School Dropout of Dalit Students at Basic Level in Nepal

This paper examines the policy, institutional and legal aspects of agriculture service delivery (ASD) of local government in federal Nepal. The aim of this study is to recommend an appropriate framework for improving ASD unit efficiency in delivering agricultural services to citizens. The paper seeks to answer the question of whether the ASD unit of municipalities facilitates a local government framework while discharging their agriculture services to the citizens. To achieve this, both primary and secondary data were used. Primary data were collected through structured interviews of agriculture service takers using stratified random sampling and were accompanied by participant observations, FGDs and KIIs. Secondary data were obtained from government documents. A convergent parallel mix method research design was adopted, which implied abductive reasoning with pragmatist research philosophy. The study found that despite poor facilities and structures at the local level, the client experienced extended agricultural service delivery. Local governments are undergoing a transition in harmonizing institutional and legal policies, as evidenced by the differences in service delivery and expertise. The study identified three areas of demand from people with local authorities viz; infrastructure for basic services, quality extension from professional experts, and prioritization of the agriculture sector. Based on the findings, an enhanced ASD framework at the local level is recommended to meet the quality service needs of diversified clients. In this regard, enhanced municipal capacity is crucial.

The study was conducted to identify the effect of the school environment on the education of Dalit students. Dalit people are known as the disadvantaged communities who are culturally categorized as the untouchable caste in society. Legally, it is not permitted to discriminate in social activities based on caste and ethnicity; however, this practice persists. The study was conducted among the 227 Dalit students in the Nawalparasi district of Nepal. The purposive sampling technique was used to select the respondents from the Dalit communities. A self reported, structured questionnaire was prepared using a 5-point Likert scale to collect perceptual data. The study found that there is significant association (p=.000) on the perception of Dalit students studying in different grades on the chances of sitting on the first bench of classroom, problem faced while taking the drinking water in school, teachers' responses towards the problems or questions raised by Dalit students and responses from school administration towards the problems or question raised by Dalit students at the significant level p = 000 of each test which is less than p = .05. From the discussion, it is found that school environment can affect learning of Dalit students.

Responding to suicide R. Srivatsan (bio) Scott Fitzpatrick (2016) covers the terrain spanning suicide prevention efforts and survivor narratives. He sets up a binary with one pole as biomedical perspectives on suicide, immediately judged as inadequate, and then seeks to examine at the opposite pole, the texture, history, and policy drivers of the current turn toward survivor narratives. He argues that privileging one specific type of recovery narrative, that is, self-(re) formation, aligns the discourse of suicide narratives to an overall liberal policy orientation of suicide prevention and corrupts the integrity and complexity of the survivor’s struggle. I would like to respond to the essay in two somewhat different registers. The Aporia of an Ethics of Sicidology I agree with Fitzpatrick that there is a problem with the ethics of a suicidology that elicits and encourages only those narratives that meet a specific norm of storytelling, that is, of courage, recovery, and self-reconstruction. It is certainly important, as he argues, to maintain the integrity of the narrative and the struggle it enacts in how the survivor comes to terms with the raw intensity of the experience, and the path she takes to a social life. Yet, the latter, too, is an ethical position that correctly gives primacy to the survivor’s account. The aporia, or practical impasse, of such an ethical position or judgment is that it forecloses an investigation of what suicide as a social act is trying to say. I would suggest that there is a symbolic, even symptomatic, dimension to suicide that needs to be understood in its complex historicity. I use some examples from a different sociocultural context, India, and my own engagements with some of the discourses, to tease out this point. My first example of a discourse surrounding suicide is that around the Mental Health Bill pending enactment in the Indian Parliament (as of 2016), which has a clause that proposes decriminalizing suicide (suicide is a crime in India, although survivors are rarely pursued by the law) and, with the best of intentions, proposes treating all attempted suicides as problems of mental ‘illness’ and giving survivors immediate psychiatric assistance. Criticizing this proposal, mental health and civil rights activists argued that although decriminalizing suicide was good and in line with humane international legal developments, treating a suicide survivor as a person suffering mental illness is fraught with the risk of life-long legal, social, and medicolegal discrimination (Davar et al., 2013). In fact, in India, the potentially more serious crime is of abetment to suicide, which is often a convenient name for familial and other forms of institutionalized murder in a changing and stressed society. Most immediately, treating a survivor as a mentally ill person would not permit the prosecution to use the account of the survivor (who is presumed ‘mentally ill’) to prove its case against the abettors. This discourse and its setting [End Page 281] are indicative of the developmental forces that the law is designed to exert on ‘traditional communities,’ aimed at individualizing their members and socializing them into modern ethicolegal conduct. In another example, when a student from a Dalit community (systematically discriminated against in the caste hierarchy in India) committed suicide in 2013 in a prestigious university, the authorities tried to bring quick closure to the tragic event with a story of a failed love affair leading to depression and the taking of a life (Solidarity Committee of University Students, 2013). In immediate opposition, Dalit students’ unions told the story of persistent discrimination by the university administration as the chronic ground for his existential fatigue and the decision to end his life. What is telling is that the student, who was described posthumously as an ordinary quiet individual, became in death the powerful icon of the oppressed, and the act of mourning that death publicly reclaimed him as a symbol of protest against the social discrimination faced by the whole community. In other words, the memory of the person who committed suicide played a greater and richer social role than that he did in life. In my third example, the Christian Medical College in Vellore (Tamil Nadu) has to deal with...

