...OF AN EMPOWERED COMMUNITY 7.1 Introduction Other than its definition, we have also noted in previous lectures three important facts about empowerment, and these are: a) Empowerment is a process that takes time; b) Every human experience has a contribution to make towards that empowerment; and that c) While individuals and communities are at the end of the day responsible for their own empowerment, external inputs too have value. In this lecture we will be discussing characteristics of an empowered community over time; community’s role in its own development; and also the role of external input, especially that of people’s government, in this empowerment process. 7.2 Objectives By the end of this lecture, you should be able to a) explain the characteristics of an empowered community b) discuss the role of the people in their won empowerment; and c) discuss what should be the role of the government (and donors) in support of the people in their own empowerment. 7.3 Characteristics of an empowered community There are four characteristics that an empowered person or community should display. These characteristics are progressive in their arrangement and hence it should be easy to remember them. The four characteristics are a) the ability to understand one’s reality and to analyze the factors that shape that reality; b) the ability to decide what one wants to be; c) the willingness to act to change the situation for the better; and d) the ability to ensuring sustainability of those...
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...American International Journal of Contemporary Research Vol. 4 No. 1; January 2014 Kenya’s Social Development Proposals and Challenges: Review of Kenya Vision 2030 First Medium-Term Plan, 2008-2012 Ezekiel Mbitha Mwenzwa Department of Social Sciences Karatina University P. O. Box 1951, Karatina, Kenya. Joseph Akuma Misati Department of Sociology Maasai Mara University P. O. Box 861 20500, Narok, Kenya. Abstract Kenya faces several development challenges including poverty, disease, unemployment, negative civic engagement among others. The development bottlenecks worsened following the introduction of the IMF/World Bank-propelled Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) of the late 1970s and early 1980s. While the SAPs had envisaged benefits, they largely became part of the problem rather than the solution to development in Kenya. Accompanying these were negative civic engagements, particularly, ethnic conflict and political maladministration especially after the re-introduction of multiparty politics in the early 1990s. These drawbacks notwithstanding, development planning went on culminating in the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERSWEC) 2003-2007 in 2002 and its successor, the Kenya Vision 2030 in 2007. While the former was implemented, the latter is on course with the First Five Year Medium-Term Plan running from 2008 to 2012 recently concluded. The blueprint is driven by three pillars, namely; The economic, social and...
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...DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS AND POLICY DIVISION OF AGRICULTURAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY Working Paper No. 887 FALLACIES IN DEVELOPMENT THEORY AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY by Irma Adelman Copyright © 1999 by Irma Adelman. All rights reserved. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies. California Agricultural Experiment Station Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics May, 1999 FALLACIES IN DEVELOPMENT THEORY AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY. by Irma Adelman I. Introduction No area of economics has experienced as many abrupt changes in leading paradigm during the post Word War II era as has economic development. Since economic development is a policy science, the twists and turns in development economics have had profound implications for development policy. Specifically, the dominant development model has determined policy prescriptions concerning the desirable: role of government in the economy; its degree of interventionism; the form interventionism; and the nature of government-market interactions. Changes in both theory and policy prescriptions arise mainly from the following five sources: First, there is learning. As our empirical and theoretical knowledge-base enlarges, new theoretical propositions, or new evidence concerning either resounding real-world successes...
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...Fallacy Summary and Application Paper Introduction Logical Fallacies are methods in argumentations or persuasions that may look or sound good and truthful but do not stand up to critical analysis. These are errors of reasoning that may be recognized by prudent thinkers (Downes, 1995). Fallacies are more than just mistaken belief, it is a flaw in argument that may be intentionally created by a person who has an agenda or may be due to a simple error. On the other hand, Fischer (1970; p. 306) in contrast with fallacy explains logic as follows: “Logic is not everything. But it is something something which can be taught, something which can be learned, something which can help us in some degree to think more sensibly about the dangerous world in which we live.” Logical fallacies are commonly used in order to manipulate a situation or worse when an individual does not recognize the fallacies in the argument, he can be manipulated during the decision making process. As such it is necessary for every individual to use critical thinking particularly during the decision-making process for him or her to become aware of logical fallacies and how these relate to decision-making. Critical thinking as against logical fallacies is a process being used particularly in resolving a problem. It is a mental process of analyzing and evaluating information such as statements or propositions being offered as truth. This process involves reflection of the meaning of statements given, examinations...
