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Illegal Small-Scale Mining in Asutifi North District, Ghana: Traditional Authority’s Tacit Support for an Illegality
Get PDFThe control of mining has been a core issue of contention between the modern state and traditional authorities in Ghana since the colonial period. Even though there are regulations governing legitimate mining in Ghana, illegal small-scale mining, with strong traditional practices, has surged. This article uses interview data from Asutifi North District of Ghana to explain that traditional institutions, though aware of the illegality of these small-scale mines, performed rites enabling them. The state should cede some decision making over mineralized lands to traditional authorities so that they become part of the responsibility for mining in their area
Developing Global Competence in a Virtual Classroom
Get PDFDeveloping Global Competence in a Virtual Classroom
In today’s globalized economy, effective leaders must be able to relate to and work with people from diverse cultures. Higher Education has a leading role in creating global citizens through intentional student global competence development opportunities, such as education abroad (American Council on Education, 1998). The importance of developing global competence is reflected in an increasing number of new curricular programs with a global focus offered by universities. As one of the many strategic and systematic efforts to promote global education, the Institute for International Education’s Generation Study Abroad program reports a 300% growth in study abroad programs from 2014-2020 (Institute of International Education, 2022). However, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the implementation of intercultural programs, particularly those that require student travel. Given the amount of uncertainty that the future holds, educators must find alternative ways to deliver meaningful learning experiences that focus on the development of global and intercultural competencies. In this paper, we will discuss how two study abroad programs transitioned to a virtual format, enabling students to engage in cross-cultural collaboration and develop global competence in a virtual classroom.
The first program is Croatia Learning Abroad, a faculty-led program for undergraduate business students. Taught abroad over the May-mester term, twenty-four students and two faculty members travel to Zagreb, Croatia for one week and get a first-hand look at international business through company visits and presentations from senior-level executives. In addition to company visits, students join planned and impromptu social events, allowing them to immerse themselves in the local culture. Coursework is completed online once the group returns from the trip. The second program is the International Business Residency (IBR), a week-long, faculty-led learning abroad experience that is an integral part of the lock-step Executive MBA (EMBA) program. All students in the EMBA program participate in the IBR over the May-mester, which involves travel to one or two countries, company visits and presentations from senior-level executives, and cultural immersion. The learning abroad experience is coupled with an International Business course that traditionally features components that are completed prior, during, and following completion of the trip.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, both programs had to transition to a virtual format. This paper will outline how the faculty leaders adapted their study abroad programs to create a cross-cultural experiential learning environment online. We will discuss the pedagogical tools that were used to drive home global learning, such as cross-cultural project groups, student reflection journaling, intercultural case studies, and virtual city and company visits. The paper will also include recommendations for future practice, including ways to incorporate global competence learning outcomes and assessments in a virtual program as well as ways to leverage university partnerships in countries abroad in order to deliver successful virtual study abroad programs
An Assessment of the Transit System Connecting Low-Income Households to the International Airport: A Case Study of Southwest Alief, Texas
Get PDFPublic transportation is part of the economic and social fabric of metropolitan areas, especially to low-income individuals who are often totally dependent on these services for their daily activities. In Houston Texas, this is made possible through the region\u27s system of highway transit centers and other transportation options such as MetroBus and MetroRail. The role that transits plays in the connection between residential locations and employment opportunities is crucial in creating and implementing programs that will improve and maintain transit and ownership options available to vulnerable segments of Metropolitan residents. This study proposes the use of qualitative research methodology to assess the Accessibility and efficiency of transit to a target population. Conventional wisdom suggests that the increasing decentralization of population and employment in US metropolitan areas is to blame for declining public transit mode shares and deteriorating system productivity. Proponents of this view assert that transit performs best when it connects suburbs to central business districts in more centralized urban environments. This paper also analyzes the socio-demographic characteristics of low-income individuals, job availability at the airport and evaluates existing connections by car and public transport between the Alief community and the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. It highlights the importance of promoting investment in public transportation, which would yield higher benefits to the low-income population by helping them to reach job opportunities
Human Health Risk Assessment of Trace Metals in Indoor Dust.
