Search results for: rais aug 2023 in All Content

Comparative Analysis of the Thermal Performance of Selected Public School Classroom Buildings in Lagos, Nigeria

Comparative Analysis of the Thermal Performance of Selected Public School Classroom Buildings in Lagos, Nigeria

Author(s): Adeyemi Oginni / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: hermal Performance; Building Envelope; Thermal Comfort, Public Primary Schools; Lagos Metropolis

Limited research has been carried out on school buildings in Africa, especially for children below the age of 11. The aim of this research was to assess the thermal performance of the building envelopes of selected public school classrooms in Lagos Metropolis, in order to have an assessment of the impact of thermal performance (measurement of the environmental factors) on pupils’ comfort. A two stage method of sampling was used; a purposive method to select 5 samples from each of the 6 educational districts in Lagos and then random selection of schools. Questionnaires were administered to 5 pupils per school. Subjective and objective measurements were carried out according to class II field experiment method and in consonance with ASHRAE’s (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning, Engineers) standards. Results showed that classrooms on the mainland had a significantly higher performance than those on the Island. Recommendations were made for future provisions of classroom designs to be suited to the microclimate of their locations and tailored towards the enhancement of activities at the hottest periods of the day and year, and no single design template should be adopted for use on various sites.

An Analysis of the Impact of Economic Growth, Political Instability and Exchange Rate on Tourism Growth in South Africa

An Analysis of the Impact of Economic Growth, Political Instability and Exchange Rate on Tourism Growth in South Africa

Author(s): Daniel Francois Meyer / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Economic growth; political instability; South Africa; tourism;

Globally the tourism sector is one of the main economic sectors in attracting and generating foreign revenue. The sector accounts for seven percent of global foreign revenue as an export industry. In South Africa the low growth environment over the last decade has resulted in the need to find alternative economic sectors in support to traditional sectors such as mining and manufacturing, to drive higher levels of economic growth in the country. The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between tourism as the dependent variable, and economic growth, exchange rate changes and political stability, as independent variables. The study region selected is South Africa, which is classified as a developing country and is in many cases seen as the proxy for emerging economies. This study followed a quantitative research approach with time series data from 1996 to 2017. The relationships between the variables were analysed by means of the Johansen cointegration, Vector Error Correction and Granger causality econometric models. The results indicated that there are both long and short-run relationships between the variables. A number of policy recommendations that could potentially contribute to the extension of the role of tourism in development include improved political and currency stability in the country as well as the relaxation of visa requirements.

Revisiting Hawes: Social Capital and Racial Disparity in Incarceration Rates

Revisiting Hawes: Social Capital and Racial Disparity in Incarceration Rates

Author(s): Daniel D. Oladejo / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: mass incarceration; social capital; racial diversity; inequality

Over the past twenty-five years, the U.S prison system has experienced continuous substantial increment in the prison population. At the same time, incarceration rates have risen by more than 300%, a phenomenon that many analysts have referred to as mass incarceration (DeFina & Hannon, 2013). This study investigates the various divergent impacts of social capital on policy egalitarianism in state outcomes. Notably, this paper reviews the relationships connecting social capital and incarceration rates, while analyzing the level of racial disparities in incarceration rates in the American states using a state-level panel data spanning 1980 to 2015. Building on work by Hawes (2017), we present a theoretical description and empirical examination for how social capital functions uniquely under different racial contexts using a newer dataset. The results suggest that there is a positive correlation between social capital and the incarceration of many African American which is more profound in some states than others.

