Community Autonomy Research Articles

Harms to Community Food Security Resulting from Gender-Based Violence

While the right to food and community self-reliance underpin current knowledge and interpretation of community food security (CFS), the literature on CFS seldom accounts for the ways in which gender-based violence (GBV) disrupts and undermines CFS. In this review, we make the case that GBV in CFS contexts manifests as a continuum, involving different forms of violence that blend into and reinforce each other, fueling social degradation and undermining the capacity of community food system workers to prioritise and pursue CFS. We show that harms to CFS resulting from GBV manifest through (i) GBV-induced social degradation, (ii) erosion of moral and ethical values anchoring CFS, (iii) disruption of crucial food systems sustainability pathways to CFS, (iv) the challenges, behaviours and activities of community food system workers, and (v) the crippling of community-level on-farm and off-farm food value chains, which oftentimes disrupt food access, consumption and utilisation. We further outline that the diversion of CFS funds into GBV prevention services may reduce CFS-related economic outputs and that CFS efforts that are GBV-blind can undermine the agency of community food system workers, pushing them into decisions that undermine CFS. We conclude that there is a dearth of information on how to mainstream GBV-sensitivity into CFS plans, and it is unclear whether GBV-responsive CFS initiatives can enhance the legitimacy of CFS efforts in GBV-exposed settings. We suggest that the spectrum of what is considered “community” in relation to CFS be expanded; and that scholars and practitioners pay attention to the dynamics of GBV, focusing on how GBV occurring at individual and household levels spills over into communities to undermine CFS. Finally, since GBV is not only a human rights violation issue but also a catalyst for social degradation and food insecurity, we encourage refocusing CFS efforts to prioritise early detection and prevention of GBV across specific community-level, on-farm and off-farm food value chains in order to better enhance community ties and foster food security.

Beyond the Individual: Community-Centric Approaches to Increase Diversity in Biomedical Research.

Community-centric approaches to engage underrepresented populations-including community engagement, community-level consent practices, and capacity development for research-are means to enhance diversity in biomedical research populations in a more ethical way. Low diversity is a known problem in biomedical research that presents challenges in translating the benefits of research to the global population. Through long-term partnerships built on trust and collaboration, communities who would otherwise avoid research may be more willing to participate. When communities are engaged in research as partners and research questions are motivated by community health priorities, research is more meaningful and research methods are more respectful. Conversely, a lack of consultation throughout the research process can further alienate the very communities that these efforts are designed to engage. A number of underserved populations-for example American Indian and Alaska Native peoples-may value the benefits of research to a community equally or more than individual benefits. A community's autonomy must be considered, particularly when that community is not adequately protected by traditional informed consent processes. Opportunities for capacity development to support collaborative partnerships between communities and researchers are required to support engagement and understanding of the research process. Changes to research processes and infrastructure that encourage a higher level of research oversight within the community should be supported. In this paper, we present approaches that may improve diversity and equitable access to research and the delivery of health innovations for people that have historically been left out of biomedical research.

A Hierarchical Model for Quality Evaluation of Mixed Source Software Based on ISO/IEC 25010

With the emergence of mixed source software, the existing quality models are not able to better assess the community quality and autonomy controllability of mixed source software. To fill this gap, we propose a hierarchical model in this paper for quality assessment of mixed source software. In our model, the new attributes are proposed to meet the quality requirements of mixed source software based on the ISO/IEC 25010 standards, and a set of metrics are designed for the new attributes. The model evaluates the quality of mixed source software through quality attributes that have been quantified by the metrics. Applying our quality model to some mixed source software and comparing the model results with the actual situation, we verify whether our proposed two quality attributes, community intensity and autonomy controllability, can effectively assess the quality of mixed source software. The results of the experiments show that our model is indeed effective in assessing the quality of mixed source software. An important feature of our model is that the model has good flexibility, and the set of quality attributes and metrics can be adjusted freely, which provides a flexible and feasible way for various software quality assessment requirements.

