Towards the Second Duality of Global Youth Work: The Environment and Disruptive Action

open access journalThere are five faces of globalisation that global youth work (GYW), as an offshoot of global education, should respond to (economic, political, environmental, cultural and technological), in order to be transformative, both in thought and deed. The vexed issue of climate change (environmental face) and its correlation to sustainable development, as an ameliorative mechanism, speaks to the imagination and contours of GYW, centred on the duality of provoking consciousness and taking action (Sallah, 2008a; 2014). In positioning the pedagogic approach of GYW, the author establishes his situatedness as a de-colonial scholar-activist, in presenting an analysis of the impact of climate change and its attendant negative consequences, on a Southern country like The Gambia. Using the conceptual framework of GYW, the author presents his work, spanning the last four years, with Global Hands and at De Montfort University, of disruptive attempts to challenge orthodoxy and configured ways of knowing and being, from a Southern perspective. Drawing on GYW projects he has implemented in a ‘live lab’ in The Gambia which has developed Africa’s first solar powered taxi service, the development of a Compressed Earth Brick machine to combat low-cost housing and climate change, and solar dryers to preserve food and encourage food self-sufficiency, all of which have huge carbon footprint savings as well as significant economic advantages. This article presents a reflective analysis of a scholar-activist’s practice of how GYW can be used to combat climate change and enhance sustainable development in a symbiotic approach. It will illustrate the powerful pedagogic prowess of this development approach as well as highlight the challenges and tensions inherent

Functional diversity and bilobe targeting by the MORN Domain Proteins of Leishmania major

Leishmania is a protozoan parasite responsible for a spectrum of diseases known as leishmaniasis. The cell body of Leishmania consists of single copies of several organelles whose faithful duplication are crucial for survival. Previously, a novel cytoskeletal organelle called the bilobe was discovered while studying Golgi biogenesis in T. brucei. TbMORN1 became the first identified structural component of the bilobe with exclusive localization. TbMORN1 is composed of 15 MORN-repeats which may imply that the MORN-repeats are responsible for its bilobe targeting. Given that MORN proteins have only been characterized in T. brucei among the kinetoplastids, I chose to study the MORN proteins of L. major an important experimental model. 22 uncharacterized proteins were annotated to contain MORN-repeats in L. major, 14 of which share the feature of exclusively containing MORN-repeats ranging from 3-15 repeats, while the remaining 7 carry additional functional domains. The strategy was to express two apparently varied LmaMORNs (LmaMORN5 and LmaMORN6) from each other and from MORN1 in L. major promastigotes, screen them for bilobe localization and investigate their possible function. I showed that both LmaMORN5 and LmaMORN6 target the bilobe and the basal bodies while LmaMORN6 additionally stained the flagellum indicating flagellar function. These localizations were true even after detergent extraction, implying intimate associations with the bilobe and other cytoskeletal structures, hinting at a structural role. LmaMORN5 contained two compartmentalized regions along its sequence under selective pressure, shown to be secreted into the cytoplasm of infected macrophages and seemed to increased parasites infectivity six-fold, suggesting a possible role as a virulence factor. Thus, I reported for the first time two other MORN proteins (LmaMORN5 and LmaMORN6) in L. major that targets the bilobe in a manner similar to TbMORN1 in T. brucei, while each appear to display a differential functional role in the parasite’s biology

Working with young people in the UK: Considerations of race, religion and globalisation

This thesis overall is concerned with three cardinal considerations in relation to working with young people in a modern and fundamentally demographically changed Britain. These themes include considerations of how young people’s racial/ethnic origins and religious identity continue to shape how mainstream services interact with them as well as understanding how an increasingly globalised world changes how young people from Britain see or are seen in a new way at the personal, local, national and global levels. This thesis argues that the majority of these considerations are not currently well understood; hence the need for practitioners in youth and community development to gain cultural competency and global literacy. It has been evidenced that Black young people continue to be disadvantaged in education, employment, criminal justice and a host of other socialisation spaces in comparison to the rest of society. In addition, the furore raised constantly and continuously in relation to the vulnerability of young Muslims to violent extremism deserves more critical attention. Furthermore, globalisation means that the world is much closer economically, politically, environmentally, technologically and culturally and there is increasing consciousness about the repercussions of these connections at the personal, local, national and global levels. However, questions remain as to whether practitioners who work with young people have the required competency to work across these racial, religious and global considerations. This thesis, consisting of the author’s published works and this overview explores these three cardinal considerations of race, religion and globalisation when working with young people in a multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-racial and multi-faith modern Britain. The thesis comprises an exploration of working with Black young people within a historical and social policy context, as well as presenting research that explores the views of young Black children and parents. The author’s key contributions consist of explaining how cultural relativism and dogmatism, as extreme positions, are constructed, with potentially fatal consequences. The second dimension of working with young people in Britain explored in this thesis is that arena of Global Youth Work within both a theoretical and practice setting, especially in relation to the training of practitioners. This section also reports on research in relation to how Global Youth Work is conceptualised and operationalised in British Higher Education Institutions delivering youth work training. The last section of the thesis focuses on the contemporary issue of working with young Muslims. Against a backdrop of the government’s policy context of the “Prevent" agenda, perceptions of barriers young Muslims face in accessing mainstream services are explored, as well as the wider implications of fostering a culturally and religiously competent way of working with young Muslims