Embracing Children’s Right to Decisional Privacy in Proceedings under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth):

Embracing Children’s Right to Decisional Privacy in Proceedings under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth):

Author(s): Georgina Dimopoulos / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Privacy and family law are both dynamic, subjects of passionate debate, and constantly changing with developments in society, policy and technology. This paper develops a normative understanding of the meaning and value of privacy in the context of proceedings under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (Family Law Act) that embraces children’s decision-making autonomy. The focus is privacy’s decisional dimension, which has received scant scholarly attention in the Australian family law context. Recognising and respecting children’s (as distinct from their parents’) decision-making autonomy, and children’s right to make decisions that might conflict with their parents’ (and the state’s) wishes, remain significant, and unresolved, challenges for the Australian family courts. This paper explores these issues using court authorisation of special medical procedures for children diagnosed with gender dysphoria as a case study. This paper argues that the construction of children as vulnerable to harm and the hierarchical nature of the parent-child relationship under the Family Law Act, coupled with judicial approaches to determining the ‘best interests of the child’ as the paramount consideration, have inhibited the Family Court of Australia from embracing children’s decisional privacy. This paper addresses concerns about the perceived conflictual consequences of doing so. It emphasises the relationality of children’s rights, the significance of the family unit, and the public interest in promoting children as active participants in proceedings as a policy goal of family law.

Forensic Investigation of Homicide or Bodily Injury of a Newborn by His Mother

Forensic Investigation of Homicide or Bodily Injury of a Newborn by His Mother

Author(s): Petronela Diana Ferariu / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: bodily injury; crime scene; forensic; homicide; infanticide; investigation;

In criminal law from Romania, the offense of homicide or bodily injury of the newborn committed by the mother is a special mode of homicide, with specific sanctioning rules in conditions of physical or psychological disorders. In our country, the term of homicide of a newborn has a narrower meaning than the term infanticide. Infanticide refers to murder a child and is considered in the laws of other states as a form of qualified murder. The homicide of the newborn does not refer to the suppression of the life of any child, but only to the homicide of his newborn by his mother, immediately after birth but no later than 24 hours. Forensic investigation involves expanded and complex activity, caused usually by the mother's actions from the moment of birth time to the moment of mutilation, hiding or abandoning the corpse. It is necessary to reconstruct the crime scene by identifying the place where the birth occurred, where the mother committed the offense, the area where the newborn corpse was discovered, parts of the body or traces that indicate that it was incinerated, buried, devoured by animals and so forth. Very important as well is the identification of the trail between the place of birth to the one where the corpse was abandoned or hidden, the place where the tools used to commit the crime were discovered, objects that were used at transporting the corpse or suppressing the life of the newborn as well as issues related to the legal medicine.

Prevention and Combating Corruption in the States of the World. Republic of China

Prevention and Combating Corruption in the States of the World. Republic of China

Author(s): Raheem Young / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: bribery; corruption; fight; measures; prevention;

In China, one of the world's largest powers, anti-corruption legislation is well defined. In this sense, a number of normative acts contain provisions regarding the fight against this harmful phenomenon, capable of shaking the economy and the rule of law at world level. Provisions related to the prevention and combating of corruption in the People's Republic of China are also found in other secondary legislation, judicial practice and the Code of Criminal Procedure of that state. In order to repress corruption, the Supreme Court of China and the Prosecutor General's Office in China have published a series of prior recommendations on the prevention, detection and sanctioning of these reprehensible acts committed by civil servants or by senior officials high. Also, such collaborations have also been carried out to prevent and combat corruption in the private sector. In order to meet this goal, China has ratified the provisions of several conventions on corruption. This paper aims to highlight the legislative framework on preventing and combating corruption in the People's Republic of China and the steps taken or to be taken by Beijing leaders for this purpose. Also, in the present paper will be listed the main normative acts related to the prevention and fight against corruption, existing at present in this state.

