World Context Research Articles

Cinematic solidarity and international revolutionary commitment: Cuban documentaries on Vietnam

ABSTRACT Vietnam was a central subject for solidarity filmmaking in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and Cuba contributed some of the most significant efforts to this trend. In this essay, I first situate the Cuban solidarity films on Vietnam within the larger context of the nation’s internationalist foreign policy, before focusing my discussion on two documentaries—79 Springs (79 primaveras, 1969) by Santiago Álvarez and Third World, Third World War (Tercer mundo, tercera guerra mundial, 1970) by Julio García Espinosa. My analysis will show how the films, in addition to their anti-imperialist stance and solidarity-building efforts, address issues such as guerilla warfare and schisms in the socialist camp central to Cuba’s ambitions to create a coalition of the revolutionary Left beyond the Soviet Union and China. Attention will also be given to the formal and stylistic aspects of the documentaries, which display, albeit in different ways, an awareness of their own conditions of cinema making and of the question of audience in a Third World context.

Leading schools in the face of great adversity

ABSTRACT The study of disadvantages in education at all levels in Ireland is a well-researched field (Doyle and Keane 2019; Fleming and Harford 2021; Kellaghan 1995; Skerritt 2017; Tormey 2010). A variety of research approaches have been used by those involved in the endeavour to provide a range of valuable associated insights. We offer this paper at a time when other approaches yet again are called for as Ireland, like many other European countries, is hosting Ukranian children in schools as they seek to gain refuge from atrocities at home. In particular, we offer it as a response to an invitation to indicate how those insights can be enriched through the provision of expositions of a comparative nature so that Irish educationists can gain an international perspective on the national situation. Such expositions can be of various types, including those relating to the situation in other OECD nations. Expositions that provide stark contrasts are also helpful in that they can indicate where one’s own circumstances are situated on a spectrum between those demonstrating extreme egalitarianism and those of extreme deprivation. This paper provides an exposition of the latter variety by detailing the results of a long-running research project orchestrated by the present authors on issues related to school leadership by school principals, deputy principals and local school-board members, in three such situations, namely, post-conflict contexts, extremely remote developing world contexts and disadvantaged post-communist societies.

Financial Investment Modes and Strategic Readiness of Star-Rated Hotels in the COVID-19 Pandemic Environment in Kenya

The hotel industry in general is a great investment option for generating income and building long-term wealth. The hospitality industry, especially in the developing world context, is fraught with risks that limit investment in the industry and these risks have been further compounded by the emergence of the COVID-19 global pandemic which, though under control, presently has put the levels of strategic readiness of the industry into question. This paper, therefore, explores the influence of financial investment modes on strategic readiness of star-rated hotels in Kenya in the COVID-19 context. The study was guided by the Modern Portfolio Theory and used a cross-sectional study design targeting star-rated hotels in Kenya from which 120 were selected using systematic random sampling. Using data collected through questionnaires and interview schedules, the study found that financial investment modes have a significant influence on strategic readiness of star-rated hotels in the COVID-19 pandemic environment in Kenya. Most hotels were working on a mix of financing instruments that will ensure financial sustainability even after the pandemic. The hotels’ levels of readiness have an important impact on their financial instrumentation prospects. The study recommends that the star-rated hotels should also reposition themselves strategically in the investment market so as to enable them attract more investment from both the private sector and the public sector to enable them build more resilience in times of crisis.

René Lévesque political discourse features in context of fight for quebec identity

