Social sector

Decommissioning dams in India: a comparative assessment of Mullaperiyar and other cases

With the ruefully anticipated breakdown of the Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala as the central issue, this article debates the decommissioning of large dams in India. Drawing on other examples of dam breakdown and decommissioning cases from India and the USA, the author argues that dams that have failed to deliver on their promises or are in an unsafe condition should be selectively decommissioned.

The full article is available here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09614524.2013.772563

 

Author: 
Chowdhury, Arnab Roy
Page: 
292

Are healthier people happier? Evidence from Chile and Uruguay

Based on data from the Latinobarómetro, this study analyses data on happiness to establish the probability that an individual is happy. The focus is put on self-reported health status as a key aspect in increasing levels of happiness. The probability of being happy is econometrically estimated by probit models for each country. Results show that the main relationship is between happiness and health status. Whether this is a causal effect or only a correlation, is not clear. This issue is explored by using propensity score matching methods. These show that good health status increases the probability of being satisfied with life by between 13 and 17 percentage points. In line with the literature, we find that the relationship between age and happiness is U-shaped, with happiness at its lowest point at the age of 48.2.

The full article is available here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09614524.2013.772024

 

Author: 
Gerstenblüth, Mariana
Author: 
Rossi, Máximo
Page: 
205

Community health workers – motivation and incentives

The Community Health Worker (CHW) literature is expansive, covering more than 30 years of interest in the concept. Despite this, understanding of CHW motivation and the effectiveness of monetary incentives is limited. Using self-determination theory (SDT) as an explanatory framework, the article outlines some of the roles and functions that CHWs have filled within health and community systems, CHW motivation, and how different factors either enhance or detract from this.

The full article is available here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09614524.2013.772117

 

Author: 
Appleford, Gabrielle
Page: 
196

Toilet is not a dirty word: close to meeting the MDGs for sanitation?

Improving access to water and sanitation facilities has been a priority on the international development agenda. Halving the number of those who do not have access to sanitation facilities is an MDG target. This study assessed the toilet conditions in an urban slum in Ghana. Many felt that the sanitary conditions were deplorable; they were unsatisfied with having to walk over half a kilometre before using a toilet. Government efforts to improve hygiene and address sanitation problems need to take into account financial, religious, and other factors that promote the supply and maintenance of appropriate toilet facilities and services in urban communities.

The full article is available here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09614524.2013.772121

 

Author: 
Arku, Frank S.
Author: 
Angmor, Emmanuel N.
Author: 
Seddoh, John-Engelbert
Page: 
184

Cultivated, caught, and collected: defining culturally appropriate foods in Tallé, Niger

The indigenous plants and fish of Niger are incorporated into the Songhai people's daily life but are largely underemphasised in development programmes. In this paper we describe the culturally appropriate foods of Tallé, Niger. Based on information obtained from 42 participants using interviews and focus groups, we identified 11 commonly consumed fish species, 22 plant species, and nine factors that made them culturally appropriate: taste, perceived health effects, economic value, use as snacks or staple, storability, seasonal availability, use in celebrations, abundance, and cultural identity. We conclude with a discussion of how local knowledge can be incorporated into development programmes.

The full article is available here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09614524.2013.771985

 

Author: 
Towns, Alexandra M.
Author: 
Potter, Daniel
Author: 
Idrissa, Sadou
Page: 
169

Reaching beyond the health post: Community-based surveillance for polio eradication

This article discusses the CORE Group Polio Project Ethiopia's introduction of community-based surveillance (CBS) of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) to support polio eradication. A USAID-funded collaboration among Ethiopian and US-based NGOs, the CGPP supports volunteers in education about AFP and encouraging case reporting. Volunteers also conduct active case searches, visiting community leaders likely to have contact with paralysis cases. The project's methods strengthen communities' awareness of AFP and their connection to the health system. Data indicate a near doubling of AFP reporting in project areas since the implementation of CBS, according to MOH-E (Ministry of Health, Ethiopia)/WHO statistics.

The full article is available here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09614524.2013.753410

Author: 
Curry, Dora
Author: 
Bisrat, Filimona
Author: 
Coates, Ellen
Author: 
Altman, Penny
Page: 
69

Time poverty, gender and well-being: lessons from the Kyrgyz Swiss Swedish Health Programme

Time poverty methodologies are a response to the failure of income-based measures of poverty to reflect gendered aspects of well-being. However, national time use surveys normally fail to examine issues around women and men's qualitative evaluation of their time uses, or the extent of their control over their own time. The result could be distorted policy responses which lose sight of the original intentions of time poverty as a tool to reveal gendered elements of well-being. This paper draws on the findings of a qualitative survey to asses a rural health promotion programme in Kyrgyzstan to demonstrate this point.

The full article is available here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09614524.2013.751357

Author: 
Walker, Julian
Page: 
57

From philanthropy to corporate social responsibility in Guatemala: assessing shifts through Alianzas

Latin American firms are moving from narrow philanthropy to broader engagement with development priorities. We examine this shift with data from Alianzas, a development programme promoting private contributions to health and education in Guatemala. We use Solomon's (2010) dimensions of proliferation, professionalisation, and partnering to compare firms' pre-Alianzas efforts with programme activities. Both firms with established and new philanthropic programmes engaged with Alianzas (proliferation). Most participants were willing to steer efforts towards public priorities (professionalisation) and collaborate with government (partnering). Given chronic underfunding of health and education priorities in Guatemala, we suggest that private contributions to public programmes be institutionalised.

The full article is available here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09614524.2012.713324

 

Author: 
Bland, Gary
Author: 
Wetterberg, Anna
Page: 
3

From paternalism to participation: the motivations and understandings of the “developers”

Recently there has been a shift in development discourse from ideas of paternalism to those of participation. Set within the framework of a postmodern critique of development, this paper questions the assumption that the ideas of development still exist in the same discursive space. Using University of East Anglia (UEA) development studies postgraduate students as a case study, it considers why students want to work in development and the manner in which individual students think of and conceptualise the enterprise. It explores the role of postgraduate study in developing a conscientisation needed for truly transformative development.

The full article is available here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09614524.2012.714351

 

Author: 
Green, Hannah
Page: 
109

To what extent does social policy design address social problems? Evidence from the “70 y más” programme in Mexico

Previous research has revealed that social policy design is relevant for addressing social problems, particularly for reducing poverty. However, evidence on poverty reduction exposes a sluggish trend towards achieving its main goals. This paper first reports on research examining to what extent social policy design has addressed social problems, poverty in particular. Second, this paper examines whether poverty lines have linked social policy design and social problems. Finally, this paper reveals that social policy design does not address poverty reduction and that poverty lines have not linked policy design and poverty reduction.

The full article is available here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09614524.2012.696091

 

Author: 
Gastelum Lage, Jesus
Page: 
1000
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