Tasking the Leviathan: Right to Protest, Good Governance, and Implications for National Security and International Law

The right to good governance is a right inalienable to the democratic process. Content analysis was used as the data source for this paper. This study would attempt to resolve the questions on the intricate connection between the right to protest and the right to good governance in Nigeria and what this means for national security and international law. In this essay, it was argued that the international law space is shrinking for holding the democratic process accountable in sovereign states. The significance of the essay is to suggest a new direction for the engagement of international law mechanisms on human rights and for the provision of policy recommendations for good governance and law enforcement.

Innovative Strategies to Grow Sales of Women-Owned SMEs in Emerging Countries

This paper is a discussion of a 2020 multiple case study research involving five female owners of retail small and medium enterprise (SME) companies in Lagos State, Nigeria. Multiple data collection methods employed included semistructured interviews, direct observations, review of company documents, and keeping a reflective journal. We established reliability, validity, and data saturation through triangulation. One major finding was that by deploying innovative ideas, business owners were able to overcome challenges and grow sales. The implications for positive social change include the potential to provide both existing and emerging women owned SMEs with the strategies to increase patronage to grow their businesses, thereby contributing to the economic growth of their business, employees, local communities, and the Nigerian national economy.

Counseling LGBT Military Clients Using the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies Framework

When working with LGBT service member clients, counselors should use the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies as a framework to guide their practice as they navigate the intersection between the military culture and LGBT culture. This framework addresses four domains that are foundational for multicultural and social justice competency: (a) counselor self-awareness, (b) the client worldview, (c) the counseling relationship, and (d) counseling and advocacy interventions. Included in the framework are the following aspirational competencies within each domain: attitudes and beliefs, knowledge, skills, and action. Best practices for culturally competent, social-justice-focused work with LGBT service members within each of these domains are discussed.

The Evident Need for Banking Reform in the Legal Marijuana Industry

Marijuana reform legislation has created a lucrative industry for legal marijuana on the local and state level in some jurisdictions. Federal laws have forced legal marijuana dispensaries to be cash-only businesses with limited banking options. The lack of normal banking services has also affected firms’ ability to manage profits earned from operations. Our hermeneutic phenomenological study was grounded by the conceptual framework of the motivations of humans and humans’ need to feel safe. The participants in this study were owners and operators in the legal marijuana industry in Colorado. Data were collected through interviews, although the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020 made data collection more challenging because of the added pressure on potential participants. The data analysis plan for this study consisted of transcribing and reviewing the data, coding themes and supporting themes, and synthesizing and reporting findings from the data collected. The study’s findings included the participants’ concerns about safety in their cash-only operations, their methods for conducting business, and the banking options available to them. Common themes that emerged from the interviews were cash, banking, safety, and the limitations of business size. Findings from my study contribute to fostering positive social change on the organization and industry level by providing accounts of how owners and operators navigate the banking dilemma in the legal marijuana industry.

The Evident Need for Banking Reform in the Legal Marijuana Industry

Marijuana reform legislation has created a lucrative industry for legal marijuana on the local and state level in some jurisdictions. Federal laws have forced legal marijuana dispensaries to be cash-only businesses with limited banking options. The lack of normal banking services has also affected firms’ ability to manage profits earned from operations. Our hermeneutic phenomenological study was grounded by the conceptual framework of the motivations of humans and humans’ need to feel safe. The participants in this study were owners and operators in the legal marijuana industry in Colorado. Data were collected through interviews, although the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020 made data collection more challenging because of the added pressure on potential participants. The data analysis plan for this study consisted of transcribing and reviewing the data, coding themes and supporting themes, and synthesizing and reporting findings from the data collected. The study’s findings included the participants’ concerns about safety in their cash-only operations, their methods for conducting business, and the banking options available to them. Common themes that emerged from the interviews were cash, banking, safety, and the limitations of business size. Findings from my study contribute to fostering positive social change on the organization and industry level by providing accounts of how owners and operators navigate the banking dilemma in the legal marijuana industry.