This article considers René Lévesque’s (1922–1987) political discourse in context of his fight for Quebec identity. In our opinion, he was the most brilliant Quebec leader during the second half of the XX century. A selection of his grand speeches and the best interviews “La voix de René Lévesque” (Québec, 2002) were used as the source for analysis. Being media and mass communication researcher, the author does not aspire solely to linguistic analysis. We consider René Lévesque’s political discourse in view of his ability to communicate with different audiences supporting the Quebec’s identity. So, it was very important to determine R. Lévesque’s target audiences and the principal methods of influencing them. The speeches of R. Lévesque as a politician reflect his experience as a TV journalist (his habit of oral, not written presentation of information), hence some “roughness” of his speeches – the use of interjections, tautology, and the lack of stylistic artistry. One of the conclusions made is that all public R. Lévesque’s speeches demonstrate, step by step, his consistent programme for preserving Quebec identity in its English environment (the change of self-designation into “Québécois (Quebeckers)”; the proclamation of French as the only language of the province; the attempt to secure the support of France, its former metropolis; referendum on province independence; declining the federal offer to sign “patriated” Canadian Constitution without recognizing Quebec as “a distinct society” and others). However, Prime Minister Pierre-Elliotte Trudeau, his federal opponent, considered René Lévesque an ambitious person, who wanted to split united Canada. Unfortunately, “La voix de René Lévesque” did not include the internal Quebec Party discussions on province independence, which became the reason for René Lévesque to abandon Quebec Party and his post of Quebec Prime Minister. The author argues that political discourse of national Quebec leader René Lévesque was a form of social action, which served as a prerequisite for recognizing the Quebec Nation by the Parliament of Canada in 2006. At present Quebec Party, based on René Lévesque’s political legacy continues to develop it, and the thesis of Quebec’s Independence is still in its programme. The research shows that political discourse of small nations leaders like René Lévesque needs to be under further studies. The resonating context of the modern world gives us many other similar regional situations.

Decolonizing children’s agency: Perspectives of children in an Urdu-speaking Bihari camp in Bangladesh

Drawing on nine months of ethnographic fieldwork with children and adults in an Urdu-speaking Bihari camp in Bangladesh, this paper critically explores the ambiguities, nuances, and messiness of children’s everyday lives and the complex ways in which children negotiate and exercise their agency. With a critical and reflexive analysis of children’s experiences in everyday lives, this paper aims to make a meaningful contribution to the knowledge of childhood and children’s everyday lives in the majority world context by focusing on an under-researched minority within Bangladesh.

A Study of Slope Explanations across a Standards-Based Textbook Series

This study analyses a standards-based textbook series to investigate how slope is presented across seven sequential textbooks in a secondary mathematics curriculum. Analysis of the expository content across the textbooks shows that slope is covered in all seven books, is frequently described as a Constant Parameter or Ratio, is frequently used in real world contexts, and is often described alongside covariational language of how inputs and outputs change in relation to one another. Results indicate that Determining Property and Steepness components of slope are less prevalent and disproportionately unlikely to be accompanied by covariational language and applications compared with the other slope components. Although many consistencies were found across the textbook series, differences in emphases from one textbook to another are also discussed and connected to the recommendation that future work around slope investigate its development across the secondary curriculum. Results are discussed relative to students’ preparation for specific calculus topics that build on prior knowledge of slope. Implications for both teachers and researchers are provided.

Preservice EFL teachers’ online learning anxiety

With a prompt rise in the development of technology and with the advent of the internet in the 1990s, walls of classrooms have been demolished by the innovations of the current century. These developments also breathe new life into foreign language education and change the concept of the classroom while casting challenging roles for both learners and instructors, which ends up a new type of education on the stage of online education platforms. This brand-new way of foreign language learning has brought about extra anxiety in learners. In order to find out the reasons for foreign language anxiety, which affects learners’ process of foreign language learning in the online world, a total number of 75 undergraduate foreign language learners (n=75) who are taking online oral communication courses in the English Language Teacher Education Program (the Spring of the academic year 2019-2020) at Ondokuz Mayıs University in Turkey are involved in this research voluntarily. This study aims to investigate what kind of effects online learning has on foreign language learners’ anxiety in the process of online foreign language education, what the challenges are for online foreign language learners, how learners perceive online foreign language education, and what the learners' perceived reasons are for anxiety in an online foreign language learning environment through semi-structured interview forms. Certain significant factors which affect learners’ foreign language learning anxiety in an online world context have been determined. Some certain suggestions are made to alleviate the foreign language anxiety levels of the learners in online foreign language learning contexts.

