This article analyzes library promotion in developing the Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) towards a World Class University (WCU). Indonesia is experiencing educational obstacles in achieving the WCU title. Several factors influence the difficulty of achieving the WCU predicate, but the most dominant is the library’s role in accommodating student literacy skills. As one of the higher education institutions, USU understands the vital role of the library in increasing the intensity of literacy to achieve the WCU predicate. The urgency of this research is to review the promotion of the USU library in achieving the WCU predicate through the library as an instrument. This article uses qualitative research with a case study approach. The data collection techniques used in this article are in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation. Primary data sources in this article are research informants, while secondary data used are books, articles, and reportage. The data collected by the author will then be analyzed using content analysis techniques. The results show that the library has various vital roles in literacy reform so that USU can achieve the WCU title. In this case, the library pursues promotional strategies including 1) Product, 2) Price, 3) Promotion, and 4) Distribution. The whole promotion model contributes to improving campus literacy in achieving WCU goals.
Enhancing the emphasis on incorporating sustainable practices reinforces a linear transition towards a circular economy by organizations. Nevertheless, although studies on circular economy demonstrate an increasing trend, the drivers that support circular economy practices towards sustainable business performance in the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) sector, especially in developing nations, demand exploration. Accordingly, the study examines circular economy drivers, i.e., green human resource management, in establishing sustainability performance and environmental dynamism as moderating variables. The study engaged 207 SMEs and 621 respondents who were analyzed utilizing structural equation modeling. The analysis indicated that sustainable business performance was affected by green human resource management and a circular economy. Subsequently, the circular economy mediated the linkage between green human resources management and sustainable business performance. The environmental dynamism moderated the linkage between green human resources management and the circular economy.
COVID-19 has presented considerable challenges to fiscal budget allocations in developing countries, significantly affecting decisions regarding number of investments in the transport sector where precise resource allocation is required. Elucidating the long-term relationship between public transport investment and economic growth might enable policymaker to effectively make a decision in regard to those budget allocation. Our paper then utilizes Thailand as a case study to analyze the effects on economic growth in a developing country context. The study employs Cointegration and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) techniques to account for long-term correlations among explanatory variables during 1991–2019. The statistical findings reveal a significantly positive correlation between transport investment and economic growth by indicating an increase of 0.937 in economic growth for every one-percent increment in transport investment (S.D. = 0.024, p < 0.05). This emphasizes the potential of expanding the transport investment to recover Thailand’s economy. Furthermore, in terms of short-term adjustments, our results indicate that transport investment can significantly mitigate the negative impact of external shocks by 0.98 percent (p < 0.05). These findings assist policymakers in better managing national budget allocations in the post-Covid-19 period, allowing them to estimate the duration of crowding-out effects induced by shocks more effectively.
In regard to national development (ND), this review article (which is basically a perspective approach) presents retroactive and forward-looking perspectives on university education in Nigeria. In the past, particularly during the 1970s, the Nigerian university (NU) sector was among the most outstanding in Africa as well as globally. The best institutions drew students from around Africa, who flocked to Nigeria to study. The NU structure evidently contained four essential components for an international and effective university system, viz., world-class instructors, world-class students, a conducive learning environment, and global competitiveness. The NU structure, nevertheless, has undergone some neglect over the past thirty years and lost its distinctive identity, which raises questions about its function and applicability at the current stage of ND. Hence, some retrospective and forward-looking observations on university education in Nigeria in connection to ND are conveyed in this perspective article uses basically published articles and other relevant literature, as well as other sources and data from available literature. Hitherto, there is an urgent need for reinforcement of the university system in order to give it the desired and comparable international quality and functionality needed to meet the demands of current issues and the near future. However, this article conveys an intense belief and conviction that the NU system is still important for both the political and socioeconomic development (growth) of the nation. The article concludes by recommending the way forward in this regard.
Due to rising global environmental challenges, air/water pollution treatment technologies, especially membrane techniques, have been focused on. In this context, air or purification membranes have been considered effective for environmental remediation. In the field of polymeric membranes, high-performance polymer/graphene nanocomposite membranes have gained increasing research attention. The polymer/graphene nanomaterials exposed several potential benefits when processed as membranes. This review explains the utilization of polymer and graphene-derived nanocomposites towards membrane formation and water or gas separation or decontamination properties. Here, different membrane designs have been developed depending upon the polymer types (poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinyl chloride), poly(dimethyl siloxane), polysulfone, poly(methyl methacrylate), etc.) and graphene functionalities. Including graphene in polymers influences membrane microstructure, physical features, molecular permeability or selectivity, and separations. Polysulfone/graphene oxide nanocomposite membranes have been found to be most efficient with an enhanced rejection rate of 90%–95%, a high water flux >180 L/m2/h, and a desirable water contact angle for water purification purposes. For gas separation membranes, efficient membranes have been reported as polysulfone/graphene oxide and poly(dimethyl siloxane)/graphene oxide nanocomposites. In these membranes, N2, CO2, and other gases permeability has been found to be higher than even >99.9%. Similarly, higher selectivity values for gases like CO2/CH4 have been observed. Thus, high-performance graphene-based nanocomposite membranes possess high potential to overcome the challenges related to water or gas molecular separations.
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