This work presents a review of Mexican Higher Education during the decade of education for sustainable development and how today it faces the commitments made for the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030. By portraying the agreements that support the UN’s Development Program in advising higher education institutions, the SDGs which can be served through universities and their by-products, the success stories of some universities are shown. This case study addresses the theoretical value of quality of life and harmony of the environment, remarking on how different universities in Mexico have approached this matter as a key part of their curricula, policy, and research. Showcasing a special emphasis given to the work carried out by the University of Sonora, specifically for their institutional practices for sustainability and the study of sustainability from the perspective of Environmental Psychology.
The study’s purpose is to evaluate the influence of some factors of the model of planned behavior (TPB) and the perceived academic support of the university on the attitude toward entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention of students. The results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) linear structural model analysis with primary data collected from 1162 students indicated that entrepreneurial intention is influenced by attitude toward entrepreneurship, subjective norm, perceived educational support, and perceived concept development support. In addition, this study also found the positive influence of perceived educational support, concept development support, and business development support on attitude towards entrepreneurship. Interestingly, the influence of perceived business development support on entrepreneurial intention was rejected, and personal innovativeness is demonstrated to promote an attitude toward entrepreneurship. Notably, this study also highlights the moderating role of personal innovativeness on the relationship between attitude toward entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention. Based on these findings, several implications were suggested to researchers, universities, and policymakers.
Due to the gradual growth of urbanization in cities, urban forests can play an essential role in sequestering atmospheric carbon, trapping pollution, and providing recreational spaces and ecosystem services. However, in many developing countries, the areas of urban forests have sharply been declining due to the lack of conservation incentives. While many green city spaces have been on the decline in Thailand, most university campuses are primarily covered by trees and have been serving as urban forests. In this study, the carbon sequestration of the university campuses in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region was analyzed using geoinformatics technology, Sentinal-2 satellite data, and aerial drone photos. Seventeen campuses were selected as study areas, and the dendrometric parameters in the tree databases of two areas at Chulalongkorn University and Thammasat University were used for validation. The results showed that the weight average carbon stock density of the selected university campuses is 46.77 tons per hectare and that the total carbon stock and sequestration of the study area are 22,546.97 tons and 1402.78 tons per year, respectively. Many universities in Thailand have joined the Green University Initiative (UI) and UI GreenMetric ranking and have implemented several campus improvements while focusing on environmental concerns. Overall, the used methods in this study can be useful for university leaders and policymakers to obtain empirical evidence for developing carbon storage solutions and campus development strategies to realize green universities and urban sustainability.
The scientific discourse on university towns (UT) has progressed for a long time, with a surge of interest in recent years. However, a global overview of the research conducted on this topic have yet to exist. This paper aims to re-examine the relationship between UT and urbanization in literature. Built environment and people are often the most talked aspects in UT literatures. The variety of definitions remains largely uncharted. Policies behind UT development are also rarely studied. This article used an R studio-based bibliometric literature review to synthesize findings from various scientific literature. Keywords related to university towns and urban were used in digital search engines to examine and analyse the literature. Results revealed a significant gap in scientific research on critical theoretical concepts that planners can use as a guide in creating, formulating, and evaluating UT, especially in developing countries. This study promotes simplification of existing literature by examining the impact of UT on the stakeholders involved.
Introduction: Chatbots are increasingly utilized in education, offering real-time, personalized communication. While research has explored technical aspects of chatbots, user experience remains under-investigated. This study examines a model for evaluating user experience and satisfaction with chatbots in higher education. Methodology: A four-factor model (information quality, system quality, chatbot experience, user satisfaction) was proposed based on prior research. An alternative two-factor model emerged through exploratory factor analysis, focusing on “Chatbot Response Quality” and “User Experience and Satisfaction with the Chatbot.” Surveys were distributed to students and faculty at a university in Ecuador to collect data. Confirmatory factor analysis validated both models. Results: The two-factor model explained a significantly greater proportion of the data’s variance (55.2%) compared to the four-factor model (46.4%). Conclusion: This study suggests that a simpler model focusing on chatbot response quality and user experience is more effective for evaluating chatbots in education. Future research can explore methods to optimize these factors and improve the learning experience for students.
Women's financial literacy and financial inclusion have gained prominence in recent years. Despite progress, knowledge and access to finance remain common barriers for women, especially in emerging economies. Globally, domestic and economic violence has been recognized as a relevant social concern from a gender perspective. In this context, financial literacy and financial inclusion are considered to play a key role in reducing violence against women by empowering them with the necessary knowledge to manage their financial resources and make informed decisions. This study aims to evaluate the determinants that influence Peruvian female university students' financial literacy and financial inclusion. To this end, a theoretical behavioral model is proposed, and a survey is applied to 427 female university students. The results are analyzed using a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM). The results validate all the proposed hypotheses and highlight significant relationships between financial literacy and women's financial inclusion. A relevant relationship between financial attitude and financial behavior is also observed, as well as the influence of financial behavior and financial self-efficacy on financial literacy. The results also reveal that women feel capable of making important financial decisions for themselves and consider that financial literacy could help reduce gender-based violence. Based on these findings, theoretical and practical implications are raised. It highlights the proposal of a theoretical model based on antecedents, statistically validated in a sample of women in Peru, which lays the foundation for understanding financial literacy and financial inclusion in the Latin American region.
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