Childhood Poverty and Education in Bangladesh: Policy implications for disadvantaged children

This paper is based on a recent study carried out as a part of the Visiting Research Fellowship at the UNICEF Office of Research. It offers a theoretical understanding of childhood poverty and educational exclusion, building on the empirical findings of the fieldwork carried out in Bangladesh to develop case studies addressing the questions, why do so many socio-economically disadvantaged children tend to drop out from formal secondary school, and why do some succeed? After exploring the challenges of childhood poverty and educational exclusion, it shows how the challenges could be mitigated through attention to the ecology of human development. This paper demonstrates a better understanding of childhood poverty and education in relation to the theoretical perspective through drawing together empirical evidence, summarising and interpreting it, in a more integrated manner and context. On the basis of this examination of the phenomenon, research findings have translated into recommendations for policy and practice to improve formal secondary schooling for socio-economically disadvantaged children in Bangladesh

Experimental feasibility study of using date palm oil as a bitumen Bio-Modifier in HMA pavement

This paper examines the effects of Date palm oil as a bitumen modifier on the compressive strength of bitumen and hot mixed asphalt (HMA) pavement. Date palm oil contains anti-oxidant isomers that have the potential to enhance the performance and durability of bitumen. The compressive strength test of asphalt pavement mixed with Date palm oil was performed in accordance with British Standards BS 1881: Part 116: 1983. The cube specimens of asphalt pavement were manufactured mixing with 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10% of Date palm oil out of total sample mass. The experimental results suggested that Date palm oil as a bitumen modifier reduced the compressive strength of HMA pavement. The findings of this paper urge for further experiments to understand the effects of Date palm oil on the asphalt pavements under long-term traffic load, environment and surface drainage

Nonformal education for sustainable development: A Bangladeshi perspective

Sustainable development means ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’ (WCED, 1987:43). Meanwhile, any education worth the name is a life-long process for the betterment of human well-being. The social purposes of education are located in the long term, and it is right therefore that education should be oriented towards the construction and maintenance of a sustainable future. However, many children in developing countries get very little education. They have little chance to attend even low-quality primary schools, and dropout and failure rates are alarming; many leave semi-literate, soon to relapse into illiteracy, with disastrous consequences for their participation as individuals in the creation of a sustainable world. Moreover, the majority of those who are at school experience a traditional, formal education paradigm, aimed primarily at selecting and building human capital for economic growth. This paradigm is seen to be increasingly at odds with the concept of education for sustainability. Since the 1960s, nonformal education has comprised a wide spectrum of educational and training activities organised outside the formal school system. Innovative learning methods are aimed at the development of practical skills, including matters of health, sanitation, literacy, to be applied in real life situations. As an alternative approach to basic education, the nonformal sector as a whole thus increases pressure for change in the wider education system. Drawing on a three-year empirical study of young people at the point of transition between the nonformal and formal sectors of schooling in Bangladesh, this paper will develop a framework for analysing how the nonformal education paradigm could usefully and realistically increase practice for sustainability in the formal system

Imagining inclusive teachers: contesting policy assumptions in relation to the development of inclusive practice in schools

In this paper we reflect on data from two research projects in which inclusive practice in schools is at issue, in the light of wider field experience (our own and others’) of school and teacher development. We question what we understand to be relatively common, implicit policy assumptions about how teachers develop, by examining the way in which teachers are portrayed and located in these projects. The examples discussed in this paper draw on experience in Lao PDR and Bangladesh, critically exploring teachers’ roles, position and agency in practice. Similarities and differences rooted in cultural, political and institutional contexts highlight in a very productive way the significance and potential dangers of policy assumptions about teachers within the process of development. In Bangladesh, a success story is presented: the case of a group of schools in which an institutional context for learning appears to sustain teachers’ commitment and motivation, with the effect of creating meaningful outcomes for young people who were previously outside the education system. These data raise questions about the significance of institutional context to teachers’ practices, and questions about approaches to teacher development which omit consideration of that context by, for example, focusing inadvertently on features of individual teachers. We then consider teachers’ responses to the movement for inclusive education in a school in the Lao PDR since 2004. Inclusion here was understood to require a significant shift in teacher identity and a movement away from authoritative pedagogy towards the facilitation of a pedagogy which aimed to encourage the active participation of all students. Through a longitudinal study of teachers in one school, the conditions for such change were identified and again cast doubt on some of the assumptions behind large-scale attempts at teacher development. Reflecting on these experiences and the evidence they provide, we suggest that teacher development programmes are more likely to be effective where teachers are considered not as individuals subject to training but as agents located in an influential institutional context

Processing, structure and thermo-mechanical properties of reclaimed nanoclay, and its application in polyamide 6 and low-density polyethylene nanocomposites.

