Latinos, African Americans and the Coalitional Case for a Federal Jobs Program

In the late 1970s, amidst growing unemployment in black and Latino communities, the newly-formed Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) supported the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in its call for full employment in the run up to the passage of the Humphrey-Hawkins Act of 1 978. Never fully implemented, the act has been de facto an unfunded mandate for close to 40 years. Only recently has it been resurrected by a handful of lawmakers, while both discussion and support for a national jobs program has begun to gain steam in the media and the general public. With support from labor market research and other empirical evidence, we propose and outline for a bold policy: a National Investment Employment Corps to provide a permanent job guarantee for all citizens with the purpose of maintaining and expanding the nation\u27s physical and human infrastructure. Given the disproportionate effect of the recent economic downturn and labor market bias on African Americans and Latinos, we argue that a National Investment Employment Corps program would address the employment needs for blacks and Latinos by assuring full-employment and simultaneously ensuring long-term benefits for the nation\u27s well-being

La ciencia política en las relaciones internacionales

Fil: Aja Espil, Jorge A. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Derecho. Cátedra Derecho Constitucional Argentino y Comparado. Buenos Aires, Argentin

Sustainable Funding of Higher Education in Nigerian Universities in the Austere Period: Institutional Analysis

In spite of the importance of higher education to national development, the problem of underfunding has constituted the bane to accessing quality education in Nigeria. Over the years there has been general outcry about poor quality of higher education despite government allocations to financing education. The trend has fallen short of UNESCO recommendations and as a result tertiary institutions have been encouraged to source for alternative funding mechanisms. The study aimed at investigating the funding of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki in order to ascertain major sources of financial inflows. Three research questions guided the study. Descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The area of the study was Ebonyi State University Abakaliki. The population of this study made up of six thousand seven hundred and twenty one (6721) academic and non-academic staff of the university under investigation. The sample of the study comprised of two hundred (200) academic and non-academic staff purposively selected for the study based on qualification and experience. The instrument for data collection was structured questionnaire entitled “Sources of Revenue Inflows into Funding of Ebonyi State University” (SRIFESU). The instrument was subjected to face-validation by three specialists-one from Measurement and Evaluation and two from the Educational Administration and Planning all in EBSU, Abakaliki. The reliability coefficient of 0.66, 0.69, 0.70 and the general reliability index of 0.68 were obtained. The questionnaire was administered and by the researcher. The data collected were answered using mean and standard deviation. The results showed that the state government is the major financier of EBSU, Abakaliki. It showed that university management complement through students’ school fees and levies. It also showed that the university funds the school through proceeds from consultancy services. It also showed that the extent the university explored external grants and international services are low among others. The study recommended among others that the university should explore other alternative funding mechanisms to improve on revenue generation to avoid over dependence on state allocation. Keywords: university sustainability, funding, higher education, Nigeria universities, austere time

Issues of Instructional supervisory Practices in primary Schools of Ebonyi State

The study examines the issue of instructional supervision in primary schools of Onueke educational zone of Ebonyi state. The purpose of the study was to find out the problems militating against effective instructional supervision in the zone. Four research questions guided the study and descriptive survey research design was employed. The population comprised of 1320 teachers in 21 primary schools in the area. Simply random sampling was used to select 100 teachers from ten selected schools. A 20 item research made questionnaire was used for data collection. The instrument received face validation and was subjected to reliability test using t-test. This was analyzed using Pearson Moment Product Correlation Coefficient and it yielded coefficient of 0.75. Mean score were to analyze the data collected. The findings revealed that inadequate personnel, poor funding, poor transportation network and inadequate materials are the problems hindering the effective supervision of institutions. Finally the paper recommended among others that government should recruit more qualified personnel into the supervisory unit in different Education Board or ministry. KEY WORDS: Concept of Instructional Supervision, Supervisory Practices, Problems Of Supervision Of Instruction, Primary Schools, And Ebonyi State

INTEGRATIVE FUNDING AND EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION PROGREMME: A NEED ASSESSMENT IN PRIMARY AND JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF EBONYI STATE, NIGERIA

This study was an assessment on the extent of integrative funding for the effective implantation of universal basic education (UBE) programme in Ebonyi state, Nigeria. In carrying out the study, a descriptive survey design was adopted by the researchers. Three research questions and two hypotheses were posed to guide the study. The population of the study was comprised of 228 principals and 1036 primary school head teachers in Ebonyi state. A 30 0/0 sample size of 59 principals and 311 primary school head teachers were randomly drawn making the sample to be 370 research respondents. The instruments for data collection were self structured questionnaire which was based on face and content values. The reliability of the instrument was established through test re-test method and the statistical tools used to analyze the results was Pearson product moment and it yielded a reliability co-efficient of 0.75. Mean and standard deviation were employed in the analysis of the data based on the research questions. While t-test of difference was used to analyze the two hypotheses at 0.05 significant level. The study revealed that government contributed to a great extent but not enough for effective implementation of UBE programme. The study also showed that local donor agencies contributed insignificantly to the effective implementation of UBE programme in Ebonyi state. Also, that international donor agencies contribute to a low extent in the provision of instructional material, sports and health equipment, furniture and classroom blocks for the implementation of UBE programme. Based on the findings, it was recommended that government should maintain the policy of allotting at least 26 percent of the entire budget to education hence, adequate fund for UBE implementation, and ensure there are committed body to see to the prudent management of such fund. Government should devise a way of holding a regular or routine meetings with the various stake holders, parents and other voluntary agencies for them to be committed towards UBE funding in Ebonyi State etc

