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The Geography of Remittances in Ghana
No full textMigrant transfers and their remittances provide a significant source of capital flows and foreign exchange for Developing Countries. While peripheral regions like Sub-Saharan Africa are underrepresented in the remittance literature there is growing recognition that the region is globally important as a migrant sending zone and that subsequent remittances influence local economies (Yeboah 2008). For example, Ghana has experienced increased migration in the post-SAP era of decentralization, and Bank of Ghana estimates place national remittances in the $1billion range (Mazzucato, van den Boom and Nsowah 2008). However, research has largely failed to address the geography of remittances. In particular, little attention has been given to the usage of remittances by receiving households and how these uses vary with respect to their origin and destinations. My specific objective is to address the disparity in geographical research on remittances and Sub-Saharan African subjects by investigating the geography of remittances between migrant sending and receiving scales in Ghana, how this relates to the uses to which payments are put, and from these what deductions may be drawn about the impact of remittances on development
Perception and Function in Occupant-Space Relationship
Get PDFHow can architects improve the relationship between the occupant and the space in regards to offering
the occupant and enjoyable experience, which also fulfills their needs and expectations of function?
Among many design fields, architecture is the one that has a constant correlation with everyday life, as
most people spend a significant portion of their time within a built environment. The direct influence of
the quality of space on the quality of occupants’ lives indicates the critical responsibility of architectural
design. Recognizing, respecting, and responding to the occupants’ needs and expectations are the
necessary steps in a design process that wishes to improve the quality of life. Thus, the consideration of
occupants in the process of design will lead to the fulfillment of the occupants’ needs.
In this paper, I will focus on two approaches that lead to improvement of the relationship between the
occupant and the space: the multisensory experience and the true function. I am looking for approaches
to bring both multisensory experience and true function back to architectural space in order to enhance
occupants’ daily experiences in the built environment. I propose the ways in which physical senses can
be engaged in spatial experience, as well as assessing each sense with related spatial features. My
assessments are based on my personal experiences, and other theoretical resources. I discuss function
later with an introduction on affordance, a psychological approach to design, and their relation to one
another, as well as introducing anti-functionalism and its consequences in frame of a case stud
Skate to Where the Puck is Going to Be: Aligning Library Services to Faculty Teaching, Research, and Scholarship
No full textOverview of a new library service established in response to changing dynamics in academic libraries and faculty need in the digital age
El Excepcionalismo Costarricense Redefinido: La identidad “tica” en la literatura costarricense contemporánea
No full textAside from its reputation as the “Switzerland of Central America,” Costa Rica is rarely mentioned in international headlines or academic studies. The tendency to compare one Central American nation to another has defined Costa Rica as the exceptional country of the region due to its stable democracy, abolition of the military, and social equality. However, by focusing on just Costa Rica, this study questions such assumptions and suggests that the nation has not received the attention that its unique society deserves. From an exterior perspective, it appears that the pacifist country, amidst a region plagued by political corruption, civil wars, and severe poverty, is an uninteresting subject, but an interior perspective reveals a contrary conclusion. The influence of American capitalism, the presence of subcultures, and the existence of social inequality exposes a discrepancy between the “official” and the “real” versions of Costa Rica. The image of “pura vida” limits the country to a unitary national identity – happy, educated, and “white” citizens that live in harmony, connected by a culture of peace – that does not admit to the existence of cultural diversity outside the center of the country, from where the dominant vision originates. Although some of the scholars who have studied Costa Rica are beginning to expose the myth of Costa Rican excepcionalism, almost none have considered Costa Ricans’ thoughts of their own country’s national identity. Therefore, this work investigates to what extent the official representation of Costa Rica corresponds to the individual experiences and individualities of Costa Ricans themselves. In order to achieve this “tico” perspective, I analyze a selection of prose taken from contemporary national literature, the most authentic portrayal of the Costa Rican voice. The works of Tatiana Lobo, Alfonso Chase, and Uriel Quesada, despite the variety of their styles, do not represent a completely pacific Costa Rica with social equality and perfect democracy, but instead reveal how the official national identity excludes the experiences of many marginalized Costa Ricans – immigrants, women, the poor, and gay individuals – that do not fit the image of a “legitimate” Costa Rican. Instead of the typical pattern of defining Costa Rica based upon observations from the outside, these authors insist that Costa Ricans are the ones that must determine Costa Rican identity. In this way, the contemporary literature of Costa Rica tries to encourage citizens to examine what is really happening in the country beyond the guise of “pura vida.
Developing a Course: What Liberal Education Means for Miami
No full textWhile Miami University prides itself on being a liberal arts institution, it is not clear that our liberal education curriculum is as effective as it could be in meeting the learning objectives set out for it. This senior project created a model course that can serve as an introduction to curricular life at Miami for first-year students. Offering such a course could significantly enhance students' appreciation of the Miami Plan in particular and liberal learning in general
Engineering Study Abroad Advocacy Program (Honors Thesis Action Project)
No full textThe authors of this thesis are both engineering majors at Miami University. Clara is a senior mechanical engineering major and Grace is a senior chemical engineering major. This project has meant a lot to both Clara and Grace, because they both felt as though they missed the opportunity to study abroad during their four years at Miami. Despite being heavily involved in campus organizations and dedicated to their educational studies, both students feel as though there is a small void in their Miami experience. For this reason, Clara and Grace have worked on this project for the past two years, exemplifying passion and dedication to the advocacy of study abroad.
Over the past two years, this project has morphed entirely. Originally, the project’s aim was to create a study abroad program specifically for engineering majors. This program would utilize a Miami engineering professor who would go abroad with the group of students for the semester and teach a lower level/foundation level engineering course (such as technical writing, statics, thermodynamics, etc). This way, the courses would be a Miami University course and the credits earned would be identical to those earned at the Oxford campus. In addition, by teaching foundation level engineering courses, a variety of majors could participate.
After doing more research on the project, Grace and Clara came to the realization that the creation of a brand new program would be both complex and entirely unnecessary. One of the most complex issues in creating a new program is that there are so many financial considerations in making a new study abroad program. Clara and Grace do not have the financial background or expertise to create a financial aspect of a new program on their own and within the time constraints of their thesis. There are currently programs available for engineering majors, in which they would attend a technical university abroad, and take engineering courses that are basically identical to those taught at Miami University. This realization caused a crucial shift in the project. Rather than creating a brand-new program, Clara and Grace would expose engineering students to the programs already available to them. Not only would these students be aware of the study abroad options they have, but also, the opportunities would be encouraged and promoted
Training Case Managers to Administer the Service Adequacy and Satisfaction Instrument (SASI)
Get PDFThis manual provides training for case managers to conduct satisfaction interviews using the Service Adequacy and Satisfaction Instrument. The SASI examines consumer satisfaction with homemaker, personal care, and home-delivered meals services