scholarly journals WATER GOVERNANCE IN RAPIDLY URBANISING SMALL TOWN: A CASE OF DHULIKHEL IN NEPAL

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamal Devkota ◽  
Kaustuv Raj Neupane
Keyword(s):  
Small Town ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Small towns in the mid-hills of Nepal rely on springs, streams and rivers in surrounding catchments for drinking water. The rapidly growing population in these towns has put increasing stresses on limited water resources. The inverse relationship between supply and demand of water has created challenges to the water security in these towns. In the absence of elected local government, decision making processes, including the management and governance of water at local level were directly affected. There were some unanswered questions – who are the leaders? who sets agendas? How do they formulate and implement strategies and make decisions? This paper aims to analyse the context of water governance in rapidly urbanising small town in Nepal, focusing on actors and institutions. Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews, focused group discussions and key informant surveys from Dhulikhel municipality and its upstream communities. This paper argues that the local level water governance practices in rapidly urbanising small towns in Nepal are still evolving. During the political transition and vacuumed local jurisdictions, the real decisions to manage and govern water were made in an informal way. The formal course of making decisions by authorised actors and institutions has been curtailed significantly.

An Assessment of Informal SMEs Governance Practices: A Case Study of SMEs in Harare CBD.

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-338
Author(s):  
Moses Chundu ◽  
Sarah Chimonyo ◽  
David Makwerere
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
Target Population ◽  
General Information ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
Medium Enterprise ◽  
Code Of Corporate Governance ◽  
The Impact

The study sought to assess the impact of implementing governance practices on the performance of Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) in the clothing sector operating in Harare’s CBD, Zimbabwe. Primary data was obtained mainly from structured interviews accompanied by questionnaires that sought to gather general information about the respondents. Face to face, verbal interviews were used to collect data during the study. The study made use of a sample that consisted of 100 respondents drawn from the target population using purposive sampling. The research study revealed that firms that implement corporate governance practices are more productive and perform well financially as compared to those that do not implement governance practices. The study also revealed that firms with corporate governance practices have better chances of surviving and acquiring funding for expansion and growth from banks and finance companies. The study concludes that governance practices impact the performance of SMEs operating in Harare’s CBD including their ability to introduce strategic changes. To encourage adoption of corporate governance practices by SMEs, government is encouraged to make the Code of Corporate Governance more relevant to SMEs as well as raising awareness through training and information dissemination.

Corporate governance in an emergent economy: a case of Ghana

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otuo Serebour Agyemang ◽  
Monia Castellini
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Large Shareholders ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Ownership Control

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine corporate governance practices in an emerging economy. It focusses on how ownership control and board control systems operate in corporate organisations in an emergent economy, assuming that these systems are essential for enhancing good corporate governance practices in emerging countries. Design/methodology/approach – The paper builds on descriptive multiple-case study with multiple units of analysis to divulge how ownership control and board control systems function to ensuring effective corporate governance in publicly listed corporate organisations in Ghana. A criterion-based sampling technique is used to select the companies. Thereafter, three techniques of data collection are used to gather data from the companies: archival records, semi-structured interviews and observation. Findings – By linking the gathered data to the paper’s theoretical propositions, the study highlights that all the companies are characterised by the presence of large shareholders, and, in consequence, they tend to exert extensive control over the activities of the companies through their involvement in the decision-making processes. However, whilst the presence of large shareholders has the tendency to solve the agency problem, it poses challenges in regards to minority shareholders’ interests in these corporate organisations. The study also reveals that boards of directors tend to exercise control over corporate organisations when majority shareholders stop interfering in their dealings. This implies that when major shareholders fully partake in corporate decision-making processes of companies, boards of directors seem to be sheer advisory bodies to management. Research limitations/implications – This is a paper to shed light on corporate governance practices in four large publicly listed corporate organisations on the Ghana Stock Exchange, so the observable facts do not apply to other emergent economies. In addition, the sample does not represent all corporate organisations in Ghana; thus, the empirical observations cannot be generalised to other organisations that have not been included in this study. However, the empirical results can be applied to other similar corporations in Ghana and other emergent economies in an analytical sense. With the application of inductive reasoning, the results can be applied to provide important appreciation in an effort to understand the structure of corporate governance practices in organisations in developing countries. Practical implications – A comparative analysis of the empirical observations from this study and the recommended guidelines of corporate governance of Ghana has been carried out, and aspects in which organisations need to reform and improve to fully comply with the guidelines are highlighted: director independence, director evaluation, introduction of new directors and board education. This could possibly be the foundation upon which corporate governance structures in these organisations can be restructured and further enhanced. Originality/value – The majority of the studies of corporate governance in emergent economies have used quantitative techniques to examine the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and firm performance. However, this study takes a different approach to examine corporate governance practice in an emergent economy by using a comprehensive and defensible qualitative analysis to examine relations between ownership structure and shareholder control, and board of directors and board control. In addition, it highlights how ownership and board control systems interact in corporate organisations in emergent economies.

