scholarly journals Transformative Learning Through Study Abroad in Low-Income Countries

2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 157-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Foronda ◽  
Ruth Ann Belknap
2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Bowen ◽  
Altaf Ullah Khan ◽  
Alexandra Wake

Over five decades of empirical research have demonstrated the power of study abroad programmes to broaden students’ perspectives by exposing them to other peoples and cultures. In a range of fields, universities offer study abroad to help prepare students for a rapidly globalizing world. In recent years, short-term study abroad programmes have become popular in helping students of journalism prepare for the rigours of international reporting. However, travel to another country can be difficult and expensive, putting strain on education budgets and limiting access to a relatively small pool of students. Travel to the most newsworthy sites is also frequently impossible due to lack of security. On the whole, study abroad can reinforce historical imbalances. Students from high-income nations tend to have multiple opportunities to travel and view the world from another perspective, while students from low-income countries have significantly fewer opportunities to do the same. In this research, we developed and studied a Virtual Student Exchange programme in journalism, a new pedagogical strategy that harnessed technology to connect a group of students from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, with a similarly composed group of students from the University of Peshawar in Peshawar, Pakistan. For modest cost, the programme provided all students with an opportunity to meet one another, learn about each other’s societies, and work collaboratively on newsworthy events in each other’s country. Informed by Contact Theory, the programme also provided students with opportunities to serve as fixers for one another, and thus to view the relationship between international correspondent and local fixer from both perspectives. Open-ended surveys and semi-structured interviews conducted after the experience show how students on both sides gained from the experience, suggesting productive avenues for further research.


Author(s):  
Davor Petrović ◽  
Vida Čulić ◽  
Zofia Swinderek-Alsayed

AbstractJoubert syndrome (JS) is a rare congenital, autosomal recessive disorder characterized by a distinctive brain malformation, developmental delay, ocular motor apraxia, breathing abnormalities, and high clinical and genetic heterogeneity. We are reporting three siblings with JS from consanguineous parents in Syria. Two of them had the same homozygous c.2172delA (p.Trp725Glyfs*) AHI1 mutation and the third was diagnosed prenatally with magnetic resonance imaging. This pathogenic variant is very rare and described in only a few cases in the literature. Multinational collaboration could be of benefit for the patients from undeveloped, low-income countries that have a low-quality health care system, especially for the diagnosis of rare diseases.


2013 ◽  
pp. 121-136
Author(s):  
Duong Pham Bao

The objective of this article is to review the development of the rural financial system in Vietnam in recent years, especially, after Doi moi. There are two opposite schools of thought in the literature on rural credit policies in developing countries. One is the conventional supply-side (government-led) approach while the other is called “a new paradigm” that emphasizes the importance of the viability of financial providers and the well functioning of rural credit markets. Conventional theories of rural finance contend that rural finance in low-income countries is generally accompanied by many failures. Contrary to these theories, rural finance in Vietnam does not encounter the above-mentioned failures so far. Up to the present time, it is progressing well. Using a supply-side approach, methodologically, this study reviews the development of the rural financial system in Vietnam. The significance of this study is to challenge the extreme view of dichotomizing between the old and the new credit paradigms. Analysis in this study contends that a rural financial market that, (1) is initiated and spurred by government; (2) operates principally under market mechanisms; and (3) is strongly supported by rural organizations (semi-formal/informal institutions) can progress stably and well. Therefore, the extremely dichotomizing approach must be avoided.


EMJ Radiology ◽  
2020 ◽  

Retained foreign bodies have become very rare in countries where the safety rules in the operating theatre are very rigorous and follow precise guidelines. There are low-income countries where hospital structures are precarious, in which the implementation of surgical safety rules has only been effective recently. Surgical teams in these countries are not yet well trained in the observance of the guidelines concerning swab count, meaning that textilomas are not uncommon. Abdominal textiloma may be asymptomatic, or present serious gastrointestinal complications such as bowel obstruction, perforation, or fistula formation because of misdiagnosis. It may mimic abscess formation in the early stage or soft tissue masses in the chronic stage. This case report presents a 27-year-old female who underwent an emergency laparotomy in a rural surgical centre for an ectopic pregnancy. Two months later, a swelling had appeared on the left side of her abdomen, gradually increasing in size, which was not very painful but caused digestive discomfort and asthenia. Intermittent fever was described and treated with antibiotics. The patient was referred to a better equipped centre to benefit from a CT scan. A textiloma was strongly suspected on the CT but a left colic mass was not excluded. Laparotomy confirmed the diagnosis of textiloma and the postoperative course was uneventful. Prevention rules must be strengthened in these countries where patients can hardly bear the costs of iterative surgeries for complications that are avoidable.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Audu Onyemocho ◽  
Agwa Moses ◽  
Aboh Kisani ◽  
Omole Namben Victoria ◽  
Anejo-Okopi Joseph

Objective: Rabies, one of the oldest and fatal infectious diseases known to human race, is transmitted by infected dogs. The global target of zero dog-mediated rabies human deaths has been set for 2030; however, the realization of this goal poses challenges in most low-income countries where rabies is endemic due to weak surveillance. Dogs have been increasingly deployed for domestic uses over the years, especially for security purposes. This study assessed the assessment of knowledge and practice of vaccination of dogs against rabies by dog owners. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional community-based study was employed to study 400 dog owners in Makurdi metropolis through multistage sampling techniques. Sighting of valid dog vaccination card was used as criteria for current vaccination. Bivariate analysis was carried out to establish the relationship between the respondent knowledge of rabies and dog vaccination with significant value set at P < 0.05. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 31 (Â ± 0.8) years, majority of them had tertiary and secondary education (40.0% and 39.0%, respectively), 26.0% were traders, and 50.0% were married. Overall, 73.0% of the respondents had good knowledge score, 61.0% had seen at least a rabid dog in their life time, and 74.0% have a history of dog vaccination, but evidence of up to date vaccination of dogs by owners was seen in only 18.0% of all the vaccination cards sighted. The relationship between the educational status of the respondents, their knowledge score, and their dog vaccination was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Knowledge of rabies among dog owners in Makurdi was good, but the practice of dog vaccination was poor. Educational status was a good predictor of practice. Awareness campaign on dog vaccination should be strengthened and adequate measures should be put in place at the veterinary hospitals in Makurdi for vaccination of dogs.


Having broadly stabilized inflation over the past two decades, many policymakers in sub-Saharan Africa are now asking more of their monetary policy frameworks. They are looking to avoid policy misalignments and respond appropriately to both domestic and external shocks, including swings in fiscal policy and spikes in food and export prices. In many cases they are finding current regimes—often characterized as ‘money targeting’—lacking, with opaque and sometimes inconsistent objectives, inadequate transmission of policy to the economy, and difficulties in responding to supply shocks. At the same time, little existing research on monetary policy is targeted to low-income countries. What do we know about the empirics of monetary transmission in low-income countries? (How) Does monetary policy work in countries characterized by a huge share of food in consumption, underdeveloped financial markets, and opaque policy regimes? (How) Can we use methods largely derived in advanced countries to answer these questions? And (how) can we use the results to guide policymakers? This book draws on years of research and practice at the IMF and in central banks from the region to shed empirical and theoretical light on these questions and to provide practical tools and policy guidance. A key feature of the book is the application of dynamic general equilibrium models, suitably adapted to reflect key features of low-income countries, for the analysis of monetary policy in sub-Saharan African countries.


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