OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development
Open access peer-reviewed journal
Entrepreneurship Education: Survey Of Two Universities In Botswana
M. Lekoko a, E.M. Rankhumise b, P. Ras c
a, b, c Department of Management and Entrepreneurship,
Tshwane University of Technology, Sate Artillery Road, Pretoria West, South Africa.
Volume 03, Issue 06, Pg. 11-19, 2012.
Abstract: Entrepreneurship education is topical in many universities. This offering is imperative in preparing learners to be job creators instead of being job seekers. This paper aims to assess the state of entrepreneurship at the two universities in Botswana and to evaluate how students feel about entrepreneurship education in the context of giving a good grounding for starting own businesses after graduation. Data were collected through structured questionnaires to measure students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of entrepreneurship offering at the two universities. The results show that at the two universities, teaching strategies involves lectures, group and individuals assignments. The strategies used seem not to be aligned with the current trend of teaching entrepreneurship education. This paper provides valuable insight on the appropriateness of the teaching strategies used.
Keywords: Entrepreneurship Education, Nascent entrepreneur, Production means, Entrepreneurship, teaching strategies.
Ethical And Legal Implications Of Sex Robot: An Islamic Perspective
Yusuff Jelili Amuda a, Ismaila B. Tijani b
a Faculty of Human Sciences, Sultan Idris Education University, Perak, Malaysia.
b Intelligent Mechatronics System Research Unit (IMSRU),Mechatronics Engineering Department,
Faculty of Engineering, IIUM, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Volume 03, Issue 06, Pg. 19-27, 2012.
Abstract: Technologically, robots have been identified as useful resources in all aspect of human endeavor due to the numerous advantages associated with such system. They reduce labor hardship in several manufacturing processes, help in dirty operation and dangerous mission to human life, ease several domestic activities and generally improve efficiency in many engineering processes. However, several ethical and legal issues have been identified in the literatures with respect to applications of such system in various aspects of human activities. One of such area that is less attended to in the literature is in the application of robot in sex activities. The birth of sex robot has introduced several dimensions into the concept of sex which implicitly has several ethical and legal implications. This study first review the state of the art in sex robot and its associated ethical and legal issues. Secondly the issue is evaluated from Islamic perspective together with position of Islamic law (Shariah) towards the deployment of robot in sexual activities. The social effect of robot sex to the institution of marriage in particular is examined. The study will apply qualitative and quantitative methods throughout the discussion and analysis. The test samples and data were taken from selected countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia including in Malaysia. In the end, useful suggestion would be suggested in the finding in order to discover undocumented facts and experts’ view towards the robot sex. Also, the outcome of this study is expected to unraveled the mystery of sex robot and provides solution to the robot sex.
Keywords: Sex Robot, Shariah, Code of ethics, United Nations.
Indicators And Indices: Keeping The Global Environment Under Review
Nafiseh Jafarzadeh a
a Centre for International & Environmental Law, Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University,
Epping Road, Ryde, NSW, Australia.
Volume 03, Issue 06, Pg. 29-36, 2012.
Abstract: The dramatic increase in environmental changes and developmental challenges has raised concerns that appear on all social and political agenda. All these challenges and their interactions highlight an urgent need to detect unexpected changes and have more reliable and comprehensive information to reflect improvement or deterioration of the state of the environment. In this regard, explore adequate measures of progress and monitoring towards sustainable development have taken on a new urgency and ‘keeping the global environment under review’, launched by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1972.
Since sustainable development is a dynamic process of changes among economic development, environmental quality and social equity it requires an integrated decision-making process in consistent with future as well as present needs. Therefore, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in 1992 which designed to holistically address the three ‘pillars’ of sustainable development also called for the identification of concrete policy measures and international cooperation for providing information for decision-making. Indeed disclosing information, publishing data and measuring process in order to identify whether policies has been effective assist policymakers to move toward global agreed targets. In particular, policymakers demand for standardised and easily understandable information to make sustainable and appropriate decisions among competing policy options.
The crucial need to have more accurate data and capture a picture of progress generated indicators and indices as a necessary pre-requisite tool for governance. Indicators and indices by simplify and quantify information of complex issues facilitate communication with decision-makers and the public. Indeed, they provide valuable information for monitoring and enable to make some rough estimates of the state of environment. In this regard, the efforts to develop indicators and indices, as a science and policy tool, have been increased to measure progress towards sustainable development. These initiatives are important and practical steps to better inform governments and societies about the state of the environment and move towards a sustainable future. In the realm of international environmental law, like other disciplines, developing core sets of consistent and relevant indicators have been explored to track environmental performance and determine whether countries are complying with their legal obligations.
However, based on the field and subject there is various range of indicators and indices. Therefore different technical definitions and framework is generated in the various disciplines. On the other hand, inadequacies in the available data, lack of basic statistical information on the environment and also insufficient policy indicators can lead to misinterpretation for policymakers. Therefore, a stundardised process involving an integrated approach is required in order to develop measurable indicators and indices and to avoid ambiguity.
This paper is a preliminary investigation into the policy indicators and indices, their current trends and challenges to examine their important role and how standardised indicators and indices could facilitate implementation of, and improved compliance with, international environmental agreements.
Keywords: Indicators, indices, international environmental law, science-policy interface, sustainable development.
