A NEW APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT- INTEGRATIVE IMPROVEMENT (II)™: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AS IF PEOPLE AND THEIR PHYSICAL, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS MATTERED

The purpose of this article is to outline the core principles of Integrative Improvement (II) in comparison with current development approaches, describe key features of II and briefly comment on II in relation to the Sustainable Livelihoods (SL) approach of the United Kingdom Department for International Development (http://www.livelihoods.org/). The current development approaches considered are those selected in 6.1 of the SL Guidance Sheets, namely:- “• Country-level Development Strategies, for example: Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, Comprehensive Development Frameworks and National Strategies for Sustainable Development; • Medium-Term Expenditure Frameworks; • Sector-Wide Approaches; • Governance and Rights-based Approaches.”Economic development, Integrative Improvement, Integrative Thinking, Integrative Governance, Integrative Problem Solving, Integrative Capitalism, Integrative Democracy, Education-Teaching and learning, Training-Human Resources and management, Organisational development, Personal development, Applied Mind Science, Self-organising systems

Linking local people's perception of wildlife and conservation to livelihood and poaching alleviation : a case study of the Dja biosphere reserve, Cameroon

This Paper examines how people's livelihoods and perceptions of wildlife are related to self-reported poaching (here defined as commercial bushmeat hunting) in 25 villages at the northern buffer zone of the Dja Biosphere Reserve, East Cameroon. Using a six-point Likert scale questionnaire among 263 households interviewed form March to June 2017, the following hypothesis were tested: (1) Households with positive perceptions of wildlife are less involved in poaching; (2) Positive perceptions of wildlife are linked to sustainable livelihood improvement of households; and (3) Sustainable livelihood improvement of households leads to poaching alleviation. The study area has been the site since 2010 for a community-centered conservation Program that aims to improve local peoples livelihoods (through the creation of income sources based on cocoa-based agroforestry and Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) Valorization) and their perceptions of wildlife (mainly through awareness raising and wildlife education) and therefore divert them from poaching. The main findings of the study indicates that positive perceptions of wildlife are linked to lower levels of poaching. Similarly, positive perception of wildlife was positively related to Livelihood improvement of the respondents. However, livelihood improvement alone did not predict poaching alleviation though we reported a significant difference in poaching frequencies of cocoa and non-cocoa producers with the firsts less involved in poaching. The findings of this study recommend more holistic approaches of biodiversity conservation that integrate simultaneously perception and livelihood improvement

THE ANALYSIS OF FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE COST EFFICIENCY AT PDAM TIRTANADI SUMATERA UTARA PROVINCE

The  background of  the  research  was  the  inconsistency  of previous   studies   on  the   customers   oriented,   sustainable system improvement, training and education on cost efficiency which  has led  to research gaps. The purposeof this  study was to   test   and   analyze    the   effect   of   customer    oriented, sustainable  system improvement,  training and  education  on cost efficiency at PDAM Tirtanadi, North Sumatra Province. The type  of the research was associative  research.  This research was conduceted  at PDAM  Tirtanadi, North Sumatra  Province. The population  of this  study was distributing  questionnaires  to all  heads of the Water Treatment  Plant and  the  head  of the departement  in each  branch of the company's IPA. This data was analyzed  using  the method of multiple  linear regression analysis. The classic assumption test used the normality test, multicollinearity test,  and heterokedacity  test. And testing  the hypothesis  by  test  f  and coefficient  of  determination.  This research proves that  customer  oriented,  sustainable  system improvement,  training and education  have an effect  on cost efficiency.Keywords: Cost  Efficiency,  Customer  Oriented,   Sustainable   System Improvement, Training and Educatio

Greater New Orleans Education Foundation: A Commitment to Rebuilding a Better New Orleans

With support from the Ford Foundation, the Greater New Orleans Education Foundation (GNOEF) participated in Public Education Network's Gulf States Initiative, which was designed to enlarge the role of the public in school improvement in the Gulf States region. Public Education Network (PEN) is a network of local education funds (LEFs) across the nation. In PEN's view, "public responsibility" will not emerge from conventional, smaller scale efforts to involve parents more closely with their children's schools or to inform the community about a superintendent's program. Instead, PEN initiatives take as their premise that in a democracy, public schools can only improve in a sustainable way if a broad-based coalition of community members pushes them to improve and holds them accountable. The Gulf States Initiative charged six LEFs, including GNOEF, with moving their communities toward different and more substantial forms of responsibility for their schools