Phytoremediation, or contaminant removal using plants, has been deployed at many sites to remediate contaminated soil and groundwater. Research has shown that trees are low-cost, rapid, and relatively simple-to-use monitoring systems as well as inexpensive alternatives to traditional pump-and-treat systems. However, tree monitoring is also an indirect measure of subsurface contamination and inherently more uncertain than conventional techniques such as wells or soil borings that measure contaminant concentrations directly. This study explores the implications for monitoring network design at real-world sites where scarce primary data such as monitoring wells or soil borings are supplemented by extensive secondary data such as trees. In this study, we combined secondary and primary data into a composite data set using models to transform secondary data to primary, as primary data were too sparse to attempt cokriging. Optimal monitoring networks using both trees and conventional techniques were determined using genetic algorithms, and trade-off curves between cost and uncertainty are presented for a phytoremediation system at Argonne National Laboratory. Optimal solutions found at this site indicate that increasing the number of secondary data sampled resulted in a significant decrease in global uncertainty with a minimal increase in cost. The choice of the data transformation model had an impact on the optimal designs and uncertainty estimated at the site. Using a data transformation model with a higher error resulted in monitoring network designs where primary data were favored over colocated secondary data. The spatial configuration of the monitoring network design was similar with regard to the areas sampled, irrespective of the data transformation model used. Overall, this study shows that using a composite data set, with primary and secondary data, results in effective monitoring designs, even at sites where the only data transformation model available is one with significant error.

Nepal is a multilingual country. Classroom is a miniature of the society. Translanguaging pedagogy is being executed in English as a medium of instruction (EMI) setting in the classroom. This study attempts to investigate the existing pedagogical practices of non-language subjects and to explore the role and impact of translanguaging as resources to enhance learning of non-language subjects' viz. Science, Mathematics and Social Studies at basic level. This is a qualitative study in which phenomenological research design has been adopted to carry out this study. Twelve teachers and thirty students were selected to carry out this study. Semi-structured interview, focus group discussion, and classroom observation were used as tools to collect data. The findings of this study shows that learners' L1 is used as linguistic resources for knowledge construction; there is strong dominance of the ideology of English on them; translanguaging makes the learners involve in interactive classes; they develop critical and creative thinking skills and enhance motivation through translanguaging. It is concluded that mother tongues of the diverse learners could be very effective to be used as a means to understand the content knowledge of non-language subjects in the classroom.

<i>Special Topic Forum</i> on Using Archival and Secondary Data Sources in Supply Chain Management Research

This study aims to analyze the impact of micro-finance in income change of members of Women Co-operative Society (WCS). The study is based on both primary and secondary data. For this, 112 WCS' women of Thankot Branch were taken as population and among them 56 loan borrower members were randomly selected as sample of the study. The primary data were collected through a setoff questionnaire. Secondary data were collected from the documents of WCS, Central Bureau of Statistics, Finance Ministry, the Government of Nepal. Different research reports, books and journals were also consulted as sources of secondary data. The collected data were analyzed by presenting them on tables and interpreted through percentage. The findings of the study show that the average monthly income of borrowers has increased by 31.14 percent after intervention of micro finance programme. Similarly, the average monthly income of the households has increased by 9.43 percent (21.71 percent difference between borrowers and households). All these show that WCS micro-finance program has contributed to the change in economic status of women by increasing their income.

