International Development Policy

International Development Policy Political, economical and social development of developing countries has been a high priority on the global agenda. International development policy has gained momentum as issues such as poverty in some developing countries have been increasingly linked to global security issues such as terrorism. Global policy in regards to development has become more prevalent through the increase of international organizations and institutions. However, international development policy and its perceived importance to national economic, political and social growth within developing states has become a strongly debated issue. From the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to more regional and bilateral initiatives, development has remained a salient global issue. In recent decades, the focus of international development has shifted from economic to human development and from structural to sustainable development. Despite the various methods used of stimulating international development, Offici al Development Assistance (ODA) continues to be essential to many developing states. It can be argued that for this reason that institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which formulate and implement policy in relation to ODA, continue to have an increasing influence on developing states. In the last decades, an international development policy shift has taken place from structural adjustment programs focusing on economic reform and market-orientated policies to sustainable development incorporating social and environmental reform and human-orientated policies. One region greatly influenced by international development policy has been those developing states on the African continent. Many sub-Saharan states in Africa have been plagued by underdevelopment and continue to be heavily dependent on ODA. Despite reaping some benefits from the rapid economic growth in Asia and new economic partnerships with some BRIC states, most of the states in Africa continue to struggle with underdevelopment. Africa is a continent with enormous potential in both natural and human capital yet suffers from widespread poverty and human deprivation. The continent has the world’s highest proportion of poor, 46 %, and is home to more than 30% of the worlds poor (Cheru 2008, p.6). Despit e various development initiatives such as the Lagos Plan of Action for Economic Development of Africa, Africa’s Programme for Economic Recovery, the African Alternative Framework to Structural Adjustment Programme for Socio-Economic Recovery and Transformation, the Three Year Priority Programme for Survival, Rehabilitation of African Economies, the African Charter for Popular Participation for Development and the Compact for Africa’s Recovery, Africa’s developmental gains have been marginal. Africa’s problematic of underdevelopment has been blamed on exogenous factors such The post-World War II international system has increasingly witnessed more international and regional integration in addition to the rise of powerful non-state actors such as international , regional and transnational organizations. Organizations such as the United Nations, the African Union, various Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) and multinational corporations (MNCs) are increasingly playing a more important role in the international system. The institutionalizing of liberal policies within states through international financial institutions indicates the increasing influence non-state actors have on state affairs and sovereignty. Therefore, globalization and the role of key international non-state actors has become a reality. Not only has the number of international organizations increased exponentially since the post -war period, the scope and regulating power has accordingly also increased. For instance, there are international organizations for international trade (World Trade Organization, G8, G20), finance and foreign aid(Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Bank, IMF, African Development Bank), health (World Health Organization), law (International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and Special Courts and Chambers for Sierra Leone, Cambodia, Lebanon), law enforcement (Interpol, Europol), humanitarian aid (International Red Cross and Red Crescent), migration (UNHCR), labor (International Labor Organization) and environment (UNEP) to name but a few! This excludes the additional formation of regional blocs for dealing with security (NATO, ECOWAS) and economic competitiveness within the global trade system such as NAFTA and many of Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (RECs). This plethora of international and regional organizations has not simply served to deal with or regulate transnational iss ues without affecting state sovereignty. Supranational regional organizations such as the European Union (EU) indicate that states have voluntarily relinquished some sovereignty for the overpowering interest of mutual gain. International â€Å"The governance indicators establish a discursive field of state legitimacy and normalcy and ‘responsibilises’ states: construct them as ethical actors that are capable of correct and responsible choices and policies† (Lowenheim 2008: 255) The use of global governance indicators is a means by which donors of official development assistance (ODA) can allocate scarce resources to what are perceived to be â€Å"effective† governments in developing countries. Ineffective governments in developing countries, which create rent-seeking activities, are seen as less desirable for the allocation of these scarce resources. Global indicators can, therefore, be used to assist donors in their decision-making for the allocation of aid to recipient states. Global institutions have an increasing tendency to rate and rank the governance capacities and performances of states. This practice of ranking and rating has increased significantly in the last few decades. The UNDP has identified at least 130 performance indices of which 80% had been created between 1991 and 2005 (Bandura 2005: 5). Each of these indices rank and assess country performance in such aspects as openness, competitiveness, governance, development, health, education, human rights, security, globalization among others. World Governance Indicators for Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa To examine the trend in quality of governance in each of the three case studies, aggregate indicators for Voice and Accountability (V A), Political Stability and Absence of Violence (PSAV), Government Effectiveness (GE), Regulatory Quality (RQ) and Rule of Law (RoU) have been used from the World Governance Indicators (WGI) index. The WGI uses a scale between 2.5 to -2.5 where 2.5 indicates a high 41  quality of governance. The selected time frame used is from 2002 to 2011 (data was unavailable for 2001 and 2012). Although Nigeria and South Africa did not implement a majority of the recommendations, the case studies were included in the analysis to provide insight if any observed improvement was as a result of the APR recommendations or due to other determinants.

