African Universities: Sites of Resistance and Agents of National Development| Chapter 1 | Language, Literature and Education: Research Updates Vol. 6

 

The public university in Africa was a corollary of, and dialectically related to, the national development project. It was conceived to be a public institution with a public mission in addressing with effectiveness the challenges of the development process. The main objective of this study is to analyse the evolution of the African university as a site for the continued struggle for self-determination. It was argued that, in spite of the history of a few institutions in a handful of countries, the African university in the 21st Century reflects essentially colonial relations. Thus, for instance, the new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and distance learning programmes, and the emerging private universities in the context of liberalisation mantra, were also analysed in the framework of the liberalisation policies that have been promoted by the global colonial proxies. In this article, the public mission of the university, be it public or private, was examined. The approach was basically historical, assessing the actors and their transformations and mutations within the same reality of the structural inequality of power in the global system and various African responses through continued resistance and affirmation. The study addressed the fundamental question of the search for a public university or a university with a public mission for the production of relevant knowledge in the various disciplines, critical thinking and new paradigms, and methodologies to promote social progress amidst the challenges of the dominant liberal globalisation and the objective conditions of the African States, societies, and people. The study stated that, based on people’s aspirations for development, dynamic expressions of democracies, and tangible world resources, it is possible to boost higher education. However, based on the realities and the expectations for real chances for a better life, the exercises of critical reflection can only conclude that there will not be generous financial support devoid of interest. By and large, through various mechanisms, private institutions rely on considerable indirect and direct subsidies from the state to function. The public mission of higher education must include private institutions as part of a national agenda. More importantly, African states should feel invigorated in the pursuit of building and maintaining public institutions to respond to demand.

 

Author (s) Details

N’Dri T. Assié-Lumumba
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/lleru/v6/4578

Workplace Lifestyle Factors and Depressive Symptoms: A Study of Japanese Organizations | Chapter 6 | Disease and Health: Research Developments Vol. 5

Background: Mental illness, especially depression or the depressive state, inflicts great psychological distress on individuals and even entire neighborhoods and is a major problem influencing social life.

Aim: This study aims to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and lifestyle-related factors.

Methods: The information presented in this report was collected as part of the Northern-Japan Occupational Health Promotion Centers Collaboration Study for Mental Health (NOCS-MH) for the occupational health promotion centers of the six administrative divisions located in the prefectures of northern Japan (Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, and Yamagata prefectures). A total of 2,220 employees (1,069 for males and 1,151 for females) in Japan completed the screening test of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies   Depression Scale (CES-D). The cutoff point for the CES-D scores was 16 or above (high scorers). Statistical analyses were performed to analyse the collected data. 

Results: The identified factors that showed significant effect from the binomial multivariate logistic regression for high scorers were as follows: “habits of having breakfast” in all participants (OR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.64–0.95); “have good eating habits” in females (OR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.48–0.86) and all participants (OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.62–0.91); “satisfaction with sleep” in males (OR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.37–0.64), females (OR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.36–0.61), and all participants (OR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.39–0.56); “smoking habits” in females (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.06–1.99); “daily alcohol consumption” in males (OR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.48–0.82) and all participants (OR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.52–0.78); “hypertension” in females (OR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.38–0.99); “periodontal disease” in all participants (OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.00–2.34); “history of medication” in females (OR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.07–1.79) and all participants (OR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.07–1.55).

Conclusion: A healthy lifestyle was found to be a factor related to the depressive symptoms of the Japanese employees. The limitation of this study lies in its cross-sectional design, which makes it difficult to determine whether the correlation associated with psychological distress is an antecedent or a consequence of depressive symptoms. In order to make inferences with regard to causality, a longitudinal follow-up study will be needed in future. Future studies should focus on evaluating the importance of lifestyle in preventing depressive disorders.

 

Author (s) Details

 

Masahito Fushimi
Akita University Health Center, Akita City, Japan and Akita Occupational Health Promotion Center, Akita City, Japan.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/dhrd/v5/4288

Prospects and Goals of Sustainable Development as an Integrative Basis of the Global Strategy for the Efficiency of Society, Education and Science| Chapter 1 | Research Aspects in Arts and Social Studies Vol. 1

 For understanding about the ecological, economic, and social components as a whole, interdisciplinary connections are essential. These phenomena are particularly significant for small countries and those on the path of intensive development or searching for a model of an economic and social intensification and institutional transformations for sustainable development of s, given that the phenomena of integration and internationalisation in the context of globalisation are growing rapidly and that their properties are determined by the laws dictated by the prevailing trend of global development.

In order to effectively exploit novel ideas and technologies, people in this circumstance need new knowledge and skills. Environmental preservation, education for sustainable development, global civic education, as well as other educational approaches and learning principles, lay the groundwork for sustainability in all of its manifestations. The educational process should build knowledge, competencies, and abilities as well as values and attitudes in order to empower young people to actively participate in addressing regional, national, and international social, economic, and environmental challenges.

Author(s) Details:

Viktor Zinchenko,
Department of University Research Activities, Institute of Higher Education, National Academy of Educational Sciences, Ukraine.

Vasyl Levkulych,
Department of Philosophy, Uzhhorod National University, Ukraine.

Mykola Popovych,
Department of Law, Vocational, Social and Humanitarian Education Higher Educational Institution Podillia State University, Ukraine.

Viktoriia Levkulych,
Department of Accounting and Audit, Uzhhorod National University, Ukraine.

Viktoriia Svyshcho,
Department of Philosophy, Uzhhorod National University, Ukraine.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/RAASS-V1/article/view/8110

Keywords: Sustainable development, environment, education, globalization, ecology, Agenda, science, knowledge, UNESCO, global system, European Union, national educational models, public, educational institutions

Social Inequalities: Media Coverage and Society Expectations | Chapter 3 | New Horizons in Education and Social Studies Vol. 1

The article deals with the ways of media coverage of financial and ethnic distinctions in society. Analysis is based on the comparative Russian-Swedish research of regional media. The research revealed that material divides are mostly covered through several discourses: social policies aimed at elimination of material differences, information on individual solutions for financial problems, mass media as the helpline for the underprivileged. There are penetrations of material divides issues in some relative topics but media evidently escape conflicts escalation.  The audience in Russia finds the coverage of these issues unsatisfactory as it does not touch the structural material divides. The “disparity” discourse was apparent in discussions on ethnic divides and migration. Media do not present ethnic differences as inequalities and escape of mentioning them except urgent grounds; ethnic divides are either built into the overall context of material ones or placed into “us and they” discourse. Being slightly and not systematically articulated in media, material and ethnic diversities turn to become real gaps which are impossible to overcome both in mind and reality.

Author(s) Details

 Professor, Dr. hab. Marina Aleksandrovna Berezhnaia
Saint Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya Naberezhnaya, 7/9, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia.

Professor, Dr. hab. Sergey Grigorievich Korkonosenko
Saint Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya Naberezhnaya, 7/9, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia.

View Book :- http://bp.bookpi.org/index.php/bpi/catalog/book/204