TODAY'S PROBLEMS, TOMORROW'S PUZZLES

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Marrying out of the lower classes in nineteenth-century Belgium

In this article we address one of the most prominent questions in historical sociology: did economic modernization in the nineteenth century lead to societal openness? In an attempt to answer the question we examine the chances for lower-class grooms of marrying upwardly in five Belgian cities (Aalst, Leuven, Ghent, Verviers, and Liège). Our findings show that there is no support for a meritocracy hypothesis. The chances of marrying out of the lower classes did not increase, in either absolute or relative terms. Social closure strategies were efficient in that they apparently prevented upward marital mobility for lower-class grooms. As these findings were measured in a highly advanced economic context, this study casts strong doubts on the relationship between economic modernization, meritocracy, and marital mobility, at least for the nineteenth century

Walang Himala?: Pagsusuri sa mga Tala ni Pedro Chirino, SJ Tungkol sa mga Himalang Dulot ng Pagbibinyag Noong Ika-16 Hanggang Ika-17 Siglo sa Pilipinas

Sa akdang Relación de las Islas Filipinas, isinalaysay ni Pedro Chirino, SJ ang mga milagrosong pagbibinyag na nakapagpagaling ng mga karamdaman (“medicinal baptism”) ng mga katutubo sa pamamagitan ng hiwaga ng agua bendita. Sinusuri sa sanaysay na ito ang wika ng mga himala na ginamit ni Chirino sa kaniyang mga salaysay. Inilalahad sa sanaysay ang ilang posibleng sanhi ng paggaling ng mga karamdamang binigyang-lunas ng mga misyonerong Heswita, bukod sa tinukoy nilang kapangyarihan ng Diyos at hiwaga ng tubig. Iminumungkahi ng pag-aaral na ang integrasyon ng mga elemento ng dayuhan at katutubong pananampalataya ang nagpatibay ng paniniwala ng mga katutubo na ang kanilang mga sakit ay mabibigyang-lunas o ang kanilang resistensiya ay mapalalakas laban sa mga epidemya at malubhang sakit. Isinisiwalat din sa sanaysay ang kaalaman ng mga misyonero hinggil sa mga halamang-gamot at mga paraan ng paghahanda ng mga ito upang maging gamot para sa mga sakit ng mga katutubo. Tinatalakay rin sa sanaysay ang posibleng kaugnayan ng lubos na pagbibigay-diin ni Chirino sa mga himalang dulot ng pagbibinyag sa apela noon ng mga Heswita sa Pilipinas na itatag at kilalanin na ang bise-probinsiya ng Pilipinas (“Philippine vice-province”) bilang isang hiwalay na probinsiya ng Kapisanan ni Hesus (“full-fledged province of the Society of Jesus”) upang magkaroon sila ng higit na awtonomiya at kapangyarihan sa pangangasiwa ng kanilang mga lugar ng misyon sa Pilipinas

Ako Ay May Kiki/I Have A Vagina

Ako ay May Kikì/I Have a Vagina is a two-part book intended for young children, parents and caregivers for children. The first and main part of the book is a short story (with appropriate illustrations) that features a five-year old girl narrating to the readers some of the good toilet and perineal hygiene habits that she learned from her mother, so that genitourinary diseases could be prevented. She also shares with the readers the appropriate Filipino clinical term for vagina, as well as the important notions of privacy, autonomy and personal safety vis-à-vis her private part, for example, she underscores that no one else should be allowed to see and touch her vagina other than her mother and herself. Information provided here, as well as the language (words and structure of phrases) and tone used were validated by consultant pediatrician and social worker, a special editorial board and a group of mothers of young children invited for a focus discussion group. The second part of the book is non-literary and contains straightforward information that serve as guide for children and parents/caregivers in asserting children’s safety and autonomy, and identifying red flags regarding sexual predators or abusers. Information shared here are based on clinical studies on the prevention of sexual abuse of children and on actual cases of sexual abuse in the Philippines, and were validated by experts from the Child Protection Unit - Philippine General Hospital. This part also includes contact information of authorities from whom children and their parents/caregivers can seek help and protection

An Appraisal of the Revised Nigeria Certificate in Education Minimum Standards (English Language Curriculum)

This paper gives a concise appraisalof the revised Nigeria Certificate in Education Minimum Standards (English Language Curriculum). The certificate is the basic qualification for teaching. It is a sub-degree (certificate course) and professional teacher diploma, which is obtained after 3 years (full time) at a college of Education (Lassa, 2000). The recent review of the Minimum Standards (Curriculum) of colleges of education by the National Commission for Colleges of Education will be described as a bold stride since curriculum in Nigeria has been viewed as irrelevant to the needs of the students (Okebukola, 2013;Uma, Obidike&Ogwuru , 2013)).Teacher education in the country is in a deplorable state and ‘the teacher training programmes have been indicted’ (Ajelayemi, 2002, cited in Ajelayemi, 2005, para. 5).The review has engendered this appraisal as the penultimate edition of the curriculum was trailed by widespread criticisms. The paper intends to demonstrate the fact that the implementation of the English Language curriculum may suffer setbacks, if some strategies are not established as the quality of college entrants (Akinbote, 2007), the overcrowded classrooms, the non- provision of technological facilities (Adedeji, 2011) and the poor state of libraries in colleges of education (Mohammed, 2012) are pivotal issues that require proactive solutions. It recommends a review of the admission policy, decongestion of classrooms, procurement of current publications in libraries and INSET training of lecturers on the new Minimum Standards for a successful implementation of the curriculum

An Evaluation of the English Language Curriculum of the Nigeria Certificate in Education: A Case Study of a College of Education

This treatise is a pilot study that evaluated the implementation of the English language curriculum of the Nigeria Certificate in Education at a College of Education in Ogun State, Nigeria. The certificate is the basic qualification for teaching. The poor performance of Nigerian students in external English examinations has continued to be a source of worry to parents, educational stakeholders and the government. This problem has impeded the transition to higher education of many Nigerian students. In order to proffer solution to this problem, the effectiveness of the training of English language teachers need to be examined. The study sought to fill the gap by evaluating the implementation of the English language curriculum of the NCE in order to determine the effectiveness of the schooling of teachers. In investigating these issues, a mixed methods approach was used to utilise a case study. The sample comprised ten lecturers and twenty students drawn through convenience sampling techniques. The instruments were questionnaires, observation checklists, interviews and field notes. The methods of analysis were descriptive/inferential statistics and thematic content analysis. The findings revealed that lecturers employed mostly a combination of teaching modes in classrooms. The resources (physical and human) were found to be inadequate and the school technologically deficient. Furthermore, the negative attitudes of the students impacted on the implementation of the curriculum. The study identified the ineffective implementation of the NCE English language curriculum. The paper recommends that parents and other stakeholders should thoroughly investigate teacher training