scholarly journals The Art of Letting Go: Transforming Participatory Research on Adaptation Practices Among Local Livestock-Keepers in East Africa in Times of Covid-19

2022 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Habermann ◽  
Todd A. Crane ◽  
Leah Gichuki ◽  
Tigist Worku ◽  
Roland Mugumya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Participatory Research ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Letting Go ◽  
Adaptation Practices ◽  
Core Characteristics

Participatory action research (PAR) puts high emphasis on the interaction of the research participants. However, with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, the central role of researchers in participatory research processes had to be questioned and revisited. New modes of PAR developed dynamically under the new circumstances created by the pandemic. To better understand how Covid-19 changed the way PAR is applied, we analyzed PAR in agricultural research for development carried out in the Programme for Climate-Smart Livestock Systems (PCSL) implemented by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) at five research sites in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda. To understand how PAR changed in a component on adaptation research in the PCSL we facilitated a reflexive study with livestock keepers and researchers to document their experiences of PAR during the Covid-19 pandemic. The analytical framework focuses on highlighting the core characteristics and the underlying ethos of PAR in this case study. The lessons learnt in the process of adapting to the realities of doing participatory research in the middle of a pandemic provide important arguments for further amalgamating the PAR philosophy into similar research designs. The onset of the pandemic has led to a further decentering of the researcher and a shift of the focus to the citizen, in this case the local livestock keeper, that made it more participatory in the stricter interpretation of the term. Letting go of controlling both narrative and implementation of the research will be challenging for researchers in many research fields. However, this shift of power and this transformation of research methodologies is inevitable if the research should remain relevant and impactful. Ultimately, the transition into a Covid-19 future and the awareness that similar pandemics could dramatically interrupt our lives any time, will have an impact on how projects are designed and funded. More long-term funding and less pressure on providing immediate results can build community trust and ownership for research at a local level.

scholarly journals Hacia la Inclusión Social desde la IAP. Una experiencia en Andalucía

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia Corona Aguilar ◽  
Virginia Gutiérrez Barbarrusa
Keyword(s):  
Participatory Research ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
San Juan ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
The Social ◽  
Specific Project

La Investigación Participativa se nos presenta como una metodología adecuada para promover cambios a nivel local que pueden incidir en una forma de organización social más amplia e innovadora. Más allá de las bases teóricas, la Investigación Acción Participativa representa una metodología eminentemente práctica, pues la aplicación de diferentes técnicas y herramientas en lo cotidiano no solo es útil, sino, además, necesaria para la incidencia de la ciudadanía en la construcción de su espacio y de sus condiciones de vida. En este artículo presentamos el cambio de enfoque que la Investigación Participativa supone frente a otras metodologías de investigación social, destacando la forma de abordar el conocimiento de la realidad social (investigación), su carácter transformador (acción) y la relación sujeto-sujeto (participación) que plantea, entendiendo que no hay un modelo metodológico único, sino un conjunto de técnicas al servicio de la ciudadanía para lograr una mayor incidencia en las decisiones públicas, pero que comparten algunos principios básicos en los que la Investigación Participativa se asienta. Por otro lado, nos ceñimos a un proyecto concreto que se desarrolla en el municipio de San Juan de Aznalfarache, situado a la entrada de Sevilla desde la carretera de Huelva. Por su situación geográfica, esta localidad ha sido un polo de atracción para muchas personas que provienen de países muy diferentes, entre los que se cuentan más de 79 nacionalidades, destacando el carácter diverso e intercultural del municipio. En este sentido se hace fundamental aplicar políticas de integración que sean construidas de forma participada y lograr el mayor grado de consenso posible para definir las condiciones del lugar en el que queremos vivir. Partiendo de las bases epistemológicas y metodológicas de esta propuesta se presenta esta experiencia de participación ciudadana a través del proceso participativo que se está desarrollando en San Juan de Aznalfarache para la elaboración del Plan de Inclusión Social del municipio, a través del GLISA (Grupo Local de Inclusión Social de San Juan de Aznalfarache). Destacamos en este sentido el carácter eminentemente práctico de esta metodología. Participatory research is an adequate methodology to promote changes at a local level that can affect a more extensive and innovative form of social organization. Beyond the theoretical bases, Participatory Action Research represents an eminently practical methodology, since the application of different techniques and tools in the daily life is not only useful, but also is necessary for the incidence of citizenship in the construction of their space and of their living conditions. In this article, we present the change of approach that Participatory Research assumes compared to other social research methodologies, highlighting the way of approaching knowledge of social reality (research), its transforming character (action) and the subject-subject relationship (participation ) that it raises, understanding that there is not a single methodological model, but a set of techniques at the service of citizens to achieve a greater incidence in public decisions, but that share some basic principles on which Participatory Research is based. On the other hand, we stick to a specific project that takes place in the municipality of San Juan de Aznalfarache, located at the entrance to Seville from the Huelva road. Due to its geographical location, this town has been a magnet for many people from very different countries, among which there are more than 79 nationalities, highlighting the diverse and intercultural nature of the municipality. In this sense, it is essential to apply integration policies that are built in a participatory manner and achieve the highest degree of consensus possible to define the conditions of the place where we want.Starting from the epistemological and methodological bases of this proposal, an experience of citizen participation is presented through a concrete practice that is being developed in San Juan de Aznalfarache (Seville) for the elaboration of the Social Inclusion Plan of the municipality.We emphasize in this sense the eminently practical nature of this methodology.

