Social Studies

The article talks about the strategies that led Consorcio Ara to maintain growth, although the outlook for housing in Mexico is going through a difficult situation. The strategies are evaluated through the landscape of the industry, where they take into social implications of the problem as well as economic aspects that affected most of the companies in the industry. Strategies for success in this business versus strategies that took most of the companies engaged in housing construction are analyzed through quantitative method with reference data from public institutions, for give to the situation solid arguments for the final conclusion.

This study examined the effects of teachers’ use of analogies on the achievement of Senior School Biology Students in Oro, Kwara State, Nigeria. A total of one hundred and ninety-nine students comprising 110 males and 89 females in senior secondary school two, were purposively sampled from four schools in Oro. The sampled students were assigned into two groups, experimental (97 students) and control (102 students). The reliability of the instrument was determined by administering the test to forty students of another school not participating in the study and the reliability coefficient of 0.73 was obtained using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, at 0.05 alpha level of significance. The test scores were analysed using mean scores, t-test and Analysis of Covariance on the hypotheses formulated. Findings from the study showed that there is a significant difference in the achievement of the experimental group exposed to analogies and the control group exposed to the conventional method. The mean score of the experimental group was 18.73 compared to conventional group with the mean score of 15.32. It was hereby recommended, among other things, that biology teachers should incorporate innovative instructional strategies, like analogies into their conventional teaching method for their teaching and their students’ learning of biology

The article focuses on the Nigerian Youths as Victims of this 21st century, as it is believe that they are the leaders, movers, propellers of the socio economic, political and intellectual development of every nation. This youth have fall victims of the danger of social problems ie poverty, violence, use of arms and a new face of immorality such as baby factory phenomenon etc to survive. What is the hope of the Nigerian youths in the 21st century? Is one of the question raise? Anomie theory was use to explore the Nigerian Youths as victims of the 21st century

This study sought to explore occupational health and safety practices among refuse collectors in the Cape Coast Metropolis. The study was qualitative in nature and employed the exploratory study design. In all 30 refuse disposal collectors participated in the study. Quota sampling, snowballing and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the various companies, participants and key informants respectively for the study. Interviewing, focus group discussions and observations were the methods used for the study. However, interview guide and focus group discussion guide were the instruments used to collect data for the study. Data generated was put into themes for analysis.The study revealed that most of the refuse collectors in the metropolis do not put on the protective wears at dump site, it is recommended that management of the metropolis intensify their training efforts to continue to sensitise waste collectors on the need to wear those protective clothing in order to safeguard themselves from coming into contact harmful substances at the various dump sites.

Sustainability refers to a concept which has been widely evaluated in recent years, affirming the development and continuity over the time. Sustainability can be examined at all the aspects of life and architecture, so that physical sustainability of architecture has been regarded as an aspect which has not been evaluated in the architecture. Physical sustainability refers to the continuity and survival of building as well as accountability based on the addressee's needs and interests over the time. Recognition of factors affecting the physical sustainability of the buildings which have remained sustainable can assist us in exploiting from the parameters which provide the physical sustainability. The present research has aimed to evaluate and recognize the factors affecting physical sustainability in Iran via descriptive-analytic method and evaluation of the buildings with Esfahani style which are accounted as the sustainable samples in Iranian architecture.

Various studies have made strides to discuss causes of uncontrolled urban development; this paper goes ahead to discuss the causes and remedies to the same issue based on sub-Saharan countries. Squalor settlements are becoming a threat to growth of cities and development of towns worldwide. The scenario is likely to worsen by the year 2030 as many people migrate to most of these cities and if appropriate actions will not be taken. It was based on a study undertaken in Eldoret town; Kenya strives to discuss uncontrolled urban development and its mitigations. In this case Mann’s Urban Model was adopted, which emphasizes the need for a systematic growth of urban centers in a more concentric and planned manner. It was a case study, focusing on two informal settlements: Langas and Munyaka selected purposely. The two settlements were selected for study due to; the high density and consolidation and they are settlements outlying on the urban periphery with lack of appropriate infrastructure, poor maintenance regimes, overcrowding, uncontrolled and conflicting land uses. Arising from the study, most causes were found to be tailored to economic, social, political and environmental. Increased movement from rural areas to urban has doubled the demand for housing and basic amenities overwhelming the service provider. The situation is coupled with institutional weaknesses and lack of capacity in the municipality to control urban development. This paper recommends that, liaison and co-ordination between different government agencies and stakeholders is necessary for expertise, exchange of ideas and machinery during planning.