Climate-Induced Relocation and Social Change in Keta, Ghana

In this article, I analyze the resettlement of three communities in the Keta municipality of Ghana as a result of rising sea levels that threatened life and property. Although a few studies have documented the effects of relocation because of slow-onset climate-induced environmental change, little is known about how such resettlements have contributed to positive social change in the affected communities. I used critical theory to determine whether Keta’s relocation process contributed to positive social change. Transcriptions of interviews with a purposeful sample of 35 household members were coded and categorized into themes for essence description. Improved educational infrastructure for personal development, improved housing facilities, saved lives and protected culture, and improved healthcare facilities and general well-being were among the positive outcomes. Hence, through this study, I provide evidence to consider the need to prioritize the positive social change such resettlements will make in the lives of the affected populations in climate-induced resettlement and adaptation in Ghana and other parts of the world. <em>Keywords</em>: Climate change, relocation, resettlement, social change, sea level rise, improved livelihoods

Social Change and The Greek Welfare State Crisis (2010-2020)

This article attempts to utilize the concept of social change for the study of transformations in the Greek welfare state during the period of the multiple crises it is currently experiencing (2010–2020). This will be done through an analysis of the changes taking place in the Greek social security system, the backbone of social policy in Greece. The main argument is that, although there are fundamental differences in the development of the Greek welfare state compared to the welfare model of Western European countries, in the last decade there has been a convergence towards a neoliberal model of social policy. The elaboration of this claim will examine those theories of social change that attempt to explain the transition from the Keynesian to the neoliberal welfare state both in the period after 1970 and in the period after the Great Recession of 2008. The development of the Greek social security system over time is then examined, with a particular focus on the decade from 2010–2020. This will show that, despite the different context for the development of the social security system in Greece, the reforms imposed by austerity policies in the last decade have led to a convergence with the model of the neoliberal welfare state. The trend towards residualization and privatization of the social security system with a focus solely on the management of extreme poverty can be observed as one of the mechanisms of social change that are being adopted.

Assessment of the Prevalence of Multidimensional Poverty in Nigeria: Evidence From Oto/Ijanikin, Lagos State

Poverty in Nigeria is endemic and continues to deepen even amid economic growth. We found that, beyond income, Nigeria is faced with multidimensional poverty that involves healthcare, education, and living standards, with several indicators. Recently dubbed the poverty capital of the world, Nigeria faces an enormous challenge in combating multidimensional poverty. Our study, which was theoretically analyzed using social exclusion theory, adopts both qualitative and quantitative approaches to examine the extent of multidimensional poverty in Nigeria, with particular attention on Oto/Ijanikin, which is a semiurban suburb of Lagos State. Primary data were gathered from the study area, while secondary data were sourced on the prevalence of multidimensional poverty in Nigeria. Focusing on indicators such as healthcare, electricity, education, clean water, and housing, we conclude that multidimensional poverty is indeed widespread in Nigeria and, thus, we recommend social inclusion as the solution.

Lesson Study: A Proposed Intervention for Professional Development of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Instruction in a Multicultural Classroom

This paper responds to the proposed implementation of lesson study as a professional development intervention for multicultural instruction in the United States. It includes an investigation of the literature in relation to the use of higher-order thinking skills, Banks’s four approaches for integrating multicultural instruction, and lesson study as a proposed professional development intervention in multicultural instruction. The conclusion provides a discussion of insights into K–12 educators’ needs for professional development opportunities to ensure that they provide diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning environments for all of their students. Creating diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning opportunities for students would be meaningful social change.

Leader-to-Leader: Reflexive Leadership in the Midst of Covid-19 and Social Unrest

A leader is only one person in one position, and one person’s ideas are not a panacea for all social ills. But effective leadership can shift the outcome of an organization to manifest its mission of positive social change considering changes in society. Most people have been exposed to leaders who tinker around the edges and others who call for revolution. Leaders are leaders only because they have capable followers. The truth is that some things are just too big for one individual. And when we happen upon those things, we must stand together, hold each other accountable, and encourage one another.