Human behavior plays a pivotal role in achieving greater energy savings. Choices such as setting indoor temperatures, using energy-efficient (star-labeled) appliances, and engaging in demandresponse programs are all closely tied to individual actions and attitudes. Ultimately, people are at the heart of energy efficiency efforts. The obstacles to adopting energy-saving practices are often not just technical—they are deeply rooted in social and behavioral factors. Hence, the study aimed to know the rural consumers’ behaviour towards energy conservation and efficiency in Erode District. To achieve the objectives of this study, both primary and secondary data were extensively utilized. Primary data was collected using the questionnaire method. First-hand information was obtained from 100 rural consumers in the Erode district through convenience sampling. Respondents were selected based on their availability and willingness to participate. A structured questionnaire was used for the sample survey and was duly completed by the participants. The collected data was then analyzed and interpreted using multivariate statistical techniques, specifically multi-discriminant analysis. Designing effective behavioral interventions requires a clear understanding of how behaviors are formed and the factors that can influence them. People's decisions—both conscious and unconscious—are shaped by various cognitive biases, often leading them to act in predictably irrational ways. These biases significantly affect how consumers respond to policy measures. Therefore, incorporating insights from behavioral economics and social sciences is essential for developing strategies that effectively guide and influence consumer behavior.Human behavior plays a pivotal role in achieving greater energy savings. Choices such as setting indoor temperatures, using energy-efficient (star-labeled) appliances, and engaging in demandresponse programs are all closely tied to individual actions and attitudes. Ultimately, people are at the heart of energy efficiency efforts. The obstacles to adopting energy-saving practices are often not just technical—they are deeply rooted in social and behavioral factors. Hence, the study aimed to know the rural consumers’ behaviour towards energy conservation and efficiency in Erode District. To achieve the objectives of this study, both primary and secondary data were extensively utilized. Primary data was collected using the questionnaire method. First-hand information was obtained from 100 rural consumers in the Erode district through convenience sampling. Respondents were selected based on their availability and willingness to participate. A structured questionnaire was used for the sample survey and was duly completed by the participants. The collected data was then analyzed and interpreted using multivariate statistical techniques, specifically multi-discriminant analysis. Designing effective behavioral interventions requires a clear understanding of how behaviors are formed and the factors that can influence them. People's decisions—both conscious and unconscious—are shaped by various cognitive biases, often leading them to act in predictably irrational ways. These biases significantly affect how consumers respond to policy measures. Therefore, incorporating insights from behavioral economics and social sciences is essential for developing strategies that effectively guide and influence consumer behavior.Human behavior plays a pivotal role in achieving greater energy savings. Choices such as setting indoor temperatures, using energy-efficient (star-labeled) appliances, and engaging in demandresponse programs are all closely tied to individual actions and attitudes. Ultimately, people are at the heart of energy efficiency efforts. The obstacles to adopting energy-saving practices are often not just technical—they are deeply rooted in social and behavioral factors. Hence, the study aimed to know the rural consumers’ behaviour towards energy conservation and efficiency in Erode District. To achieve the objectives of this study, both primary and secondary data were extensively utilized. Primary data was collected using the questionnaire method. First-hand information was obtained from 100 rural consumers in the Erode district through convenience sampling. Respondents were selected based on their availability and willingness to participate. A structured questionnaire was used for the sample survey and was duly completed by the participants. The collected data was then analyzed and interpreted using multivariate statistical techniques, specifically multi-discriminant analysis. Designing effective behavioral interventions requires a clear understanding of how behaviors are formed and the factors that can influence them. People's decisions—both conscious and unconscious—are shaped by various cognitive biases, often leading them to act in predictably irrational ways. These biases significantly affect how consumers respond to policy measures. Therefore, incorporating insights from behavioral economics and social sciences is essential for developing strategies that effectively guide and influence consumer behavior.Human behavior plays a pivotal role in achieving greater energy savings. Choices such as setting indoor temperatures, using energy-efficient (star-labeled) appliances, and engaging in demandresponse programs are all closely tied to individual actions and attitudes. Ultimately, people are at the heart of energy efficiency efforts. The obstacles to adopting energy-saving practices are often not just technical—they are deeply rooted in social and behavioral factors. Hence, the study aimed to know the rural consumers’ behaviour towards energy conservation and efficiency in Erode District. To achieve the objectives of this study, both primary and secondary data were extensively utilized. Primary data was collected using the questionnaire method. First-hand information was obtained from 100 rural consumers in the Erode district through convenience sampling. Respondents were selected based on their availability and willingness to participate. A structured questionnaire was used for the sample survey and was duly completed by the participants. The collected data was then analyzed and interpreted using multivariate statistical techniques, specifically multi-discriminant analysis. Designing effective behavioral interventions requires a clear understanding of how behaviors are formed and the factors that can influence them. People's decisions—both conscious and unconscious—are shaped by various cognitive biases, often leading them to act in predictably irrational ways. These biases significantly affect how consumers respond to policy measures. Therefore, incorporating insights from behavioral economics and social sciences is essential for developing strategies that effectively guide and influence consumer behavior.Human behavior plays a pivotal role in achieving greater energy savings. Choices such as setting indoor temperatures, using energy-efficient (star-labeled) appliances, and engaging in demandresponse programs are all closely tied to individual actions and attitudes. Ultimately, people are at the heart of energy efficiency efforts. The obstacles to adopting energy-saving practices are often not just technical—they are deeply rooted in social and behavioral factors. Hence, the study aimed to know the rural consumers’ behaviour towards energy conservation and efficiency in Erode District. To achieve the objectives of this study, both primary and secondary data were extensively utilized. Primary data was collected using the questionnaire method. First-hand information was obtained from 100 rural consumers in the Erode district through convenience sampling. Respondents were selected based on their availability and willingness to participate. A structured questionnaire was used for the sample survey and was duly completed by the participants. The collected data was then analyzed and interpreted using multivariate statistical techniques, specifically multi-discriminant analysis. Designing effective behavioral interventions requires a clear understanding of how behaviors are formed and the factors that can influence them. People's decisions—both conscious and unconscious—are shaped by various cognitive biases, often leading them to act in predictably irrational ways. These biases significantly affect how consumers respond to policy measures. Therefore, incorporating insights from behavioral economics and social sciences is essential for developing strategies that effectively guide and influence consumer behavior.

