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Numbers and Needed Nuance: A Critical Analysis of the Gender Equity Index (GEI)
Iain Macpherson, MacEwan University, CanadaMami Taniguchi, Waseda University, Japan
Fabian Froese, University of Gottingen, Germany
Gender equality has become an important societal goal, and a number of indices attempt to measure gender equality on a country-level. This chapter analyzes Social Watch’s Gender Equity Index (GEI) in terms of its stated aims and associable strengths, weaknesses, and problematic issues. A distinctive strength of GEI is an authenticity stemming from the independence of Social Watch from prominent transnational institutions and its decentralized operations. A major weakness is Social Watch’s failure to keep the instrument up to date. Other problematic issues are shared by almost all country-ranking social indices, involving biases rooted in empirical data-collection impediments and conceptual and statistical methodological quandaries. Based on our analysis, we advise: (1) updating the GEI and keeping it updated; (2) the provision of alternate models (dimensions, indicators, weightings) and rankings; (3) more methodological transparency; and (4) synthesizing GEI measurements with qualitative content and analytic aids. These innovations would distinguish the GEI from an increasingly crowded field. Moreover, and in keeping with Social Watch’s grassroots nature, they would reflect an epistemic circumspection that could counter concerns about the ideological implications of competitive country rankings.
Rethinking Support for Older People Caring for Their Grandchildren in Hong Kong
Lai-ching Leung, City University of Hong Kong, Hong KongThis study aims to understand grandparenting experiences and their implications for social service support for grandparents who care for their grandchildren in Hong Kong. Ten focus group interviews were conducted to 47 participants aged 55 years and over. The selection criteria of the research target were (1) gender, (2) socio-economic background, and (3) age of grandparents. The findings of this study show that intergenerational care is a social construction of three social dimensions, culture, gender, and class, that shape the experiences of grandparents of childcare. Chinese grandparents were found to be willing to take up childcare duties mostly because of the influence of familial ideology. Grandmothers were more likely to provide intensive care to their grandchildren than grandfathers, and some of them even quit their jobs to take up care duties. Grandparents from low-income families were more likely to be involved in grandparenting than those from middle to high-income families. The findings of this study indicate that we need to rethink policy initiatives in three aspects: (1) to revamp the training programme for grandparents; (2) to consider childcare cash benefits for grandparents who provide care on a regular basis; (3) to provide community care services to grandparents to relieve their emotional distress from caring.
Perceiving What Comes After War is ‘Natural’: Women Ex-soldiers in Post Conflict Aceh, Indonesia
Sait Abdulah, The National Institute of Public Administration, IndonesiaThis paper focuses on the Free Aceh Movement or Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM) women ex-soldiers in the post-Helsinki agreement period. This article argues that the patriarchal dividend in the form of material reward and higher social standing gained by the GAM ex-commanders from the peace process are sustained through militarized masculine ideology in domesticating women ex-soldiers into families and subsuming them into the mainstream GAM ex-military organization (the Aceh Transition Commission or the KPA, Komite Peralihan Aceh). The research findings confirmed that women ex-soldiers’ subordination has been ‘taken for granted’ by their ex-commanders. The taken-for-granted-ness of the ex-commander's view on women ex-soldiers in the post-conflict Aceh was as an effect of the gendered power relations. As a result the ex-commanders presumed women ex-soldiers’ return as going back into ‘normal’. Women ex-soldiers’ return was presumed by their ex-commanders as going back into their families, back into society as ordinary girls or women in villages. Although to some extent their ex-commanders still ‘recognized’ them as part of the GAM insurgency movement, in fact their post-conflict retained military status was different from their male counterpart. The women were called by their ex-commanders as ‘passive soldiers’ or ‘supporting soldiers’.
