Women Participation in School Governance in Lalitpur, Nepal: A Participatory Development Practice

Participation is an important dimension of good governance. In Nepal, there seem positive changes in women's participation in School Management Committees (SMC), Parent Teachers Association (PTA), and school administration but the participation of women has become a far-reaching goalin public school governance. This article is about exploring how women's participation could contribute to promoting good governance practices in community schools. Authors have applied an interpretative inquiry and participation and feminist standpoint theories to make out the meaning in this study which was carried in two public schools in Lalitpur, Nepal. The finding reveals that his meaningful representation of women in school governance is likely to minimize the governance challenges such as absenteeism, low parents’ participation, poor resource mobilization, transparency, and accountability.These positive transformations contribute to the community development process. However, enabling environment for women is needed to ensure their meaningful representation in school governance structures. This study is beneficial to educationists, planners, and development workers in Nepal.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF A KNOWLEDGE-BASED DESIGN SYSTEM FOR DESIGNING SELECTED ELEMENTS OF MECHATRONIC DEVICES

The design of mechatronic devices is a demanding process not only in terms of the time required but also of the demands placed on the knowledge and experience of development workers. The aim of this research and development was to create suitable procedures, algorithms, and databases of 3D models, with the help of which could this process be significantly shortened and simplified. The results of the development are a software tool for the design of electric drive units, procedures for creating 3D models with the possibility of using the SolidWorks software API, methods for automating the creation of assemblies of 3D models and a description of the knowledge database in which various data and algorithms are stored. The benefits of the proposed procedures, the Drive Picker software tool, and the knowledge database, are demonstrated on the design of a robotic arm with 5 degrees of freedom. Despite the complexity of the preparation of documents needed, it turns out that the chosen approach can significantly speed up and simplify the design of mechatronic devices.

The diffusion of norms, rules and mechanisms for the enforcement of labor standards and the resolution of disputes in the Asia-Pacific, in particular among signatory countries of the TPP

<p>People are central to economic development. Workers are relatively vulnerable compared to the other factors of the economy, including governments and employers. Because violations of workers’ rights and poor working conditions are prevalent, especially in developing countries, the diffusion of internationally recognized labor standards is now emerging as a critical process in the world. This is a process by which internationally recognized labor rights are transferred between countries by various means with the expectation of improving labor conditions world-wide. For this process to be successful, it is important that not only labor standards but also rules and mechanisms for their enforcement be diffused. The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) is currently under negotiation. The TPP is expected to be the first “high-quality, twenty-first-century agreement” in the world. Norm entrepreneurs have chosen the TPP to be a channel for the diffusion of labor standards in the Asia-Pacific. How is the TPP likely to diffuse the norms, rules and mechanisms for the enforcement of labor standards and dispute resolution? Will it be by means of goodwill, cooperation and consensus or through material conditionality? Labor rights are human rights which must be upheld and promoted. The answer to the above empirical question is very important to the policy-makers of signatory countries of the TPP, given that labor standards are considered to be a sensitive issue in many Asian countries. Their concerns are grounded in history. The Government of Poland and the communist system in Eastern Europe were brought down as a result of the implementation of labor rights in the 1980s¹. How to implement these rights without causing social and political disorder is a complex question for policy-makers in the TPP countries. The thesis reviews the literature on theoretical norm diffusion and labor standards as well as provides the empirical evidence of past diffusion of labor standards in order to identify which mechanisms of diffusion are likely to prevail in the field of labor standards in the Asia-Pacific region. It answers who are the drivers of diffusion. It draws on the record of all signed FTAs in the region to provide an empirical foundation for its projection about the likely content of the TPP in terms of rules and mechanisms for the enforcement of labor standards. ¹ After the rights to organize freely and to strike was recognized by the Government of Poland, the Solidarity Unions was formed and after many ups and downs of its evolution, finally it had led successfully the overthrow of the communist Government of Poland and “played a central role in the demise of communism across the Soviet bloc, changing forever the course of history in Europe”. Read more at http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1060898.html, and http://future.state.gov/when/timeline/1969_detente/fall_of_communism.html</p>

