28266 research outputs found
Sort by
IMPACT OF FOREIGN AID TO AGRICULTURE IN REDUCING POVERTY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.
Get PDFThe effectiveness of foreign aid in reducing poverty has been a contentious issue in development economics. This paper focuses specifically on aid directed towards agriculture, a sector critical for rural livelihoods and poverty alleviation. It investigates the empirical relationship between agricultural aid flows and poverty levels in 46 developing countries between 1997-2020. Fixed effects panel regressions estimate models with the $2.15/day (based on 2017 PPP) poverty headcount ratio as the outcome variable. The key finding is that agricultural aid has a statistically significant poverty-reducing impact. The regression coefficients indicate that on average, a 1% increase in agricultural aid is associated with a 0.08-1.46% decrease in national poverty rates. This highlights the vital role of rural assistance for global poverty alleviation efforts. Furthermore, the results provide evidence that the poverty-lessening effects of agricultural aid strengthen with higher institutional quality, particularly property rights protections and legal contract enforcement. Beyond agricultural aid, the analysis also confirms past findings regarding the contribution of economic growth, government expenditure, and income inequality to poverty outcomes. Periods of GDP expansion, higher social spending, and more equitable income distributions are linked to falling poverty. In conclusion, the paper argues for prioritizing foreign aid to agriculture and rural sectors based on their higher growth elasticities compared to other activities. Agricultural assistance helps raise smallholder productivity and rural wages. However, complementary institutional reforms may enable aid to realize more significant effects on the incomes of the extremely poor over the long term. Targeted rural aid and economic governance initiatives should feature centrally in strategies for eradicating global extreme poverty
Peer Mentoring Experience Of First Year At-Risk Black Males And The Effect Of Peer Mentoring On Mentors And Mentees At A Rural PWI
Get PDFAs universities and colleges witness increasing diversity in student populations, disparities in graduation rates persist among minority groups, particularly Black men. Despite efforts to increase retention rates, Black men students continue to trail their peers. This phenomenological study examines the impact of a peer mentoring program on at-risk Black men at a rural Predominantly White Institution (PWI), exploring both student and mentor experiences. Drawing on a diverse body of literature, including student development theories and existing retention initiatives, this study sought to understand the efficacy and effectiveness of peer mentoring in supporting at-risk Black male students’ academic success at a rural PWI. Through an exploration of perceptions and experiences from both mentees and mentors, this study provides insights into effective strategies for improving retention rates among Black men in higher education. Recommendations for future research and institutional practices are also discussed
A Qualitative Inquiry into Female International Doctoral Students Challenges and Stressors
Get PDFObjective: A qualitative inquiry to explore the challenges and stressors female international doctoral students experience. Background: Student challenges and stress result in attrition and non-completion of doctoral programs. Using Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory framework, the study connected the theory subsystems to the challenges and stressors female international doctoral students experience. Method: The study analyzed the lived experiences of five female international doctoral students at an Illinois research institution, using a qualitative approach (phenomenology). The participants were interviewed using themed theoretical framework questions. Results: The results identified concerns related to all subsystems. Academic (microsystem and mesosystem) challenges included a lack of academic skills, time management, and English as a second language. Psychological (exosystem) challenges comprised workload, family commitments, and financial issues. Psychological (exosystem) stressors included headaches, stomachaches, nightmares, and weight loss. Physiological (macrosystem) challenges included cultural responsibilities, a non-family-friendly environment, and an inadequacy to support children. Physiological stressors were anxiety, irritable, sleep deprivation, and lack of social support. All participants considered their advisor and faculty to be the most important factor shaping their doctoral experience (chronosystem) and had concerns with feedback, guidance, communication, and encouragement. Conclusion: Female international students encounter many obstacles on their doctoral journal that should be considered by institutions. Application: Higher education institutions should further support students to reduce attrition rates
DERMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF WORKING ANIMALS DURING VARIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
No full textThe dermal barrier is the first line of defense for working animals, however, little is known on how it fluctuates and reacts to day-to-day events. Many are pursuing dermatological research including nutritional supplementation, decontamination strategies, and treatments of dermatological disease. However, without an in-depth understanding on how the dermal barrier and its resident microbiota fluctuate in response to the environment and basic maintenance practices, these research pursuits may lack accuracy. The presented works provide some preliminary insight into how common measures of dermal barrier such as cutaneous pH and trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) fluctuate throughout the day and their natural response to changes in temperature and humidity in both acclimated and non-acclimated settings. Additionally, the works pursue how these dermal measures fluctuate following an antimicrobial bath with a common veterinary cleanser and if there are associations with the changes seen to the dermal microbiota. These findings have both implications for future research as well as for working animal decontamination procedures
The Influence of Woody Cover and an Exploration of Raptor Density on Northern Bobwhite Survival in Southern Illinois
