THE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION ON WOMEN'S AND CHILDREN'S TIME ALLOCATION DECISIONS IN MALAWI: IMPACT ON CHILDREN'S WELFARE

The majority of the Malawi people is rural (85%) and lives primarily on subsistence farming (NSO 2001). More than 90% of households collect and use fuel wood as their main source of cooking energy (NEC 2001; NSO 2000). However, between 1990 and 2000, Malawi experienced an average annual deforestation rate of 2.4% that was significantly higher than both Africa's average deforestation rate of 0.78%, and the world's average deforestation rate of 0.22% (UN FAO 2001). Malawi is also reported as one of the countries that will experience water stress by 2025 (PRB 2002). The rapid depletion of natural resources can have significant consequences for the quality of people's lives. Since Malawian women and children are primarily responsible for rural transportation work including collection of fuel wood and water (Edmonds et al. 1995), environmental degradation is expected to affect them disproportionately. This study will investigate the effects of environmental degradation on women's and children's time allocation decisions and the implications on children's school performance and health. The importance of relationships between population, the environment, and poverty has been acknowledged at both international and regional levels since the 1970's (United Nations 1997). However, there is a serious dearth of empirical studies on the nature of such relationships (United Nations 1997). The lack of studies has been cited as one of the reasons frustrating policy makers in their attempt to adopt sustainable development efforts (Arizpe et al. 1994). Some recent studies in this area have looked at effects of environmental degradation on women's fertility (Filmer and Pritchett 1996; Aggarwal et al. 2001); women's time allocation decisions (Cooke 2000); farm productivity (Cooke 1998). Earlier work by the authors showed that environmental degradation was associated with lower school enrollment and high domestic child labor hours, especially for girls (Nankhuni and Findeis 2002). This analysis extends that research to investigate the impact of environmental degradation on school performance. Attempts to look at impact on child health were done by Aggarwal et al. (2001) in South Africa but no significant impact was found. This study will also contribute to the research on effects of environmental degradation on children's health. Methodology Data Data from an Integrated Household Survey of 10,698 households conducted in Malawi in 1997-98 by the Malawi National Statistics Office are used. The data contain information on demographic and socio-economic characteristics of individuals and households, including child levels of education and health. The data also include time allocation information on domestic activities that include time spent on fuel wood and water collection. Information on each household's access to different water sources and whether the household relies on purchasing rather than collecting fuel wood as their main source of cooking energy is also available. Supplementing these data are estimates of fuel wood availability (GOM 1987) and information on access and quality of schools and health facilities at the district level (Benson 2002). Theoretical framework Freeman (1993) proposes that the basis for measuring the economic value of changes in resource environmental systems is the effects on human welfare. Therefore, the starting point for analyzing the impacts of environmental degradation is utility theory. The household production-utility model based on Becker (1965, 1993) and as adapted to farming households by Singh et al. (1976) will be the theoretical approach used in this paper. In this model, households derive utility from consumption of household farm-produced goods and from having children. They also derive positive utility from children's quality normally reflected in the children's health and education. The household's utility is maximized subject to budget, farm and household technology, and time constraints. Assuming that an interior solution to the household's maximization problem exists, reduced-form demand equations for children's health and education can be derived. These demands will be functions of shadow wages, prices, individual and household socio-economic and demographic characteristics, and the state of the environment. As the environment degrades, more hours of work are spent on fuel wood and water collection. This results in increased price of education thereby decreasing demand for education, as children may be needed for domestic work. Similarly, if women in more deforested areas cannot spend enough time on farming, cooking, and childcare this will act as an increase in cost of children's health resulting in the children's poor health (Kumar and Hotchkiss 1988). Estimation strategy The effect of environmental degradation on children's quality will be estimated by adding environmental quality variables in school performance and child health models. The school performance indicators are children's attendance of senior primary school and being in a certain class at the appropriate age for that class. The child health variables are anthropometric measures of weight, height, and weight for height. Possible endogeneity of child schooling, child health, domestic child labor, and fertility decisions will be tested and corrected for, where appropriate. It is expected that environmental degradation will negatively affect children welfare.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Developing Entrepreneurial Rural Communities

Rural communities in the United States have diversified and their dependence onagriculture has decreased substantially. In the 1980s, rural deindustrialization occurredand rural areas continued to become more service oriented: employment opportunitiesdeclined because of shifts in the world and U.S. economies, and anti-rural publicpolicies. In response, some rural communities have become entrepreneurial communities,whose characteristics include: healthy acceptance of controversy; a degree ofeconomic surplus to allow for risk-taking; willingness of community to tax itself tomaintain infrastructure and schools; the ability to define community broadly and tonetwork both vertically and horizontally to obtain resources; and dispersed communityleadership. Entrepreneurial behavior in the context of more favorable state and federalpolicies could help stabilize many rural communities

