Journal of Advocacy, Research and Education

Number 7 (1), 2020

3-3
Special Issue Call for Papers: Impact of COVID-19 on Societies around the Globe

Authors: Jacob Owusu Sarfo

Abstract

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The “Journal of Advocacy, Research and Education” [ISSN 2410-4981] is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal that accepts high standard articles. The journal is announcing a call for papers that focuses on the multidisciplinary impact of COVID-19 on societies around the globe.

4-15
Assessing the Scope of Impact, Impact Measures and Factors Influencing Social Enterprise Impact Measure Selection across Africa

Authors: Gordon K. Adomdza, Michael Asiedu, Amma Sefa Dede Lartey, Anatu Ben Lawal

Abstract

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Number of views: 181

Social enterprises have been identified as one of the ways of tackling some of the most challenging social problems around the globe. Despite, being touted as indispensable to the developmental agenda of most developing economies, especially across Africa, very little effort has been made to understand the scope of impact and impact assessment measures adopted to evaluate the activities in the space in the continent. The current study is an inquiry into the mechanisms adopted by SEs in their impact assessments within Africa. Additionally, the research focuses on the scope of impact of SEs across the continent. The results revealed an imbalance in the use of the two categories of impact measures; “individual-based impact measures” and “non-financial impact measures”. SEs have relied more on “what we do” and numbers to justify their impact in several parts of the continent. Additionally, the research also revealed that some of the impact areas of SEs included poverty and inequality; education and technology; entertainment; child empowerment; girl and women empowerment; youth empowerment; and social welfare and disability. The research recommends that SEs should endeavor to measure their impact from a comprehensive perspective, to align their activities and measures to the broader national and/or global agenda.

16-35
Implications of Intellectual Property Protection, and Science and Technological Development in the Manufacturing Sector in Selected Economies

Authors: Ajay K. Singh, B. Jyoti Singh, Shah Nawaz Ashraf

Abstract

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Number of views: 234

Several studies have measured the influence of socioeconomic factors, IPRs, science and technology, and innovation-related activities, and government policies on economic growth in developed and developing economies. However, the manufacturing sector contributes a large share in the GDP of most economies. Growth of the manufacturing sector depends upon socio-economic factors, science and technological change associated variables, and IPRs related activities. For this, limited studies could investigate the influence of aforesaid factors on the manufacturing sector across countries. This study, therefore, provides a vital technique to develop the intellectual property protection index (IPPI), science and technological development index (STDI), and socio-economic development index (SEDI) using composite Z-score technique in selected 41 developed and developing economies during 2005–2013. IPPI, STDI, and SEDI are the combined indexes of 7, 7, and 15 associated factors respectively. The aforementioned indexes identify the relative position of selected economies in IPRs, science and technological development, and socio-economic development. As per the assessed values of IPPI, STDI, and SEDI, this study reports that there is a high diversity in intellectual property awareness, science and technology development, and socio-economic development in 41 economies. Accordingly, it measures the influence of aforesaid indexes on manufacturing value-added using country-wise panel data. Linear and log-linear regression models are used to estimate the regression coefficients of explanatory variables. Empirical results indicate that science and technological development, socio-economic development, and intellectual property protection-related activities have a positive and statistically significant impact on manufacturing value-added. It facilitates several policy suggestions to increase the growth of the manufacturing sector worldwide.

36-42
Policy Scenarios in Ethiopian Higher Education Expansion: Challenges of Program Diversification and its Future Implications

Authors: Teklu Tafase Olkaba, Wakgari Tasisa Duressa

Abstract

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Number of views: 312

The study investigated the extent of Ethiopian higher education expansions policies and its program diversification responding to the local market demands and realities on the ground. The study explored a range of literature on Ethiopian higher education policy scenarios within national development policies. The study was guided by one research question: To what extent the expansion policy and program diversifications in Ethiopia higher education responded to the demands and realities of the local economy? The literature review, document survey, and focus group discussions were used to examine the expansions policies and their program diversification processes. The findings of the study illustrate that the responsiveness of Ethiopia's higher education expansion policy brought a tremendous increase in enrolments within a short period. Moreover, the finding confirms that the Graduate Mix Policy resulted in poor program relevance and a graduate unemployment crisis. Based on the findings of the study, conclusions were made for policymakers to critically revisit the policy scenarios in Ethiopian higher education expansion, diversification, and relevance in line with national, regional, and global manpower demand.

43-46
The Focus of Safety Research: A Brief Review

Authors: Kofi Amoani Debrah

Abstract

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Number of views: 161

In the area of safety climate, research has mostly focused on safety performance and its antecedents while improving safety performance has been the aim of practitioners in the area. Variables that are examined in safety research as a result of this shift mainly include safety culture, safety climate, safety knowledge, risk perception, management safety systems, and safety practices. Safety climate and safety culture are sometimes used interchangeably by researchers and professionals; these constructs are different though both are predictive measures of safety performance. Also, previous studies have mostly focused on establishing a safe climate and how the safety climate will influence measures of safety performance. This is because researchers often assume that since a relationship exists between safety performance and safety climate, any influence on the safety climate will directly affect safety performance. The problem is that very few of these studies examine the actual antecedents of safety performance. Hopefully, future studies can explore the relationships between safety climate and its established antecedents; safety knowledge, unsafe practice, and employee risk perception.