The Efficacy Of International Environmental Law: A Personal Reflection

Chapter 38 of the Agenda 21\u27 adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development at Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 emphasizes the need for an enhanced and strengthened role of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in the further development of international environmental law

A Critique of Foucault’s Conception and Predictions of the Author-Function

In this paper, we appraise the thoughts of Foucault on the relationship between the author, work, and text, and the future of that relationship. In Foucault’s view, the text points to an author who is anterior to it, but this relationship is more complex than ‘traditionally’ understood because of the asymmetrical relationship between the concepts of author/writer and text/work. Although the author-function entails a form of individualization of text and ideas, Foucault argues that this has varied across disciplines, cultures, and time. In any case, the author-function determines the process of authentication, mode of circulation, and valorization. From the analysis of the relationship between the author and text in the premodern and modern eras, Foucault   extrapolates that in the postmodern era the author-function will be transformed and diminished because language assumes the dominant role of determining the form and content of viable discourse. Foucault’s conception of the author-function is post-modernist and consequently eschews the author-figure, grand narratives, progressive and systematic evaluation of texts, values and ideology, and temporality. However, contemporary trends in the understanding of the author-function do not fully bear out his predictions. Besides, intellectual property rights are more institutionalized and the boundary between authorized and unauthorized valorization and modification is intensely contested. The contestations are over valuable creations and, whether originating from an author or authors, this affirms the viability of projects such as Sage Philosophy. Key Words Author-function, work, text, discourse, postmodernism, valorizatio

GHANA’S REGULATORY FRAMEWORK AND SUSTAINABILITY IN THE MINING SECTOR

The mining sector in Ghana predates independence and has, over the years, contributed significantly to Ghana’s socio-economic development through revenue generation, employment creation and increase in foreign direct investments. This can be attributed largely to the institution of comprehensive and attractive legal, fiscal and institutional frameworks by the Ghanaian Government, which have helped to attract investments into the mining industry. Nonetheless, lack of effective revenue mobilization, generous tax incentives, damaging environmental effects, and destruction of livelihoods of host communities, especially due to illegal mining activities, remain major challenges. Most of the problems associated with mining in Ghana are due mainly to a weak mining regulatory framework. Ghana has enacted the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) (the Minerals and Mining Act), as amended in 2010, 2015, and 2019, as the basic law that regulates the mining sector, to improve the fiscal regime and to ensure effective regulation and sustainability of the mining industry. Even though Act 703 has been amended twice, and the Government has proposed a third amendment, previous amendments focused on “non-essential” areas, without special focus on the management of the environment for sustainability in the mining sector. Making the mining industry sustainable seems to have been addressed as an incidental. The Minerals and Mining Act has not undergone any major amendments to align it with regional frameworks, reflect international best practices and address sustainability challenges in the mining sector in Ghana. This paper reviews the key provisions of the Minerals and Mining Act, with a special focus on how the same facilitates environmental management for sustainability in the mining sector

True story about HIV: theory of viral sequestration and reserve infection

Radical cure of infectious disease lies in the principle that the contagion is eliminated and its propagation within the body is stopped. By understanding the true mechanisms of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, effective cure is possible. Vertical research in HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has produced much advanced data about its nature without discovering a true cure, implying that the infective concept may have been missed. Overall, current interventions have had a significant impact on the pandemic, but they definitely have not achieved a cure. Given that modern research has already provided almost all significant data on HIV/AIDS, this inevitably means that understanding of the HIV and AIDS mechanism in the human body and population is less than sufficient. This paper advances a new concept using the available scientific data in an attempt to open a new frontier in HIV research

Fabrication of DNA microarrays on Poly (methylmethacrylate) substrates for biomolecular reporting

