scholarly journals Changing Nature of Power and Leadership: How do They Matter in Rural Nepal?

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 79-89
Author(s):  
Mahendra Sapkota
Keyword(s):  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Power Structure ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
Local Power ◽  
To Come ◽  
Rural Nepal ◽  
Ontological Position

Globally, power and leadership are considered as two unavoidable factors of social change and local development. In Nepal’s federal context, the nexus of power and leadership has been less addressed in academic research though most of the studies are focused on local governance. The present study attempts to analyze the nature of leadership and its power structure in the context of rural Nepal. It follows a critical ontological position of the development of power and leadership. Methodologically, a complete leadership of Dogana village in Suddhodhan Rural Municipality of Rupandehi district (Lumbini Province) was undertaken to assess the rural leadership. It is found that the most important factor for holding the rural leadership was ‘affiliation with the political party’, which was followed by ‘well-being ranking’ and ‘caste/ ethnic status’ of the leadership. The rural leaders used to change their policies and strategies to create and sustain power, such as doing multiple professions and building networks other than politics. The paper, therefore, concludes that a significant change occurred in leadership pattern and power structure of rural Nepal from informal to formal, and less inclusive to more inclusive and representative. Despite this, the changes are still elite-centric, politically vested, and economically favorable either to the upper-class people or middle-class mediators (bichauliyas). The study predicts that the contestations in leadership and power-sharing could be more critical in the days to come with the implementation of federalism in the rural context. The implication of this study largely relies on the context of local power structure and village politics in Nepal.

Being, Knowing, and Doing

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roxanne Bainbridge ◽  
Mary Whiteside ◽  
Janya McCalman
Keyword(s):  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Aboriginal Woman ◽  
Research Methodologies ◽  
Aboriginal Australians ◽  
Aboriginal Women ◽  
To Come

Researchers working with Aboriginal Australian partners are confronted with an array of historical, social, and political complexities which make it difficult to come to theoretical and methodological decisions. In this article, we describe a culturally safe and respectful framework that maintains the intellectual and theoretical rigor expected of academic research. As an Aboriginal woman and two non-Aboriginal women, we discuss the arguments and some of the challenges of using grounded theory methods in Aboriginal Australian contexts, giving examples from our studies of Aboriginal empowerment processes. We argue that the ethics of care and responsibility embedded in Aboriginal research methodologies fit well with grounded theory studies of Aboriginal social processes. We maintain that theory development grounded in data provides useful insights into the processes for raising the health, well-being, and prosperity of Aboriginal Australians.

scholarly journals The District Assembly Common Fund and Fiscal Decentralisation: What is the Impact on Local Development in Ghana?

2020 ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Harrison Kofi Belley
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Rural Poverty ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Development Fund ◽  
Common Fund ◽  
The People ◽  
The Impact

Local governments have been created as agents of local development in which the people in the local areas are given greater opportunities to influence policies and programs that directly affect their well-being and thereby reducing their poverty levels. But the implementation of the policies and programmes is bedeviled with many problems. Key among them is the issue of financing the local development projects in order to reduce rural poverty. The government of Ghana attempted to reduce this problem when it introduced a development fund in1994 known as the – District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) to encourage local governance and deepen Government’s commitment to decentralization in general and fiscal devolution in particular. The study therefore, seeks to assess the impact of District Assembly Common Fund on Local Government Development in the Adaklu District Assembly in the Volta Region of Ghana. The study mainly adopted qualitative methods of research to obtain information on the experiences of the poor people in the Adaklu communities selected as study areas. Interview guides were used to obtain information from the people in the communities, staff of the Assembly and some heads of the decentralized departments. A major finding of the study is that the assembly did not involve the rural people in the poverty reduction programmes in the district.

scholarly journals A model for sustainable, partnership-based telehealth services in rural India: An early process evaluation from Tuver village, Gujarat

PLoS ONE ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. e0261907
Author(s):  
Shoba Ramanadhan ◽  
Krishnan Ganapathy ◽  
Lovakanth Nukala ◽  
Subramaniya Rajagopalan ◽  
John C. Camillus
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Process Evaluation ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Quality Healthcare ◽  
Local Staff

Background Telehealth can improve access to high-quality healthcare for rural populations in India. However, rural communities often have other needs, such as sanitation or employment, to benefit fully from telehealth offerings, highlighting a need for systems-level solutions. A Business of Humanity approach argues that innovative solutions to wicked problems like these require strategic decision-making that attends to a) humaneness, e.g., equity and safety and b) humankind, or the needs and potential of large and growing markets comprised of marginalized and low-income individuals. The approach is expected to improve economic performance and long-term value creation for partners, thus supporting sustainability. Methods A demonstration project was conducted in Tuver, a rural and tribal village in Gujarat, India. The project included seven components: a partnership that emphasized power-sharing and complementary contributions; telehealth services; health promotion; digital services; power infrastructure; water and sanitation; and agribusiness. Core partners included the academic partner, local village leadership, a local development foundation, a telehealth provider, and a design-build contractor. This early process evaluation relies on administrative data, field notes, and project documentation and was analyzed using a case study approach. Results Findings highlight the importance of taking a systems perspective and engaging inter-sectoral partners through alignment of values and goals. Additionally, the creation of a synergistic, health-promoting ecosystem offers potential to support telehealth services in the long-term. At the same time, engaging rural, tribal communities in the use of technological advances posed a challenge, though local staff and intermediaries were effective in bridging disconnects. Conclusion Overall, this early process evaluation highlights the promise and challenges of using a Business of Humanity approach for coordinated, sustainable community-level action to improve the health and well-being of marginalized communities.