In Indonesia, the central government is implementing the school zoning policy to address inequalities in education access. Despite this objective, the number of students dropping out of school – especially at the junior high school level – has been increasing each year. Many previous studies have explained the problem of school dropout by identifying various causal factors (such as personal, academic, peer relationships, socio-economic, socio-cultural, policy intervention, etc.). The effect of the school zoning policy on school dropout rates remains elusive. This study explored the implementation of the school zoning policy and its impact on junior high school dropout rates. Conducted in one of the regions with Indonesia’s highest student dropout rates, this case study revealed that the implementation of the school zoning policy drastically increased the number of private junior high school student dropouts, particularly at non-favourite schools. Comparing before and after, the average number of students dropping out of school increased by about 1.5 times. Notably, quota restrictions for low-income students in public junior high schools likely play a significant role in this problem. Using a realistic evaluation approach, this paper shows how the implementation of the school zoning policy causes an increase in the student dropout rates at the junior high school level. This paper suggests that the Ministry of Education should create targeted financial support programmes, such as free tuition, additional transportation costs, and pocket money, for economically disadvantaged students to decrease dropout rates and boost mandatory basic education completion.

Thousands of people are infected with HIV/AIDS in Nepal and most of them are adults of working age. Therefore, HIV/AIDS is a big burden in Nepal. This review was conducted to find the existing knowledge gap about the economic burden of HIV/AIDS at the household level in Nepal, the extent of economic burden exerted by the disease, and to provide policy recommendations. It is concluded that there was a considerable knowledge gap about the issue, and the economic burden exerted by HIV/AIDS was big enough to push the affected households into poverty. It is suggested that more studies need to be conducted to fill the knowledge gap. Similarly, Government of Nepal and other organisations working in the field of HIV/AIDS need to provide economic supports (e.g.- support for travel costs) to the HIV positive people and need to increase the awareness level among general population for reducing stigma and discrimination, and reducing economic burden on them.

