A social constructivist understanding of culture for environmental justice and policy

In addressing the environmental threats to cultural resources, some environmental ethicists have taken for granted the idea that culture has an essential character of change that is to be welcomed. In this article, I show that there are pressing moral issues, in this age of environmental crisis, that lurk behind the idea that culture has an essential nature of change. One question that I address is whether, if change is always a pervasive part of culture, we should be morally neutral about changes to cultural values and resources, especially when such change is harmful and external forces are responsible. To address this question, I adopt a social constructivist understanding of culture to show why concerns for loss of culture in the event of environmental crisis that is qualified as cultural change is normatively flawed. I argue that this perspective on culture, yet to be considered in environmental justice literature, prescribes not being neutral about cultural change in addressing environmental issues that affect cultural resources. I demonstrate that seeing culture in this new light has revealing implications for environmental justice. I conclude that failure to integrate this idea of environmental justice runs the risk of dismissing what is harmful to some cultural groups under the guise of ‘normal’ cultural change

The inclusion of guidance and counseling program into basic education curriculum for quality assurance

The study examined the inclusion of guidance and counselling programme into basic education curriculum for quality assurance in basic education. The study employed the use of descriptive research design. The sample consisted of two hundred basic education teachers in primary and junior secondary schools in Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo State. Four research questions were raised. The use of self – designed questionnaire was employed which was validated by experts from curriculum studies and Educational Foundations and Counselling. The data gathered was analyzed with mean rank and standard deviation. The findings of the result shows the various guidance and counselling programmes to be included into basic education curriculum, the benefits derived from the inclusion of guidance and counselling programmes into basic education curriculum, the relationship between basic education and guidance and counselling and the challenges on the inclusion of guidance and counselling into basic education curriculum. Based on the findings, the study makes the following recommendations among others: Formal vocational education to be introduced at the Basic education level, so that pupils would be guided into the right thinking of appropriate careers to be perused, training and retraining of professionally qualified counsellors on regular basis and they should be involved in the formulation and implementation of curriculum for the basic education programme, well trained and competent Guidance and Counselling personnel, with thorough theoretical and practical knowledge, must be employed at schools. These people can help teachers to cope and deal with learners efficiently, government should provide adequate funds to all basic education in the country