De-radicalization Style in Indonesian Pilot Prisons: Classification Scheme to Support Risk Reduction Theory
Maya Trisdamayanti, University of Indonesia, IndonesiaMuhamad Syauqillah, University of Indonesia, Indonesia
Jerry Marcellino Longahan, University of Indonesia, Indonesia
Puspitasari, University of Indonesia, Indonesia
In order to tackle radicalism and terrorism phenomenon in the 21st century that become a more serious threat for national security, countries in the world have been implementing various soft approach methods and techniques that adjusted to domestic wisdom of the respective countries. In Indonesia, the so-called de-radicalization program has been designated for its terrorist prisoners who serve their sentence in prisons. Numerous studies analyze its advantages and weaknesses, and some have identified its failure. Purpose of this study is to analyze the failure of the Indonesian de-radicalization program and identify its causes. This study uses qualitative method, which supported by data that collected through literature review, observations, and interview sessions. Among some of the causes, previous studies show that lack of post release (after-care) program, in addition to minimum monitoring and evaluation system, have an impact on recidivism. That said, former terrorist inmates have been identified returning violence and involve in terrorism. Further in this study, it develops risk reduction theory that requires behavioral change of terrorist inmate, in order to reduce the risk of recidivism. An inmate classification scheme is used to measure risk level of each inmate, and intended to identify prison assignment, the required level of supervision and control, as well as identifying appropriate de-radicalization program for each terrorist inmate. Prisons in Nusa Kambangan Island are designated as pilot prisons of this project. The Indonesian prison authorities keep developing the risk reduction and the inmate classification scheme, working closely with relevant parties in order to achieve success.
What does the Policy Formulation Process of East Lantau Metropolis and Lantau Tomorrow Vision Policy Imply Hong Kong Policy Style
Poon Tsz Fung, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, SingaporeEast Lantau Metropolis, a Hong Kong reclamation plan of 1,000 ha in the Central Waters, appeared to have reached consensus in a territory-wide consultation. However, the Government did not move forward to policy execution, but introduced a more aggressive and enhanced 1,7000 reclamation proposal of Lantau Tomorrow Vision. Such a move received even more grievances in the divided and highly politicised community. The controversies of this issue can be seen and summarised 1) in terms of ideas that why the Government goes far beyond the perceived consensus reached and introduced a brand-new proposal, and 2) in terms of actors and institutions that what are the driving forces behind Lantau Tomorrow Vision. This paper explains and analyses this unconventional change in the policy process according to the four phases of policy formulation process as well as a key stakeholder analysis. Together with the consideration of the current governance in Hong Kong, the unique policy style in Hong Kong under "One Country Two Systems" is conceptualised – implying a conflicting mixture of Chinese Authoritarian style and British Majoritarian Style. This policy style can also be understood and is applicable when looking into other salient issues and the long-lasting anti-Government protest in the polarized society of today's Hong Kong.
Managing Small Institutional Portfolios: ETFs as a Viable Alternative
Jeffry Haber, Iona College, United StatesInstitutional portfolios provide necessary income for the efficient and effective management of the non-profit entities they are affiliated with. Many (most) colleges have an associated endowment (institutional portfolio) or investment management company. The larger the portfolio the more the resources available for managing the portfolio. Large portfolios (defining large as at least $2 billion) usually have an investment team that can handle most of the tasks involved (initial due diligence, on-going due diligence, performance reporting, risk management, etc.). Smaller portfolios do not have the resources to properly fund an investment office and procure the necessary talent. In the recent past (about 10 years ago) a common way to manage the smaller institutional portfolio was with the oversight of a consultant who performed due diligence, recommended managers, provided macro insights and handled performance reporting and elements of risk management. More recently, there has been a move to the outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) model, where an investment office has responsibility (and often discretion) over several institutional portfolios. In the consultant model there were issues with the better investment funds having capacity constraints and the smaller portfolios having limited (or no) access to these better funds. Similarly, in the OCIO model small portfolios are often unable to find acceptance with the most desirable OCIOs. With the growth of the ETF market there may exist an opportunity for a smaller portfolio to obtain similar returns in a low-cost framework.
Dilemmas on Lithuanian Energy Issues: From the Aspect of Nuclear Energy
Kentaro Okawara, Keio University, JapanThis paper discusses post-Soviet Lithuanian nuclear energy issues from the viewpoint of political dilemma. The author examines post-Soviet Lithuanian energy policies and relevant movements primarily on Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and Visaginas NPP. Although Lithuania once had a NPP—Ignalina NPP—in the east of the nation, it ceased to work in the 2000s. First, when Ignalina NPP was active, the dilemma was over the issue of risk or energy supply. The NPP, which was made by the Soviet Union, was technologically old and risky. However, it cannot be denied that the NPP sufficiently met the nation’s electricity demand. When Lithuania was considering the closure of Ignalina NPP, the dilemma was focused on the issue of energy independence. Lithuanian government tried to close Ignalina NPP and build a new one. But, Lithuania’s poor resource reserves made it difficult to truly be free from neighboring countries, which raised questions about the closure. Finally, while Lithuania was focused on the construction of Visaginas NPP, the situation became far more challenging. The Visaginas NPP plan has hardly progressed, which created a problem for the nations that sponsored it for electricity. Due to this complex, ambiguous, and liquid situation, the project is now virtually discontinued, though the end of the project has not been officially declared.