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...about any subject, content, or problem - in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them. A well cultivated critical thinker: * Will frame different questions and predicts the problems in the long run process, formulating them clearly and precisely; * collects and analyze relevant information, using abstract thoughts to illuminate it effectively comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant situations, basic scenarios and standards; * thinks open-mindedly and thinks about the other systems, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, suggestions, and practical results; and * Interacts and communicates effectively with team members in work, fellow students in school or college or within the family etc. in figuring out solutions to complex problems. Benefits of Critical Thinking At Work: Critical thinking makes employees and managers to look at a situation and analyze all possible solutions before taking a final decision. It can be a long process that requires ideas from different experienced people within the business organization. The benefits to critical thinking make it a valuable practice for any small business. * Produces New Ideas * Promote the development of Teamwork * Promotes Options * Uncovering Spinoffs( which lead to discover the new ideas which are not related...
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...American community lack confidence to follow their dreams, having a job to provide for their family and knowing that there is an answer to all questions to ensure the moral development of a child. The argument is to convince the reader that good responsible child could be raised by either a single parent or jointly. (Informal Fallacy identified as Composition) * Identify the barriers and lack of support from fathers in the African American community. The argument is that the African American male is undependable, uncommitted to marriage, prone to engage in violence, corrupt behaviors, and/or physically absent due to abandonment or incarceration. The argument is that this stereotype or myth has largely contributed to the fact many women raise children alone drawing from the conclusion that these myths take on a life of itself. That myths and stereotyping can cause problems in the raising of a child. That some men in the African American community lack confidence to follow their dreams, having a job to provide for their family and knowing that there is an answer to all questions to ensure the moral development of a child. (Informal Fallacy identified as Hasty Generalization) * Children deprived of the right of responsibility. There are too many mothers and fathers, not fulfilling the role and taking the responsibility and not available to provide training as parents together. The argument is that responsibility does...
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...WHY TAKING DEVELOPMENT TO THE PEOPLE IS A FALLACY. I. Introduction No area of economics has experienced as many abrupt changes in leading paradigm during the post Word War II era as has economic development. Since economic development is a policy science, the twists and turns in development economics have had profound implications for development policy. Specifically, the dominant development model has determined policy prescriptions concerning the desirable: role of government in the economy; its degree of interventionism; the form interventionism; and the nature of government-market interactions. Changes in both theory and policy prescriptions arise mainly from the following five sources: First, there is learning. As our empirical and theoretical knowledge-base enlarges, new theoretical propositions, or new evidence concerning either resounding real-world successes or conspicuous real world failures, become apparent. These feed into new theoretical or empirical paradigms. Second, there are changes in ideology. As different power-elites ascend and wane, their ideologies ascend and wane with them. New ideologies provide new prisms through which to view both old theories and old policy prescriptions. When they are inconsistent with new fundamental values, they must be reformulated so as to achieve congruence. Third, there are (exogenous?) changes in the international environment. When major technological innovations, such as the Industrial or the Communications...
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...Critical Thinking plays a vital role when taking decisions to solve problems. In a process of problem solving you can foresee the outcomes before you can apply the decision. This helps us to apply more check points to our decision to make a positive outcome. It promotes creativity and is crucial for self reflection. Also it enhances language and presentation skills. I would like to provide the benefits as categories, which are academic, workplace and daily life. Academic Performance: Understand the arguments and beliefs of others. Evaluate those arguments and beliefs critically. Develop and defend one's own well supported arguments and beliefs. Workplace: Help us to reflect and get a deeper understanding of our own and others decisions. Encourage open mindedness to change. Aid us in being more analytical in solving problems. Daily life: Helps us to avoid making foolish personal decisions. Aids in development of autonomous tinkers capable of examining their assumptions and prejudices. Fallacy : A fallacy is an argument which appears to be valid but in reality it is not so. It is invalid argument which is camouflaged and can deceive or mislead by a show of truth. A fallacy may be committed unintentionally or intentionally. When the fallacy is committed unintentionally is called paralogism. Costs of fallacious reasoning : A fallacious reasoning is nothing but a false reasoning or a reasoning that does not make sense. The costs of fallacies can be derived as...
