Ethics Conference 2010

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http://hdl.handle.net/11071/3975

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Now showing 1 - 16 of 16
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    Challenges faced by the university to provide integral human development for 'exposed' Kenyan students.
    Byarugaba, Kentaro J.
    Universities originally came into being from the love of knowledge and from the curiosity of knowing. However, of late, with increased access and advanced technological facilities and an influx of both necessary and unnecessary information, universities are facing cultural challenges which have gone so far as to challenge an integral human development. This challenge is especially true for our Kenyan universities, which for the first time are able to expose their students to the whole world as has never before been possible. Care needs to be taken because, man can and has been sacrificed to the success and influence of science and technology. The time has come to ask ourselves whether these facilities are being used to contribute to an authentic human development of students.
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    Corporate and personal ethics for sustainable development: experiences, challenges and promises of part-time
    Mageto, Peter
    Ethics in the academia is not new. Ethics is a part of the mission and culture of institutions of higher education, where it is taught, researched and observed. It is in this environment that many students first learn about, and test the realities of moral decision-making that shape the political, social and economic future of many nations’ development. However, there is evidence that higher education in Eastern Africa has seen a steady increase in the number of part-time lecturers due to reduced government funding (especially to public universities), and the increasing size and diversity of student enrollment, yet the experiences, challenges and promises that part-time faculty encounter once inducted into teaching continue to hinder sustainable development in different ways.
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    Development: a call to continuing improvement
    Estanislao , Jesus P.
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    Fostering sustainable development through quality assurance in higher education
    Ngunjiri, Irene
    According to the World Bank working paper no. 124, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is home to 740 million people. Although the number is increasing, Africa has 635 out of the world’s 17,716 universities (3.6%). The gross tertiary enrollment ratio is about 5 percent, the lowest in the world. The current enrolments rates are the highest that Sub Saharan Africa has ever seen. It is hoped that these rates will continue to increase in spite of the fact that the budget allocation for education has been declining in most countries over the years. This coupled with the mushrooming of private provision of higher education and pressure from a rapidly transforming labor market have given rise to new concerns about quality. One of the ways in which universities assure quality and acquire recognition in their home countries and abroad is through accreditation and certification. In addition, universities seek quality certifications so as to differentiate themselves from the many institutions that are offering degrees and diplomas which have become commodities in the market economy. Today, a number of universities are seeking and acquiring the ISO certification in Kenya. 3 out of the 7 public universities have received the ISO certification while one private university is certified. Quality is fitness for purpose. John Henry Newman, states that university education implies an action upon our mental nature, and the formation of a character. It goes beyond providing information to the person to formation of the person. The ultimate aim university education then becomes integral human development. Quality certifications have had positive impact on the business performance of many entities. For instance they have lead to significant cost reductions, time saving and customer retention. However do these perceived benefits lead universities to achieving their true purpose and mission when they define and follow quality procedures? The certification procedures currently in use focus on the institution, the product it offers and the processes that are in place in the institution. This paper seeks to examine the role played by quality assurance in university education, the purpose of higher education and the factors that could make accreditation ineffective. It ends by suggesting how this process could be improved.
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    Introducing integrity to legal education
    Rafolisy , Patrick
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    Metamorphosis of confucian heritage culture and the possibility of an Asian education research methodology
    Park, Jae
    This paper opens with a critical analysis of a paradox in contemporary educational research in and about Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC): The assumption that national boundaries coincide with that of a distinct and homogeneous culture, which consistently renders rather homogenous set of educational phenomena, collides against a more widely accepted discourse—culture transcends geographical frontiers and is ever evolving in character. It is claimed that this paradox is due to the fact that a thin conception of CHC competes neck to neck with a thick conception of it. This paper also addresses the possibility of an ad hoc education research methodology in and about CHC and its compliance issues regarding the mainstream Western research dynamics and philosophy of science. Confucian elements relevant to CHC research rationale are discussed to argue that first, a research is inextricably a moral act insofar free actors are involved in it, second, most sui generis methodological problems attached to CHC occur in the sphere of ethics and, third, a research methodology that takes into account phenomenographic variation could be the best suited to ease emic-etic tensions inherent to CHC-based research.
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    Positive values that create vitality to sustain
    G. , John Bermel
    Every organization, to matter what its nature, whether it is an educational organization, government organization, private enterprise, local club, or family, forms in order to affect its area of influence in some meaningful way (Wicks, 1998, p. 1). Organizations, governments, and institutions do not form to fail; they form to succeed and have an impact. What is it about some organizations that that allow them to sustain a high level of sustainability while others flounder? Take for example banking in the United States, 255 banks have failed nation-wide since 2008. (Wall Street Journal, 2010) In the same time, 251 banks have started up and by all accounts are thriving. (Harrison, 2009) So what makes the difference between failing banks and thriving banks? What makes the difference between a failing university and a thriving university? What makes the difference between a failing government and a thriving government? Hosts of factors affect how well an organization succeeds and thrives. One of those factors, the focus of this paper, is values. Sustainability requires vitality and growth. What is it about positive values that draw people to leaders and influencers, creating vitality to move forward?
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    Retracing Our Ecological Footsteps: Customary foundations for sustainable redevelopment
    Odote, Collins
    The discourse on property rights has been intractable and part of Kenya’s socio-political history since the advent of colonialism. At the heart of the debate lies the relationship between western approaches and views on property and African traditional approaches. Colonialism brought with it, British legal order. African customary practices and rules were largely replaced with these new western rules, based on the underlying philosophy that traditional modes of property and natural resource management were inimical to sustainability. This conclusion was arrived at as a result of the assessment that African customary modes of property regulation was based on open access, a regime without any protection of property rights, one that led to what Garret Hardin famously referred to as the Tragedy of the Commons.
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    Sustainable development, environmentalism, population control and global governance
    Lutz, David W.
    One aspect of globalization, and one that is far more important than the globalization of consumer goods, is the globalization of ideas. Although many Africans are justifiably critical of the evils of slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism and their negative impact on traditional African societies, there is remarkably little criticism of ideas from the West. Although some Western ideas are good, many are not. One Western idea that should be scrutinized carefully by Africans is that of “sustainable development”. And sustainable development does not come alone; it is bundled with other ideas that also should be evaluated critically, including environmentalism, population control and global governance.
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    Sustainable student leadership in Africa today
    Muhia, James; Gitau, Maureen
    African Universities are facing a crisis that revolves around student governance. In the recent past, there have been reported student unrests in many universities in Africa and closer home, Kenya. The core of the matter is the issue of student leadership which has been highly politicized and lacks credibility. The solution however lies in implementation of leadership structures that are sustainable and unique to the needs of the university in question. The concepts of sustainable leadership remain complex and confusing for many to grasp. It is a challenge for today's institutions of higher learning to define these concepts and to be able to measure them. This research paper seeks to highlight the concepts and principles of sustainable student leadership in African universities in the 21st Century.
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    The Challenges of university education in Kenya
    Ntabo , Michael Mabururu
    Paper presented at the 7th Annual Ethics Conference
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