Aspirations Of Stakeholders Research Articles

Causal relationship between project financing and overruns in major dam projects in Africa

PurposeCost and schedule overruns are rife in dam projects. Normative evidence espouses overruns as though they are inimical to development and prosperity aspirations of stakeholders. This study examines the causal relationship between project financing and overruns.Design/methodology/approachCausative data were extracted from completion reports of 28 major dam projects in Africa. Each of the projects was financed jointly by up to 10 international development lenders. Relationships between causes of overruns and project outcomes were analysed.FindingsAnalyses elicit indicators of remarkable correlations between finance procedures and project outcomes. Lenders’ disposition to risk attenuation was the main debacles to project success. Interests had mounted, whilst release of fund was erratic and ill-timed. Finance objectives and mechanisms were grossly inadequate for projects’ intense bifurcations. Projects had slowed or stalled because lenders’ risks attenuation processes were purposed to favour lenders’ objectives, and not projects’ interests. In addition, findings also show project owners’ own funds and the number of lenders to a single project correlate with overruns.Practical implicationsFindings imply commercial complexities around major projects. They also show transactions are shaped by subtle (mis)trust behaviours in project finance procedures. Thus, scholarly solutions to project performance issues should consider behavioural issues of stakeholding parties more broadly, beyond contractors and project owners. Project finance ecosystems are vulnerable to major actors’ self-interests, opportunism and predatory conducts. Borrowers would manage this by developing and improving their capacity to build resilience and trust. Evidence shows intense borrower nations in Africa have limited capacity and acuity for these.Originality/valueThis study contextualises megaprojects in complexity rather than cost. Its additionality is in how finance steers absolute control of project environment away from project owners and how finance administration triggers risks and overrun.

Kemampuan Managerial Dalam Pengambilan Keputusan Yang Efektif

The aim of this research is to analyze managerial abilities in effective decision making. This type of research is qualitative. Data collection by observation and interviews. Data analysis using triangulation. The research results Managerial abilities in effective decision making at SMP Negeri 1 Siantan highlight the important role of managers in ensuring a coordinated and timely decision process. By efficiently utilizing available data and information, managers can direct teams to comprehensively consider various options before deciding on the best course of action to achieve educational goals. Decisions taken by taking into account the aspirations of stakeholders and the needs of students can strengthen the integrity of the school and provide a sustainable positive impact on the development of education in the environment.

Eighteen Years of Joint Master of Health Professions Education Between Geographically Distanced Partners Lessons from a Matured Partnership

Many educational partnerships between institutes never reach the stage of maturity, with students often bearing the costs of such discontinued partnerships. Reasons can be multifold, including a loss of ambitions, finances, or changing personal aspirations of stakeholders. In 2022 a joint curriculum in health professions education between two geographically and culturally distanced institutes reached its 18th anniversary. What can be learned from this particular partnership in terms of deliberate strategic choices, if any, to overcome the challenges identified in the literature? This article applies an instrumental, in-depth case analysis using a theoretical framework of factors that impact the sustainability of educational curriculum partnerships. By doing so, this paper intends to reveal successful strategies and managerial decisions that might be beneficial to those aiming for a sustainable partnership in higher education.

Fungsi Unit Layanan Disabilitas dalam Mendukung Pelaksanaan Pendidikan Inklusif

The existence of Disability Service Unit dan Resource Center of the Education, Youth and Sport Office in Yogyakarta (ULD-RC) in the implementation of inclusive education becomes an important part to facilitaterelated parties in seeking educational adjustments for students with special needs. However, in fact, ULD-RC is not yet known by the public and is still experiencing limited resources. This case study research explores stakeholders' understanding of students with special needs, expectations of ULD-RC, and its function in supporting inclusive education. The research subjects were 50 stakeholders involved inclusive education in Yogyakarta. Data collection used a questionnaire and was deepened by Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The questionnaire data were analyzed through quantitative descriptive techniques in the form of percentage calculations and qualitative descriptive for FGD data. The results showed that 70% of inclusive education stakeholders only understood physical characteristics and admitted that they were still confused about the diversity of characteristics for each type of special need. Some 42% of the subjects only understood the nature of inclusive education, but still did not understand the detailed requirements. Some 72% -97% of stakeholders hope that ULD-RC will clarify institutional positions, build service systems, design more flexible institutional structures, and clarify authorities. The results of stakeholder aspirations regarding the functions of ULD-RC include information functions, consulting services,identification and assessment, work skills into transition institutions, curriculum and learning program development, and inclusive school problem services.

