What Did They Say? Respondent Identity, Question Framing and the Measurement of Employment

Drawing from two labour market experiments in rural India, we offer insights on the influence of survey design on the measurement of employment. The first experiment contrasts self-reported estimates of employment with proxy-reported estimates from spouses. We find that employment estimates based on reports by men underestimate women’s employment by six percentage points compared to estimates from women themselves. There are significant differences in the types of employment activities reported by self and proxy. These divergences emanate from asymmetric measurement errors, stemming from gender-based norm disparities and divergent interpretations of employment and information asymmetry between spouses concerning marginal activities. The second experiment investigates if framing of questions and recall period has an impact on reporting labour market outcomes. We find that using multiple questions to probe about weekly employment status results in a 10-percentage-point-higher estimate of employment for women compared to a single question about their major activity.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the ethical dimensions of personnel management practices – specifically employee orientation and onboarding guided by ethical practices, diversity and inclusion based on fairness and equity, employee relations and communication rooted in ethical transparency and trust and employee wellness and benefits anchored on ethical wellbeing – and how these practices collectively and individually influence goal attainment of entrepreneurship development in Calabar Municipality. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a descriptive survey design to investigate the ethical dimensions of personnel management practices and goal attainment in entrepreneurship development in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State. The population comprised about 1,200 registered SMEs, from which 300 respondents were stratified by sector. Data were collected using a 30-item questionnaire (PMPGAEDQ) covering ethical orientation, diversity, communication, wellness and goal attainment, rated on a four-point scale. The instrument, validated by experts, had a reliability coefficient of 0.87. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and linear regression at 0.05 significance. Ethical approval, consent and confidentiality were ensured. Findings Findings revealed that all four null hypotheses were rejected (p < 0.001). (1) Employee orientation and onboarding significantly predicted goal attainment (R = 0.47, F(2,297) = 56.20, p < 0.001), with orientation (β = 0.529) stronger than onboarding (β = 0.388). (2) Diversity and inclusion had significant effects (R = 0.44, F(2,297) = 51.74, p < 0.001), with diversity (β = 0.493) exceeding inclusion (β = 0.376). (3) Employee relations and communication were significant (R2 = 0.42, F(2,297) = 47.92, p < 0.001), relations (β = 0.517) stronger than communication (β = 0.403). (4) Wellness and benefits predicted goal attainment (R2 = 0.45, F(2,297) = 54.36, p < 0.001), wellness (β = 0.509) higher than benefits (β = 0.395). Research limitations/implications This study is limited by its reliance on self-reported data, which may introduce respondent bias, and its focus on SMEs within Calabar Municipality, restricting generalizability to other regions or larger enterprises. Despite these constraints, the findings offer practical implications: ethically informed personnel management through structured orientation, inclusive practices, effective communication and wellness initiatives can significantly enhance entrepreneurial goal attainment. Policymakers and entrepreneurs can leverage these insights to design human resource strategies that foster sustainable entrepreneurship, improve employee engagement and strengthen organizational performance in resource-constrained local contexts. Practical implications The study underscores that ethically informed personnel management practices are critical for achieving entrepreneurial goals. Entrepreneurs and SME managers should implement structured employee orientation and onboarding, foster diversity and inclusion, strengthen communication and employee relations and provide wellness and benefits programs. These practices enhance productivity, innovation and employee retention, contributing to sustainable business growth. Policymakers and business support agencies can use these insights to develop training, guidelines and incentives that promote ethical personnel management and drive entrepreneurship development in local and resource-constrained contexts. Social implications Ethically driven personnel management practices in entrepreneurial ventures can foster fair, inclusive and supportive work environments, enhancing employee wellbeing and social cohesion. By promoting diversity, transparent communication and equitable treatment, SMEs contribute to reducing workplace inequalities and improving community-level economic stability. Enhanced employee satisfaction and ethical organizational culture can also encourage social responsibility, civic engagement and sustainable practices among entrepreneurs. These outcomes strengthen the broader societal fabric, supporting local development and empowering communities in Calabar Municipality and similar socio-economic contexts. Originality/value This study offers a novel integration of ethical dimensions within personnel management practices and their impact on entrepreneurial goal attainment, specifically in the context of Calabar Municipality. Unlike prior research that examines individual practices in isolation or focuses on developed economies, this work holistically investigates employee orientation, onboarding, diversity and inclusion, communication and wellness as ethically infused systems. By combining Social Cognitive Theory and the Resource-Based View, the study provides a unique theoretical and practical lens, offering actionable insights for entrepreneurs, policymakers and stakeholders on leveraging ethically grounded human resource practices to enhance sustainable entrepreneurship development in emerging economies.

