1 Workplace Romances on the Example of Partner Selection Among Teacher-Couples - Student Teachers’ Perceptions, Mari Mikkola, Roope Salonen, Kaarina Määttä, Satu Uusiautti
Romantic relationships in workplaces have remained unexplored from the lovers’ perspective even though the research on love, partner selection, and workplace romances is relatively extensive. The purpose of this study is to contribute an analysis of partner selection among colleagues, and student teachers were selected as an interesting target group because of the special nature of teachers’ work. Two research questions were set for the study: how do teacher-couples start their relationship and what factors explain partner selection among them according to student teachers’ perceptions and experiences? The purpose was to describe their opinions on why teacher-marriages are so common, how love begins, and what combines teachers. The data were collected in the form of essays through an email that was addressed to the members of Finnish student organizations in colleges of education. Altogether 32 replies were received. The essays were analyzed with a theory-based approach by categorizing answers into six pre-determined categories. The purpose was to find out how partner selection among teachers corresponded to the select types of partner selection. Homogamy and completion-based partner selection appeared the most common. In addition, teachers’ role as emotional educators is pointed out and discussed in the light of the results of this study.
2 A Review of the Effectiveness of Creative Training on Adult Learners, Kuan Chen Tsai
A demand for fostering creativity has become a universal discourse across different nations, reflecting globalization of economic activity. Teachers play a key role in promoting creative thinking through appropriate approaches in the classroom. Because a number of studies indicate that most creativity research focuses on children rather on adults, the purpose of this meta-analytic study is to investigate the effects of creativity training on adults. It is hoped that by providing evidence-based findings, adult educators could consider fostering creativity in adult classrooms. The results confirm the findings of previous meta-analysis indicating that creativity training is effective on adults. The magnitude of this finding indicates creativity training is promising for increasing adults’ creative thinking.
3 Income Inequality, Poverty and Food Security in West Bengal, India, Snehasish Karmakar,Debashis Sarkar
The paper intends to study the nature of income inequalities, food security and poverty among different sub-groups of population in West Bengal, India. It has been found that inequalities in terms of share of total income and population exist both in case of agricultural and non-agricultural income irrespective of sub-groups. The contribution of agricultural income in the income profile is less than that of non-agricultural income which exhibits the deplorable condition of agriculture and thereby the non-agricultural sector has an immense scope for reduction of income inequality even the fact remains that about 65 per cent of the rural population engages in agriculture. The study observed that so far as food security is concerned, though India achieved self-sufficiency in food grain production since 1970s, the achievement did not percolate down to masses. These deprivations are very acute with differentiated degrees of severity in almost all sub-groups except medium farms. Inequality in income is much higher than that of food insecurity in all sub-groups which is in conformity with Engel’s Law. While comparing the depth of food insecurity with poverty, it reveals that though the severity of poverty as well as food insecurity is highest in small farms, but these two do not keeping same connotations for the marginal and landless households. Hence it comes to the consequence that the severity of food insecurity not only depends on the severity of poverty but on some other factors too.
4 Demons of Transitional Democracies: Politics of Insults and Acrimony in Ghana, Kwame Asamoah, Emmanuel Yeboah-Assiamah, Alex Osei-Kojo
There is a general perception that Ghana has achieved remarkable success in democratic consolidation by conducting six general elections in the Fourth Republic without widespread violence since 1992. Yet, the kind of tensions and acrimony that surround her elections are issues that cannot be glossed over. The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana paved the way for free speech and expression, which has been strengthened by the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law. Most political actors tend to abuse the freedom of speech enshrined in the Constitution by using abusive words and insulting their political opponents especially on the airwaves and during political campaigns. The persistent use of intemperate language affects the quality of policy discourse and also creates tension at every election year. Faced with the use of indecorous language at every election year, a common feature of elections in Ghana is the numerous appeals for peace from all sections of society. The use of indecent words by political actors thus poses a serious threat to Ghana’s democratic dispensation as it can escalate into serious conflict with social, political and economic ramifications. This article examines how the use of indecent language can be detrimental to the developmental agenda of the country. The paper adopts content analysis to examine some of the statements by some key stakeholders during the 2012 general elections. A major finding of the study is that there is excessive use of abusive words on airwaves and political campaigns. Another finding of the study is that election periods in Ghana is characterized by clarion calls for peace and calming down tensions. The article recommends that key political actors must set practical leadership example, for their supporters to emulate by using decorous words before, during and after each election.
