Urbanization can help reduce income inequality

The global community has been confronted with rising income inequality, in particular, for those least developed countries (LDCs), since the same level of inequality as in advanced countries would push many LDCs into abject poverty. This paper focuses on income inequality in developing countries, particularly LDCs. First, we demonstrate the infeasibility of fiscal measures in resolving income inequality even in developed countries. Second, we show that inequality in LDCs can be largely explained by urban-rural gap. Third, we uncover the benign impacts of urbanization on urban-rural gap. This leads us to propose an out-of-box strategy—containing income inequality by promoting well-managed urbanization. Fourth, we reveal a misperception that may have contributed to the neglect of urban-rural gap in constituting national inequality. This has possibly caused anti-urbanization mentalities and practices, with adverse distributional consequences. Finally, we provide evidence-based policy suggestions aimed at reducing income inequality and poverty—two major goals of SDGs.

Employee Competency Management Initiative: A Literature Review

This paper discussed the concept of employee competency management initiatives. The paper highlighted particularly on three competency management initiatives – employee training, workplace mentoring and coaching. The paper is theoretical and as such draws its significance from its focus on the need for flexible and fluid employee competency initiatives given the changing dynamics and features of the work and business environment. This position is also hinged on the observed challenges of change and the imperatives for organizational learning and management re-orientation in line with the shifts in the market and the global community. The study concludes that the adoption and application of competency initiatives should begin with the specific needs of the organization as well as the specification of its goals. The design and features of competency management initiatives such as employee training, workplace mentoring and coaching, premised on the specifications of the organizations own particular experiences and expectations will offer more focus and will be more effective in addressing the organizations own unique or particular challenges and problems

Nuclear Law: The Global Debate

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) plays a unique role in the development and implementation of international nuclear law. This chapter contains a short examination of the regime of nuclear law and its four pillars, namely safety, security, safeguards and civil liability for nuclear damage. It examines how we got to where we are and where we can take the global debate, taking into account current and emerging peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology such as advanced reactors and nuclear fusion. The chapter also contains an invitation to all stakeholders in the global community, including international organizations, non-governmental organizations, industry, academia and civil society, as well as all those that will be responsible for shaping nuclear law in the future, to let the debate and dialogue on nuclear law begin.

Making Educator Professional Development More Accessible and Inclusive With Mobile Teacher

This chapter describes how curious and reflective TESOL educators can engage in ongoing appreciative inquiry by participating in a unique global community of practice facilitated through an app called Mobile Teacher that also works offline. With the aim of recognizing and sharing the expertise of non-native English speaker TESOL educators who are primarily BIPOC and women working in the majority world, teachers are encouraged to watch short videos of colleagues' effective teaching practices, try out the practices with their students, and in turn share videos describing or demonstrating their own proven techniques. Through a case study of using Mobile Teacher with teachers in Ecuador, the author provides a self and group reflection guide based on the 4D appreciative inquiry framework to establish a definition and examples of effective teaching practice, and a video script template to complete in preparation for recording and sharing an effective teaching practice.

The Slide Backwards

This chapter will examine the contemporary world order that has been characterized by global cooperation and interdependence, which have spurred a backlash of nationalist ideologies around the world as a reaction to increased immigration and perceived degradation of the cultural identity of the homeland. The chapter will also highlight contemporary issues facing the global community that international cooperation will be necessary to resolve.