Divulging the efficacy of e-learning through the eyes of university students: Lessons from a third world perspective

The COVID-19 has resulted in the shift from the physical classroom education to online learning or a combination of both. At the height of the pandemic, over 1.2 billion children were out of the classroom as schools were completely shut across the world (Li and Lalani, 2020). This has dramatically changed education with the distinctive upsurge of e-learning, whereby teaching and learning is conducted remotely with the aid of digital platforms. This sudden shift from the traditional classroom in various parts of the world has left many not sure about the future of the education market. The question from all quarters is whether online learning will continue post the pandemic, and in response to the pandemic many online platforms are offering their e-learning platforms for free (Holmes, 2020) but there is need to see their applicability to the context of Zimbabwe or other third world countries.The research used qualitative data collection method in which 4th year students were asked to write an essay about their experiences with e-learning. 50 students took part in the research and their responses were evaluated using R qualitative data analysis (RQDA) software. The results were used to come up with a model that explains the critical success factors for the adoption of e-learning in higher learning institutions. The results show that a combination of organizational, technological, environmental and behavioral factors affects the efficacy of e-learning.

Primary hyperoxaluria and genetic linkages: an insight into the disease burden from Pakistan.

Autosomal recessive disorders are prevalent in Pakistan, a developing South Asian country where consanguineous marriages are common. This study seeks to determine the prevalence of monogenic causes in children presenting with nephrocalcinosis and nephrolithiasis at a dialysis and transplant center in Karachi, Pakistan. A retrospective analysis was conducted in children aged 1-18years presenting with nephrocalcinosis, between 2010 and 2019. Demographic information, clinical profile, laboratory parameters and stone analysis were collected, on a pre-designed questionnaire. One hundred and twenty-six children were included, with 11 and 3 diagnosed with renal tubular acidosis and Bartter's syndrome respectively. Next-generation sequencing and Sanger sequencing was performed on 112 children. Eighty-seven patients were diagnosed with primary hyperoxaluria, with mutations in alanine-glyoxylate-aminotransferase gene found in 73, followed by glyoxylate reductase/hydroxy-pyruvate reductase in 13, and 4-hydroxy-2-oxaloglutarate aldolase in 1. Twenty-five patients reported negative for mutations. Sixty-four percent were males, with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). History of parental consanguineous marriage was found in 98% of the cohort. Fifty-four and 40 patients presented to the clinic with Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 1 and Stage 5, respectively, with a statistically significant difference p = 0.007. Mutations noted in our cohort are different and more severe than those reported in the developed world. The disease poses a major disease burden in developing world context with the only treatment option of combined liver-kidney transplantation not available in Pakistan.

Adopting Clinical Practice Guidelines for Pharmacologic Management of Acute Spinal Cord Injury from a Developed World Context to a Developing Global Region

Proper utilization of high-quality clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) eliminates the dependence of patients' outcomes on the ability and knowledge of "individual" health care providers and reduces unwarranted variation in care. The aim of this study was to adapt/adopt two CPGs for pharmacologic management of acute spinal cord injury (SCI) using guideline adaptation methods. This study was conducted based on the ADAPTE process. Following establishment of an organizing committee and choosing the health topics, we appraised the quality of the CPGs using the Appraisal of Clinical Guidelines for Research & Evaluation II (AGREE II). Then, the authors extracted and categorized suggestions according to Population, Intervention, Professions, Outcomes and Health care setting (PIPOH). The decision-making process was based on systemic evaluation of each suggestion, utilizing a combination of AGREE II scores, the quality of supporting evidence for or against each suggestion and the triad of feasibility, acceptance and adoptability for the Iranian health-care context. Two guidelines were included in the adaptation process. Based on high-quality of these guidelines and the feasibility and adoptability evaluation of the organizing committee, we decided to adopt the suggestion of both guidelines. Overall, seven suggestions were extracted from the source guidelines. This work provides a framework to apply guidelines for acute SCI to the developing regions of the world. Attempts should be made to implement these suggestions in order to improve the health outcomes of Iranian SCI patients.