5 Empirical Analysis of Internal Migration Influence on Development in Ghana From 1990 to 2012, Nicholas Awuse, Patrick Tandoh-Offin
Using 800 questionnaire responses from seven regions (out of the ten regions in Ghana), this study determines how internal migration can be used to promote development in Ghana. One hundred questionnaires each was sent to three regions in the north and one hundred and twenty questionnaires to four metropolitan areas (Tamale, Accra, Kumasi and Sekondi/Takoradi). This was because these are migrants concentrated areas The data were collected by ten research assistants and twenty students from the three Universities, namely; University for the Development Studies, University of Education, Winneba and Technical Universities. The investigations show that there is a positive relationship between internal migration and socioeconomic development because the make available opportunities for access to immediate and flexible labour force. The study, therefore, recommends for policy makers to critically look at the state of internal migration in Ghana so as to institute policies that lessen the burdens of internal migrants. There is also the need to explore avenues for enhancing the resource capabilities of current migrants and their beneficiaries as a potential strategy to diversify their remunerative options in the long term.
6 Corporal Punishment as a Parental Practice and Anxiety in Pre-adolescent Children, Yosi Yaffe, David Burg
Corporal punishment is the physical punitive measures of parents against children with devastating consequences when bordering on child abuse. This has even led to legislation against corporal punishment while controversy and criticism divides researchers and practitioners as to the prohibition against moderate and functional corporal punishment which may act as an effective method of education. Limited research exists on corporal punishment and its effect on the emotional aspects of children and investigation is required due its inherent and immense cultural importance. We studied the relationship between corporal punishment in the context of parenting style and anxieties in pre-adolescent children from northern Israel (age= 11.5 ± 0.56 yrs, n = 101). A positive association between general level of parental punishment and elevated anxieties was elucidated, mainly for the children of authoritarian parents. In addition, within this group children who experienced high levels of corporal punishment were more anxious. In contrast, this was not observed in children of authoritative parents. Results reported here indicate the apparent moderating role parenting style has on corporal punishment in the context of anxieties in children and conclude that while high level of corporal punishment is harmful, moderate corporal punishment may be harmless to children in specific parenting contexts.
7 Cash Holdings, Dividend Policy, and Stock Return of the Automobile Related Firms at the Tokyo Stock Exchange: Before and After the US Lehman Shock, Chikashi Tsuji
This paper explores the linkage among cash holdings, dividend policies, and stock returns of the automobile related firms at the Tokyo Stock Exchange by employing the panel data analyses. In addition, our research focuses on the two periods: before and after the US Lehman shock. The main findings of our study are as follows. First, 1) before the US Lehman shock, only the internal reserves to total asset ratio is negatively related with the one-year future stock return. Differently from this, 2) after the US Lehman shock, not only the internal reserves to total asset ratio, but also the cash holdings to total asset ratio, the payout ratio, and the plowback ratio are statistically significantly related with the one-year future stock returns.
