Regardless of the importance of accreditation and the role faculty play in a such process, not much attention was given to those in dental colleges This study aimed to explore faculty perceptions of accreditation in the College of Dental Medicine and its impact, the challenges that hinder their involvement in accreditation, and countermeasures to mitigate these barriers using a convergent mixed methods approach. The interviewees were faculty who hold administrative positions (purposeful sample). The remaining faculty were invited for the survey using convenience sampling. Quantitative data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests at 0.05 significance. A consensus was achieved on the positive impact of accreditation with an emphasis on the collective responsibility of faculty for the entire process. Yet their involvement was not duly recognized in teaching load, promotion, and incentives. Quality Improvement and Sustainability Tools and Benchmarking were identified as common themes for the value of accreditation to institutions and faculty. Global ranking and credibility as well as seamless service were key themes for institutional accreditation, while education tools and guidance or unifying tools were central themes for faculty. Regarding the challenges, five themes were recognized: Lack of Resources, Rigorous Process, Communication Lapse, Overwhelming Workload, and Leadership Style and Working Environment. To mitigate these challenges, Providing Enough Resources and Leadership Style and Working Environment were the identified themes. This research endeavors to achieve a better understanding of faculty perceptions to ease a process that requires commitment, resources, and readiness to change.

This study explores benefits, barriers and willingness to pay for bike-sharing service in tourism context. Based on a sample of 800 individuals who visited Da Nang, Vietnam between July and August 2023, trends in the barriers and benefits related to bike-sharing service from tourists’ point-of-view were explored. The results show that bike-sharing is appreciated for many reasons, notably for its fun/relaxing, cost saving, ease of city exploration, and promotion of better physical and mental health. However, bike-sharing services are considerably less likely to be viewed as options for faster transportation to a destination or reducing traffic hazards. Notably, eighty-six percent of non-riders indicated contentment with their existing transportation options and a lack of interest in bike-sharing services, a proportion significantly higher than any other group. Predictably, barriers related to the availability of bike-sharing and infrastructure, such as lack of sufficient number of shared bikes, far destination, and poor road conditions were notably more likely to be selected by one-time riders. The results are also evident that a significant portion of tourists is willing to pay to enhance their tourist experience with a bike-sharing service. On average, tourists were willing to pay $0.92 per hour (with a standard deviation of $0.24). This amount reflects the tourists’ recognition of the value added to their mode experience. These findings suggest that bike-sharing service play a significant role in fulfilling an essential transportation niche and have the potential to contribute to enhance tourists’ experience. Efforts aimed at addressing barriers associated with bike-sharing usage could further enhance their contribution to improve tourist satisfaction and boost attraction demand.

Intellectual capital is one of the most crucial determinants of long-term economic development. The countries compete for highly skilled labor and talented youth. State regulatory interventions aim to, on the one hand, facilitate the retention of foreign high-productivity intellectual capital in the host country, transforming ‘educational’ and ‘scientific’ migrants into residents, and on the other hand, prevent the outflow of their own qualified workforce. The paper aims to outline the role of the nation’s higher education system in the influx and outflow of labor resources. A two-stage approach is applied: 1) maximum likelihood—to cluster the EU countries and the potential candidates to become members of EU countries based on the integrated competitiveness of their higher education systems, considering quantitative, qualitative, and internationalization aspects; 2) logit and probit models—to estimate the likelihood of net migration flow surpassing baseline cluster levels and the probability of migration intensity changes for each cluster. Empirical findings allow the identification of four country clusters. Forecasts indicate the highest likelihood of increased net migration flow in the second cluster (66.7%) and a significant likelihood in the third cluster (23.4%). However, the likelihood of such an increase is statistically insignificant for countries in the first and fourth clusters. The conclusions emphasize the need for regulatory interventions that enhance higher education quality, ensure equal access for migrants, foster population literacy, and facilitate lifelong learning. Such measures are imperative to safeguard the nation’s intellectual potential and deter labor emigration.

Africa has an extensive and varied cultural history that includes works of art, music, literature, customs, and historical locations. These cultural resources are essential for creating identities, promoting social cohesiveness, and advancing economic development. However, for these institutions to have the greatest impact on the world and contribute to sustainable development, they must be managed and engaged effectively. Exploring the management of cultural institutions in Africa and their potential for global impact and sustainable development is the goal of this research study. The study relies on the extensive review of available literature, case studies, and in-depth interviews with key informants, and data obtained, subjected to content and thematic analyses. It aims to uncover flexible management techniques that can improve the global reach and sustainable development of African cultural institutions by examining successful models and cutting-edge approaches. The results of this study will help those responsible for administering Africa’s cultural institutions to formulate practical guidelines and policy recommendations. Africa can further establish its cultural identity, advance cultural diplomacy, and utilize its cultural capital to propel social and economic advancement by utilizing the potential of these institutions for global impact and sustainable development.

This study aims to evaluate the relationship between financial resilience, exchange rate, inflation, and economic growth from 1996 to 2022 using secondary data from the World Bank. The analysis method uses vector autoregressive to understand the causality dynamics between these variables. The results show that past economic growth positively impacts current economic conditions, but an increase in the exchange rate can hinder economic growth. The exchange rate also tends to be influenced by previous values, but high economic growth does not always increase the exchange rate. Previous conditions significantly affect financial resilience and can be strengthened by a strong currency. Meanwhile, inflation has an inverse relationship with economic growth, where past inflation seems to suppress current inflation, which price stabilization policies can cause. From an institutional economics perspective, this study provides an understanding of the interaction between various economic factors in the structural framework and policies that regulate economic activities. The impulse response function (IRF) shows that economic growth can react strongly to sudden changes, although this reaction may not last long. The exchange rate fluctuates with economic changes, reflecting market optimism and uncertainty. Financial resilience may be strong initially but may weaken over time, indicating the need for policies to strengthen the financial system to ensure economic stability. Furthermore, the role of social capital in economic resilience is highlighted as it can amplify the positive effects of a robust institutional framework by fostering trust and collaboration among economic actors. Inflation reacts differently to economic changes, challenging policymakers to balance growth and price stability. Overall, the IRF provides insights into how economic variables interact with each other and react to sudden changes, albeit with some uncertainty in the estimates. The forecast error decomposition variance (FEVD) analysis in this study reveals that internal factors initially influence economic growth, but over time, external factors such as the exchange rate, financial resilience, and inflation come into play. The exchange rate, which was initially volatile due to internal factors, becomes increasingly influenced by economic growth, indicating a close relationship between the economy and the foreign exchange market. From an institutional economics perspective, financial resilience, which was initially stable due to internal factors, becomes increasingly dependent on global economic conditions, suggesting the importance of a solid institutional framework for maintaining economic stability. In addition, inflation, which was initially explained by economic growth and exchange rates, has gradually become more influenced by financial resilience, indicating the importance of effective monetary policy in controlling inflation. This study highlights the importance of understanding how economic variables influence each other for effective economic governance. Integrating institutional economics and social capital perspectives provides a comprehensive framework for enhancing financial resilience and promoting sustainable economic development in Indonesia.