Pub Date : 2022-02-11DOI: 10.1163/15691497-12341609
Sarang Narasimhaiah
In this article I analyze the mass mobilizations mounted by Indian farmers against three pro-corporate agricultural bills passed by the far-right government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I argue that the discourse of civil protest is insufficient to understand these mobilizations. On the contrary, they embody the principles of mutual aid, direct action, and intersectional and international solidarity, pointing to the possibility of collective life beyond the limits imposed by neoliberal Hindu nationalism. At the same time the emancipatory possibilities offered by these practices are qualified by persistent social divisions and the hegemony of nonviolence, alongside pressing circumstantial factors.
{"title":"Farmers against Fascism: How India’s Farmers’ Protests Cultivated Alternatives to Neoliberal Hindu Nationalist Dystopia","authors":"Sarang Narasimhaiah","doi":"10.1163/15691497-12341609","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341609","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000In this article I analyze the mass mobilizations mounted by Indian farmers against three pro-corporate agricultural bills passed by the far-right government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I argue that the discourse of civil protest is insufficient to understand these mobilizations. On the contrary, they embody the principles of mutual aid, direct action, and intersectional and international solidarity, pointing to the possibility of collective life beyond the limits imposed by neoliberal Hindu nationalism. At the same time the emancipatory possibilities offered by these practices are qualified by persistent social divisions and the hegemony of nonviolence, alongside pressing circumstantial factors.","PeriodicalId":43666,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Global Development and Technology","volume":"68 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79144241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-11DOI: 10.1163/15691497-12341611
Isaias Rivera
Cuba’s economic integration into European socialist countries, led by the Soviet Union, offered the possibility of Cubans studying in these countries. A large number of professionals were trained in different fields. This at the same time created better opportunities and higher quality for the national education system at all levels due to academic mobility at all levels. To think about the term ‘revolution’ in Cuba, one must believe in a movement of ideas that promote progress. However, most of us in the Western world come to believe that progress has an equivalency of economic gain.
{"title":"Education, Health Care, and Poverty in Cuba","authors":"Isaias Rivera","doi":"10.1163/15691497-12341611","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341611","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Cuba’s economic integration into European socialist countries, led by the Soviet Union, offered the possibility of Cubans studying in these countries. A large number of professionals were trained in different fields. This at the same time created better opportunities and higher quality for the national education system at all levels due to academic mobility at all levels. To think about the term ‘revolution’ in Cuba, one must believe in a movement of ideas that promote progress. However, most of us in the Western world come to believe that progress has an equivalency of economic gain.","PeriodicalId":43666,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Global Development and Technology","volume":"46 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85386832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-23DOI: 10.1163/15691497-12341599
Mu-azu Iddirisu Andani, Osman Antwi‐Boateng
Over the past two decades, Ghana’s media landscape has undergone radical transformation, leading to the emergence of hundreds of frequency modulation (FM) stations across the country. These stations have become the country’s most powerful mediums of communication, carrying an array of programs aimed at diverse audiences. With northern Ghana as a case study, this research examines FM stations’ role in rural development, their mode of impact, and their attendant challenges. This is achieved via qualitative methodology; that is, in-depth interviews with station managers and local development stakeholders, supplemented by programming content analysis of ten FM stations. Findings indicate that FM stations in northern Ghana, irrespective of their classification, aid rural development by serving as an endogenous conduit for the transfer of information that promotes community development and empowerment. This is achieved through programming in local dialects, local musical and cultural programs, expert presentations, interactive phone-in sessions, and news presentations. Challenges include the lack of employee professionalism, financial constraints, poor audience research, technical challenges, excessively partisan political coverage, and lack of original programming.