Haredi Fundamentalism in the State of Israel

Since its establishment in 1948, the State of Israel, which defines itself as Jewish-nation state, has been providing Haredi Jewry, also known as ultra-Orthodoxy, with a vast autonomy in education, enabling the development of a Jewish “Society of Learning Men.”This goes back to the Status quo regulations, which blocks the separation of state and religion in the country. In this framework, Haredi Jewry, which was nearly extinct after the Shoah, has developed into a striving and confident fundamentalist religious Jewish movement. At the same time, it has become the demographically most dynamic Jewish current. The influence of Haredi Jewry in Israel is crucial, for its leadership and its members do consider their isolationist, counter-acculturative, anti-modern moulding as the only authentic and “pure” form of Judaism, and they actively combat liberal Jewish interpretations or denominations.In this paper, a discussion about the definition of Haredism as fundamentalism will be provided. Furthermore, it will be argued that through the basic requirement of the Status quo between State and Jewish (orthodox) religion, the Haredi society’s attempt to organize itself as a cultural and communal autonomy has been highly successful also against the background of the societal restrictions of this effort given the dependant relationship that has developed between the Haredi community and general Israeli society. As illustrations for this case study, the educational autonomy, the Haredi judicial power over Jewish and non-Jewish citizens and the struggle over the Shabbat regulations will be examined.

Exclusion and Cooperation of the Urban Poor Outside the Institutional Framework of the Smart City: A Case of Seoul

Although information and communication technology (ICT) has recently revolutionized human settlements, its allocation and availability have not been evenly distributed globally. Consequently, the urban poor have often been excluded from government-driven smart city projects due to their inability to access and utilize ICT. Instead, the urban poor have attempted to forge an alternative smart city-making pathway outside institutions, in collaboration with radical social groups. Thus, this article examines the nature of the development of poor urban communities in their alternative smart city-related practices by exploring changing power dynamics and social infrastructure across the boundaries of smart city institutions. The case study of Seoul demonstrates that the urban poor can build a unique social infrastructure through radical intermediary intervention, which can improve their communal autonomy and construct a self-governing system, albeit within constraints. This article also argues that radical organizational transition can deprive these populations of opportunities to engage in various smart city-related practices, particularly those driven by the public and private sectors with speculative motives, while little or no qualitative growth of their communal autonomy has occurred within the institutional framework. Therefore, this article criticizes the double-edged ambivalence of the alternative smart city-making pathway for the urban poor, where their right to the smart city remains unachieved, despite their radical approach contributing to genuinely humanizing smart urbanism.

