Big, Bad, Audacious Unitus: Building a $1.2 Billion Social Enterprise for Microcredit

This action research is a social science analysis of a progressive organization over two decades, Unitus, Inc. It was established to accelerate the microfinance movement starting in 2000 to tear down the barriers in order to expand capital for funding poor people’s struggles. The first few dozen NGOs to do this beginning in the 1980s were mostly small, underfunded, and limited in terms of managerial competence. In contrast, Unitus came into being as a social enterprise to remedy these deficiencies. Its founders sought to design a radically visionary approach that would offer a new model for doing microfinance using investment partners, not just small donors. Over the next decade, it raised $1.2 billion, partnering and providing loan capital to various NGOs in 23 countries benefitting many millions of the poor. After a decade of success up through 2010, Unitus then shifted strategically and morphed into different organizations throughout the following years until the present. This paper analyzes the origins, systems, strategies, and successes in achieving such results, as well as challenges, problems and criticisms until 2021.

A Study on the Teaching Strength of International Young Chinese Teachers from the Porter Diamond Model

In recent years, as Chinese has spread to the world, the development of Chinese international education has shown a good trend. Teachers' teaching strength as comprehensive ability literacy, is essential for improving the quality of young international Chinese teachers. From the perspective of the Porter Diamond Model, analyzing the teaching strength of young international Chinese teachers from the four key elements: analysis of factor conditions analysis of demand conditions organizational structure and opportunities. Finding that there are three defects in the teaching process of young international Chinese teachers: lack of teaching motivation, Lack of ability in teaching research and application of results, and lack of innovation in teaching. It is believed that the teaching strength of young international Chinese teachers needs to be improved from the combination of teacher learning and reflection teaching, the combination of knowledge-action and curriculum reform, and the combination of teacher training and scientific evaluation.

The Relationship between Cardiovascular Fitness and Body Mass Index to Student Achievement in 5th Grade Hispanic Children of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between cardiovascular fitness, body mass index and academic performance in 547 Hispanic children in 5th grade from a Rio Grande Valley school district. The dependent variable, academic performance, was measured by children’s gain score on the STAAR Progress Measure for Reading and Math assessments. The independent variables of physical fitness were measured by scores on cardiovascular fitness and body mass index from the FITNESSGRAM assessment. The statistical and data analysis method used by this study utilized multiple regression. The results revealed that body mass index was correlated with academic performance. Body mass index accounted for a statistically significant variance in math gains while time did not explain any significant variance in math. There was no correlation between reading gains and time and body mass index. The results by weight group revealed a significant correlation between time and reading gains for the normal weight group and a significant correlation between body mass index and math gains for the obese group. These results suggest that at grade 5, consideration be given to body mass index levels of Hispanic children from low-income backgrounds.

The Puritans in Early American Society and the Premises of Religious Fundamentalism

Puritanism is historically a form of Protestantism, resulting from the movement of John Calvin affirmed in England, from the 1560s in reaction against official Anglicanism considered too close to idolatry. Puritans will leave England where they were persecuted and settle in the East of the United States later known as New England. This puritan community will serve as a model of a Protestant state based on religious principles. The rigor of the Calvinist doctrine determined social relations and guided the destiny of handpicked people for their moral rectitude. The principles that governed this Puritan society were already laying the foundations for a theocracy whose imprints are still visible in today’s American society. The puritans were pretending to be the light that should shine above the world and enlighten it with its values, and on this basis, they excluded any relationship of equality with others. Despite this theocratic ideal, the Protestant identity will gradually fade in favor of a secular state with a religious diversity and pluralism.

Escape into Culturally Safe Patient Centered Care

Collaboration and interprofessional practice between allied health professionals based in rural and remote regions of the Northern Territory are essential for Aboriginal patient health outcomes and reduced hospital admission rates. Training content that is relevant and promotes interprofessional practice allows for the cost effective and time efficient professional development of numerous employees in a single training course. An “escape room” format workshop was trialed for the Katherine region and the community allied health workforce. The escape room was a unique way to improve interprofessional collaboration for an isolated workforce and improve professionals‟ knowledge on the organisation‟s principles of patient centered care. There was an overwhelmingly positive response from participants who enjoyed the novelty of this professional development activity. Immediate post escape room activity evaluations indicated statistically significant improvement in participants‟ knowledge of principles of patient centered care. A three-month post evaluation indicated retention of the knowledge and reported increased considerations of the principles in daily.

Social Intelligence and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour of Government Parastatals in Nigeria

This study investigate the relationship between social intelligence and organizational citizenship behaviour of Government Parastatals in Rivers State. Social Skill (SS) and Social Information Processing (SP) was used as dimensions of social intelligence as against the measures of organization citizenship behaviour which are altruism, sportsmanship, conscientiousness sportsmanship, courtesy and civic virtue. Two hypotheses were developed and tested within a population size of hundred (100) senior level employees that was conveniently selected from twenty (20) Government Parastatals in Rivers state. One hundred (100) of these employees were issued copies of questionnaires but only ninety-four (94) questionnaires were retuned and used for this study. The spearman rank correlation coefficient was used to test the hypotheses with the aid of the SPSS v20.0. Findings from the analysis showed that social skills has a moderate and positive relationship between social skills and the measures organization citizenship behaviour while social information processing showed a low but positive relationship with the measures of organization citizenship behaviour. The study therefore concludes that there is a significant relationship between social intelligence and measures of organization citizenship behaviour of Government Parastatals in Rivers State. Based on the conclusion, the study proffered relevant recommendations like providing management programs related to the development of social skills among others.

Affective Enterprise Resource Planning Tools in Academic Management

In this thesis on Enterprise Resource Planning Tools Management in Private Higher Education in South Africa, the study utilized multiple sources of data collection in a mixed manner, namely; use of interviews and focus groups (in-depth interviews) in qualitative investigations and questionnaires in a quantitative study in order to determine critical issues influencing the adoption of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tools in academic management in Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs) in South Africa. A mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) research methodology was used pragmatically in the study paradigm to triangulate the results of the research from an interpretive position. The research analyzed and reported on subjective and quantitative data to ascertain knowledge about the participants’ recognition of critical issues affecting adoption of ERP tools in academic management in Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs) in South Africa. In this study, the following groups of participants were purposefully sampled: students, lecturers and management staff working in the three PHEIs in Gauteng. The study found that academic attainment in PHEIs could be enhanced through effective ERP tools management in ICT integration. In light of the research outcomes, the study highlighted students’ personal interactions through online conference tools, a practice that may be backed up and carry the same weight and recognition as physical learning contact hours. The qualitative and quantitative data analysis raised a debate that HE ERP systems must or may integrate all those particular factors that coordinate and interact as changes made in one factor should also reflect in another factor or module. ERP tools security features should be instituted at all levels of the main tools. Issues of integration in the selection of any robust, dynamic PHEI tools may call for an organization’s financial readiness and company-wide consultations with potential users of the system. Bringing in such a discussion in preparation to single out tools that may be selected over time may be an issue that is seldom shared by top HE executives, as other decisions in the ERP tools selection may seem to be imposed upon departments. HE ERP that does not have a student portal, without integrated online issues of applications, checking of results, enhancement of teaching and learning but partly integrating one or two departments in isolation to others, may not be considered fit or robust as a higher educational ERP tool.