Keri Facer. Learning Future, Education, Technology and Social Change. Routledge Publications, 2011. 192 pages. US$ 44.95.

Learning Future, Education, Technology and Social Change by Keri Facer is an informative book drawing on over 10 years of research on digital technologies, social change and education. The writer makes a compelling argument for thinking differently about the future for which education might need to prepare. Packed with case studies from around the world, the book helps to bring into focus the risks and opportunities for societies and for schooling over the coming two decades. Most people recognise that current education systems are not meeting the needs of individuals and ‘society’ and several books have been written on the future of education. In this context, Keri Facer investigates the scenario of education, technology and social change over the coming two decades by considering nine assumptions about socio-technological change. These include that in next 20 years there would be significantly increased computing and communication at a distance will be taken for granted by the large majority of people. Moreover, working and living alongside sophisticated machines and networks will increasingly be taken for granted and biosciences will produce unpredictable breakthroughs and important new stories about us. Population is ageing globally and energy, mineral resources and climate warming will remain significant issues. And finally we will be facing radical national and global inequalities

Citizen Participation In Local Governance: A Case Study Of Health And Sanitation Sectors In Gujranwala, Pakistan

Contemporary development discourse confers a protuberant role to Citizen Participation (CP). To comply with this developmental demand, the Government of Pakistan introduced CP reforms and decentralization measures to use local governance system as a platform for localizing development and engaging local citizens. This thesis was designed to explore the level of Citizen Participation in the local governance system of Pakistan. The study explored both the subjective factors that include the role of stakeholders (local administrators, local political representatives, Civil Society Organizations and Citizens) and objective factors such as legal and administrative basis of CP

University Social Responsibility during The Covid-19 Pandemic: Lessons from the Indonesian Context

During the Covid-19 pandemic, social responsibility has become a key subject since it refers to the contribution of non-state actors in resolving the pandemic impact, becoming a non-traditional security issue. One non-state actor playing a significant role in society is educational institutions through university social responsibility (USR) programs. This study aims to analyze the form of USR programs and their benefits for communities affected by the pandemic. This study selected three universities as the case studies, encompassing Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY), Universitas Pertamina and Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB). During the Covid-19 pandemic, these three universities implemented USR in the social field under the triple bottom line concept. This research employed in-depth interviews and secondary data collected through website reviews and clippings from the mass media. The results unveiled that UMY, Universitas Pertamina and IPB implemented USR in community empowerment in education, health, and technological innovation. These three universities established community empowerment schemes by involving students, lecturers and other stakeholders to demonstrate their contribution to dealing with and solving community problems caused by the pandemic. These three universities have always been oriented toward innovation, especially in education, research and community service. Innovation is significant because it helps increase skills, add value to the wider community, and impact sustainable development

Policy advisory systems and public policy making: Bibliometric analysis, knowledge mapping, operationalization, and future research agenda

This study offers a comprehensive overview of the literature on policy advisory systems (PAS), motivated by its significance, growing interest in the field among policy scholars, and the substantial body of recent research published recently. The study conducted a quantitative bibliometric analysis of 62 articles on PAS published between 1993 and 2022, using data extracted from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The analysis included performance analysis, collaboration analysis, and science mapping (co-citation and co-word analysis). The dataset comprises articles published in 29 different journals, with 17.2% of these journals publishing three or more articles on PAS. Of the 80 authors in the dataset, 78.8% had only one publication. Over the past 5 years, there has been a 69% increase in the production of research on PAS, with the majority of output coming from Canada, Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands. The intellectual structure of the field was examined through co-citation analysis, revealing two main clusters named dynamics of PAS and Policy Advice & Policy Analysts' Role. The former focuses on the variations and dynamics of PAS, while the latter is more concerned with the nature of policy advice and the role of policy analysts. The co-word analysis identified the most relevant issues linked with PAS, including policy advice, externalization, politicization, and policy capacity. The study has also provided operationalization of the concept with the support of empirical evidence and categorized it into internal and external PAS. Externalization is the dominant trend in Anglophone countries, while public service in Europe and Canada has been the focus of internal PAS research. The study identifies gaps in the literature and calls for further research on the application of PAS in the Global South, the demand for policy advice, and comparative analysis of PAS across different contexts and dimensions

Penta Helix Model Communication to Promote Appropriate and Green Technologies for Ayung River Preservation Program in Bali