Key design characteristics (KDCs) are important information related to the product and part designs, which significantly influence on the product’s functions, performances, and quality. Identifying KDCs for a complex product will help designers to focus on key design parameters during the design process and rapidly obtain design schemes based on their close relationships to the product’s functions, performances, and quality. Although there are some researches on key characteristic (KC) identification, most of them are focused on key process characteristics (KPCs) and few on KDCs. There also lacks a KDC identification framework to support KDC identification with better completeness and diverse usages. Adaptive design is the most important pattern of complex product design. Therefore, this paper presents a systematic method to identify KDCs for complex product adaptive design, in which KDCs can be determined by two related phases. Firstly, a product design specification (PDS)-KDC Candidates Network (PKCN) is constructed by using existing product instance data, cluster analysis, KC flow-down, and network analysis approaches. Then, the result from the first phase is used as a basis to identify KDCs for adaptive design. Three KDC identification techniques: similarity reasoning technique, breadth-first search (BFS), and the gray relational analysis approach are applied to find out KDCs from the PKCN, which are the most sensitive to the variation of a PDS. These identified KDCs can help designers to understand the relationships between KDCs and PDS and rapidly develop a design scheme. The effectiveness and the feasibility of the proposed method are verified by a case study via the development of an electric multiple unit (EMU)’s bogie.

BackgroundSocial inequities in early child bearing persist among young married people, especially among tribal populations in India. Rural women belonging to tribal groups and those coming from poor households are more likely to give birth before age 18. This paper explores the connection between ethnicity, gender and early fertility intention among young married people in rural India.MethodsThe data is drawn from a cross sectional baseline evaluation of an intervention programme in rural India. A sample of 273 married young people was taken. Respondents were selected using systematic random sampling. Logistic Regression was used to assess the effect of being a tribal on early fertility intention and also to determine if covariates associated with early fertility intention differed by tribal status. Qualitative data was analysed using deductive content analysis approach.ResultsBivariate and logistic regression results indicated that young married people from tribal communities had higher odds of planning a child within one year of marriage than non-tribals (OR = 1.47, p-value-0.079). Findings further suggest that early fertility intention among tribals is driven by gender factors and higher education and among non-tribals, higher education and awareness on contraception are key predictors. Among tribals, the odds of planning a child within one year of marriage was strongly associated with inequitable gender norms (OR = 1.94, p-value-0.002). Higher education showed significant positive association with non-tribals (OR = 0.19, p-value-0.014) and positive association with tribals (OR = 0.56, p-value-0.416). Qualitative investigation confirms that fertility desires of young married people are strongly influenced by gender norms especially among tribal populations.ConclusionEarly child bearing was underpinned by complex ethnic factors and gender norms. Preference for early child bearing was seen most among tribal communities. Gender attitudes were a cause of concern especially among tribal groups. These results suggest that efforts to improve early child birth will require changing gender norms related to fertility among tribals as well as social equity issues including higher education among non-tribals and tribals.

Evidence has linked economic hardship with increased intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration among males. However, less is known about how economic debt or gender norms related to men's roles in relationships or the household, which often underlie IPV perpetration, intersect in or may explain these associations. We assessed the intersection of economic debt, attitudes toward gender norms, and IPV perpetration among married men in India. Data were from the evaluation of a family planning intervention among young married couples (n=1,081) in rural Maharashtra, India. Crude and adjusted logistic regression models for dichotomous outcome variables and linear regression models for continuous outcomes were used to examine debt in relation to husbands' attitudes toward gender-based norms (i.e., beliefs supporting IPV and beliefs regarding male dominance in relationships and the household), as well as sexual and physical IPV perpetration. Twenty percent of husbands reported debt. In adjusted linear regression models, debt was associated with husbands' attitudes supportive of IPV (b=0.015, p=0.004) and norms supporting male dominance in relationships and the household (b=0.006, p=0.003). In logistic regression models adjusted for relevant demographics, debt was associated with perpetration of physical IPV (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1, 1.9) and sexual IPV (AOR=1.6, 95% CI 1.1, 2.1) from husbands. These findings related to debt and relation to IPV were slightly attenuated when further adjusted for men's attitudes toward gender norms. Findings suggest the need for combined gender equity and economic promotion interventions to address high levels of debt and related IPV reported among married couples in rural India.

