Energy poverty amidst abundance in Malaysia: placing energy in multidimensional poverty

In developing countries the analysis of energy poverty has been framed in terms of a nexus; linking poverty, gender, and energy as obstacles to sustainable development. This article considers the dual challenges of energy and fuel poverty in Malaysia, a middle-income country boasting high levels of grid penetration, suggesting that there are limitations to this approach in relation to articulating the relationship between energy and poverty, specifying the dynamics of energy poverty, and informing policies to address this. Locating energy deprivation in the context of multidimensional poverty offers a basis for addressing energy poverty in a wider range of spatial and temporal contexts.     

Teaching Constructive Dialogue as a Social Medicine Tool for Peace

The social medicine learning communities of which we are a part comprise individuals from Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Haiti, the United States, Canada, and Lebanon among other countries. United in an interest to understand and address the social and structural determination of health, learners have spanned a wide range of religious, ethnic, socioeconomic, and racial backgrounds. These diverse social locations have shaped lives in unique ways and given rise to profoundly divergent perspectives on sexual orientation, gender norms, reproductive health, and the role of medicine and health professionals in society among other issues. To navigate these differences and to equip our students with an integral tool for social justice and health equity, we teach constructive dialogue as a tool, amongst many others, for health professionals.     

Restoring the professor and the students: a circle process and contemplative practices in a restorative justice seminar

Limited research is published on teaching restorative justice in the criminal justice or justice studies curriculum in higher education. This article contributes to the discourse on restorative justice pedagogy by discussing a restorative justice seminar that is taught in a circle process with contemplative practices. Students learn the process of circles, one of the major processes in restorative justice practice, by modeling the practice with participation and leadership. Contemplative practices enhance the learning of restorative justice with meditation and reflection.     

Administrative reform in Jamaica: A component of structural adjustment

Jamaica is currently undergoing a major innovative administrative reform programme (ARP). The impetus for the ARP stems from the realization that weak public administration (as prevailed in Jamaica) is a major obstacle to the implementation of economic reforms. The ARP thus became a significant plank of the World Bank's structural adjustment lending to Jamaica. The Jamaican programme is probably the leading and most ambitious attempt at administrative reform in the Third World, and the experiences and lessons learnt can be applied to the many developing countries which are contemplating or implementing similar programmes. The Jamaican experience indicates that the most important ingredients for success are political commitment at the highest level, a determined external agency, a carefully designed but flexible participatory programme which learns as it progresses, and good communication of the reform proposals. Administrative reform is a long-term process, and it would be dangerous to pitch expectations too high.     

Upward mobility implications on the aspirant middle class in emerging economies

This article unearths the salient factors that trap the aspiring middle class in their progression towards a stable middle class in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa. The study utilises a quantitative case study design, drawing on a sample of 449 aspirants and 578 middle-class heads of households from the 2021 Gauteng City-Region Observatory Quality of Life Survey. A binary logistic regression model was used to analyse these salient factors (key determinants) and their impact on the social mobility of the aspirant middle class. Findings reveal a significant relationship between social mobility and education, racial inequality, asset ownership, access to economic opportunities and proximity to amenities. We suggest local government policies that positively influence the conditions of these determinants for sustained mobility of the aspirant middle class over time.