Ethics of climate change: a normative account

Consider, for instance, you and your family have lived around a place where you enjoyed the flora and fauna of the land as well as the natural environment. Fishing and farming were pleasant activities for your family, and anyone in the community not only to survive but thrive. Your neighbours and the people in the community pride themselves so much in their farming abilities and fishing techniques. Suddenly things start taking a different turn because of rising sea level and changing weather pattern. First, your land began to give way because of sweeping erosion, and later the riverbank serving the community starts drying up. Your neighbour could not hold their own in this grim condition as they started relocating. You even witnessed some of your family and friends leaving the community and you later heard that they have become climate refugees. To put it all together, you were told that what you are experiencing is one of climate change effects. You were told that the loss of the place that you once cherished is not an act of God but the result of the reckless flaring of greenhouse gasses harmful to the environment by some powerful but polluting nations. What will you do? This might sound like a fairy tale. In reality, this is the story of the people of Saint Louis Atlantic Coasts in Senegal, captured by the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus Initiative.1 Their situation has been described as ‘living on the edge’ because for centuries, Saint Louis Atlantic Coasts, home to around 230,000 inhabitants, also known as the ‘Venice of Africa’ has been protected from the pounding Atlantic waves by the ‘Langue de Barbarie,’ a narrow, 30 km peninsula at the mouth of the Senegal river. However, the low-lying sandy spit of land along this World Heritage site is itself rapidly disappearing in the present. This is the consequence of a changing climate and other man-made problems such as illegal sand-mining and over-development. Today, the southern part of the Langue de Barbarie is an island, and the village of Doune Baba Dieye is under more than a metre of water. The villagers have become climate refugees, forced to live in temporary camps on the mainland. Not only have they lost their homes, but they have also lost significant cultural heritage like the farming and fishing culture tied to this place. The ethical considerations that emerge from climate change impacts on the world’s cultural heritage are varied. However, it seems not as self-evident in the way that research on climate change ethics has been framed around economic interest and direct threats to human life and other species. Even when they mention climate impacts on heritage sites around the world, those of Africans have been side-lined. For instance, the impact of climate change on small island nations like Tuvalu, Kiribati2 have gained much traction in climate change discourse, but we do not get to see stories of Africans whose cherished cultural heritage are affected by climate despoliation. How do we respond to this intractable challenge? This is a question of justice and, to be more precise, climate justice. Many principles and proposals for climate justice have been put forward, but the insufficient attention to the vulnerabilities or loss of cultural heritage values of Africans, which is a critical aspect of their social realities, make these theories less persuasive on a global level. This thesis, then, fills this gap in the literature by suggesting that the failure to take cognizance of the injustice in neglecting cultural heritage values when dealing with the burden of climate change is the effect of three problems. One, the value of culture is less understood in this environmental age. Hence, cultural values are excluded or made to be secondary in consideration of principles of climate justice. Second, the idea of Personhood has been neglected in climate ethics and climate justice discourse. Yet, this idea of Personhood can be an enabler of climate justice in that a realization of the significance of cultural heritage to the wellness of the human persons in Africa, makes it loss morally reprehensible. Third, those whose cultural heritage is significantly affected do not get represented in the debate about sharing the burden of climate change. This dissertation thereby builds upon the general findings of the past about anthropogenic climate change, its causes and consequences. Adopting a discursive normative framework, I also address the significance of cultural heritage in this contemporary environmental age and discuss the global justice implications of cultural heritage loss to climate change. This dissertation further provides a critique of mainstream climate justice theories, especially their marginalization of the cultural dimension of climate change. In this regard, the metaphor - ‘cultural storm’ was deployed to argue that climate justice discourses have neither factored the deep socio-cultural impact of climate change nor do they draw on the cultural understanding of justice in putting forward their theories. Given the nature of the indirect, cumulative, and interconnected invisible losses to cultural heritage from climate change, it seems unlikely that they can be addressed by simple tweaks of the climate justice status quo. This dissertation proposes that the idea of personhood in African philosophy, can be conceived to ensure climate justice live up to its expectations in a world of diverse persons dealing with a complex phenomenon like climate change. It argues that a cultural dimension of climate ethics has implications for how mitigation, adaptation and compensation plans should be furthered for global climate justice. At the foundation of my argument, I suggest that what is needed in climate justice discourse is a commitment to explore new and innovative alternatives that will produce an inclusive global climate treaty that is sensitive to the cultural heritage assets that is destroyed by climate change in Africa. This will require a multi-dimensional framework that allows fundamentally different kinds of values and benefits to be given equal visibility and standing in global climate negotiations. The dissertation proceeds in six chapters. In the first chapter, I discuss how climate change denies, damage and destroys cultural heritage values in Africa and argue that it is unjust to ignore this dimension of climate change impact, particularly on the African continent. In the second chapter, I critically discuss the normative value of cultural heritage in an environmentally sustainable and morally appropriate way for this global age. I argue that what is lost when climate change affects cultural heritage is a significant cultural asset that ought to be seriously considered in climate ethics. The third chapter addresses the global justice implications of the destruction of Africa's cultural heritage by climate change that must be paid attention to. In chapter four, I evaluate the plausibility of some of the mainstream climate justice proposals. I offered a different possible critique of current approaches to climate justice to show how they have furthered cultural injustice. The critique of current climate justice theories that I offer, stems from an uninspiring approach that belies logic permitting the sacrificing of that which is connected to others wellbeing as well as the implicit assumptions and the limitation of the idea of justice that undergird these climate justice theories. I offer, in chapter five, a plausible climate ethics theory that recognizes culturally embedded ideas of justice and empower all stakeholders to build by themselves, lives that are, in the light of these ideas, deemed to be adversely impacted by climate change. This theory advances a socio-cultural perspective to climate change which could provide a nuanced basis for understanding and addressing global climate duties that will be sensitive to the loss of cultural heritage. Specifically, I apply the African conception of personhood, to provide a normative basis for a different but intuitive understanding of the cultural dimension of climate ethics. In the final chapter, I discuss how this theory can be applied to rethink current global responses in the form of mitigation, adaptation and compensation in such a way that it takes seriously the impacts of climate change on Africa’s cultural heritage and values.Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Philosophy, 202

A social constructivist understanding of culture for environmental justice and policy

In addressing the environmental threats to cultural resources, some environmental ethicists have taken for granted the idea that culture has an essential character of change that is to be welcomed. In this article, I show that there are pressing moral issues, in this age of environmental crisis, that lurk behind the idea that culture has an essential nature of change. One question that I address is whether, if change is always a pervasive part of culture, we should be morally neutral about changes to cultural values and resources, especially when such change is harmful and external forces are responsible. To address this question, I adopt a social constructivist understanding of culture to show why concerns for loss of culture in the event of environmental crisis that is qualified as cultural change is normatively flawed. I argue that this perspective on culture, yet to be considered in environmental justice literature, prescribes not being neutral about cultural change in addressing environmental issues that affect cultural resources. I demonstrate that seeing culture in this new light has revealing implications for environmental justice. I conclude that failure to integrate this idea of environmental justice runs the risk of dismissing what is harmful to some cultural groups under the guise of 'normal' cultural change.http://www.ufs.ac.za/ActaAcademicaam2024PhilosophyNon

A social constructivist understanding of culture for environmental justice and policy

In addressing the environmental threats to cultural resources, some environmental ethicists have taken for granted the idea that culture has an essential character of change that is to be welcomed. In this article, I show that there are pressing moral issues, in this age of environmental crisis, that lurk behind the idea that culture has an essential nature of change. One question that I address is whether, if change is always a pervasive part of culture, we should be morally neutral about changes to cultural values and resources, especially when such change is harmful and external forces are responsible. To address this question, I adopt a social constructivist understanding of culture to show why concerns for loss of culture in the event of environmental crisis that is qualified as cultural change is normatively flawed. I argue that this perspective on culture, yet to be considered in environmental justice literature, prescribes not being neutral about cultural change in addressing environmental issues that affect cultural resources. I demonstrate that seeing culture in this new light has revealing implications for environmental justice. I conclude that failure to integrate this idea of environmental justice runs the risk of dismissing what is harmful to some cultural groups under the guise of ‘normal’ cultural change