A Structural Analysis of the Social Representations of “Reconciliation” in Cyprus: An Empirical Contribution
Kartika Pepe, University of Naples Federico II, ItalyRoberto Fasanelli, University of Naples Federico II, Italy
Ida Galli, University of Naples Federico II, Italy
In the Cyprus peace process, the practices of co-existence have been centralised in the Nicosia where the intergroup contact is facilitated between Turkish Cypriot (TC) and Greek Cypriot (GC) communities through the existence of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). Considering this context, the original contribution of this study is to employ, for the first time, the theoretical framework of social representations (SRs), to understand the process through which “Reconciliation” is (or not) co-constructed in Cyprus. Moreover, this study intends to explore reconciliation’s SRs of those who are taking part in CSOs and of the laypeople. It is our hope that this work may contribute to our understanding of contemporary politics of peace in Cyprus, and to the importance of analysing power relations in both competing and convergent SRs between different groups of actors. This paper presents preliminary insights drawing on the fieldwork, which was carried out in Cyprus through convenient and purposive sampling method. Methodologically we choose the Central Nucleus Theory (Abric, 1976). This much-used methodological approach it’s based on the Hierarchized Evocations tool: a task of word association starting from the inductor "Reconciliation", followed by a justification questionnaire (Galli, Fasanelli & Schember, 2018) as well as a classification of the associated terms (Vergès, 1992). Two groups of participants were involved: (1) CSO’s member (n=30); and (2) laypeople (n=40). Data were analysed using both a Prototypical and Symilarity analysis processed by IRaMuTeQ an interface of R. Results will be discussed in greater detail in the context of the preferred theoretical framework.
The Relationships Between Urbanization and Population Change in the Taipei Area
Szu-Hua Wang, Chinese Culture University, TaiwanUrbanization is one of the most significant changes in the world in recent centuries. Cities expanded into rural areas and became larger cities, affecting social, political and economic life. However, the demographic changes and land use changes of contemporary urbanization have been significantly different from the characteristics of the past. Urban areas cover much less than 2% of the earth’s surface and contribute 78% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, the relationships among urbanization, urban spatial planning, land-use change and demographic change need to be further clarified. Their dynamic relationships should be analyzed at a smaller spatial scale to help examine the abilities of urban spatial planning in controlling urbanization, demographic change and carbon dioxide emissions. This study will establish relevant statistics and maps of population, land use, economy, income and energy consumption to confirm the urbanization and demographic changes in the study areas. The study area, the Taipei area, includes Taipei City, New Taipei City and Keelung City. Spatial autocorrelation analysis and spatial regression model will be adopted to analyze the spatial autocorrelation degree and spatial heterogeneity of urbanization and demographic change in the study areas.
Preschool Teachers’ Learning Self-efficacy in Predicting Technology-teaching Integration: A Comparison Between Taiwan and Malaysia
Chia-Pin Kao, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, TaiwanHui-Min Chien, Cheng Shiu University, Taiwan
Man Yee Phang, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Malaysia
In Asia, Taiwan is one of the world’s leading producers of information and communication technology products and government continuously invest in teacher development on technology to empower teachers to improve school education in the digital era. Some studies concerned teachers’ technology integration, and their self-efficacy in the online learning context. However, little research has been particularly conducted to investigate the effects of self-efficacy and attitudes toward professional development on teachers’ intention to integrate technologies in their teaching activities. This study aimed to explore the relationship between preschool teachers’ learning self-efficacy and technology-teaching integration in online academic learning contexts. We recruited 120 preschool teachers respectively from Taiwan and Malaysia. It was confirmed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis that the questionnaire’s two-factor structure holds for both teacher populations. The study results indicate that both groups were more inclined to favor learning self-efficacy than other factors in online academic learning, while the preschool teachers in Taiwan placed significantly more emphasis than the preschool teachers in Malaysia on technology-teaching integration. The study revealed that teachers in Taiwan had constructivist perceptions of technology-teaching integration than the teachers in Malaysia toward technology learning self-efficacy. The findings of our study may have implications for researchers and university administrators in that early childhood teacher education programs should aim to equip preschool teachers with appropriate learning strategies for performing Internet tasks. The development of technology enhanced learning ability should therefore be emphasized in preschool teacher training programs.
