A BUSINESS PLAN FOR A PART-TIME JOB CREATION SOCIAL ENTERPRISE AIMED AT HELPING THE ELDERLY

ABSTRACT

AS A SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION OF CHINA, MACAU, DESPITE ITS SMALL SIZE AND LIMITED RESOURCES, HAS BEEN ACTIVELY PROMOTING LOW-CARBON DEVELOPMENT TO ADDRESS THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGE. IN RECENT YEARS, MACAO HAS PROVIDED IMPORTANT SUPPORT FOR ACHIEVING THE GOAL OF CARBON PEAKING AND CARBON NEUTRALITY BY FORMULATING A SERIES OF POLICIES, SUCH AS ENERGY MANAGEMENT, PROMOTION OF GREEN BUILDINGS AND OPTIMIZATION OF WASTE TREATMENT. HOWEVER, DESPITE THE CLARITY OF THE POLICY FRAMEWORK, ITS ACTUAL IMPLEMENTATION AND EFFECTIVENESS STILL NEED TO BE SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEWED. THIS STUDY USES A COMBINATION OF QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS, INTERVIEWS AND QUESTIONNAIRES TO GAIN AN IN-DEPTH UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION OF POLICIES, AND QUANTITATIVE DATA TO ANALYZE THE IMPLEMENTATION EFFECTS OF POLICIES, WITH A VIEW TO REVEALING THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF LOW-CARBON POLICIES IN MACAO. THE RESEARCH RESULTS WILL SYSTEMATICALLY EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LOW-CARBON POLICIES IN MACAO FROM MULTIPLE LEVELS. ON THE ONE HAND, QUANTITATIVE DATA WILL PROVIDE A CLEAR EMPIRICAL BASIS FOR THE PROGRESS OF LOW-CARBON POLICIES; ON THE OTHER HAND, QUALITATIVE RESEARCH WILL REVEAL KEY SOCIAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL BARRIERS TO POLICY IMPLEMENTATION, HELPING TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOUR ON POLICY EFFECTIVENESS. THESE RESULTS CAN NOT ONLY PROVIDE REFERENCE FOR MACAO'S FUTURE LOW-CARBON POLICY ADJUSTMENT, BUT ALSO PROVIDE EXPERIENCE FOR OTHER SIMILAR CITIES TO COPE WITH SIMILAR CHALLENGES IN LOW-CARBON DEVELOPMENT. THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS STUDY LIES IN ITS DUAL CONTRIBUTION TO ACADEMIA AND PRACTICE. AT THE ACADEMIC LEVEL, THIS STUDY HAS ENRICHED THE THEORETICAL RESEARCH ON LOW-CARBON CITY DEVELOPMENT, ESPECIALLY THE SPECIAL CHALLENGES OF CARBON EMISSION REDUCTION IN RESOURCE-LIMITED CITIES. AT THE PRACTICAL LEVEL, THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY CAN DIRECTLY PROVIDE POLICY MAKERS WITH SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING LOW-CARBON POLICIES, SUCH AS RESOURCE ALLOCATION, TECHNOLOGY INTRODUCTION AND PUBLIC AWARENESS. THROUGH THESE ANALYSES, THE STUDY HOPES TO PROVIDE A PRACTICAL ROADMAP FOR MACAO TO ACHIEVE ITS GOAL OF CARBON NEUTRALITY, AS WELL AS A VALUABLE REFERENCE FOR THE LOW-CARBON DEVELOPMENT OF SIMILAR CITIES AROUND THE WORLD.