Understanding ‘Empowerment’

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-141
Author(s):  
Ajit Chaudhuri
Keyword(s):  
Social Development ◽  
Development Policy ◽  
Abstract Form ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Broad Perspective ◽  
Structure And Agency ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Context ◽  
Universal Definition ◽  
Definition Of

The term ‘empower’ has become ubiquitous within the social development sector. Empowerment has become the answer to most problems, and it is a rare development initiative that does not overtly seek to empower somebody. And yet, the term is used loosely, without regard to the variety of meanings and flavours of power that make it up, rendering it as a standardised and meaningless jargon instead of a subtle and nuanced word with deep implications for development policy and practice. This article looks to understand empowerment in the social development context by exploring its roots in the term ‘power’. It delves into power in its abstract form, in its relationship with structure and agency, in its role in participatory processes and in its function in governance and development. It also goes into the multiple ways by which communities resist power and its imposition upon them. In the process, it explores the thinking of intellectuals such as Riker, Dahl, Lukes, Foucault, Giddens, Olson, de Certeau, Scott and Havel on power and brings these multiple understandings and meanings into a single narrative. It concludes that a single universal definition of power may not be possible given the multiplicity of contexts within which it is used, and that each of these contexts and their underlying assumptions has implications on the usage of the term ‘empower’. It goes on to suggest that those using the term ‘empower’ would be well advised to state their own assumptions on power and the context within which they use it such as, inter alia, is it transferrable via empowerment. Does it exist in an act, or is it universal and always there? Does the empowerment of one necessarily mean the disempowerment of another so that the sum total of power in a community is constant? In the process, the article looks to provide development practitioners with a broad perspective on power so that they use the term ‘empower’ with specificity and precision.

The effect of cash transfers from the PROSPERA programme (formerly Oportunidades) on poverty in urban households in Northeast Mexico

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-158
Author(s):  
Oscar A. Martínez-Martínez ◽  
Mauricio Coronado-García ◽  
Dania Orta-Alemán
Keyword(s):  
Social Development ◽  
Development Policy ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Extreme Poverty ◽  
Urban Households ◽  
Household Poverty ◽  
The Social ◽  
Poverty Lines

ABSTRACTThe paper presents the effects of Mexico’s conditioned cash-transfers programme (PROSPERA programme, formerly Oportunidades) on household poverty in the Northeast urban areas. The estimate was calculated using the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke Index. We use three poverty lines (i.e. food, capability, and patrimonial poverty) which costs were established by the National Assessment Council of the Social Development Policy. The results show that, in the three lines, the intensity and inequality of poverty diminished. Regarding incidence, only in extreme poverty was found a significant effect, so, there is no evidence to support that cash transfers help households to escape poverty.

Health care in the social development context

2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 537-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Juliá ◽  
Mary E. Kondrat
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Health Programs ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Participatory Approaches ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Health Assessments ◽  
Development Context ◽  
Développement Social

Social development scholars and practitioners have long advocated an important role for indigenization and grassroots participation in designing and implementing social development programs. Because of the recognized connection between health and social development, they have increasingly advocated for more indigenous and participatory approaches in conducting health assessments and in the delivery of health programs of relevance to individuals, families and communities. This article presents a rationale for such participatory approaches and the arguments are illustrated by case studies from two different cultural contexts. French Les chercheurs et les practiciens dans le secteur du développement social préconisent depuis longtemps l'importance d'un rôle autochtone et tenant compte de la base de la société dans la planification et la mise en application de programmes de développement social. Reconnaissant le lien entre la santé et le développement social, ils recommandent une plus grande participation indigène dans l'évaluation de la santé et la mise en application de programmes de santé pertinents pour les individus, les familles et les communautés. Le présent article argumente en faveur d'une approche participative et illustre ses raisons pour ce faire à l'aide de deux études de cas provenant de deux différents contextes culturels. Spanish Estudiosos y practicantes del desarrollo social han asignado, desde hace tiempo, un papel importante a la participación indigenista y popular en el diseño e implementación de los programas de desarrollo social. A partir del reconocimiento de la conexión entre desarrollo social y salud, se han abocado a promover el aumento de la participación indígena en la conducción de las asesorías en salud y en el desarrollo de programas de salud de relevancia para individuos, familias y comunidades. Este trabajo presenta el fundamento de este tipo de acercamiento participativo y los argumentos se ilustran a partir de estudios de caso en dos contextos culturales diferentes.

