scholarly journals Money is Easy in Paracale: Small-scale Miners' Perceptions, Strategies, and Modes of Spending and Consumption in Relation to Variable Income

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Saturay

The study deals with how small-scale miners in Paracale handle and spend their income in relation to occupational conditions, especially the variable income. The research was conducted among the underground small-scale miners in Paracale, Camarines Norte, Philippines. The study mainly employed participant observation among four mining workgroups; semi-structured interviews among individual miners and other key research participants; and collection of secondary data. Study showed that mining operations are economically and technologically limited. These limitations are addressed by employing various production strategies that manage economic risks. Further, risks appear to be more calculable from the miners' perspective. The SSM income is variable and difficult to predict, both in terms of amount and tempo. Variable income entails adoption of flexible modes of spending and consumptiion snd employment of various strategies to survive the periods of low income. There are several categories of expenses, which include the regular expenses; future-oriented expenses; and leisure-related expenses. The study also confirmed the phenomenon of lavish spending among miners, which was influenced by perceptions of abundance. Strategies employed by miners in relation to variable income may be lumped intro two categories, namely: the income-generating strategies snd the spending and consumotion strategies.

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Blake

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the potential fruitfulness of the theory of Alasdair MacIntyre for understanding how social enterprises may facilitate well-being, using empirical evidence from doctoral research to illustrate this. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on findings from research conducted at a mental health training and employment organisation which used gardening as rehabilitative tool. Participant observation and semi-structured interviews with staff, volunteers and service users were used to generate the data, a MacIntyrean lens used to analyse the data, and some suggestions are made as to why social enterprises may be particularly suited to such an approach. Findings Practitioners encouraged the seeking of “internal goods” or “goods of excellence” within practices, as it was this which was understood to facilitate well-being. Service users shared in this view, perceiving their time on the case site primarily as “work” and choosing to engage with the service out of a desire to meaningfully contribute to the community project. Research limitations/implications This research is conducted on a small scale and therefore lacks generalisability. The lack of comparison with other organisational forms using the same practice is also a limitation. Originality/value This theory offers an alternative lens for considering how social enterprises might contribute to well-being. The data presented here also complement the growing body of research literature on Work Integration Social Enterprises, considering some of the wider well-being benefits beyond work integration, which thus far has received limited empirical attention.


2010 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 488-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Travers ◽  
Jillian Deri

This article examines the re-negotiation of sex-based boundaries within the context of transgender/transsexual inclusion in North American lesbian softball leagues. Semi-structured interviews with transgender participants combined with participant observation have been undertaken. We focus on the ‘climate’ ( Hall and Sandler, 1982 ) for transgender participation in lesbian softball leagues that have adopted radical (non sex-binary-based) transinclusive policies. The majority of our research participants report positive experiences of inclusion and our own observations inform us that trans participation has already changed the faces of these leagues to the extent that lesbian identity is being queered: it is shifting away, at least to some degree, from assumed biological commonality to cultural affinity. Positive experiences, however, were more uniformly reported by transgender women than by transmen. A number of transmen, while reporting experiences of inclusion, expressed both personal ambivalence about participating in lesbian sporting and non-sporting spaces and a desire for fuller inclusion in the form of sensitivity and awareness concerning the use of gendered pronouns and categorical invocations. Our study documents cultural processes of sex boundary re-negotiation. As such it builds on previous scholarship ( Travers, 2006 ) that suggests that lesbian softball leagues with non-sex-binary based transinclusive policies may offer a model for queering mainstream sporting spaces away from the socially constructed categories of the two sex system.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S144-S144
Author(s):  
Laura Sutherland ◽  
Ruth E Dunkle ◽  
Garrett T Pace ◽  
Ariel Kennedy ◽  
Pat Baldwin

Abstract Arts-based interventions can enhance the quality of life of older adults, but community-dwelling older adults may have reduced access to such interventions. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a creative arts program can improve the overall health and well-being of older adults in low-income housing. A university social work department and community agency collaborated in establishing a professionally run theater group of older adults in two low-income housing buildings in an urban area. All residents were encouraged to participate. The study consisted of three twelve-week acting and improvisation courses, focusing on either staged reading of monologues and dialogues, co-writing a script, or staged reading of a complete play. Each class culminated in a public performance for the building. Fourteen participants enrolled, all African American (11 women, 3 men; mean age 66 years; mean ADL = 1.4 (range of 1-2.5)). Attendance on average was 8 classes. Data were collected through pre- and post-test questionnaires, participant observation of class sessions, semi-structured interviews with building managers, and post-session participant reflections. Thematic analysis was performed, and revealed key themes of increased community belonging, increased confidence, and increased daily coping abilities. Additional themes included the gaining of new artistic skills and interest in continuing classes. Barriers to participation included difficulty in recruitment and absence due to ongoing health conditions and caregiving responsibilities. This project has implications for the potential of arts-based programming to increase well-being for underrepresented community-dwelling older adults.