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...called Chris has placed a comment below my last little piece on aid and conditionality and, as is sometimes the case when he resists his impulse to troll, he has made some almost-sensible points. Or at least, points that have had much currency in the mainstream media and debates about international development. So I thought I’d take the time to discuss them here. In his post Chris wrote: ...the fact remains, Africa's problems are by and large internal…True, agricultural subsidies must be lifted by the US and the EU, but simply throwing aid money at the problem will ultimately come to no good. After all, even when African countries do possess sources of great wealth--diamonds in Sierra Leone and oil in Nigeria, for instance--those resources often end up being a curse on95% of the respective country's populace. On the other hand, a few nations have done better through internal improvements; Botswana is often cited as an example of this, but their 40% Aids rate--definitely attributable to rampant sexual activity--is impossible to overlook. Encapsulated in this spiel are what could be termed ‘the four great fallacies of the Africa Debate’. I’ll attend to each of these in turn. Fallacy 1 - Africa’s problems are by in large internal There’s no denying that some of Africa’s problems are internal but the claim that they are entirely (or even by in large internal) is demonstrably false: it ignores history and turns a blind eye to the interconnected world that we live in. For...
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...of critical thinking to enhance what and how we process information. To examine the concept of critical questions, this paper will analyze a business document from Cliffside Holding of Massapequa using the critical thinking model outlined by Browne and Keeley (2013) in Asking the Right Questions. Analysis Mr. Anil Ravaswami, Vice-President (VP) of Human Resources (HR) of Cliffside Holding Company of Massapequa (CHMC), wrote a memo to CEO Cynthia Castle in response to her request for the evaluation of a proposal for a new leadership development program to be designed for Cliffside’s junior insurance executives (personal communication, October 10, 2012). To evaluate the memo, the first critical question we have to ask is what is the issue and what is the conclusion? Mr. Ravaswami stated, “This is in response to your request for our office to evaluate the merit of Ms. Forsythe’s proposal that we establish and fund a new leadership development program for our junior insurance executives” (personal...
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...CRITICAL THINKING EXERCISE University of Maryland University College Introduction: In the book, “Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking (Eleventh Edition), by M. Neil Brown and Stuart M. Keeley”, the authors examine the benefits of critical thinking as it relates to the process of asking the right kinds of questions. The authors state that critical thinking is a method used to improve the way we think by asking the questions that would enable you to reach a personal decision that would eventually give credit to both sides of a discussion. Critical thinking is, in essence, the analysis, synthesis and evaluation of one’s experience, as it relates to the worth of the discussion at hand. The authors define critical thinking as, “the awareness of a set of interrelated critical questions, the ability to ask and answer critical questions in an appropriate manner; and the desire to actively use the critical questions” (p. 4). This paper will evaluate the nature of critical thinking as an intellectual process and apply that to the memorandum date October 10, 2012 to Cynthia Castle from Anil Ravaswami to determine if the issue stated of whether the CEO of the company, Cliffside Holding Company of Massapequa (CHCM) should invest $100,000 per year in leadership training program for junior insurance executives. Browne and Keeley (2010) make it clear that a critical evaluation cannot be done until the conclusion is found and instructs the critical...