Experiences, Choice and Well-Being: An Economics of Psychological Energy

Experiences, Choice and Well-Being: An Economics of Psychological Energy

Author(s): David Allen Axelrod / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Impression; Expression' Internal Environment; Poverty Trap;

This paper proposes an economic model of psychological energy used toward the production of experiences. A review of ideas at the nexus of economics and psychology, and how they lead to the thesis of this paper, is presented. A simple mathematical economic model is developed, with two main uses of psychological energy toward well-being. These are the generation of impressions (inward experiences that are sense-like) and expression (outward experiences that are action-like). Choosing is understood as investing energy to change the probabilities of an outcome. The model optimizes energy use between intensity of impressions and capacity for expression. For a fixed energy level, as experiential intensity increases resources are substituted out of decision making and implementation, leading to choices of lower utility. If the material losses are substantial during an experience, the share of psychological energy used to modify impressions will increase, and away from influencing seemingly random external outcomes. Over multiple periods, this generates a feedback loop where the person feels increasingly disempowered, and thus less concerned about making better choices. This feedback loop can be stopped by an external entity providing sufficient resources for the person to experience greater expression.

Determinants of Entertainment and Apparel Expenditures in an American Household

Determinants of Entertainment and Apparel Expenditures in an American Household

Author(s): Belinda Luna-Pulido,Kruti Lehenbauer / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Consumer behavior; household purchases; BLS DataSet; STATA 15; Regression Analysis; Log-Lin Regression;

Distinct characteristics of households play an important role in the decisions made regarding expenditures. This study identifies what specific characteristics of households drive the decisions to make specific purchases such as entertainment and apparel using the Consumer Expenditure Survey Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, 2018) for the years 2016-17. First, we follow the log-lin regression model methodology to identify if there are clear disparities in purchasing decisions based upon the gender of the head of household (HH) and then present sub-models to identify the determinants of expenditures on apparel and entertainment for a household based upon characteristics such as income of the household, age of the head of the household, family size, number of children below age five in the household, number of earners in the household, education of the head of the household, and race and ethnicity of the head of the household as our primary independent variables. Primary model results show that there are clear differences in the determinants of total expenditures based on the sex of the head of the household. Our sub-models show that male-headed households spend more on entertainment, whereas female-headed households spend more on apparel than their counterparts.

Affirmative Action in Post-Secondary Education: Contrasting Approaches in Brazil and Canada

Affirmative Action in Post-Secondary Education: Contrasting Approaches in Brazil and Canada

Author(s): Michelli Aparecida Daros,Diandra Singh / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: affirmative action; post-secondary education; Brazil; Canada; racialized minorities;

This paper compares and contrasts approaches to affirmative action that are intended to increase access to post-secondary institutions to students racialized as Black and Indigenous in Brazil and Canada, respectively. Both of these demographics are underrepresented in post-secondary institutions in these countries, as a result of the legacy of colonization and systemic racism within these nations. To explore various approaches to affirmative action a comparison of several documents are made including: the Brazilian Federal Law 11.645/ 2008, which obliges the addition of the History and Culture of Afro-Brazilians and Indigenous people to the national curriculum; the Brazilian Federal Law 12.711/2012, which supports access to federal universities and other federal educational institutions through quotas (best known as the "Quotas’ Law"); and the Truth and Reconciliation Final Summary Report (2015), which provides 94 calls to action for the Canadian government to redress the issues created by the residential school system. Through document analysis, a list of affirmative actions is compiled, followed by an analysis of their implementation. Moreover, data related to racialized students who have benefited from these approaches, highlight the importance of affirmative actions to build more inclusive democratic systems.

Teenage Pregnancy: Time for Change and Action

Teenage Pregnancy: Time for Change and Action

Author(s): Chelsea Campbell,Kruti Lehenbauer / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Teenage childbearing; birth rates; socioeconomic outcomes;

Although the teenage pregnancy rate in the United States has declined over the years, it is still higher than the teenage pregnancy rates in other industrialized countries. This paper attempts to identify the types of changes that have occurred between 1994 and 2017 by comparing the results of a 1996 study by Ventura, Martin, Matthews & Clarke with the results obtained using the 2017 National Natality Dataset obtained from the Center of Disease Control via the National Center of Health Statistics. The new data from 2017 demonstrates that the proportions of teenage births have gone down over the past few years, and that the racial/ethnicity component of teenage childbearing is also showing a narrowing trend. Even though we recognize the downward trend in teenage pregnancy, the concerns regarding the long-term socioeconomic outcomes arising from teenage births are still at large. We conduct a quantitative Logit analysis to identify what factors increase the probability of teenage motherhood in the United States and also conduct a short analysis of relevant existing public policies to provide recommendations for improvements that could potentially reduce the risk factors of teenage pregnancy in the United States.