scholarly journals Portrait of a successful small-town water service provider in Nepal's changing landscape

Water Policy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (S1) ◽  
pp. 84-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanna-Leena Rautanen ◽  
Pamela White
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Service Provider ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Small Town ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Professional Community ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Phase Iii ◽  
Water Service

Abstract This study was made in Nepal's Tarai plains, where rapid population growth over the past decade has transformed a large number of rural bazaars and roadside hubs into vibrant small towns. This study draws a portrait of a distinctly successful small-town water supply scheme and its service provider, the Murgia Water Users and Sanitation Association. Exploring this particular case with regards to social, technological, financial and organisational systems, and by comparing the performance of this case against 63 other water service providers in Nepal, the study asks: how could there be more of this type of successful water service provider? This scheme was constructed during the bilateral Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Support Programme Phase III, Nepal-Finland cooperation (1999–2005), using the typical rural approach, namely community management, with strong capacity building. Since then the service modality in this study case has evolved towards a professional community-managed service delivery. The success is rooted in good water governance principles: participation, responsiveness, financial transparency, accountability and overall strong commitment and vision, as well as strong technical assistance. They have resulted in re-investment in both the capital maintenance expenditure and into new infrastructure, even into an entirely new water supply scheme.

The IS/IT Outsourcing Phenomenon in the Public Sector of a Developing Country

2011 ◽  
pp. 173-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulwahed Moh. Khalfan ◽  
Tom G. Gough
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
Strategic Change ◽  
It Outsourcing ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public ◽  
Post Evaluation ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
First Time

This chapter presents an overview of a national case study exploring the IS/IT outsourcing phenomenon in the public sector of a developing country. The study is empirically based and provides a logical extension to earlier research studies/endeavors in the field of IS/IT outsourcing. Kuwait, where the data collection for this study was carried out, has been used as an example of a developing country . The primary data on IS/IT outsourcing practices, obtained for the first time in Kuwait, were collected by means of survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews supported by organizational documentation. The research seeks to identify the factors that give rise to the IS/IT outsourcing phenomenon, and the degree to which they influence the practices, procedures, and outcomes of IS/IT outsourcing arrangements in Kuwait. The overall research aimed to provide a comprehensive pragmatic picture of IS/IT outsourcing practices, including motivations, risk analysis, contract drafting and legal issues, vendor selection criteria, evaluation practices, decision-making processes, and post-evaluation experience. There is growing evidence within the Kuwaiti environment to suggest that public organizations are not achieving the desired benefits from their IS/IT outsourcing operations. IS/IT outsourcing projects in Kuwait are still undertaken in ways that are not clearly related to strategic change. It is clear that IS/IT outsourcing is a multi-faceted phenomenon that should be studied broadly in context. The lesson is that the solutions must make sense for the particular context in which they will be implemented, considering all cultural and environmental factors. It was found that culture plays an important role throughout the outsourcing process. The findings of this study also suggest that there will be an increasing utilisation of IT outsourcing services in the public sector of Kuwait.

scholarly journals Funkcjonalne różnicowanie małych miast północno-wschodniej Polski w warunkach depopulacji = Functional differentiation of small towns in North-Eastern Poland under a depopulation trend

2020 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-212
Author(s):  
Ewa Korcelli-Olejniczak
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structural Fund ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Social Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Hierarchy ◽  
Functional Relations ◽  
North Eastern

