ORANGUTAN-THEMED GAMIFICATION COUNTRY: Poland SCHOOL: Faculty of Management and Economics, Gdańsk University of Technology
POLICY PROJECTIONS FOR IMPROVING HIV RISK REDUCTION COUNTRY: New Zealand SCHOOL: Wellington School of Business and Government Policies aimed at reducing the risk of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa tend to focus on the distribution of contraception. However, in the context of enduring cultural expectations for women to bear premarital children to demonstrate fertility and suitability for marriage, other policies would be more effective. This is according to new research from Yao Yao, a Lecturer in the Wellington School of Business and Government’s School of Economics and Finance, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. ‘If women have the incentive to bear premarital children, they may intentionally avoid using contraception. Policymakers need to consider the cultural incentives that are in place for women in Sub-Saharan Africa to engage in premarital fertility,’ said Yao. Using a lifecycle economic model to see how decisions relating to marriage, sex and education affect the risk of contracting HIV, Yao found that the premarital fertility motive accounted for 13% of the HIV prevalence among young women in Kenya. When this reason was combined with the motive of avoiding the cost of contraception, the figure rose to 33%. Yao then assessed the potential effectiveness of three policies that did not focus on the distribution of contraception. The provision of an income subsidy for women was found to have limited effect. However, when such subsidies were made conditional on school attendance, she found that the HIV prevalence rate would be reduced by 14%. Her third policy evaluation looked at the potential of providing subsidies specifically for HIV-infected women to receive antiretroviral therapy. This was found to reduce the overall HIV rate among young women in Kenya by as much as 41%. ‘The treatment subsidy works well because it is also a prevention… But on the other hand, because this treatment reduces risk, it also encourages risky behaviour, because the virus seems less dangerous,’ Yao concluded. At the Wellington School of Business and Government, Yao Yao teaches macroeconomics and development economics. / TBD
MBA students and staff at the Faculty of Management and Economics, Gdańsk University of Technology (Gdańsk Tech) are adopting Raja and Albert – currently the only two orangutans you can see in a zoo in Poland – as part of a new gamification platform designed to aid students’ personal development online. Created with the help of the Center for Innovative Education, the Impact Project platform allows students to collect bananas and other rewards as they take on 36 tasks across four pillars (strategic thinking; people management and self-development; operational excellence; and foundations). Gamification is often regarded as an effective way to boost student engagement, and the orangutan-themed platform certainly has its eyes fixed firmly on offering incentives for MBAs’ progression through the tasks. Students are also placed into teams and given group tasks through the platform, facilitating peer-to-peer networking. There is, of course, a further overarching goal to the platform and that is to raise awareness of the plight of the orangutan – all three species of which are critically endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of mammals – and the increasing destruction of its natural habitat – the palm forest, from which humans derive palm oil for use in foods, cosmetics, cleaning products and fuels. Raja and Albert, meanwhile, are residents of Gdańsk Zoo. They are said to enjoy drawing and have recently celebrated their 40th birthdays. Delivered in English, the Gdańsk Tech MBA – officially titled the International MBA in Strategy, Programme and Project Management – is a two-year programme offered in a modular format with classes taking place over three full days (Friday to Sunday) once a month. / Tim Banerjee Dhoul (TBD)
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