社会経済的な能力発揮機会の提供が青少年育成に役立つダイナミズムを理解する : ボツワナの若者の雇用と生活を改善するための社会政策と戦略的対応に関する研究

早大学位記番号:新8591早稲田大

Seventh-day Adventist Leadership Recruitment and Training Program for Basarwa in Botswana, Africa

Problem The Seventh- day Adventist church in Botswana, although being among the fastest growing churches in the country, has not been able to reach the Basarwa tribe since 1921. This is in spite of the church’s best effort. Among the contributing factors is the apparent failure by the church to develop a culturally relevant approach that considers the Basarwa unique lifestyle and a lack of Basarwa church leaders. Methodology Surveys were administered among the Basarwa in four districts to establish their awareness of the church and factors that hinder them from joining the church. Training on church leadership for the Basarwa was conducted. Literature was reviewed on the lifestyle of the Basarwa, the work of other Christian organizations among the Basarwa, and lessons were drawn from the government’s approaches on implementing change among the Basarwa. Finally a proposal for church leadership recruitment and training program will be submitted to the Union and the Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division as a contribution on how to reach unique peoples of the world. Results The project revealed a concern for the spiritual condition of the Basarwa, and raised awareness about the need for Basarwa leaders in the Basarwa communities. It also indentified some possible future Basarwa leaders who could be recruited and trained for church leadership. Conclusions On the basis of these findings and proposal, the Church should be deliberate in the recruitment and training for the Basarwa during the period 2010-2015

The Impact of Fast Food Marketing on Millennials

Fast food marketing is an effective tool used by businesses to build food brand recognition among their consumers. Increased fast food consumption has been linked to the increase in high calorie consumption. This study sought among Millennials to assess the association between fast food marketing and consumption of fast food. It further dealt with perceptions on the relationship between fast food consumption and weight gain. A convenience sample of 507 participants was used to collect data from University of Arkansas’ students through an online survey and an in person survey. An independent sample t test and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to analyze the data. The findings indicated that knowledge levels affected consumption decisions. Low nutritional knowledge level consumers would be more likely influenced by fast food advertisement to purchase fast food as opposed to consumers with adequate nutritional knowledge level. In addition, the findings revealed that mere nutritional knowledge does not necessarily lead to low prevalence of obesity. However, there was a relationship between the level of consumption of fast foods and obesity. The results of this study provided policy implications on how to help strengthen nutrition education resources and ultimately have an impact on Millennials dietary behavior

Investigation of thermodynamic properties of organic substances

Scientific and ptactical significance of the investigations in the field of thermodynamics of organic compounds is discussed. The apparatuses and methods used in LTOC (the Laboratory of Thermodynamics of Organic Compounds, Research Institute for Physical Chemical Problems, Belarusian State University) for experimental determination of thermodynamic properties of substances are described. They are adiabatic calorimetry and DSC of the heat bridge type for the measurements of heat capacities and enthalpies of phase transitions in the con-densed state, heat flow differential microcalorimeter of the Calvet type to obtain en-thalpies of evaporation, calorimeters for combustion of organic substances for determination of the enthalpies of combustion and formation, the apparatus for measurements of saturated vapor pressure by the integral effusion Knudsen method. The main results of studies of chemical and phase equilibria,thermodynam-ics of isomerization, improvements of additive methods for calculation of thermo-dynamic properties, investigations of plastic crystals of organic compounds and ionic liquids, calculations by the methods of statistical thermodynamics are re-ported. The information concerning development of the methods of calculation of chemical exergies in LTOC and thermodynamic substantiation of energy and resource saving technologies of organic production of Republic of Belarus is give

Surface fatigue initiated transverse defects and broken rails -- an International Review

The current report briefly compares some operational experience of cracked and broken rails from China, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, UK and USA. Four key questions are addressed: 1. Is the critical crack length, i.e. the length of a surface initiated crack that causes a rail break (reasonably) constant in an international perspective? 2. Is it (reasonably) constant over a line? 3. Can the depth when a rolling contact fatigue crack deviates to a transverse propagation be estimated? 4. Is it (reasonably) constant in an international perspective? The answers can briefly be summarized as 1. No. Deviations in crack sizes from roughly 10% up to roughly 80% of the railhead area at fracture have been found. 2. Not generally, but for some lines this seems to be the case if fractures at the same season are considered (i.e. climate effects are excluded). 3. There are indications that this depth is in the order of 5 mm with a fair amount of scatter. However it is very difficult to identify from a photo whether an area of the fracture surface actually corresponds to inclined fatigue crack propagation. 4. With a reservation in the considerable scatter, there seems to be some consistency also in an international perspective. Details on how these conclusions were reached are given in the report

