where angels fear to tread : Tracing the Journey of the Female Poet in Aurora Leigh

Through Aurora Leigh, Elizabeth Barrett Browning explores the role of female poets as agents of social change in the Victorian society. During the Victorian period, the role of women was largely confined to the domestic setting. While women were allowed to write, female writers were limited to the realm of novels, which was perceived by the Victorian society to be the less distinguished genre. In writing Aurora Leigh, Barrett Browning challenged this gender stereotype by producing a novel-poem that unites the feminine voice with masculine authority and superiority. Like Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh, in her fictional role as a writer, also challenges the same stereotypes. She seeks to redefine poetry, which is the domain of man. In rejecting Romney’s initial marriage proposal, Aurora Leigh also rebels against the stereotypical gender roles. At the same time, in doing so, she inadvertently rejects Romney’s plan for social change that involves only the physical aspect. Instead, in pursuing her career as a poet, Aurora Leigh finds herself in a position to bring about social change on a level that transcends the physical. By telling the story of Marian Erle, Aurora Leigh has the power to change the plight of women in the Victorian society. Finally, being women themselves, both Barrett Browning and Aurora Leigh can speak up for the Victorian women even more effectively

The gender dimensions of environmental change : an exploration of the experiences and perceptions of rural men and women in Zimbabwe : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand

Processes of environmental change have taken place for centuries both as a result of natural variability and anthropogenic forces. As a concept however, environmental change continues to be used narrowly to refer to environmental changes which are biophysical in nature, and mostly those with global precedence. In recent times incidences of environmental change have become more complex as new patterns of change are threatening the livelihoods of those living in developing countries, undoing many development gains. As such, there is an increasing desire to understand the implications of environmental changes, particularly for those whose livelihoods are natural resource dependent, many of whom live in rural areas, and many of whom are poor. Despite this growing interest, rural people and especially the rural poor are little seen or heard; their environmental change experiences are thus misunderstood, and solutions proposed do not take into consideration the local context or experiences. There remains also a normative perspective which positions women as automatically vulnerable to environmental change, specifically vis-à-vis men. In doing so women’s experiences of environmental change are homogenised and men’s experiences are rendered invisible. Drawing on the case of Zimbabwe this study critically considers the experiences and perceptions of rural men and women to environmental change so as to ascertain gendered impacts and differential vulnerabilities. To capture fully the subjective lived experience of both men and women to environmental change, this study lends itself to qualitative research. Thus research methods such as semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and gender analysis are central to the methodology. In terms of findings, this study argues against looking at environmental change as a technocratic subject accessible only from a global frame and accessed only by a technocratic few, proposing that the people experiencing environmental change at a local level should determine the environmental changes of communal concern. This study also highlights the importance of understanding the vulnerabilities of rural men and women within a well-conceived notion of context, taking into account rural disadvantage resulting from colonialism, and the current Zimbabwean crisis

