Distant Villages Research Articles

Application of coastal hazard index to advance nature based protection for coastal communities in the small islands

In the face of rising the seas, relying solely on seawalls and other reinforced coastlines is unsustainable due to the high costs associated with their construction and upkeep and unforeseen effects on habitats. Restoring and conserving coastal habitats can be more affordable, long-term solutions for protecting the coast. Yet, basic knowledge about where, how, and for whom habitats decrease the risk of coastal disasters is typically lacking from decision-makers. This study investigates how climate change may affect coastal areas and how natural coastal habitats may help protect them. We studied two small tropical islands, Bintan and Seribu Islands, Indonesia. The research applied the InVEST Coastal Vulnerability model to calculate the hazard index. To assess the effect on the vulnerable population, a grid system for the coastal population was created and overlaid with the hazard index. The comprehensive analysis indicates that if the coastal habitat is lost in the future, Bintan and Seribu Islands will face a severe threat from rising sea levels, with 96% and 63% of the inhabitants being highly exposed to climate hazards. Furthermore, the model shows that preserving natural coastal habitats by 2040 could help protect approximately 104 and 17 km of coastline areas in Bintan and Seribu Islands, respectively. Ecosystems offer safeguards to certain thinly inhabited, distant coastal villages, certain of those with a large, vulnerable population. Thus, this study highlights that natural coastal habitat is essential in climate change adaptation. Enhancing and safeguarding these natural habitats is crucial for mitigating climate-related hazards and ensuring community resilience.

Impact of Entrepreneurial Ecosystem on Sustainable Social Enterprises – A Mixed-Methods Research

The main objective of this study is to identify the challenges faced by social entrepreneurs concerning the social entrepreneurial ecosystem that exists in India and suggest policy recommendations to create an enabling environment for budding social entrepreneurs. In the Indian context, there is a dearth of studies related to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. A country’s start-up environment is crucial to ensure enterprises are sustainable in the long term, which contributes tremendously to the economic growth of a country. It follows a mixed-methods approach which combines qualitative and quantitative analysis. For qualitative analysis, data has been collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews of founders and co-founders of 12 social enterprises having a Pan-India presence. The coding process was followed to identify the themes and the shared essence of what all of them had in common was identified. Quantitative analysis was conducted for data triangulation through stakeholders’ analysis concerning the themes identified from qualitative analysis to develop a structured equation model using Smart PLS. 205 responses were collected from various stakeholder groups including customers, donors, government associates and others through a structured questionnaire. The findings suggest that the Indian scenario for the availability of finance and implementation of policies has made a lot of progress in the past few years but still, there is a long way to go. Finance is not easily available as banks require collateral security and private partners contribute towards social enterprises with their agenda to be satisfied. Follow-up action on policies formulated is necessary. Marketing mechanism needs to be strengthened through communication and awareness about the products and services offered and the social impact they create, social media platforms if utilized effectively can prove to be very effective. Support facilities in the form of infrastructure connecting distant villages need improvement, training and communication through incubators and accelerator programs have proved to be very effective. Universities in collaboration with government agencies can set up incubation centres providing the required support to the students thereby inculcating in them a social entrepreneurial culture which can help in building specialised human capital willing to work in social enterprises.

Mobility in Dhakal’s Seti Pani Kali Pani

This research focuses in the area of niyatra, a Nepali term to denote a travel writing with the writer’s personal feelings and experiences. Prateek Dhakal’s Seti Pani Kali Pani picturizes many distant villages and hillsides of western Nepal and Nainital, India. This research is helpful to introduce the local area into the international arena and Nepali niyatra theory and literature in global context. It adopts Balkrishna Pokhrel, Nirmohi Byaas and Jaya Chhangchha’s theory on niyatra as research approach. The research also borrows concepts of travel writing proposed by some other western theorists like Carl Thomson and Mary Baine Campbell. For them, mobility is a key point of travel writing in general and niyatra literature in particular. This research addresses the issue how the theme of mobility is dominating in the text. The major objective of the research is to point out the movement from the beginning to the end of the text. The findings present many evidences of movement in Dhakal’s Seti Pani Kali Pani. To show the mobility, the description of landscape and places, society and culture and events and lifestyle in the text is analyzed. The research concludes that Dhakal’s Seti Pani kali Pani has the theme of mobility. This text has to be studied further by using another theme of Niyatra that is depiction of local.

