Remodeling economy towards sustainable society and sustainable development: The role of financial literacy, digital literacy, and sustainability literacy

Economic growth and sustainable development are being very fundamental concepts among economies in advancing and globalising world. Since 2016, the achievements and recognitions for being progressive on global bandwagon towards Sustainable Development Goals are seems to be rewarding. Unfortunately, the recent pandemic Covid-19 has reshaped the world and has had significant social and economic repercussions for the global economy. It is deemed crucial to pertinently explore and analyse what should be done to ensure the economy is restored and start moving towards a sustainable development. The current state of pandemic and global economy shows that people are experiencing the delicacy of unsustainable development. Transformations towards a new norm should be preceded by a holistic economic, social, and environmental model that integrates the new economic interdependence segment between sustainable societies and sustainable development. Sustainable societies require the ability and capability to respond to the multifaceted difficulties confronting society today. Three key dimensions of literacy, namely, financial, digital and sustainability, would indeed play an important role in creating resilient and sustainable societies. Thus, this study proposes a framework by integrating the financial literacy, digital literacy, and sustainability literacy with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) transformation framework as to offer a comprehensive and systematic process of remodeling economy towards sustainable development. This study is merely based on content analysis and reflective thinking. More in-depth studies using an empirical research method on the three dimensions of literacy by correlating them with various dimensions of sustainable development, are essential. Assessing the right elements in right ways may contribute to a reliable and valid outcome for the world to bridge the practical gaps as well as knowledge gaps in the domain of sustainability

Prerequisite for COVID-19 prediction : a review on factors affecting the infection rate

Since the year 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as the dominant topic of discussion in the public and research domains. Intensive research has been carried out on several aspects of COVID-19, including vaccines, its transmission mechanism, detection of COVID-19 infection, and its infection rate and factors. The awareness of the public related to the COVID-19 infection factors enables the public to adhere to the standard operating procedures, while a full elucidation on the correlation of different factors to the infection rate facilitates effective measures to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infection by policy makers and enforcers. Hence, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive and analytical review of different factors affecting the COVID-19 infection rate. Furthermore, this review analyses factors which directly and indirectly affect the COVID-19 infection risk, such as physical distance, ventilation, face masks, meteorological factor, socioeconomic factor, vaccination, host factor, SARS-CoV-2 variants, and the availability of COVID-19 testing. Critical analysis was performed for the different factors by providing quantitative and qualitative studies. Lastly, the challenges of correlating each infection risk factor to the predicted risk of COVID-19 infection are discussed, and recommendations for further research works and interventions are outlined

Innovation Capabilities at TVET Institutions: Role of Polytechnics in Malaysia

This research is aimed to examine the role of internal and external factors of intellectual capital in enhancing academicians’ innovation capability at Polytechnics in Malaysia. This study was conducted based on the quantitative survey which includes 194 respondents from polytechnics in Malaysia. The analysis and results of the research revealed a significant positive relationship between intellectual capital and innovation capability among the academicians at Malaysian Polytechnics. Besides, it denotes that all the dimensions of internal and external factors of intellectual capital have a significant different role on innovation capability at Malaysian Polytechnics. Thus, this study indicates to the policy makers on the importance of both external and internal factors of intellectual capital sought to enhance the innovation capability towards the success of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system all over the country. Keywords: Intellectual Capital; Innovation Capability; Internal and External Factor; Malaysian Polytechnic

The influence of cognitive values on entrepreneurial intention among polytechnics students in Malaysia

The main objective of this research is to identify the relationship between cognitive values namely personal attraction, social valuation, and entrepreneurial capacity with entrepreneurial intention among students from Polytechnic Malaysia. Besides, this research also aims to identify the differences in the entrepreneurship intention among three categories of polytechnics namely Premier Polytechnics, Conventional Polytechnics, and METrO Polytechnics. A total number of 171 polytechnic students were involved in the quantitative survey, using purposive stratified random sampling method. The survey used entrepreneurship intention model, which is adapted based on Theory of Planned Behavior. The result explains a positive significant relationship between the level of cognitive values and entrepreneurship intention among polytechnic students. Research results also indicated significant differences in the level of entrepreneurship intention among three categories of polytechnics. Thus, this result justify the need for entrepreneurship education through programs, training and events which strengthen the cognitive values as the key factor in the entrepreneurial intention among Polytechnics’ students

The emergence of fintech innovation and challenges towards SMES

Covid-19 pandemic has brought us to a new norm that spawn the world towards new way of working, communicating, and doing business. The evolution of globalization and digital technology with a rapid speed has position Fintech as one of the important innovations that would support millions of SMEs in the current economic situation. Based on the contribution and raising number of SMEs across the world, this paper illustrates the technical and managerial challenges of SMEs that lie ahead upon the emergence of Fintech. The finding is meant to create an awareness towards the potentials of innovative Fintech platforms in solving financial issues of SMEs. However, there is a need for substantial further research and development which should include ongoing assessments on emerging Fintech innovation

