Sustainability and Social Change
Hoss Banna & Amy Olson
“Social Change through Education for a Sustainable Future”
Environmental education is fundamental to a sustainable future. This study examines how transitioning to a concept-based learning system and introducing innovative teaching methods could provide the necessary moral accountability and ecological literacy for a sustainable future. The study aims at reviewing key theories and literature to provide recommendations on alternate educational strategies. A discussion of the Hudson Valley Materials Exchange shows how a concept-based curriculum can have an effective impact on a student's understanding of environmental issues. Additionally, the study suggests renovating the standardized New York State Regents testing system with a concept-based approach.
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Howard Schechter
“The Third Leg of the Stool: For-Profit, Online Universities Focused on Economic Development”
The foundation for building sustainable prosperity consists of a stable, predictable financial climate; private sector investment; and an educated, entrepreneurial workforce. The rise of for-profit universities delivering higher education online is well known. These internet universities currently focus on the Americas, Europe, and Asia but have bypassed Africa. This is about to change as the trends of wireless broadband internet access, a quadrupling of the number of Africans online over the past five years, trade growth, and stable financial processes are setting the stage for an economic leap in many African nations. These recently converged trends are creating the conditions suitable for profitable investment in establishing an indigenous, credentialed, professional class. This proposition is further bolstered by recent studies which have revealed that degreed individuals are in demand in their countries, there is employment for them, they earn well, and they tend to stay in their countries.
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Peter Njenga
“The Long-Term Self-Sustainability of Kenyan HIV/AIDS Service Organizations in the Absence of International Funding”
The study problem recognized that international donors have funded HIV/AIDS service organizations in Kenya, but although other research has identified problems found in USAID-funded projects, this research explored what the impact on the Kenya HIV/AIDS service organizations might be if these international donations were unavailable. These organizations may cease to exist if international funds are withdrawn, and this would surely disrupt the Kenyan society and intensify the diffusion of HIV/AIDS worldwide.
Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the major competence factors and self financing factors that would influence long-term sustainability of an HIV/AIDS service organization in Kenya, in the absence of external international funding. Hence, the research questions sought to determine what were the major economic, social, environmental, project specific, and self financing factors that would enable the sustainability of the HIV/AIDS service organizations in Kenya.
Qualitative research techniques based on a grounded theory research design were employed. A random sample of 210 HIV/AIDS service organizations in Kenya's Central province and Nairobi city were surveyed by mail on the factors that influence long-term sustainability, and 141 useable surveys were returned.
The research findings resulted in 18 specific major competence factors that determined sustainability. Among these factors include economic (planning, local funding, cost control, curbing fraud); social (cultural change in funding expectations); environmental (disease prevention); project specific (liquidity, synergy); and self-financing. The study recommended implementation of these 18 factors based on a situational cost-benefit analysis, pegging funding to audited reports, and implementation of strategic self-financing projects that include farming, business, manufacturing, tourism, financial investments, real estate, and membership fees. The study emphasized the importance of income derived from self-financing projects because that income would not only enhance the long-term sustainability of the service organization but additionally supplement its existing financial base.
The survival of service organizations that address HIV/AIDS disease in Kenya is critical to the long-term management and prevention of the spread of this dreaded disease that has encroached the Kenyan population and, specifically, the country's families.
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David Milen
“Stress and Coping Abilities of Firefighting Personnel”
The purpose of this study was to identify the effectiveness of coping strategies and resources that firefighters use to combat personal and workplace stressors. One hundred fifteen firefighting personnel from four fire departments in Illinois and Indiana participated. The Coping Resources Inventory for Stress (CRIS) Scale measured stress levels and coping strategies. Results showed firefighters not being physically fit, lacking social support, unable to control tension, unable to structure daily activities, and experiencing low confidence.
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