Grassroots organizations are well situated to deliver the services and implement the development activities at community level in Nepal. The development of grassroots organizations on the one hand enables the effective service delivery while it enhances community governance system on the other. This study analyses the institutional capability of grassroots level organizations in relation to their service delivery and the study is based on primary and secondary data. One hundred and ten grassroots level organizations were chosen for organizational survey, and three focus group discussions were employed to supplement survey data. The Composite Index (CI) method was employed to analyze the data that shows overall capability of grassroots organizations remained efficient (CI = 0.77). Empirical findings indicate that many grassroots organizations were more committed to work as agents of change through institutional norms, rules and values. Nevertheless, some grassroots organizations were facing institutional crises, influenced by socio-economic power structure, and resource paucity. Following the discussion of results, this study recommends governance measure for efficient capability of grassroots organizations.Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol.11, 2017; 60-95

The Dalit community, one of the tribal communities, is economically exploited, educationally backwards, socially excluded, politically voiceless, psychologically dominated, marginalized, and disadvantaged in Nepal. The Dalit children are facing a myriad of challenges in acquiring education from and within school. Such sufferings range from community to school, and so far up to higher education. In this context, this study intends to explore the challenges they face in school while acquiring education from and within the community school of Nepal. Qualitative research, along with interpretative phenomenological approach, was employed in this study. A total of eight Dalit students, comprising four Madhesi Dalit (Risidev, Santal, Das, Paswan) and four Pahade Dalit (Biswokarma, Pariyar, Sarki, Gandarva) from secondary levels of community schools located in Morang district, were purposively selected as participants for this study. In depth interviews were conducted with participants via semi-structured interview guidelines. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The thematic analysis techniques were used to analyze the data. The study revealed that the Dalit students faced several challenges, such as administrative challenges, bullying, negative labelling, underestimation, unfriendly behavior, unfair treatment and poor motivation for education. This study implicates policymakers and education planners in making a strategy for setting non-discriminatory practices in education that promotes an equitable and inclusive society.

The study was conducted to identify the Role of economic factors in promoting Dalit Education. Dalits are socially, educationally, politically and economically backward. Dalits are known as the disadvantage communities who are culturally categorized as the untouchable caste in society. Legally, it is not allowed to do discrimination in spear of social activities on the basis of caste and ethnicity even though it is still in practice. The study was conducted among the 227 Dalit students, 18 guardians and 25 key informant interview group was in-depth interview and discussion in Nawalparasi district of Nepal. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the respondents from the Dalit communities. School enrolled children were participated in this study. Self-reported structured questionnaire was formed in 5 point Likert's scale to collect the perceptual data. Grade wise, mainly grade 5-10 students at least sometimes felt the problem of tiffin money, problem to manage the expenditure of their school's stationeries, problem of one uniform, feeling of sadness when they had no shoes like other friends, feeling of stress when they could not pay the school's fee and problem of one uniform. In all these issues there was highly significant association (p = .000) found on perception of different grade Dalit students. From the discussion, it was found that the Role of economic factors in promoting Dalit Education.

The research aimed at determining the impact of ICT applications on procurement processes. The population of study was composed of 110 respondents from Chegutu, Kadoma, Kwekwe, Chinhoyi and Gweru urban councils with a representative sample of eighty-six participants all drawn from the procurement, finance and works departments of the five councils. Quota sampling was used in this research with strata based on the level of employment in the three different divisions. The research utilized a proportion of 78% from each stratum to select eight-six respondents. Both primary and secondary data was used. Primary data was collected through questionnaire which was designed to satisfy research objectives. Secondary data came from relevant literature review, journals, business magazines, conference papers, and internet. Questionnaire responses were tabulated, coded by use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16 to analyze quantitative data. Qualitative analysis was used to obtain in depth knowledge of the level of ICT utilization and why users were operating at different levels. Findings of the study indicated that although ICT infrastructure with procurement application is in existence and available, utilization of Information Communication Technology is at basic level. Acceptance and adoption of ICT in procurement was driven by both organization and personal objectives. The view that technology adoption is based on the Technology Acceptance Model was applied in this study by testing the perceptions of ease of use and usefulness of ICT. The study revealed that ICT adoption in procurement improves the process and benefits other operations of the business. ICT training and skills development, coupled to organizations’ leadership commitment and availability of financial resources were cited as critical success factors in the acceptance and improved utilization of ICT in procurement. The researchers recommended further studies on the topic of ICT adoption in business operations by public entities.

As E-government has been referred to as the use of ICTs to transform government by making it more accessible, effective and accountable, the Nepal government has taken some positive initiatives for its development. However, according to the UN evaluation, the current E-government level in Nepal is still very poor. This paper raised two research questions: what the major problems of E-government implementation in Nepal are and which problem(s) should be solved first. For this purpose, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was used to rank the problems in hierarchical order. This study finds that among the various problems of E-government implementation in Nepal, a lack of strong leadership and government will, political-administrative instability, and resistance to change within organizations were again highlighted as the most severe ones by experts.