scholarly journals Fighting Poverty, Combatting Social Exclusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 223-232
Author(s):  
William L. Partridge
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Development Policy ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World

AbstractThe Chinese have a saying: through a drop of water you can see the whole ocean. This chapter analyzes the process of integrating social development policy and practice into the operations of the World Bank through the lens of my own personal experience, a drop of water through which we will see how sociologists and anthropologists transformed the larger organizational culture of the institution.

scholarly journals The Concept of Tributalism: A Comparative Analysis of S. Amin, J. Haldon and H. H. Stahl‘s Approaches

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-83
Author(s):  
Nerijus Babinskas
Keyword(s):  
Social Development ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Private Landowners ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Mode Of Production

By this article the author wants to revive the discussion about Marxist schemas of social development and their applicability for constructing models of universal history. The viewpoints of three scholars are presented in the current text: Samir Amin‘s who is known in the Western historiographical tradition as the main creator and promoter of the concept of tributary mode of production, John Haldon‘s who has paid much attention to the above-mentioned concept and has dedicated an entire book to this issue, Henri H. Stahl‘s who created an original alternative approach to the issue of tributalism. The author rejects J. Haldon‘s concept of „mode of production“ as being too narrow. In fact J. Haldon identifies the mode of production with the mode of exploitation. The author proposes a wider definition of the mode of production which is based on the analysis of Karl Marx‘s texts. According to the author, the most important elements of mode of production are exploitative subject (it is defined by property of conditions of production, which realises as the social power) and productive/obligatory unit which can be manifested as a household of an individual direct producer or as a community. The author proposes the following classification based on his conception of a mode of production: 1. A proprietor of land is a monarch/state and the productive/obligatory unit is the community (of Asiatic/Slavonic type); 2. A proprietor of land is a monarch/state and the productive/obligatory unit is the household of an individual direct producer; 3. Proprietors of land are private landowners and the productive/obligatory unit is the community (of Asiatic/Slavonic type); 4. Proprietors of land are private landowners and the productive/obligatory unit is the household of an individual direct producer. The most important conclusions of the author‘s are as follows: 1. H. H. Stahl‘s statement that there were alternatives in the social development of precapitalist societies are definitely reasonable. 2. Keeping in his mind the controversies between the conceptions of tributalism the author emphasizes that for the moment the question of the typology of antagonistic precapitalist societies remains open; so further researches and discussions are necessary. 3. As a point of departure for further researches and discussions the author proposes his classification of antagonistic precapitalist societies based on the criteria of an exploitative subject and a productive/obligatory unit.

scholarly journals Ethno-Seasonality and the Social Life among the Highlanders

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-94
Author(s):  
Jiban Mani Poudel
Keyword(s):  
Physical Environment ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Weather Patterns ◽  
Mountain Valley ◽  
Informal Conversation ◽  
Cultural Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
Universal Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Emic Perspective

This paper is about how the seasons and social life of the highlanders are interconnected to each other. It largely concerns on two thematic areas: documentation of emic perspective of naming systems of seasons, and accounting the interconnectedness of seasons and social life of highlanders who live in Nhāson, a small mountain valley located in the central Himalayan region of Nepal. Information is based on 9 months place-specific ethnography in different periods from the years 2012 to 2018. Informal conversation with the local people and observation of the physical environment and socio-cultural life were the key sources of understanding the interconnectedness of seasons and social life of the highlanders. Findings show seasons are the parts of social life for the highlanders. The change of seasons from one season to another is not just a matter of change in weather patterns and the associated changes in physical environment of the surrounding but it is also a change in social life. Therefore, physical and social seasonality go side by side as rhythms which are the integral parts of culture and social life of highlanders. Moreover, local’s definition of seasons is cultural specific and place-specific that challenges state defined universal definition of seasons and force to rethink it differently.

scholarly journals Cidades médias - Contributos para a sua definição

Finisterra ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (74) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduarda Marques Costa
Keyword(s):  
Social Development ◽  
Development Policy ◽  
Urban Systems ◽  
Small Cities ◽  
Sustainable City ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Mind ◽  
New Framework