The diffusion of norms, rules and mechanisms for the enforcement of labor standards and the resolution of disputes in the Asia-Pacific, in particular among signatory countries of the TPP

<p>People are central to economic development. Workers are relatively vulnerable compared to the other factors of the economy, including governments and employers. Because violations of workers’ rights and poor working conditions are prevalent, especially in developing countries, the diffusion of internationally recognized labor standards is now emerging as a critical process in the world. This is a process by which internationally recognized labor rights are transferred between countries by various means with the expectation of improving labor conditions world-wide. For this process to be successful, it is important that not only labor standards but also rules and mechanisms for their enforcement be diffused. The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) is currently under negotiation. The TPP is expected to be the first “high-quality, twenty-first-century agreement” in the world. Norm entrepreneurs have chosen the TPP to be a channel for the diffusion of labor standards in the Asia-Pacific. How is the TPP likely to diffuse the norms, rules and mechanisms for the enforcement of labor standards and dispute resolution? Will it be by means of goodwill, cooperation and consensus or through material conditionality? Labor rights are human rights which must be upheld and promoted. The answer to the above empirical question is very important to the policy-makers of signatory countries of the TPP, given that labor standards are considered to be a sensitive issue in many Asian countries. Their concerns are grounded in history. The Government of Poland and the communist system in Eastern Europe were brought down as a result of the implementation of labor rights in the 1980s¹. How to implement these rights without causing social and political disorder is a complex question for policy-makers in the TPP countries. The thesis reviews the literature on theoretical norm diffusion and labor standards as well as provides the empirical evidence of past diffusion of labor standards in order to identify which mechanisms of diffusion are likely to prevail in the field of labor standards in the Asia-Pacific region. It answers who are the drivers of diffusion. It draws on the record of all signed FTAs in the region to provide an empirical foundation for its projection about the likely content of the TPP in terms of rules and mechanisms for the enforcement of labor standards. ¹ After the rights to organize freely and to strike was recognized by the Government of Poland, the Solidarity Unions was formed and after many ups and downs of its evolution, finally it had led successfully the overthrow of the communist Government of Poland and “played a central role in the demise of communism across the Soviet bloc, changing forever the course of history in Europe”. Read more at http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1060898.html, and http://future.state.gov/when/timeline/1969_detente/fall_of_communism.html</p>

Exploring the Mission-Development Nexus Through Stories from Christian ‘Missionaries’ in Bangladesh

<p>Over the past decade, development research and policy has increasingly paid attention to religion and belief. Donors and researchers have progressively engaged with faith-based organisations and recipients. However, Christian mission and ‗missionaries‘ remain underexplored aspects within religion and development discourses. In response, this research explores stories from eleven Christian ‗missionaries‘ in Bangladesh. Firstly, I assess how the changing non-governmental sector in Bangladesh influenced participants‘ activities. Secondly, I contextualise their stories within religion and development discourses with reference to analyses of development workers. Finally, I reflect on the significance of spirituality in participants‘ lives. I also describe how spirituality played a role in my research. I frame this research within feminist and poststructuralist ways of knowing. Methodologically, I conducted semi-structured interviews and ‗hung out‘ with participants. I ‗wrote myself-in‘ to this research to highlight how the process intersected with my own subject positions. I found that participants‘ engaged with development in similar ways to development workers as analysed by others. They reproduced discourses of modernisation, expertise, altruism, and the ‗third world‘. They additionally responded to Christian discourses, such as ‗calling‘. Participants‘ activities and subjectivities were shaped by these intersecting discourses, and were also shaped by the historic and current setting of Bangladesh. Missionaries‘ stories revealed some aspects of the ‗mission-development nexus‘ in Bangladesh (Fountain, 2012). Participants‘ stories and my own research experience, also demonstrated that engagement with belief in God can be difficult within development and within ‗the academy‘ (Shahjahan, 2005).</p>