Tanzania Country Climate Risk Profile Series, Kilolo District

The agricultural sector in Tanzania has been exposed to high climatic risks for the past several decades (Arce & Caballero, 2015). Experts and farmers assert that climatic risks including unpredictable rainfall, prolonged drought, and increased incidences of pests and diseases have resulted in declining agricultural productivity. Concomitantly, the rivers, streams, soils, and forests from which the rural poor build their livelihoods are on the verge of depletion. The situation has been further exacerbated by unstable commodity prices. Future climatic projections show that the climate trends are likely to worsen in the coming years. For instance, mean annual temperatures in Tanzania are predicted to increase by up to 2.7°C by 2060, and by close to 50% by 2090 (Irish Aid, 2018). Similarly, day and night temperatures are also expected to increase. Rainfall will become increasingly erratic both locally and regionally, with both floods and droughts growing in intensity and frequency. Smallholder farmers have the poorest access to resources such as land tenure, water resources, crop and livestock insurance, financial capital, and markets, and thus are the least risk-resilient. Women farmers in particular suffer systematic discrimination in terms of access to these resources. Women are also culturally expected to execute the most laborious agricultural tasks in addition to their household responsibilities of caregiving, preparing meals, and collecting fuel and water. Meanwhile, men tend to be responsible for tasks involving financial exchange, such as land acquisition, sourcing capital for production, purchasing and applying chemicals, and identifying buyers. This cultural norm is reinforced by the tenure system, which assigns land ownership almost exclusively to men. These factors make women the most vulnerable sub-group of smallholder farmers (Irish Aid, 2018). The national government, donor community, private sector, and development partners have invested in helping households prepare for such climate scenarios. A number of policies, strategies, programmes, and guidelines have been documented with the goal of boosting the adaptation capacity of vulnerable groups. Prominent among these are the National Agricultural Policy (NAP 2013), the National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS 2012), the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA 2007), and the Climate-Smart Agriculture implementation guideline. Despite these efforts, several issues remain unaddressed due to a lack of coordination among relevant actors. The development of a local Climate-Smart Agriculture Profile can support the clarification of roles and crucial points of coordination to assist in this effort. This Kilolo District profile thus underscores the climate-smart agriculture (CSA) investments undertaken by farming households in the region. This profile is an output of the CSA/SuPER project on Upscaling CSA with small scale food producers, organized via the Village Saving and Lending Association (VSLA) Project, and implemented by Cooperative Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE International), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) (now part of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT), Sokoine University of Agriculture, and Wageningen University and Research. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to gather the information herein, in accordance with the methodology employed by Mwongera et al. (2015). Secondary information was collected through an extensive literature review. Primary information was collected from interviews with agricultural experts, farmer focus group discussions, stakeholder workshops, and farmer interviews in Kilolo District. This profile is organized into six major sections based on the analytical steps of the study. The first section describes the contextual importance of agriculture to Kilolo livelihoods and households. The second describes historic and future climatic trends. The third section highlights farmers’ priority value chains. The fourth section addresses the challenges and cross-cutting issues in the sector. The fifth section details climate hazards experienced by farmers, as well as the current and proposed adaptation strategies. Finally, the sixth section outlines the policies related to CSA and the institutions that facilitate implementation of climate change initiatives

WHAT IS A HERPETOLOGIST AND HOW CAN I BECOME ONE?

The following is the first in the JNAH series in which we address a variety of topics on herpetology based on essays from our upcoming book “How to Be a Herpetologist,”. We will also answer frequently asked questions we and other professional herpetologists receive from students, colleagues, and the general public about herpetology as a career or an avocation

Tanzania Country Climate Risk Profile Series, Mufindi District

The agricultural sector in Tanzania is facing high climatic risks. Frequent and severe temperature and precipitation, recurrent droughts and increased incidences of pests and diseases are some of the climate effects that have been observed. Catalyzed with rising input prices and price volatility, there has been a decline in food productivity and farmer incomes. The natural resources that support agricultural production—including rivers and forests—are also degrading due to extreme climate events. Projections indicate that these trends are likely to worsen in the coming decades, with temperatures increasing by nearly 2.7°C by and 4.5°C by 2060 and 2090 respectively (Irish Aid , 2018). At the same time, both day and night temperatures will become more extreme, and precipitation will begin to vary more dramatically by geographic area. Smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change because of their low access to the resources needed to adapt to changing conditions. Among smallholders, women are more vulnerable due to their outsized role in agriculture and the social limitations placed on their decision-making and inclusion. A lack of coordination and information symmetry between stakeholders have prevented the full implementation of policies aimed at mitigating climate change. The government, with the support of development partners, has put in place a number of policies, strategies and guidelines to address climate change. The National Agriculture Policy (2013), National Climate Change Strategy (2012), National Adaptation Programme of Action (2007), and the Climate Smart Agriculture guideline (2007) provide a framework for creating agricultural resiliency in the face of climate change. This Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) Profile documents the need for, and adoption of CSA practices at the local level in Mufindi District. This profile is an output of the CSA/SuPER project on Upscaling CSA with Small-Scale Food Producers Organized through Village Savings and Lending Associations (VSLA). The project is implemented by Cooperative Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) International, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) (now part of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT), Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), and Wageningen University and Research (WUR). Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to gather the information herein, in accordance with the methodology employed by Mwongera et al. (2015). Secondary information was collected through an extensive literature review. Primary information was collected from interviews with agricultural experts, farmer focus group discussions, stakeholder workshops, and farmer interviews in the Mufindi District. This profile is organized into six major sections based on the analytical steps of the study. The first section describes the contextual importance of agriculture to Mufindi livelihoods and households. The second describes historic and future climatic trends. The third section highlights farmers’ priority value chains. The fourth section addresses the challenges and cross-cutting issues in the sector. The fifth section details climate hazards experienced by farmers, as well as the current and proposed adaptation strategies. Finally, the sixth section outlines the policies related to CSA and the institutions that facilitate implementation of climate change initiatives