EXPERIENCE OF FORMING BUDGET EQUALIZATION SYSTEMS IN THE COUNTRIES OF THE ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Topicality. Reforming of the state regional policy and increasing of the socio-economic level of development of administrative-territorial units require comprehensive research and study of the experience of foreign countries regarding the methods of forming budget resources and finding an effective model of budget equalization, which is especially relevant in the context of the decentralization reform.Aim and tasks. To carry out the analysis of budget equalization systems in the countries of the Organization for economic cooperation and development, and to substantiate the possibility of using foreign experience of budget equalization in Ukraine.Research results. In foreign practice, several basic models of budget equalization are distinguished: horizontal and vertical equalization of income or expenses. A representative taxation system with a standard set of taxes is used to assess the possibility of revenue collection. The expenses equalization model compared to the income equalization model provides an answer to the question of whether the community has become capable, or how close it has come to it. A necessary condition for the application of this model is the availability of expenses standards for the provision of public services. The "gap-filling" fiscal equalization model combines expenditure and income equalization into a single transfer designed to fill the gap between financial needs and income. In practice, there are very few countries that use only one of the budget equalization models. Basically, there is a combination of different models and methods of horizontal and vertical equalization of income and expenses. The basis of the construction of budget equalization systems are the coefficients and formulas used to determine the size of equalization transfers. Systems that include elements of income equalization usually rely on a standard set of taxes and standard tax rates. At the same time, one of the solutions is to use a small set of taxes. Expenses equalization systems are more complex because cost estimation often involves a large number of factors. In some countries, regression-based standardized costing approaches have been used. Budget equalization systems are not static entities, the norm of the need for their periodic analysis and evaluation is often included in the legislation underlying them. Such an analysis can lead to reforms of budget equalization systems. Several key factors motivating the reform of equalization systems were identified: growing or high levels of inequality in the fiscal capabilities of communities, regional incomes or the provision of public services; insufficient fiscal autonomy; unstable and non-transparent budget alignment; inadequate incentives and lack of political neutrality in the budget equalization system. Reform of budget equalization systems in OECD countries is carried out in the following directions: transition to systems based on rules; increasing the fiscal autonomy of communities; simplification of alignment formulas; simplification of the representative tax system; periodic review of alignment formulas.Conclusion. In practice, there are very few countries that use only one of the budget equalization models. Basically, there is a combination of different models and methods of horizontal and vertical equalization of income and expenses. The basis of the construction of budget equalization systems are the coefficients and formulas used to determine the size of equalization transfers. The income equalization system relies on a standard set of taxes and standard tax rates. Cost equalization systems are more complex because cost estimation often involves a large number of factors. Budget equalization systems are not static entities, the norm of the need for their periodic analysis and evaluation is often included in the legislation underlying them.

Pengorganisasian dan Pengelolaan Sampah di Pantai Jimbaran

The garbage on Jimbaran Beach poses a serious ecological problem because it causes pollution and has disrupted beauty and health. Jimbaran Village Beach is a beach tourism area that needs to be managed properly, considering that tourist visits have started to increase so that the potential for waste disposal is also increasing. This service activity seeks to (a) raise awareness and the active role of the community in environmental conservation and (b) increase community self-reliance through waste management. The solutions and methods applied are participatory. The community, as the main actor in healthy environmental action, processes waste into products of economic value. The results of service activities show the formation of community mindsets and behavior in waste management based on the 3R concept (reduce, reuse, and recycle). Waste is processed into organic fertilizer with the help of waste processing equipment. The community becomes skilled in processing organic waste into fertilizer that can be used in the agricultural industry.

The Extra-Ordinary Music Camp: An informal online distance learning approach for children with intellectual and physical disabilities and learning disorders

In summer 2020, 25 children aged 8–17 with intellectual and physical disabilities and learning disorders participated in a research project called the Extra-Ordinary Music Camp. The objectives were to (1) provide an adapted environment where extra-ordinary children could develop musical creativity; and (2) examine the impact of informal, inclusive, participatory, and adapted creative music activities on specific development areas. Individual 20–40-min online sessions were delivered at a distance biweekly for 7 weeks. Mixed methods analysis was used to determine the effects. Results show shared improvement across the communication and social skills measures, and improvements for all participants in community use, musical skills, autonomy, and technology skills. Notably, the improvements in community use (ABAS-II) and communication (specifically developed questionnaire) were significant.

Community food systems resilience: Values, benefits, and indicators

There is increasing awareness that community food policies and programs can address issues of equity, sustainability, profitability, and resilience in food systems. Community coalitions, local governments, food policy councils, cooperative extension, and other stakeholders seek to improve community food systems through policy and programmatic development. However, these groups often do not know what types of policy or program models exist to help achieve their goals. This research identified expert consensus on three important topics related to community food systems resilience: (1) values that should guide adopting and implementing poli­cies and programs to facilitate community food systems resilience, (2) benefits of adopting policies and programs that support community food sys­tems resilience, and (3) policies, programs, and ini­tiatives that are indicators of resilience. These indi­cators can be used to assess the resilience of communities and to help communities identify pol­icy options to achieve specific goals and objectives. The results of this study were used to create a com­munity food system resilience audit tool that com­munity groups can use to assess the current resili­ency of their food system, identify priorities, and set goals. The audit tool focuses on seven core themes that contribute to community food systems resilience: agricultural and ecological sustainability, community health, community self-reliance, dis­tributive and democratic leadership, focus on the farmer and food maker, food justice, and place-based economics. The individual indicators in this audit tool provide specific policies and practices that can be adopted by local governments, sup­ported by cooperative extension agents, and advo­cated for by food policy councils and community-based organizations.

