Is Hip-Hop Dead?

With the popularization and proliferation of the subgenre Mumble Rap, many individuals within the culture and industry of Hip-Hop say that the genre is dying. They argue that artists no longer use their platform to create lyrical based messages and now are more focused with commercial success, copying this new wave of sound that has become popular. While these arguments have validity, they neglect the various artists on the cutting edge of the genre who are creating new music and subgenres through fusion with other popular categories of music. Additionally, there are modern artists that try to revive and expound on the work of past generations of rap still to do this day. Rap is not dead but it is undergoing a process of transition; where this will take the genre is still to be seen, however at this time every facet and iteration of Hip-Hop has a place to flourish within the overall industry

Women and Natural Resources Unlocking the Peacebuilding Potential

This report focuses on the relationship between women and natural resources in conflict-affected settings, and discusses how the management of natural resources can be used to enhance women's engagement and empowerment in peacebuilding processes. Part I of the report examines the relationship between women and natural resources in peacebuilding contexts, reviewing key issues across three main categories of resources: land, renewable and extractive resources. Part II discusses entry points for peacebuilding practitioners to address risks and opportunities related to women and natural resource management, focusing on political participation, protection and economic empowerment

Beyond Travel: Regis’ Service Oriented Field Experience (SOFE) Program

This is a program description of the Service Oriented Field Experience (SOFE), which is a unique blended experiential learning capstone course within the Master of Nonprofit Management (MNM) at Regis University. The SOFE course blends aspects of social justice and nonprofit leadership into an eight-week course that focuses on the mission driven nature of the social sector throughout the world. While appropriating theories of experiential learning, the course builds on Jesuit pedagogical principles of experience, reflection, and action, and it includes deliberate exposure of Nonprofit/Nongovernmental (NP/NGO) leaders into contexts other than their own as a model for leadership development and growth. Leaders learn from this process about the complexity of social and other needs and the innovative approaches for solving them. These global connections support possible long-term engagement with these issues beyond the travel experience

Investigating ferric ion production and consumption trends in a simulated e-waste bioleaching environment for maximum metal dissolution efficiency

Electrical and electronic equipment has become an integral part of life in the modern world. When disposed of, it is termed Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world. Disposing the WEEE has associated risks as they contain a high amount of toxic metals (e.g. lead) which can leach into the soil, they place a high load on the land and they contain valuable metals making their recovery beneficial. Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are an essential part of WEEE. Although WEEE forms a small part of the waste stream (3 %), it contains a high concentration of metals. As such, PCBs form the focus of this study. Base metals, especially copper, hamper the recovery of gold and PGMs by cyanidation. Further the copper grades of WEEE exceed those of many low grade ores exploited. Hence copper recovery from PCBs has garnered considerable focus. Bioleaching using the ferric ion and ferrous ion regeneration cycle is applied to the recovery of metals from metal sulphides in virgin ores and there is growing interest in its application to WEEE. The two sub-processes in the ferric regeneration cycle are ferric ion production through microbial oxidation of ferrous ion for growth and metabolic activity; and ferric ion consumption through the reduction of metals leading to metal dissolution. The ferric ion consumption and production rates depend on each other and other factors. The metal dissolution through ferric iron reduction is a function of ferric iron concentration, affected by how fast ferric iron is produced through microbial oxidation. Ferric iron production is a function of both the ferrous iron and ferric iron concentrations and so depends on how fast the ferrous ion substrate is produced through the dissolution of metals which consumes ferric ion in the process. Ferric ion production is also affected by the microbial population and microbial specific rates of oxidation of ferrous ion. Ferric ion consumption is also dependent on the metal dissolution rate which is affected by mass transfer limitations and the type of metal for dissolution. These are two competing subprocesses where the dissolution efficiency of metals is limited by the slower process

Disparity of Assets in Addiction Recovery: Moderators of Perceived Control in Treatment and Recovery Settings in Kenya

Assets/resources are core for positive community health outcomes and wellbeing. Assets availability, accessibility and perception by members that these resources are actually available and accessible determines community members\u27 behavior around health choices. People with substance abuse require many types of resources that expected to cumulatively help recovery from the treatment start, through recovery into sober lifestyle. This study investigated the presence of assets at individual, social network and community level that Substance abuse problems can and able to easily access for their treatment and recovery, depending on present setting; professional Usual Care and Self-help settings. The findings indicate that there are no major differences in the group experiences of most resources. The One meaningful group difference is in the experience of Important person\u27s network social support. The participants in usual care receive more support by fact of being in usual-care compared to the other two\u27 professional, and self-help settings. The study also revealed that general social support from important persons predict behavior perceived control. The study didn\u27ts indicate perceived control as a main effect of indirect effect/moderator factor. Therefore, for a better understanding of the role of psychosocial resources, more controlled studies are proposed as future direction for people with Substance abuse in Kenya, and Africa in general

