201 research outputs found
Achieving Foundation Accountability and Transparency: Lessons From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s \u3ci\u3eScorecard\u3c/i\u3e
No full text· The purpose of this article is to help foundations in their accountability and transparency efforts by sharing lessons from one foundation’s journey to develop a scorecard.
· A commitment to funding and sharing the results from rigorous evaluations set the tone for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) accountability.
· The Scorecard is a powerful tool for RWJF to set goals, track organizational effectiveness, and motivate responses to shortcomings.
· Foundations can tailor their scorecard to include what best serves their needs.
· With its Scorecard, RWJF found that comparative and quantitative measures are the most powerful forces to motivate change.
· Setting targets motivates staff to focus their efforts on certain areas and make improvements
LINGUISTIC DOMAINS: KEYS TO THE MAINTENANCE OF JAVANESE
No full textThis paper deals with the language maintenance of Javanese. What most linguists, language planners, activists or official institutions have done so far is to campaign the use of Javanese in certain ‘locales’ or places, especially schools or local government offices. They rarely refer to the original notion of domains, as suggested by Fishman, so that they focus on more ‘locales’ (places or settings) than ‘topics’ (contents of communications). According to Fishman, ‘topic’ is the most crucial regulator of language use in all domains if compared to the other two factors, namely: ‘participants’ and ‘locales’. This paper is questioning whether the language policy on the language maintenance of Javanese having been done so far will be effective to meet the target
The Author-Reader Relationship in Early Modern English Recipes
No full textEarly Modern English medical compilations, printed and published in large quantities, were available to a wide audience – learned physicians and laypeople. According to Wear (2000: 103), these texts constituted “a shared material culture between lay people and medical practitioners”. Therefore, medical compilers had to employ various strategies to adapt their texts to the intended audience.
The aim of this paper is to examine the use of interpersonal strategies in Early Modern English medical recipes. The study will explain whether the differences in the intended audience, learned and lay, are reflected in the texts under examination, i.e., “who speaks [writes] what language to whom and when” (Fishman 1979: 15).Celem proponowanego artykułu jest opisanie strategii komunikacyjnych stosowanych przez autorów angielskich tekstów medycznych powstałych w szesnastym i siedemnastym wieku. Badanie oparte jest na korpusie tekstów medycznych powstałych w języku angielskim w okresie od 1500 do 1700 roku (Early Modern English Medical Texts, EMEMT
Cameroon politics in the post Ahidjo era: economic decline and political reform under Paul Biya, 1999
No full textThis study examines factors, internal and external, which have contributed to Cameroon's economic decline under Paul Biya and have constrained efforts to implement credible political reforms. In pursuing this objective, this study has evaluated, albeit briefly, the nature of Cameroon's economy and politics under Ahmadou Ahidjo, in order to ascertain whether Cameroon's economic decline began under Ahidjo and only became apparent during Biya's presidency or it was triggered solely by flawed policies of the Biya administration. Additionally, particular attention has been paid to attempts or initiatives aimed at resolving Cameroon's economic and political crisis and what impact such corrective measures have had on the well-being of ordinary Cameroonians. The methodology for this study consisted essentially of descriptive and historical analyses of socio-economic and political events and processes believed to be associated with Cameroon's economic and political crisis under both Ahidjo and Biya. Also, vital information related to this study was gleaned from interviews with Cameroonians and foreigners familiar with economic and political developments in Cameroon toward the end of Ahidjo's presidency and the beginning of Biya's administration. Data were gathered through the use of primary and secondary sources on the subject. This study's contribution to scholarship stems from its analysis of a style of governance (pursued by both Ahidjo and Biya) which has been characterized by a dependence on ethnicity, patron client alliances and coalition building. While political stability may have been maintained, such arrangements have ultimately contributed to Cameroon's economic and political decline as such privileged groups have sought to advance themselves economically and politically at the expense of economic growth and development for all Cameroonians. Conclusions drawn from the findings established that Cameroon's seemingly impressive growth rate until 1986 was inflated by the discovery and exploitation of oil; concealing a large and increasingly parasitic state sector, little or no productivity growth in the agricultural sector and daunting infrastructural problems which became apparent under Biya. This study also concludes that flawed policies of the Biya administration have contributed to the crisis. Consequently, attempts to stem Cameroon's economic and political decline have failed because implementing fundamental changes in governance and the economy would end access to resources and privileges benefiting the alliance which has sustained Biya's government very much like it did Ahidjo's
The impact of independent and third party politics on attaining the US presidency: an analysis of the George Wallace, John Anderson and Ross Perot campaigns and implications for voter dealignment, 1996