Implementasi Kebijakan Pemilihan Kepala Daerah Dengan Sistem Noken di Papua

Direct Regional Head Election or Pilkada is an interesting development in the history of politics in Indonesia. Pilkada is the initial momentum of people's sovereignty and the political system and democracy at the regional level. This phenomenon shows the great enthusiasm of the community in appreciating the Pilkada process directly and this can be interpreted as the operationalization of community autonomy to determine their own and direct regional heads. One of the real phenomena that occurs is the use of the noken system in regional head elections in Papua. The method used is descriptive research with a qualitative approach. The implementation of policies with the Noken system is still marked by various inequalities that require professionalism of election organizers, but if democracy with the Noken system turns out to be running better and packaged attractively, it will be positive. It is fitting that the implementation of this noken system policy is really implemented with a professional objective by the Government, KPU, Bawaslu, it is not impossible that conflicts in regional head elections with this system can be avoided. Much needs to be addressed, including the neutral role of stakeholders in providing information about representation in elections with the noken system, good rules of the game according to the provisions, monitoring the operation of the noken system which leads to accommodation of local wisdom to become a cultural solution in a modern democratic system.

Narrative of the muted selves

Chitra Banerjee represents the more new-fangled generation of writers’ phase of Indian English fiction. The Palace of Illusions (2008) and The Forest of Enchantments (2019) depict the plight of two women belonging to two different eras who are forced to live in a patriarchal world, suffering from its clutches. The current study attempts to bring in the various aspects of feminism, the concept of a “New Woman”, and sheds fresh light on a major Hindu epic, and attempts to question a woman’s place in society and reflects on the idea of female autonomy in a patriarchal community. The paper attempts an all-inclusive discussion of the concept of feminism. It is important to trace the experiences of both the female characters and how they evolve as strong identities.

Community Self-Reliance of Rural Tourism in Indonesia: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Community-based tourism villages have now become a worldwide concern because of their tremendous impact on strengthening the empowerment of local communities as well as on enhancing social responsibility in a sustainable manner. This study aims to explore the meaning of self-reliance in tourism village communities since it is a key indicator of the progress of community-based tourism villages. This study adopted a qualitative approach with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to investigate the meaning of people's experiences from inter-subjective activities in a double-hermeneutic process between researchers and people who experience them. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight (8) research subjects from the tourism village community. This study demonstrates the meaning of community self-reliance in terms of (1) community self-assurance; (2) integrity; (3) community commitment; (4) community resilience; (5) sustainability. This study is limited to residents of the Pentingsari tourism village in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This village rests on simplicity and a natural setting, as well as the community's self-reliance, resulting in an exemplary of a self-sustained tourist village in Indonesia.

Community Bargaining with Urban Growth: The Case of J Village in Guangzhou.

The past several decades have seen China undergo a rapid urbanization process. During periods of economic prosperity, cities expropriate outlying lands, often villages, for economic development with the support of various local and national government programs designed to encourage urban expansion. However, the autonomy of the villages has not been paid enough attention. How does incorporation into an urban development zone affect the community identity and autonomy of a village? How does the village bargain with external urban institutions? This research is based on ethnographic research and interviews conducted in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2021. The results reveal that villagers are generally willing to accept the loss of their collective land in exchange for a larger share of the promised prosperity of industrialization, but over time they tend to find that the immediate benefits of expropriation are outweighed by long-term costs. They lose the support of the state and are exposed to new vulnerabilities, such as pollution and economic instability. Indeed, they agree to undertake unknown future risks in exchange for short-term gains. They cannot gain the right to the city, but gradually lose control of the village.