How can the priorities of older, frail patients and their carers be used to inform policy and practice at the end of life? Insights from qualitative research across multiple settings

ObjectivesThe paper reports on experiences from older patients and their carers of current provision of end-of-life care in England. It draws on data from a study that sought to explore...

Selected issues of systems engineering methodology in the design of transport systems

The selected issues of system engineering methodology in the design of transport systems have been presented. The discussed methodological issues were presented in the example of the metropolitan railway concept project. The system description of the transport project is introduced in accordance with the principles used in systems engineering. The presented case study concerns the methodology of designing the concept of the railway transport system. In the proposed case study, the main issue was the development of a document called the Concept of the Metropolitan Railway System (CoMRS) in the urban area of the Metropolis called in Poland GZM. It was assumed that this document would be a system document developed with the use of Systems Engineering methods in order to build, implement and develop a modern complex railway transport system covering the urban area of the GZM Metropolis. Therefore, in the first place, an additional but essential document was developed – the Methodology for the Metropolitan Railway System Concept (MoCoMRS), which contains a comprehensive methodological description of how to proceed with the use of Systems Engineering methods required for the development of the CoMRS. The methodological guidelines relating to the V model were presented in detail. The methodology description also took into account the system life cycle model in the perspective of the enterprise and systems engineering using the V model. When applying systems engineering in the design of transport systems, it is proposed to use this model, which organizes the system procedure during the design process. The guidelines regarding the use of this model and the application of systems engineering methods for CoMRS, relating, inter alia, to the following design stages: system assumptions, system requirements, high-level design, detailed design, were formulated. The case study of the concept of metropolitan railway presented in this paper is based on a real transport project, and the current stage is working on the preliminary feasibility study of this railway system. It is very important, because it is possible to verify and iteratively correct and update the methodology of designing this railway system depending on the changing conditions and criteria resulting from, among others, different stakeholder aspirations that shape the system requirements. This procedure was also included in the V model in phases of development, construction and implementation of the system, as well as in phases of integration, verification and validation of elements and the entire railway system.

The Success of Student Scientific Publications: Case Study of Islamic Higher Education in Indonesia

Students interested in Islamic scholarship face tremendous challenges in achieving scientific publications. Based on these backgrounds and problems, this study aims to discuss the success of the management of scientific publications of students interested in Islamic scholarship in Islamic higher education in Indonesia. This research applies a qualitative type with a participatory method and a SOAR analysis approach. The results and discussion of this study indicate that students who are interested in Islamic scholarship experience effectiveness in publication in scientific journals through strategic planning, governance, and strengthening the capacity of writing scientific articles. This study concludes that good management includes participation based on stakeholder aspirations, strengthening of writing trainer resources, professionalism, curriculum objectives, and support systems, so that good achievements are produced as shown by students interested in Islamic scholarship in facing the challenges of publishing articles in scientific journals. This study recommends the urgency of managing scientific publications more adequately for students interested in Islamic scholarship by administrators of Islamic higher education in Indonesia.