2019 Mayoral Elections in Turkey in the Light of Online Fragmentation and Polarization
Seval Yurtcicek Ozaydin, Tokyo Institute of Technology, JapanOnline polarization through fragmentation around ideological lines is a major issue in political communication science. A central question is whether and how big social events such as elections are contributing to reinforcing the online fragmentation and echo chambers towards a sharpening polarization. Because of its various aspects, 2019 Mayoral Elections in Turkey was a milestone in Turkish political history, affecting the general politics considerably. In this work, retrieving and analyzing data from Twitter with specific hashtags around the elections, we shed light onto the evolution of the online political polarization due to elections. Our results aim to contribute not only to politics in Turkey but in a general sense, to the theory of political fragmentation, echo chambers and polarization around the world.
Slowly but Surely Shifting From Homogeneity: Multiculturalism and Pluralization in Japan
Xiaoxian Liang, Ritsumeikan University, JapanGlobalization drives the cross-border movements of goods and labor, bringing the challenges of pluralization and multiculturalism to many countries that used to be considered as ethnically and culturally homogenous. This is also the case in Japan, where the nation-building myths of homogeneity take deep roots. Some researchers insist that even the Japanese society has witnessed an intense process of internationalization, this dominant paradigm of homogeneity is little challenged and changed. To argue against that, this article traces and analyzes the changes in official policies, education frameworks and public opinions in response to the intensifying multicultural situation during the past thirty years. Besides, the article also analyzes the emergence and diffusion of the idea of multicultural coexistence, a term which is frequently used when discussing the multiculturalism in Japan’s context. Based on these analyses, the article attempts to point out that the changes in ideological paradigm of Japanese homogeneity do occur as more space is being opened up for inclusion of the minority and expression of differences, which provides potential for building a multicultural coexistence society.
Communication for Participation Building in Waste Management in Thungsong Municipality, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province
Wittayatorn Tokeaw, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, ThailandThe objective of this research was to study the communication for participation building in terms of 1) communication problems; 2) communication policy; 3) communication process; 4) communication strategies; and 5) approaches for developing. This was a qualitative research based on in-depth interviews with 34 key informants, chosen through purposive sampling. The results showed that 1) Communication problems: a) local residents lacked understanding of the value and benefit of waste management, how to separate household waste, the roles and responsibilities of the municipality; b) citizens had incorrect attitudes, thinking waste management was the duty of the municipality only; they lacked public conscience and a willingness to join in problem solving. c) the local residents’ behavior did not include waste reduction, recycling, trash separation, and joint action to solve the problem of global warming. 2) Communication policy: join to reduce waste, join to solve problems in a responsible way. 3) Communication process: build awareness, give information, change attitudes and behavior through traditional media and new media. 4) Communication strategies: build participation in a people-centered way with citizens as leaders and the municipality as a supporter; set shared goals; find tangible ways to reduce waste; use every medium possible in the campaign. 5) Approaches to developing: expand the number of core leaders, continuously build awareness and try to improve people’s knowledge, understanding, attitude and behavior concerning the waste problem by using every form of communication. Encourage every group and individual to join in thinking, acting, evaluating and reaping the benefits of the project.
Emotionals Experiences of High School Students in Mathematics Class
Alejandro Rosas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, MexicoCynthia Aragón-Cruz, Universidad de Mavojoa, Mexico
Many students show indifference to learn mathematics, lack of attitude and optimism to obtain basic knowledge in the middle level. Students and parents know that it is important to know math, yet students avoid math courses. In this research, 30 students of VI semester (17-18 years old) participated voluntarily, a questionnaire and interviews were used through focus groups methodology. The theory of Ortony, Clore and Collins (1988) states that there are three kinds of emotions, which are the result of focusing on one of the three highlights of the world: events and their consequences, agents and their actions and, pure objects and simple. Both the questionnaire and the interviews focused on obtaining the emotions that students experience. Among the conclusions we obtained that the emotions that most affect students are those that belong to the Well-Being group (grief, Boredom and Interest) and the emotions of the group based on FORECASTS (Deception and Confirmed Fears); The main local variable is DESIABILITY. This means that the emotional experiences expressed by the students, the majority are within the class reactions to events, according to OCC theory. Some students expressed that during childhood they liked math, but then stopped liking them. They also accepted that motivation from their teachers and parents is important. If a teacher likes / dislikes mathematics then it is possible that he transmits that love / hate to his students.
Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Approach to Transboundary Water Resource Management in Lower Mekong Basin
Nguyen Phuong Lan, Kyoto University, JapanMekong River is one of the major international freshwater sources in the world. The Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) comprised of four downstream countries, including Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam, plays an essential role in the development of economic, political and social relations among member nations. The utilization of the basin's water brings substantial benefits to the region ranging from hydropower, fishery, navigation, to trade. In addition, the environment and ecosystem of the basin are experiencing negative impacts caused by the unbalanced water using. The basic difficulty in transboundary water management is that integrated water management in the river basin can only be achieved if neighbor countries effectively cooperate. One of the most popular methods in the field of natural resource management is a trustable tool called the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). AHP is much appropriate for water resource policymaking, especially for hydropower. The literature, however, points out that there is no study to both structure the water using hierarchy and employ quantitative (objective) criteria to the AHP model in LMB case. With regard to water resource management in LMB, there are no previous studies that applied the AHP approach to LMB case. This study aims to analyze possible consequences of alternative water resource development scenarios characterized by 4 criteria (hydropower generation, fishery production, flood control, and navigation) and to assist in developing a suitable water policy in LMB applying AHP. The author then suggests that state members should consider the possibility of collaborating according to the best cooperation scenario.
Emerging Leadership Orientations in a Changing World
Frederique Corbett, Pepperdine University, United StatesMatthew Sweeney, Pepperdine University, United States
This paper presents findings from a quantitative research study conducted among the adult population of the United States and Asia-Pacific. The study sought to quantify how leadership is transforming so that theoretical and empirical contributions can be made towards a new genre of leadership that can yield significant benefits to organizations in their search to foster greater leadership efficacy. The main results of this study demonstrate that leadership orientations are evolving from the traditional view of power, authority, control, and hierarchy to a system of shared relationships grounded in connecting people and information sources to create collective influence. Based on the data set presented in this research, it is possible to classify leadership orientations into three groups: (1) traditional, (2) status-quo, and (3) emerging. Answering the IAFOR 2020 Special Theme of “Embracing Difference,” the manuscript proposes a conceptual reflection on alternative forms of leadership emerging in the United States and Asia. The data underscores the widespread evolution of leadership perceptions toward more collective and connected forms, while at the same time, provides evidence of how Asia is leading this evolution. The paper challenges the perennial perceptions of leadership presenting emerging forms of leadership for future research and scholarly exploration. As such, the study aims to advance the field of leadership studies by showing how “difference” in conceptualizing leadership can provide new opportunities for researchers and business practitioners. It affords leaders around the world new avenues to navigate collectively, better understand differences, embrace and work together for better global coexistence.
Communication Management for Building Political Popularity of the Mayor of Muang Ngam in Songkhla Province, Thailand
Karn Boonsiri, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, ThailandThe objective of this research was to study the management of communications to build political popularity used by the mayor of Muang Ngam Municipality in terms of 1) general situation; 2) communication patterns; and 3) the communications process. This was a qualitative research based on observation and interviews with 30 key informants. Data collection tools were an observation form and an in-depth interview form. Data were analyzed by descriptive analysis. The results showed that 1) General situation of communication management: (a) the mayor communicated with the public consistently to build and maintain political popularity; (b) The content was about the mayor’s mission, vision, policies, plans, projects, work results, leadership and general government news; (c) The media used were group meetings, social media, community leaders, signs, posters, audio transmissions through the public address system and pamphlets; (d) The results were that citizens were informed and understood and they were interested and followed the news on a regular basis; (e) A public relations unit under the direction of the mayor was in charge of the communications management. 2) Communication patterns: (a) formal and informal; (b) news about the mayor was combined with other news about the municipality; (c) communications were short and to-the-point, easy to understand and tailored to meet the needs of the audience; 3) Communication management process: (a) fact finding about the channels, topics and formats; (b) planning communications to reach every target group; (c) communication using every medium; and (d) periodic evaluation to find areas that could be improved.