Response of coccinellid community to the dimethoate application in olive groves in northeastern Portugal

In this work we assessed the effects of the application of dimethoate on the coccinellid community. The field work was carried out on a weekly basis, in two different olive groves, from April to November of 2002 and 2003 and captured coccinellids were identified to species level. Principal response curves (PRC) method was used to analyse the effect of the dimethoate application on the abundance of coccinellid species. A total of 23 species were identified from the two olive groves. Nine species occurred in both olive groves and in the two years of the study. Scymnus interruptus was the dominant species in the control grove with 46.4% of the total Coccinellidae recovered while in the grove treated with dimethoate, Rhyzobius chrysomeloides represented 35.7% of the total number captured. PCR showed that the main effect of the treatment was a significant reduction of the abundance of the most common species of the coccinellid community (S. interruptus and Chilocorus bipustulatus) in the treated grove. This can also have implications on the preservation of ecological functions associated with coccinellids, namely their role as control agents of olive pests.En este trabajo se analizan los efectos de la aplicación de dimetoato en la comunidad de coccinélidos. El trabajo de campo se ha realizado en dos olivares, semanalmente, de abril a noviembre en 2002 y 2003, y los coccinélidos capturados se han identificado hasta el nivel de especie. Se han utilizado las principales curvas de respuesta (PRC) para analizar el efecto que produce la aplicación de dimetoato en la abundancia de especies de coccinélidos. Se encontraron un total de 23 especies de coccinélidos en los dos olivares, nueve de ellas comunes en los dos olivares y en los dos años de estudio. Scymnus interruptus fue la especie dominante en el olivar no tratado con dimetoato (46,4% del total de coccinélidos capturados), mientras que en el olivar tratado Rhyzobius chrysomeloides representó el 35,7% del total de las capturas. Las PRC demuestran que el principal efecto producido al aplicar dimetoato ha sido una reducción significativa de la abundancia de las especies más comunes de la comunidad de coccinélidos (S. interruptus y Chilocorus bipustulatus) en el olivar tratado. Esto puede tener implicaciones en la conservación de las funciones ecológicas asociadas a los coccinélidos como, por ejemplo, su papel como agentes de control de las plagas del olivo. Palabras clave adicionales: abundancia de especies, agricultura ecológica, Coccinellidae, curvas de respuesta principal, manejo integrado de plagas, Olea europaea

An Exploratory Evaluation of a Treatment Mall at a State Psychiatric Hospital

The Treatment Mall is a model of inpatient psychosocial treatment provided to adults with severe mental illness to deliver recovery-oriented, evidenced-based treatment and has been implemented in state mental hospitals across the United States. The present study is an exploratory evaluation of a recently implemented Treatment Mall in a state mental hospital. To evaluate this program, the experiences of clients (N=28), staff (N=32), and administrators (N=5) were compiled using a quantitative questionnaire and focused on empowerment, skill development, and satisfaction. Additionally, data from the hospital database (N=183) were extracted and analyzed by comparing frequencies of occurrence 90 days before and 90 days after Treatment Mall implementation. The findings indicate that clients reported learning skills and were satisfied with how they were treated at the Treatment Mall. Female clients and staff viewed independent living and recovery possibilities significantly more positively than male clients and staff. Hospital performance indicators showed no significant changes pre to post implementation.

LFI 30 and 44 GHz receivers Back-End Modules

The 30 and 44 GHz Back End Modules (BEM) for the Planck Low Frequency Instrument are broadband receivers (20% relative bandwidth) working at room temperature. The signals coming from the Front End Module are amplified, band pass filtered and finally converted to DC by a detector diode. Each receiver has two identical branches following the differential scheme of the Planck radiometers. The BEM design is based on MMIC Low Noise Amplifiers using GaAs P-HEMT devices, microstrip filters and Schottky diode detectors. Their manufacturing development has included elegant breadboard prototypes and finally qualification and flight model units. Electrical, mechanical and environmental tests were carried out for the characterization and verification of the manufactured BEMs. A description of the 30 and 44 GHz Back End Modules of Planck-LFI radiometers is given, with details of the tests done to determine their electrical and environmental performances. The electrical performances of the 30 and 44 GHz Back End Modules: frequency response, effective bandwidth, equivalent noise temperature, 1/f noise and linearity are presented