Socioeconomic Study of Climate Change and its Impacts on Livelihoods of People Living Around the Coastal Areas of the Gambia

The research aims to assess the effects of climate change on the livelihood of people living around the coastal areas and coping strategies used. The study uses a quantitative method with semi-structured interview questionnaire and convenient sampling method and conducts a survey of coastal community residents in Banjul, Barra, Bakau, Tanji, Sanyang, Gunjur, and Kartong and uses a descriptive analysis. Majority of respondents are self-employed as fishermen, and fish dryers, fish smokers, ship builders and boat riders. Most of the borrowing is done individually and the line of credit is mostly below D20,000 and more than 85% receive less than that amount. More than 60% of the respondents have no access to land and 4.71% stated that they do not have access to water. Most of the respondents rank their friends as their source of borrowing followed by families and banks. About 93% stated that it takes them less than 40 minutes to get to the nearest health facility. Adaptation strategies employed to deal with health problems during variable and extreme climate are going to hospital, cleanliness, eating healthy using herbal medicine. More than 85% of the respondents did not experience shortage of food in a year. But price of food has been increasing over the last 5 years. Finally, respondents favored adaptation strategy is saving followed by involving in other livelihood activities, government assistance, cleaning the environment, tree planting and protection of coastal areas

Determinants Of Early Childbearing Among Young Female Adults In The Gambia

This thesis examines the determinants of childbearing among young Gambian women aged 13 to 24 and ranks the respective components (or groups of variables) in order of importance. An empirical analysis is done using bivariate and multi-variate statistical techniques. Based on these analyses, it is found that the factors of the empirical model (combining the reference group theory and a Bongaarts-type framework) vary in their effect on the fertility of young women. The most important of the socioeconomic, demographic and cultural (SEDC) variables are educational attainment, employment status, looking for work, area of residence, age, number of siblings, rank of siblings, number of desired children, and religion.;However, it is an important finding of this thesis that fertility is higher among young women in urban than non-urban areas in The Gambia. This is in contrast with earlier findings that fertility level tend to be higher in rural than urban areas. Although this finding is unexpected, it is not implausible. It can be attributed to changes in the behavioural and sociocultural profile of young Gambian women, as well as improvements in nutritional levels, better medical and health conditions, and developments in reproductive technology.;Also, it is clear from this thesis that childbearing is influenced by both knowledge of contraception and reproductive health as well as opinions and beliefs about relationships, sex, and marriage. Practices such as the sexual activity of friends and attendance of educational programmes affect childbearing as well. Yet, these KAP variables can affect fertility only through the proximate determinants which have direct effects.;Except for age at first menstruation which serves as proxy for biological maturity of girls, all of the proximate determinants have been found to be important in predicting early childbearing. As for the outcome of ranking the major components of the model in order of importance, the proximate determinants are found to be more influential than the other major components that indirectly affect early childbearing. Also, the socioeconomic, demographic and cultural (SEDC) variables are more important than those of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP). The thesis concludes with suggestions for future research and a review of policies and programmes of relevance in The Gambian context

Assessment of the General Goals of Civil Service Reforms in the Gambia and Its Implementations

This study examined the strategic goals of civil service reforms in The Gambia and its implementation in the Gambian civil service. This was aimed to identify challenges facing the implementations and policy options towards assisting the process. This study adopted primary data collection through the administration of questionnaires and interview guide. The population of the study comprises the senior and middle level staff of Public Service Commission (PSC), Personnel Management Office (PMO), Ministry of Health (MoH) and Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE) which were purposively selected. In all, there are 189 senior and middle management staff in the four Ministries/Departments/ Agencies (MDAs) which breakdown goes thus: PMO (37), PSC (6), MoBSE (87) and MoH (59). Questionnaire was administered on the staff of the four MDAs while interview was conducted with the Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Permanent Secretaries and a former Secretary General and Head of Civil Service.  Out of the 189 copies of questionnaire administered, 140 were retrieved. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods such as frequency distribution and percentages.The results of the study revealed that majority of the respondents identified reinforcement of meritocracy, due process and professionalism, enhancement of administrative culture, improvement of efficiency and quality service delivery, institutionalization of a system that engenders separation between politics and administration as goals and objectives of civil service reforms in The Gambia. The research has also shown that the Civil service sometimes adhere to meritocratic principles,  gives attention to diversity in terms of ethnic groups, , provide detailed policies and standard procedures, conduct induction programmes,, made available the General Orders and code of ethics to employees, conducts performance assessment, recruitment and selection  are encouraging, recruitment and promotion processes are reviewed at regular intervals and training programmes are based on outcome of need assessment.  Despite its performance, the four MDAs also continues to face challenges in terms of human and material resources as alluded to by the responses of numerous respondents during the study.  The performance of the institution was said to have been hindered by low commitment from government, lack of capacity at PMO, proliferation of public institutions, poor ethics management, lack of clarity of institutional roles, lack of appraisal system, unclear policies, lack of job fit and organization fit, among others.The main thesis of this study is that reforms of The Gambia civil service did enhance personnel administration systems and practices of the civil service institutions of The Gambia but only to a large extent. Keywords: Civil Service, Reforms, Personnel, Recruitment, The Gambia. DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/11-7-02 Publication date:August 31st 202

