31 research outputs found

    Learning While Black: A Qualitative Analysis of the Impact of Race in a U.S. High School

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    One of the major contributing factors to the Black-White achievement gap is school context. While many factors can affect academic achievement amongst Black youth, school climate and inter-racial relations are among the root causes which impact Black students’ development. In this qualitative study, we conducted secondary analysis of existing data consisting of interview transcripts and focus group discussions held in 2013 with 21 Black students who attended a public charter high school in Michigan. Open access data were downloaded from the University of Michigan Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) database. We analyzed qualitative data for themes and constructs related to school context and such influences on Black youth development. The following three constructs were identified: racial identity of Black youth, the impact of teachers on Black students’ racial identity and development, and lastly, exploring the dominant culture of the U.S. education system. For researchers, this data highlights a need for more studies on the intersection of race, school environment, and youth development. For administrators and policy makers, the results emphasize the need for investment and engagement in the daily experiences of Black students, reducing racism, and increasing diversity of curriculum. Teachers and school administrators may benefit from specialized training to better address cultural, educational, and developmental needs of Black youth in the context of their role in school

    State owned enterprises as bribe payers: the role of institutional environment

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    Our paper draws attention to a neglected channel of corruption—the bribe payments by state-owned enterprises (SOEs). This is an important phenomenon as bribe payments by SOEs fruitlessly waste national resources, compromising public welfare and national prosperity. Using a large dataset of 30,249 firms from 50 countries, we show that, in general, SOEs are less likely to pay bribes for achieving organizational objectives owing to their political connectivity. However, in deteriorated institutional environments, SOEs may be subjected to potential managerial rent-seeking behaviors, which disproportionately increase SOE bribe propensity relative to privately owned enterprises. Specifically, our findings highlight the importance of fostering democracy and rule of law, reducing prevalence of corruption and shortening power distance in reducing the incidence of SOE bribery

    Starting-up unregistered and firm performance in Turkey

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    © 2016 The Author(s) Recent years have seen a questioning of the negative representation of informal sector entrepreneurship and an emergent view that it may offer significant benefits. This paper advances this rethinking by evaluating the relationship between business registration and future firm performance. Until now, the assumption has been that starting-up unregistered is linked to weaker firm performance. Using World Bank Enterprise Survey data on 2494 formal enterprises in Turkey, and controlling for other determinants of firm performance as well as the endogeneity of the registration decision, the finding is that formal enterprises that started-up unregistered and spent longer unregistered have significantly higher subsequent annual sales and productivity growth rates compared with those registered from the outset. This is argued to be because in such weak institutional environments, the advantages of registering from the outset are outweighed by the benefits of deferring business registration and the low risks of detection and punishment. The resultant implication is that there is a need to shift away from the conventional eradication approach based on the negative depiction of informal entrepreneurship as poorly performing, and towards a more facilitating approach that improves the benefits of business registration and tackles the systemic formal institutional deficiencies that lead entrepreneurs to decide to delay the registration of their ventures

    Preliminary assessment of the ultra violet curing of composites manufactured by the resin infusion between double flexible tooling process

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    This study evaluates the feasibility of designing and incorporating a cure on demand system into the resin infusion between double flexible tooling (RIDFT) process, using ultraviolet (UV) light for the curing of composite laminates. This work set out to develop a process for the RIDFT that would eliminate or reduce the inflexibility in the current production process, resulting in shortened production cycle times. UV cured laminates were produced at a fraction of the time required for catalyst cured laminates. Mechanical and rheological tests were performed on each of the UV cured laminates produced. The results were referenced against those obtained for laminates produced using a catalyst curing system to determine their overall quality. Experimental results from the tensile and rheological tests inferred that the UV cured laminates yielded material properties that were comparable and in a few instances slightly better than that of thermally cured laminates. © 2006 Society of Plastics Engineers

    Physicochemical characteristics of boreholes water samples from a tertiary institution in Elele, Nigeria

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    Water samples, designated A, B, and C, were taken from three different boreholes used as sources of water for drinking and other domestic purposes by students of a tertiary institution in Elele, Southeastern Nigeria. Physicochemical parameters of these water samples were assessed and compared with the WHO reference standards. The pH for samples A,B, and C were 5.7, 5.6 and 5.6 respectively, whereas the corresponding values for biological oxygen demand (BOD) were 3.52 mg/l, 3.20 mg/l and 3.20 mg/l. The values for total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, alkalinity, conductivity, sulphate, nitrate, and chloride in all three samples were significantly below the WHO maximum acceptable limit. Lead, nickel and cadmium were not detected while traces of copper were present in all three samples. IJONAS Vol. 3 (1) 2007: pp. 107-11
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