African-American Land Loss and Sustainable Forestry in the Southeast: An Analysis of the Issues, Opportunities, and Gaps

African-Americans\u27 connection to the land is rapidly disappearing, and with it goes the cultural, political, and socio-economic capital that has helped this population, especially in southern states. There has been a severe decline in black landownership since 1910, resulting in rural counties with predominantly black populations becoming pockets of enduring poverty. Judicious investments in efforts to solve black land loss may lead to solutions to a larger problem: engagement of non-industrial private forestland owners in sustainable land management. Strengthening black forest-based communities as places to invest and live can build on this rich Southern heritage

The Caribbean’s Geotourism Potential and Challenges: A Focus on Two Islands in the Region

Geotourism is a relatively new concept in the tourism industry, a concept which apparently has not yet been formally embraced by Caribbean destinations. This paper, based primarily on a literature review supplemented by the first-hand knowledge of the author, who served for over a decade in the natural resource management and tourism sectors in the region, identifies some of the geotourism assets and assesses the geotourism potential of two selected Caribbean islands, namely the Commonwealth of Dominica and St. Lucia. Indications are that the islands of the region have outstanding geological formations, dormant and active volcanic zones and associated geomorphological features, and breath-taking terrestrial and marine landscapes, including deep river gorges and tall mountains, and beautiful beaches, which together constitute important geotourism assets. Currently, these resources are marketed and promoted as part of the region’s nature tourism attractions. The feasibility of incorporating geotourism as a component of this overall nature tourism thrust is explored in this paper. As a follow-up to this study a survey of tourism officials, natural resource professionals, and selected scientists of the region is proposed for the purpose of identifying the reasons and constraints preventing the Caribbean region from formally embracing geotourism, developing and promoting the geotourism resources of the region as a unique component of the overall tourism product

The Caribbean’s Geotourism Potential and Challenges: A Focus on Two Islands in the Region

Geotourism is a relatively new concept in the tourism industry, a concept which apparently has not yet been formally embraced by Caribbean destinations. This paper, based primarily on a literature review supplemented by the first-hand knowledge of the author, who served for over a decade in the natural resource management and tourism sectors in the region, identifies some of the geotourism assets and assesses the geotourism potential of two selected Caribbean islands, namely the Commonwealth of Dominica and St. Lucia. Indications are that the islands of the region have outstanding geological formations, dormant and active volcanic zones and associated geomorphological features, and breath-taking terrestrial and marine landscapes, including deep river gorges and tall mountains, and beautiful beaches, which together constitute important geotourism assets. Currently, these resources are marketed and promoted as part of the region’s nature tourism attractions. The feasibility of incorporating geotourism as a component of this overall nature tourism thrust is explored in this paper. As a follow-up to this study a survey of tourism officials, natural resource professionals, and selected scientists of the region is proposed for the purpose of identifying the reasons and constraints preventing the Caribbean region from formally embracing geotourism, developing and promoting the geotourism resources of the region as a unique component of the overall tourism product

An analysis of Youth Guarantee Fees-free programme outcomes in a New Zealand wānanga