No full textThis dissertation analyzes the impact of independent and third party politics on the American presidency, emphasizing the 1968 George C. Wallace, the 1980 John B. Anderson, and the 1992 Ross Perot presidential candidacies and implications for voter dealignment. This study examines the history of third parties, the many obstacles that independent and third party candidates encounter in their pursuit of the presidency, the presidential candidacies of Wallace, Anderson, Perot, contemporary voter dealignment, and the call for and the creation of a new political party. Both primary and secondary sources were used in this research. The study's variables were quantitatively tested with existing data from the American National Election Studies ( ANES ) and from primary data obtained from surveys both of registered voters in six counties throughout the state of Georgia, and United We Stand America ( UWSA ) of Georgia members. The findings in the study reveal that not only did the presidential endeavors of Wallace, Anderson, and Perot have a major impact on the presidency, but that their candidacies came about because of extreme voter discontent with the two-party system; i.e. voter dealignment. The study also suggests that this voter dealignment trend is still prevalent today with the rise of independent identification, split-ticket voting, interest groups, and support for third party candidates. This research further shows that, despite voter discontent with the two-party system, the American electorate is nonetheless undecided about the creation and long-term support of a "new" political party to compete with the Republicans and Democrats
Ghana under the structural adjustment program: the impact of divestiture on indigenous private initiatives, 1999
No full textThis study is an assessment of Ghana's most sustained economic reform program (ERP), started in 1983, under the guidance of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Premised on the hypothesis that Ghana's privatization drive under the structural adjustment program has resulted in an upsurge of indigenous private initiative, this study used three evaluative criteria to analyze information and data on Ghana's economy from 1983 to 1997. These are (a) assessing the overall increases or growth in Ghana's economy; (b) evaluating the impact of the reform measures in the reduction of poverty, unemployment and inequality in Ghana; and (c) assessing the extent to which the divestiture push has impacted indigenous private initiatives. The researcher also attempts an explanation of what has become known as 'the Rawlings factor' in Ghana politics, and how this phenomenon, born out of a curious mix of charisma, populism and decentralization, seem to have given Ghana the much-needed political stability to carry out its economic rehabilitation programs. The findings of the study suggest that: (a) Since.1983, Ghana's economy has responded rather favorably to the adjustment policies. While Ghana had been experiencing negative growth rates in the immediate pre�adjustment years, an average annual growth rate of 5% was recorded for the first eight years of reforms (1984-1991), and since 1992, Ghana's growth rate has hovered around 3.5% per annum. (b) Despite the introduction of user fees in social services like education, and health care delivery and their initial negative effects on the rural folks and the very poor in Ghana, overall, the incidence of poverty has been reduced from 43% of Ghana's rural population to 34%. (c) Although foreign capital interests dominate in the acquisition of the mainly capital-intensive enterprises divested by the Ghana government, the data show a modest presence of indigenous Ghanaian initiative in acquiring and successfully managing several of the privatized ventures. A stronger and more prolonged economic recovery is needed to improve the investment and savings capacity of the Ghanaian private sector to enable it to play a more meaningful role in the recovery process
Party systems: an exploratory study of the impact of the two-party framework on the political attitude and behavior of the electorate in the Nigerian Third Republic, 1996
No full textThe study examines the records of the Nigerian party systems in creating a propitious or volatile political environment for political campaigns and elections. It brings together the literature and cross-sectional survey data on individual and group political attitudes and behavior, and on the effect of the Nigeria party system on political attitudes of the electorate. Why is party competition in Nigeria strongly associated with ethnic belonging and why is it accompanied with so much violence? This study explores the question by illuminating and probing the motivations and incentives of the party systems, their patterns of political socialization and mobilization, as well as their impact on the electorate. It also approaches the question by focusing on political culture which defines the context in which changes occur and the style they take. In the final analysis, the study argues that party identification or loyalty and political behavior are influenced and shaped not just by political culture but also, and perhaps more importantly, by the nature of the party system. It provides cross-sectional data with which to develop or test a causal model of relationships between political structure (such as party system, civic culture of the Nigeria public) on the one hand and variability in the incidence of violence accompanying political campaigns and elections and the variability of the effect of ethnicity and religion on political campaigns and elections. The findings are compatible with the theories on two-party systems. While the multiplicity of parties in the First and Second Republics had a destabilizing and weakening effect on the political system, the two party framework did not have such an impact. The membership of the two parties in the Third republic cut across ethnic and religious lines and created some political ties that connected individuals and communities in Nigeria and increased their shared interests. All these helped to reduce the incidences of political violence and the effect of ethnicity in political campaigns and voting behavior. They also helped in the resolution or insulation of political conflicts and disputes