The changing role of small towns is a noticeable topic of contemporary research on urban and regional development in Poland. Unlike those situated within the zone of daily commuting around large cities, small urban localities in what are peripheral localities from the point of view of Poland as a whole are strongly exposed to metropolitan development backwash effects, which manifest themselves in migration outflow and population ageing, together with the loss of certain specialised functions that tend to cluster in centres at higher levels in the urban hierarchy. Going against these general trends, some of the towns in question are in a position to maintain existing activities in manufacturing or service branches of international or national market range, and/or to attract new ones. At the same time, those small urban localities that witness a curtailment of more-specialised functions experience a growing reliance on the public sector, in addition to commercial activities of local range, performing a stabilising role with regard to urban-rural functional relations at the local level of the settlement system. This article focuses on factors that underpin such polarisation trends by referring to the concepts of territorial competitiveness and territorial capital (Camagni, 2002, 2008). It illustrates their applicability using materials derived from an empirical study covering a subset of 19 small towns, of populations between 3000 and 10,000, situated in environmentally rich North-Eastern regions of Poland. Aiming to acquire primary data, the study has involved a series of extended, open-ended interviews with local stakeholders (5 to 7 per town), together with a questionnaire-based survey of 55 enterprises, in manufacturing and services of supra-local market range. As the results show (in line with the assumptions of Camagni), successful development of specialised functions, including niche-type activities in the small towns under study, can in several cases at least be linked to synergic effects between such components of territorial capital as creativity, local entrepreneurship and proactive policy on the part of local government. By focusing on the (EU Structural Fund-supported) extension and modernisation, of technical as well as social infrastructure, the latter have contributed to a general improvement in living conditions locally over the last fifteen years. This has in turn created some potential for attracting new residents, first of all from the surrounding rural areas; and – as a more distant prospect – also returning migrants from both abroad and other localities (typically Poland’s large urban centres). Thus, even in the face of prevailing depopulation trends, the small towns presented here (including local service centres) may enjoy certain opportunities to expand their place-of residence functions of both local and supra-local scope.

scholarly journals Understanding the Complexity of Water Supply System Governance: A Proposal for a Methodological Framework

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 2870
Author(s):  
Fernando Gumeta-Gómez ◽  
Andrea Sáenz-Arroyo ◽  
Gustavo Hinojosa-Arango ◽  
Claudia Monzón-Alvarado ◽  
Maria Azahara Mesa-Jurado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Level Structure ◽  
Supply System ◽  
Water Supply System ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Linear Alignment

The question of how the complexity of water governance may be understood beyond a heuristic concept remains unanswered. In this paper, we propose a Water Governance Complexity Framework to address the complexity of water governance. Through a literature review, rapid surveys, and 79 semi-structured interviews, we propose how this framework may be operationalized using different proxies and by applying it to the case of the water supply system for domestic use in Oaxaca, Mexico. In places such as the rural communities of Oaxaca, where the state plays a partially absent role in the water supply, we found legal pluralism and diverse formal and informal stakeholders in a multi-level structure. At the local level, four modes of governance were identified, resulting from seven institutional change trajectories. These trajectories result from linear (alignment) and non-linear (resistance and adaptation) interactions between local, state, and national institutions over different periods. We provide a pragmatic framework to understand complexity through the organization and historical configurations of water governance that may be applied globally, providing a necessary starting point and solid foundation for the creation of new water policies and law reforms or transitions to the polycentric governance model to ensure the human right to water and sanitation.

scholarly journals Urban Mountain Waterscapes: The Transformation of Hydro-Social Relations in the Trans-Himalayan Town Leh, Ladakh, India

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1698
Author(s):  
Judith Müller ◽  
Juliane Dame ◽  
Marcus Nüsser
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Regulation System ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Urban Restructuring ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Change Impact

Socio-economic processes and climate change impact the socio-hydrology of many small towns in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), such as Leh in Ladakh. The rapidly urbanising town experienced a shift from agricultural livelihoods towards incomes mainly relying on the tourism sector. As results of this research show, the limited water resources essential to the everyday life of urban citizens have become increasingly important for the tourism sector and the urbanisation process. This study aims to understand the transformation of the urban mountain waterscape and the role of different actors involved. The waterscape approach frames hydro-social relations in a specific spatial context and additionally captures diverging hydromentalities within local actor constellations. Related discourses are materialised as water governance impacting the everyday life of urban citizens. A combination of quantitative, qualitative and participatory methods allows for a differentiated picture of current developments. Based on 312 household questionnaires, 96 semi-structured interviews, and a participatory photography workshop, this study provides evidence that urban restructuring induced by development imaginaries produces uneven water citizenships in Leh. Along with socio-economic shifts, the community-managed water regulation system is replaced by a technocratic scheme, centralising water supply and sanitation. While some of Leh’s citizens benefit from urban restructurings, others are confronted with environmental and social costs, such as a deteriorating water quality and a further reduction in quantity.

