Feyerabend’s Philosophy of Science and its Implications for National Development in Africa

The thesis of this article is that Feyerabend’s philosophy of science, hinged on his pillar of ‘anarchism’ and ‘anything goes’ can serve as a challenge for scientific and technological development in Africa. Africa has been largely tagged as ‘underdeveloped’ because she has failed to chart her own course of scientific development, and has somewhat felt satisfied playing the dependent role. This work agrees with Feyerabend’s thesis that knowledge (scientific) is a local commodity designed to solve local problems. Using the textual and contextual methods we contend that every culture, certainly including Africa, can harness her own indigenous scientific categories and develop from her own local perspective. We reason with Feyerabend that Western science is not sacrosanct, nor its method of rationality the only path toward development. The work reveals that Feyerabend’s views, though challenging and somewhat intriguing, are very congenial to our African experience. Thus we conclude by adumbrating some positive implications that his views have for the Africans, especially towards scientific and even technological development

ASC Grants Prompt Artistic Exploration for Faculty, Staff, Alumni

Two faculty/staff members received grants: Shaun Cassidy and Chris O\u27Neill \u2798, \u2710. Two alumni received grants: Holly Glasscock \u2786 and Betsy Birkner \u2797

The Morality of Same Sex Marriage: How Not to Globalize a Cultural Anomie

The question of the morality of same-sex marriage has become quite prevalent in the 21st century. Some western cultures believe that same-sex marriage is morally defensible and can be legalized. Using the human right fad and political might, they subtly engineer the globalization of this phenomenon. This move has been strongly opposed mostly by ‘developing’ nations and some churches across nations. The argument of such group is that same-sex marriage is immoral, unnatural and ungodly. This paper defends the thesis that same-sex marriage cannot morally be defended successfully. It shows that same-sex marriage is not exclusively a western phenomenon but has been in practice for a long time even in some African cultures; though in some subtle way. It argues that in whatever way it is practiced same-sex marriage is a cultural anomie: and more or less an elixir and alibi, aimed at concealing immorality. The paper concludes that it is wrong for some cultures to attempt a globalization of this cultural anomie especially by hinging its morality on the human right doctrine. The paper is expository, speculative, critical and evaluative in approach

The CFPB’s Endaround

The financial crisis of 2008 led Congress to enact the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to better protect consumers. Although Dodd-Frank and the CFPB introduced sweeping changes to many areas of financial lending, automobile dealers and financers were expressly excluded from oversight by the CFPB. Despite this express limitation on the CFPB’s authority, the Bureau nonetheless expanded its definition of “larger participants” to encompass automobile dealers and financiers. This action has resulted in duplicative regulatory oversight and increased costs to consumers, which in turn, imposes additional burdens on those borrowers who need vehicles to obtain and retain gainful employment. This Comment discusses the statutory and economic history behind Dodd-Frank, the CFPB, and other government regulators charged with oversight of consumer financial markets. In examining Dodd-Frank and the CFPB, this Comment addresses the subprime automobile financing industry, predatory lending practices, and consumer behavior, and challenges the CFPB’s attempt to regulate the automotive finance market. This Comment argues that the CFPB’s oversight in automotive finance market imposes additional, unnecessary costs which are passed on to consumers. Finally, this Comment argues that the fear of another “bubble” in the automotive market is unrealistic, and, consequently, cannot serve as the basis for the CFPB’s oversight in a market which was expressly excluded in Dodd-Frank

Towards a Model of Follower Development: Exploring the Success Differentials in Leader and Follower Development Outcomes as Experienced by Bankers in Nigeria.

The aim of this qualitative study was to understand the leader and follower development experiences of middle-level managers in the Nigerian banking industry regarding developing followers into leaders. I used two research questions to explore the perception and treatment of followers and the levels of leader and follower development as influences on the development of followers into leaders. The research was set in Nigeria, with a purposive sample of middle-level managers in the Nigerian banking industry. I used a descriptive phenomenological technique to conduct long, deep interviews with 12 middle-level managers via Zoom video and then transcribed them with Otter.ai software. My findings indicate that followers are treated very poorly in the Nigerian banking sector and are perceived as work tools and people with no choice by industry leaders. In addition, leader development is prioritized over follower development, which has been relegated to academic and job-specific training programs that lack leadership skills development. Followers are not intentionally and strategically developed into leaders but rather leaders emerge from those who meet deposit mobilization targets. Banks use the funds mobilized to build their asset base and for trading and lending. Leader development is prioritized, and despite being undertaken through expensive offshore executive training programs, outcomes of the learning points from these programs are not being applied to improve organizations in the industry and their staff because of the leaders’ lackadaisical attitude toward training attendance. The followers, however, attain valuable outcomes from their training programs, which help with performance appraisal and service improvement processes

From Adaka Boro to the Niger Delta Avengers: The Dynamics and Management of the Revolt in Nigeria’s Niger Delta

Although, there was an earlier expression of dissatisfaction, the Twelve-Day Revolution led by Adaka Boro marked the beginning of the revolt in the Niger Delta Region. The revolt may be divided into six phases. Although, the objectives of the phases are similar, the approach has varied. The basic driver of the revolt has been the need for justice in the fiscal federalism regime in order to promote development in the region. The strategies employed in the revolt includes: advocacy, civil disobedience, sabotage, kidnapping and armed resistance. The approaches used by government in managing the revolt include re-engineering the fiscal federalism regime, establishment of development agencies for the region, and armed suppression. It is the ineffectiveness of the management strategies that has resulted in the unending revolt. Keywords: Fiscal federalism, Development, Revolt, Management of revolt, Niger Delta

THE REVIVAL OF VIRTUE ETHICS AS AN ETHICAL VIEW

Aristotle and Plato were the chief architects of virtue ethics, but their own formulation of virtue ethics was mostly subdued with the appearance of consequentialism as well as Kantian deontology. However, modem thinkers have attempted to revive virtue ethics in its new form and in this regard the name which is popularly known is G.E.M. Anscombe. In fact Anscombe clearly indicates in what sense virtue ethics can be revived and what was wrong with the traditional virtue ethics as expounded by Aristotle and Plato. Anscombe points out three important issues for which traditional virtue ethics perhaps lost its glory. First, moral philosophy in general cannot survive without an adequate philosophy of psychology and this thing was absent in the traditional virtue ethics. Secondly, without psychological possibility the concepts of moral obligation and moral duty, the moral sense of ought to be jeopardized. Thirdly and importantly, the differences between the well-known English writers on moral philosophy from Sidgwick to the present day are of little importance. This task of this paper is to review the revival of virtue ethic

50 Years of the Clean Water Act: Can We Sustain Its Success?

The effectiveness of the Clean Water Act in mandating the abatement of gross pollution by setting technology standards for categories of municipal and industrial point sources is well documented. Still, the CWA has not been modernized to update water quality standards, it has not readily employed the latest science, and the benefits have not been documented nearly well enough. Increasingly insidious attempts to undermine its continued effectiveness have arisen over the past 10–15 years mostly at the state level