Fishing within offshore wind farms in the North Sea: Stakeholder perspectives for multi-use from Scotland and Germany

Offshore wind power generation requires large areas of sea to accommodate its activities, with increasing claims for exclusive access. As a result, pressure is placed on other established maritime uses, such as commercial fisheries. The latter sector has often been taking a back seat in the thrust to move energy production offshore, thus leading to disagreements and conflicts among the different stakeholder groups. In recognition of the latter, there has been a growing international interest in exploring the combination of multiple maritime activities in the same area (multi-use; MU), including the re-instatement of fishing activities within, or in close proximity to, offshore wind farms (OWFs). We summarise local stakeholder perspectives from two sub-national case studies (East coast of Scotland and Germany's North Sea EEZ) to scope the feasibility of combining multiple uses of the sea, such as offshore wind farms and commercial fisheries. We combined a desk-based review with 15 semi-structured qualitative interviews with key knowledge holders from both industries, regulators, and academia to aggregate key results. Drivers, barriers and resulting effects (positive and negative) for potential multi-use of fisheries and OWFs are listed and ranked (57 factors in total). Factors are of economic, social, policy, legal, and technical nature. To date, in both case study areas, the offshore wind industry has shown little interest in multi-use solutions, unless clear added value is demonstrated and no risks to their operations are involved. In contrast, the commercial fishing sector is proactive towards multi-use projects and acts as a driving force for MU developments. We provide a range of management recommendations, based on stakeholder input, to support progress towards robust decision making in relation to multi-use solutions, including required policy and regulatory framework improvements, good practice guidance, empirical studies, capacity building of stakeholders and improvements of the consultation process. Our findings represent a comprehensive depiction of the current state and key stakeholder aspirations for multi-use solutions combining fisheries and OWFs. We believe that the pathways towards robust decision making in relation to multi-use solutions suggested here are transferable to other international locations.

THE IMPACT OF THE DETERMINANTS OF FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION ON COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND SUSTAINABILITY – A STUDY FOR MALAYSIAN SMES

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute one of the leading economic factors with strong consumer and stakeholder aspirations. The Fourth Industrial Revolution may also be defined as Industry 4.0, because it has evolved through automation and technical innovation that can transform products and manufacturing processes by real-time data integration, allowing consumers to be satisfied through customized products. It is important to examine the uniqueness of Industry 4.0 and the inherent difficulty in understanding the determinants, as most recent studies address the technological dimension of the concept. This study addresses the effect of the core determinants of Industry 4.0 in achieving sustainability as well as competitive advantage. The findings will serve to offer valuable insights for the SMEs to adopt smart technologies in the production system concerning Industry 4.0. This paper presents a conceptual model including hypotheses that can be tested further through a quantitative analysis.

URBAN LIVABILITY INDICATORS FOR SECONDARY CITIES IN ASEAN REGION

Urban livability indicators have tremendous influence on policies and growth trajectories of cities or metropolises to the benefit of their communities. Livability is a threshold for measuring the social dimension of people wrought by exogenous factors like infrastructure, environment, social cohesion, transportation, health and education, among others. This research is aimed to generate prototype urban livability indicators for secondary cities in Southeast Asia, benchmarked on the livability indicators of Iskandar Malaysia, Davao City in the Philippines and Makassar in Indonesia. A three-round iterative Delphi survey (scoping, convergence, and consensus) was conducted to pre-qualified 60 experts with equal representations from the three metropolises. The significant phase was the scoping where experts have to supplement the given framework for their aspired urban livability sub-indicators under specific domain indicators. In the convergence phase, reconsideration of sub-indicators and preliminary ranking of domain indicators using the 5-point Likert Scale’s degree of agreement and Kendall’s W coefficient of concordance were performed. In the consensus phase, both domain indicators and sub-indicators were ranked separately and assigned corresponding weightings. With the total of 108 framework-based and supplementary sub-indicators categorized under the 11 domain indicators, the study conclusively yielded 75 common, comparative, interconnected, and consistent urban livability indicators ranked according to the aspiration of stakeholders in three ASEAN secondary cities. This research, through the employ of robust methodology, has generated comprehensive composite urban livability indicators for secondary metropolitan settlements in Southeast Asia; thus, the resulting final indicators can be potentially engaged to determine a comparative urban livability index of cities in the ASEAN region.