Empathy for the health professional in online asynchronous graduate education: an initial design thinking approach to program improvement

IntroductionHealth professionals engage in continuous professional development through higher education. As traditional university learning environments pose a challenge to working health professionals, distance education allows these learners to engage in higher education in alignment with their learning preferences and needs. Literature on health professional learners’ experiences in online learning environments report findings at the course level and/or focus on a singular aspect of the online learning experience.ObjectivesIn this initial study, we aim to understand the health professional learner’s perspective in a distance graduate education program and make normative recommendations to improve the health professional learner experience in an online environment.MethodsWithin the context of the Empathy arm of Deitte and Omary’s (Deitte and Omary in Acad Radiol 26:1417–1420, 2019) Design Thinking methodology, we conducted a two-part sequential explanatory qualitative study. Part 1 involved focus groups with stakeholders (n = 14) of the Health Science Education (HSED) Graduate Program at McMaster University (Hamilton, Canada). Part 2 entailed semi-structured interviews with learners (n = 11) in the HSED Program. An unconstrained approach to directed content analysis was used to analyze the data and construct themes.ResultsAn overarching theme of ‘the learner experience is an autonomous-supportive online learning environment’ was constructed, with two sub-themes: learner autonomy and building community.ConclusionLearners valued an autonomous-supportive online learning environment wherein they could tailor their educational experiences while also fostering a sense of community in the online environment. Future research should consider how a balance between maintaining autonomy in pacing learning and building community can be achieved to enhance the health professional learner experience in an online environment.

Realities of Leading Change: Challenges and Successes of an Innovation Faced by Principals

Limited research examines the process of leading innovative school change from the perspective of principals. In this case study, three school principals implement a novel school model, franchise model schools. Using interviews, the researchers examined the successes and challenges principals experienced while implementing and leading this change. Data analysis revealed three significant challenges leading franchise model schools: (1) low teacher morale at the inception of the model; (2) time management; and (3) alignment among franchise campuses. However, three significant successes surfaced. Franchise principals were able to increase (1) community engagement, (2) autonomy and creativity, and (3) the sharing of best practices. Authors recommend more research context-specific to the school's culture and a principal's level of experience in leading change. Researchers should identify successful innovative schools and examine what change models were used by those principals.

빅데이터 분석기술을 이용한 자치경찰제 도입 전후 인식 연구

The reason for the introduction of the autonomous police system is closely related to the ideology of local autonomy guaranteed by the Constitution, and the democracy of security administration that reflects the participation of residents and the autonomy of local communities is key. Against this background, the main affairs of the self-governing police in Korea are centered on resident-friendly and public security. It is expected that the self-governing police will need the interest, understanding, cooperation, and participation of local communities and local residents to secure the security of the local community and solve various problems. This study aims to derive implications and provide basic data for the development of autonomous police by using the search volume related to autonomous police before and after the introduction of the autonomous police system, news, and SNS. According to the research results, first, search volume and news volume increased according to specific issues, but after the introduction of the system, search volume decreased while news volume increased. It can be understood that a large number of news are derived according to various issues about the autonomous police system, apart from people's interest. In order to attract local residents' attention and help them understand, efforts should be accompanied by exploring and applying promotional means other than media reports, and measures to secure finances to prepare an environment in which various policy methods can be proposed. Second, it can be inferred that there is still a lack of understanding and many questions about the autonomous police in that keywords related to form, timing, and method of introduction were highlighted through analysis of keywords related to news search before and after the introduction of the autonomous police. In order to enhance the public's understanding of the autonomous police and to establish a stable settlement, the government and related ministries should increase state support of cities and provinces and expand the authority of provincial governors to provide a foundation for operating in accordance with the purpose of the system. In addition, it is necessary to make efforts to dispel concerns by preparing measures to compensate for the shortcomings of the autonomous police system. Third, before and after the introduction, people's perception of the autonomous police was found to have changed positively on SNS, and it can be interpreted as expressing expectations for the autonomous police not long after the system was implemented. Therefore, in order for local police to dispel people's concerns and meet the expectations expressed, it will be necessary to supplement legal and institutional devices to secure the expertise and internalization of local police, including related ministries and institutions.