Water Governance and Management in Indus Basin - Challenges & Threats

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marium Sara Minhas Bandeali
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
The State ◽  
Indus Basin

Water governance and management are important challenges for the River Indus Basin in Pakistan. Water governance refers to social, political and economic factors that influence water management. The water scarcity and water security are a major concern for the state to control its water resources. The study aims to give Sindh water policy by exploring the challenges to Indus Basin in managing water resources and to identify opportunities Indus Basin can look to improve water management. Interviews were conducted from water experts and analysts having 5 years’ experience or more in the water sector of Pakistan through a semi-structured self-developed questionnaire using purposive sampling technique and transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The findings show that increasing population, climatic change and rising demand of water are major challenges Indus is facing and Indus with time is getting water-scarce therefore need strong institutions, civil society and legislatures to ensure equitable distribution of water and maintain the ecosystem. The study emphasizes that water governance and management are necessary for sustainable use of water. Pakistan, the water stress country needs to address ‘governance’ at a wider scale to solve problems in the Indus Basin for the livelihood of people. The research will benefit the state, water experts, institutions as well as civil society to promote efficient use of water in Indus Basin.

scholarly journals Correlation between Elderly Migrants’ Needs and Environmental Adaptability: A Discussion Based on Human Urbanization Features

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5068
Author(s):  
Yi Hua ◽  
Zhi Qiu ◽  
Wenjing Luo ◽  
Yue Wang ◽  
Zhu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Urban Community ◽  
Hierarchical Cluster ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Rural Settlements ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Elderly Migrants ◽  
Environmental Adaptability ◽  
Community Environments ◽  
Rural Group

Building concentrated resettlement community in small towns is mostly used to deal with resettlement construction for rural migrants in economically developed regions in China, which leads to migrants’ living environment changing from rural settlements where production and living are intertwined to an urban community that only supports living functions. However, the urbanized environment is contrary to elderly migrants’ behavior, resulting in contradictions or conflicts between migrants and resettlement communities, reflecting a lack of urbanization synchronization between migrants and resettlement community environments. Further, elderly migrants are also equipped with different degrees and types of urbanization characteristics, thus reflecting different abilities to adapt to the urban community environment. Based on the corresponding relationship between people’s different production and living needs and urbanization, this research starts by investigating the production and living needs of elderly migrants, and further clarifies the environmental adaptability of elderly migrants by sorting the types and characteristics of urbanization of elderly migrants to provide a reference basis for the planning and construction of future resettlement areas. The research uses questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to investigate the population attributes and characteristics of elderly migrants, as well as their different needs for production and living. The research uses hierarchical cluster analysis, the one-way ANOVA test and Chi-square test to constructed a four-quadrant model on human urbanization features: an Urban Group with both living and production urbanized (Group H-H); a Half-urban-half-rural Group with only living needs urbanized (Group H-L); a Half-urban-Half-rural Group with only production needs urbanized (Group L-H); and a Rural group with both living and production needs not urbanized (Group L-L). Finally, based on the results, this research proposed three elderly environment construction orientations of “Promote the Supply Level of Urban Public Services”, “Create a Place That Embodies the Spirit of Immigrants’ Homeland”, and “Moderate Consideration of Agricultural Production Needs” for residential planning.

How Are ‘Included’ Excluded and Vice-Versa: Negotiated Participation of Women in School Governance in Nepal

2021 ◽  
pp. 239448112110203
Author(s):  
Rebat Kumar Dhakal
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
Recent Decade ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Participation Of Women ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Action Measures ◽  
Gender Images ◽  
Women Participation

Women representation in public institutions has been a key policy shift in Nepal in the recent decade. Despite such policy intervention as affirmative action measures to encourage women participation in public institutions and likewise increased presence of women in politics and public institutions, women’s participation at local level school decision-making processes remains limited. Through a lens of representation and theory of participation and an examination of women’s experiences, this study critically examines the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion in the School Management Committee. Drawing on original ethnographic research in a secondary school in rural Kaski, Gandaki Province, Nepal, this study draws that predominant female gender images were reproduced in the initial stage of women participation which made them feel ‘othered’ and ‘excluded’; however, gradually, with the passage of time and learning, such images receded and they felt more ‘included’ and were thereby likely to demonstrate more substantive participation.

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