Disparities in Health of Children :: Teaching Education

Disparities in Health of Children Abstract There has been much research that verifies the existence of health disparities among different socioeconomic groups and different racial and ethnic groups. I will take a look at this research to determine why these disparities exist and how these effect the education among those who experience it. When we consider the education of our children in the United States, we must consider their health as a significant issue as it can positively or negatively impact a student’s education. It has generally been acknowledged that there is a great disparity in our country in the area of health care. Healthy People2010, a published report put out by the Health and Human Services Division of the Unites States Government (2000) has included as part of its Goals for 2010, to eliminate health disparities among different segments of the population. According to this report, health differences occur depending on a persons gender, race or ethnicity, education or income, disability, rural locality, or sexual orientation. In this paper, I will mostly concentrate on racial and ethnic differences as well as socioeconomic differences. According to the Healthy People 2010 report, biological and genetic differences do not explain the health disparities experienced by non-White populations in t he United States. Besides "complex interaction among genetic variations, environmental factors, and specific health behaviors," Health and Human Services says, "inequalities in income and education underlie many health disparities in the United States." Also, "population groups that suffer the worst health status are also those that have the highest poverty rates and least education." Health, United States (1998) reported that each increase of income or education increased the likelihood of being in good health. According to this report, those with less education tend to die younger than those with more education for all major causes of death including chronic diseases, communicable diseases and injuries. There are several factors that account for differences between socioeconomic and racial and ethnic groups. These factors include a lower sedentary life style, cigarette smoking and less likely to have health insurance coverage or receive preventive care among these groups. Those who live more sedentary life styles are at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure, all things that effect lower-socioeconomic groups more often than those in higher income brackets. Those who are less educated are also twice as likely to smoke cigarettes as the most educated.

Advancement in Science and Technology Research is a peer-reviewed open access journal published quarterly Essay

Advancement in Science and Technology Research aims at providing a platform for researchers, engineers, scientists, and educators to publish their original research results, to exchange new ideas, to disseminate information in innovative designs, engineering experiences and technological skills. It is also the Journal’s objective to promote engineering and technology education. The papers for publication in Advancement in Science and Technology Research are selected through rigorous peer reviews to ensure originality, timeliness, relevance, and readability. Advances in Science and Technology is a irregular series presenting the Proceedings of CIMTEC, International Cermics Congress and Forum on New Materials. The series is published on behalf of TECHNA GROUP, Faenza, Italy. With the second review conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) approaching in April, a raft of studies have appeared making clear that fundamental changes in science and technology are affecting the implementation of the treaty and that it must be adapted to take account of them.[1] The most significant development is the revolution in the life sciences and related technologies, including a growing overlap between chemistry and biology. There is a vastly increased understanding of the functioning of biological systems as a result of the mapping of the human and other genomes as well as of advances in structural biology and the study of proteins (proteomics). Information technology and engineering principles are increasingly integrated into biology. The intersection between chemistry and biology has further expanded thanks in part to the automation of synthesis and screening of chemical compounds enabling laboratories to assess vast numbers of new chemical structures and a much-enhanced understanding of how certain â€Å"chemicals of biological origin† act. Technological advances supplement these trends, for example, providing for more efficient means of delivering biologically active chemicals to target populations or targeting organs and receptors within an organism. These developments are expected to bring many benefits, including new medical treatments and methods of pest control. At the same time, the capacity to discover or design new chemical structures that may have utility as chemical warfare agents has also increased significantly. Novel agents can be created far more quickly than ever before. In addition, advances in manufacturing technology have shortened other time requirements, enabling shortcuts in the progression from research and development to full-scale manufacturing. Changes in the chemical industry have dispersed technology and facilities, complicating verification and traditional nonproliferation strategies. As a result, the time and effort needed to field a new chemical weapon has shrunk, particularly in the early stages, while the capability to detect such actions has not grown significantly. These trends and a recently increased interest in the use of incapacitants for law enforcement purposes raise at least the threat that states could skirt or quickly break out of the CWC prohibitions on developing and acquiring chemical weapons. It has also enlarged the overlap between the two otherwise quite separate treaties governing chemical and biological weapons, the CWC and the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). States-parties need to adapt the implementation of the CWC to account for these changes or risk diminishing confidence in its effectiveness and endangering its viability.