Addressing the Behavioural Pitfall for Low-Income Rural Households in Malaysia’s Transition Toward a Cashless Society
Kar Joon Fan, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, SingaporeMalaysia government has been explicit about the intention to transition into a cashless society, following the likes of Sweden, Kenya, Zimbabwe and the well-known case of India. The main objectives of this move has been promoted as a way to fight corruption and the shift has been well underway with the recent initiatives from the central bank of Malaysia (BNM). The Ministry of Finance has even offered cash transfer to encourage adoption of digital wallets. A major concern with the shift is that there will be a negative implication towards those in the low-income household in its current form. From a behavioural aspect, there has been evidence that non-cash payment method tends to induce higher willingness-to-spend, potentially putting those in low-income status at risk of poor financial choices. The current state of infrastructure in the country, especially in the wider rural areas are ill-equipped to adopt these changes quickly and with minimal friction, potentially causing disruption to local trade and livelihood. The lack of robust regulation to ensure competitiveness and fairness for consumers will further compound the risk of deteriorating the progress made in financial inclusiveness. There are necessary short-term pragmatic changes that the government has to priorities as part of its roadmap to cashless society but more in fundamental regulations will need to be put in place to safeguard the welfare of those who are underserved.
Family Caregiving, Work-Family Conflicts, and Well-being in Contemporary Japan: Working Men and Women in Middle to Late Adulthood
Saeko Kikuzawa, Hosei University, JapanThe rapid aging of the population over the past decades has had several consequences in the lives of Japanese men and women. First, as the older population increases, more men and women today need to take care of their older relatives while in their in mid to late adulthood. Second, all adult citizens, regardless of gender or age, are expected to work resulting from a shortage in the working population. The question addressed in this research is how Japanese men and women juggle the roles of caregivers and paid workers simultaneously. International literature suggests that caregiving may produce a role conflict or strain that would negatively affect the well-being of working caregivers; although this has not been fully examined under the current sociocultural context of Japan. This paper aims to study how family caregiving affects the well-being of Japanese working men and women, using nationwide survey data that were collected in 2019. Through a series of regression analyses, it was found that providing care to their own parents is likely to produce a work–family conflict among working women in their mid to late adulthood; however, such associations were not necessarily observed for all types of care. Significant well-being differences between female caregivers and non-caregivers were discovered and work–family conflict accounted for some of those differences; these associations were not observed among their male counterparts. Results suggest that the consequences of combining work and caregiving may depend on the types of care and gender in Japanese society today.
Development of a STEM Curriculum and Evaluating Its Effects on Promoting the Technology Literacy and Self-determination of Students With Disabilities
Pen-Chiang Chao, Chung Yuan Christian University, TaiwanThe purpose of this study was to develop a STEM curriculum integrated with educational robotics and the concept of self-determination and examine its effectiveness on promoting the science knowledge, basic math skills, robotics, literacy, and self-determination of junior high school students with disabilities. Research has showed that compared to their normally developing peers, students with disabilities have limited opportunities to learn science and technology. Consequently, they demonstrate a significant lower level of scientific and technological knowledge. Therefore, it is important to teach students with disabilities the STEM knowledge. Furthermore, according to the 12-Year Basic Education Curricula in Taiwan, students with disabilities are also expected to develop knowledge and skills related to science, technology, engineering, and math. A total of 60 students with specific learning disability, intellectual disability, emotional and behavioral disorder, and autism will be recruited from junior high schools in Taiwan using the purposive sampling method. Participants will be assigned to a control group (n = 30) and an intervention group (n = 30) which will receive a 9-month STEM Curriculum instruction. Teachers (N = 30) and parents (N = 30) of students in the intervention group also participate in the study to evaluate their students'/children’s progress. The data collection is still ongoing and will be completed in June 2020. Data collected will be analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of covariance and repeated-measures analysis of variance. Findings of the study are expected to provide special education teachers with expertise regarding the implementation of STEM education for students with disabilities.
The Habitat Differentiation for the Fairness
Sachio Horie, Nagoya University, JapanI am a developmentally disabled person. In this paper, we challenge considering formalizing the relationship between the fairness in econometric analysis of Rawls's theory of justice and Barwise's information flow and propose the realization of an equality society for persons with disabilities who can be distinguished from non-handicapped persons.
