"Principled Embeddedness": How foreign direct Investment may contribute to inclusive and sustainable growth in developing economies?

Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a crucial role in enabling developing economies to embark on a path of inclusive growth. This applies in particular if local subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs) are committed to ‘principled embeddedness’ meaning that they are prepared to integrate parts of the local economy into global value chains by enabling them to comply with the required quality norms and standards. It also results in capacity development and technology transfer that is likely to benefit local entrepreneurs who contribute to the diversity of markets in the domestic economy. The empirically validated contribution of embedded subsidiaries of MNEs to inclusive growth challenge the normative view that FDI in developing economies would merely pose a threat to existing embedded economic systems

Self-Help Development Projects and Conceptions of Independence in Lesotho, 1950s-1970s

In the 1960s, the concept of development became increasingly intertwined with conceptions of independence amongst Basotho. Politicians and administrators before and after independence wanted to use development to legitimize their rule and consolidate power for a fairly weak central government. Their inability to procure funding for large projects meant that they were forced to rely on smaller, self-help projects. These small-scale projects became the primary way that people in Lesotho interacted with their first independent government, which indelibly shaped how people conceived of independence. These projects became intensely politicized, however, as government leaders relied on them to build political support. Basotho in youth and community organizations both worked with government-run projects and created their own small projects to bring about some of the changes they hoped to see from independence. The coup of 1970 closed down many of the spaces that had opened in the late colonial and early independence periods, leaving the period 1966-1970 as a moment where the prospect of an independent Lesotho bringing about development seemed most possible

COP-27: A great opportunity to address the double crisis of food security and climate change–and for the EU to re-align its farm to fork strategy

The 27th Conference of the Parties (COP 27) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) held in November 2022 in Sharm-el-Sheik, Egypt, ended with joint commitments to compensate for loss and damage and increase funds for climate change adaptation in future. This outcome is likely to be supportive of current efforts to render agricultural systems in low income tropical countries more resilient and productive through locally adapted forms of sustainable intensification. However, the farm-to-fork (f2f) strategy launched in 2020 by the European Union (EU) has set targets that associate sustainable agriculture primarily with extensification rather than intensification. This paper critically reviews the literature that assesses the impact of current agricultural, environmental and development policies on global food security, biodiversity and climate change. It challenges the view that the European Green Deal and the f2f strategy will have its desired effects. It also argues that the intention of the European Commission (EC) to promote the f2f strategy in low income tropical countries may not be compatible with its commitment to the ownership principle in development assistance. The decision of the EC in fall 2022 to propose a regulatory framework on new breeding techniques (NBTs) indicates that methods of sustainable intensification may be reconsidered if they serve the goals of the Green Deal and the f2f strategy. Such a readjustment would also be in line with the outcome of COP27 and indicate that the polarized global debate on sustainable food systems may become more pragmatic and outcome-oriented again

Sensory Processing Disorder and Sensory Integration: Case Study

This project is a case study on my brother, Damien, who has sensory processing disorder. This included a treatment plan based on sensory integration. All activities were meant to activate the parts of his brain that help him to focus and be in alignment and included strategies for both school and home. These strategies included using chew necklaces, a weighted vest, and sensory integrative activities including being wrapped in a blanket before bed, using a mini trampoline, and doing wall pushups. Damien’s family and teacher used these strategies in school and at home. The teacher found all of the strategies helpful in alleviating many of the concerns in her classroom except for Damien hopping in and out of line. Damien’s family found the short phrases to be helpful, as well as the wall push-ups, blanket wrap, and mini trampoline. Damien did not enjoy the lotion and rice. Damien has continued responding well to the other strategies so far. This case study shows good evidence that small sensory integrative strategies can be simple and helpful for families and teachers to implement into daily life. Further study is needed on a larger scale for children with different types of sensory differences

Homemakers, Communists, and Refugees: Smuggling Anti-Apartheid Refugees in Rural Lesotho in the 1960s and 1970s

This article tells the story of Maleseko Kena, a woman born in South Africa but who lived most of her adult life in rural Lesotho. It narrates how her story of helping apartheid refugees cross the border and move onward complicates understandings of what the international border, belonging, and citizenship meant for individuals living near it. By interweaving her story with larger narratives about the changing political, social, and economic climate of the southern African region, it also highlights the spaces that women had for making an impact politically despite facing structural obstacles both in the regional economy and in the villages where they were living. This article relies heavily on the oral testimony of Maleseko herself as told to the author, but also makes use of press sources from Lesotho, and archival material from the United States and the United Kingdom