{"title":"FM Stations’ Role in Rural Development: The Case of Northern Ghana","authors":"Mu-azu Iddirisu Andani, Osman Antwi‐Boateng","doi":"10.1163/15691497-12341599","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341599","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Over the past two decades, Ghana’s media landscape has undergone radical transformation, leading to the emergence of hundreds of frequency modulation (FM) stations across the country. These stations have become the country’s most powerful mediums of communication, carrying an array of programs aimed at diverse audiences. With northern Ghana as a case study, this research examines FM stations’ role in rural development, their mode of impact, and their attendant challenges. This is achieved via qualitative methodology; that is, in-depth interviews with station managers and local development stakeholders, supplemented by programming content analysis of ten FM stations. Findings indicate that FM stations in northern Ghana, irrespective of their classification, aid rural development by serving as an endogenous conduit for the transfer of information that promotes community development and empowerment. This is achieved through programming in local dialects, local musical and cultural programs, expert presentations, interactive phone-in sessions, and news presentations. Challenges include the lack of employee professionalism, financial constraints, poor audience research, technical challenges, excessively partisan political coverage, and lack of original programming.","PeriodicalId":43666,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Global Development and Technology","volume":"82 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79962236","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-23DOI: 10.1163/15691497-12341601
A. Abdullahi
Western education still dominates the education terrain across Africa. For some people, the dominance is nothing but ‘academic imperialism,’ which is believed to have relegated African scholars to mere conduits of knowledge through which European and American scholarship and interests are protected and promoted. Consequently, a dissident voice is resonating in the African educational system, particularly South African education system, demanding the recognition of ‘home-grown’ knowledge to solve home-grown problems. This article engages the debate about decolonization of higher education in South Africa and asks the fundamental question of whether or not it is possible to achieve a fully decolonized curriculum in a society that is already cloaked and engulfed by capitalism and Western ideologies.
{"title":"Decolonization of Higher Education in South Africa","authors":"A. Abdullahi","doi":"10.1163/15691497-12341601","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341601","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Western education still dominates the education terrain across Africa. For some people, the dominance is nothing but ‘academic imperialism,’ which is believed to have relegated African scholars to mere conduits of knowledge through which European and American scholarship and interests are protected and promoted. Consequently, a dissident voice is resonating in the African educational system, particularly South African education system, demanding the recognition of ‘home-grown’ knowledge to solve home-grown problems. This article engages the debate about decolonization of higher education in South Africa and asks the fundamental question of whether or not it is possible to achieve a fully decolonized curriculum in a society that is already cloaked and engulfed by capitalism and Western ideologies.","PeriodicalId":43666,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Global Development and Technology","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82344611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-23DOI: 10.1163/15691497-12341602
Osman Antwi-Boateng, Mamudu Akudugu
This research unravels the agents and driving motivation behind the rise of illegal small-scale mining in Ghana and its impact. This is accomplished via a qualitative study using illegal small-scale mining in the Talensi and Nabdam districts of Ghana as a case study. At the forefront of this phenomenon are rent-seeking elites, whereas structural factors such as rising unemployment and high population growth, as well as opportunistic factors including low barriers to entry, get-rich quick syndrome, and political corruption/weak institutions are fueling it as well. Although there are some economic benefits of illegal small-scale mining, these benefits are undermined by factors associated with the Resource Curse Hypothesis (RCH) or the ‘Paradox of Plenty.’ We argue that most illegal small-scale mining communities are characterized by increased rent-seeking activities by diverse stakeholders particularly the elites, poor investments in human capital development, and weak institutional structures and processes. To sustainably address the illegal small-scale gold mining menace in Ghana, all efforts should be aimed at holistically dealing with the rent-seekers, especially the elites involved, eliminating their motives and removing the conditions that facilitate their involvement.