2021 ◽  
pp. 095624782110088
Author(s):  
Julia Wesely

The city of Manizales in Colombia has been widely recognized as a good practice case in disaster risk management (DRM). Previous research has sought to amplify learning from Manizales through examining the characteristics of its innovative practices. These are championed by an inter-institutional alliance that includes academia, the local government, the regional environmental authority and service providers. This paper argues that this learning needs to be accompanied by a nuanced understanding of the historical trajectories that have allowed Manizales to create and consolidate its current enabling environment for DRM. The argument derives from an analysis of fieldwork data, including semi-structured interviews, participant observation and secondary data, through a critical juncture approach. Focusing on the critical juncture of seasonal heavy rains in 2003, the paper illustrates how institutional changes configured cultural–cognitive, regulatory and normative conditions for the emergence of one of Manizales’ most recognized good practices, the Guardians of the Slope programme.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Izaquiel Alves de Siqueira ◽  
Jorge Izaquiel Alves de Siqueira ◽  
Luci de Senna-Valle ◽  
Edna Maria Ferreira Chaves ◽  
Jesus Rodrigues Lemos

Abstract BackgroundThis article presents, from a biocultural perspective, a menstruating taboo related to the touching, harvesting and preparation of home remedies based on the use of medicinal plants in a rural community located in a semiarid landscape of Cocal municipality, Piauí state, Northeastern Brazil. MethodsMethods used include participant observation and semi-structured interviews performed with 27 local people (21 female and six male) that recognized a taboo regarding the menstruating cycle and the harvesting of medicinal plants in Franco rural community, Cocal, Piauí, Northeastern Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were used to document data regarding the profile of research participants, their perceptions about the taboo documented, as well as the social and biocultural implications of the execution of this traditional practice of prohibition. Participant observation was conducted in order to grasp a better understanding of the social and biocultural implications of the taboo. Additionally, a photographic record was kept during this stage.ResultsIt was verified in Franco rural community that female adolescents and/or women in their menstruating period were prohibited from touching, harvesting and/or preparing home remedies based on the use of medicinal plants. Research participants believed that this can cause the death of medicinal plants, or that they lose their medicinal properties. This taboo has serious social and biocultural implications locally, and can be structured firstly as maladaptive of cultural information at the individual level, as it inhibits the ability of menstruating women to take care of themselves and the health of their families, and secondly as an adaptative strategy at the group level among its users (promotes the transmission of knowledge and cooperation among its users). This traditional practice has serious positive implications for maintaining local bioculturality, sustainability of local medical systems and women's health.ConclusionThis taboo documented within the Franco community is an important informal institution with great influence on human biocultural behavior. The inclusion of these perspectives on taboos in biocultural studies offers opportunities for a greater understanding of biocultural attitudes related to interactions between the human species/biota and the environment in a complex knowledge system.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Nedergaard Jensen ◽  
Ove Andersen ◽  
Hejdi Gamst-Jensen ◽  
Maria Kristiansen

Abstract Background: Patient-centered care (PCC) based on systematic and comprehensive patient engagement is important for patient satisfaction. However, ensuring PCC is difficult in emergency departments (ED) characterized by a high patient flow and a substantial proportion of older adults with multimorbidity and complex care needs. This small-scale qualitative study aimed to identify potentials and barriers for providing early PCC for older adults in Danish EDs using a novel user-engagement conversation tool.Methods: Participant observation, focus group interviews and individual semi-structured interviews with ED nurses and geriatric nurses were conducted between September and December 2019 in an ED at a hospital in the Capital Region of Denmark. Thematic network analysis with a focus on potentials and barriers for patient engagement was conducted.Results: Two key subthemes related to potentials emerged: 1) a positive attitude towards patient engagement in the context of PCC, and; 2) perceived benefits of PCC overall and the engagement tool in particular. Additionally, two key subthemes related to barriers emerged: 1) time constraints and; 2) concerns related to the importance of cross-sectoral care coordination.Conclusion: This study contributes to mounting evidence in support of policies and practices that encourage PCC as a driver of unpacking patients’ needs and values leading to targeted follow-up care. However, barriers such as time constraints, and lack of cross-sectoral care collaboration should be acknowledged if the potentials of PCC is to be fulfilled in ED settings.