Assessing the Sudanese microfinance institutions performance via a modified CGAP model

This study aims to modify the model proposed by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and amended by Nanayakkara in order to assess the performance of Sudanese microfinance institutions (MFIs) in terms of reducing poverty, social performance and financial sustainability. The primary data was collected by the means of a questionnaire and the secondary data was obtained from the records of the MFIs. Although the findings illustrate a good overall performance for the selected MFIs, however, there is a variation in their performance level. This study contributes to the available literature by closing the gaps left in CGAP and Nanayakkara models by adding incidence of poverty as a new dimension, portfolio at risk as an indicator for the financial sustainability and female clients as a proxy for the depth of outreach. Moreover, this study contributes to the available empirical literature by exploring the overall performance of Sudanese MFIs

The impact of microfinance programs on monetary poverty reduction: Evidence from Sudan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of microfinance programs sponsored by Sudanese microfinance institutions (SMFIs) on monetary poverty reduction in Sudan where poverty is widely spread. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted the control group approach, where income and expenditure are taken as welfare indicators. The updated World Bank’s international poverty line of 1.90 per person per day was adopted to separate the poor from non-poor. The data were collected by the means of a questionnaire distributed to a random sample of beneficiaries in the institution under study. The study adapted the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) model to evaluate the role of microfinance programs in poverty reduction. Furthermore, to gain more insight into the impact of the program, a preliminary analysis was conducted using the independent-samples t-test to examine the difference in the welfare indicators for the sample of the control group and treatment group as well as that of the small loan group and micro-loan group. Findings The findings show that the microfinance program provided by SMFIs has reduced the monetary poverty among the participants. The results also reveal that beneficiaries who had received a larger volume of loan were noted lesser poverty than those who had received very small loan size. Moreover, the results demonstrate that poverty indices based on expenditure as a welfare indicator are far lower than those based on income for both groups. Originality/value This study contributes to the available literature by filling the gaps through including income and expenditure as monetary variables, which included separately in previous studies adopted the FGT model in the area of microfinance, in addition to exploring the role of loan size in the effect of microfinance on poverty reduction

The impact of microfinance programs on monetary poverty reduction

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of microfinance programs sponsored by Sudanese microfinance institutions (SMFIs) on monetary poverty reduction in Sudan where poverty is widely spread. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted the control group approach, where income and expenditure are taken as welfare indicators. The updated World Bank’s international poverty line of 1.90 per person per day was adopted to separate the poor from non-poor. The data were collected by the means of a questionnaire distributed to a random sample of beneficiaries in the institution under study. The study adapted the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) model to evaluate the role of microfinance programs in poverty reduction. Furthermore, to gain more insight into the impact of the program, a preliminary analysis was conducted using the independent-samples t-test to examine the difference in the welfare indicators for the sample of the control group and treatment group as well as that of the small loan group and micro-loan group. Findings The findings show that the microfinance program provided by SMFIs has reduced the monetary poverty among the participants. The results also reveal that beneficiaries who had received a larger volume of loan were noted lesser poverty than those who had received very small loan size. Moreover, the results demonstrate that poverty indices based on expenditure as a welfare indicator are far lower than those based on income for both groups. Originality/value This study contributes to the available literature by filling the gaps through including income and expenditure as monetary variables, which included separately in previous studies adopted the FGT model in the area of microfinance, in addition to exploring the role of loan size in the effect of microfinance on poverty reduction

Snoezelen therapy for pain, labor outcome and maternal satisfaction among parturient at tertiary hospital, South India

Introduction: Labor is a physiological process that causes severe discomfort, leading to maternal dissatisfaction. Snoezelen therapy, a multisensory complementary therapy, promotes comfort and relaxation by releasing endorphins, thereby improving satisfaction during the labor process. Objective: To assess the effectiveness of Snoezelen therapy on pain perception, labor outcomes, and maternal satisfaction among parturients. Methods: An experimental pretest-posttest control design was conducted among 74 parturient selected using consecutive sampling techniques in South India. Baseline observations were obtained at the beginning of the active stage, after which the study group parturient were subjected to Snoezelen therapy until reaching 10cm of cervical dilatation. Hourly assessments of pain, using a numerical pain scale, were performed. Labor outcomes were measured in terms of labor duration and mode of delivery. Maternal satisfaction with the birth experience and satisfaction with Snoezelen therapy components were collected 24 h after delivery. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Results: A statistically significant decrease in pain perception (p < 0.001) and an increase in maternal satisfaction (p < 0.001) were noted among parturient who underwent Snoezelen therapy. Parturient expressed high satisfaction with the use of aroma, music, and massage. There was no statistical significance in the duration of delivery and mode of delivery between the study and control groups. Conclusion: Snoezelen therapy reduces pain perception and increases maternal satisfaction during the active stage of labor. Thus, Snoezelen therapy can be implemented as part of nursing care during the labor process