{"title":"Movers, Motives, and Impact of Illegal Small-Scale Mining: A Case Study in Ghana","authors":"Osman Antwi-Boateng, Mamudu Akudugu","doi":"10.1163/15691497-12341602","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341602","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This research unravels the agents and driving motivation behind the rise of illegal small-scale mining in Ghana and its impact. This is accomplished via a qualitative study using illegal small-scale mining in the Talensi and Nabdam districts of Ghana as a case study. At the forefront of this phenomenon are rent-seeking elites, whereas structural factors such as rising unemployment and high population growth, as well as opportunistic factors including low barriers to entry, get-rich quick syndrome, and political corruption/weak institutions are fueling it as well. Although there are some economic benefits of illegal small-scale mining, these benefits are undermined by factors associated with the Resource Curse Hypothesis (<span style=\"font-variant: small-caps;\">RCH</span>) or the ‘Paradox of Plenty.’ We argue that most illegal small-scale mining communities are characterized by increased rent-seeking activities by diverse stakeholders particularly the elites, poor investments in human capital development, and weak institutional structures and processes. To sustainably address the illegal small-scale gold mining menace in Ghana, all efforts should be aimed at holistically dealing with the rent-seekers, especially the elites involved, eliminating their motives and removing the conditions that facilitate their involvement.</p>","PeriodicalId":43666,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Global Development and Technology","volume":"118 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138541570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-23DOI: 10.1163/15691497-12341603
Amna Gargoum, A. Gargoum
As cities transition towards urbanization and sustainability, designing attractive green spaces and urban parks is an important issue to planners and urban designers. One factor believed to have some impact on a park’s attractiveness is level of enclosure. Despite the importance of such a factor in identifying types of park visitors and frequency of visits, a limited amount of research has attempted to statistically model impacts of level enclosure on a park’s attractiveness. To address this gap, this article explores impacts of multiple physical characteristics, including levels of enclosure, on park attractiveness and user behavior. Activities in two parks in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE) were studied using field observations, photography, interviews, and statistical analysis. Field observations were utilized to model people’s attitude while using parks. Logistic regression was employed to the field observations to investigate associations between different factors and park attractiveness. Results indicated levels of enclosure had a direct influence on park users. Gender, age, and ethnicity were also found statistically significant determinates of park visitor attitudes and park choice. Traces of territorial behaviors and social conflicts were also observed.
{"title":"Exploring Visitor Perceptions towards Urban Park Design and Levels of Enclosure: A Case Study from the UAE","authors":"Amna Gargoum, A. Gargoum","doi":"10.1163/15691497-12341603","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341603","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000As cities transition towards urbanization and sustainability, designing attractive green spaces and urban parks is an important issue to planners and urban designers. One factor believed to have some impact on a park’s attractiveness is level of enclosure. Despite the importance of such a factor in identifying types of park visitors and frequency of visits, a limited amount of research has attempted to statistically model impacts of level enclosure on a park’s attractiveness. To address this gap, this article explores impacts of multiple physical characteristics, including levels of enclosure, on park attractiveness and user behavior. Activities in two parks in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE) were studied using field observations, photography, interviews, and statistical analysis. Field observations were utilized to model people’s attitude while using parks. Logistic regression was employed to the field observations to investigate associations between different factors and park attractiveness. Results indicated levels of enclosure had a direct influence on park users. Gender, age, and ethnicity were also found statistically significant determinates of park visitor attitudes and park choice. Traces of territorial behaviors and social conflicts were also observed.","PeriodicalId":43666,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Global Development and Technology","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77005659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-23DOI: 10.1163/15691497-12341600
Ho-Jun Kwon, J. S. Mah
In the early stages of its transition, Turkmenistan pursued a gradualist path. Diversification, industrialization, and market-based reforms led to very rapid economic growth particularly since the late 2000s. This article investigates the role of Turkmenistan’s economic development policy in diversifying industries and promoting the manufacturing sector. The government has diversified the destinations for the natural gas exports. Although its agriculture had been characterized as cotton monoculture, the share of wheat has risen since the 1990s. The textile industry has led the manufacturing sector, and other industries are not well developed. The government has successfully attracted foreign direct investment. Turkmenistan’s trade policy has contributed to supplying machines for manufactured products, although it might have been harmful to the early-stage development of the manufacturing sector. Turkmenistan, which is not a member of the WTO, may actively utilize its policy space to promote technology-intensive industries and must strengthen its level of human capital.