Get PDFThe risk associated with exposure to heavy metals found in indoor dust is viewed as a serious hazard to human health, and heavy metal pollution of the environment is a major concern on a global scale. Accordingly, the current study set out to assess the heavy metals concentrations in indoor dust and the hazards they bring in adults and children. 71 indoor dust samples were collected from wooden flooring and analyzed using ICP-MS apparatus. Comparing our findings to the Environmental Protection Agency\u27s acceptable risk criteria showed that lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), Chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) had high absorbed daily dosages in both children and adults. The median CR values for Pb indicated a significant probability of developing cancer. As a result of the non- bioaccumulation nature of trace metals in the body, the mean values of CR for the remaining elements were lower risk in both children and adults and have not exceeded the permissible limit set by USEPA, suggesting that these metals may not pose a future non- carcinogenic or carcinogenic risk to humans. We conclude that if the home\u27s location wasn\u27t carefully considered, heavy metal exposure could increase health risks. Following the findings, we recommend more comprehensive and adequate measures should be made to reduce the impacts and cancer risk associated with indoor floor dust ingestion in both children and adults. Adults should be informed of associated risks to safeguard their health and children health
H-atom and O-atom methods: from balancing redox reactions to determining the number of transferred electrons
Get PDFDefining and balancing redox reaction requires both chemical knowledge and mathematical skills. The prevalent approach is to use the concept of oxidation number to determine the number of transferred electrons. However, the task of calculating oxidation numbers is often challenging. In this article, the H-atom method and O-atom method are developed for balancing redox equations. These two methods are based on the definition of redox reaction, which is the gain and loss of hydrogen or oxygen atoms. They complement current practices and provide an alternate path to balance redox equations. The advantage of these methods is that calculation of oxidation number is not required. Atoms are balanced instead. By following standard operating procedures, H-atom, O-atom, and H2O molecule act as artificial devices to balance both inorganic and organic equations in molecular forms. By using the H-atom and O-atom methods, the number of transferred electrons can be determined by the number of transferred H-atoms or O-atoms, which are demonstrated as electroncounting concepts for balancing redox reactions. In addition, the relationships among the number of transferred H-atom, the number of transferred O-atom, the number of transferred electrons, and the change of oxidation numbers are established
From Balancing Redox Reactions to Determining Change of Oxidation Numbers
Get PDFRedox reaction is a core concept in teaching and learning chemistry. This article explores a new method for balancing organic redox reactions that requires the balancing of both atoms and charges. The H+, O, H2O, and e– are used as balanced vehicles in two half reactions. A non-oxidation number approach can be applied to both molecular and ionic equations. The article also provides standard operating procedures and examples. The number of transferred electrons is first determined by balancing a half redox reaction; consequently; the change of oxidation numbers can be calculated. The mathematical equation of Te– = n Te– = n ΔON is established, and the change of oxidation numbers (ΔON) can be counted by the number of transferred electrons (Te–) and the number of atoms with oxidation numbers change (n). By using this mathematical equation as a new approach, students can conveniently calculate the change of mean oxidation numbers for an assigned atom in a half redox reaction
Strategies for Introspection and Instruction Towards Antiracism in Public Management and Administration
Get PDFTo be anti-racist is to be actively engaged in the fight against racism, as inaction only serves to reinforce racism and oppression. In teaching the next generation of public servants, educators have a responsibility to be antiracist in their classrooms. The development of this antiracist approach requires both introspective and instructional efforts. Building on knowledge from Critical Race Theory, Black Feminism, intersectionality, and public service pedagogy, this article discusses the internal work that educators must undertake to become antiracist before teaching students how to do so. Then, the article explores what steps faculty can take towards building an antiracist pedagogy and syllabus. From these efforts, educators will be better prepared to help students be antiracist and inclusive leaders by modeling these values and practicing what they teach
Managed Racial Capitalism: Understanding the Bureaucratic State’s Racialized Practices in Detroit, Michigan
Get PDFPublic administration navigates an important place in governing in that it is multidisciplinary and focused on practice, thus all theories need to be prepared to face critique from the people. At this watershed moment of social justice, political reckoning, and revolutionary imagination, it is key that public administration contends with the racist logics driving the field and the practice. In this article, we examine the ways that the current governing system fails to account for the racialized political economy, thus reproducing the inequality inherent in that system. The paper poses two questions: 1) How does the public administration of local governments reproduce inequality? And 2) How can we rethink public administration through a system of governing that intentionally engages with and rectifies racialized practices? We argue that late-stage capitalism, manifested as neoliberalism, is always racialized. We propose a manageable possibility of community-focused engagement and deliberation
Dividing Lines: Comparing Predictors of Public Policy Preferences Toward Refugees and Local Involvement in Immigration Enforcement in a U.S. State
Get PDFFollowing the norm breaking immigration policies of the departed Trump administration, which drastically reduced refugee admissions and pressured state and local governments to join in identifying and deporting unauthorized immigrants, the current Biden administration faces significant choices about the pace and degree of any potential roll back of such Trump policies. In this moment, the importance of the understudied local and state dimensions of migration and integration of newcomers increases for public management and intergovernmental policy research. Numerous studies have tied the creation of national level policy toward immigrants to the examination of national and international public attitudes toward immigrants and immigration (ATII) around broad questions of whether immigrants are perceived as a threat and whether the current flow of immigrants is too high. But few studies have examined factors driving public opinion on more specific sub-national policy options such as local willingness to welcome refugees and the use of local resources for immigration enforcement. This paper makes use of a 2017 representative state level survey from Virginia (USA). Descriptive and logistic regression analysis of data from the VCU Wilder School’s Summer 2017 Commonwealth Poll is conducted to determine which factors are significant determinants of the variation in responses for each of these understudied topics. The paper presents the results and concludes by summarizing potential implications for policymakers
Women’s Representation in State Politics: Linking Descriptive and Substantive Representation to Health and Economic Policy Outcomes
Get PDFThis paper tests whether women’s descriptive representation in American state legislatures explains variance in policies relevant to women. The relationship between women’s representation and policy is estimated, controlling for alternative explanations of policy adoption including learning from neighboring and politically-similar states, internal economic and political conditions, and state demographics. Following prior research, a single equation instrumental variables model is used to link descriptive and substantive representation, but results do not support the use of a model with endogenous covariates. A simpler model specification demonstrates that women’s descriptive representation in state legislatures improves economic policy but not health policy outcomes. Political party confounds the relationship between gender and health policy outcomes. This paper contributes to the literature by: Using a broader measure of policy outcomes rather than dichotomous measures, examining women’s representation in both executive and legislative branches, demonstrating the role of political party, and linking women’s descriptive and substantive representation