Detestable and Wicked Arts: New England and Witchcraft in the Early Modern Atlantic World

In Detestable and Wicked Arts Paul B. Moyer examines early modern witchcraft accusations and trials in their Atlantic world contexts between 1640 and 1670. The book draws on a deep archive of primary sources, ranging from trial transcripts and letters to published work, and provides rich visual contextualization through the many maps, images, and charts. Moyer's analysis draws on and synthesizes a wide range of witchcraft scholarship from both sides of the Atlantic to show how understandings of witchcraft in New England were shaped within a Puritan Atlantic world that included England and Europe as well as parts of the Caribbean, including Bermuda. The seven chapters assess early modern witchcraft from the perspectives and roles of those involved. Chapter 1 provides evidence for the benefit of studying New England between 1630 and 1670 in a transatlantic context. The chapters that follow examine how different actors shaped New England witchcraft. Chapter...

A Pietà for the 80s

An essay exploring a particular pietà iconography in the work of Darrel Ellis, related to the art world context of his life in 80s New York City.

Innovation Environment’s Role in Supporting Industry 4.0 Technology Adoption to Address Effects of COVID-19

Health systems were severely strained at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, where the demand for personal protection equipment (PPE) could not be met. The challenge faced by many countries was how to innovate quickly to create PPE and other needed solutions. The subsequent research gap identified was a lack of practical insights on how to support such novel technology adoption, particularly those that stem from Industry 4.0 (I4.0) within a developing world context. To address this previous literature on I4.0 technology, the role of innovation environments and theoretical principles of technology adoption was reviewed. A practical case from an academic makerspace based in a South African university was then assessed. It was selected due to its direct role in rapid solutions development of PPE using additive manufacturing (AM) until such a time that manufacturers could set up production on a larger scale. It was found that AM and other novel technologies have facilitated innovative solutions to address the significant impacts of the pandemic. Key to which were practices identified of an innovation environment that supported early-stage adoption of AM to achieve this even in a developing country context. The findings imply that innovation environments offer an agile platform to leverage innovation by streamlining certain critical success factors of I4.0 technology adoption, which is presented in a model. However, individual skills developed by such environments to enhance innovation capabilities within this paradigm require further research.

Investors respond negatively to executives’ discussion of creativity

Creativity and innovation are often considered to be essential characteristics of effective organizations. However, recent experimental research suggests that individual-level creativity in the workplace is not always perceived positively because of the uncertainty inherent in creative ideas. Although this research has advanced our understanding of perceptions of individual creativity in organizations, less is known about whether this creativity bias holds in real world contexts and, if so, whether there are organizational consequences. In this paper, we examine the organizational implications of executives’ use of words related to creativity and innovation (i.e., creativity-speak) during quarterly earnings calls. We predict that due to the association between creativity and uncertainty, market reactions to creativity-speak will be negative. However, we also predict that these same discussions of creativity will be associated with higher firm financial performance. We find support for our predictions, and additionally find that the creativity bias can be ameliorated through executives’ use of a positive tone when discussing creativity and innovation. Our study has a number of theoretical implications for the study of creativity, innovation, and executive communication.

Apparel Industry in the EU–China Exports and Circular Economy

Abstract In the current social and economic world context, Chinese trade relations represent a challenge for all partners. The article provides an overview of bilateral trade, especially export, between the European Union (EU) and China in the apparel and accessories industry, most performance parts of the bilateral relations from the textile industry. The research is highlighting the major trends of export relations for this industry during 2001–2019. The author presents the evolution of articles of apparel and accessories exports in the EU and China, emphasizing the major tendencies for each of them. Further are developed benchmarks of Romanian contribution to the relationship between EU and China. The methods used present a multi-method approach, utilizing primary and secondary research through exploratory data from the official website regarding the apparel industry, as EU Statistics, International Trade Centre, and others. The main result of the paper shows that at the European level, one of the most important objectives for the apparel industry is to assure EU–China trade feasible barrier export instruments to develop efficiently the bilateral exports.