{"title":"Diversification and Industrialization in the Economic Development of Turkmenistan","authors":"Ho-Jun Kwon, J. S. Mah","doi":"10.1163/15691497-12341600","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341600","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000In the early stages of its transition, Turkmenistan pursued a gradualist path. Diversification, industrialization, and market-based reforms led to very rapid economic growth particularly since the late 2000s. This article investigates the role of Turkmenistan’s economic development policy in diversifying industries and promoting the manufacturing sector. The government has diversified the destinations for the natural gas exports. Although its agriculture had been characterized as cotton monoculture, the share of wheat has risen since the 1990s. The textile industry has led the manufacturing sector, and other industries are not well developed. The government has successfully attracted foreign direct investment. Turkmenistan’s trade policy has contributed to supplying machines for manufactured products, although it might have been harmful to the early-stage development of the manufacturing sector. Turkmenistan, which is not a member of the WTO, may actively utilize its policy space to promote technology-intensive industries and must strengthen its level of human capital.","PeriodicalId":43666,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Global Development and Technology","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75791075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-23DOI: 10.1163/15691497-12341598
Meghna Sabharwal, R. Varma, Zeeshan Noor
The United States has witnessed waves of immigration throughout its history, with the current immigration policies regulated by the reforms enacted under President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. Immigrants now come from all over the world, with China and India supplying the largest numbers in science and engineering (S&E) fields. Although the US is seen as coping rather successfully with immigration from Europe, that is not the case with Asian immigration. Assimilation theorists have long argued that Asian immigrants face problems in adapting to the American culture and lifestyles; in contrast, multicultural theorists have hailed cultural diversity brought by Asian immigrants. Ethnic organizations can play an integral role in Asian immigrants’ adaptation and integration in the United States. Utilizing 40 in-depth interviews of Indian immigrant engineers working in the US technology companies, the present study examines if they belong to ethnic associations. If yes, why do they feel a need to belong to these associations? If no, why not? It further sheds light on their need to belong to such associations. The findings show that the need to belong to Indian associations varied with the stage of their lives, which can be depicted as a U-shaped curve.
{"title":"Ethnic Organizations and Adaptation: A Case Study of Indian Immigrant Engineers in the US","authors":"Meghna Sabharwal, R. Varma, Zeeshan Noor","doi":"10.1163/15691497-12341598","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341598","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The United States has witnessed waves of immigration throughout its history, with the current immigration policies regulated by the reforms enacted under President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. Immigrants now come from all over the world, with China and India supplying the largest numbers in science and engineering (S&E) fields. Although the US is seen as coping rather successfully with immigration from Europe, that is not the case with Asian immigration. Assimilation theorists have long argued that Asian immigrants face problems in adapting to the American culture and lifestyles; in contrast, multicultural theorists have hailed cultural diversity brought by Asian immigrants. Ethnic organizations can play an integral role in Asian immigrants’ adaptation and integration in the United States. Utilizing 40 in-depth interviews of Indian immigrant engineers working in the US technology companies, the present study examines if they belong to ethnic associations. If yes, why do they feel a need to belong to these associations? If no, why not? It further sheds light on their need to belong to such associations. The findings show that the need to belong to Indian associations varied with the stage of their lives, which can be depicted as a U-shaped curve.","PeriodicalId":43666,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Global Development and Technology","volume":"87 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82668004","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-08-12DOI: 10.1163/15691497-12341592
C. Coffie, Hongjiang Zhao
Financial technology offers convenience, security, and affordability. In sub-Saharan Africa, mobile money is the flagship offering hypothesized to promote financial inclusion. Nonetheless, the persistent complaints from end-users about the cost associated with mobile money usage in the sub-region have gone under the radar. Therefore, using the semi-systematic review of news articles and blogs’ in direct content analysis, we explore the cost of mobile money usage in the sub-region. We examine the state of mobile charges and how it potentially reverses the original purpose of FinTech. Results indicate that governments and other stakeholders find mobile money charges to be high. The imposition of mobile money tax and the regressive structure of mobile money charges affect the poor. The effort of policymakers to reduce the cost of mobile money in the sub-region is ineffective because the FinTech market is dominated by few foreign-owned telecommunication companies. Thus, the creation and promotion of a domestic FinTech market are necessary to promote greater financial inclusion.