RESEARCH QUESTIONS: 1. What are the objectives of the Youth Guarantee Policy and why were they created? 2. What are the national outcomes of the Youth Guarantee Fees-Free initiative, why are they occurring, and how do they compare to the Wānanga Youth Guarantee Fees-Free outcomes? 3. Why do Wānanga Youth Guarantee Fees-free students enroll on Fees-free programmes and do their reasons align with the objectives of the programme? 4. What factors influence Wānanga Youth Guarantee Fees-free student engagement, student retention, course completion, qualification achievement and progression into higher levels of study or work. ABSTRACT: The Youth Guarantee Policy was enacted in 2009 to increase the educational achievement of New Zealand youth and improve transitions between school, tertiary education and work. The Youth Guarantee Fees-free (YGFF) initiative and subsequent programmes have been implemented to provide the opportunity for unqualified youth to study free-of-charge at tertiary education organisations. The Wānanga (where I previously worked) has delivered YGFF programmes since 2011, producing mixed student outcomes. Student retention in the programme, course completion and qualification achievement were all below the minimum education performance indicators set by the Tertiary Education Commission. Furthermore, student progression into higher levels of study was not reliably tracked and progression into work was unknown. This research was undertaken to analyse the discrepancies between the objectives of the Youth Guarantee Policy and the Wānanga student outcomes that were occurring (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009). This qualitative study utilised documentary analysis to analyse the Youth Guarantee policy context and the national outcomes of the YGFF, as well as, a student questionnaire to gather student perceptions. The analysis found that YGFF programmes have contributed to increases in qualification achievement, but around half of all students do not complete the programme. Also, participation in YGFF programmes has not increased the likelihood of progression into higher levels of study or work. The student questionnaire revealed that many students enroll for reasons that do not align with the objectives of the programme, three quarters of students experienced barriers to their achievement and more than a quarter acknowledged a learning difficulty. Most students could not identify an academic or vocational pathway. Overall, the Wānanga outcomes were typical of the national outcomes. This study recommends that funding models need to account for student progression and flexible achievement. Providers need to have robust enrolment processes and support staff to manage the complex challenges students experience. More time needs to be dedicated to exploring future student pathways and processes need to be implemented which place students directly into higher levels of study or work

Conceptualization and Realization of a National Trail in a Small Island-Nation: The Commonwealth of Dominica’s Experience

The island-nation of Dominica, 790 km2 in area, is located approximately 1126.5 km Southeast of Florida, USA. In the mid-1990s, Dominica embarked on developing the 183.5 km Waitukubuli National Trail (WNT), the first and only national trail model in the Eastern Caribbean. The 14-segment WNT, officially opened in May 2013, passes through some of the island’s most diverse landscapes. WNT was designed to link as many rural communities as possible and promote ecotourism and community socioeconomic development. Rehabilitation work continues on the WNT and the rest of Dominica, following the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria of 2017. This article, based primarily on a limited questionnaire survey, selected interviews, and literature review, explored the research question ‘What were the challenges faced by a small-island nation in the development of a National Trail? Five specific research objectives focused on the conceptualization, implementation challenges, partnerships fostered, national and sub-regional significance, and future outlook of the Trail were considered. Questionnaire respondents identified the island’s topography and negotiations with private landowners as significant trail construction challenges. A 100% of survey respondents anticipate that reliable funding to support timely maintenance would likely be a critical future issue. Some respondents identified marketing, public engagement, and visitor safety as potential issues. Face-to-face interviews found strong support for the WNT. The interviewees were confident that Dominica would realize sustainable socioeconomic benefits from the Trail. The article concludes with lessons learned and proposes strategies and research themes to ensure the Trail’s sustainability

Agricultural Education in Today’s School System: An Evaluation of Agricultural and Related Science Courses among High Schools in Alabama, USA

Previous studies on global food security have indicated that in order to sustain the global population by the year 2050, a significant increase in food production will be needed. Consequently, it is crucial that today’s students are educated to realize this increasing food demand. One of the problems is that currently too few students seem to be interested in pursuing studies in the fields of agriculture and related sciences. By exploring three research questions, this study assesses the extent to which high school students in each of the 67 counties in the U.S. state of Alabama are being exposed to agricultural-related science courses. For the purposes of this assessment, the high schools were grouped by zones—Northern, Central, Southern and the Black Belt. Relevant high school data, including courses offered, were compiled from Alabama’s Department of Education 2017 directory. Microsoft Excel and SPSS software were used to analyze the data. The findings of this study demonstrated that there are spatial differences in agriculture-related courses offered in high schools in Alabama’s Northern, Central and Southern regions. Future research should further investigate what percentage of high school students actually choose agriculture or related disciplines as their professional career paths after graduating from high school