Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from December, 2010

My Vision for International Development and Social Change in Africa (Liberia)

The Fundamentals of Economics for International Development is a course that not only exposed the economic aspects of development initiatives and theories or frameworks which shape these initiatives, but it also created a new ideology as to how development projects should be carried out in developing countries in order to achieve sustainable livelihoods and create economic stability for individuals, communities and the nation at large. My quest to learn and understand how international development theories are formulated and the discourses associated with these theoretical frameworks was significantly shaped by this course and other courses most especially Development Theory with Dr. Ellen Foley. Mankind has always been in plight for a better and sustainable way of life. This process can also be traced as far back as the period of the hunters and gatherers when man sought out food and other materials by hunting and gathering. As humans created settlements and became to make farms and

Reflective Response to Colleagues Presentations in Fundamentals of Economics for International Development

Fundamentals of Economics for International Development involve the study of basic micro and macro economic concepts and ideologies in the field of economics and how they interplay with international development. This involves the integration of the discipline of economics as well as political economy (Todaro & Smith 2009). Over the past few decades, economic development has become a central and significant agenda in development strategic planning both at the local, national and international levels. Some scholars argued that, development economics is no difference from other related fields of studies, which include but are not limited to “macroeconomics, labor economics, public finance, or monetary economics” (Todaro & Smith 2009:7). Nevertheless, they argued that development economics is rather an integrated field of study, which is basically an individualized study of economics in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. This paper seeks to present a reflectiv

Peace in Liberia

Peace in Liberia By: Jenkins Divo Macedo Liberia was involved in one of the bloodiest civil wars in Africa, which lasted from 1989 to 2003 and after relatively few years of peace the conflict erupted at the end of 2005 with the forceful dethronement of President Charles G. Taylor who is being accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and violation of international humanitarian laws for his role in the conflicts of neighboring Sierra Leone, which left  the country totally destroyed. As a result of the Liberian civil war, the country has being divided on lines between tribalism or ethnicity on one front and religion on the other (Christians and Muslims). The former which developed back in the early 1980s was one of the primary causes for the war and the later which developed in 2005 contributed to the dethronement of Taylor with support from the International Community and neighboring countries of Guinea and the Ivory Coast. Nevertheless, with the election of President Ellen J

African Jollof Rice: Native of Gambia

Ingredients 1. Variety of vegetables (this will be different depending on your choice of vegetable to use) 2. 2 to 3 cups of vegetable oil 3.  1 can of green olive 4. 1 table spoon of salt 5. 3 Maggi cubes 6. 3 teaspoon of black pepper 7. 1 can of tomato paste 8. 1 can of mixed vegetable with *corn in it. 9. 3 cups of water 10. Rice Process 1. Slice vegetables into small pieces and keep 2. Add vegetable oil to a cooking pan 3. Let oil eat for 3-5 minutes on low heat 4. Add onion and garlic first 5. Let fry for at least 2 minutes 6. Mix content while frying, don't let to burn 7. Add other sliced vegetables gradually (one-at-the-time) and let fry on low eat as you mixed. 8. When the content seem to be well mixed, add salt and maggi cubes into the content and let fried for another 2 to 3 minutes. 9. Add black pepper and tomato paste and keep mixing the content 10. Add water to the mixed content. 11. Add the salt and mixed thorough

Critique of the Integrated Environmental Strategies (IES): An Initiative of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from the Perspective of the Green Neoliberalism

In June 1998, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Integrated Environmental Strategies (IES) program in an effort to assist developing countries evaluate public health, economic, and the environmental advantages associated with integrated planning in the process of addressing both the greenhouse gas emissions as well as local environmental concerns (EPA 2010). Presently, the EPA is in partnership with government agencies in implementing the Integrated Environmental Strategies program in eight (8) developing countries throughout the world in an effort to assist these countries address their problems economically, socially, culturally and environmentally. These countries include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Mexico, Philippines, and the Republic of Korea. The goal of this paper is to critique the Environmental Protection Agency’s Integrated Environmental Strategies program from the perspective of the Green Neoliberal theoretical framework usin