DNA microarrays require the use of substrates with well-established surface modification / probe attachment chemistries. Glass/quartz have been widely adopted as typical support materials since their surface modification chemistries which involve the use of siloxane –based chemistries have been widely studied however; these chemistry is susceptible to hydrolytic cleavage especially at high or low pH values. Recently, polymers have been sought as alternative microarray support materials but their surface modification strategies are not well characterized compared to glass. This report will entail surface photo-modification of PMMA polymer substrates by UV irradiation which produces functional scaffolds of carboxylic groups that allow covalent attachment of amine-terminated oligonucleotide probes onto these surfaces via carbodiimide coupling chemistries. The photo-modification process for microarray fabrication involves only three steps; (1) broadband UV exposure of the polymer surface; (2) carbodiimide coupling of amine-terminated oligonucleotide probes to the surface (via an amide bond) and; (3) washing of the surface. Since microfluidics offer several advantages such as reduction in reagent cost, reduction in hybridization assay times and parallel processing of samples; we incorporate them in the microarray construction by using poly (dimethylsiloxane) microchannels that are reversibly sealed to the photoactivated PMMA substrates. Parallel sample processing minimizes contamination effects that can give rise to false positives which can be a significant issue especially for diagnostic applications. We demonstrate use of these protocols with linear oligonucleotide probes for screening multiple KRAS 2 mutations possessing high diagnostic value for colorectal cancers whereby a Ligase Detection Reaction/universal zipcode array assays was carried out using parallel detection of two different low abundant DNA point mutations in KRAS 2 oncogenes with allelic composition evaluated at one locus. The same covalent attachment protocols were utilized for immobilizing hairpin probes (molecular beacons) in a microarray format that were used to report on the analysis of complementary DNA (cDNA) specific for fruitless (fru) and ods-site homeobox (OdsH) genes extracted from Drosophila Melanogaster fruit flies. To further improve the analytical sensitivities exhibited by these hairpin probes; we used phthalocyanine dyes for dual labeling of oligonucleotide probes that will be used for reporting on biomolecular association events

Ethical Dimensions of Entrepreneurial Practice in Three Traditions

Entrepreneurs are a category of agents who are found in all human societies and their significance has been variously assessed. Although they are a universal phenomenon, their repertoire of activities, thoughts, motivations and emotions appear to be tradition-specific. This paper considers entrepreneurial practice in the liberal, libertarian, and communitarian traditions. The first objective is to determine if the primary ethical dimensions of entrepreneurial practice are structured by tradition. The second objective is to evaluate the status of entrepreneurial practice in the three traditions vis-à-vis common good. The paper uses the conceptual framework of tradition and its allied concepts of practice and narrative. It concludes that although the primary ethical dimensions of entrepreneurial practice arise from a tradition, novel entrepreneurial practices depart from tradition-set norms. It also concludes that entrepreneurial practices can and do violate the common good—more so in the liberal and libertarian tradition &nbsp

Mapping out the Identity of African Arts and Aesthetics

This article utilizes the hermeneutic theory of Paul Ricoeur and its concepts of text, historicity, distance, narrative and metaphor to map out the salient features of African arts and aesthetics. It also uses the Ricoeurian concept of metaphor to demarcate the boundary between art and popular art. The focus of this mapping out is literature, visual arts, music and art criticism. The identity of African literature bears imprints of various indigenous and foreign languages, and pertinent to Ricoeur, the deployment of metaphor. Thematic concerns are patently African by virtue of the historicity of the discourses that feature in the novels, poems and plays. On the other hand, art criticism in contemporary Africa manifests a lack of responsibility, and its practitioners would enhance their capacity by drawing from Ricoeur’s philosophy of interpretive responsibility. Although discourse is significantly valuable in mapping out identity in the African novel, its applicability to the identity of painting, poetry and music is slightly constrained. Furthermore, Ricoeur’s concept of textual autonomy is of least value in dealing with the identity features of symbolic painting and symbolic arts. Key WordsAfrican arts, Ricoeur, Criticism and Responsibility, Metaphor, Historicit

PRIVATE SECTOR CONTRIBUTIONS ON TEACHING AND LEARNING RESOURCES IN PUBLIC PRE-PRIMARY CENTRES IN KEIYO SOUTH SUB COUNTY, KENYA