Reputation evaluation model in social networks based on information behavior

Social network has become an important channel for people to obtain information.Trusted user information behavior is the key to build cyberspace security. A dynamic reputation evaluation method based on supervision feedback of user information behavior is helpful to promote social network self-discipline and achieve good community autonomy. The comprehensive reputation evaluation of each node integrates identity and behavior reputation. And the reputation is dynamically updated by setting the new node evaluation period and phased update mechanism. Identity reputation is calculated by information disclosure and network characteristics; Behavior reputation is calculated by information release and forwarding, and rewards or punishments will be given to self-correction of information behavior or blocking of bad information. The simulation results show that compared with the traditional trust evaluation mechanism, setting rewards and punishments guidance can improve the accuracy of reputation evaluation. At the same time, reputation incentive can also inhibit the interaction of bad information while promoting the consciousness of reporting.

A terrestrial Internet from the quilombos: the transatlantic evolution of baobab from colonial to digital capitalism

ABSTRACT Based on ethnographic fieldwork, this article examines the origin and development of “Baobáxia,” a digital network for sharing community-produced content. Baobaxia emerged in “quilombos” (communities of run-away slaves’ descendents) in Brazil in the early 2000s and expanded to other marginalized groups in South America, Africa, and Europe. Our focus on the essential roles of baobab trees in this network raises the question of material resources sustaining the Internet and digital capitalism. Baobaxia turns out to be a “terrestrial Internet” that exposes the capitalist illusion of dematerialization and demonstrates a different approach to technology development amid the planetary environmental crises today. The analysis reveals the articulation of ancestral knowledge and new technologies in the building of Baobaxia, a network that is adaptive to local-geographical, ecological and infrastructural conditions and that supports community resistance, autonomy, and sustainability. The development of Baobaxia, historically rooted and future-oriented, is an enlightening grassroots experiment in exploring and sharing ways of making a world that may sustain life. Our study of the five-century transatlantic evolution of baobab challenges the often limited spatio-temporal framework in ethnographic research. We thus call for methodological openness to alternative perspectives from ethnographic interlocutors to guide academic understandings of the world.

The productive autonomy of public forest-dwellers in the Amazon: two case studies of community timber management

Forest-dwellers in the Brazilian Amazon public forests share the management of the territory and natural resources with governmental agencies, subjecting themselves to State rules. This study aims to evaluate the perception of stakeholders about the autonomy of traditional communities to carry out community timber forest management (CFM) in two federal protected areas. A Swot analysis revealed mismatches in priorities among stakeholder groups (Communities, Government and Partners). Four autonomy parameters were evaluated by 111 stakeholders using a satisfaction questionnaire. Communities and Government had similar perceptions of the autonomy of communities to develop CFM, while Partners were pessimistic. Stakeholders showed greater satisfaction with communities’ social organization than with their business management ability. Licensing, operational tools and administrative knowledge were perceived as bottlenecks for community enterprises. Nevertheless, targeted public policies and a minimum regulatory requirement for CFM may guarantee community autonomy to maintain their way of life and make their forest enterprises viable.

Multivariate decomposition of trends, inequalities and predictors of skilled birth attendants utilisation in Nigeria (1990–2018): a cross-sectional analysis of change drivers

ObjectivesLiterature has assessed skilled birth attendants (SBAs) utilisation, but little is known about what contributes to the changes in SBA use. Multivariate decomposition analysis was thus applied in this study...