Author(s):  
Racine Brown

The purpose of this article is to elucidate the differential recovery of household livelihood after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in the communities of West End and Punta Gorda on the island of Roatán, Islas de La Bahia (Bay Islands), Honduras; the emphasis is on livelihoods in tourism due to its economic importance on the island. The theoretical approach is a political ecology of tourism with an emphasis on differential benefits and challenges of tourism development at the household level. The study employs a mixed methods ethnographic approach incorporating participant observation, informal interviews, and semi-structured interviews for the qualitative component. While the tourism sector on Roatán has recovered since undergoing a severe contraction in the latter part of 2009 and continuing in 2010, this recovery has been uneven, with larger tourism businesses and their employees faring better than small scale entrepreneurs.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farah Diana ◽  
Muhammad Rizal

Capture fisheries are very important economic activity and have contributed greatly to the total fishery production in general in the District Naganraya. Fishery system that occurs dominated by small-scale fisheries. Fishermen in Naganraya district has a high dependence on fisheries resources as the main source of livelihood and almost all coastal areas based fisheries activities. Small-scale fisheries businesses have an impact on the fishing fleet and fishing locations (fishing ground) resulting in range of fishing operations is limited. The purpose of this research is 1). Analyzing small-scale capture fisheries system in locations PKN Naganraya district, 2). Formulate an alternative strategy in the management of small-scale fishing locations PKN Naganraya district. Data to be collected in this study consisted of primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected intensively using semi-structured interviews (semi-structured interview) to small-scale fishermen, observation and documentation in selected locations. The results showed that the dominant type of fishing gear is trawl catches beach and species that dominate the catch is Sardinella lemuru and Selar spp. Fish marketing patterns in locations peningkapan fishing activities (PKN) is not through the auction only through traders / large and are twelve strategic through internal and external environmental factors were dominant influence on the pattern of the conceptualization of small-scale fishery management in PKN location Nagan Raya.


2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Radcliffe ◽  
Cesidio Parissi ◽  
Anantanarayanan Raman

AbstractCurrent methods of agricultural and environmental education for indigenous farmers in Papua New Guinea (PNG) fail to provide high level engagement. Indigenous knowledge (IK) forms the basis of natural resource management, agriculture and health of farmers in PNG, yet its value to agricultural and environmental education in PNG is rarely recognised. The argument made in this article is that valuing indigenous knowledge will enhance agricultural and environmental education. The purpose of this empirical study was to assess the application of a knowledge management model in understanding indigenous knowledge to enhance agricultural and environmental education. This article focuses on agricultural and environmental indigenous knowledge and culture in two villages in the Western Highlands of PNG. Participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and apprentice observations were methods to collect data from small-scale indigenous farmers. The study found that as farmers shift to cash crops, IK is devalued against Western knowledge. The study also found that trust, culture, and social barriers limit sharing of knowledge. The article concludes with recommendations for future agricultural and environmental education in the PNG highlands.


Author(s):  
P.J. Masika ◽  
W. Van Averbeke ◽  
A. Sonandi

The use of herbal remedies by African farmers in the treatment of livestock diseases was investigated using a range of methods, including group interviews, structured interviews, semi-structured interviews and participant observation. The study was concerned mainly with the 'why' and 'how' of herbal remedy use among African livestock holders farming on communally-owned land in central Eastern Cape Province. We found that the use of herbal remedies was still widespread because these remedies were cheap, locally available and convenient to administer. Farmers also used herbal remedies because they did not have knowledge of conventional remedies or found these too expensive and therefore used herbal remedies as a last resort. Most of the farmers interviewed (73 %) had used some form of herbal remedy. A small number of farmers did not use herbal remedies at all. They rejected them because they had bad experiences in the past or because they considered the practice outdated and socially inferior. Often farmers used herbal remedies in combination with conventional ones, but a substantial number relied on herbal remedies only. Farmers obtained herbal remedies principally by preparing their own or by purchasing from herbalists. Different plant parts were used to prepare herbal remedies in the form of infusions, decoctions, powders, pastes, and juices from fresh plant material. Preparations were made from a single plant or from a range of plants. Application of a remedy was by different routes and methods, depending on the perceived cause of the disease condition. Topical applications were used for skin conditions, powders were rubbed into incisions, drenches were common in the treatment of systemic conditions, and drops to treat ears and eyes. We identified several aspects of herbal remedy utilisation that could be subject to improvement, which included the absence of standard dose regimes, the potential toxicity of certain compounds present in plants used, over-exploitation of the plant resource and a lack of interest by the youth to learn the art.


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