The Houston A+ Challenge: Staying the Course

With support from the Ford Foundation, the Houston A+ Challenge participated in Public Education Network's Gulf States Initiative, designed to enlarge the role of the public in school improvement in the Gulf States region. Public Education Network (PEN) is a network of local education funds (LEFs) across the nation. In PEN's view, "public responsibility" will not emerge from conventional, smaller-scale efforts to involve parents more closely with their children's schools or to inform the community about a superintendent's program. Instead, PEN initiatives take as their premise that in a democracy, public schools can only improve in a sustainable way if a broad-based coalition of community members pushes them to improve and holds them accountable. The Gulf States Initiative charged six LEFs, including the Houston A+ Challenge, with moving their communities toward different and more substantial forms of responsibility for their schools

Dynamic Links between the Economy and Human Development

This paper empirically confirms the significance of various links in each of two chains over time: from economic growth (EG) to human development (HD), including EG itself, income distribution, the social expenditure ratio and female education; from HD to EG, including HD itself, along with the investment ratio. Our most important conclusion concerns sequencing over time. EG, which is an important input into HD improvement, is itself not sustainable without such improvement, either prior or simultaneous. Therefore, traditional policy advice, which argues that HD improvements must wait until EG expansion makes it affordable, is likely to be in error.human development, economic growth, comparative country studies

Ready Educators Quality Improvement Pilot: Linking Program Improvement to Child Outcomes

This report is an evaluation of the first year of the Ready Educators Quality Improvement Pilot (REQIP), part of Thrive in 5's city-wide Ready Educators strategy. The pilot provided technical assistance and support to early education and care programs in centers and family child care homes that serve children from birth to age five. The REQIP theory of change posits that, to meet the goal of improved child outcomes, programs need to build "sustainable independent capacity to operationalize a continuous quality improvement process (CQI)." As the Pilot was envisioned, CQI involved the development of a Program Improvement Plan (PIP) through an assessment based on child-level and program data and with support from a Quality Improvement Partner (QIP). The PIP would then serve as the basis for technical assistance to meet the goals of the PIP, followed by a re-assessment using program and childlevel data. This CQI process would be sustained over time, in an ongoing continuous loop. In July 2013, after a competitive RFP process and with funding from the Barr Foundation, Thrive in 5 selected Wellesley Centers for Women to serve as the QIP

ON THE ROLE OF BENCHMARKING IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT

Increasing competition, demands for accountability, and higher volumes ofavailable information are changing the methods of how institutions of higher educationoperate in nowadays. For higher education to enact substantial and sustainable changesin efficiency and productivity a new way of thinking or paradigm that builds efficiencyand a desire for continual learning must be integrated into institutional structures. Toolsare also being developed that measure or benchmark the progress and success of theseefforts. Among the improvement strategies and techniques, benchmarking has emerged asa useful, easily understood, and effective tool for staying competitive. This is why thepresent article aims to emphasize the importance of benchmarking in the highereducation quality assessment.benchmarking, higher education, quality, management

Parental Perceptions of Oral Health and School-Based Dental Sealant Programs

Introduction: Community Health Needs Assessment (University of Vermont Medical Center, 2013) Identified oral health in pediatric population as a primary concern Barriers to dental care cited: access, affordability, education School-Based Sealant Program (SBSP) Dental sealants are an evidence-based method of cavity prevention CDC strongly recommends delivery via SBSPs Few Vermont schools have such a program Vermont Medicaid State Plan amendment allows dental hygienists to bill without on-site dentist (2015)4 Unique opportunity to pilot an SBSP Pilot program implemented by the University of Vermont Medical Center Community Health Improvement Goal: sustainable model able to be replicated in Vermont schools Pilot School Selection – Milton Elementary-Middle School (MEMS) Demographics representative of Vermont schools (46% free & reduced lunch program); school administration supportive of an SBSP; no existing dental education (“Tooth Tutor”) program per Vermont Office of Oral Healthhttps://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1232/thumbnail.jp

Creating Sustainable Education Projects in Roatan, Honduras Through Continuous Process Improvement

The investigators worked together with permanent residents of Roatán, Honduras on sustainable initiatives to help improve the island’s troubled educational programs. Our initiatives focused on increasing the number of students eligible and likely to attend a university. Using a methodology based in continuous process improvement, we developed tutoring programs, college preparation workshops, long-term plans for a local school, and solicited involvement by an island educational coalition. Lessons learned from these initiatives may be used to expand other efforts on the island and can be generalized to other programs in Central America