MEDIUM-SIZED CITIES – HOW TO DEFINE THEM. The concept of medium-sized city was first referred to in France at the end of the 1960s when the 6th Economic and Social Development Policy was under preparation (1971-76). Nonetheless, many of the principles and criteria associated with it had already been borne in the mind of the experts in this field and politicians as well as in the their resources and potential, emerged as an alternative to large cities then undergoing a crisis and reinforced their place in regional urban systems. The second half of the 1980s was also important for medium-sized cities. The growing internationalization of the economy and increasing competitiveness led to a new framework of relations in which medium-sized cities began to play a different role. The concept of intermediary city emerged, based on what defines «innovative milieu» or «network territory». In the 1990s, the idea of the sustainable city emerged to offer medium-sized cities a new framework of possibilities as well as demands faced with an increasingly competitive and globalize economy which has led to new forms of economic, social and cultural exclusion, especially noticeable in small cities in depressed areas. The aim of this paper is to reflect on the difficulty of reaching a definition of «medium-sized city» and the manner in which the concept has evolved as it responds to the transformations within the European productive and socio-territorial system.

scholarly journals Theorizing Cross-Cultural Migrations: The Case of Eurasia since 1500

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 445-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Lucassen ◽  
Leo Lucassen
Keyword(s):  
Social Development ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Cultural Boundaries ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cultural Experiences ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship

In this article we plead for a less state-centered definition of migration that allows us to understand better the relationship between cross-cultural migrations and social change and social development in the long run. Therefore, we developed a method that enables us to systematically compare CCMRs (cross-cultural migrations per capita) through time and space. This CCMR method puts issues of state policies and citizenship in a much broader social context. We conclude that the presentist approach to migration in the social sciences is highly myopic, as it privileges migrations crossing state borders over internal moves, and favors migrants who have the intention to settle for good. In itself this is a legitimate choice, especially if the core explanandum is the way migrants’ long-term settlement process in another (modern) state evolves. In the more empirical parts of this article however we have concentrated on the effects of Eurasian societies since 1500 that have received migrants. Sending societies and individual migrants and nonmigrants in sending and receiving societies have been largely left out. Finally, and paradoxically, integration and assimilation in the long run leads to diminishing opportunities of social development by cross-cultural experiences, because one could argue that due to globalizing migrations cultures converge further and thus cultural boundaries (as is already the case in migration to cities within culturally homogenous nation-states in the twentieth century) become less salient or disappear entirely. Logically speaking, this is also an implication of the model, presently to be developed further.

Design and the Virtual Organization

2010 ◽  
pp. 273-278
Author(s):  
Paula Rodrigues
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Organization ◽  
General Definition ◽  
Dynamic Tension ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Abstract Level ◽  
Communications Services ◽  
Universal Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Material Form

The word design is of English origin and it is linked to the concept of plan or project, to ideas such as draw, intention, or configuration. The term implies the conjugation of two levels in permanent dynamic tension, the abstract level of conceiving/projecting and a more concrete, of giving form, materializing the idea. Furthermore the term does not refer only to manufactured objects; it can be used to refer to the design of a molecule, a structural arrangement, or the construction of curricula (Denis, 2000). It is also considered that a universal definition of design, valid independently of historical and socio cultural contexts, does not exist (Barnard, 1998). But, even if designing, as any other activity, is constrained by the social and cultural role assigned to the designer in a given society (Dormer, 1990; Downton, 2003; Manzini, 1993), that does not mean that we cannot present a general definition of design. So, although there are different areas of intervention for the designer, from common objects, to visual and verbal communications, services, systems, and environments, we can consider design as the conception and planning of the artificial (Margolin, 1995), having in mind the direct consequences for the consumer/user of this way of given material form to an idea (Bonsiepe,1999).