scholarly journals The Digitalization Sustainability Matrix: A Participatory Research Tool for Investigating Digitainability

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 9283
Author(s):  
Shivam Gupta ◽  
Mahsa Motlagh ◽  
Jakob Rhyner
Keyword(s):  
Participatory Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Data Capturing ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Diverse Community ◽  
Resource Intensity

Rapidly increasing applications of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence (D&AI) are already impacting our day-to-day life substantially, along with social and economic prospects worldwide. The accelerating utilization of D&AI has stirred the discussion concerning the responsible application of technologies for assisting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). D&AI can raise productivity, lower costs, reduce resource intensity, and enable efficient public services. However, there are also risks and downsides that we all must identify and tackle to address any potential short-/long-term undesired impact. Notably, there exists a gap in knowledge about the mutual relationships between D&AI and the 17 SDGs. To address this gap and gather broader perspectives of experts on the potential uses and pitfalls of D&AI for SDGs and their respective indicators, we propose a participatory research approach: the Digitalization–Sustainability Matrix (DSM). The DSM serves as a means for collaborative methods, such as participatory action research (PAR), for the knowledge production process. We exercised the DSM in the Digitainable Thinkathon event, a gathering of experts from diverse sectors and backgrounds for capturing the action-oriented dialogues concerning the use of D&AI technologies for the indicators of SDGs 4 (Education) and 13 (Climate Action). As a tool, the DSM aided in the discussion by systematically capturing transdisciplinary knowledge generated on several aspects, such as: (1) the need for research–practice nexus action; (2) data-capturing efforts and social considerations; (3) collaborative planning for utilizing the power of D&AI; (4) lessons from the diverse community to encourage the purposeful use of technologies. Overall, the proposed approach effectively triggered a discussion on the crucial aspects that need to be considered for D&AI’s practices, a step towards deep-rooting the transdisciplinary perspectives for meaningful use of D&AI for SDGs.

