scholarly journals Analyzing the Relevance of VRA Resettlement Trust Fund as a Benefit Sharing Mechanism

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Richard Twum Barimah Koranteng ◽  
Guoqing Shi

The Volta River Authority Resettlement Trust Fund’ (VRA RTF) was established by the Ghanaian Government, with some threshold of assistance the VRA outfit. More than thirty years after the dam’s construction project got its finality, a scheme was subsequently introduce to ensure that earnings emanating from the dam’s activities would be of immense relevance to the deranged folks by providing socio-economic amenities like water and sanitation, infrastructural developmental projects among others. However, financing deficiencies appear to be an indispensable and integral setback as far as the pursuance of the Trust’s mission is concerned. The study set out to analyze the relevance of VRA RTF as a benefit sharing mechanism in Ghana, specifically, using the employees of VRA RTF in conjunction the resettlers belonging to Senchi Ferry Township (VRATFCs). Among other objectives, the study determined the distinctive relevance of RTFs to affected individuals, identified the key monetary and non-monetary benefit sharing mechanisms (BSMs) adopted by project developers for displaced individuals, in addition to the critical challenges confronting the smooth functioning of RTFs in Ghana. Both qualitative and quantitative methods of research was adopted for the study. Convenience sampling using questionnaire instrumentation was used to collect data from the staff of VRA RTF and chosen Senchi Ferry Township resettlers. A 5-Point Likert scale which was later fine-tuned into the Relative Importance Index (RII), SPSS Version 22.0 and Microsoft Excel were used for the data analysis. The results indicated the 6 distinctive relevance of RTFs at VRATFCs as water and sanitation, educational enhancement, health improvement, improvement of agricultural projects, community development via socio-cultural activities. To add to this, the 5 key monetary and non-monetary benefit sharing mechanisms as revealed by the participants’ were as follows: revenue sharing, development funds, property taxes, equity sharing as well as livelihood and restoration enhancement. More so, with reference to the critical challenges confronting the smooth functioning of RTFs at VRATFCs, 6 bottlenecks realized were as follows: improper costing of relocation packages (ineffective budgeting), inadequate compensation of displaced individuals, inactive involvement of the displaced individuals in the decision making process, insufficient grant allocation to the fund, clarity of rules and policies relating to fund disbursement, vis-à-vis questionable timing of the resettlement processes. It is recommended that the management of VRA RTF, well-informed resettlers and policy-makers at VRATFCs in Ghana and beyond strictly adheres to the establishment of project specific development funds, accountability and transparency regimes, active involvement of resettlers in the decision making process, increment of grant to the RTF, adequate compensation of displaced individuals, effective costing of relocation packages. This strategic initiatives will inadvertently go a long way to manage the issues identified during the study.

2021 ◽  
pp. 095624782110240
Author(s):  
Zlata Vuksanović-Macura ◽  
Igor Miščević

Citizen participation in the planning and decision-making process in the European post-socialist context is much debated. Still, the involvement of excluded communities in the urban planning process remains understudied. This paper presents and discusses the application of an innovative participatory approach designed to ensure active involvement of an excluded ethnic minority, the Roma community, in the process of formulating and adopting land-use plans for informal settlements in Serbia. By analysing the development of land-use plans in 11 municipalities, we observe that the applied participatory approach enhanced the inhabitants’ active participation and helped build consensus on the planned solution between the key actors. Findings also suggested that further work with citizens, capacity building of planners and administration, and secured financial mechanisms are needed to move citizen participation in urban planning beyond the limited statutory requirements.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 16226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sondoss Elsawah ◽  
Tatiana Filatova ◽  
Anthony J. Jakeman ◽  
Albert J. Kettner ◽  
Moira L. Zellner ◽  
...  