An Analysis of the Application of Project Management in Different Ministry Models

Project management provides guidelines for the implementation of systems to make processes more effective and efficient. One emerging field in which project management application benefits are being discovered is ministry and nonprofits, specifically Christian ministry. Although there are many different denominations in Christianity, they can all essentially be separated into two categories: Seeker Oriented Ministries, and Traditional Ministries. This thesis will attempt to provide a synopsis of the applications of project management in both ministry types, as well as a comparative analysis of the similarities and differences between the two styles

How University Department Heads Have Encountered and Overcome Adaptive Challenges in Student Persistence: An Application of Critical Incident Technique

In the United States, the average attrition rate from freshmen to sophomore year for a 4-year university is 21.7%. After freshmen year, the dropout rate raises to 41% before graduation (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2014). As an administrative appointment, the department head is in a unique position to work with the university and college-level executives to lead faculty in better student persistence efforts. However scholarly inquiry on the relation of student persistence and department heads is lacking. Gmelch (2004) says “academic leaders may be the least studied and most misunderstood management position in the world” (p. 74). The purpose of this study is to examine the role of the university department head position in relation to student persistence. A secondary purpose is to understand how each department head is able to adapt, or is currently adapting, to the challenges they identify. By identifying and learning from such challenges, this research will contribute to more intentional efforts for higher education leaders when dealing with student persistence. A group of 20 department heads across multiple fields underwent an open-ended interview, resulting in 138 incidents of student persistence challenges and outcomes. The department heads were drawn from three universities and worked within one of five undergraduate colleges. This research uses Critical Incident Technique (CIT) to identify individual occurrences of department heads leading undergraduate student persistence efforts. The results are conceptualized through the lens of Complexity Leadership Theory (CLT), where the complex nature of a department head’s role is related to the student persistence efforts

Canning meats, fish, and chicken

November, 1938."Adapted from U.S.D.A. bulletin no. 1762, Home canning of fruits, vegetables, and meats.

A study of the history of adult elementary and secondary education and possibilities for future service in Louisville, Kentucky.

This study was inspired by a statement in the Louisville Public School Survey, 1943, in which Dr. George A. Works said, Programs of adult education are exceedingly important in the modern community. The nature of modern life and the demands for continuous education and training suggest the need for school service in this area. Following the war, the demand will undoubtedly be very great. Louisville would do well to assign definite staff time for development of basic plans in this area. The writer was connected with the Works Progress Administration Adult Education Program as teacher from 1935 to 1937, and as principal of the Adult Night High School from 1937 until it closed in June, 1943. She was assistant principal of the Adult Night High School at Ahrens Trade School 1943-1944. It is with pleasure that she has undertaken this study, and it is her one hope that some small benefit to the people of Louisville will accrue from its pages; and that a greater insight into the needs and satisfactions of adults, and the ways and means of obtaining these through education may be her share in the results of this study. The purpose of the study shall be to find out more about adult education; its growth and philosophy; what has been done under public schools systems in other cities, and what can be done to improve the educational opportunities offered adults in Louisville

Pickles and relish

"August, 1940""Pickles and relishes have little food value, but they point up a dinner, add a party air to a buffet lucheon or a picnic supper, and if served only occasionally are a special treat for a family meal. Their clear color, crisp texture and tart flavor stimulate the appetite. They should not be used to replace fresh food or cooked vegetables or fruits. Because of their high flavor, they should not be included in the diets of children or given frequently to people who are not vigorous or have digestive difficulties."--First paragraph.Flora L. Car

Breathing Life into Information Literacy Skills: Results of a Faculty-Librarian Collaboration

When an education professor and a reference librarian sought to improve the quality of undergraduate student research, their partnership led to a new focus on assessing the research process in addition to the product. In this study, we reflect on our collaborative experience introducing information literacy as the foundation for undergraduate teacher education research. We examine the outcomes of this collaboration, focusing on the assessment of the process. Using a mixed methods approach, we found that direct instruction supporting effective research strategies positively impacted student projects. Our data also suggest that undergraduate students benefit from not only sound research strategies, but also organization strategies

Assessing the Research Process Improves the Product: Results of a Faculty-­Librarian Collaboration

When an education professor and a reference librarian sought to improve the quality of undergraduate student research, their partnership led to a new focus on assessing the research process in addition to the product. In this study, we reflect on our collaborative experience introducing information literacy as the foundation for undergraduate teacher education research. We examine the outcomes of this collaboration, focusing on the assessment of the process. Using a mixed methods approach, we found that direct instruction supporting effective research strategies positively impacted student projects. Our data also suggest that undergraduate students benefit from not only sound research strategies, but also organization strategies