The Circadian Rhythm Effect Essay Example

The Circadian Rhythm Effect Essay Example The Circadian Rhythm Effect Essay The Circadian Rhythm Effect Essay Jorge Lozano Introduction Almost all living things have a normal daily cycle they adhere to. It usually relates to the pattern developed by a function of time in relation to behavioral and physiological processes. Circadian rhythm in all mammals is a process that describes our inner master â€Å"clock† and our daily functionality. â€Å"Circadian timing is structured in such a way as to receive information from the external and internal environments, and its function is the timing organization of the physiological and behavioral processes in a circadian pattern (1)†. With the 24 hour cycle put in use we determine the sleeping and feeding patterns of all animals. Since the circadian rhythm is such a vital function for our biological well being it is highly important to study and document both the internal and external processes that directly effect it. Our main objective in researching this was to determine if the relationship between biological functions relate to our normal daily activity period. We hypothesized that during our normal rest period we reach a nadir or low point of functionality while during our normal activity period we reach our zenith or high point. Materials and Methods In order to collect the necessary data, we took measurements of heart rate, adding speed, eye-hand coordination, and eye-hand coordination number of trials with mistakes. Measurements were taken at 12 time points throughout a 24-hour period over a 7-day period. The tests were taken by individual students with the sample size being the students of the Biology lab 155 class roster . At various hour intervals a 1 minute heart beat rate measurement is taken. The cognitive test is taking a measurement of adding speed. This is done by timing how fast the test subject is able to add a line of numbers. The motor coordination test is eye-hand coordination, with time and number of trials documented. The eye-hand test is taken by timing the process of thumb to each finger on one hand. The data collected individually is grouped together with all students and averaged out by test within an excel spreadsheet to determine if any significant data was collected. This analysis of collected data will show whether there is a difference in the effect of circadian rhythms within various hours and days. Results Results were produced by using average results from the Biology 155 sections 4 11 student roster. Regarding pulse rates in beats per minute, the trend is to have the lowest value early in the morning and the highest value in the afternoon. Graph1 demonstrates the beats per minute average when compared to the hour of day. The results show that at 6am the low value average of 68. 27 heart beats per minute while the highest value of 80. 40 beats measured at 6pm. The trend shows that there is a gradual increase as the day progresses. Also that within the mid-day hours of 12pm to 2pm (graph 1) there is a drop in heart rate. The addition speed test results show a minimal increase in adding speed throughout the day. Graph 2 displays the speed in seconds based on hour of day. The results show that at both 2am and 4am the average speed was slowest with 82. 07 seconds. The average fastest speed is 62 seconds taken at the 8pm hour. The trend shows that student adding speed increases throughout the day. The eye-hand coordination test results displayed in Graph 3 compare the number of seconds it takes to count with fingers compared to the hour of day. The resulting trend demonstrates that eye-hand coordination increases from morning to evening. At 4am the results show the slowest speed of 12. 86 seconds while the fastest speed of 7. 8 seconds occurs at 6pm. Graph 4 displays the number of trials with mistakes made during the eye-hand coordination test as compared to the hour of day. The trend shows that there are numerous changes in amount of trials throughout the day. The amount of trials made with mistakes is highest at 4am with 1. 13 trials taken and the lowest amount at both 8am and 8pm. Graph 1 Graph 2 Graph 3 Graph 4 Discussion The results from our tests concurred with the results from the five sources researched. Our peak optimal hours for memory, motor skills, and hand-eye coordination are during peak activity hours of the day. Each person has a circadian rhythm they develop which directly effects the sleeping pattern and daily activities. The circadian rhythm adjusts the body to coordinate various physiological activities. â€Å"The findings of a 24 hour period on every day could be an example associated with. a rhythm which can be caused by exogenous factors † (3). Some of the exogenous factors that effect the results are sleep hours, stress levels, and daily activities. These can be seen within the graphs taking into consideration the â€Å"normal† sleeping hours for the test subjects. â€Å"There was a significant correlation between the rhythms at zero phase shift† (6), which we can see from our graph results, with â€Å"sleep and illumination†(6) being a large factor throughout our four tests. Our test results conclude that our body is running on a circadian rhythm with multiple factors in our day to day lives effecting our â€Å"bodily programming† which in turn allow us to function at either our peak levels or our slowest levels. The data underscore the interrelationships between energy metabolism, circadian rhythmicity, and sleep regulation†. (2) The mind and motor skills are in the reactionary chain of chemical levels within our body that are enhanced or decreased by various effectors but which are developed into a rhythm that we become adjusted to.