8 The Underemployed: Evidence From the UK Labour Force Survey for a Conditionally Gendered Top-down Model, Surhan Cam
Systematic research into underemployment is limited in Britain and specific analyses of its relation to work-status are largely missing from the academic debate. The present study explores the impact of work-status on underemployment along with references to demographic indicators. We examine Labour Force Survey data through logistic regressions. Our results fit into what one might call a conditionally gendered top-down model: As measured by work-place characteristics, work-contracts and occupational levels, one’s status at work inversely correlates with the likelihood of underemployment. Such a top-down propensity largely reflects a decline in demand for lower skills in the UK since the beginning of the recession in 2008. The model also has a gendered character which helps explain a relatively higher rise in female underemployment amid the economic downturn. However, this character rather takes a conditional form due to opposite gender disparities in different work settings. In female-dominated works including sales, customer services and part-time jobs, for example, women’s underemployment is lower than men’s, but it is higher in elementary occupations, especially because of glass-ceiling.
9 Domination Displaced Gender Norms Imply and Create New Substances, Monique Selim, Anne Querrien, Mathieu Caulier
This paper analyses the gender global norms, taken in their pluralism, and their different poles and contradictions. It assesses the discards existing nowadays between these norms representations and the plural and diverse local practices. The French, Chinese, Mexican situations are taken as pictures of the general perspective of the authors who question the liberation and also domination logics which interact to create diverse modes of reenacting and recreating these global norms in relation with the social situations of the individual and collective subjects. Gender, feminism and sexualities are the three dimensions of this essay which mixes several disciplines, and several approaches: epistemology, socio-anthropology and politics.
10 Media Awareness and Utilization of Antenatal Care Services by Pregnant Women in Kano State- Nigeria, Hajara Umar Sanda
This study explores pregnant women’s major sources of information on Antenatal Care services (ANC), their media preferences of ANC programmes, their appropriate timing as well as the challenges they face in use of the media in Kano state. The study was informed by the inadequacy of health information from the media, which results to the under-utilization of ANC services by pregnant women. This has serious negative implications on maternal health and mortality. Focus group discussion was the main methodology used in the study and was complimented with In-depth interviewing and document analysis. Findings reveal that the dominant theme was the use of Radio as the major source of information on ANC services as well as other sources like health workers and social gatherings among others. In addition, the pregnant women demonstrated good knowledge and awareness of ANC services but some of them do not attend ANC even though they are aware while others are not even aware at all, of the importance of utilizing ANC services. The data further shows that the pregnant women preferred media programmes in which a health expert discusses ANC and maternal health issues. Similarly, their preferred timing for the ANC programmes is 4.00 pm and they shared substantial challenges which tend to inhibit their media usage, which influences ANC utilization. The study recommends that media ANC programmes should target men as partners in progress in all matters related to maternal health. Also, the government and other wealthy individuals should establish more community radios with priority to ANC and health related programs.
11 Media Awareness and Utilization of Antenatal Care Services by Pregnant Women in Kano State- Nigeria, Hajara Umar Sanda
This study explores pregnant women’s major sources of information on Antenatal Care services (ANC), their media preferences of ANC programmes, their appropriate timing as well as the challenges they face in use of the media in Kano state. The study was informed by the inadequacy of health information from the media, which results to the under-utilization of ANC services by pregnant women. This has serious negative implications on maternal health and mortality. Focus group discussion was the main methodology used in the study and was complimented with In-depth interviewing and document analysis. Findings reveal that the dominant theme was the use of Radio as the major source of information on ANC services as well as other sources like health workers and social gatherings among others. In addition, the pregnant women demonstrated good knowledge and awareness of ANC services but some of them do not attend ANC even though they are aware while others are not even aware at all, of the importance of utilizing ANC services. The data further shows that the pregnant women preferred media programmes in which a health expert discusses ANC and maternal health issues. Similarly, their preferred timing for the ANC programmes is 4.00 pm and they shared substantial challenges which tend to inhibit their media usage, which influences ANC utilization. The study recommends that media ANC programmes should target men as partners in progress in all matters related to maternal health. Also, the government and other wealthy individuals should establish more community radios with priority to ANC and health related programs.