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... Critical thinking is a term used most often by people and sometimes really don’t think about it what means and why questions are asked in a setting ways or why setting phrases are asked how and why? According to the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) Crit-Think-Audio, critical thinking model helps in the analyzation and finding solution to complex organizational problems that affect decision making ability of managers. By definition, critical thinking means making reasoned judgement that are logical and well thought-out. That is, a way of thinking that you don’t just accept all argument and conclusions, but rather you have an attitude by questioning every notion which raises the question of how and why? According to the UMUC Crit-Think-Audio, people who asked questions on how get a job and the people that ask question why be there bosses. However, this paper is for the analyzation of the Cliffside Holding Company of Massapequa (CHCM) Memo, and also, using the critical thinking model as described in the textbook, asking the right questions and applying the several steps as reveled by Browne and Keeley (Browne & Keeley, 2015, to measure up the argument described in the CHCM memo. The critical thinking model was prepared and applied in a memo by CHCM in evaluating the effectiveness of management improvement and development program that will enhance a leadership development program of junior financial executives for the future advancement...
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...1. Question : For John Dewey, open-minded inquiry is: Student Answer: The virtue that prevents habit from making us unwilling to hear other ideas Something only a child can do For people who are weak in their beliefs Reinforcing our own beliefs by talking with people who share those beliefs The childlike wonder and interest in new ideas Instructor Explanation: The answer can be found from the “Open-Minded Inquiry” page found here:http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/open-minded-inquiry/579 Points Received: 1 of 1 Comments: Question 2. Question : This is the term for presentation of an idea through one-sided and emotional rhetoric: Student Answer: Tolerance Relativism Propaganda Television Open-mindedness Instructor Explanation: The answer can be found from the “Open-Minded Inquiry” page found here:http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/open-minded-inquiry/579 Points Received: 1 of 1 Comments: Question 3. Question : When making inferences, it is important to: Student Answer: Infer things that extend beyond experience and evidence Rationalize inferences that contradict one another Identify assumptions that lead to the inferences All of the above None of the above Instructor Explanation: The answer can be found in “The Analysis and Assessment of Thinking” [Paul and Elder Website] http://www.criticalthinking...
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...many others. Although nearly 65% of Americans are in support of Embryonic Stem Cell Research, there are still a large group who is against the study and use of human embryos ("Type 1 Diabetes Facts", 2015). Faith As an appeal to their faith, most of the people who fight the use of embryonic stem cells, view the embryo as human, even though it is retrieved early, during the stage of development when an embryo is still a zygote. The Catholic faith believes that life is sacred from the moment of conception, saying that the use of embryos is “immoral, illegal and unnecessary” (US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 2009). Say a woman is facing the choice to abort her baby because it will be born with birth defects or illness or because it is a baby being born from rape, religious belief is much more lenient on the choice she makes. What if a woman already has a child with a severe illness like type 1 diabetes? If she chooses to produce an embryo to use to regenerate new stem cells that may cure her child of a life of multiple daily injections, worrying about high and low blood sugar and constantly chasing a number, what makes her so wrong? She is choosing to help her already born child by taking the “life” of another. Morals Another...
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...LONG AGO AND NOT TRUE ANYWAY BLOGGING ABOUT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, POLITICS AND LIVING WITH DISEASE. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 09, 2005 Four Fallacies of African Development Someone called Chris has placed a comment below my last little piece on aid and conditionality and, as is sometimes the case when he resists his impulse to troll, he has made some almost-sensible points. Or at least, points that have had much currency in the mainstream media and debates about international development. So I thought I’d take the time to discuss them here. In his post Chris wrote: ...the fact remains, Africa's problems are by and large internal…True, agricultural subsidies must be lifted by the US and the EU, but simply throwing aid money at the problem will ultimately come to no good. After all, even when African countries do possess sources of great wealth--diamonds in Sierra Leone and oil in Nigeria, for instance--those resources often end up being a curse on95% of the respective country's populace. On the other hand, a few nations have done better through internal improvements; Botswana is often cited as an example of this, but their 40% Aids rate--definitely attributable to rampant sexual activity--is impossible to overlook. Encapsulated in this spiel are what could be termed ‘the four great fallacies of the Africa Debate’. I’ll attend to each of these in turn. Fallacy 1 - Africa’s problems are by in large internal There’s no denying that some of Africa’s problems are internal...
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