BackgroundIn India, 50% of women of reproductive age, compared with 23% of men, have iron deficiency anemia. Extant research focuses on biological, not social, determinants of this disparity. ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to examine how gender norms may affect anemia prevalence among women in rural India. MethodsWe conducted 16 focus group discussions (N = 124) with women of reproductive age, husbands, and mothers-in-law and 25 key informant interviews in four villages in Odisha, India. ResultsWe identified the following themes that help explain how inequitable gender norms exacerbate anemia among women from different castes and tribes:Due to a double burden of work outside the home and completing the majority of unpaid work in the home, women lack time to visit health centers to get tested for anemia and to obtain iron supplements.Women are expected to prioritize the health of their family over their own, thus affecting their access to health care.Women's autonomy to leave the house to seek health care is limited.Men are the primary breadwinners for the family, but often spend their money on alcohol, rather than on iron-rich food for the household.Intra-household food allocation favors men, in-laws, and children, thus women serve their family first, often being left with little food. ConclusionAnemia reduction interventions need to include examination of the whole social context to successfully increase iron supplement use and iron-rich food intake. Understanding how gender norms contribute to anemia could change the narrative from a biomedical to a social justice issue.

Resistance in rejecting solid fuels: Beyond availability and adoption in the structural dominations of cooking practices in rural India

Gender and LPG use after government intervention in rural north India.

This research study examines traditional and modern distribution channels in rural India’s agricultural markets. Traditional channels, including village traders, haats, and informal intermediaries, have historically shaped the flow of agricultural produce from farmers to consumers. However, they are characterized by inefficiencies, high transaction costs, limited market access, and information asymmetries. Modern distribution channels such as agricultural e-markets (eNAM), digital platforms (e-Choupal), cooperatives, and integrated value chains have emerged to address these challenges. The review synthesizes evidence demonstrating that modern channels increase price transparency, reduce intermediary exploitation, enhance market access, improve net returns for farmers, and support rural economic development. This paper argues that modern distribution channels, bolstered by digital technologies and institutional innovations, are more effective than traditional channels in improving welfare and sustainability in rural agricultural supply chains.

The institution of tenancy has remained one of the most debated rural institutions since the days of Adam Smith. The classical economists debated the relative efficiency of different tenurial systems, namely, fixed rent tenancy and share tenancy (metayage as it was called in French following a 50-50 sharing). The proposition that share tenancy is an inferior contractual arrangement is clearly stated in Alfred Marshal’s Principles (1920); it is quite often referred to as Marshallian inefficiency or tax equivalent approach to share tenancy. In more recent times, the theoretical debate has branched into two schools. While one school supports the Marshallian inefficiency proposition, the other has sought to demonstrate that resource allocation must be efficient regardless of tenurial contracts (Cheung, 1969; Otsuka and Hayami, 1988 and Otsuka et al., 1992). In a somewhat related debate, marxists consider tenancy in general, and share tenancy in particular, as a source of exploitation and surplus appropriation, whereas the neo-classicals explain its emergence and persistence in terms of imperfect rural markets characterised by moral hazards, information asymmetry, high transaction costs, etc. (Stiglitz, 1989; Braverman and Stiglitz, 1982; Ray, 1998; Pearce, 1983; Bharadwaj and Das, 1975; Prasad, 1973; Bhadhuri, 1973). In the Indian context, a number of empirical studies, based on sample surveys, have looked into various aspects of tenancy relations like magnitude, type, relative efficiency of different land tenure systems, and so on. The studies pertaining to eastern Indian states, especially of the earlier vintage, have, inter alia, shown that tenancy, in particular share tenancy, in conjunction with the exploitative interlinkages in credit and labour markets act as a formidable barrier in the introduction of new agricultural technology (Bhadhuri, 1973; Prasad, 1973; Bharadwaj and Das, 1975). More recent studies for these states have, however, reported qualitative changes in diverse aspects of tenancy relations (Chadha and Bhaumik, 1992; Swain, 1999; Jha, 2004; Chattopadhyay and Sengupta, 2001; Sharma et al., 1995). In a similar vein, studies in other states, especially in agriculturally developed states like

This study aims to explore the key design features that support office building occupants from the adverse effects on health, well-being, and productivity (i.e., the three aspects in the WELL Building Standard). To achieve that aim, the objectives are to (1) identify the key design features that support health, well-being, and productivity; (2) compare the key design features; and (3) analyze the interrelationships between the key design features. Information from a systematic literature review and semistructured interviews with 23 office building occupants was used to develop a questionnaire survey consisting of 33 design features. Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis H test, normalized mean score ranking technique, overlapping analysis, and Spearman’s correlation analysis were used to analyze 206 valid responses. The findings highlighted 11 key design features that simultaneously support office building occupants’ health, well-being, and productivity. The design features are air quality, clean drinking water, comfortable artificial lighting, adjustable workstation, comfortable temperature, sufficient space, security system, safety at parking lots, cleanliness, efficiency in building services, and safe design. From these, the last six key design features are absent from the existing WELL Building Standard. The study findings provide new insights into the body of knowledge on WELL building. Industry practitioners can use the findings in designing, planning, and maintaining office buildings that support health, well-being, and productivity. Additionally, policymakers can establish an alternative rating tool for evaluating office buildings.