12 Fisher Effect: Evidence From Money Market in Malaysia, Nurazilah Zainal, Annuar Md Nassir, Mohamed Hisham Yahya
The Fisher Effect, proposed by Fisher (1930), has been the subject of many empirical researches in various countries. In Malaysia, previous empirical studies on Fisher Effect have focused the relationship on stock and bond market, leaving the money market with no or very few studies. The Malaysian money market has gained importance and interests as it shows rapid growth in volume transaction. This paper aims at investigating the validity of Fisher Effect on Malaysian money market. The time series between 2000 to 2012 is chosen as the study duration. Three variables were targeted in this study, they are, inflation Rate (INF), 3-months treasury bills rate (MTB) and interbank rate (IBR). To study the relationship, this paper employs Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds test that is capable of testing for the existence of a long-run relationship between the variables irrespective of whether the time series are I(0) or I(1). The estimation results indicate the presence of long run cointegration among the variables. Overall the study provides evidence on the Fisher Effect in Malaysia.
13 A Current Appraisal of Health and Nutrition Related Claims in Indian Children’ Television Food Advertisements, Mekam Maheshwar, Vijayapushpam T., Sylvia Fernandez Rao
This article reports a content analysis of health-and nutrition-related claims used in food advertisements in popular children’s television channels of India. The authors analyzed 793 food ads ran for a total duration of 20,260 seconds in a span of 7 days in two television channels. Their research shows that nutrient content claims (i.e., ones that focus on a specific nutrient component such as “low in fat”) are the most predominantly used, followed by general nutrition claims, structure/ functional claims, and healthy claims. The least used category is health claims, in which the advertised food is linked to reduced risk of a disease or health problem. Researchers analysis suggests that healthy foods are not advertised nearly as much as unhealthy foods, which continue to be a major public health concern. This seems to suggest a pressing need for marketing promotions that focus on healthier food options, particularly targeting vulnerable populations such as children.
14 Time Punctuality and Economic Performance, William Di Pietro
This paper employs cross country regression analysis on an index of time punctuality to see whether or not an important cultural trait, time punctuality, influences economic development and other economic performance variables. The results are consistent with the idea that punctuality matters for economic development, and for country innovation, country competitiveness, and the effectiveness of a country’s government. Punctuality is statistically pertinent as an explanatory variable for country performance variables whether it is used singularly on its own in regressions, or in combination with the level of economic development.
15 Do Connections Matter? Social Capital and the Likelihood of Welfare Use and Exit in the Post-Welfare Reform Era, Monique Constance-Huggins
The 1996 welfare reform act has refocused our attention on the factors that could help or hinder exit from welfare. Researchers have examined a number of factors but have placed little attention on social capital. This study examines the effects of social capital on the likelihood of welfare use and exit among single women. The study is based on single women using data from the Making Connections database. Results indicate that social capital is related to welfare use and exit. Policy implications of these findings are discussed.
16 Large-Scale Investment in Biofuel Feedstock Production and Emerging Land Issues in Ghana, Joseph Kwaku Kidido, Elias Danyi Kuusaana
The desire to increase global biofuel production and consumption in recent times is fuelling conversion of vast arable lands from food production to the cultivation of biofuel feedstock in some regions of the world. In the case of Ghana; the increasing trends of jatropha cultivation in the transition forest zone and the northern savannah belt of the country for biofuel is raising serious concerns about food security. Evidence exists of some local farmers been displaced from their ancestral farmlands while substantial alternative land is laying idle elsewhere in the country. Following this, there is the need for a better land use policy, proper land use planning and strategic location of the biofuel production fields in Ghana with models that effectively integrate smallholders into large investment projects in a manner that averts displacement of vulnerable local inhabitants and threatens local level food security. Hence we propose out-grower schemes and market integration for smallholders and not just large contiguous nucleus farms.