Deterministic social structures are being created by the rapid advancement of information recently. This social structure is called a controlled society. In the controlled society, various functions that make up the society produce many weak of society. The entities of great power manipulate the social structures. We consider “Asylum”, the new technical and equality community on the premise that be undesirable most the institutions and industries in this society. Society certainly appears to have gradually converged to some sort of equilibrium point after a major historical conflict. In this tide, we have considered a better society, including our predecessor's research, but we consider that as long as the society is created by humans, these experiments will not converge. In order to realize Asylum, we will try to manage equality society by machines in accordance with hacktivism. So, the consensus is important. Using Christianity as a reference, we note that Rawls's justice in justice theory already includes a consensus method as Christian ethics. This was called Proof of Sacrifice (PoS: saint) in comparison with PoW (sage) and PoS (millionaire), and this was the basis of “Asylum”. In addition, “Asylum” supports the mechanism design and the transhumanism to achieve the fairness.
Religious and Ethnic Pluralism in Contemporary Democracies – A Challenge in the Era of Globalization
Phillip Calington, Institut de Théologie Orthodoxe Saint-Serge, FranceDanijela Vukovic-Calasan, University of Montenegro, Montenegro
In the ethno-cultural and religious sense, the contemporary societies are plural. The processes of globalization in different aspects, is making this pluralism a tendency. How do contemporary democracies manage this kind of pluralism? There is only one acceptable way of managing it - by allowing religious and ethnic communities to keep their identity specificities, while trying to integrate them into democratic societies. Assimilation and segregation are not viable alternatives in the management of ethno-cultural and religious pluralism. This is therefore one of the main reasons that since the second half of the 20th century, multiculturalism is the dominant model in dealing with ethno-cultural and religious pluralism in democratic countries. It is also essential to mention a tendency of instrumentalization and politicization of this pluralism in countries that may be considered as less democratic, or as younger democracies. In this way, many post-communist countries violate the principles of secularization, by trying to utilize traditional identities of various ethno-cultural and religious groups for achieving political goals.
A Transition From Deductive to Inductive Reasoning in Qualitative Research Writing Process: A Case Study
Yi-Huey Guo, Tunghai University, TaiwanMany graduate students doing qualitative research face difficulties in transforming massive textual chunks of qualitative data into comprehensive analysis due to the inductive and lowly-formulaic style of writing in qualitative research. Nevertheless, there is little research on their adaptation to inductive reasoning in qualitative research writing. This single case study research investigated a graduate student’s qualitative research writing process. It discusses how the inductive manner of qualitative research process contradicts the deductive manner of mainstream thesis writing process. It employed a social approach treating writing as a communicative event and observed one year on one Chinese-American graduate student’s organization of qualitative data in her thesis research writing process. The research participant was found using PowerPoint to initiate her writing attempt on the organization and interpretation of data. PowerPoint was used for meaning-making of qualitative data. This study further addressed the following issues: (1) the ways PowerPoint was applied to the participant’s qualitative research writing process; (2) the role of PowerPoint in her qualitative research writing process. It is concluded that PowerPoint headline sentences and bullet points allowed her to arrange complicated ideas into succinct, coherent, generalizable texts for later development of rich description. It serves as a transition for the student to move from deductive fashion of thesis writing to inductive fashion of qualitative research writing. It simplifies one’s thought and writing. Its inductive writing nature accords with the nature of qualitative research writing. These characteristics provide ways for the student to identify salient natures of qualitative data more effectively.
Analysis of Conversation Data With AI Chatbot at the Time of Natural Disaster
Nagayuki Saito, International Professional University of Technology, JapanNao Fukushima, Council on AI for Disaster Resilience, Japan
Ryusuke Yonekura, LINE Corporation, Japan
Kazuto Ikeda, LINE Corporation, Japan
Kiyotaka Eguchi, Council on AI for Disaster Resilience, Japan
In recent years, many natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes have occurred in Japan. Thus far, disaster information from local governments and television has been the main information source for such disasters. In addition to such information sources, the provision of disaster and evacuation information through dialogue with AI chatbots has recently begun as a new information providing medium. This study analyzed dialogue data of victims collected from AI chatbots. The dialogue data used in the analysis is a dataset that collected 160,196 dialogues from September 23, 2019 to October 31, 2019, affected by Typhoons 15 and 19. According to the analysis results, those with the highest number of dialogues with AI chatbots were in the order of the method of obtaining the victim certification, the procedure of financial support, house repair, disaster prevention information, and lifeline information. Also, when examining the contents of the dialogue with the AI chatbot in chronological order, information acquisitions are concentrated during the week immediately after opening the AI chatbot account, and especially information about the victim certification and home repair were concentrated immediately after the disaster. Based on these results, it is important to provide information on disasters step by step at the disaster prediction stage, disaster occurrence stage, disaster damage processing stage, and subsequent continuous support stage.
