Use of technologies and online presence is now almost inevitable in language learning. The practice of virtual exchanges (VEs) has been receiving a lot of attention among educators at all levels over the past years. This research paper sheds light on 13 VEs carried out in pre-service teacher education in the last six years and proposes its own VE design based on recommendations from the literature with the future perspective of designing a specific VE for the research. The aim of the systematic review was at first to determine the exchange and interaction set-ups and the potential gains in the terms of pre-service teachers’ skills development. Afterwards, we identified areas for improvement and proposed our design of a VE between pre-service teachers of English in Slovakia and Turkey. Some of the expected contributions of the proposed VE design are development of a linguistic and intercultural communicative competence, digital literacy, and other competences relevant for development of VEs.
Accounting education highly affects the level of Professional Accounting Education offered in a country by academic institutions, thus determining the job market competitiveness of accounting professionals. The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between accounting education and accounting practices in Sri Lanka. The data for this study is obtained through a well-structured questionnaire among the Finance Managers of listed companies in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). The sample size of the study was 165 Finance Managers, and of them, 122 responded to the questionnaire. This study is significant to the Sri Lankan context due to scant research in the respective research area. The results depict a moderating positive relationship, while effectiveness of accounting education determines the role and performance of accounting professionals in Sri Lanka.
Global warming is a problem that affects humanity; hence, crisis management in the face of natural events is necessary. The aim of the research was to analyze the passage of Hurricane Otis through Acapulco from the theoretical perspective of crisis management, to understand the socio-environmental, economic, and decision-making challenges. For data collection, content analysis and hemerographic review proved useful, complemented by theoretical contrastation. Findings revealed failures in communication by various government actors; the unprecedented growth of Hurricane Otis led to a flawed crisis management. Among the physical, economic, environmental, and social impacts, the latter stands out due to the humanitarian crisis overflow. It is the first time that Acapulco, despite having a tradition in risk management against hydrometeorological events, faces a hurricane of magnitude five on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Ultimately, the city was unprepared to face a category five hydrometeorological event; institutional responses were overwhelmed by the complexity of the crisis, and the community came together to improve its environment and make it habitable again.
This article emphasizes the critical role of the subsidiarity principle in facilitating adaptation to climate change. Employing a comparative legal analysis approach, the paper examines how this principle, traditionally pivotal in distributing powers within the European Union, could be adapted globally to manage climate change displacement. Specifically, it explores whether subsidiarity can surmount the challenges posed by national sovereignty and states’ reluctance to cede control over domestic matters. Findings indicate that while domestic efforts and local adaptations should be prioritized, international intervention becomes imperative when national capacities are overwhelmed. This article proposes that ‘causing countries’ and the global community bear a collective responsibility to act. The Asia-Pacific region, characterized by diverse and vulnerable ecosystems like small islands, coastal areas, and mountainous regions, serves as the focal point for this study. The research underscores the necessity of developing policies and further research to robustly implement the subsidiarity principle in protecting climate-displaced populations.
The global climate governance process will have a profound impact on geopolitical relations, and, at the same time, these will determine the direction of cooperation in international climate governance. The European Union and the United States are the most important players in the global governance of climate change, and their competing policy orientations and dynamics have a major impact on trends in this field. In this context, Africa is the region most vulnerable to climate change, and the climate issue in Africa has become one of the frontiers of competition between major powers. Indeed, major powers are increasingly competing in Africa, primarily in the areas of climate leadership, program provision, and capacity building. The study is based on the review of articles and research works regarding the global climate change strategies, especially in AFRICA (2020–2024); it also collected information and statistics from the websites and reports of world banks. In the future, the European Union and Africa should work together to build a new era of strategic partnerships to fight climate change. To do this, they should strengthen their strategic collaboration in global climate governance, look for new ways to work together in old ways, and make their cooperation more effective and efficient.
Purpose—In the business sector, reliable and timely data are crucial for business management to formulate a company’s strategy and enhance supply chain efficiency. The main goal of this study is to examine how strong brand strength affects shareholder value with a new Supplier Relationship Management System (SRMS) and to find the specific system qualities that are linked to SRMS adoption. This leads to higher brand strength and stronger shareholder value. Design/Methodology/Approach—This study employed a cross-sectional design with an explanatory survey as a deductive technique to form hypotheses. The primary method of data collection used a drop-off questionnaire that was self-administered to the UAE-based healthcare suppliers. Of the 787 questionnaires sent to the healthcare suppliers, 602 were usable, yielding a response rate of 76.5%. To analyze the data gathered, the study used Partial Least Squares Structural Equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and artificial neural network (ANN) techniques. Findings—The study’s data proved that SRMS adoption and brand strength positively affected and improved healthcare suppliers’ shareholder value. Additionally, it demonstrates that user satisfaction is the most significant predictor of SRMS adoption, while the results show that the mediating role of brand strength is the most significant predictor of shareholder value. The results demonstrated that internally derived constructs were better explained by the ANN technique than by the PLS-SEM approach. Originality/Value—This study demonstrates its practical value by offering decision-makers in the healthcare supplier industry a reference on what to avoid and what elements to take into account when creating plans and implementing strategies and policies.
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