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Public Transportation in the Middle East: A Study on the Sustainability and Efficacy of Taxis in Amman and the Future of Public Transportation
Get PDFThis research aims to explore the current public transportation status in the city of Amman, Jordan. Many Middle Eastern cities in the Levant are under critical urban transformations. This is due to both the increasing investment in infrastructure from countries located mostly in the Gulf States and through the mass destruction and neglect from internal conflicts. Amman is the only city in the Levant Region that is growing, and with a population of roughly 4 million, there is no adequate public transportation system in the city. This research includes a review of literature in urban studies and transportation, drawing on the theories of neoliberalism and public transportation. Cities such as Amman that undergo neoliberal transformations prioritize a lifestyle of excessive consumption for the elite, which ultimately relies on global capital and huge reserves of money from wealthier countries. As a result, the city is further formed for the needs of the elite.
The researcher hypothesizes that whether due to the prioritization of the middle and upper classes of Amman and their consumption of personal vehicles or the disorganized structure of public transportation ministries within Amman, public transportation will likely not improve in the near future. This study’s significance is related to Amman’s exponential and unprecedented population growth in large part to the Syrian crisis, and how redefining the city will affect its citizens socially and economically. This research aims to find a sustainable solution for the future. Data was collected through interviews with government officials and taxi owners, questionnaires distributed to a random sample, and GPS technology following the movement of taxis. This study contributes both qualitative and quantitative perspectives of the taxi system in Jordan to broaden the academic discussion of public transportation in the region
Meeting Their Needs: A Comprehensive Internationalization Analysis of The University of San Diego\u27s Undergraduate Student Mobility Programs
Get PDFThis research seeks to identify the barriers that undergraduate students at the University of San Diego are encountering when deciding to study abroad. Existing published student data outcomes present an overall picture of the advantages and disadvantages of student mobility program types based on the undergraduate study abroad experience. Outcomes of faculty and administration interviews provide a richer perspective of student mobility and how it fits into the overall comprehensive internationalization picture of the institution.
The intention of this study is to focus on institutional internationalization solely at the student mobility level. Key findings from this research demonstrate that while there are many opportunities for undergraduate study abroad students at USD, there are also various barriers that hinder their experience. These barriers include financial constraints, availability of course credit, and safety abroad during the changing geopolitical climate. The American Council on Education’s (2012) model and Jane Knight’s (2000) Internationalization Tracking Measure will be applied to illuminate the challenges that students at the University of San Diego are confronted with during the study abroad process. Findings from this research will show possible solutions which will help increase education abroad participation. All six elements of the ACE (2012) approach are critical to the success of comprehensive internationalization at USD. Education abroad will be the chosen lens for this analysis in order to determine how to meet the needs of students seeking a global experience during their undergraduate career
A Well-Rounded Experience: Connecting the Home Campus to the Study Abroad Experience and The Study Abroad Experience to the Home Campus
Get PDFMany small liberal arts colleges across the United States partner with third-party providers or foreign institutions to provide their students with an opportunity to study abroad. Denison University, a small liberal arts school in Ohio, traditionally sends 50% of its student body to study abroad before they graduate. Since students have the option to spend a semester or two participating in study abroad, it is important for the students to be well prepared, for the experience to be integrated into their overall Denison education and for the students to transition back to campus successfully. To determine how students were preparing for study abroad and transitioning back onto their home campus, literature was reviewed and then interviews were conducted with 30 study abroad returnee students at Denison University as well three faculty and staff. The research demonstrated a need to design a program that connects the study abroad experience to the home campus mission, and revealed suggestions for what components should be included in the program as well as recommendations for the overall design of the program. The paper does not provide a complete and ready-to-use program design, but instead the paper demonstrates—through research—the need for a predeparture and reentry program and provides a basic example of what a program would look like that could be further developed and built upon. Using experiential learning theory as a guiding principle, the program aims to enable students to deepen their learning before, during, and after study abroad with a focus on identity awareness and global citizenship. The program’s goal is to help connect students’ study abroad experiences to the Denison mission, to the Denison academics, and to the potential careers of the students
Gëm Sa Bopp: a Case Study of Peace Corps Senegal Girls’ Camps
No full textThis research explores the design, curriculum, and monitoring & evaluation efforts of Peace Corps Senegal Girls’ Camps through the lens of Youth Program Leadership and Design theory. The literature review reveals a research gap in youth camp programming and hopes to draw attention to this fact to promote more literature on this subject in the future. Interviews were conducted to gain information on the design and monitoring & evaluation experiences of camp facilitators from the 2015 and 2016 PCS Girls’ Camps. This research draws upon data collected from literature, interviews, personal experience, and relevant documents from Peace Corps Senegal to promote empowerment and leadership building curriculum and improve monitoring & evaluation efforts. This capstone seeks to serve as a resource for future PCV facilitators of youth camps in Peace Corps Senegal
Sustainable Tourism Study through Solimar International
Get PDFThis inquiry explores a pragmatic approach of sustainable tourism and its application as a transformative development instrument. It seeks a general understanding of the global tourism sector, looks specifically at an individual tourism enterprise, Solimar International, and examines rural tourism, and its proposed standards. It discusses the opportunities and threats to the culture, ecology, and livelihoods of the residents of destination tourism and the unique experience to geotravelers. It analyzes the theoretical development history of tourism and the integrated approach of Solimar International as a leading agency in the tourism industry sector. And it seeks to understand a new type of tourism that is welcomed by geotravelers. It’s a small research project hoping to produce learning about sustainable tourism for community based micro-economies that create livelihoods for the residents and authentic experiential tourism for geotravelers without damage to the environment and culture
Health Budget Tracking at Local Levels: A Training Manual for Uganda’s Youth Leaders and Advocates
Get PDFUganda’s decentralization policy was introduced in 1997 under the Local Government Act to transfer power from central government to local government levels. The main purpose was to promote participation of all citizens in decision making processes to enhance responsibility and accountable monitoring of services delivered to citizens at all levels. The policy “aimed to achieve efficiency and effectiveness” in services delivered and managed at lower levels (Kebba & Ntanda, 2005). But how were citizens at local levels going to participate in accountability processes? How would they monitor the quality of services delivered under this policy framework? In what ways were they to be included in decision making processes?