Learning, Earning, and Leading: An Evaluative Framework for Gender Mainstreaming in Skill Development
Sabeena Mathayas, National Skill Development Corporation, IndiaTanya Padda, National Skill Development Corporation, India
Gender inequality is a multi-dimensional issue. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2020 it shall take 99.5 years to close the gender gaps in education, economic participation, political empowerment and health. Any workable solution must address all these dimensions and the cultural attitudes that socialize gender inequalities. This is where gender mainstreaming comes in. According to UNDP’s report on Tackling Social Norms, unequal power relations and gender roles among individuals can be changed through education, awareness and incentives. The Gender Mainstreaming Framework for Skill Development interacts with all three. It operationalizes education and awareness; while suggesting incentives for inclusivity and opportunity across the gender spectrum. It engages the lived intersectionality of learning, earning, and leading; i.e. skill development and andragogy, the dynamics of labor market and economies, and the policies, priorities, and instruments to drive sustainable, systemic transformation. The framework is a five by three rubric which focuses on three dimensions – knowledge (cognitive), competency (skill) and attitude (social-emotional or behavioural). There are five gender sensitivity (GS) levels which show a progression in the three dimensions from GS 1 to GS 5. The framework is not just limited to women. It is open, flexible and inclusive of all gender identities and performances. The framework can be used to design gender cognizant curricula and content as well as evaluate existing ones. Organizations, institutions, and individuals can utilize it to for self-evaluations as well as assessing gender mainstreaming attitudes, practices, policies – thereby improving quality and gender responsiveness of their processes.
Educating the Indian Woman – India’s National Agendas on Education from 1966-1984
Sabeena Mathayas, National Skill Development Corporation, IndiaThis study concentrates on national policy articulations of women’s educational opportunity and the historical development of women as political objects and subjects during Indira Gandhi's tenure as Prime Minister. My study takes a gendered perspective on the performance of political leadership, tracing the meta-narratives of masculinity and femininity that fed into educational initiatives. The questions guiding this endeavor do not take for granted terms or analytic categories, but seek the orchestrations of political commitments and their consequent creation of the Indian Woman as a political agent.
Through rich narrative, the catachrestic tensions that distance policy constructions from sociopolitical realities are critically analyzed through feminist theory’s gendered analysis and public policy frameworks. Since the goal was to identify the socio-political construction of women’s positions in educational policy, the historical narrative of Indian policymaking is followed by a deconstructive analysis of the structures, symbols, and mechanisms for systemic gendered heteronormativity. The test of legitimacy for any given practice should be embedded in the capacity to respond to the needs for whom the practice exists. Unless policy design mimics the diversity within its target populations and is punctured by the inclusion of more data points, policymaking for education will remain an exercise in abstraction, a solipsism bound by socio-political singularities.
How the Cost of Participation Influence the Inclusiveness of Stakeholder Participation? Experiences in the Participation Process in Flood Risk Management in Indonesia and the Netherlands
Mustika Anggraeni, University of Amsterdam, NetherlandsLiterature continues to highlight the importance of stakeholder participation, although it also emphasizes that it can be misapplied. Participation generates a considerable cost for the organizer and participant. This research addresses how organic participation organized by the stakeholders and how the cost of participation influences the inclusiveness of the process. This study is conducted to compare two case studies; Indonesia (Semanggi, Surakarta) and the Netherlands (Varik and Heeselt). Both cases involved flood protection infrastructure planning that includes the possibility of displacement. In the Indonesian case study, the factors that influenced participation process are strong leadership and solidarity. The cost of participation are shared between participant and the elements of intangible cost, namely; time, information, network, skill, and economic status. Individuals who can afford their participation are well represented and can exercise more influence. However, the participation process challenged by the issue of power, in which community has low bargaining position in terms of illegality. The Netherlands case study, the community, can create community organization to manage the participation process, which can exercise capability to express their positions, posing argument, and engaging external party to support their interest. The cost of participation is perceived high for the group leaders, due to the opportunity cost of time, and anxiety. However, these costs are shared by the participant with a membership fee for the organization. With ability and willingness to borne the cost of participation, and lengthy process, a consensus was finally made in favor of the community.