Omicron: The pandemic propagator and lockdown instigator – what can be learnt from South Africa and such discoveries in future

The SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes the disease termed COVID-19 ripped through the globe in the latter part of 2019 and has left a state of fear, death and destruction in its wake. The Omicron variant was officially announced by the South African authorities on the 24th of November 2021, with the first confirmed sample of the infection being collected on the 9th of November 2021. The initial cases were flagged as a possible new variant due to the stark differences in the presentation and clinical features of the patients. At the time of Omicron’s discovery, the predominant variant circulating within South Africa was the Delta variant B.1.617.2 which typically presented with more severe and stark symptoms. Omicron spread rapidly within the Southern African content and abroad, principally South Africa, Botswana, Hongkong and Israel were among the first countries to record cases of the new variant. The first European case of the Omicron variant was confirmed on the 26th of November 2021 in Belgium. Towards the end of November 2021 cases of the new variant had been confirmed and recorded in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and Scotland. Additional cases of the Omicron variant have been confirmed in Canada and Australia. At this current point in the development of the Omicron upsurge in cases the international community should aim for further vaccinations among their fellow countrymen, but more so vaccine equality should be ensured. Such equality should be ensured in the developing nations as the virus does not respect any boundaries or territories and thus a higher level of vaccination worldwide will confer greater protection to the global community as a whole.

Gender-Based violence in Pakistan: Incidences, Emerging Statutes, Intrusions & Factual Strategies

This article discovers by facilitating a brief recognition of Gender-based violence (hereinafter GBV) and its impact in society as breach of human rights which administration is abandoning for years. It’s a misery for our country to lack in making good policies regarding gender disputes and social rights related to human beings. The article reconnoitres different behaviours in which women are being victimized, degree of violence, its effect on victims and society at large. The current investigation will also covers adequacy of prevailing laws for women’s safety; acquiescence by Government and to what extent Pakistan fulfils its legal pledge related to CEDAW? Moreover flaw existing in CEDAW and Pakistan’s current debate in parliament to have new regulations in this sphere is also being discussed. In the end, suggestions and recommendations are made for Government, United Nations and Global Community for applied purpose through which women can be provided legal safeguard.

Cultural Diplomacy on International Film Festivals, during the unprecedented year of 2020.

Against the countless cancellations of cultural events around the globe, the dynamics of the film festival circuit and its representations took on new courses and different perspectives. About these symbolic power relations, the article dives into a brief data record, on the performance and possible adaptations upon the organization of film festivals, during the year 2020, and throughout the global pandemic, that exponentiated the digitization of some structuring processes on international cinematographic circulation. Ultimately, it adds notions of cultural diplomacy to international film festivals. In order to transpose theoretical concepts to contemporary practice and verify, in this way, the influences and consequences of virtualization to the subjectivities and significance of diplomacy and otherness upon interconnected identities in the current global community.

Conflicting and Shifting (Self)Perceptions of Bosnian Muslims

The article discusses the self-perceptions and outside images of the Bosnian Muslim Community by looking at a selection of recent scholarly works on the topic. The emerging picture is one of conflicting and shifting (self)perceptions. To some, this community is a source of hope and inspiration, and to others, it is a source of concern. In the aftermath of genocide, the community itself is uncertain about its future and its place in the hearts and minds of its neighbors and global community.

Exploring Students’ Factors in Online Teaching during COVID-19 Lockdown from their Lecturers’ Viewpoint and Perspectives

The global community is currently harnessing the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 Education response, to build more resilient education systems. This can effectively be achieved via empirical evidence of the experiences of all stakeholders in education in all nations during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. The purpose of this study was to explore student factors in the lecturers’ experience of their online emergency remote teaching (ERT) in the College of Education, Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria during the COVID-19 lockdown. Using a quantitative descriptive design, the lecturers completed a structured questionnaire about their online ERT experiences. The findings suggest that generally, the students chose the familiar WhatsApp (chat and voice) messaging as against the use of zoom and other platforms for the ERT. Top students’ challenges are:unpreparedness for the ERT.experience of unavailable/unstable network/internet access andinability to purchase enough data.In addition, students lacked:smart phones/laptops/computers,necessary ICT skills, anddid not embrace the ERT, although it engaged them academically during the lockdown.Based on these results and in view of prevalent/imminent lockdown due to emerging new variants of the COVID-19 such as delta and omicron, interventions/strategies for achieving successful and satisfactory online teaching are recommended.