Fooling and Disguise in Shakes essays

Fooling and Disguise in Shakes essays Fooling and Disguise in Shakespeares The Twelfth Night or What You Will The Twelfth Night, or What You Will was written by William Shakespeare during the sixteenth century. This play is full of romance, comedy, and especially fooling and disguise. The act of fooling is seen through many characters of the play such as, Viola, Olivia, Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Maria, and of course Feste, the most important and intelligent character of the play. Shakespeares, The Twelfth Night, or What You Will, portrays a great significance of fooling and disguise through the main characters. Viola is a great example of disguise in the play. Her boy disguise is an emotional catalyst for everyone else in the play. Acting as Cesario, Viola fools everyone. She is a fool caught between Orsino and Olivia. While she is falling in love with Orsino, she is wooing Olivia as Cesario. She is full of intelligence, wit, and charm, which makes her a great fool. This is because the meaning of a fool in this play is an intelligent person who brings awareness to themselves and others. At the end of this play, Viola does bring out awareness in herself and others, such as Orsino. Olivia, the countess, is a great fool of the play as well. She fools everyone in the story when at the beginning, she mourns for her dead brother, but by the end she is more concerned with her love for Cesario, a male disguise for Viola. At the end, she realizes that she actually in love with a woman, disguised as a man, and then quickly reverses her love to someone she does not even know, Violas twin brother. Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Maria are a great team in the play. Sir Toby is Olivias uncle and his companion is Sir Andrew. Maria is Olivias servant, a lady in waiting. These three are the fools and the pranksters of the play. Sir Toby keeps Sir Andrew around only for his money, and in return, uses the money to get drunk. Sir ...