Modeling is essential to characterize and explore complex societal and environmental issues in systematic and collaborative ways. Socio-environmental systems (SES) modeling integrates knowledge and perspectives into conceptual and computational tools that explicitly recognize how human decisions affect the environment. Depending on the modeling purpose, many SES modelers also realize that involvement of stakeholders and experts is fundamental to support social learning and decision-making processes for achieving improved environmental and social outcomes. The contribution of this paper lies in identifying and formulating grand challenges that need to be overcome to accelerate the development and adaptation of SES modeling. Eight challenges are delineated: bridging epistemologies across disciplines; multi-dimensional uncertainty assessment and management; scales and scaling issues; combining qualitative and quantitative methods and data; furthering the adoption and impacts of SES modeling on policy; capturing structural changes; representing human dimensions in SES; and leveraging new data types and sources. These challenges limit our ability to effectively use SES modeling to provide the knowledge and information essential for supporting decision making. Whereas some of these challenges are not unique to SES modeling and may be pervasive in other scientific fields, they still act as barriers as well as research opportunities for the SES modeling community. For each challenge, we outline basic steps that can be taken to surmount the underpinning barriers. Thus, the paper identifies priority research areas in SES modeling, chiefly related to progressing modeling products, processes and practices.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 75-80
Author(s):  
Martin Misut ◽  
Pavol Jurik

The digital transformation of business in the light of opportunities and focusing on the challenges posed by the introduction of Big Data in enterprises allows for a more accurate reflection of the internal and external environmental stimuli. Intuition ceases to be present in the decision-making process, and decision-making becomes strictly data-based. Thus, the precondition for data-based decision-making is relevant data in digital form, resulting from data processing. Datafication is the process by which subjects, objects and procedures are transformed into digital data. Only after data collection can other natural steps occur to acquire knowledge to improve the company's results if we move in the industry's functioning context. The task of finding a set of attributes (selecting attributes from a set of available attributes) so that a suitable alternative can be determined in its decision-making is analogous to the task of classification. Decision trees are suitable for solving such a task. We verified the proposed method in the case of logistics tasks. The analysis subject was tasks from logistics and 80 well-described quantitative methods used in logistics to solve them. The result of the analysis is a matrix (table), in which the rows contain the values of individual attributes defining a specific logistic task. The columns contain the values of the given attribute for different tasks. We used Incremental Wrapper Subset Selection IWSS package Weka 3.8.4 to select attributes. The resulting classification model is suitable for use in DSS. The analysis of logistics tasks and the subsequent design of a classification model made it possible to reveal the contours of the relationship between the characteristics of a logistics problem explicitly expressed through a set of attributes and the classes of methods used to solve them.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-127
Author(s):  
Muh. Said ◽  
Fatmawati Fatmawati ◽  
Lukman Hakim

Changes in the environment experienced by organizations require organizations to make adjustments to answer all future challenges. The strength that must be possessed by the organization is to realize the concrete concept that becomes a tool to make changes. One of them is knowledge management, because knowledge management is an organizational activity that manages knowledge as an asset, wherein various strategies there is the right distribution of knowledge to the right people in a fast time until they interact with each other from various knowledge and apply it in daily work for performance improvement. Knowledge Management integration in the decision-making process can be interpreted as a structured and systematic process in acquiring, distributing, and utilizing knowledge to support the decision-making process. The position of knowledge management in decision making is between two poles of knowledge, namely tacit knowledge on the one hand and the utilization of explicit knowledge in decision making on the other. Explicit knowledge emphasizes the implicit role of knowledge management in influencing actors involved in decision making. Research design using quantitative methods. The instruments used in this study were questionnaires. The results showed that the implementation of Knowledge management has a positive effect on decision making in the Regional Development Agency of Takalar regency.


