms. We reveal substantial productivity gains within foreign-acquired firms and we show that these gains derive from a concurrent effort to raise worker skills and adopt more advanced technology, suggesting a skill bias in technological innovations. We develop a simple theoretical model of foreign ownership featuring technology-skill complementarities in production that can rationalize our findings.