Component of solar energy in growth of rural India

The accessibility of solar energy has important effects on the economy, employment and growth in rural regions. The purpose is to find facts and examine the impact of solar rule in the growth method and quality change in the people in the distant villages. Renewable energy projects can be a precious avenue for income creation. The development of large solar influence projects in rural regions gets rap as it is connected with issues like deforestation, disruption of the rural ecosystems and land grabbing. Renewable power could produce the new jobs over the next pending years. These jobs would be in many areas like building, project design etc. India’s renewable energy could help to undertake the poverty in rural communities by provide steady incomes, healthcare profit skill growth education to inexpert and semi-skilled workers.

Water Accessibility Challenges, and Implications on Children in Rural Border Communities of Oyo-Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract Subject and purpose of the work: This study examined water accessibility challenges, and the implications on children in rural border communities of Nigeria. Materials and methods: Primary data were used, and children (5-16 years) were respondents to the interview and questionnaire. Results: The study revealed there were more male children (58%) than female children (42%) and many of them were in the age bracket 11–15 years with about (53.9%) of them without formal education. The results further revealed that 69.9% of the respondents indicated that their major source of water is a stream and river. Also, the majority of the respondents (71%) trek long distances and (82.9%) spend more than 30 minutes travelling to collect water in distant villages especially during the dry season. This situation usually takes them away from their education and even affect their school attendance. Conclusions: The study recommended the need for the equitable provision of an improved water supply and ensure children are secured in collecting water for their households.

The long walk home: India’s migrant labor, livelihood, and lockdown amid COVID-19

ABSTRACT Covid-19-induced curbs on movement and social distancing, imposed by governments around the world brought transportation and the economy to a standstill in many nations. In India, with its billion-plus population, it severely exposed the problems of the poor, especially millions of internal migrant workers working primarily in unorganised sectors as daily wagers (Umanath, 2020) with little or no culture of savings. When the Indian government announced its first lockdown on March 24, 2020 – factories, construction sites, offices, institutions, organisations and the sort immediately suspended all activities indefinitely, nullifying the migrant labour force’s ability to earn a living and pay bills as they were forced indoors. Then began India’s biggest migration since partition (Ellis-Petersen & Chaurasia, 2020), when millions of these migrant workers based in India’s big cities began their march home to distant villages. This manuscript reflects on this sudden reverse labour migration, demystifying the reasons for this exodus .

СОЗЕРЦАТЕЛЬ VS РАЗОЧАРОВАННЫЙ СТРАННИК: ДВОЯЩИЙСЯ ПЕРСОНАЖ В «ЗАМЕТКАХ» А. ПЛАТОНОВА

Statement of the problem. “Notes” by A. Platonov are included in the corpus of his early lyrical and philosophical stories. These include the works of 1921 “The Beggar’s Thirst”, “In the Starry Desert”, “Poem of Thought”, “The Impossible”. However, until now “Notes” has not been analyzed as part of this range of works. The purpose of this article is to analyze the type of hero, poetics of the plot, to show the unity of the “Notes” with other lyric and philosophical stories written by Platonov; to reveal the dynamics of the hero’s image and the strategy of the plot of the story; to reveal his special place among the named works; to show the connection of Platonov’s hero-wanderer with Zarathustra F. Nietzsche, as well as the Nietzschean origins of some motives in Platonov’s stories. Conclusions. Unlike other lyric and philosophical stories, “Notes” have a two-part structure. The principle of counterpoint, organizing the two parts, is justified by the author’s logic: it moves from a speculative fascination with the sight of “endless spaces” and “distant villages” to disillusionment with real life. Thus, both parts exist in agreement with each other, forming a single textual whole with a contrasting basis embedded in it. With his “Notes” Platonov completes one of the areas of his own creativity, sums up his complex lyric, philosophical and utopian reflections. In further creative perspective, the utopian prospectuses turn more and more clearly into their genre opposite.