Local governance in post-Soviet Armenia: Leadership, local development and accountability

2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Babken V. Babajanian
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Informal Governance ◽  
Informal Strategies

This paper analyzes the effectiveness, responsiveness and accountability of local mayors in governing local development in Armenia. The research conducted in eight rural communities shows that in order to be effective, elected local mayors are compelled to resort to informal strategies to attract development resources to their communities. As formal opportunities for supporting rural livelihoods are limited, informal governance helps enhance people’s well-being and social cohesion. It also reinforces a system of “clientelistic accountability”, which ensures a significant level of responsiveness of local mayors to local needs, but also contributes to the disempowerment of citizens and leaves them vulnerable to corruption and mismanagement.

Economics of Happiness as an Academic Research Discipline

2012 ◽  
pp. 94-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Antipina
Keyword(s):  
Economic Performance ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Economic Indicators ◽  
Research Discipline ◽  
Happiness Economics ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
Economics Of Happiness ◽  
Happiness Level

The article contains a review of the contemporary research in the field of economics of happiness. Economics of happiness deals with correlation between the subjective notion of well-being and happiness with ones life (happiness level) and economic indicators. The author considers the correlation of economic and noneconomic factors. The last ones —  such as education and health — also affect the level of happiness. The author dwells upon the following questions: research methodology in economics of happiness, correlation between subjective notion of well-being and happiness with ones life and economic performance on micro- and macrolevels.

The Political Economy of Local Governance in Yemen

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 45-69
Author(s):  
Benoit Challand ◽  
Joshua Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Development ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Past ◽  
Strong State ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Local Initiatives ◽  
Self Rule

This paper provides an historical exploration of local governance in Yemen across the past sixty years. It highlights the presence of a strong tradition of local self-rule, self-help, and participation “from below” as well as the presence of a rival, official, political culture upheld by central elites that celebrates centralization and the strong state. Shifts in the predominance of one or the other tendency have coincided with shifts in the political economy of the Yemeni state(s). When it favored the local, central rulers were compelled to give space to local initiatives and Yemen experienced moments of political participation and local development.

scholarly journals Sustained sustainable development actions of China from 1986 to 2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bingsheng Liu ◽  
Tao Wang ◽  
Jiaming Zhang ◽  
Xiaoming Wang ◽  
Yuan Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Development Levels ◽  
The Right ◽  
Resource Conditions

AbstractAchieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a long-term task, which puts forward high requirements on the sustainability of related policies and actions. Using the text analysis method, we analyze the China National Sustainable Communities (CNSCs) policy implemented over 30 years and its effects on achieving SDGs. We find that the national government needs to understand the scope of sustainable development more comprehensively, the sustained actions can produce positive effects under the right goals. The SDGs selection of local governments is affected by local development levels and resource conditions, regions with better economic foundations tend to focus on SDGs on human well-being, regions with weaker foundations show priority to basic SDGs on the economic development, infrastructures and industrialization.

Social mobilization and tackling the performance of local government in rural Nepal

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ganesh Prasad Pandeya ◽  
Tatsuo Oyama ◽  
Chakrapani Acharya
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Social Mobilization ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Local Power ◽  
Local Planning ◽  
Rural Villages ◽  
Disadvantaged Groups ◽  
Participatory Institutions ◽  
Rural Nepal

Abstract Based on extensive fieldwork in two rural villages, this paper qualitatively examines how social mobilization initiatives influence local government (LG) performance in Nepal. LG mobilized community people to empower them for their effective participation in local planning and decision-making processes. Comparing with the prior period of mobilization, evidence demonstrates that mobilization promises to boost LG performance through empowering communities to enhance their agency and entitlements, promoting democratic and effective citizen participation, and strengthening LG responsiveness and social accountability. But these connections are not straightforward, as there appeared discrepancies in parallel in recognizing equal participation rights of disadvantaged groups and equitable distribution of public resources among social groups. The findings imply that mobilization can be an effective strategy for tackling many challenges of participatory institutions, as it tends to create social pressures for making participatory institutions more democratic and changing the local power dynamics in favour of disadvantaged groups.

scholarly journals Is and Ought? How the (Social) Ontological Circumscribes the Normative

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-525
Author(s):  
Dorothea Gädeke
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Normative Theory ◽  
Normative Values ◽  
Relational Ontology ◽  
Individual Values ◽  
The Social ◽  
Argument Proceeds ◽  
Ontological Position ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
Normative Content

Abstract Is normative theory grounded in ontology and if so, how? Taking a debate between Kwame Gyekye and Thaddeus Metz as my point of departure, my aim in this article is to show that something normative does indeed follow from ontological views: The social ontological, I maintain, circumscribes the normative without, however, fully determining its content. My argument proceeds in two steps: First, I argue that our social ontological position constrains what kind of normative theory we may plausibly defend. A relational ontology as defended by Gyekye entails a relational normative theory, whereas an atomist ontology calls for an individualist normative approach and a collectivist ontology for a strong communitarian one. Second, this link between the ontological and the normative has substantive implications for how to interpret the normative content of a theory; it entails interpreting normative values in light of the appropriate kind of normative thought. I illustrate the importance of this implication by showing that it suggests a decidedly relational reading of the core value of well-being in Gyekye’s moderate communitarianism, that resolves the alleged tension between communal and individual values in his account.

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