An Assessment of Influence of Teachers’ Discipline Management Strategies on Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination in Public Secondary Schools in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya

Discipline in schools is about positive behavior change in order to create conducive environment for learning. When discipline is achieved in secondary schools, it becomes instrumental in students academic performance. This study focused on assessment of the influence of teachers’ discipline management strategies on KCSE performance in public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. The objective of this study was to establish the influence of school rules on KCSE performance. The county has had a trend of grade wastage from KCPE to KCSE. The study adopted descriptive survey research design which used mixed method approach. The study targeted 104 public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County, with 10 boys schools, 17 girls schools and 77 mixed schools. Stratified random, purposive sampling method and Krejcie & Morgan population sample table was used to determine the sample size. Principals and teachers were the respondents in this study. Interview schedule for 21 principals and 346 questionnaires for teachers were used as tools for data collection. The study sampled 42 schools, which constituted 40% of the total population size. The researcher prepared the instruments with expert judgment by supervisors. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient (α) was employed in determining the reliability of the instruments. A pilot study of 10% of the sample schools and respondents was carried out from each of school category. Alpha index of 0.869 was obtained for the teachers’ questionnaires. The reliability of the interview schedule was ensured by the consistency of the questions and the order in which they were administered. The study used descriptive statistics which included frequencies, measures of central tendencies (mean) and measures of dispersion (standard deviation). Inferential statistics Pearson r was used to test the relationships of the hypotheses with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) in analyzing the data. The data from the interview guide was arranged thematically, transcribed and then presented verbatim in order to triangulate the results. The results revealed that school rules did not influence KCSE performance positively. The findings of this study are expected to be of benefit to different stake holders, who are sensitized with new information on alternative disciplinary strategies to be used on students’ discipline in schools, the policy makers are assisted to come up with a new policy on use of alternative disciplinary methods in schools. KEYWORDS: Management strategies,academic performance, secondary schools, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-11-12 Publication date: April 30th 201

Operationalizing “Substantive Faculty Interaction” for online courses: identifying high impact teaching practices

To operationalize the concept of “substantive faculty interaction,” researchers at Regis University used exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to determine what online teaching practices have the highest impact on students’ perception of faculty-to-student engagement. A three-component model that accounts for 70% of the variance was identified. The components consisted of high-touch, design, and high-tech teaching practices. The high-touch component accounted for the largest percentage of the variance and the six teaching practices that comprise this component are recommended to become requirements for online teachers. They include: (1) Actively engaging in discussion boards (load of .8000), (2) Getting to know faculty (.7851), (3) Present multiple times per week (.7752), (4) Soliciting feedback (.7424) (5) Individual feedback on assignments (.6991) and (6) posting weekly announcements (.6735). Universities now have an operationalized definition of “substantive faculty interaction” that has been statistically validated

Investment Governance: Delegation Decision Antecedents by Insurance Companies in Kenya

t Delegation decisions comprise a key component of investment governance structures of firms. Based on agency theory, this paper explores corporate governance and market dynamics as antecedents of investment management delegation by insurance firms in Kenya. Investment governance structures employed by firms are shaped by their unique circumstances and diverse considerations. The objectives of this research were to establish the influence of corporate governance and market dynamics on the investment governance structures of insurance firms in Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive approach with a target population of forty six firms in insurance and reinsurance business in Kenya. Both primary data and secondary data were collected. Data analysis was conducted using STATA relying on a binary logistic regression model. The study found that shareholder control, board diversity and avoidance of agency problems leads firms towards delegating their investment management activities. Desire to access alternative assets, peer influences and asset allocation considerations had a lesser extent of influence on firms towards delegation. The study concludes that large shareholder dictations and lack of investment management expertise in boards causes firms to adopt delegation models in their investment management. On the other hand, easy access to investment markets and constant supply of high yielding government bonds pulls firms towards internal investment management. It isrecommended that firms make appropriate choices on extent of delegation by carefully evaluating their needs and developing structuresthat deliver best outcomes