138 research outputs found

    The Vulnerable State and Technical Fixes: An Analysis of Official Climate Change Discourses in Nepal

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    I conduct discourse analysis of seven selected official climate change policies and documents of Nepal. In the first part of my analysis, I draw from international climate justice discourses to analyze how policy makers construct Nepal’s position in the global arena, in relation to the issue of climate change. In the second part, I draw from political ecology and anthropological understandings of ‘vulnerability’ and ‘adaptation’ to analyze how policy makers construct those terms in the context of Nepal. The result shows that Nepal has adhered to the ‘vulnerability’ and ‘transition’ discourses, which serve as important tools to advocate for financial support from the international climate change regime. Driven primarily by international processes and guidelines, the climate change policies and documents in Nepal project a heavily technocratic approach with little socio-cultural considerations. Vulnerability is understood as a static property and assessed based on sectors and geographic areas, while adaptation is understood as series of actions to be implemented. Overall, the policies are at risk of perpetuating the existing systemic ills, as well as impeding imaginaries to pursue more radical socio-political and cultural change as effective adaptation measures

    Teaching science through inquiry

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    Learning is a process of acquiring knowledge and skill through practice, training and accumulation of experience. Teaching is thus an act of imparting knowledge and skill. The most conventional way of teaching science has been through lecturing. In a typical lecture setting, the audience is expected to listen and follow a set of notes without much questioning. Such a method seems to contradict the learning of science, which builds on prior knowledge and advances through curiosity. As a result, this one-way transmission of knowledge has induced dry memorization and very little interest in exploring science by the students. The dullness in learning science could be due to the lack of development of quantitative and analytical skills that come with conventional teaching. This gives rise to the stereotypical perception that science is cryptic, difficult and can only be understood by very smart students. The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has suggested that science teachers employ the method of inquiry-based teaching to overcome the inefficacy of conventional teaching. Inquiry-based teaching is much more desirable and effective in teaching science subjects because it follows more closely the scientific method of experimentation. This paper aims to explore the potentials of assimilating inquiry-based teaching into the current conventional method. Hopefully by adopting a more effective teaching method, we can engage more learners in shaping the education they receive and inspire them to become the creators of knowledge themselves

    The Vulnerable State and Technical Fixes

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    I conduct discourse analysis of seven selected official climate change policies and documents of Nepal. In the first part of my analysis, I draw from international climate justice discourses to analyze how policy makers construct Nepal’s position in the global arena, in relation to the issue of climate change. In the second part, I draw from political ecology and anthropological understandings of ‘vulnerability’ and ‘adaptation’ to analyze how policy makers construct those terms in the context of Nepal. The result shows that Nepal has adhered to the ‘vulnerability’ and ‘transition’ discourses, which serve as important tools to advocate for financial support from the international climate change regime. Driven primarily by international processes and guidelines, the climate change policies and documents in Nepal project a heavily technocratic approach with little socio-cultural considerations. Vulnerability is understood as a static property and assessed based on sectors and geographic areas, while adaptation is understood as series of actions to be implemented. Overall, the policies are at risk of perpetuating the existing systemic ills, as well as impeding imaginaries to pursue more radical socio-political and cultural change as effective adaptation measures

    2019 Annual Kathmandu Conference on Nepal and the Himalaya

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    Educational Leadership and School Culture: A Study of the Perceptions of Effective Leadership

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    Effective leadership has been cited as essential for creating and sustaining effective schools. Selecting, assigning, and retaining such leaders is a difficult task at best. Characteristics and/or skills deemed essential for effective leaders have been identified by researchers; however, many of our schools continue to produce results that are less than desirable. In addition, leaders who may be effective in one setting may not be in another. Research indicates organizational/school culture may be a contributing factor to the success of these leaders. Moreover, research indicates culture may have an impact on the characteristics perceived as effective/ineffective leadership attributes within these organizations. This study builds upon the research conducted by the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) organization and was designed to determine if a relationship exists between the organizational culture of schools and the perceptions of what constitutes effective leadership. The results obtained were similar to those obtained in the GLOBE study and indicated variance existed between the groups\u27 perceptions of effective leadership with the exception of charismatic leadership, which was universally endorsed by the participants. This was significant because the GLOBE Leadership scales used in this study had previously been used only with business leaders. These findings indicate the GLOBE leadership scales may provide relevant information for educational leaders as well as for those in the business world

    Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) in capture fisheries: A case study in Vypeen island of Ernakulam district

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    Indigenous knowledge (IK) can be broadly defined as the knowledge that an indigenous community accumulates over generations of living in a particular environment whose scientific validity is not proven. ITKs could very well provide a panacea in building the technology gap required for the sustenance of the fisheries sector. There are numerous ITKs which is available in fisheries sector whose knowledge components still remain localized and yet to be disseminated across different locations. In this connection a research study was done among 60 randomly selected fisher households in Vypeen island of Ernakulam district using a pre structured interview schedule. The study analyzed the different ITKs available in capture fisheries like identification of fishing ground, time of fishing, weather prediction, fish shoals, determination of depth of water, birds as an indicator of shoals and usage of sinkers and floats. There is innate fear of ITKs disappearing in the future on account of capital intensification in fishing and improved technologies in fish aggregating among the traditional fishermen. These treasure houses of knowledge which are based on the practical experience of indigenous people needs to be documented and validated for the sustainable development of the fisheries sector for the future

    Efektifitas tea tree pada ibu hamil terhadap jerawat vulgaris di UPTD Puskesmas Sindang Kabupaten Indramayu

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    The prevalence of acne patients in Indonesia is approximately 80-85% among adolescents aged 15-18 years, 12% in women aged over 25 years, and 3% in the age group of 35-44 years. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of tea tree on pregnant women with vulgaris acne at the Sindang Community Health Center in Indramayu Regency. The population in this study includes all pregnant women with vulgaris acne at the Sindang Community Health Center in Indramayu Regency, totaling 30 individuals. Bivariate analysis in this study uses a paired sample t-test to observe differences before and after treatment. Based on the statistical test results using the Paired Samples Test, with the assistance of SPSS version 24 and a significance level of α = 0.05, the result is obtained with p = 0.000, which means p 0.05. Thus, H1 is accepted, indicating that tea tree is effective in treating vulgaris acne in pregnant women at the Sindang Community Health Center in Indramayu Regency. Furthermore, it is recommended to expand the research with a clinical trial design to gain a deeper understanding of the benefits and risks of using skincare products during pregnancy

    Perbandingan Virgin Coconut Oil dan Curcuma Domestica Masa Kehamilan dengan Leukhore

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    It is estimated that 75% of women in Indonesia have experienced vaginal discharge once in their life. This study aims to determine the ratio of virgin coconut oil and curcuma domestica to leukhore during pregnancy. This type of research is a comparative study, namely comparing Virgin Coconut Oil with Curcuma Domestica. The population in this study were pregnant women in their first trimester. This population was in the working area of ​​the Losarang Public Health Center, Indramayu Regency, from March to May as many as 116 pregnant women in their first trimester. The sample technique used was purposive sampling, the sample in this study was 44 respondents. The results of the analysis of the Mann-Whitney Test obtained data that curcuma domestica reduced significantly with a calculated F value of 8,485 and a p-value of 0.007 <0.05. So it can be concluded that the use of curcuma domestica more significantly reduces the incidence of abnormal vaginal discharge compared to the use of virgin coconut oil

    Physical Environment and Learning through Play: Case Studies in Malaysian Preschools

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    As acquisition of knowledge includes the role of experience in acquiring knowledge, Learning through Play (LTP) becomes essential for children’s physical, social and cognitive development. LTP has also been identified as one of the teaching and learning approaches in Malaysia’s National Preschool Curriculum Standard (NPCS) to achieve its specified learning and development components. With physical environment capable of providing sensory stimuli and learning opportunities, physical environment aligned with the vision and principles of LTP should equally be given emphasis. This paper examines the physical environment of preschools in an attempt to demonstrate the relationship between LTP practices and a preschool’s physical environment. A case study research was undertaken based on a sampling frame with purposive homogeneous sampling employed to select four privately operated preschools within converted residential houses in Johor Bahru. Findings of qualitative analysis indicated that albeit physical environment of preschools are less supportive of LTP, children used ingenuity to modify and adapt their physical environment in support of their individual play needs. LTP was hindered due to lack of children’s own free will and accessibility to materials and equipment as well as constrained independent mobility and allowable play with restrictions imposed due to safety concern and time factor. Finally, conclusions are presented and suggestions for possible future direction are discussed
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