Aspects of the Evolution of the Romanian Tourists’ Preferences Concerning the Domestic Tourist Destinations

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-28
Author(s):  
Aniela Bălăcescu ◽  
Radu Șerban Zaharia
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Model ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Tourist Destinations ◽  
Tourism Management ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
On Line ◽  
The One ◽  
Long Term Studies

Abstract Tourist services represent a category of services in which the inseparability of production and consumption, the inability to be storable, the immateriality, and last but not least non-durability, induces in tourism management a number of peculiarities and difficulties. Under these circumstances the development of medium-term strategies involves long-term studies regarding on the one hand the developments and characteristics of the demand, and on the other hand the tourist potential analysis at regional and local level. Although in the past 20 years there has been tremendous growth of on-line booking made by household users, the tour operators agencies as well as those with sales activity continue to offer the specific services for a large number of tourists, that number, in the case of domestic tourism, increased by 1.6 times in case of the tour operators and by 4.44 times in case of the agencies with sales activity. At the same time, there have been changes in the preferences of tourists regarding their holiday destinations in Romania. Started on these considerations, paper based on a logistic model, examines the evolution of the probabilities and scores corresponding to the way the Romanian tourists spend their holidays on the types of tourism agencies, actions and tourist areas in Romania.

scholarly journals Adopt, adapt, or abandon technology-supported person-centred care initiatives: healthcare providers’ beliefs matter

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kari Dyb ◽  
Gro Rosvold Berntsen ◽  
Lisbeth Kvam
Keyword(s):  
Information Technologies ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Technology Support ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Term Care

Abstract Background Technology support and person-centred care are the new mantra for healthcare programmes in Western societies. While few argue with the overarching philosophy of person-centred care or the potential of information technologies, there is less agreement on how to make them a reality in everyday clinical practice. In this paper, we investigate how individual healthcare providers at four innovation arenas in Scandinavia experienced the implementation of technology-supported person-centred care for people with long-term care needs by using the new analytical framework nonadoption, abandonment, and challenges to the scale-up, spread, and sustainability (NASSS) of health and care technologies. We also discuss the usability and sensitivity of the NASSS framework for those seeking to plan, implement, and evaluate technology-supported healthcare programmes. This study is part of an interdisciplinary research and development project called Patients and Professionals in Partnership (2016–2020). It originates at one of ten work packages in this project. Method The main data consist of ethnographic field observations at the four innovation arenas and 29 interviews with involved healthcare providers. To ensure continuous updates and status on work in the four innovation arenas, we have also participated in a total of six annual network meetings arranged by the project. Results While the NASSS framework is very useful for identifying and communicating challenges with the adoption and spread of technology-supported person-centred care initiatives, we found it less sensitive towards capturing the dedication, enthusiasm, and passion for care transformation that we found among the healthcare providers in our study. When it comes to technology-supported person-centred care, the point of no return has passed for the involved healthcare providers. To them, it is already a definite part of the future of healthcare services. How to overcome barriers and obstacles is pragmatically approached. Conclusion Increased knowledge about healthcare providers and their visions as potential assets for care transformation might be critical for those seeking to plan, implement, and evaluate technology-supported healthcare programmes.

scholarly journals Slavery and Its Transformations: Prolegomena for a Global and Comparative Research Agenda

2021 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 566-598
Author(s):  
Matthias van Rossum
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Research ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
The Body ◽  
Indonesian Archipelago ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
Contemporary Development

AbstractThis article argues that we need to move beyond the “Atlantic” and “formal” bias in our understanding of the history of slavery. It explores ways forward toward developing a better understanding of the long-term global transformations of slavery. Firstly, it claims we should revisit the historical and contemporary development of slavery by adopting a wider scope that accounts for the adaptable and persistent character of different forms of slavery. Secondly, it stresses the importance of substantially expanding the body of empirical observations on trajectories of slavery regimes, especially outside the Atlantic, and most notable in the Indian Ocean and Indonesian Archipelago worlds, where different slavery regimes existed and developed in interaction. Thirdly, it proposes an integrated analytical framework that will overcome the current fragmentation of research perspectives and allow for a more comparative analysis of the trajectories of slavery regimes in their highly diverse formal and especially informal manifestations. Fourth, the article shows how an integrated framework will enable a collaborative research agenda that focuses not only on comparisons, but also on connections and interactions. It calls for a closer integration of the histories of informal slavery regimes into the wider body of existing scholarship on slavery and its transformations in the Atlantic and other more intensely studied formal slavery regimes. In this way, we can renew and extend our understandings of slavery's long-term, global transformations.