The economic community of West African states intervention in the Liberian Civil War: its implication for West Africa, 1998
No full textMore often than not, when regional powers involve themselves in a country where conflict is present, there is always the implication that intervention can: (a) buttress an otherwise fragile regime; (b) assist in neutralizing threats; (c) allow a regime to consolidate power; (d) help rejuvenate the state; (e) extend the conflict; and (f) bring conflict to an end or quickly reduce its scale. The purposes of intervention vary depending on the interests of the regional powers and the strengths and motivation of contending groups engaged in civil conflict. This study demonstrates that the economic community of West African State's initiative brought an end to the Liberian civil war and helped forge regional unity among West African States. Since the creation of modern Liberia in 1821, the country has experienced repression, denial of basic rights, and socioeconomic inequalities. These conditions set the stage for the military takeover of April 12, 1980 led by Master-sergeant Samuel K. Doe who overthrew the William Tolbert regime. Doe's continuation of his predecessors' policies and administrative style, combined with his own lack of experience in governance, and dismal performance, promoted discontent among the Liberian majority, such as the Krus Krelles, Grebo, and Gbande. On December 24, 1989 civil war broke out. This study identifies internal factors leading to civil war such as Liberia's historical legacy, the nature and basis of the Liberian government, its policies, and the means and effectiveness with which the Liberian government enforced its authority. Hoping to resolve the Liberian conflict, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) formed a monitoring group, Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), to intervene and bring the war to an end. The study's conclusion is that ECOMOG has the potential to bring peace, stability, economic growth and good governance to Liberia, and help forge unity among West African states. The war has created an enormous refugee problem and economic hardship for Liberia, and has threatened the health, security, and stability of the West African region. This study recommends that the gap between the impoverished masses and the elite in Liberia be bridged
Decision involvement and teacher job satisfaction in Atlanta league of professional schools and selected non-league schools, 1997
No full textThe purpose of the study was to compare decision involvement and job satisfaction of teachers in the Atlanta League of Professional Schools (ALPS) with teachers in non-League schools. Variables were measured using the Decision Involvement Analysis (DIA), a detailed questionnaire which measured decision making and job satisfaction. Surveys were sent to 1,083 teachers in eighteen elementary, seven middle, and four high schools. Of the 1,083 teachers receiving surveys, 545 were returned for a response rate of 50 percent. For purposes of analysis and comparison, the population was divided into teachers in League of Professional Schools and non-League schools. Six research questions were analyzed using t tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson r., and stepwise multiple regression analysis. Findings indicated: (1) No difference in decision involvement in both categories of schools; (2)Teachers in both categories of schools were satisfied with their jobs; (3) Elementary teachers were the most involved in decision making and most satisfied in their jobs; (4)Teachers ages 50-59 were the most satisfied in their jobs;(5) Correlations were found for decision involvement and job satisfaction in both categories of schools; (6) School type (elementary) had the strongest influence on decision involvement and job satisfaction in both categories of schools. The study concluded with several recommendations growing out of the findings
Retinitis Pigmentosa GTPase Regulator (RPGR) protein isoforms in mammalian retina:insights into X-linked Retinitis Pigmentosa and associated ciliopathies
No full textMutations in the cilia-centrosomal protein Retinitis Pigmentosa GTPase Regulator (RPGR) are a frequent cause of retinal degeneration. The RPGR gene undergoes complex alternative splicing and encodes multiple protein isoforms. To elucidate the function of major RPGR isoforms (RPGR 1-19 and RPGR ORF15), we have generated isoform-specific antibodies and examined their expression and localization in the retina. Using sucrose-gradient centrifugation, immunofluorescence and co-immunoprecipitation methods, we show that RPGR isoforms localize to distinct sub-cellular compartments in mammalian photoreceptors and associate with a number of cilia-centrosomal proteins. The RCC1-like domain of RPGR, which is present in all major RPGR isoforms, is sufficient to target it to the cilia and centrosomes in cultured cells. Our findings indicate that multiple isotypes of RPGR may perform overlapping yet somewhat distinct transport-related functions in photoreceptors
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