scholarly journals The User and the Association: Neglecting Household Irrigation as Neglecting Household Well-Being in the Creation of Water Users’ Associations in the Republic of Tajikistan

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Water Governance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Governance Reform ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Development Institutions ◽  
Neoliberal Development ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Soviet Central Asia ◽  
Diverse Groups ◽  
Water Users Associations

Development initiatives often cite Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) as fundamental to water governance reform or the broad process of decentralizing responsibilities for management, supply and delivery. But the label of “WUA” indicates little about those who take on these duties as association members, suggesting all who use water in pursuit of life or livelihood are eligible to participate and benefit through collective action. Grounded in the belief that participatory projects can equitably empower and distribute resources, the enthusiastic introduction of WUAs continues despite critique that anticipated outcomes are overstated. Since borders opened to neoliberal development institutions in the 1990s, WUAs have been created throughout post-Soviet Central Asia. Yet, there has been limited reflection on how associations’ design and operation interact with physical or social structures to effect resource access across diverse groups. Drawing on fieldwork in Tajikistan, I demonstrate how WUAs reproduce exclusionary outcomes by requiring members to possess farmland in turn threatening rural food security. Held by a minority, farmland dedicated to commercial production stands in contrast to ubiquitous kitchen gardens, where crops sown for self-consumption form a buffer against hunger in the wake of labor migration and income inconsistency. Households’ inability to become members undermines their claim to water and voice in decision-making, ultimately constraining access to irrigation and a robust harvest.

scholarly journals Water Users Associations in Tanzania: Local Governance for Whom?

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Richards
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Water Users Associations

In order to implement Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) according to good practice, governments and development agencies have promoted the setting-up of Water Users Associations (WUAs) as a broadly applicable model for water management at the local level. WUAs are promoted as key to the rolling out of IWRM principles through a participative process. Using intensive qualitative data, this paper discusses Tanzanian WUAs in light of the Regulatory Framework within which they operate. I argue that although the government’s objectives are to achieve an equitable and sustainable allocation of water resources, the formalisation of water allocation has led to the exclusion of specific water users. This paper focuses on the Great Ruaha River Catchment (GRRC), where water scarcity has led to competition between investors and small-scale water users. The GRRC is an environment in which formal and informal practices overlap, due to legal pluralism and the incremental implementation of water governance frameworks. This study calls for a reassessment of the role of WUAs in Tanzania. There is a clear gap between the theoretical clarity of tasks handed to WUAs (particularly their role in formalising access to water), and the messiness of everyday practice.

Institutions and transition: does a better institutional environment make water users associations more effective in Central Asia?

Water Policy ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Gunchinmaa ◽  
M. Yakubov
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Irrigation Performance ◽  
Kyrgyz Republic ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Internal Operations ◽  
Soviet Central Asia ◽  
Water Users Associations

Integrated water resource management (IWRM) is a widely recognized management framework that is currently being adopted throughout post-Soviet Central Asia to inform and guide national water sector reforms, and to keep up with the pace of the faster moving land reforms taking place in the region. With hydrographic principles and public participation being at the core of this framework, the process in the region has started with the reform of on-farm irrigation systems by creating water users associations (WUAs), transferring irrigation management to them and introducing irrigation service fees. This paper draws on the experiences, over four years, of three study WUAs set up in the Ferghana Valley in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. Aiming to explore the differences in institutional environment and arrangements in these three countries for establishing WUAs, as well as assessing WUA performances (particularly from users' perspectives), the study reveals that it is not only the newly-established institutional arrangements in the irrigation sector but also their internal operations, coupled with other important factors such as size of area farmed, overall viability of agriculture and a wider economic context that crucially determine overall irrigation performance.

scholarly journals Perceived hazardous physical work environments and job-related affective well-being of navy officers aboard the Republic of Korea Navy ships and submarines in South Korea

2021 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001702
Author(s):  
Doseon Jo ◽  
C K Koh
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Personal Space ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Environments ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Republic Of Korea ◽  
Physical Work ◽  
Thermal Discomfort ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Naval Officers

IntroductionNavy ships and submarines are important military measures that protect the Republic of Korea. They also comprise naval officers’ workplace. However, few studies have examined naval officers’ working environment and their job-related well-being. This study aimed to explore exposure to hazardous work environments among navy officers aboard ships and submarines and their association with job-related affective well-being.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The sample comprised 146 officers from 4 navy ships and 98 officers from 5 submarines. Items of exposure to the eight types of hazardous work environments and the Job-related Affective Well-being Scale (JAWS) were included in the self-report survey questionnaires.ResultsThe most common hazards reported by officers aboard navy ships were vibration (63.7%) and air pollution (56.2%). For submarine officers, these hazards were lack of personal space (72.4%) and air pollution (67.3%). The average JAWS score for ship officers and submarine officers was 69.81 (SD=10.89) and 70.50 (SD=10.83), respectively. For ship officers, exposure to air pollution, noise, vibration, thermal discomfort during summer or winter and lack of personal space were significantly correlated with lower JAWS scores. For submarine officers, exposure to fire, burning or electrical shock, air pollution, noise, thermal discomfort during summer or winter and lack of personal space were significantly correlated with lower JAWS scores.ConclusionsThis study revealed that some naval officers aboard ships or submarines are exposed to hazardous work environments. Moreover, certain types of hazardous work environments were associated with naval officers’ job-related affective well-being.