Grant Based Approach to Poverty Reduction: Evidence from Bangladesh
Wameq A Raza a, Jinnat Ara b
a, b Research and Evaluation Division, BRAC, Bangladesh.
Volume 03, Issue 06, Pg. 37-56, 2012.
Abstract: A large scale programme that provides grants along with background support services was implemented by BRAC in an effort to alleviate extreme poverty using a grant-based approach known as Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction (CFPR). At the beginning of the programme, the participants are provided with income generating assets and training on various issues over a course of two years so that they may graduate into mainstream poverty. The objective of this study is to see the impacts of the CFPR programme two years after the intervention. We have analysed a two round panel dataset from 2007 (baseline) and 2009 (end-line) using the propensity score matching methodology. Results show that not only did the level of income and savings go up amongst the participants, employments dynamics changed from dead end jobs such as working as housemaids and day labourers to more entrepreneurial activities. Furthermore, results also show that the level of food security had also improved. The participants were able to expand their asset base beyond what was provided by the programme initially. Though public expenditures for the poor are not insignificant, often suffer from substantial leakages either through corruption or mismanagement, rendering them toothless. This paper finds that the CFPR approach as implemented by BRAC is clearly an effective strategy to fight ultra poverty in a sustainable manner which can be replicable in other developing country.
Keywords: Employment, ultra poverty reduction, grant based approach, Social safety net, Ultra poor
Learners’ Perception of Adult Educators: A Synerge for a Sustainable Acquisition of Literacy Education in Nigeria
Olojede, A.A. a Lakan, M.J. b
a, b Department of Continuing Education and Community Development, Faculty of Education and Arts,
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State, Nigeria.
Volume 03, Issue 06, Pg. 71-75, 2012.
Abstract: The main purpose of this paper was to assess the perceptions of adult learners on the adult educators’ contribution toward sustainable adult learning. The paper established that cordial relationship that exist between learners and their facilitators will go a long way to facilitate acquisition of literacy education and sustainability of the same for the development of the learners and the community where learners reside. However, it was established that adult educators performance on the other hand is influenced by motivational/incentive they receive from the organiser of adult education programmes, hence, for adequate preparedness of adult educators to perform their duties, teaching professionalism should be effected; prompt payment of honorarium and conducive learning environment should also be encouraged. With adequate incentives put in place, adult educators will perform and rate of literacy acquisition will be ensured.
Keywords: Adult educator, Acquisition, Learner, Literacy Education
Environmental Literacy of Trainees from Malaysian Teacher Education Institute: The Affective and Behavior Component
Nazifah Shaik Ismail a, Turiman Suandi b , Azizi Muda c, Noriati A Rashid d ,
Masitah Mohammad Yusof e
a,e Faculty of Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia.
b Faculty of Education, Universiti Putra Malaysia.
c Department of Geography and Environment, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris.
d Center of Academic Development, Institute Pendidikan Guru Malaysia, Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Volume 03, Issue 06, Pg. 77-89, 2012.
Abstract: Education has been repeatedly highlighted as the primary means of developing an environmentally literate society. As agents of change, teachers themselves have to acquire desirable characteristics of the model environmentally literate citizen. Thus, this article aim to present the preliminary analysis of the affective and behavior component of environmental literacy of teacher trainees who have completed one year of training which includes environmental education course. The respondents were 244 teacher trainees enrolled under post-graduate program from 12 different campus of Malaysian Teacher Education Institute. This article descriptively reports the scores for the subsections of affective and behavior components of environmental literacy. The trainees demonstrated moderately high scores for all subsections of affective component of environmental literacy. However, scores for behavior component were only moderate and were low for some subsections. The trainees did not significantly differ in affective and behavior component of environmental literacy based on gender , race and educational background. Findings also indicate that there is a moderate association between the affective and behavior component of environmental literacy. The correlation of these components is also reported based on gender, race and educational background. These results shows that the intended objectives of environmental education program is not yet commendable and needs further attention, either in the form of revising the program structure or method of delivery.
Keywords: environmental education; environmental literacy; teacher training
Visualization of Diesel Jets through Fuel Injector Nozzle
Peleowo, A. N a , Law, C b
a Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology,
Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa.
b Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment,
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa.
Volume 03, Issue 06, Pg. 89-94, 2012.
Abstract: The fuel injector nozzle break fuels into droplets, form the spray pattern, and propel the droplets into a combustion chamber. The nozzles determine the amount of spray volume at a given operating pressure, the travel speed, and spacing of the jets of fuel. In fuel injection, the smallest possible droplet size is wanted for the most flow. This work presents an opportunity to use the Schlieren arrangement as a visualization method to view the flow of fuel from an injector nozzle which cannot be seen by the naked eye. The jet flow of Diesel Fuel through a three-hole fuel injector nozzle was investigated by Schlieren photography. A test rig was designed and constructed to accommodate the nozzle; optical mirrors were arranged according to Schlieren specifications in order to allow the jet to be photographed. The breakaway pressure of the nozzle was set at 80bar. A three-hole fuel injector nozzle in which each hole is 0.26mm in diameter and 120° apart was used; the third jet could not be seen from the images because the camera took x-y dimension images. The spray pattern observed from the two dimensional images of the jets developed were seen to be well dispersed. Su et al [3] found that emissions could be reduced in diesel engines if the injector nozzle produces smaller and more dispersed droplets.
Keywords: diesel, jet, nozzle, Schlieren, visualization