scholarly journals How Van Panchayat Rule Systems and Resource Use Influence People’s Participation in Forest Commons in the Indian Himalayas

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Kazuyo Nagahama ◽  
Kaoru Saito ◽  
Hirokazu Yamamoto ◽  
Yasukazu Hama ◽  
Hem Gairola ◽  
...  

Van Panchayats (VPs) are self-initiated forest management groups institutionalized since 1931 in the Himalayan Uttarakhand state of North India. VPs are considered to be successful case of Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) despite an observed decline in VP practice around the 1990s. This study clarifies CBFM in the context of local rules, forest resource use and people’s participation. It reveals the possible factors behind better resource management of forest commons use from four VPs in Uttarakhand. A multi-dimensional research approach was followed comprising a literature review of the state forest department data, forest inventory, interviews with village leaders as snowball samplings in several villages, and semi-structured interviews with villagers/house-holders. Results showed that local rules are different depending on the villages expect for prohibited timber logging. The most useful tree species for local people was Banji oak (Quercus leucotrichophora) and every village had an oak forest which was utilized for fuelwood and fodder for daily livelihoods. VP forest size and the basal area of trees also influenced people’s participation in forest management. Much larger size of the VP forest land is declining due to the people’s de-motivation for forest management. Furthermore, a higher education of the householder increased the level of participation. Transparency of Management Committee (MC) for the VP members is an important aspect. To summarize, availability and utilization of the valuable forest resources and its management by villagers following local rules and the VP system was considered to influence people’s participation in the forest commons.

Mousaion ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samson Mutsagondo ◽  
Getrude Maduyu ◽  
Godfrey Tsvuura

This paper discusses the challenges of records management that arise from the use of adapted buildings as records centres in Zimbabwe, despite the advantages of using such buildings. A qualitative research approach was used as well as a case study research design. Data were collected from seven officers of the Gweru Records Centre through semi-structured interviews. Personal observation was used to triangulate findings from interviews. It was found that the use of adapted buildings as records centres was a cheaper and quicker way of establishing records centres throughout the country. However, a number of preservation, security and management challenges cropped up as the conditions of the buildings and the environment of the adapted buildings were not conducive to the proper and professional management of records. This study is important in that it explores the prospects and challenges of using adapted buildings as records centres in Zimbabwe, an area that has not been researched by many authors. This provokes archival authorities and the government to seriously consider establishing purpose-built records and archival centres.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
R. Varisa Patraporn

Khmer Girl’s in Action is a nonprofit that successfully utilizes community-based participatory research (CBPR) with university partners to create social change for youth in Long Beach, CA. Based on semi-structured interviews and content analysis of news articles, I explore the impact and sustainability of this research work and the research partnerships. Findings highlight impacts such as youth empowerment, heightened awareness around community needs, policy change, and CBPR curriculum improvements in the field as impacts. Sustainability requires integrating research into program funding, utilizing a tailored training curriculum, building on community members prior relationships, and selecting partners that share common goals, levels of commitment, and flexibility. As funders demand more data to justify community needs, understanding more examples of such work in the Asian American community will be useful for informing future partnerships.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089202062199967
Author(s):  
Josephine Marchant