{"title":"Semi-Systematic Review of the Perceived Cost of Mobile Payment in Sub-Saharan Africa","authors":"C. Coffie, Hongjiang Zhao","doi":"10.1163/15691497-12341592","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341592","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Financial technology offers convenience, security, and affordability. In sub-Saharan Africa, mobile money is the flagship offering hypothesized to promote financial inclusion. Nonetheless, the persistent complaints from end-users about the cost associated with mobile money usage in the sub-region have gone under the radar. Therefore, using the semi-systematic review of news articles and blogs’ in direct content analysis, we explore the cost of mobile money usage in the sub-region. We examine the state of mobile charges and how it potentially reverses the original purpose of FinTech. Results indicate that governments and other stakeholders find mobile money charges to be high. The imposition of mobile money tax and the regressive structure of mobile money charges affect the poor. The effort of policymakers to reduce the cost of mobile money in the sub-region is ineffective because the FinTech market is dominated by few foreign-owned telecommunication companies. Thus, the creation and promotion of a domestic FinTech market are necessary to promote greater financial inclusion.","PeriodicalId":43666,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Global Development and Technology","volume":"52 3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90076857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-08-12DOI: 10.1163/15691497-12341595
K. Fuchs
The sudden shift from physical classroom education towards emergency remote teaching (ERT) in higher education during the unprecedented global pandemic SARS-CoV-2, or more commonly known as COVID-19, caused an abrupt change in the learning environment for students and educators alike. The disruptive overnight change to convert entire courses to emergency remote teaching caused distress for not only educators, but also students as they had little time to adapt to the new circumstances. While the embedment of technologies in the classroom is not a new concept, this quantitative research examined the impact on perceived student engagement as a result of the sudden change, and how students in higher education in Finland (n = 121) and Thailand (n = 137) responded to this change. One of the primary findings of the research was that students in Thailand indicated difficulties completing group assignments digitally, while, contrary to that finding, students in Finland consented to ease in digital collaboration concerning their group works. As a logical next step, it is recommended to conduct qualitative research to gain a more comprehensive insight into how the views on this particular statement differed significantly between both focus groups of students.
{"title":"Students’ Perceptions Concerning Emergency Remote Teaching During COVID-19","authors":"K. Fuchs","doi":"10.1163/15691497-12341595","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341595","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The sudden shift from physical classroom education towards emergency remote teaching (ERT) in higher education during the unprecedented global pandemic SARS-CoV-2, or more commonly known as COVID-19, caused an abrupt change in the learning environment for students and educators alike. The disruptive overnight change to convert entire courses to emergency remote teaching caused distress for not only educators, but also students as they had little time to adapt to the new circumstances. While the embedment of technologies in the classroom is not a new concept, this quantitative research examined the impact on perceived student engagement as a result of the sudden change, and how students in higher education in Finland (n = 121) and Thailand (n = 137) responded to this change. One of the primary findings of the research was that students in Thailand indicated difficulties completing group assignments digitally, while, contrary to that finding, students in Finland consented to ease in digital collaboration concerning their group works. As a logical next step, it is recommended to conduct qualitative research to gain a more comprehensive insight into how the views on this particular statement differed significantly between both focus groups of students.","PeriodicalId":43666,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Global Development and Technology","volume":"59 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78243382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}