Characterization of solid fuel chars recovered from microwave hydrothermal carbonization of human biowaste

Microwave hydrothermal carbonization (M-HTC) is reported in this study as a viable sanitation technology that can reliably overcome the heterogeneous nature of human faecal biowaste (HBW) and realize its intrinsic energy value. Solid chars produced from the M-HTC process at 180°C and 200°C were characterized to further the understanding of the conversion pathways and their physicochemical, structural and energetic properties. The study revealed solid chars recovered were predominantly via a solid-solid conversion pathway. In terms of yield, more than 50% of solid chars (dry basis) can be recovered using 180°C as a benchmark. Additionally, the carbonized solid chars demonstrated enhanced carbon and energy properties following the M-HTC process: when compared to unprocessed HBW, the carbon content in the solid chars increased by up to 52%, while the carbon densification factor was greater than 1 in all recovered chars. The calorific values of the chars increased by up to 41.5%, yielding heating values that averaged 25MJ.kg-1. Thermogravimetric studies further revealed the solid fuel chars exhibited greater reactivity when compared with unprocessed HBW, due to improved porosity. This work strengthens the potential of the M-HTC sanitation technology for mitigating poor sanitation impacts while also recovering energy, which can complement domestic energy demands

Quality Improvement in IBD Care: The Influence of a QI Specific Conference for Fellows

Given the complexity of management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), medical societies such as the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) and Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) have established measures aimed at defining quality of care. In 2011, the AGA proposed 10 quality metrics for IBD, eight of these measures relate to outpatient management and two focus on inpatient management. Our objective was to evaluate compliance with these measures in our own general GI practice and determine whether a GI conference discussing quality improvement (QI) in 2017 was effective

Determinants of Capital Structure: Evidence from Ghanaian Firms

This paper investigates the determinants of capital structure using dataset from 33 listed and non-listed companies during the period 2003 – 2007 in Ghana.  A multiple regression analysis of pooled-cross sectional and time-series observations have been employed in the analysis.  The results identify long-term debt to be irrelevant component of capital structure of large unquoted and quoted firms in Ghana as there is a greater reliance on equity.  Furthermore, profitability, size, business risk and tangible assets have positive correlation with level of gearing of companies in Ghana.  On the other hand, growth, and tax indicate a negative correlation with the level of gearing. Keywords: Capital structure, financing decisions, listed, non-listed, Ghana

A facile review concerning the Protection of an Invention in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges

Technological and any form of invention is a prerequisite for National development. This is concerning the fact that the reason why countries like the USA, China, Russia, and a host of other countries are regarded as developed nations is a result of their scientist and technician inventions. However, Nigeria like several African countries is regarded as a developing country given its slow pace of invention. However, despite the slow pace of invention, the legal process of also obtaining a protection or patent over an invention seems to also pose a challenge to scientists and technicians within the Nigerian terrain. It is concerning that embarks on a hybrid method of research in examining the issues and challenges as they relate to the protection of an invention in Nigeria. In this regard, 253 questionnaires were distributed to the respondent resident in the various geo-political zone in Nigeria. A descriptive and analytical method was employed in analyzing the data, and the study found that there are but few scientists and technicians involved in the technological invention. But there are challenges concerning obtaining a patent or protection of an invention in Nigeria and this in essence often discourage scientist and technician to intensify their effort toward technological invention. It was therefore concluded and recommended that for an effective and improved technological invention in Nigeria, there is a need for the Nigerian government to create an enabling environment and review the current legal framework concerning the obtaining of a patent over an invention.

The causes of the Rising incidence of domestic violence in Nigeria: Proposing Judicial Separation as a Panacea

The increase in domestic violence in Nigeria has become overwhelming. However, the death of Osinachi Nwachukwu (a popular gospel artist singer), which has been linked to domestic violence, prompted the discussion of domestic violence to be more pronounced. Although several laws and institutional bodies are set up to curtail the incidence of domestic violence, there seems to be an increase in the monster in Nigeria. In this regard, this study adopts a hybrid method of research to ascertain the causes of the current increase in domestic violence in Nigeria and proposes judicial separation as a panacea. In this regard, various literature and laws were analysed concerning the suitability of judicial separation as a panacea in curtailing domestic violence. Furthermore 350 questionnaire was distributed to respondents to ascertain the causes of the current increase in domestic violence and possible solution. The study, therefore, found that alcohol abuse, psychological disorder, economic hardship, and traditional belief are some of the causes of the current increase in domestic violence in Nigeria. The study also found that judicial separation could be a viable legal tool to curtail domestic violence, given that it preserves the status quo of the marriage. Therefore, the study concludes and recommends that victims of domestic violence should open up and embrace the concept of judicial separation.