Correlation between Classroom Engagement and Academic Performance of Engineering Students

Egyptian schools of engineering (government faculties, private faculties and private higher engineering institutes) award degrees to 35000 graduates annually. There have been concerns from the Egyptian Engineers Syndicate, experienced engineers, local & international employers, parents and other society stakeholders about the knowledge and skills gained by engineering graduates. In this article, first the institutions were analyzed from a fresh business perspective. The analysis highlighted several constraints that hinder radical reforms. In part two of this article the aspirations of stakeholders were collected and identified. In part three, recommendations were made based on the experiences of engineering education providers worldwide.

Educating Engineering Students in Egypt: Recommendations for Improvement

Egyptian schools of engineering (government faculties, private faculties and private higher engineering institutes) award degrees to 35000 graduates annually. There have been concerns from the Egyptian Engineers Syndicate, experienced engineers, local & international employers, parents and other society stakeholders about the knowledge and skills gained by engineering graduates. In this article, first the institutions were analyzed from a fresh business perspective. The analysis highlighted several constraints that hinder radical reforms. In part two of this article the aspirations of stakeholders were collected and identified. In part three, recommendations were made based on the experiences of engineering education providers worldwide.

Park management response to mountain bike trail demand in South Western Australia

This case study reports on a collaborative approach where over 15 years, land managers employed proactive stakeholder engagement in the development of new facilities for mountain bikers in Western Australia. The collaboration involved a combined management process that resulted in successful funding applications, constructive partnering and the provision of a range of riding opportunities for mountain bikers. This included the development of a user/site compatibility matrix that assists managers in regard to the approvals process for mountain biking access under various land tenures. In addition there was the development of a long-distance mountain biking trail, the Munda Biddi Trail (491km), an important, and potentially future iconic, tourism resource. Although the process involved in developing the trail demonstrates the success of partnerships between Government Agencies responsible for managing protected areas, mountain bike groups and others, by not setting clearly defined objectives at the start of the process, there were some misunderstandings between stakeholders about the type of trail and the type of mountain bikers likely to benefit from it. Overall the collaborative approach, by providing dedicated facilities at approved sites, appears to have led to a reduction in the impacts of unauthorised damaging activities such as trail modification and the creation of informal trails, highlight the benefits of this type of approach. Management implications●Collaboration between managers and mountain bike lobby groups helped clarify differing stakeholder aspirations and intentions in regard to the development of mountain bike facilities in Western Australia.●To guide the approvals process regarding mountain bike activity a user compatibility matrix was developed to take into account riding preferences, other trail users and the protected area status of government-managed land.●A trail difficulty grading system was also developed for protected areas in Western Australia.●Clear objectives in the early planning stages are deemed as vital to the process.

Thematic Framing: Creating Healthcare Innovations1

Thematic Framing: Creating Healthcare Innovations1

Stakeholder perspectives on ecosystem-based management of the Antarctic krill fishery

Information about stakeholder aspirations is a fundamental requirement for ecosystem-based management, but the detail is often elusive, and debates may focus on simplistic opposing positions. This is exemplified by the Antarctic krill fishery, which, despite a current operational catch limit equivalent to just 1% of the estimated biomass and actual annual catches much lower than this, is the subject of a high-profile debate framed around ambiguous concepts such as sustainability. Q methodology was applied to explore the detailed views of representatives of three stakeholder sectors (the fishing industry, conservation-focused non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and scientists from seven countries involved in research on the krill-based ecosystem). The analysis distinguished two clear groupings, one of which included the views of all NGO participants while the other included the views of fishing industry participants and a subset of the scientists. Key differences between the groups included the priority given to different management measures, and to continued commercial fishing. However, the results also revealed considerable overlap between viewpoints. Both groups prioritised the maintenance of ecosystem health and recognised the importance of defining management objectives. Also, neither group prioritised a decrease in catch limits. This suggests that most participants in the study agree that management should improve but do not perceive a major problem in the ecosystem's ability to support current catch levels. Cooperation to identify shared management objectives based on stakeholder aspirations for the ecosystem might enhance progress, whereas polarised discussions about preferred management measures or ambiguous concepts are likely to impede progress.