Exploring the Mission-Development Nexus Through Stories from Christian ‘Missionaries’ in Bangladesh

<p>Over the past decade, development research and policy has increasingly paid attention to religion and belief. Donors and researchers have progressively engaged with faith-based organisations and recipients. However, Christian mission and ‗missionaries‘ remain underexplored aspects within religion and development discourses. In response, this research explores stories from eleven Christian ‗missionaries‘ in Bangladesh. Firstly, I assess how the changing non-governmental sector in Bangladesh influenced participants‘ activities. Secondly, I contextualise their stories within religion and development discourses with reference to analyses of development workers. Finally, I reflect on the significance of spirituality in participants‘ lives. I also describe how spirituality played a role in my research. I frame this research within feminist and poststructuralist ways of knowing. Methodologically, I conducted semi-structured interviews and ‗hung out‘ with participants. I ‗wrote myself-in‘ to this research to highlight how the process intersected with my own subject positions. I found that participants‘ engaged with development in similar ways to development workers as analysed by others. They reproduced discourses of modernisation, expertise, altruism, and the ‗third world‘. They additionally responded to Christian discourses, such as ‗calling‘. Participants‘ activities and subjectivities were shaped by these intersecting discourses, and were also shaped by the historic and current setting of Bangladesh. Missionaries‘ stories revealed some aspects of the ‗mission-development nexus‘ in Bangladesh (Fountain, 2012). Participants‘ stories and my own research experience, also demonstrated that engagement with belief in God can be difficult within development and within ‗the academy‘ (Shahjahan, 2005).</p>

Determining the Coping Strategies towards Household Food Security Practiced by the Farmers in Flood Prone Areas

A study was carried out at each of three flood affected reverine villages of three upazilas (small administrative unit) under Jamalpur district in Bangladesh during September, 2011 to May, 2012 to find out the coping strategies towards household food security practices by the farmers during flood period. Data were collected from randomly selected 336 respondents of 6720 farm families through both the qualitative and quantitative techniques and analyzed with the help of SPSS. A three-point rating scale was used for measuring the coping strategies considering five components such as food preservation, food management, food collection, agricultural products protection and some social aspects. The overall situation about practicing coping strategy had medium to high level where 70.83 percent were practiced high, 29.17 percent medium and none of them were under practiced low coping strategy towards household food security. Based on the above findings, it can be said that still now there is an ample scope for the development workers to work with the flood affected people for creating awareness towards better utilization of existing resources for improving their food situation as well as livelihoods.

Farmers' Knowledge Is the Basis for Local Level Agro-Forestry Management: The Case of Lemo Woreda in Hadiya Zone, Ethiopia

This research was designed to investigate the hypothesis that farmers practising traditional agro-forestry which dates back for centuries have accumulated immense knowledge of agro-forestry, which can be captured and incorporated into formal development programmes to improve it. Farmers' knowledge must be documented, valued and integrated in order to maximise its importance for planning and decision-making. This research aimed to investigate and document farmers' knowledge of managing agro-forestry and the contribution to sustainable management of natural resources. Accordingly, questionnaire surveys were conducted in six villages from three peasant associations. In total, 73 households were selected for interview and the data collected were analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) version 26. The findings revealed tree species that contribute to crop yield improvement and the important role agro-forestry trees play with regard to soil fertility. Farmers' strategies to associate trees and shrubs in their farmlands were revealed. Tree species with a negative effect on crop yields were identified and recorded. Farmers reported and ranked in the order of importance, opportunities and constraints in the management of agro-forestry. Farmers' accumulated knowledge of tree–crop and tree–animal interactions, the role of trees in soil fertility, crop and livestock improvement, revealed in the study can significantly enhance the stainability of agriculture. If local knowledge is not documented, it remains largely inaccessible to development workers seeking solutions to locally defined problems.