Get PDFNorthern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) are a culturally and economically significant game bird characteristic of grassland landscapes throughout their range. Despite the variety of research conducted on this species for nearly a century, populations continue to steadily decline, raising concern for future populations and highlighting the need for region-specific research. My research was conducted at Burning Star State Fish and Wildlife Area in northeastern Jackson County, Illinois from 2020-2022. My research addressed the following two objectives to provide insight on the population ecology of bobwhites at this site: (1) investigate the impact of multiple woody cover types within the home ranges of wintering bobwhites, how that cover may interact with winter severity, and their impacts on pre-breeding season survival, and (2) investigate the density of over-wintering diurnal raptor species between landscape types and discuss how this may be influencing predation risk. For objective 1, I radio-marked 141 individuals of which 102 had ≥ 15 relocations for estimating home-range size, and 127 individuals had ≥ 5 relocations and were used in survival analyses. I used an extended cox proportional hazards global model with continuous variables at the home-range scale. Variables considered included interspersion and juxtaposition index of blackberry, aggregation index of blackberry, and total area of blackberry, early successional forest, trees, and autumn olive. In addition, I used year, winter severity index (a time-dependent covariate), and an interaction term for year and winter severity index. The global model including all variables was retained as the most parsimonious model. Increases in the aggregation index of blackberry, area of autumn olive, and area of early successional forest were associated with increased hazard while increases in the interspersion and juxtaposition index of blackberry, area of blackberry, and area of trees were associated with a reduced hazard (α\u3c 0.05). For objective 2, I conducted 34 point-count surveys of predatory raptors throughout 6 landcover types every two weeks from October 2021 – January 2022. Bald eagles and barred owls were removed from analyses as I either did not credit them as significant predators of bobwhites or were nocturnal species, respectively. Observations from the 6 landcover types were split into two detection models based on whether the landcover type was classified as “open area cover” with a 125 m buffer distance or as “closed canopy cover” with a 75 m buffer distance. A uniform detection function was identified as the most parsimonious model for both the open area cover and closed canopy cover type models. Open area cover had a higher but not statistically significant difference in raptor density. My study demonstrates that woody cover types within the home-ranges of over-wintering bobwhites have strong relationships with the survival of those individuals and that diurnal raptors do not appear to be heavily concentrated in woody landscapes as predicted
TRAINEES’ CHARACTERISTICS AND THEIR IMPACT ON PERCEPTIONS OF MULTICULTURAL TRAINING EXPERIENCES
No full textIn the context of clinical psychology doctoral programs, trainees’ demographic characteristics (e.g., racial identity, program type) as well as other factors (e.g., social justice commitment, exposure to cultural humility within training) have been associated with their reported multicultural training experiences (Beer et al., 2012; Cook et al., 2020; Gregus et al., 2020). Although these experiences may be explained by training practices used by supervisors, along with the degree to which graduate programs incorporate social justice topics into their training (Beer et al., 2012; Upshaw et al., 2020; Wilcox et al., 2023), very little investigation has been done on whether trainees’ characteristics are associated with their evaluations of their multicultural training experiences. This study used an online survey that was distributed to APA-accredited clinical psychology programs across the United States. Evaluations of multicultural training experiences were measured using the Multicultural Training and Education Questionnaire (MTEQ; Wilcox et al., 2021). Participants also responded to questions inquiring about their perceived cultural humility, commitment to social justice, and demographic characteristics. A multiple hierarchical regression revealed that racial identity, program type, commitment to social justice, and perceived cultural humility independently explained a significant variance in trainees’ evaluations of their multicultural training experiences. Implications of the findings and recommendations for future research and training practices are discussed
The Constitutional Conventions of Illinois; An Annotated Bibliography
Get PDFIllinois has called six constitutional conventions, beginning with its statehood in 1818, resulting in four approved state constitutions, approved in 1818, 1847, 1870, and 1970, and two constitutions rejected by voters in 1862 and 1920–1922. Conventions have been called seeking constitutional remedies for various problems that arose as the state’s population grew. These included broad, general issues like the distribution of powers between government branches, the veto power of the governor, slavery, and suffrage, as well as more discrete issues, like improvement of rivers, the contracting out of convict labor, and the many concerns associated with the rapid growth of the Chicago metropolitan area. There currently exists no comprehensive annotated bibliography on the conventions and constitutions of Illinois. The intent of this work is to fill a dearth in the literature regarding Illinois constitutional conventions by providing bibliographic, and, when available, virtual, access to the published materials produced before, during, and after each of Illinois’ six constitutional conventions. This work anticipates the bibliographic needs of anyone wishing to research the state’s constitutional history, gathering together in one document the citations and, when freely available, links to all published materials produced before, during, and after each of Illinois’ six constitutional conventions
Old Mr. Kroupa Had a Farm, Eieio: Establishing a Liberty Interest in 4-H Participation in Kroupa v. Nielsen, 731 F.3d 813 (8th Cir. 2013)
Get PDFIn Kroupa v. Nielsen, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided whether participation in the 4-H organization, and its competitions, was a sufficient right or status under state law to be protected by the Due Process Clause. This Note argues that the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit was correct in holding that 4-H participation is a sufficient right or status deserving protection under the Due Process Clause. Whether participation in 4-H is a protected right or status under the Constitution may have a substantial effect on numerous other activities as courts struggle with the balance between giving educators, coaches, and volunteers the ability to maintain discipline, and the need protecting minors from arbitrary punishments. The Note discusses procedural due process rights in general, as they relate to one’s reputation, and how courts have applied due process analysis to extracurricular activities. The Note also discusses the factual background in Kroupa v. Nielsen, along with the majority and dissenting opinions. Finally, the Note argues that the Eighth Circuit’s decision was correct because it did not depart from prior precedent, as well as identify a proper test to apply in future cases