scholarly journals Using a political ecology framework to examine extra-legal livelihood strategies: a Lesotho-based case study of cultivation of and trade in cannabis

2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Bloomer
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Livelihood Strategies ◽  
Drug Control ◽  
Livelihood Diversification ◽  
Economic Diversification ◽  
Cash Crop ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Rural Livelihood

Rural livelihood strategies that engage in criminalised activities and hidden economies are an important, yet understudied, aspect of achieving economic diversification.  This paper discusses findings from a project that examined the role and importance of cannabis cultivation, as a criminalised cash crop, in Lesotho.  The research employed a multi-strategy approach that combined qualitative and quantitative methodologies.  Cannabis income was found to play a very important role in economic and livelihood diversification in the study area.  The paper concludes that cannabis production, as an extra-legal livelihood strategy, should be viewed by policy makers using a livelihoods focus, rather than a criminal one, if rural smallholders are not to be further marginalised by drug control policies.Key words: cannabis; Lesotho; political ecology; extra-legal livelihood

Assessing Triangulation Across Methodologies, Methods, and Stakeholder Groups: The Joys, Woes, and Politics of Interpreting Convergent and Divergent Data

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Campbell ◽  
Rachael Goodman-Williams ◽  
Hannah Feeney ◽  
Giannina Fehler-Cabral
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Specific Data ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Data Points ◽  
Evaluation Project ◽  
Collection Methods

The purpose of this study was to develop triangulation coding methods for a large-scale action research and evaluation project and to examine how practitioners and policy makers interpreted both convergent and divergent data. We created a color-coded system that evaluated the extent of triangulation across methodologies (qualitative and quantitative), data collection methods (observations, interviews, and archival records), and stakeholder groups (five distinct disciplines/organizations). Triangulation was assessed for both specific data points (e.g., a piece of historical/contextual information or qualitative theme) and substantive findings that emanated from further analysis of those data points (e.g., a statistical model or a mechanistic qualitative assertion that links themes). We present five case study examples that explore the complexities of interpreting triangulation data and determining whether data are deemed credible and actionable if not convergent.

The Complicity of Trees: The Socionatural Field of/for Tree Theft in Bulgaria

Slavic Review ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad Staddon
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Road Networks ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Forest Stand ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Relational Networks ◽  
Bounded Space ◽  
Single Locality

This article presents a critical political ecology of the various forms of tree theft in a Bulgarian locality. Based on primary fieldwork carried out almost annually since 1992, Chad Staddon argues that even in a relatively tightly bounded space such as a single locality or forest stand, environment-society relationships are sufficiently complex to make the enterprises of analysis and theory-building quite challenging. Yet, as this case study of tree theft shows, it is precisely because environment-society relationships are so intertwined that a “symmetrical” treatment of humans and nonhuman actors is required that takes us well beyond the bounds of “traditional” political ecology. Locating the treatment of tree theft in just such a social theoretical framework offers many benefits. Staddon contends that it is not possible to really understand, or develop policy for, tree theft without carefully considering the relational networks that bind together all the protagonists, including loggers, foresters, policy-makers, and local people, as well as trees, forests, road networks, and other nonhuman agents.

Human Rights and Wrongs in Iran's Drug Diplomacy with Europe

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janne Bjerre Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Death Penalty ◽  
Drug Trafficking ◽  
Drug Control ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Human Rights Organizations ◽  
History Of ◽  
Drugs And Crime

Europe has a strong interest in and a history of assisting Iran in controlling inflows of drugs from Afghanistan. But due to Iran's increasing use of the death penalty in drug trafficking cases, Europe has terminated its cooperation. Based on interviews with Iranian policy-makers and representatives of both human rights organizations and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), this article presents Denmark's withdrawal of drug control funding in 2013 as a case study, analyzing the dilemmas and trajectories of joint Iranian-European drug diplomacy and the prospects for reengagement following the nuclear agreement.

scholarly journals Food Insecurity and Livelihood Systems in Northwest Haiti

2002 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mamadou Baro
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Political Ecology ◽  
Livelihood Strategies ◽  
Ecological Situation ◽  
Illegal Migration ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Rural Livelihood ◽  
Livelihood Systems ◽  
And Migration