Information asymmetry limits the potential of rural banking system in India. We are currently in a situation where banks are equipped with better access to the borrower's profile which includes details of land titles, assets, trade-credit linkages, fellow guarantees and history of transactions and default. The borrowers, on the other hand, are generally less endowed with vital information like awareness about their credit limit, clarity on loan eligibility criteria, benefits of timely repayments, and ways and means to tide over difficult times. The paper, based on small borrower's responses from household survey, shows that bank branches which reduced these information asymmetry generally have greater likelihood of satisfied customers. One major policy implication of the findings of this paper is that information diffusion may have a critical role in unleashing the full potential of our banking system.

This study examined perceived staff implementation of program elements related to key programmatic design features of a community sport-based positive youth development (PYD) program for socially vulnerable youth. Previous research supports the ability of sport-based PYD programs to promote positive developmental outcomes, such as life skills. However, much remains unclear about the processes and factors that contribute to such outcomes. Specifically, there is a lack of understanding related to the implementation of key programmatic design features. Over the course of a 4-week sport-based PYD program, data were collected from 54 staff members at 60 time points. The degree of implementation related to key programmatic design features, including the program climate, curriculum usage, and quality of instruction were examined. Additionally, perceived implementation was compared across type and setting of sport activity. Analyses revealed that there was no significant difference in reported implementation for program climate, curriculum, and structure related to the type of sport (i.e., contact vs. non-contact sport). However, there was a significant difference in reported implementation of program climate and curriculum across the setting of sport activity (i.e., indoor vs. outdoor facilities). Implications for sport-based PYD program planning and management are discussed.

To evaluate reporting of key study design features and study outcomes in trials of antimicrobial treatment of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in North American feedlots. Systematic review. 29 manuscripts (41 studies) reporting antimicrobial treatment of BRD in North American feedlot cattle. A search of the electronic citation databases AGRICOLA, Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau, and PubMed was conducted to identify relevant manuscripts published between 1970 and 2005. Key study design features were extracted by 2 reviewers. 12 of 29 (41%) manuscripts did not disclose a funding source, and 21 (72%) had an author clearly identified as an employee of a pharmaceutical company. At the study level, 36 of 41 (88%) studies reported a random method of treatment allocation, 9 (22%) described the method of allocation sequence generation, 20 (49%) reported that study investigators were blinded to treatment, and 3 (7%) included a study size justification. No studies described the null hypothesis to be tested. Thirty-seven (90%) studies reported at least 3 outcomes; the largest number of outcomes reported was 14. It was not possible to conduct the statistical analysis as originally planned because it was not possible to discern the primary outcome for the majority of studies. Many studies did not report key study design features that would assist critical evaluation by readers. It was not clear whether the studies failed to use the design features or failed to report them. Several nondesign features, such as reporting of the null hypothesis, a primary outcome, and sample size rationale, represent relatively new standards for reporting; however, reporting these features would substantially clarify the study objective.

The emergence of HIV in rural India has the potential to heighten gender inequity in a context where women already suffer significant health disparities. Recent Indian health policies provide new opportunities to identify and implement gender-equitable rural HIV services. In this review, we adapt Mosley and Chen's conceptual framework of health to outline determinants for HIV health services utilization and outcomes. Examining the framework through a gender lens, we conduct a comprehensive literature review for gender-related gaps in HIV clinical services in rural India, focusing on patient access and outcomes, provider practices, and institutional partnerships. Contextualizing findings from rural India in the broader international literature, we describe potential strategies for gender-equitable HIV services in rural India, as responses to the following three questions: (1) What gender-specific patient needs should be addressed for gender-equitable HIV testing and care? (2) What do health care providers need to deliver HIV services with gender equity? (3) How should institutions enforce and sustain gender-equitable HIV services? Data at this early stage indicate substantial gender-related differences in HIV services in rural India, reflecting prevailing gender norms. Strategies including gender-specific HIV testing and care services would directly address current gender-specific patient needs. Rural care providers urgently need training in gender sensitivity and HIV-related communication and clinical skills. To enforce and sustain gender equity, multi-sectoral institutions must establish gender-equitable medical workplaces, interdisciplinary HIV services partnerships, and oversight methods, including analysis of gender-disaggregated data. A gender-equitable approach to rural India's rapidly evolving HIV services programmes could serve as a foundation for gender equity in the overall health care system.