Design and the Virtual Organization

2010 ◽  
pp. 391-394
Author(s):  
Paula Rodrigues
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Organization ◽  
General Definition ◽  
Dynamic Tension ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Abstract Level ◽  
Communications Services ◽  
Universal Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Material Form

The word design is of English origin and it is linked to the concept of plan or project, to ideas such as draw, intention, or configuration. The term implies the conjugation of two levels in permanent dynamic tension, the abstract level of conceiving/projecting and a more concrete, of giving form, materializing the idea. Furthermore the term does not refer only to manufactured objects; it can be used to refer to the design of a molecule, a structural arrangement, or the construction of curricula (Denis, 2000). It is also considered that a universal definition of design, valid independently of historical and socio cultural contexts, does not exist (Barnard, 1998). But, even if designing, as any other activity, is constrained by the social and cultural role assigned to the designer in a given society (Dormer, 1990; Downton, 2003; Manzini, 1993), that does not mean that we cannot present a general definition of design. So, although there are different areas of intervention for the designer, from common objects, to visual and verbal communications, services, systems, and environments, we can consider design as the conception and planning of the artificial (Margolin, 1995), having in mind the direct consequences for the consumer/user of this way of given material form to an idea (Bonsiepe,1999).

scholarly journals POLA ASUH ORANG TUA TERHADAP PERKEMBANGAN EMOSIONAL ANAK USIA DINI

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-170
Author(s):  
Popy Puspita Sari ◽  
Sumardi Sumardi ◽  
Sima Mulyadi
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Parenting Style ◽  
Emotional Development ◽  
Authoritative Parenting ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Permissive Parenting ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact

In the family of parents has a big role in influencing the social development of children. Every parent certainly has a different parenting, including: authoritative parenting, democratic parenting, and permissive parenting. Parenting style for children, will affect the social development and personality of children. A good parenting style will reduce the social development of good children. Parental parenting means the habits of parents, fathers and mothers in leading, caring for and guiding children. Nurturing in the sense of looking after by caring for and educating him.  The quality and intensity of parenting parents vary in influencing attitudes and directing children's behavior. Therefore, this article will discuss issues related to parenting and emotional development of children, such as the definition of parenting, various parenting patterns, characteristics of parenting, factors that influence parenting parenting , understanding emotional development. Characteristics of children's emotional development, factors that influence children's emotional development, emotional social development strategies, and the impact of parenting on children's emotional development. The purpose of this article is to increase understanding of parenting parents on the emotional development of early childhood, so that it raises the desire to seek or improve the implementation of parenting parents for early emotional development of children for parents. Dalam menyesuaikan diri dengan baik sesuai usia dan kematangannya,  keluarga merupakan lingkungan pertama yang menuntut. Didalam keluarga orang tua memiliki peran besar dalam memberikan pengaruh pada perkembangan sosial anak. Setiap orang tua tentu mempunyai pola asuh yang berbeda, diantanyanya yaitu: Pola asuh otorite, pola asuh demokratis, dan pola asuh permisif.  Pola asuh orang tua pada anak usia dini mencakup pemberian rangsangan fisik, mental, emosional, moral, maupun sosial yang akan mendorong tumbuh kembang anak secara optimal. Gaya pengasuhan terhadap anaknya, akan mempengaruhi pada perkembangan sosial dan kepribadian anak. Gaya pengasuhan yang tidak baik akan menurunkan perkembangan sosial anak yang baik. Pola asuh orang tua berarti kebiasaan orang tua, ayah dan ibu dalam memimpin, mengasuh dan membimbing anak. Mengasuh dalam arti menjaga dengan cara merawat dan mendidiknya. Membimbing dengan cara membentu, melatih, dan sebagainya. Kualitas dan intensitas pola asuh orang tua bervariasi dalam mempengaruhi sikap dan mengarahkan perilaku anak. Karena itu, artikel ini akan membahas masalah yang berkaitan dengan pola asuh orang tua dan perkembangan emosional anak, seperti definisi pola asuh orang tua, macam-macam pola asuh orang tua, ciri-ciri pola asuh orang tua, faktor yang mempengaruhi pola asuh orang tua, pengertian perkembangan emosional. Karakteristik perkembangan emosional anak, faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi perkembangan emosional anak, strategi pengembangan sosial emosional, dan dampak pola asuh terhadap perkembangan emosional anak. Tujuan artikel ini adalah untuk meningkatkan pemahaman tentang pola asuh orang tua terhadap perkembangan emosional anak usia dini, Sehingga menimbulkan keinginan untuk mencari atau meningkatkan implementasi pola asuh orang tua terhadap perkembanngan emosioal anak udia dini bagi orang tua.

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