The Remittances Framework in Lesotho: Assessment of Policies and Programmes Promoting the Multiplier Effect

This study explored policies and programmes aimed at facilitating remittances inflows through formal channels and leveraging remittances for development in Lesotho. The study also looked into regulations and laws on remittances. In order to answer key questions of this study, semi‐structured questionnaires were administered to 29 institutions, including commercial banks, an asset manager, insurance companies, telecommunication companies, government ministries, parastatals, a research institution, a retailer, a savings and credit cooperative and non-governmental organizations. The gaps revealed by this study can be summarised as: the Deferred Pay Act is the only policy driving officially recorded remittance inflows to Lesotho and which facilitated the creation of remittances‐linked savings product by the banking sector; there are restrictions on remittance outflows for immigrants working in the country, though planned to be eliminated; most of remittances transfer products offered by various institutions suit regular income earners with bank accounts, the adoption of mobile‐phone based transfers adoption is low and the mobile‐phone based transfer products cannot be used to make international transfers; there is lack of adoption of remittances‐linked financial products by financial intermediaries and relevant government ministries; the benefits packaged with the remittances‐ linked savings accounts are less attractive; and most of the remittances services providers are concentrated in urban centres. These findings show there is a need to develop policies and programmes for harnessing remittances for development. This study concluded by suggesting policy options for facilitating remittances inflows through regular channels and promoting positive impact of remittances on development

Suppression of SIV-specific CD4+ T cells by infant but not adult macaque regulatory T cells: implications for SIV disease progression.

The impact of regulatory T cells (T reg cells) on the course of HIV and SIV disease is unknown. T reg cells could suppress protective antiviral responses and accelerate disease progression. Alternatively, these cells might block T cell activation and thereby limit viral replication as well as activation-associated immunopathology. Given the higher frequency of T reg cells known to be present during human fetal ontogeny, such influences may be most important in the context of perinatal infection. We found that infant macaques had higher fractions of CD4(+)CD25(+)CD127(low)FoxP3(+) T reg cells in the peripheral blood and in lymphoid tissues, and that these T reg cells showed greater in vitro suppressive activity on a per cell basis. Infant and adult macaques were infected with SIVmac251 to test the influence of the T reg cell compartment on SIV-specific immune responses. After infection with SIV, most (three out of four) infant macaques had persistently high viral loads, weak and transient SIV-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell responses, and rapid disease progression. T reg cells in the infant but not in the adult directly suppressed SIV-specific CD4(+) T cell responses, which were detectable only after depletion of T reg cells. In the case of both the infant and the adult macaque, T reg cells were not able to directly suppress SIV-specific CD8(+) T cell responses and had no apparent effect on T cell activation. In aggregate, these observations suggest that the T reg cell compartment of the infant macaque facilitates rapid disease progression, at least in part by incapacitating SIV-specific CD4(+) T cell responses

Satellite Servicing-Logistics Support

This report addresses anticipated servicing requirements for orbital maintenance considering ground support operations, centralized depot concept, logistics module utilization/servicing/maintenance/integration and orbital docking and servicing. Anticipated costs to sustain orbital maintenance, servicing, and support of future free flyers and the space station leads to a conclusion that optimum support with reduced support costs can best be achieved by standardization and centralization of support facilities. The centralized depot concept and logistics module utilization described herein provides a scenario to achieve the supportability goals and reduce the overall satellite servicing costs

Music curriculum priorities of California community colleges: stakeholders and practice

