Modifiable Campus-Wide Appraisal Model (MOCAM) for Sustainability in Higher Education Institutions

Institutions of higher education across the globe have commenced the appraisal of their sustainability performance via the utilization of various existing campus sustainability assessment tools. A comprehensive review of these existing tools reveals insufficient utilization of weighting methods and theoretical approaches that allow for the monitoring, review, and enhancement of the appraisal process and tools. Social media and spatial-based indicators usage are also deficient in the existing tools. This paper addresses these research gaps and develops a Modifiable Campus-wide Appraisal Model (MOCAM) for a comprehensive spatial-based information and assessment framework for policymakers, local authorities, and campus planners in countries with unknown campus sustainability status. In this model, the specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) approach was utilized to identify environmental-dimension indicators with campus-wide and spatial-based attributes. The Twitter social media platform, Elastic stack, and Python Library were used for the extraction and analysis of local stakeholders’ user-generated content for the identification of localized indicators. The analytic hierarchy process was used for the determination and analysis of the attribute level of importance and weights. The model also broadens the application of symbolic interactionism by translating it from the predominant field of social science to sustainable campus appraisal.

[1]  Caregiver‐Child Interaction in the Development of Self: The Contributions of Vygotsky, Bruner, and Kaye to Mead's Theory , 1991 .

[2]  Walter Leal Filho,et al.  Measuring sustainability at universities by means of the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS): early findings from STARS data , 2015, Environment, Development and Sustainability.

[3]  Chaos Theory and Symbolic Interaction Theory: Poetics for the Postmodern Sociologist , 1991 .

[4]  Arash Shahin,et al.  Prioritization of key performance indicators: An integration of analytical hierarchy process and goal setting , 2007 .

[5]  Ioannis Anagnostopoulos,et al.  Social Media Use in Higher Education: A Review , 2018 .

[6]  Naveen Eluru,et al.  Destination choice modeling using location-based social media data , 2019, Journal of Choice Modelling.

[7]  Habib M. Alshuwaikhat,et al.  The Development of a GIS-Based Model for Campus Environmental Sustainability Assessment , 2017 .

[8]  E. Romero,et al.  Development and application of a multi-criteria spatial decision support system for planning sustainable industrial areas in Northern Spain , 2012 .

[9]  Albert P.C. Chan,et al.  Overview of the application of "fuzzy techniques" in construction management research , 2009 .

[10]  Michael Shriberg.  Institutional assessment tools for sustainability in higher education , 2002 .

[11]  H. Sacks,et al.  George Herbert Mead and Karl Marx: Exploring Consciousness and Community* , 1981 .

[12]  Habib M. Alshuwaikhat,et al.  An integrated approach to achieving campus sustainability: Assessment of the current campus environmental management practices , 2008 .

[13]  Irtishad Ahmad,et al.  Development of a decision support system using data warehousing to assist builders/developers in site selection , 2004 .

[14]  Kim Ceulemans,et al.  Sustainability Reporting in Higher Education: A Comprehensive Review of the Recent Literature and Paths for Further Research , 2015 .

[15]  Faculty sensitization and development to enhance responsible management education , 2020 .

[16]  D. Maines.  MYTH, TEXT, AND INTERACTION COMPLICITY IN THE NEGLECT OF BLUMER'S MACROSOCIOLOGY , 1988 .

[17]  Brian Veitch,et al.  Developing a quantitative tool for sustainability assessment of HEIs , 2011 .

[18]  C. W. Tucker.  HERBERT BLUMER: A PILGRIMAGE WITH PRAGMATISM , 1988 .

[19]  Gary Alan Fine,et al.  TEN LIES OF ETHNOGRAPHY , 1993 .

[20]  R. W. Saaty,et al.  The analytic hierarchy process—what it is and how it is used , 1987 .

[21]  Michael Shriberg,et al.  Assessing Sustainability: Criteria, Tools, and Implications , 2004 .

[22]  Francisco Urquiza Gómez,et al.  Adaptable model for assessing sustainability in higher education , 2015 .

[23]  Masaru Yarime,et al.  The Issues and Methodologies in Sustainability Assessment Tools for Higher Education Institutions , 2012 .

[24]  Carl J. Couch,et al.  SYMBOLIC INTERACTION AND GENERIC SOCIOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES , 1984 .

[25]  Rodrigo Lozano,et al.  A tool for a Graphical Assessment of Sustainability in Universities (GASU) , 2006 .

[26]  Hans de Jonge,et al.  Assessment tools’ indicators for sustainability in universities: an analytical overview , 2017 .

[27]  William A. Corsaro,et al.  "Discussione" and Friendship: Socialization Processes in the Peer Culture of Italian Nursery School Children. , 1988 .

[28]  David Ashley.  Marx and the Category of Individuality' in Communist Society* , 1985 .

[29]  Daniel Jato-Espino,et al.  A review of application of multi-criteria decision making methods in construction , 2014 .

[30]  Clemens Mader,et al.  Sustainability process assessment on transformative potentials: the Graz Model for Integrative Development , 2013 .

[31]  Rebeka Lukman,et al.  University ranking using research, educational and environmental indicators , 2010 .

[32]  D. Shalin.  THE ROMANTIC ANTECEDENTS OF MEADIAN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY , 1984 .

[33]  Patrizia Lombardi,et al.  True Green and Sustainable University Campuses? Toward a Clusters Approach , 2015 .

[34]  R. Andrew,et al.  A technique for controlling the membrane potential of neurons during unit recording , 1990, Journal of Neuroscience Methods.

[35]  H. Alves,et al.  Bridging Intellectual Capital, Sustainable Development and Quality of Life in Higher Education Institutions , 2020 .

[36]  Abu Sayed,et al.  Benchmarking tools for assessing and tracking sustainability in higher educational institutions , 2013 .

[37]  David J. Faulds,et al.  Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix , 2009 .

[38]  Yen-Liang Chen,et al.  A novel summarization technique for the support of resolving multi-criteria decision making problems , 2015, Decis. Support Syst..

[39]  Togo,et al.  UNIT-BASED SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT TOOL: A resource book to complement the UNEP Mainstreaming Environment and Sustainability in African Universities Partnership , 2009 .

[40]  L. Velazquez,et al.  Sustainable university: what can be the matter? , 2006 .

[41]  T. Khan.  Sustainability accounting courses, Talloires Declaration and academic research , 2013 .

[42]  D. Shields.  The role of values and objectives in communicating indicators of sustainability , 2002 .