Impact of Psycho-Social Predictors on the Quality of Life of the Elderly in Pakistan

Impact of Psycho-Social Predictors on the Quality of Life of the Elderly in Pakistan

Author(s): Naqeeb Shah,Basharat Hussain Basharat Hussain,Samiullah Paracha,Muhammad Shakeel Ahmad / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Quality of Life; Life Satisfaction; Self-Esteem; Leisure Activity;

This study was aimed to analyze the Quality of Life of the elderly with regard to socio-economic conditions and psycho-social perspectives in Peshawar, Pakistan. In the present review, the focus has been made to examine the impacts of various predictors on the quality of life. A multiple indicator approach, which was based on PLS-SEM, was used to assess the impact of different psycho-socio-economic and demographic indicators on the psychological well-being of the elderly. Hypotheses were planned and evaluated for each dimension in the analysis. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Two standard inventories: Scale with Life Satisfaction and Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale were adopted and evaluated as a composite outcome measure “Quality of Life”, employing Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling technique. The coefficient in the model showed that Social Circle, Health and General Activity have a significant contribution to the Quality of Life. The findings of the study indicated that the relationship between the explanatory variables and outcome variable was strong in the model. All constructs collectively were accounted for 68% of the amount of variance in the construct of Quality of Life. The result exhibited that the Friends and Family construct was the strongest determinant for Quality of Life and Psychological wellbeing in the retired elderly.

A Culture of Violence? Women in Twentieth Century Bengal

A Culture of Violence? Women in Twentieth Century Bengal

Author(s): Senjuti Jash / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: women; patriarchy; superstition; caste; class; culture;

Violence is one of the primeval instincts of human kind. It is not restricted by spatio-temporal frontiers and majority of human beings, irrespective of their gender, age, nationality, orientation, etc. are subjected to some form of violence during their lives. However, as the societal conditions have always enabled the subjugation of the “weak” by the “powerful”, violence against women has been identified globally as one of the most systematic and widespread human rights violations. Using three short stories authored by Jagadish Gupta, Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay, and Mahasweta Devi in twentieth century Bengal as case studies, this paper seeks to examine the diverse trajectories of violence perpetrated against women in the aforesaid period. Analysing particular modes of violence like dowry-based homicide, witch-hunting, and rape as political instrument of oppression, this study intends to qualify Michael Taussig’s thesis on “culture of terror” by situating it against the wider backdrop of the “culture of violence” and the discourses of resistance that simultaneously emerged in twentieth century Bengal.

Transparency, Accountability and Participation through Social Audit: Case of MGNREGA in Sikkim, India

Transparency, Accountability and Participation through Social Audit: Case of MGNREGA in Sikkim, India

Author(s): Feba Varghese / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Transparency; Accountability; Participation, Social Audit;

Transparency, accountability and participation (TAP) are some essential elements for ensuring democratic governance. Social audit is an operational instrument to reduce corruption by empowering people to scrutinize public expenses, detect corruption, and ensure accountability. Social audit is one of the robust element of MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) in India as they work through the Panchayat, and stimulate the public to participate with a sense of communal accountability. At the state level even five years after the issue of operational guidelines, we witness wide variations in the quality of social audits. Different states have adopted their own models and while some of them are successful, some of the states have still not set up and some are in the process of setting up an independent social audit unit. The Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) model of social audit in the state of Sikkim which is not widely discussed in literature is the focus of the study. This research attempts to study the efficacy of Social audit as a tool to bring Transparency, Accountability and Participation in MGNREGA taking the case of Sikkim.