Overcoming social barriers to learning and engagement with climate change adaptation: experiences with Swedish forestry stakeholders

Climate change is expected to significantly affect forestry in the coming decades. Thus, it is important to raise awareness of climate-related risks – and opportunities – among forest stakeholders, and engage them in adaptation. However, many social barriers have been shown to hinder adaptation, including perceptions of climate change as irrelevant or not urgent, underestimates of adaptive capacity and lack of trust in climate science. This study looks into how science-based learning experiences can help overcome social barriers to adaptation, and how learning in itself may be hindered by those barriers. The study examines the role of learning in engagement with climate change adaptation with the help of the theory of transformative learning. Our analysis is based on follow-up interviews conducted with 24 Swedish forestry stakeholders who had participated in a series of focus group discussions about climate change impacts and adaptation measures. We find that many stakeholders struggled to form an opinion based on what they perceived as uncertain and contested scientific knowledge. The study concludes that engagement with climate change adaptation can be increased if the scientific knowledge addresses the needs, objectives and aspirations of stakeholders and relates to their previous experiences with climate change and extreme weather events.

Managing social–ecological systems under uncertainty: implementation in the real world

Nuno, A., N. Bunnefeld, and E. Milner-Gulland. 2014. Managing social–ecological systems under uncertainty: implementation in the real world. Ecology and Society 19(2): 52. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06490-190252

Leading with Leverage: Transforming Organisations by Engaging the Passions and Aspirations of Stakeholders

'Leadership' is a slippery concept. This is an account of one person's phenomenological inquiry of trying to learn about it and from it. The paper will outline the initial assumptions I held when I simultaneously began both my PhD study and my role as a school Principal. I will trace how the search for meaning and understanding I pursued became personally transformational as I came to apply a phenomenological and hermeneutic perspective; how I imagined I had a sense of where that learning was headed only to discover it blazed an entirely different trail; and how the impact of all that on my practice was truly remarkable. My core interest is in how a phenomenological perspective may yield insight into lived experience of leading and may be of pragmatic use to leaders seeking to build their own capacity and the capacity of others. The paper will propose that real leverage for leadership and tapping human potential resides in aligning the key mental models of all stakeholders in a co-constructed vision, through intentional, hermeneutical and phenomenological perspectives on leadership; with all members of the organisation respectfully engaged in making meaning from their lived experience through dialogue, coaching, personal purpose and aspiration.

Public Procurement Systems: Unpacking Stakeholder Aspirations and Expectations

Abstract : Globalization has created multinational markets and corporations. There is a trend towards harmonization of international procurement norms. This paper uses stakeholder analysis to develop objectives for public procurement.

Management control system support of initiatives for disruptive students

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to investigate the management control system (MCS) support of school initiatives to develop the school climate and to re‐engage disruptive students.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts an approach of critical action research interviews with management and document reviews informed by Habermasian concepts to investigate practical concerns of schools with a complex problem and which add to the body of knowledge.FindingsUsing Habermas's discourse ethics distinction between the pragmatic, ethical and moral it was observed that both schools had gone beyond pragmatically informed strategic initiatives to include more rational problem solving responses: one school is more ethical the other more moral. Both schools' MCS are better explained by Otley's categorisation based on three concerns of MCS, the transactional, the strategic and stakeholder aspirations. Both schools' MCS displayed a stakeholder concern.Research limitations/implicationsAs only two schools where investigated the generalised conclusions need to be considered cautiously.Practical implicationsSchools should be supported to take initiatives to develop a supportive school climate and improve the rationality and justice of their practices. In schools, MCS cannot just be developed from strategic considerations.Originality/valueThe paper uses Habermasian social philosophy to illuminate MCS support in schools of their response to a complex problem.