Drawing on data from 116 survey responses by School Business Managers, and 7 semi-structured interviews with education professionals carried out between October 2017 and February 2018, this article reports on findings from a research project focussing on the opportunities and constraints for career progression into leadership roles for School Business Managers (SBMs) in the state sector in England. The article considers the differing roles and responsibilities of SBMs, how leadership is perceived in schools, the visibility of the SBM role, career aspirations of the SBMs who were surveyed, and the perceived constraints to progression to leadership roles. Analysis of the data was carried out using an inductive research approach using mixed methods. Snowballing was used to obtain a meaningful sample size for survey responses. Interviewees were chosen on the basis of judgement sampling. The sampling design for the survey and the interviews was one of non-probability. Findings suggest that leadership roles for SBMs do exist but that there are considerable constraints to these being achieved, not least the lack of appetite amongst SBMs to do so.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorien H. Braam ◽  
Sharath Srinivasan ◽  
Luke Church ◽  
Zakaria Sheikh ◽  
Freya L. Jephcott ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Authorities in Somalia responded with drastic measures after the first confirmed COVID-19 case in mid-March 2020, closing borders, schools, limiting travel and prohibiting most group functions. However, the impact of the pandemic in Somalia thereafter remained unclear. This study employs a novel remote qualitative research method in a conflict-affected setting to look at how some of the most at-risk internally displaced and host populations were impacted by COVID-19, what determined their responses, and how this affected their health and socio-economic vulnerability. Methods We conducted a remote qualitative study, using Katikati, a 1-to-1 conversation management and analysis platform using short message service (SMS) developed by Lark Systems with Africa’s Voices Foundation (AVF), for semi-structured interviews over three months with participants in Mogadishu and Baidoa. We recruited a gender balanced cohort across age groups, and used an analytical framework on the social determinants of health for a narrative analysis on major themes discussed, triangulating data with existing peer-reviewed and grey literature. Results The remote research approach demonstrated efficacy in sustaining trusted and meaningful conversations for gathering qualitative data from hard-to-reach conflict-affected communities. The major themes discussed by the 35 participants included health, livelihoods and education. Two participants contracted the disease, while others reported family or community members affected by COVID-19. Almost all participants faced a loss of income and/or education, primarily as a result of the strict public health measures. Some of those who were heavily affected economically but did not directly experienced disease, denied the pandemic. Religion played an important role in participants’ beliefs in protection against and salvation from the disease. As lockdowns were lifted in August 2020, many believed the pandemic to be over. Conclusions While the official COVID-19 burden has remained relatively low in Somalia, the impact to people’s daily lives, income and livelihoods due to public health responses, has been significant. Participants describe those ‘secondary’ outcomes as the main impact of the pandemic, serving as a stark reminder of the need to broaden the public health response beyond disease prevention to include social and economic interventions to decrease people’s vulnerability to future shocks.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irsyadillah Irsyadillah ◽  
Mohamed Salem M Bayou

Purpose This study aims to investigate the selection and use of introductory financial accounting (IFA) textbooks in the context of achieving the objectives of accounting education to provide both discipline-specific skills and liberal education. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a qualitative research design to collect data through semi-structured interviews with 33 accounting educators across Indonesia. This study uses the institutional theory approach to explain how accounting textbooks are selected and used to meet the objectives of accounting education at universities. Findings The study provides evidence of the adoption of a systematic procedure for the selection of recommended IFA textbooks. The selection was driven by the technical-regulatory objective of providing technical training. This objective also guides the use of the recommended textbooks. In a sense, accounting educators were more concerned about responding to institutional pressures of preparing accountants for work in the accounting industry rather than providing students with a liberal education that promotes critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Research limitations/implications This study focuses on the selection and use of IFA textbooks. Further research should examine the contents of various accounting textbooks and obtain feedback from the people involved in the publication of the textbooks. Originality/value The findings of this study have important implications for accounting educators. They can use these findings to improve their selection and use of accounting textbooks.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Tiernan ◽  
Jane O’Kelly

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the attitudes and impressions of pre-service Further Education teachers towards enterprise education. It also looks at the potential impact on their future teaching practices and aspirations. This study builds on the literature in this area by bringing a teacher education focus and by providing views from the underserved further education sector.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research approach was used to evaluate pre-service further education teachers' understanding of and attitudes towards, enterprise education. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 students in their final year of an initial teacher education degree.FindingsFindings emerged through constant comparative analysis of interview transcripts. These findings indicate that exposure to enterprise education greatly increased understanding of its importance and relevance, while also encouraging pre-service further education teachers to recognise the benefits of incorporating enterprise education into their classrooms of the future.Originality/valueWhile there is an array of literature on entrepreneurship and enterprise education outside of business contents, very few studies exist, which examine enterprise education in an initial teacher education context. Fewer still examine enterprise education from the perspective of further education. This study provides a unique qualitative view of pre-service further education teachers' impressions of enterprise education and their aspirations for the future.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Nonaka ◽  
H. Yanagihara