Recreational Drumming: A Creative Arts Intervention Strategy for Social Work Teaching and Practice

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Maschi ◽  
Carolyn Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Intervention Strategy ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Creative Arts ◽  
Stress Energy ◽  
Msw Students ◽  
Interpersonal Connectedness ◽  
Diverse Groups ◽  
The Impact

Recreational music-making has been shown to decrease stress and increase feelings of well-being and empowerment among diverse groups. This study examined the impact of recreational drumming among social work students on measures of well-being, empowerment, and connectedness. It used a pretest-posttest design to evaluate outcomes among a sample of 31 participants in the 2-hour I–We Rhythm Program for recreational drumming. Results of paired t-test analyses revealed significant differences in levels of stress, energy, and feelings of empowerment and community. Using this creative-arts intervention can be an effective self-care strategy for BSW and MSW students, practitioners, and/or clients in educational or agency-based settings to increase feelings of well-being and interpersonal connectedness, which, in turn, may help to increase effectiveness in practice.

scholarly journals ICT to Promote Well-Being within Families

Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 2760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jure Trilar ◽  
Andrej Kos ◽  
Simona Jazbinšek ◽  
Lea Jensterle ◽  
Emilija Stojmenova Duh
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Family Time ◽  
Development Fund ◽  
European Regional Development Fund ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Family Centered ◽  
Future Program

Within the Active Living and Well-Being Project (RRP3), funded by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Regional Development Fund Investing in Your Future program, we aim to develop different approaches and prototype solutions to provide ICT solutions for the family in order to connect its members; communicate; promote quality family time, active life, a health-friendly lifestyle and well-being; and integrate various sensor and user-based data sources into a smart city ecosystem platform. A mixed methodology, combined qualitative and quantitative approaches, was selected to conduct the study. An online survey with a structured questionnaire as well as semi-structured interviews were performed. Through the analysis of the results, we tried to establish a family-centered design approach that would be inclusive as much as possible, creating benefits for all generations in order to develop an interactive prototype solution that would allow us to further test and verify different use-case scenarios.

scholarly journals How Does Search for Meaning Lead to Presence of Meaning for Korean Army Soldiers? The Mediating Roles of Leisure Crafting and Gratitude

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung In Lim ◽  
Jason Yu ◽  
Young Woo Sohn
Keyword(s):  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Search For Meaning ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Presence Of Meaning ◽  
Army Soldiers ◽  
The Republic

Many studies demonstrate that finding meaning in life reduces stress and promotes physical and psychological well-being. However, extant literature focuses on meaning in life among the general population (e.g., college students or office workers) in their daily lives. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the mechanisms of how individuals living in life-threatening and stressful situations obtain meaning in life, by investigating the mediating roles of leisure crafting and gratitude. A total of 465 Army soldiers from the Republic of Korea (ROK) participated in two-wave surveys with a 2-week interval. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that the direct effects between the search for meaning, presence of meaning, leisure crafting, and gratitude were significant, except for the direct relationship between the search for meaning and the presence of meaning, and between leisure crafting and the presence of meaning. We tested indirect effects using a Monte Carlo approach and found that leisure crafting and gratitude sequentially mediated the relationship between the search for meaning and the presence of meaning. Our findings highlight the importance of the motivation behind searching for meaning, the proactive use of leisure time, and gratitude for individuals in stressful situations and controlled lifestyles. Finally, we discuss the implications and limitations of this research and future research directions.

scholarly journals Mediation as a Component of Communicative Competence in Training International Relations Professionals: Collaboration Between Russia and Kazakhstan

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-71
Author(s):  
Irina E. Abramova ◽  
Anastasia A. Ananyina ◽  
Anna M. Esengalieva
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
International Relations ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Well Being ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Impact

The world lives in the era of conflict, when the safety and well-being of states or individuals to a large extent depend on the availability of well-trained professionals who are able to perform mediating functions, keeping in mind ethnic, national, political, cultural and other differences between conflicting sides. However, employers increasingly claim that todays graduates lack the skills required for conflict management and mediation even in homogeneous working environments, let alone multinational teams and international interaction. This problem is particularly relevant for the field of international relations where conflict resolution by peaceful means is very important. Countries with transition economies, such as Russia and Kazakhstan, where there is a gap between labor market requirements and university teaching practices, have been searching for new ways to educate and train young specialists. This article presents the preliminary results of a collaborative project between Petrozavodsk State University of the Russian Federation and Gumilyov Eurasian National University of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The project includes a set of dialogue- and polylogue-based learning activities with special focus on addressing any discrepancies, misunderstandings and divergence of views. The aim of the paper is to assess the impact of professionally oriented cross-border communication in the English language on the readiness of international relations students from Russia and Kazakhstan for resolving future professional disputes through mediation. The authors used formal structured questionnaires with closed-ended questions for obtaining necessary data and the comparative analysis method for interpreting them. The results suggest that systematic English-language cross-border communication in a realistic work-like environment will demonstrate the importance of mediation as a component of professional communicative competence to the students and will better prepare future foreign affairs staff for conflict resolution and mediation.

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