NPM of the masses: the expansion and modernisation in Chilean higher education, 1999–2016

ABSTRACT This study reviews the performance of the Improvement of Quality and Equity in Higher Education programme (MECESUP). MECESUP was executed in three stages between 1999 and 2016 by Chile’s Ministry of Education and its directly state-subsidised university sector, with World Bank financing and advisory. The account explores achievements and failures in pursuing the twin expansion and modernisation of Chilean universities under a New Public Management (NPM) consciousness. A review of primarily European understandings of policy rationalisation in the context of the massification of higher education informs and contrasts with the Chilean case, which in turn may be instructive for similar initiatives in other Latin American and developing world contexts. The study tables illustrative interview data from personnel contemporaneously embedded in government, quasi-autonomous regulatory agencies and universities. The data falls into four key dimensions: first, participants’ initial expectations of the programme; second, issues that stem from the throwing open of substantial contestable funding; third, how an NPM philosophy would be planted within universities through MECESUP’s influence; and, lastly, the ways in which quality assurance attained centrality within Chilean higher education policy.

Rising and thriving in the post COVID-19 era: a case study of COSMAX, a leader of the Korean cosmetic industry

ABSTRACT In this paper, we consider the impact of COVID-19 on Korean cosmetics firms. The research framework (i.e. OEM/ODM Business Model) shows sensing customer requirements, translating them through a fusion complex design lab, digital technologies (e.g. Big Data, AI, Supply Chain Technologies), and applying manufacturing capabilities for achieving sustainable competitive outcomes. It examines how digital technologies influence the ODM business model. The research methods include a literature review, an analysis of internal documents, and field interviews with top executives. It also focuses on the model’s response to the Fourth Industrial Revolution opportunities such as the IoT/AI. The case study covers both prior to the COVID-19 and post pandemic world contexts. We propose propositions based on our research model and discuss relevant lessons to other industries in terms of designing cross-functional creativities, implementing organizational flexibility, and achieving market expansion through operational speed and network partnerships.

Chinese Narrotologies

Chinese Narrotologies

TENDÊNCIAS NO DESENVOLVIMENTO DO ECOTURISMO: UMA ANÁLISE DA LITERATURA

Ecotourism is the appropriate activity for carrying out tourism in protected places, as it is concerned with environmental conservation, contributing to the development of local communities. The potential for ecotourism is significant due to national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves and community reserves, many of which include animal reserves. Therefore, this study aims to conduct a systematic review of the literature on high impact research on the evolution and trends related to ecotourism in the world context, in order to understand the different perspectives through critical analyzes, identifying gaps for future research and investigating trends in this body of literature. The results show the main developments and trends in the referred body of literature, possible relationship of ecotourism, as well as the main magazines that carried out studies on the topic and what are their results. The main countries that published high impact studies (JCR 2019) on the topics covered and number of citations can be consulted. In addition, this study provides an overview of ecotourism and the possibilities for future research. The development of studies on ecotourism must be related in terms of protected areas, natural resources and sustainable tourism. For future studies, it is considered important to investigate other impacts that influence Ecotourism, such as political, technological and legal. The study provides perspectives on ecotourism around the world in encouraging research in the sector. DOI: 10.18226/23190639.v9n3.04 Antônio Carlos Franco*, UTFPR, Brasil Email: francoancf@hotmail.comLuciane Silva Franco, UNICENTRO, Brasil Email: lu05-franco@hotmail.comRonaldo Ferreira Maganhotto, UNICENTRO, Brasil Email: rmaganhotto@unicentro.edu.br Submetido: Fevereiro 2021Aceito: Junho 2021*Contato para Correspondência

Urban Water Resilience in Landscape of Digitally Connected Built Environment: An Assessment Matrix for Cities of Developing Nations

One of the major challenges faced by the local level agencies is the identification and applicability of assessment metrics and standards for urban water resilience, especially in India, as most of the considerable research on the resilience assessment refers to the developed western world context. These metrics have limited applicability in Indian context owing to limited data availability and varied significance of various indicators. It is of vital importance to assess the inherent urban water resilience, so as to channelize the limited resources in prioritized sectors, based on the assessment of water services for cities. This paper attempts to develop an urban water resilience assessment matrix, typically highlighting the integration of technology based on the applicability in Indian context. This matrix is based on a mix of household level indicators as well as utility level indicators. This novel matrix, for the cities of developing countries, attempt to capture the heterogeneity prevailing in the urban water sector based on the supply modes for city households.