For people who hunt and eat hebo (Vespula spp., wasps) it is more about culture than it is about food production or environmental sustainability in mountainous central Japan. Individuals who currently semi-cultivate hebo do not intend to industrialize hebo semi-cultivation. Semi-cultivation of hebo is a seasonal activity and it is a hobby for them. This paper focuses on the declining number of wasp hunters. The number declined because younger generations did not take up the hobby or moved to urban areas in search of jobs. Hebo hunters thus consisted of seniors only. The number further declined as those who reached old age were no longer able to practice hebo hunting. Very recently, initiated a promising new development at Ena Agricultural High School. The support to the Hebo Club initiative was quickly expanded and now covers the members belonging to the Japan Vespula Association, and academics involved in edible insect research. We present an overview of the efforts of hebo hunters to maintain and promote the use of Vespula spp. as food and we describe the Hebo Club, a promising recent initiative spearheaded by the students of Ena Agricultural High School. The information was collected between fiscal 2015 and 2017 (namely from September 2015 to March 2018) by participant observation and semi-structured interviews with hebo hunters collaborating with the Hebo Club activities. The Hebo Club uses a hands-on approach: students gain knowledge on edible wasps and their semi-cultivation by actively engaging in the semi-cultivation of the wasps. The club thus teaches the students about resource use by engaging in resource use. The students are taught by experienced wasp hunters how to find, collect, house, and raise hebo. The Hebo Club’s colonies are housed in a shed in the school research forest. By cooperating with the members belonging to various Hebo Associations of south-eastern Gifu and northern Aichi, the students experience the variation in employed techniques and equipment, and make observations of hebo biology and ecology in different environments. Other than the hebo season, the club practice develops their idea for local development and applying it to tourism according to the evaluation of their activities. The successful beginning of the Hebo Club, a well-organized cultural initiative spearheaded by youngsters who are backed by seniors, is indicative of how people caring about hebo culture in central mountainous Japan maintains and preserves its culture and identity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 806-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pramod Chandra ◽  
Vinay Sharma

Realizing the sustainability and competitiveness in the trade of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP) resources of north India is challenging due to lack of participation from the primary producers (growers and harvesters). This is credited to their unawareness of sustainable resources management practices caused by the lack of a marketing information system (MIS) in the trade. The introduction of a MIS can supplement sustainability in the sector, while improving competitiveness. Through a qualitative research approach, this study investigates the need for marketing information among the primary producers of medicinal and aromatic plants of Uttarakhand, and offers a comprehensive framework for a provincial MIS and strategies for the MAP trade. The proposed MIS would be helpful in linking the MAP trade with sustainability and competitiveness.


Ethnicities ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 414-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Lintner

This article analyses the relation between European economic crisis and immigration. It does so by analysing the establishment of migrants’ entrepreneurship activities in Italy, and by looking at how these activities unravel subjects’ agency in confronting constraining socioeconomic conditions and restrictive immigration laws. In this perspective, entrepreneurship should be understood as a possibility for transforming a person’s own incorporated cultural capital into a resource and, consequently, into an opportunity for self-created work performance. Interpreting entrepreneurship as a personal response of migrants to the economic recession offers a new perspective in the existing literature on migrant entrepreneurship. Crisis, in this paper, is not seen as an abstract and supernatural phenomenon leading and controlling the capacity of individuals to act, but is understood as a constructed set of meanings comprising social interactions and relationships and consolidated within public discourses. This study is based on a qualitative-explorative research approach and was carried out in South Tyrol, Italy. For the data collection, different qualitative methods were used: narrative interviews, informal discussions and semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was based on the coding processes described within the Grounded Theory. As the results show, crisis as such represents, on the one hand, a critical moment of transition or transformation of normality and the constituted ways of acting and thinking and, on the other hand, it is perceived as a new opportunity to change individual behaviour and to initiate innovative counter-strategies that will maintain a person’s capacity to act even in critical personal and structural situations. Nevertheless, showing resilience, which is powerful and leads to change, depends not only on personal motivational forces but also to given opportunity structures.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document