17 Determinants of Political Violence: A Study of the Literature, Daniel Mider
Political violence is a complex phenomenon that is induced by numerous factors. The article focuses on trying to identify and organize the sources of political violence. Three groups of determinants of political violence can be distinguished on the basis of the examined social science literature. The first group of determinants of political violence – referred to as structural determinants – is examined by researchers within the social structure. Cultural patterns and norms operating within the dominant culture or subculture form the second group of sources of violence, referred to as cultural determinants of violence. The third group – individual or socio-psychological determinants of violence in politics – could be observed in individual factors, usually subjective, related to emotions.
18 Inmate Rehabilitation Revisited: Using Goffman and Perrow to Explain Constraints on Transformational Technologies in Prison, J Forbes Farmer
Informed by the work of sociologists Erving Goffman and Charles Perrow, the author focuses on the perspective that prison inmates are human material that get exposed to transformational technologies (educational and medical). Some constraints (environment and resources) on these technologies are discussed in relation to rehabilitation and recidivism. The emphasis here is on the internal limits of prisons’ ability to transform human behavior and attitude. This, however, is not intended to underestimate the external constraints which, in fact, get discussed throughout this paper. The author agrees with those who believe that the best rehabilitation design is structured around evidence-based programs that prepare inmates for reentry to, and full citizenship in, society.
19 The Socio-Economic and Political Impacts of Youth Bulge: The Case of Sudan, Huda Mohamed Mukhtar Ahmed
The present study investigates the impact of youth bulges on the armed conflicts in Sudan. It uses the 2008 census data on 25 states and builds a logistic regression model for the analysis. Relative risk analysis is also used to measure the association between the two variables. The impact of youth bulge on the armed conflict is not clearly detected, however, the impact of secondary school attendance rate for males and the access to clean drinking water is found to be statistically highly significant.
20 General Budget Deficit Financing Model in Third World Country, Abdullah Ibrahim Nazal
This study concentrates on financing general budget by deficit in third world country. It declared deficit reasons, dealing types and explained about 19 ways of financing budget with comparing in order to show choices. As result to study, success of any solution must be suitable to country environment limits. Searcher recommended finding suitable model from this search tables to compare with choices and limit choosing budget finance up to country environment and balancing between government needs, companies needs and citizen needs.
21 Risk Factors and Resilience: The Case of Second Cycle Primary School Children in Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia, Mebratu Belete Beka, Eshetu Genemo Daga, Ejigu Demeke Doboro, Tesfatsion Dominiko
Though some studies have examined risk factors, protective factors and resilience among children by foreign researchers, no study as yet has been documented with regard to the above concerns in Wolaita community children. The major objectives of this study were examining variables which put children at risks and protective factors that help to buffer against risks and stressors in order to foster resilience among second cycle primary school children. With this regard, the study assessed 369 boys and girls in grades seven and eight. The independent t-test and ANOVA analysis indicated no statistically significant differences and effect of gender among boys and girls concerning vulnerability to risk factors and their success stories with regard to resilience respectively. The Pearson’s r computation showed positive significant relationship between parental educational status and overall resilience among other background variables. Moreover, the research yielded positive significant relationships among resilience components and overall resilience. Age of respondents found to have significant effect on their hardiness and resourcefulness among other resilience components and also the presence of siblings at home showed significant effect on children’s resourcefulness. Further ANOVA analysis showed that parental educational and occupational statuses’ significant effect on children’s hardiness, purpose, overall resilience and hardiness, resourcefulness and overall resilience respectively. Lastly, regression analysis manifested that age of children and parental educational status found to be significant predictors of child resilience and vulnerability to risk factors. Among protective variables included in the study; parents, family, teachers and schools were found to be strong predictors of child resilience. The important implication of this research finding is while the research on risk and protective factors is important to guide practice and the way interventions are provided, always all the stakeholders should remember that risk, protection and resilience will vary depending on the individual child, family and their unique situation. What is a risk or a protective factor for one child will not necessarily be for the other.