On the Political Economy of the European Union

On the Political Economy of the European Union

Author(s): Julia M. Puaschunder,Martin Gelter / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: AI; Bicameral parliament; Big data; Electoral; European Union; political economy;

Political economy concerns historical, legal and heterodox economics analysis of complex systems. This article attempts to analyze the current state of the European Union from historical, legal and interdisciplinary economics perspectives. Historically, the ancient Athenian democracy, the Holy Roman Empire and the early formation of the United States serve as examples of early innovative legal constructs of their times that were sui generis and share key features with the current European Union. Regarding legal developments, this paper discusses the bicameral parliamentary structure, electoral processes and populist pressures. The future of the European Union economy is likely to see an AI (r)evolution shaping markets and rising big data revenues. This develop necessitates the creation of a fifth fundamental freedom of data transfer within the European Union, as well as taxation of growth generated by big data. Heterodox economic growth theories will increasingly have to account for this growth.

Ubuntu for Social Entrepreneurship Education

Ubuntu for Social Entrepreneurship Education

Author(s): Adri Du Toit / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: entrepreneurial education; purposeful education; qualification; social entrepreneurship

The value created for individuals and communities through social entrepreneurship is increasingly reported in research. Still, the perception that the purpose of entrepreneurship is only for individual or economic gain persists. This narrow perception needs to be expanded to include recognition of social entrepreneurship as a distinctive form of entrepreneurship, together with its broader purpose and the numerous benefits associated with it. The value-creation purpose of social entrepreneurship education can ameliorate numerous socio-economic problems experienced in many communities across the globe. In Africa, where similar problems are profuse, the need for social entrepreneurship is mounting. Therefore, the current conceptual paper explored how the African philosophy of ubuntu can contribute to a broader understanding of the value that social entrepreneurship can create for individuals and their communities. One approach to expand general perceptions is to disseminate knowledge and understanding in this regard, using entrepreneurial education. Gert Biesta's theory on educational purpose, focusing on qualification, socialization, and subjectification, was utilized as a framework to analyze and compare the purpose of social entrepreneurship and ubuntu for entrepreneurial education. Subsequently, recommendations were formulated for including and expanding purposeful learning for social entrepreneurship as part of entrepreneurial education in Africa.

Climate Stabilization Taxation-and-Bonds Strategy Adjusted for Consumption

Climate Stabilization Taxation-and-Bonds Strategy Adjusted for Consumption

Author(s): Julia M. Puaschunder / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Climate Change; Climate Stabilization; Economics

Current climate change mitigation and adaptation financing efforts are calling for innovative green investment strategies. An emerging literature and awareness on the economic gains and losses of a warming globe being distributed unequally between countries can serve as novel basis of redistribution schemes. A taxation-and-bonds strategy over the entire world could fund climate change alleviation. A financial asset transfer could be enacted in form of tax-debt mechanisms. Proposed taxation and bonds strategy could aid in broad-based and long-term market incentivization of a transition to a clean energy economy. Strategies could feature some countries’ financing green bonds via carbon taxation, while other countries are climate bonds premium recipients. The bonds recipients would be funded by the climate taxation countries. The bonds could be tradable and issued controlled by global governance institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the United Nations or the World Trade Organization. In most redistribution schemes with market incentives, such as – for example – the cap-and-trade emissions trading system, the CO2 emissions levels are addressed. This article advocates for attention to potential economic gains from a warming globe as a source of assets for redistribution. These gains could be redistributed to areas and industries of the world that are clearly losing from climate change immediately. Contrary to most economic redistribution models concerning climate change that primarily weight in relative CO2 emissions for production, this paper argues for attention to CO2 emissions consumption levels. The trade-adjusted consumption-based CO2 emissions levels appear fairer in the judgment what countries have a higher responsibility to fund the burden of climate change. Market-mechanisms – such as consumption taxation and price mark-ups for consumers – are discussed as additional market strategies to redistribute costs, risks and losses implied by climate change.

