Articles

Improving citizen participation in local government in Latin America through international cooperation: a case study

Issues related to democratic restructuring and citizenship at the municipal level in Latin America have been the subject of increasing interest and debate among scholars and development practitioners in recent years. This study investigates how international cooperation may facilitate enhanced citizen participation in local-level decision making in the region through examination of a specific Canadian-sponsored linking project involving the cities of Charlesbourg, Quebec (Canada) and Ovalle (Chile).
Author: 
Hewitt, W.E
Page: 
2

Developing indicators to assess women's empowerment in Vietnam

From mid-1999 to mid-2001, the authors carried out a qualitative study in rural Vietnam to explore relationships between gender equity and reproductive health. One of the study's objectives was to develop culturally appropriate indicators of women's empowerment, specific to the Vietnamese context. This paper describes the process of developing, testing, and refining the empowerment indicators, presents some of the findings, and discusses the methodological challenges entailed.
Author: 
Hung Minh, Tran
Author: 
Minh Duc, Nguyen
Author: 
Santillán, Diana
Author: 
Schuler, Sidney Ruth
Author: 
Thu Trang, Quach
Author: 
Tu Anh, Hoang
Page: 
6

Officialising strategies: participatory processes and gender in Thailand's water resources sector

This paper examines participatory processes in an Asian Development Bank (ADB) technical assistance package in Thailand's water resources sector. The authors analyse various levels of social interaction in the local community, in meso-level stakeholder consultations, and in opposition to ADB's environment programmes expressed by civil society organisations. While participatory approaches are employed to promote more bottom-up management regimes in water resources, the authors find that local power and gender differences have been overlooked.
Author: 
Pantana, Panadda
Author: 
Real, Mary Jane
Author: 
Resurreccion, Bernadette P.
Page: 
5

Integrating participatory elements into conventional research projects: measuring the costs and benefits

Until recently, participatory and conventional approaches to agricultural research have been regarded as more or less antagonistic. This article presents evidence from three sub-projects of a Thai-Vietnamese-German collaborative research programme on 'Sustainable Land Use and Rural Development in Mountainous Regions of Southeast Asia', in which participatory elements were successfully integrated into conventional agricultural research as add-on activities.
Author: 
Neef, Andreas
Page: 
9

Strategies for out-scaling participatory research approaches for sustaining agricultural research impacts

The popularity of participatory research approaches is largely driven by the expected benefits from bridging the gap between formal agricultural science institutions and local farm communities, making agricultural research more relevant and effective. There is, however, no certainty that this approach, which has been mainly project-based, will succeed in transforming agricultural research in developing countries towards more client-responsive, impact-oriented institutions.
Author: 
Aw-Hassan, Aden A.
Page: 
8

Myths and realities of the impact of political Islam on women: female employment in Indonesia and Iran

Since the 11 September 2001 attacks on targets in the USA, debates concerning the situation of women in the Muslim world have tended to focus on the extent to which they are victims of religious dogma. Like any other religion, Islam can be oppressive towards women; however, working women are not affected only by religious factors. This paper reviews women's experiences in Indonesia and Iran, countries in which Islamist movements have taken a leading role in the government.
Author: 
Bahramitash, Roksana
Page: 
4

`Marriage' to capital: the fallback positions of Fiji's women garment workers

The May 2000 coup in Fiji prompted a flight of capital from the country's garment industry. As workers lost their jobs, attention turned away from improving wages and conditions to retaining garment factory jobs in the country. What can feminist researchers contribute in a climate of high capital mobility that prohibits organising for a living wage? This paper applies Amartya Sen's idea of women's `fallback positions' in relation to their husbands to an exploration of women's `marriage' to capital.
Author: 
Harrington, Christy
Page: 
3

Engaging with cultural practices in ways that benefit women in northern Nigeria

This study explores the intra-household impact of improved dual-purpose cowpea (IDPC) from a gender perspective, in terms of productivity and food, fodder, and income availability, the impact of which is linked to the income thus placed in the women's hands. Surplus income is important in providing food and nutritional benefits to the home, particularly during periods of risk.
Author: 
Alene, Arega
Author: 
Manyong, Victor M.
Author: 
Tipilda, Annita
Page: 
7

Appraisal of methods to evaluate farmer field schools

The need to increase agricultural sustainability has induced the government of India to promote the adoption of integrated pest management (IPM). An evaluation of cotton-based conventional and IPM farming systems was conducted in India (2002-2004). The farmers managing the IPM farms had participated in discovery-based ecological training, namely Farmer Field Schools (FFS).
Author: 
Jiggins, Janice
Author: 
Mancini, Francesca
Page: 
6

Hearing silenced voices: developing community with an advisory committee

This article focuses on the challenge and effects of adhering to community participation as a principle of community development and the related issue of reflecting diverse representation in prevention and health promotion planning. As a requirement of funding agencies, the consequences of upholding these principles in light of the resources made available are explored. Information is drawn from a case study of an advisory committee with diverse membership.
Author: 
Casebeer, Ann L.
Author: 
Farrar, Pip J.
Author: 
Grossman, Judith C.
Author: 
Thurston, Wilfreda E.
Page: 
2
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