À l’heure d’une concurrence farouche entre des territoires désireux d’attirer des investissements, des touristes et des contribuables de plus en plus mobiles, le programme des Capitales européennes de la culture suscite un intérêt croissant de la part de villes attirées par ses impacts potentiels : gain de notoriété, stimulation de l’économie locale, amélioration de la cohésion sociale, mise en place de processus de requalification urbaine, etc. Preuve de la réussite de cette action, des initiatives similaires – concernant plus de 160 pays – ont vu le jour à travers la planète, à l’instar des Capitales arabes de la culture, des Culture Cities of East Asia ou des Capitales de la culture islamique. À l’aide d’une recherche documentaire importante, cet article s’engage par une présentation des Capitales européenne, poursuit en dévoilant la nature très bigarrée des diverses adaptations, puis montre comment de tels programmes peuvent participer au développement des territoires.
The economic base theory has been systematically mobilised since the 1950s to identify the external—known as basic—incomes of a region stemming from its local production system. This article proposes to integrate the demand (residents, annuitants, tourists) into the analysis. The residential economy represents a lever for additional development through the provision of other basic incomes. A method of calculation enables an estimation of the basic incomes in the Swiss case for two different geographical levels: the municipalities and SM (Spatial Mobility) regions. A spatial typology of basic incomes is then made using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA). The empirical results show the weight of the residential base (commuters, annuitants and tourists) in regional development in Switzerland and the need for the regions to diversify their bases to attract high incomes in the logic of “central places”. Thereby, the most successful regions in terms of basic income are the tourist centres, residential centres and urban centres.
There is currently no consensus about what the term Fintech means. This paper explores the complexity of Fintech, and attempts a definition, drawn from a process of reviewing more than 200 scholarly articles referencing the term Fintech and covering a period of more than 40 years. The objective of this study is to offer a definition which is distinct as well as succinct in its communication, yet sufficiently broad in its range of application. As the origins of the term can neither be unequivocally placed in academia nor in practice, the definition concentrates on extracting out the quintessence of Fintech using both spheres. Applying semantic analysis and building on the commonalities of 13 peer-reviewed definitions of the term, it is concluded that Fintech is a new financial industry that applies technology to improve financial activities. The implications as well as the shortcomings of this definition are discussed.
Educational programs prepare students theoretically for the workplace, but many programs are still lacking in the real-world skills that the workplace requires. This is especially evident in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education where today’s graduates hold a fundamental role in advancing science, medicine, sustainability, national security, and the economy, yet the programs to prepare them are falling short of employer expectations. At present, there is a lack of information on the necessary skills for workplace success that is specific to Airline, Aerospace, Defense (A&D) and related Industries’ STEM graduates. This paper attempts to fill this gap by offering a model of the skills required of STEM graduates for successful integration into the A&D and related Industries’ workplace. The purpose of the case study is to explore the employer’s perspective on the job skills that influence the success of STEM college graduates. The case study method was used that involved a purposeful sample strategy of hiring individuals for STEM based positions within the A&D and related Industries. The initial interviews support the job performance skills that have been identified in our research. The highest sought after skills are problem solving, team player, ability to gather data, and adaptability. The lowest sought after skill is negotiation. Two additional skills recommended by the interviewees will be added to future studies – time management, active listening skills. The conclusions reached emphasize the importance of real life applications during STEM classes and programs to better prepare future STEM employees for the workplace.
The research presented in this paper reports on making change happen and the challenge of tuming educators into change agents. The project is being carried out at the University of Applied Sciences & Arts Wester Switzerland, where there are over 20'000 students. lt is an action research project related to the inclusion of technology in the higher education classroom to add value to course design and delivery, and preparing educators for the next generation classroom. Following a phase of exploratory research, a series of four workshops have been developed and are currently being delivered across the 28 schools in the University. This project is the implementation of a programme which hopes to make such change becomes a reality and spread throughout the instituts. A description of the programme, its implementation and feedback from those involved provides the basis for discussion and suggestions are made for enabling change in the higher education arena.
Education and the way it is delivered is undergoing profound change. The advent of digital technologies and their increasingly ubiquitous nature has not only educators, but students and administrators alike, on the shifting sands of paradigms in transition. In addition to this, there is a certain amount of conjecture about what is actually happening on the ground. This paper presents research that originates in the practice of sixteen digital technology "champions", all lecturers in the higher education management classroom. The main objective of the research was to explore the impact of technology on teaching practice. Qualitative inquiry, through the use of semi-structured interviews (n=16), provided the methodology for the study. The findings presented in this paper identify issues of major importance to the participants and relate them to the learner-centred paradigm of education. Directions for future paradigm change are discussed and suggestions made for the successful adoption of technology-enhanced learning within this framework.
Food choices are often habitual, which can perpetuate unhealthy behaviors; i.e., selection of foods high in sodium, saturated fat, and calories. This paper extends previous research by examining how marketing incentives can encourage healthy food choices. Building on research examining marketing incentives, temporal goals, and habitual behavior, this research shows that certain incentives (behavioral rewards vs. financial discounts) affect individuals with healthy and less-healthy eating habits differently. A field study conducted at a corporate cafeteria and three lab studies converge on a consistent finding: the effects of marketing incentives on healthy food choice are particularly prominent for people who have less-healthy eating habits. Results showed that behavioral rewards generated a 28.5% (vs. 5.5%) increase in salad sales; behavioral rewards also led to two pounds more weight loss for individuals with less-healthy eating habits. The research offers important implications for scholars, the food industry, consumers, governments, and policy makers.
Nous estimons les élasticités-prix et élasticités croisées de l’offre et de la demande sur le marché suisse pour le bois brut de construction entre 1949 et 2013. Grâce au modèle à correction d’erreurs, nous considérons les relations de long terme et de court terme et utilisons un système d’équation offre-demande pour tenir compte de l’endogénéité du prix. L’importance de la séquestration du carbone dans les produits en bois implique qu’une utilisation plus importante de bois local dans la construction permettrait de réduire les émissions nettes de CO2. Cependant, l’industrie forestière suisse souffre d’un prix trop bas qui n’incite pas à produire davantage, malgré l’important potentiel. Des subventions peuvent aider à améliorer la durabilité environnementale et économique si les acteurs adaptent leur comportement suite aux changements de prix. Nous trouvons que l’offre et la demande sont sensibles aux changements de prix sur le court et long terme mais que l’augmentation de la demande pour le bois-énergie pourrait avoir un effet contreproductif sur la production du bois de construction.