Petroleum as a Political Weapon in International Affairs: The Case of Saudi Arabia

This study seeks to analyze the role of oil in Saudi Arabia\u27s foreign policy. In 1973 Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations successfully used their oil resources to apply pressure on the United States of America to modify her strong support of the State of Israel. Saudi Arabia played a significant role in the 1973 oil embargo. This thesis will examine Saudi Arabia\u27s role in the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, and what prompted her participation, considering the fact that she is less radical than most of her Arab neighbors. The 1973 oil embargo was more successful than for example the 1967 embargo; Saudi Arabia\u27s participation helped to create this difference. The oil weapon will definitely be effective whenever applied uniformly by the Arabs against the west, especially now, and possibly in the near future. However, it will be unwise for the Arabs to continuously depend on the oil weapon since their oil resources cannot last forever. As Dr. Sheikh Rustum Ali stated in his book entitled Saudi Arabia and Oil Diplomacy, alternative energy resources are still abundant. The western hemisphere or industrialized nations need only to apply their financial resources and technology to develop these resources. It obviously won\u27t be an easy task for them to do so, now or in the near future, however it could be done. When this becomes a reality, the demand for oil will be sharply reduced, which will in turn deprive it of its present significance and of its role as a political weapon in international affairs. This study will examine the alternative sources of energy being developed in the west, notably nuclear energy. Nuclear energy plants are rapidly being built in the western industrialized nations despite some oppositions by citizen groups within these various nations. There is evidence that these projects are favourable to some oil producing nations, including Saudi Arabia. Efficient use of energy is currently an important issue among the industrialized as well as the non-industrialized nations. The interest for alternative sources of energy is growing, partially due to higher oil prices. The high price of oil is forcing the United States for example (a victim of the 1973 Arab oil embargo) to rapidly seek alternative as well as new sources of energy. Solar energy is another alternative source of energy being developed. This along with nuclear energy could be significant alternatives to oil successfully developed. The major propositions that will be supported in this thesis are: Saudi Arabia fully supported the 1973 oil embargo, (1) to show her support of the muslim Arab nations, thus promoting unity among them; (2) to show her fear of Israel\u27s ideological stand, which she considers too extreme, and radical; (3) to have Israel withdraw from Arab lands occupied during the 1967 war; (4) to gain respect and recognition from the western industrialized nations; (5) to take up a leadership role among the Arab nations in the Middle East, since her participation was crucial to the success of the embargo. Saudi Arabia has the largest known oil reserves in the world

Efficacy of common laboratory disinfectants and heat on killing trypanosomatid parasites

The disinfectants TriGene, bleach, ethanol and liquid hand soap, and water and temperature were tested for their ability to kill bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei, epimastigotes of Trypanosoma rangeli and promastigotes of Leishmania major. A 5-min exposure to 0.2% TriGene, 0.1% liquid hand soap and 0.05% bleach (0.05% NaOCl) killed all three trypanosomatids. Ethanol and water destroyed the parasites within 5 min at concentrations of 15-17.5% and 80-90%, respectively. All three organisms were also killed when treated for 5 min at 50 degrees C. The results indicate that the disinfectants, water and temperature treatment (i.e. autoclaving) are suitable laboratory hygiene measures against trypanosomatid parasites

Large scale estimation of distribution algorithms for continuous optimisation

Modern real world optimisation problems are increasingly becoming large scale. However, searching in high dimensional search spaces is notoriously difficult. Many methods break down as dimensionality increases and Estimation of Distribution Algorithm (EDA) is especially prone to the curse of dimensionality. In this thesis, we device new EDA variants that are capable of searching in large dimensional continuous domains. We in particular (i) investigated heavy tails search distributions, (ii) we clarify a controversy in the literature about the capabilities of Gaussian versus Cauchy search distributions, (iii) we constructed a new way of projecting a large dimensional search space to low dimensional subspaces in a way that gives us control of the size of covariance of the search distribution and we develop adaptation techniques to exploit this and (iv) we proposed a random embedding technique in EDA that takes advantage of low intrinsic dimensional structure of problems. All these developments avail us with new techniques to tackle high dimensional optimization problems