The core of this capstone is a training manual on health budget tracking that targets young leaders and advocates at the district and sub-county levels. The manual proposes a step by step budget tracking guide to assess the effectiveness of the decentralization policy in achieving its objectives. It specifically focuses on healthcare services delivered to citizens at the local levels while at the same time illustrating how the social accountability method works. Situated in Uganda, this study merges my reflections and learnings through research and practice about budget tracking as a social accountability method used in citizen-led advocacy. The manual is divided into five sections with an introduction to youth engagement in social accountability, an overview to budget tracking, and information about the health sector and power structures at the local to central government levels in Uganda. Ultimately, the paper also suggests some actions users can take at the end of the budget tracking process
Using Feedback to Critically Evaluate and Develop as Teachers
No full textThis lecture discusses the importance of being critical of one’s own teaching and using feedback in the classroom, and teaching context as a whole, to assess one\u27s teaching. Participants will explore some techniques of asking for feedback in ways to ensure the most relevant and useful feedback
Exploring the Strengths and Challenges of Co-creation of Impact Assessments/ Analysis In Rural Communities: Focus: Hotel con Corazón in Granada, Nicaragua
Get PDFHotel con Corazón, a boutique hotel and social enterprise located in Granada, Nicaragua, through its Foundation, invests 100 percent of its profits in local education programs to empower students, their families and the community to build brighter futures. The Foundation works within a rural locality 20 minutes outside of the city, where the majority of the 3,900 inhabitants live in moderate to severe economic poverty. Completing its eighth year of working in the Las Lagunas community, the Foundation was motivated to carry out an impact assessment in order to learn more about the experiences of the different groups of stakeholders involved and improve the programs.
From October 2016 to April 2017, I worked with the program staff at Hotel con Corazón to design and implement an impact assessment, a study that investigates changes brought about by an intervention (a program, project, activity, etc.) seeking to understand both the positive and negative effects. We intended to use an innovative methodology and research tool that was designed in the Netherlands, where I had spent the preceding three months learning about the process. In Nicaragua there are approximately 3,500 NGOs working towards alleviating and ending the social problems that many Nicaraguans face. Many of these NGOs are founded and run by foreigners and use a more top-down approach, instead of a bottom-up framework, utilizing local knowledge and expertise to create more sustainable solutions. Because of this experience, I framed this research paper around the central question: How can co-creation processes in impact assessments serve as a tool for empowerment, capacity building and sustainable solutions in rural communities?
The impact assessment included interviewing 100 stakeholders and also a conducting a small focus group involving seven community members. After the evaluation was complete, I reviewed existing literature on the topics of co-creation and participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), and interviewed several practitioners – both from Nicaragua and from the Netherlands – about their experiences with these methodologies and approaches in conducting collaborative evaluations in the community. Their stories illustrate the benefits and necessity of co-creation in conducting impact assessments in rural communities
Exploring Rwanda\u27s Continuing Education Capacity for Information Communications Technology (ICT) Skills
Get PDFAs Rwanda strives to become the ICT hub of the region, it will need to develop its greatest asset: its people, in ICT skills. This exploratory study used 30 semi-structured interviews, observation and secondary data from different sources, schools, students and NGOs, to answer a simple question: how does an everyday, working adult Rwandan learn new computers skills for a new computer age? This study found that a wide variety of suppliers fulfil different niches that give prospective students a range of prices, content, schedules, certification, practices, etc., and that demand is increasing for a host of different reasons. It also described accessibility for different disadvantaged groups, specifically women, the poor, the disabled, the uneducated and illiterate, and those living outside Kigali. All of them face different challenges - for example for women it was more socio-cultural and for those living in rural areas it was infrastructure. Finally, quality was also touched upon, with generally healthy indicators but common themes found in terms of current and future challenges like inadequate formal education, and supply-side costs
When the Books Hit Back: Perceived Stress in University Students
Get PDFUniversity students are a particularly high-risk population for mental illness due to high-stress levels. The university students of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa are no exception to that trend. This study surveyed and interviewed university students, and interviewed various mental health professionals from the Durban region of South Africa. The data was analyzed and used to better understand the current status of South African university students’ perceived stress, as well as the causes of their stress levels. Results showed no significant differences among demographic groups and perceived stress levels, but further research is needed to draw more reliable conclusions. In the future, such information can be used to create better stress prevention strategies and to reallocate resources where they are needed most