Suchergebnisse

The present study aims at investigating biology teachers on pedagogical competence in secondary schools in Jember regency. Pedagogical competence as of the teachers' competence has been mandated by Government Regulation of Indonesia Number 19 Year 2005 Article 28 which states that teacher must possess academic qualification and competence as the learning agent, healthy both physically and mentally, and be able to achieve national education goal. This study is qualitative which employs questionnaire to collect the teachers' profiles as the data of the research. The questionnaire consists of 20 items which covers aspects of 1) Preparation (3 indicators items); 2) Instructional Planning (3 indicators of items); 3) Instructional Implementation (4 indicators items); 4) the Use of Instructional Media (3 indicator items); and 5) Conducting Instructional Evaluation (2 indicator items). The study reveals that the teachers' perception on pedagogical competence is fair (the average score is 3.86).

There are around 4.9 million street vendors in India, a large part of the country's informal sector workforce. Linked to India's focus on digital economy and promotion of digital transactions, there is growing popularity of mobile payment (m-payment) applications or m-wallets such as PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, Bhim, and so on. This is also the case with street vendors, and the sight of a street vendor with a QR barcode for accepting payments is not uncommon. How do street vendors make sense of smartphone-based transactions in their lives? In qualitative interviews with street vendors in Srinagar city in Kashmir region in India, a complex picture emerged. Street vendors were mostly illiterate or had limited education, but were quickly adopting m-payments. For online transactions, QR barcode stickers were mostly displayed on carts of street vendors in Kashmir. However, at the same time, vendors had little or no understanding of these m-payment apps. They had limited language skills and had to take help of literate friends or family members to check transactions or to get over difficulties in operation. The use of these m-payment apps or m-wallet smartphone applications introduced new opportunities associated with digital payments. However, gaps in digital skills are pronounced, and remained a major challenge for the street vendors. During the course of fieldwork in Srinagar (2022–2023), we also observed that m-payment companies introduced technological solutions such as speaker-based instant audio confirmations for payments such as Paytm Soundbox and PhonePe Smartspeaker. This is indicative of the continuous tracking of the informal sector usage by such companies, and clearly they are aware and receptive of such gaps. However, market-linked technological solutions only address operational gaps, and do not address the underlying causes, including illiteracy, and knowledge or skill gaps. Such observations can be helpful in planning and implementation of government policies for street vendors in India.

Dedication -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- List of Figures -- Abbreviations -- Part I: Introduction and Background -- Chapter 1: Introduction: A Continent in Transition -- 1.1 Hypothesis -- 1.2 Review of Literature and Methodological Framework -- 1.3 Scope of the Study -- 1.4 Empirical and Historical Background -- 1.5 Organization of the Study -- References -- Chapter 2: Conceptualizing Democracy and Democratization -- 2.1 Democracy: Towards a Working Definition -- Democracy as an Ideal: Its Normative Connotation -- An Empirical Definition of Democracy -- 2.2 The Process and Phases of Democratization -- Measuring Democratization and Its Phases -- 2.3 Approaches to Studying Democratization -- Economic Development -- Composition of Society -- External Influences and Diffusion -- The Role of Culture and Political Culture -- A Focus on Agency -- 2.4 Democratization in Africa and "African Democracy" -- Comparative Perspectives on African Democratization -- The Rise and Fall of Africanized "Theories" of "Democracy" -- References -- Chapter 3: Civil Society and Democratization -- 3.1 The Meaning and Genealogy of Civil Society -- 3.2 Civil Society and Democratization -- How Does It Work? -- Relevance of Qualities of Civil Society Organizations -- The Discourse of Doubt and the Magical Effects of Civil Society -- 3.3 Measuring Civil Society and Its Impacts -- Summary of Important Definitions -- Democracy -- Democratic Transition -- Democratic Consolidation -- Democratic Stagnation -- Democratic Regression -- Civil Society -- Vibrant Civil Society -- References -- Part II: Case Studies -- Chapter 4: The Beautiful Ones Are Born: Consolidation of Democracy in South Africa and Ghana -- 4.1 South Africa -- Historical Context: From Colonialism to Apartheid -- Transition and Consolidation -- South African Civil Society: A Democratic Thrust from Below