The purpose of this study was to investigate how curriculum is prioritized in music programs at California community colleges, and to determine how stakeholders influence curricular managers in that prioritization. Data for this study were obtained from case studies of three California community colleges, comprised of interviews of a full slate of curricular managers (i.e., one music faculty member, the dean who supervises music, and academic vice presidents), college catalogs, current and past class schedules, and other documents such as concert programs and advertisements, and advertisements for special community programs at each of three community college sites. The interview protocol was developed from a theoretical framework based on Baily and Morest’s (2004) community college multiple mission theory and Mitchell, Agle, and Wood’s (1997) theory of stakeholder salience. This framework guided the analysis of how curricular mangers perceived stakeholders in their academic programs and their prioritization of mission activities. Data collected from interviews were corroborated by archival records in publicly available documents, website materials at each institution, and through college personnel. All data were analyzed through what Yin (2009) characterized as “explanation building” (p. 141) for each site. “Cross-case synthesis” (p. 156) allowed aggregation of the three case colleges: Mountain View College, Bay View College, and Valley View College. Participants ranked the importance of music program activities and selected those stakeholders they determined to be powerful, legitimate, and urgent according to the descriptions set forth in Mitchell, Agle, and Wood’s (1997) typology. The findings of this study revealed that there are four definitive stakeholders of the community college music curriculum: transfer institutions; government bodies such as the state legislature, state chancellor’s office, and local boards of trustees; K-12 institutions; and community members. Although the educational needs of community college students are central to the work of faculty members, deans, and academic vice presidents, they do not meet the definition of stakeholders as described by Mitchell, Agle, and Wood (1997). Each of the four definitive stakeholders was perceived, in the aggregate, to exhibit some degree of power, legitimacy, and urgency over the curriculum. These results suggest that curricular managers should identify salient curricular stakeholders, and determine how courses, degrees, and certificates should be modified or developed based on that determination as well as what other activities might be incorporated into the program

Leaving special educators behind?: an analysis of the No Child Behind Act and its impact on special education teachers

From its inception in 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has been the subject of much debate among politicians, educators, researchers, and citizens. Much discussion has related to how NCLB affects students and their teachers in the classroom. This study examines NCLB’s direct impact on special education teachers in the East Baton Rouge parish school district of Louisiana by measuring different aspects of their satisfaction levels. Overall job satisfaction is measured using the Brayfield-Rothe Job Satisfaction Index (1951). Specific aspects of job satisfaction are measured using an abbreviated form of the Job Diagnostic Survey (Hackman & Oldham, 1975) and the satisfaction portion of a survey employed by Zembylas and Papanastasiou (2005), both slightly tailored to elicit answers pertinent to NCLB. Quantitative and qualitative questions directly related to NCLB are asked to explore the relationship between the legislation and special education, its teachers, and its students

Business Teacher Education (BTE); A Panacea for Human Capital Development in Nigeria

The focus of this paper is on business teacher education, a panacea for human capital development in Nigeria. Human capital suggests that education, and training, health and standard of living raises the productivity of workers and increases their lifetime earning capacity. Therefore, BTE is a panacea for human capital development because the programme is tailored towards providing skills, knowledge, competencies and attitudes in the students that will enable them to function effectively and efficiently in the world of work, self-reliant and/or employer of labour. Besides, business teacher education has the capacity to develop programmes that respond to current societal issues such as education for improving, basic computational skills, for meeting the needs of the bilingual and bicultural population, for eliminating occupational stereotyping, for assisting people with special needs and for helping the ordinary consumers to function effectively in the private enterprise system. It is recommended that business education in the secondary schools should contribute to the general education of all individuals by providing basic business education and to vocational education of individuals preparing for business career by providing practical training in office and marketing occupations. Keywords: Business Education, Business Educators, Business Community, Human Capital and Skill Development

Thermal Design Considerations of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Science Instrument Control and Data Handler (SI C and DH-2)

Following a failure in side 1 of the HST SI C&DH in September 2008, HST Servicing Mission 4 (SM-4) was delayed so that a SI C&DH Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) could be qualified for flight. This second generation SI C&DH (SI C&DH-2) included several enhancements which increased its thermal dissipation near critical components. In order to maintain the SI C&DH-2 within its operational temperature limits, several thermal modifications were installed prior to its final qualification testing. This paper presents the thermal modifications performed on the SI C&DH-2, as well as the thermal ground test results and a correlation of the SI C&DH-2 thermal design to flight telemetry

The Remittances Framework in Lesotho: Assessment of Policies and Programmes Promoting the Multiplier Effect