Health Capital and Health Wealth

Health Capital and Health Wealth

Author(s): Julia M. Puaschunder / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Banking; Economics; Finance; Health; Healthcare; Investment

We live in the age of responsible investment. The time for a reset of finance after the 2008 World Financial Recession and the 2020 global pandemic has come. In the aftermath of two major economic crises, the societal call for responsible market behavior has reached unprecedented momentum. As the novel Coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) hit the world, the external economic shock has widespread implications for finance and economics. In the eye of a worldwide healthcare crisis impacting economics on a massive scale, the need for understanding the connection between health and capital on the individual, nuclear family level, corporate community standards and conduct as well as the overall economy became blatant. Interestingly, in the individual finance and investment literature, personal expenses due to sickness and work impairments due to chronic diseases are hardly mentioned. On the family level, unhealthy individual dynamics may lead to additional cognitive complexity that deters from reaching full productive potential as well as may cause critical life events, such as divorce, which can have drastic financial outcomes with long-term implications. On the corporate level, COVID-19 has opened the gates for corporations focusing on the overall health status of employees fostering prevention and health safety precautions as never before in the history of industrialization. Lastly, over entire populations, there is a strong connection between health levels and productivity, which directly influences the Gross Domestic Product of countries. Despite all the mentioned connections, hardly any economic literature concerns the dependence of health on the Keynesian multiplier. Governmental money spent on healthcare may have a multiplied multiplier effect on the overall economy but – to this day – economic literature remains scarce on the economic effect of healthcare-dependent multipliers. Attention to the importance of health and well-being for individual financial success, familial functioning as well as entire populations and overlapping generations may innovatively leverage health capital and health wealth into a category of Socially Responsible Investment and Sustainable Finance in the post-COVID-19 era.

Perspectives in Criminology

Perspectives in Criminology

Author(s): Nelu Dorinel Popa / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: criminology; interdisciplinary science

In order to further prove its relevance and impact on other fields, criminology needs to follow some trends and, at the same time, create chapters that respond to the needs of society. In other words, the science of criminology has an interdisciplinary and dynamic character, developing with society. However, there is currently no consensus on its future. Instead, discussions are taking place about the direction it may take, whether it is about how the subject should be taught in universities or which areas of criminology should gain importance in the coming years. This article will therefore provide a brief analysis of the future of criminology, seen through the prism of possible scenarios and future areas within criminology.

Aspects of Beauty and Sublime in Humans

Aspects of Beauty and Sublime in Humans

Author(s): Simina Cherecheș / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: beautiful; sublime; human; emotional impact; stimuli; sensations

The sublime is what surrounds us when an image gives us a mood with a strong emotional impact, when we see something that brings back memories or some senses, we have the impression that time stands still and that we are above all the things. We see daily things that gain our interest and we would like to sit and linger for a long time watching them. The fact that we are surrounded by beauty and beautiful things makes us more and more strict with ourselves and with our work in order to have control over the things in our lives, for example, to have a physical appearance that makes our life enjoyable and by which we are delighted to have a very good image of ourselves. All the time we live we have the feeling of the sublime, something truly great, something that makes us aware of our lives or the moments in which we live.

The Many Layers of Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, and Arthur, Son of Uther

The Many Layers of Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, and Arthur, Son of Uther

Author(s): Damir Kahrić / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: J. R. R. Tolkien; Thomas Malory; Aragorn; King Arthur; Mythos;

The aim of the paper is to analyse the convolutedness of different layers which Aragorn and King Arthur share in their respective narratives. The paper predominantly describes Tolkien’s Aragorn and Malory’s Arthur through several literary prisms: comparative similarities between characters, the trope of the ‘wizard’s pupil’, the sociological position of a leader, and the post-postmodernist significance within the context of reality. This paper concludes that the fictional/mythological backdrop of the two rulers can uphold the dulce et utile standard. In other words, the aforementioned characters and their narratives can inspire the contemporary real-life leaders, governors, teachers and instructors to enhance their vocational skills.