Managerial ownership and urban water utilities efficiency in Uganda

This paper assesses the impact of the early 1980s neoliberalistic reform strategies in urban water distribution in developing countries. It examines in particular, the technical efficiency of two heterogeneous urban water utility-groups in Uganda. Performance is considered in light of the key urban water sector objectives that are to universally increase qualitative water coverage and enhance utility revenue. Using a two-staged bias-corrected metafrontier based on the data envelopment analysis estimators, the public-private (than the public-public) owned utilities are found less efficient. Efficiency differences between both groups are further linked to utilities scale of operation and market capture capabilities among other factors. The paper urges policy makers to strengthen public sector capabilities as a development policy solution for inclusive quality water services access among other basic public utility services in Uganda, Africa and the developing countries in general.Efficiency, managerial ownership, non-parametric, Uganda, urban water supply, water supply, water resource management, water utilities

A comparison of silent reading and listening by written recall and multiple choice type tests in grade five.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston Universit

Principles of Management Application in Building Construction Projects: Perspectives of Project Managers’

One of the most crucial factors to consider when setting up and managing organizational activities is the application of management principles. Most of the time, organizational failure is attributed to either as a violation of management principles or an organization's inability to establish this precedent in the running of its day-to-day activities. This paper, therefore, focused on the application of the management principles of Henri Fayol in the management of human resources for construction projects. The study utilized a descriptive design using a survey study and explorative design through a literature search. Relevant literature was reviewed to identify management principles for the design of the questionnaire. The population is the core building professionals working as project managers in a construction site of three tertiary institutions in Bauchi. Forty-five (45) questionnaires were distributed and successfully filled and retrieved. SPSS software was used for the analysis. The study used descriptive statistics and the Kruskal-Wallis test for the analysis. The results show that the majority of the respondents (80 %) acknowledged the importance of these principles to the construction industry in the management of human resources in the construction site. Also, the findings revealed that project managers always used most of these principles in the management of human resources in the construction site. Although, lack of planning and motivation, non-adherence to principles and standards, clashes of interest and corruption revealed as top challenges of its implementation on construction site. The finding concludes that the more the respondent works longer on construction sites, the higher the application of these principles in managing human resources on sites

Risk, Resilience, and Sustainability: How Governance in Zimbabwe Countervails this Nexus

This paper supports the view that there is a strong correlation between risk, resilience, and sustainability and that governance has a bearing on the outcome of each of these concepts. This is to suggest that, when the nexus is unstable, there is a greater chance that poor governance will be at play and vice versa. To demonstrate this premise using evidence from Zimbabwe, the paper embarks on a socio-historical analysis of the style of governance taken by the country from its independence in 1980 till the present day, highlighting how this may have played a major role towards heightening situations of risk, decreasing the resilience of the people, subsequently stalling sustainability. The ideas conveyed in this paper will help strengthen the vision for good governance that was set by the UN as part of the post 2015 development agenda

Seminatrix, S. pygaea

Number of Pages: 5Integrative BiologyGeological Science