The United States is a land of immigrants, and newcomers have a greater propensity to start new ventures, however immigrant-owned businesses, also often fail within the first 5 years. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies U.S.-based Togolese small business owners who were engaged in entrepreneurial activities in Togo used to finance personally led business ventures. The lens of the Schumpeterian entrepreneurship theory underpinned the study represented the conceptual framework. Semistructured interviews of 20 successful Togolese small business owners who resided in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, and engaged in entrepreneurial activities in Togo, and were in business for more than 5 years constituted the data collection. The analysis of the interview data analysis entailed coding techniques, word clustering, and thematic analysis, using a method of constant comparison with the aid of qualitative data analytical software. Methodological triangulation facilitated further analysis to improve the depth and quality of the study. The key themes emerging from the coding and thematic analysis of interviews included scarcity of loans from banks and financial institutions, the use of personal money to exclusively finance a business or to complete insufficient funding allocated by banks. The findings of the study may serve to improve the business success of immigrant business owners, and immigrant entrepreneurs may use the knowledge to finance business ventures, which could lead to the creation of jobs and improvement in the standard of living of U.S.-based Togolese entrepreneurs. The findings from this study may have a positive bearing on the welfare of local communities in Togo, in contributing to economic growth stimulation.

This study examines Persian address terms within the theory of politeness in the three distinct historical periods of Qajar (1791-1925), Pahlavi (1926-1979) and after the Islamic Revolution (1979 -up to now). Data was collected from 24 novels to best reflect various interpersonal relationships. Data analysis shows that Persian address terms are clearly divided into positive and negative types. All types of positive address terms have shown to increase in number. Negative address terms of ‘honorifics’, ‘educational’ & ‘cultural’ and ‘teknonyms’ decreased while ‘occupational’ and ‘zero address terms’ have increased in frequency which reveals a gradual and regular movement from formality to solidarity.

The current study aimed at investigating the effect of storytelling on the development of Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension. Accordingly, sixty out of one hundred and thirty EFL learners based on their scores in the proficiency test were selected as the subject of this study and randomly classified into experimental and control group. Each group in each level consisted of thirty learners. All the conditions especially teaching materials were kept equal and fixed at each level, except for the EG the subjects reading was thought through story telling. At the end of the experiment both groups, experimental and control, were given a reading comprehension posttest. The post scores of both groups in were compared using a t-test to discover if there was any significant difference in reading comprehension between two groups. The results of the study showed that due to story telling a significant difference was found in reading comprehension development between the experimental and control groups at the level of .05.

There are many changes occurring in higher education in Kenya and the world over. These changes range from a rapid expansion in student enrolments to a proliferation of programmes and institutions offering higher education. Moi University introduced such a programme in 1998. As a result of these developments, there has arisen concern amongst the stakeholders on the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of higher education offered. The paper reports the findings of an investigation carried out in the year 2003 to determine the internal efficiency of the Privately Sponsored Students Programme at Moi University. The target population for the study was all the students enrolled in the privately Sponsored Students Programme at Moi University in the 2002/2003 academic year. Data for this study was collected by use of a questionnaire from a random sample of 300 respondents. The significant finding was Privately Sponsored Programmes operated below optimal efficiency levels. Although enrolment growth rates had been steady in the immediate past three academic years, dropping out, temporary withdrawal and other indicators of inefficiency were on the increase and therefore a source of concern. Different degree programmes demonstrated different levels of efficiently in the way they translated their inputs (students) into outputs (graduands). Students with outstanding fees balances were barred from graduating. Also, it was established that many critical performance inputs were lacking or in short supply, such as library books and journals, computers, furniture in lecture rooms and chemicals in laboratories. To reduce these inefficiencies, there is need to enhance provision of critical inputs like books and journals, computers and science equipment as well as various consumables items. There is also need to assist students to identify suitable accommodation places. In order to break barriers of suspicion between regular and self-sponsored students (PSSP) the University should work towards integrating the two groups of student as far as possible.