Author(s):  
Adolf Bastian Heatubun ◽  
Marcus Veerman ◽  
Michel Johan Matatula

Appropriate and accurate decision making is needed in every business activity. Farmers, collectors, and butchers at Slaughterhouses are the main actors in cattle production and marketing to final consumers. Modeling of cattle production activities to marketing helps the analysis and application of the right decision making. This research was conducted in Lolong Guba District, Buru Regency, Maluku Province, Indonesia, and will take place in 2021. The research aims to establish a model of cattle production and marketing activities. The research used a combination method, namely qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative methods were used to collect primary data information from cattle breeders, collector traders, and butchers at Slaughterhouses. Quantitative methods are used to record and make quantitative data from the informants. The resulting data will be used for model testing and simulation analysis in the future. The model formulated includes the variables of the amount of cattle produced by the breeder, the amount of production sold, the profit received by the farmer, the cost of production of the farmer, the value of cattle sales at the farmer level, the added value of cattle that are not sold, the price of kilograms of carcass at the farmer level, the value of the sale of cattle at the butcher's level, the profit received by the butcher, and the price per kilogram of carcass at the butcher's level. The model formed consists of 8 structural equations and 2 identity equations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 45-51
Author(s):  
Chidinma J Nwobi ◽  
◽  
Eugene E Kalu

Across the developing world, rural women suffer widespread gender-based discrimination in laws, customs and practices which cause severe inequalities in their ability to access, control, own and use land and limit their participation in decision-making at all levels of land governance. Most literature on land tenure in sub-Saharan Africa has presented women as a homogenous group. This study uses cases from Ohafia to show that women have differentiated problems, needs, and statuses in their quest for land access and tenure security. Ohafia in Abia State, Nigeria was the study area. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods including household surveys, semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews and observations. The experience of women revolved around fear of been cheated (19.7%), need a supporting hand (46.8%) and need approval from their husband (33.6%). The consequences of perceived exclusion and/or marginalization of women as revealed by women owner-occupiers are women subordination (70.2%) and marginalization of widow (29.8%). The study recommends the promotion of gender integration at all levels of projects and programmes by integrating gender perspectives in all future activities as it is required, for example, the FAO Gender Plan of Action and the UNCHS. To ensure gender inclusiveness in project and programme planning and in policy and decision-making, aiming towards a balanced representation of men and women in these bodies. Keywords: Land, Land Rights, Land Tenure, Women, Legal Security of Tenure


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudeepta Pradhan

Purpose The purpose of this study is to capture the decision-making process of one of the major stakeholders, i.e. consumers, while purchasing from socially responsible firms. Design/methodology/approach This study uses an exploratory approach to have an understanding of consumers’ evaluation of their perceptions of a company’s CSR during the purchasing process. A total of 60 respondents were interviewed, and their responses were transcribed. These messages were then analysed using content analysis. Findings The evaluation of CSR initiatives is an intricate, logical and structured process where consumers consider factors that are valued by them. The findings support the concept of legitimacy theory, as most respondents believed it was the duty of a firm to give back to the society. Research limitations/implications This study suffers from an inherent limitation faced by qualitative studies, namely, the results cannot be generalized. Hence, quantitative methods can be designed in future research in the field. A cross-cultural study would also provide deeper insights and interesting avenues in future investigation to identify different factors. Practical implications Managers have the option of ignoring consumers’ approach towards CSR, and/or focus on CSR positioning and use it in their marketing communications. The Companies Bill, 2013, mandated Indian firms to spend and report their CSR expenditures. Hence, they should use it strategically and advertise their CSR initiatives effectively to influence a large number of consumers. It is also essential for managers to make CSR information easily available and clarify the connection of the company to CSR initiatives. They should also identify the proper channels that would get desired results. Social implications The study investigates the intricate process that explicates the reasons why CSR affects the consumer decision-making process. The research provides a better understanding into intention-behavior gap, investigates the reasons for such discrepancy and identifies a large number of factors. Originality/value The study intends to contribute to the field of marketing by capturing stakeholder (consumer) engagement (by exploring consumers’ beliefs of CSR, their perceptions and the role of such perceptions) in decision-making. It also intends to add to the existing studies in legitimacy theory.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
HsienYu Shun ◽  
KuoYan Wang