This study explored policies and programmes aimed at facilitating remittances inflows through formal channels and leveraging remittances for development in Lesotho. The study also looked into regulations and laws on remittances. In order to answer key questions of this study, semi‐structured questionnaires were administered to 29 institutions, including commercial banks, an asset manager, insurance companies, telecommunication companies, government ministries, parastatals, a research institution, a retailer, a savings and credit cooperative and non-governmental organizations. The gaps revealed by this study can be summarised as: the Deferred Pay Act is the only policy driving officially recorded remittance inflows to Lesotho and which facilitated the creation of remittances‐linked savings product by the banking sector; there are restrictions on remittance outflows for immigrants working in the country, though planned to be eliminated; most of remittances transfer products offered by various institutions suit regular income earners with bank accounts, the adoption of mobile‐phone based transfers adoption is low and the mobile‐phone based transfer products cannot be used to make international transfers; there is lack of adoption of remittances‐linked financial products by financial intermediaries and relevant government ministries; the benefits packaged with the remittances‐ linked savings accounts are less attractive; and most of the remittances services providers are concentrated in urban centres. These findings show there is a need to develop policies and programmes for harnessing remittances for development. This study concluded by suggesting policy options for facilitating remittances inflows through regular channels and promoting positive impact of remittances on development

Sunbelt Civil Rights: Race, Labor, and Politics in the Fort Worth Aircraft Industry, 1940-1980

This dissertation critically engages the growing literature on the "long" civil rightsmovement and the African American struggle for equal employment. Focusing on the FortWorth plants of General Dynamics and its local competitors, this study argues that thefederal government's commitment to fair employment can best be understood by examiningits attempts to oversee the racial practices of southern defense contractors both prior to andafter passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. From World War II onward, the aircraftfactories of north Texas became testing grounds for federal civil rights reform as a variety ofnon-statutory executive agencies attempted to root out employment discrimination.However, although they raised awareness about the problem, these early efforts yielded fewresults. Because the agencies involved refused to utilize their punitive authority or counterthe industry's unstable demand for labor through rational economic planning, workplaceinequality continued to be the norm. Ultimately, federal policymakers' reluctance to reformthe underlying structural causes of employment discrimination among southern defensecontractors set a precedent that has continued to hinder African American economicadvancement.This dissertation also reevaluates assumptions regarding southern unions and theresponse of white workers to the civil rights movement. Just as the economic relationshipbetween the federal government and defense contractors gave rise to early mandates on fairemployment, the unstable demand for labor and adversarial management style of the FortWorth aircraft manufacturers nurtured a form of unionism unique within the South for itsmoderate treatment of African Americans. Long before most labor organizations in theregion resigned themselves to similar philosophies, the local aircraft workers' unionsadopted a pragmatic approach toward racial questions based largely on their need to countermanagerial abuses and provide job security. Whatever their personal prejudices may havebeen, local white labor leaders nevertheless protected the economic rights of AfricanAmericans through forceful shopfloor representation and the negotiation of inclusionarycontracts. By demanding a workplace in which management's actions were constrained bya set of fairly negotiated contractual rules, Fort Worth's aircraft unions struck an importantif unintended blow against the arbitrariness of employment discrimination

Graduate Students’ Perceptions and Experiences of Academic Dishonesty in the Selected Higher Learning Institutions in Tanzania

The study investigated the graduate students’ perceptions and experiences of academic dishonesty in the selected higher learning institutions in Tanzania. The study was guided by four research tasks. Firstly, to assess the graduate students’ knowledge on academic dishonesty in higher learning institutions. Secondly, to determine factors influencing graduate students’ academic dishonesty in higher learning institutions. Thirdly, to investigate the effects of graduate students’ academic dishonesty in higher learning institutions. Fourth, to find out measures to curb academic dishonesty in higher learning institutions. The study used qualitative research approach and case study design. The study had a sample of 96 participants who were obtained through purposive and snow ball sampling procedures. Data collection was done through interviews, focus group discussions and documentary reviews and data were analysed thematically. The findings indicated that graduate students had little knowledge on academic dishonesty compared to university lecturers and quality assurance officers. Moreover, student-oriented factors, faculty-oriented factors, cultural oriented factors, environment-oriented factors and economic factors contributed to academic dishonesty. Also, individual, institutional and societal effects resulted from academic dishonesty in the higher learning institutions. In order to curb graduate students’ academic dishonesty, the study established institutional approach and individual graduate approaches. In the light of the findings, the study recommends holistic approach to education stakeholders to maintain academic integrity in the higher learning institutions in Tanzania. Keywords: Academic dishonesty, motive, graduate students, higher institutions