Social trust, norms and morality

Human Affairs ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroslav Popper
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Dynamic Change ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Increased Sensitivity ◽  
The Individual

AbstractThe article approaches the topic of social trust from an evolutionary perspective. It begins by summarising the most influential approaches that have defined specific and social trust and ascertains what causes differences in degrees of trust and how the potential risk of deception might be lowered. It then notes that the basis of morality had already been formed during the era of prehistoric man, who was able to create coalitions against aggressors and to socially control the behaviour of deviants. It points out, however, that having a certain predisposition to behaving cooperatively or an increased sensitivity to recognising and not tolerating behaviour aimed at abusing cooperation is not a sufficient guarantee of the fact that people will always (or at least in the majority of situations) favour cooperation over deception. One of the reasons for this is a tendency to favour short-term gains over long-term ones. The article argues that establishing norms (moral, social and legal) produces a higher level of social trust because it not only “encourages” individuals to behave in certain ways in particular situations but also works as a sanction which “discourages” the individual from socially deviant behaviour. The article then focuses on a debate about the causal relationship between social trust and social capital. It discusses the suggestion that political institutions, government and the judiciary may reduce rather than raise levels of social capital and consequently also the level of social trust. This is partly because of their powerful position and the consequent scope for corruption and partly because of the fact that even when attempting to act honestly, representatives of these institutions cannot sufficiently reflect upon dynamic change at the local level. Finally, the article ends by adopting the position that social trust is built primarily from bottom up and so it is risky to continually doubt the very existence and usefulness of social norms and morality and to be governed simply by legal norms.

Development of more effective conservation farming systems through participatory on-farm research

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 98-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.B. Wuest ◽  
D.K. McCool ◽  
B.C. Miller ◽  
R.J. Veseth
Keyword(s):  
Participatory Research ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
Conservation Farming ◽  
Working Together ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Current Emphasis

AbstractResearch aimed at advancing conservation farming practices is typically performed using traditional scientific approaches, which have been highly successful in increasing agricultural output and efficiency. With the current emphasis on environmental and economic sustainability of agriculture, there is a need for a more integrated approach to applied agricultural research. Participatory research helps to bring scientific methods and the integrated production needs of farmers together to develop practical, effective, and carefully tested farming methods. The strength of participatory research is in the synergism of scientists and farmers working together to design, implement, and evaluate research. The development of new technologies for farming systems large or small, conventional or organic, can be greatly enhanced through more extensive use of participatory research.

scholarly journals Big Benefits from Experimental Watersheds

Eos ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terri Cook
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Conservation Practices ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Global Land ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Management And Conservation ◽  
Experimental Watersheds

Scientific insights from the Agricultural Research Service’s long-term study sites underpin dozens of models and research methods that guide global land management and conservation practices.

scholarly journals Monitoring growth of Uttis (Alnus nepalensis) at a plantation cite at Dhankuta, Nepal

1970 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-23
Author(s):  
T. P. Barakoti
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Growth Monitoring ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Growth Modelling ◽  
Annual Increment ◽  
Permanent Sample Plots ◽  
Alnus Nepalensis ◽  
Breast Height ◽  
Growing Environment

A long-term growth monitoring experiment on Uttis (Alnus nepalensis) was conducted in the permanent sample plots of the Agricultural Research Station (ARS) Pakhribas, Dhankuta for 10 years (1992-2001). The average annual increment was diameter at breast height 2.14 cm in 8th year, and was 0.13 cm at 16th year of planting. The trees grew 44 cm to 130 cm per year irrespective of the age. The highest growth rate correspondend with higher rainfall during summer (March-April). Estimated biomass of stem and branches increased by 2-2.5 times within the 10 years period. Thinning and felling every year indicated need for timely management of the plantation to provide better growing environment. The data would be useful for growth modelling and proper management of Uttis plantation in Nepal . Key words: Nepalese alder vs Uttis, height, diameter, biomass, Pakhribas. Banko Janakari Vol.15(2) 2005 pp19-23

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