This paper examines rural livelihood systems in Haiti from both a political andecological perspective. While political developments in Haiti have taken center stage inmost analyses, the environmental impacts of population growth, highly varied livelihoodstrategies, and migration opportunities appear to have played a major role in the current tragic situation. Illegal migration not only seems to alleviate short term poverty but also appears to benefit households long term as revenues from migration improve households' land holding situation. Nevertheless, the steadily declining ecological situation may already be exceeding the creative livelihood strategies of Haitian producers.Key words: Haiti, political economy, political ecology, livelihood strategies,households, livestock, agriculture, migration.

scholarly journals Relationship between Liquidity Management and Growth of MSMEs in Africa: A Case Study of Selected Districts of Uganda

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Sazir Nsubuga Mayanja ◽  
Shakira Namutebi Mayanja
Keyword(s):  
Random Sampling ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Qualitative Aspect ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Liquidity Management ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative

Purpose: The study set out to establish to what extent, if any, a relationship exists between liquidity management and growth of MSMEs in Africa, with Uganda as a case study.Methodology: The study used a combination of cross sectional and descriptive designs in which both qualitative and quantitative approaches were adopted. Questionnaires were administered to respondents who answered both open-ended and close-ended questions. Quantitative data was analysed by means of frequencies, percentages, regression analysis and means correlations to arrive at conclusions. The qualitative aspect of the research was intended to clarify the quantitative findings and data.  A sample of 400 respondents was chosen from four districts of Wakiso, Mukono, Kampala and Jinja using random sampling. A sample of 400 was chosen from four districts of Wakiso, Mukono, Kampala and Jinja. Of these 371 responded. This represents a satisfactory response rate of over 92%.Findings: This relationship was confirmed by ANOVA results of a large F- Value (23.215) and small significance level (P or 0.000<0.05).  Conclusion from the research is that there is a significant relationship between management of liquidity and growth of MSMEs in UgandaUnique Contribution to Practice and Policy: It is recommended that MSMEs review modes of financing liquidity requirements. It is further recommended that MSMEs should practice effective cash planning and investment of surplus funds in ways and manner that enhance the capital, and consequently, growth of the firms. The results of the study should provide very useful input for policy makers, SME managers and owners while making to enhance growth of MSMEs. It is also useful for researchers and academics

Drowning in negativism, self-hate, doubt, madness: Linguistic insights into Sylvia Plath’s experience of depression

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsófia Demjén
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Medical Humanities ◽  
Sylvia Plath ◽  
Individual Experience ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
The World ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Linguistic Methods ◽  
Linguistic Approach

This paper demonstrates how a range of linguistic methods can be harnessed in pursuit of a deeper understanding of the ‘lived experience’ of psychological disorders. It argues that such methods should be applied more in medical contexts, especially in medical humanities. Key extracts from The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath are examined, as a case study of the experience of depression. Combinations of qualitative and quantitative linguistic methods, and inter- and intra-textual comparisons are used to consider distinctive patterns in the use of metaphor, personal pronouns and (the semantics of) verbs, as well as other relevant aspects of language. Qualitative techniques provide in-depth insights, while quantitative corpus methods make the analyses more robust and ensure the breadth necessary to gain insights into the individual experience. Depression emerges as a highly complex and sometimes potentially contradictory experience for Plath, involving both a sense of apathy and inner turmoil. It involves a sense of a split self, trapped in a state that one cannot overcome, and intense self-focus, a turning in on oneself and a view of the world that is both more negative and more polarized than the norm. It is argued that a linguistic approach is useful beyond this specific case.

Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Through Microfinance - A Case of Rural Bangladesh

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Saida Parvin
Keyword(s):  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Donor Agencies ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact

Women’s empowerment has been at the centre of research focus for many decades. Extant literature examined the process, outcome and various challenges. Some claimed substantial success, while others contradicted with evidence of failure. But the success remains a matter of debate due to lack of empirical evidence of actual empowerment of women around the world. The current study aimed to address this gap by taking a case study method. The study critically evaluates 20 cases carefully sampled to include representatives from the entire country of Bangladesh. The study demonstrates popular beliefs about microfinance often misguide even the borrowers and they start living in a fabricated feeling of empowerment, facing real challenges to achieve true empowerment in their lives. The impact of this finding is twofold; firstly there is a theoretical contribution, where the definition of women’s empowerment is proposed to be revisited considering findings from these cases. And lastly, the policy makers at governmental and non-governmental organisations, and multinational donor agencies need to revise their assessment tools for funding.

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