Risk of fatigue of train car chassis due to pressure waves between meeting trains

The report investigates consequences of modified track spacing on pressure waves induced by meeting high-speed trains. The aim is to investigate consequences in terms of an increased risk of fatigue of car body components and which potential counter-effects may have.The study is intended as a first investigation that should be valid under fairly generic conditions. Simplified analyses are employed due to the generic conditions considered. Under more specified conditions, refined analyses can be employed to improve the analysis and improve quantification of the various mitigating actions

Lived Experiences and Consequences of Unemployment on Women: An Empirical Study of Unemployed Young Women in Mahalapye, Botswana

Studies have shown that the experience and consequences of unemployment affect people differently depending on, for example, age and gender. The purpose of the present study was to identify factors that contribute to unemployment among young women aged 20-35 in Mahalapye village, investigate the effects of being unemployed, determine sources of support available to unemployed young women, and identify the gaps in state assistance in this regard. The study utilized a survey research method and adopted a descriptive research design. Cluster sampling was used with the sample size being one hundred (100) unemployed young women in Mahalapye. A face-to-face questionnaire method was adopted to collect data and the study was cross sectional. Since the research was quantitative the Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used to analyse data. The results showed that unemployment among young women in Mahalapye is a problem and young women are seriously affected by being unemployed. The study also revealed that high poverty levels result from unemployment and that this is linked to young women becoming engaged in criminal activities. A number of programmes have been put in place by government and other stakeholders to curb unemployment but the study indicated that a majority of the respondents have not benefited from these programmes. Low coverage, limited information about programmes, complicated help seeking processes, and lack of resources were identified as gaps in the provision of these programmes. Further research is needed to describe and elucidate in greater detail the effects of unemployment on young women of different ages and in different contexts

Understanding the Causes of Bush Encroachment in Africa: The Key to Effective Management of Savanna Grasslands

The increase in biomass and abundance of woody plant species, often thorny or unpalatable, coupled with the suppression of herbaceous plant cover is a widely recognized form of rangeland degradation. Bush encroachment therefore has the potential to compromise rural livelihoods in Africa, as many depend on the natural resource base. The cause of bush encroachment phenomenon is not without debate, but fire, herbivory, nutrient availability and rainfall patterns have been shown to be the key determinants of savanna vegetation structure and composition. In this paper, these determinants are deliberated upon, with particular reference to arid and semi-arid environments of Africa. To improve our current understanding of causes of bush encroachment, an integrated approach, involving ecological and indigenous knowledge systems, is proposed. Only through our knowledge of causes of bush encroachment, both direct and indirect, can better livelihood adjustments be made, or control measures and restoration of savanna ecosystem functioning be realized

Railway wheelset fatigue life estimation based on field tests

Field tests using an instrumented powered wheelset were performed to investigate fatigue damage accumulation in railway axles. Axle bending strains were measured and post-processed to obtain axle stress spectra. Statistical analyses were used to investigate the variations of axle stress spectra due to changes in railway operation parameters. The study indicates that measured axle stress spectra can be modeled using truncated normal distributions, where the large majority of measured stress amplitudes are lower than 50 MPa. Stress cycles at higher amplitudes are affected by operation parameters such as track design, number of switches and crossings, and whether the wheelset is in a leading or trailing position. Variations in the obtained statistical distributions of axle stresses have been used as input for fatigue life analyses. It was concluded that fatigue damage can potentially initiate on axles suffering from corrosion or small surface cracks/scratches

Relating the influence of track properties to axle load spectra through onboard measurements

This work aims at investigating how variations in measured stresses are affected by track conditions and, if possible, extract information on track conditions from onboard measurements. Axle bending strains measured in extensive field tests are employed to evaluate axle stress spectra. Correlation between stress spectra and parameters describing track design and condition for three sections of the Swedish mainline “V\ue4stra stambanan” have been investigated. The study shows how switches and other discontinuities in the track running surface increase the scatter of the stress spectra and increase the number of overloads. Circular and transition curves mainly increase stress amplitudes with magnitudes close to quasistatic conditions load. A decrease in track quality leads to both a shift of stress spectra towards higher values and a higher number of overloads. The influence of bridges/tunnels and decreased track stiffness were found to be difficult to distinguish from effects of curves, switches and crossings and track quality. If effects exist, they are likely to be small. Results from the study aids future track condition monitoring, maintenance planning of track and running gear, and the estimation of stress spectra for track stretches with known characteristics