The Ayung River Preservation Program in Bali involves the community and stakeholders to address the degradation of the river. This research focuses on implementing the Penthealix communication model to promote green technology and involve stakeholders in preserving the Ayung River, which is the longest river on the island. The degradation of the river watershed highlights the critical state of the water supply in Bali. Existing data shows that the decrease in river flow rates along the watersheds in Bali has reached 60%, which has the potential to cause a water crisis on the island of Bali. Using the case study method, this research uses in-depth interviews and FGDs with local communities and other stakeholders. Secondary data was also collected from reports in newspapers. The results of the study show that efforts to preserve the Ayung River are implemented in the Green Technologies Program, which includes: 1) Biopori Holes and Infiltration weels; and 2) Community-based waste management. In its implementation, a Penta-Helix collaboration model was built between 1) The Government; 2) Communities; 3) businesses; 4) Academicians; and 5) the media. This program runs the Penta-Helix partnership model, which prioritizes Attribute, communication, and Conflict Resolution Technique efforts to achieve Partnership Commitment between stakeholders

INVESTIGATION OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY POTENTIAL USING ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY SURVEY AND CHEMICAL GEOTHERMOMETERS: A STUDY OF THE MANGHOPIR HOT SPRING KARACHI, SINDH PAKISTAN

Electrical resistivity survey and chemical geothermometers methods were used to find the geothermal gradient energy potential of the Manghopir hot spring which is located in Karachi, Sindh. Schlumberger electrode configurations were used to demarcate the two shallow potential subsurface aquifers. At various depths, three lithological units were encountered: alluvium, sandstone, and shale. The first thermal water aquifer lies below at the average depth of 10m and average thickness of 9 m lies in sandstone lithology of Nari Formation of Oligocene age. The second thermal water aquifer encountered at the average depth of 68 m and the average thickness of aquifer was 40.5m in sandstone lithology of Nari Formation. The surface water temperature was calculated with digital thermometer which shows the range in between 48 °C to 50 °C and subsurface temperature was calculated with the help of chemical geothermometers. The Na–K geothermometers indicate the subsurface equilibrium reservoir temperature in the range of 135.52 °C,125.54 °C, 172.964 °C and 184.08°C and the Na-K-Ca chemical geothermometers indicate the subsurface reservoir temperature 148.493°C. The Na-K-Ca geothermometers show a high temperature, but the reservoir temperature appears to be lower due to the mixing of sea water with the chemical composition of hot spring water within the subsurface aquifers

Porous concrete pavement containing nanosilica from black rice husk ash

Rice husk is a waste from the agricultural industry. It has been found that the main inorganic element in rice husk is silica. Rice husk ash (RHA) as a replacement material in the conventional concrete mixture has been widely studied around the world. However, there is a lack of documented research on nano production from RHA used as a replacement cement in porous concrete pavement mixtures. This study employed the top-down approach via dry grinding in a mechanical ball mill to generate a nano-black RHA (nano-BRHA). As a result, nano-BRHA was successfully generated with an optimum duration of 63 hours and median size of 66 nm. The results also indicated that the particle size of BRHA was significantly decreased with increasing grinding time. In addition, the morphology of the nano-BRHA changed with grinding duration. Finally, the use of nano-BRHA produced porous concrete pavement with good strength and permeability, and sound absorption

Tobacco use among in-school young adolescents in Indonesia: Exploring availability, affordability, and accessibility.

The research on Indonesian adolescents' perception of tobacco control in schools is limited. This study aimed to explore the availability, affordability, and accessibility of tobacco among young adolescents in Yogyakarta Municipality, Indonesia, with a focus on advocating for school teenagers. Focus groups, comprising participants from diverse backgrounds and stakeholders, were conducted in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, to systematically collect varied data. The subsequent analysis employed a robust thematic approach, combining both inductive and deductive processes to ensure a nuanced exploration of emerging patterns and pre-existing frameworks. In addition to focus group data, the study incorporated insights from extensive field observations and research group discussions. The multifaceted approach enhanced the depth of analysis but also facilitated a comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamics. The findings of this study revealed that young adolescents found it extremely easy to purchase cigarettes from local markets. The smoking prevalence among young adolescents was relatively low, with only 10% of the respondents admitting to smoking. Although the Indonesian government has increased surveillance and regulations regarding smoking among young individuals, the actual implementation and effectiveness of these measures remain questionable. The existing anti-smoking approaches in Indonesia have been unsuccessful in curbing smoking among Indonesian school students. The study argues that it is crucial to recognize and value students' perceptions of smoking, as their knowledge of smoking is actively constructed. To address this issue, future anti-smoking education in schools should incorporate interactive sessions rather than solely relying on didactic approaches that highlight the harms of smoking. By engaging students in interactive discussions, they can actively participate in constructing their understanding of the consequences of smoking. Additionally, efforts should be made to enhance the implementation of tobacco control measures within schools and extend the reach of these measures to off-campus environments