Access to early childhood education, equity in access and quality education provision, is constrained by various factors, including an insufficient number of trained teachers, an inadequate number of ECDE centres and limited availability of teaching and learning materials. When the government fails to provide adequate support to pre-primary centres, schools are encouraged to forge partnerships with non-governmental organisation (herein referred to as private sector) to enhance quality education provision in pre-primary institutions. Therefore, the paper focuses on the contribution of private sector on teaching and learning resources in public pre-primary centres in Keiyo South Sub County. This study adapted a descriptive survey research design. The target population for this study was 155 head-teachers, 273 pre-school teachers and 1 ECDE programme officer. One set of questionnaires was used to collect data from pre-school teachers. Structured interview guides were used to collect data from the education programme officer and head teachers. Study results showed that the private sector contribution to the quality of ECDE curriculum provision in public pre-schools in Keiyo Sub County was positive but weak for provision of teaching and learning resources. The study concluded that private sector contributions to education sector through provision of teaching and learning materials on quality education provision in public pre-primary institutions. The study recommends that public pre-school centres need to work together with private sector players through creation of open door policy for them to invest in the sector.  Article visualizations

CHALLENGES TEACHERS OF ENGLISH FACE WHEN TEACHING THE ENGLISH ARTICLE SYSTEM TO LEARNERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN VIHIGA COUNTY, KENYA

This paper is a product of a study carried that was out examining the challenges teachers face when teaching the English article system in secondary schools, conducted in Vihiga County, Western Kenya. The need to carry out the study arose from the fact that performance in English as a subject in national examinations has been dismal as reflected in the Vihiga County results. The study was guided by Krashen’s learning- acquisition theory. The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm and a case study design. A mixed method approach was employed to allow for the use of both quantitative and qualitative methodologies leading to a better understanding of the article teaching and use phenomenon. The study sample included 6 schools and 24 teachers of English from the schools. A semi- structured in-depth interview was used to generate data. The data was analyzed using content and thematic analysis procedures. The study revealed the challenges teachers face including: complexity of the English article system, learners' L1 influence and scanty English article content coverage in the English language curriculum. Based on the study findings, it was concluded that the pedagogy utilized in the instruction of the English article is flawed, there is minimum content coverage for the English article and that both learners’ L1 and L2 negatively influence the acquisition and learning of English article making teaching difficult for teachers. Thus, it is recommended that teachers adopt an eclectic approach in teaching the English article system and that the curriculum developers review the English language syllabus with regard to the article system and accord it the prominence it deserves in terms of content coverage, spread and instructional guidance

Relationship between household characteristics and food security among households with school going children 6-14 years in Turkana County, Kenya

Good nutrition is very essential for proper growth and development of school going children. Malnutrition among school-going children affects their physical and cognitive development leading to low-class attendance hence poor school performance. Despite the economic growth observed in developing countries in recent years, undernutrition is still predominant. This study aims to determine the household food and nutrition security among households with school going children 6-14 years in Turkana County. A cross-sectional study design was adopted where 386 children were sampled for study. Turkana West Sub- County was purposively selected and the wards, locations sub-locations and villages were randomly selected. Systematic random sampling was used to sample households with school going children 6-14 years. A structured questionnaire survey was conducted on parents/guardians. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences Software (SPSS) Version 25. Data was analyzed using descriptive and multivariate statistics at 95% confidence interval. About 60% (n=228) of the households were headed by males with 62.2% aged between 20-30years. The large proportion of the respondents (58.8%) had attained primary education level only. Charcoal and firewood selling (25.6%) was the main occupation of the household heads, 13.2 % provided agricultural labor and only 2.1% had a formal employment. The rest did not have any source of income. The average dietary diversity score of the individuals was 5 to7 food groups while the highest dietary diversity score was 8-10 food groups. The school going children (6-14 years) had a medium dietary score with 45.9% while 22.3% had a low dietary diversity score. The study indicated that there was a significant relationship between dietary diversity and the nutrition security of the school going children 6-14 years. Findings of this study are useful in informing the County government of Turkana in the planning and implementation of relevant food and nutrition security programs in the Turkana West community. The study recommends adequate nutrition support to be incorporated in the school feeding program in the locality.&nbsp