Staistic assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Staistic - Assignment Example The result revealed that the relationship between the two variables is best determined by linear relationship using following equation: Regression Analysis: Credit Balance($) versus Size The regression equation is Credit Balance($) = 2591 + 403 Size Predictor Coef SE Coef T P Constant 2591.4 195.1 13.29 0.000 Size 403.22 50.95 7.91 0.000 S = 620.162 R-Sq = 56.6% R-Sq(adj) = 55.7% Analysis of Variance Source DF SS MS F P Regression 1 24092210 24092210 62.64 0.000 Residual Error 48 18460853 384601 Total 49 42553062 Unusual Observations Credit Obs Size Balance($) Fit SE Fit Residual St Resid 5 2.00 1864.0 3397.9 113.7 -1533.9 -2.52R R denotes an observation with a large standardized residual. From the regression analysis above, we can see that there is a linear positive relationship between the two variables, which means as the number of people in the house increase, the credit balance also increases. Minitab results for regression indicate a factor DF, which stands for degree of freedo m. The DF for a variable is calculated by one less than the number of group levels. Similarly, degree of freedom for error is calculated by subtracting number of group levels from sample size; whereas, degree of freedom for total is calculated by sample size minus 1. ... The sum of squares (SS) are calculated using the sum of Y’s and X’s. MS is called Measure Square of the Error and is calculated by F-test in Analysis of Variance. It is a ratio of variability between groups compared to variability within the groups. If the ratio is large then the p-value would be small indicating a statistically significant result. F-test is at least 1 indicating a non-negative number. In our case it is 62.64 which considerably high thus showing a p-value less than our level of significance i.e., 0.05. Also p-value is the probability of being greater than F value or simply the area to the right of F value. . P-value of 0.000 in Analysis of Variance and 0.026 in Sequential Analysis of Variance (for Quadratic Polynomial fit) are both less than our significance level of ? = 0.05. Further, R-Square value of 56.6% suggest that the model fits well with the actual data and there is relatively a strong relationship between the two variables. 3. Coefficient of C orrelation A correlation coefficient referred to as Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient is used to measure the strength of linear relationship between the two variables. The value of the coefficient is influenced by the distribution of the independent variable. Next correlation between Credit Balance and Size was determined using Pearson’s coefficient of Correlation as shown below: Correlations: Credit Balance, Size Pearson correlation of Credit Balance and Size = 0.752 P-Value = 0.000 The Pearson Correlation value of 0.752 indicated that there existed a strong relationship between the two variables since Statisticshowto.com (2009) suggests High correlation: 0.5 to 1.0 or -0.5 to -1.0 Medium correlation: 0.3 to 0.5

Research methods assignment Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Methods assignment - Research Paper Example Mekonnen and Harris (2006) is an empirical investigation whether â€Å"cause-related† and â€Å"affinity marketing† enhances the product’s appeal and provides product differentiation (p. 135). In particular, the study investigated whether â€Å"linking a commercial organisation’s product with a non-profit organisation enhances the product’s appeal and provides differentiation from rival offers† (Mekonnen and Harris 2006, p. 135). Mekonnen and Harris (2006, p. 135) articulated that the purpose or aim of their study is to investigate the efficacy of the premise of â€Å"affinity marketing†. The research objectives were not explicitly stated but it can be surmised that, implicitly, the research objectives covered identification of values associated with the use of affinity cards and how they affect the likelihood of donation. 2.0. Literature Review Based on a review of literature, Mekonnen and Harris (2006, p. 136) claim that â€Å"there are significant gaps in understanding consumer attitudes† towards products being sold by â€Å"cause-related marketing† and â€Å"affinity marketing†. ... 136). Mekonnen and Harris (2006, p. 135) declared their work as a challenge to the assumption â€Å"that linking a product to a non-profit organisation enhances its appeal and provides a basis for differentiation.† For Mekonnen and Harris (2005, p. 135), â€Å"the efficacy of this premise depends on the type of cause or affinity group.† Unfortunately, however, the review of literature of Mekonnen and Harris (2006) does not amount to an illustration of the â€Å"significant gaps in understanding consumers’ attitude† in the literature. It is not clear from the review of literature what the various studies have made or the findings they have reached on the relationship between â€Å"cause-related market marketing† and â€Å"affinity marketing† on one hand and product sales on the other. Perhaps there was no empirical study done at all prior on cause-oriented and affinity marketing prior to their study but this is not clear from the review of lit erature. However, because of the failure to illustrate what empirical studies have done or to explicitly clarify at least that no study has been done, the review of literature fails to identify precisely or to justify precisely the significance of the Mekonnen and Harris (2006) endeavour in the overall literature on the subject. The review of literature narrated that cause-oriented marketing has been conventionally characterised as being focused on short-term campaign initiatives (Mekonnen and Harris 2006, p. 136). It also pointed out that the affinity marketing is a sub-set of cause-related marketing (Mekonnen and Harris 2006, p. 136). However, citing the work of Berger and others in 1999, Mekonnen and Harris (2006, p. 136) clarified that â€Å"affinity marketing can