Managerial competency model is a main structure that lists competencies needed for manager’s position. This paper established a employee promotion application combined with managerial competency model and AHP-VIKOR methodology. Research was carried using qualitative and quantitative methods. The managerial competency model is explained through a literature review and internal interview is to confirm the specific competency items that suitable for case company. Research from expert panels is used to evaluate the managerial competency of the candidates in the case study. The quantitative tool was AHP and VIKOR model. AHP was applied to calculate the criteria weights of managerial competency items. VIKOR multi-criteria decision making model ranked the alternatives and the most suitable promotion candidate was selected. The results from the VIKOR model were used as the decision-making basis for the promotion of the best candidate. This research expected to use the quantitative method to support the executive management level to develop internal talent base on a objective evaluate results.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Rohim Yunus ◽  
Muhammad Sholeh ◽  
Ida Susilowati

Abstract:Community involvement in a democratic party is important and must exist, because it is a manifestation of true democracy. Citizens are directly involved in the decision-making process, implementing decisions, influencing decision-making processes, influencing government policies, including relating to active involvement and passive involvement of each individual in the hierarchy of government political systems. All this involvement is known as a form of political participation. This study wants to rebuild political participation as a basic theory in the country's political thinking. So that the relationship can be drawn between the role of community political participation and the success of democracy itself.Keywords: Participation, Politics, Democracy Abstrak:Keterlibatan masyarakat dalam pesta demokrasi merupakan hal penting dan harus ada, karena ia merupakan perwujudan demokrasi yang sebenarnya. Warga negara terlibat langsung dalam proses pembuatan keputusan, melaksanakan keputusan, mempengaruhi proses pengambilan keputusan, mempengaruhi kebijakan pemerintah, termasuk berkaitan dengan keterlibatan aktif maupun keterlibatan pasif setiap individu dalam hierarki sistem politik pemerintahan. Semua keterlibatan ini dikenal sebagai bentuk partisipasi politik. Penelitian ini ingin membangun kembali partisipasi politik sebagai teori dasar dalam pemikiran politik negara. Sehingga dengannya dapat ditarik benang merah antara peran partisipasi politik masyarakat dengan kesuksesan demokrasi itu sendiri.Kata Kunci: Partisipasi, Politik, Demokrasi  


Heart ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. heartjnl-2021-320194
Author(s):  
Judith J A M van Beek-Peeters ◽  
Jop B L van der Meer ◽  
Miriam C Faes ◽  
Annemarie J B M de Vos ◽  
Martijn W A van Geldorp ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo provide insight into professionals’ perceptions of and experiences with shared decision-making (SDM) in the treatment of symptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS).MethodsA semistructured interview study was performed in the heart centres of academic and large teaching hospitals in the Netherlands between June and December 2020. Cardiothoracic surgeons, interventional cardiologists, nurse practitioners and physician assistants (n=21) involved in the decision-making process for treatment of severe AS were interviewed. An inductive thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse and report patterns in the data.ResultsFour primary themes were generated: (1) the concept of SDM, (2) knowledge, (3) communication and interaction, and (4) implementation of SDM. Not all respondents considered patient participation as an element of SDM. They experienced a discrepancy between patients’ wishes and treatment options. Respondents explained that not knowing patient preferences for health improvement hinders SDM and complicating patient characteristics for patient participation were perceived. A shared responsibility for improving SDM was suggested for patients and all professionals involved in the decision-making process for severe AS.ConclusionsProfessionals struggle to make highly complex treatment decisions part of SDM and to embed patients’ expectations of treatment and patients’ preferences. Additionally, organisational constraints complicate the SDM process. To ensure sustainable high-quality care, professionals should increase their awareness of patient participation in SDM, and collaboration in the pathway for decision-making in severe AS is required to support the documentation and availability of information according to the principles of SDM.


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