Oil-based mud (OBM) wastes are generated every year all over the world, and remain a serious challenge for the oil and gas industry. The potential solution for this global problem is either to destroy these hazardous chemicals completely - a significant challenge - or to use/utilise them for beneficial applications. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to develop a detailed understanding of the synergistic effects of different clay minerals that exist in OBM waste, in influencing structural, morphological, rheological and thermo-mechanical behaviour of LDPE and PA6 nanocomposite materials. The thesis begins with a critical literature review, covering oil-based mud (OBM) waste treatments, polymer nanocomposites and their manufacturing, thermal degradation behaviour and mechanical performance. This is followed by a detailed characterisation of OBM waste to determine elemental composition, and structural and thermal properties. To evaluate their performance as a filler in polymer composites, both mechanical and thermal properties of polyamide 6 (PA6) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE)-based nanocomposites were manufactured through the process of melt compounding, followed by injection and compression moulding, with different amounts (wt%) of OBM fillers (OBMFs). The study on thermal degradation of LDPE/OBM slurry shows that the nanocomposites with higher percentage filler contents (in case of 7.5 and 10 wt%) decreased the heat capacity value by 33% and 17% in LDPE respectively. OBM slurry shows superior improvements in storage modulus, loss modulus and damping property (tan d) in LDPE matrix, compared to those of LDPE/MMT nanocomposites. However, the study shows a decrease of tensile and flexural properties for the LDPE/OBM slurry nanocomposites. The follow-up study focused on thermally-treated OBM waste in powder form and their effect on thermo-mechanical properties of LDPE matrix. It was observed that OBMFs was compatible with LDPE matrix, which led to a strong interfacial interaction between the clay layers and polymer. Further, the clay minerals present in OBMFs formed chemical bonds in microstructure within the nanocomposites. The OBMFs (10wt %)/LDPE nanocomposite produced the highest onset degradation temperature at 5 wt% loss (TD5%) and 50 wt% loss (TD50%) among the nanocomposites. An enhancement of mechanical properties of composites was identified, which showed a gain of 14% Young's modulus and 18% increase on tensile strength at 10 wt% OBMFs loading, compared to those properties of neat LDPE. The crystallinity and thermal degradation behaviours of polyamide 6/oil-based mud fillers (PA6/OBMFs) nanocomposites were also investigated. TGA indicates the onset decomposition temperature of D1/2 (half-decomposition) for PA6 with 10 wt% of OBMFs is 16ºC higher than that of PA6 and also registered a 47% specific heat capacity reduction. The Youngs' moduli were increased by 42% and 35% in PA6 with 7.5 and 10 wt% OBMFs nanocomposites respectively, whereas the tensile strengths were increased by 24% and 16% in PA6 with 7.5 and 10 wt% OBMFs nanocomposites respectively. The flexural strength increased by 26% with the addition of OBMFs from 0 to 10 wt% in PA6 nanocomposites. In conclusion, a loading amount of 10 wt% OBMFs on both polymer matrices was found to be the most desirable enhanced mechanical and thermal stability properties. However, 10 wt% OBMFs showed increased storage modulus and drop in loss modulus in both LDPE and PA6 matrices, leading to the conclusion that OBMFs improves thermo-mechanical properties in LDPE and PA6 matrices in dynamic condition. Considering the findings from this study, this material shows high potential for low-cost structural insulation materials as an alternative to conventional (more expensive) materials. All the proposed treatment techniques presented in the literature and in industrial practices dealing with OBM waste, passes pollution from one stage to another. This study explores the opportunity to utilise the useful reclaimed clay minerals from OBM waste as filler in nanocomposite manufacturing

The Socio-Economic Condition of Bangladesh: A Study on Trishal Upazila in Mymensingh

The study is based on a survey of the socio-economic condition of Trishal, Mymensingh. The main objective of the study is to identify socio-economic of Trishal under Mymensingh district in Bangladesh. The present status of socio economic condition of Trishal in Mymensingh is enough satisfactory since Majority of the respondents (32.26%)  earn Tk. 1,50,001-2,50,000 and 25.81% earn above Tk. 2,50,000 per year.  The analysis shows that most of the persons engaged in Job and business as well as aware about family planning and pure drinking water etc.  The education is enough (SSC to Masters) trishal compare to all.  But some problems are available in Trishal such as poor communication facilities, not fully aware about proper sanitation and limited gas access to all the people. Accommodation condition, electricity and recreational facilities are well in Trishal. Therefore, the government should give special attention in providing gas & communication facilities and education systems at SSC level for the development of overall socio economic status of the Trishal people of Mymensingh . Keywords: Socio-Economic Condition, Yearly income & Expenses, Education Status, hygienic latrine and contraceptive methods etc.

Food Security and Livelihood in Coastal Area under Increased Salinity and Frequent Tidal Surge

Food availability is a crucial dimension of food security in an agrarian society. It is largely realized through own food production of a specific society. Seasonality plays an important role in food security. This article analyzes the existing threat to food security and livelihood in coastal areas of developing countries, particularly in Bangladesh, with a focus on climate change and seasonality. There is persistent food shortage during the sowing season and the pre-harvest period. Food deficit remains high during mid-August to end of October (68–95 per cent) while it is the lowest in December (21 per cent). During the pre-harvest period, farmers have to invest a lot of money at a time though they cannot afford it. Evidence suggests that food loans are common among the poor or small farmers during the food deficit period or in the event of flood. Over 78 per cent of the respondents had taken loans from microfinance institutions and local individual moneylenders. Problem remains as salinity and overfishing has drastically depleted open-water fisheries. Reviving livelihoods still remain a challenge for the vulnerable households especially in areas where agricultural diversity is very limited. Therefore, alternative livelihoods initiatives such as homestead or community-based cage fishing, cash grant and training on non-farm activities of women and men, generating employment through public work programmes need to be in place to ensure food security and livelihood of vulnerable people living in coastal areas. </jats:p

Remuneration and recruitment process of Banglalink

This internship report is submitted in a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration, 2015Cataloged from PDF version of Internship report.Includes bibliographical references (page 28).I have started my internship report with a brief introduction of myself and then I have discussed about the limitation, methodology, vision and objectives of the report along with the company profile and shares and the strategies. Slowly, I have moved towards the products and services offered by Banglalink to the citizen of the country. After that, my job description and the activities came up in the report very briefly and clearly. I have also put my critical observation regarding the company followed by my learning, interaction with the team members and experiences. As usual, the recommendation part is at the second last position of the report followed by the brief conclusion. For the reader of my report, I have thrown some of the questions at the very end of my report. The answers are somewhere inside of my internship report.Md. Shohel RanaB. Business Administratio