A Critical Edition of El Libro de Alexandre

The Libro de Alexandre is a thirteenth-century Spanish epic poem of the life and conquests of Alexander the Great of Macedonia. It is composed of slightly over 2,600 stanzas written in cuaderna vía. Two scholars have presented previous editions of the Paris manuscript of the poem in an attempt to make it available to students of mediaeval Spanish language and literature. Their editions, however, present the text in isolation and students must possess sophisticated knowledge of mediaeval Spanish in order to understand the complexities of the poem. This edition attempts to provide an integrated version, one in which all of the elements essential for comprehension are found in one unit. A complete and original transcription of the poem has been provided from a microfilm of the Paris manuscript. It is accompanied throughout by a succinct English commentary. The introductory material serves to establish the circumferences of the study, to provide some information about Alexander source material to the unknown poet, to introduce some of the poet\u27s attitudes toward Alexander, and to explain certain poetic and linguistic decisions made for the presentation of the edition. The poem is accompanied by a section devoted to textual notes which explain certain contextual, paleographic, syntactic and historical problems. Following the notes is an Index of Proper Names and Places which occur in the text. Finally, there is an extensive Old Spanish-English etymological vocabulary. This edition, then, can be utilized by students of Old Spanish without having to consult extensive or obscure reference materials

Risk, regulation and innovation: The case of aquaculture and transgenic fish

Abstract.: This paper reviews the public and scientific debates over the risks and benefits of aquaculture and aquatic biotechnology worldwide, and in the United States in particular. The basic argument is that business tends to respond to uncertainty with innovation in management and technology. Technological evolution in the fish business is therefore interpreted as a continuous response to new environmental and socioeconomic uncertainties and subsequent regulation. The use of aquatic biotechnology in fish breeding is just the latest technological response, but also the most controversial. Growth-enhanced transgenic salmon may become the first bioengineered animal product approved for use as food in the United States. The fish may boost future salmon harvests, contribute to productivity increases in aquaculture and lower consumer prices for salmon. But it also faces public opposition, reluctant investors and scientific skepticism due to mainly environmental concerns. The paper argues that even though the regulatory framework in the United States is well-elaborated, it may not be able to reassure public opposition once transgenic salmon should be approved as a ‘new animal drug'. Analogous to genetically modified food crops, the consumer market rather than regulation will determine the ultimate fate of transgenic fis

\u27If We Govern Ourselves, Whose Son is to Govern Us?\u27: Youth, Independence and the 1960s in Lesotho

Young people in Lesotho worked actively to bring about their own conceptions of the nation in late colonial and early independence Lesotho. These youth drew on a wide range of local, national and international ideas to push for institutional change that would benefit themselves as individuals, and the nation as a whole. Tapping into larger global debates about development, the Cold War and the role of youth in societies, young Basotho actively participated in and wanted a say in the changes coming with independence. This work rethinks African nationalism, seeing a wider range of people willing and able to identify with a national ideal than previous works that focus mainly on political parties have found. It also complicates the question of international boundaries, with many young South Africans crossing the border into Lesotho, and young Basotho going the other way into South Africa. These transient lives call into question the premise of a state-based national identity as the primary identification for a large group of people

Teacher self -efficacy and beliefs for teaching mathematics in inclusive settings

The purpose of this mixed-design study was to determine if mathematics teachers experienced changes in their self-efficacy and beliefs about their ability to teach students with disabilities in an inclusive setting. The intervention for this study was a 14-month professional development program that consisted of content and methods courses taught during two-week intervals during the summer on the campus of The College of William and Mary followed by specific professional development activities provided by a team of math specialists/facilitators with expertise in mathematics curriculum, instruction, and assessment as well as special education services including inclusive education models. Teachers participating in the study completed a survey, Teaching Mathematics in Inclusive Settings, and participated in focus groups.;Findings indicated that teachers participating in both content/methods courses and school-based professional development activities significantly increased in their self-efficacy with regard to teaching mathematics to students with disabilities in inclusive settings. Components of the professional development program rated as being most valuable as well as changing teaching practices were coaching from a mathematics specialist; discussions and dialogues with a mathematics specialist, and lesson study. School-based professional development designed to support teachers as they integrate research-based instructional strategies may significantly increase their self-efficacy leading to more effective instruction for diverse student populations