Health Monitoring System Using IoT

Abstract: Health on of the key aspects of any human’s life and one needs to keep up good health to make progress in life. We see most of the people facing health issues during different times during their life and it is their first job as an individual to keep up their health. As weare already seeing the novel coronavirus has devastated the world for the past few months and continues to do so. We see many cases like people living in distant villages and towns where there are no proper medical facilities to have a health check-up once in a while, they need to travel long distances to get a basic health checkup done. Especially the old people who cannot travel much due to their age. A human's health can be carefully monitored and a reasonable outcome can be predicted to avoid unfortunate deaths or misfortunate occurrences by measuring temperature, sp02, or pulse and Strain upon the muscles. These factors are being collected by various devices, but have never been classified and carefully monitored for anomalies. So this system is the best option to counter the situation as it collects data and stores it in the webserver and also gives alerts. Keywords: Health, Sensors, Internet of things

Dreaming in the shadow of history: micro-mobilities and belonging in Lucknow

ABSTRACT Spatial mobility is often considered on large geographical scales: people move from distant villages to global cities, they migrate from one country to the next, or even to a whole new continent. Such large-scale migration comes with shifts in economic position, social status and cultural exposure, shifts that condition new figurations of belonging – or so the argument goes. In contrast, I ethnographically follow the looping movements of three young men in Lucknow who aspire to migrate but remain stuck, who find a whole new world by crossing the river, whose small steps reflect big dreams. As the world grapples with ‘lockdowns’ and ‘stuckedness’ in the Covid-19 pandemic, I sketch their aspirations, mental maps and the material restraints that condition their trajectories. Through them, I demonstrate how looping micro-mobilities – cruising through the night, dancing on stage, riding one's bike – can be as effective in fostering new figurations of belonging as the grand movements emphasized in literature on migration. I further explore which spaces enable and contain such micro-mobilities, rediscovering the potency of urban settings to make people feel at home and out of place in small but important ways.

Comparative study of off-grid and grid-connected hybrid power system: issues, future prospects and policy framework

A sustainable energy system is of utmost importance for any significant development in any nation.This work identified some obstacles inhibiting rapid renewable energy growth in Nigeria and recommended some policy measures in overcoming them. Moreover, a comparative study of off-grid (OG) and grid-connected (GC) small hydro-solar photovoltaic-diesel hybrid system was carried out using Oyan river, Abeokuta, Nigeria as a case study. The hybrid components were modeled with and without the grid. The hydro solar resources data of the area were collected and analyzed using hybrid optimization model for electric renewable (HOMER) software. The simulation results proved that the GC hybrid power system is better than the OG hybrid power system in technical and economic terms depending on the location. This paper, therefore, proposed the use of OG hybrid power system for electrification of distant villages especially where extending the grid seems infeasible and the use of GC hybrid power system in the urban areas. The work will assist power sector stakeholders in making informed decisions towards the growth of hybrid power system technology in Nigeria.

Beyond Confinement: Cape Gangsters and the Sub-Saharan Trade of Stolen Electronics

ABSTRACT Instead of being perceived as confined to oppressive spaces in South Africa, detached from mainstream society, in this article I show that gangsters in Cape Town have harnessed liberalisation since the 1990s to become players in the market economy. This is illustrated by means of two criminal practices that support the illicit trade in electronics: residential burgling and transnational smuggling. By tracing the circulation of stolen electronics, gangsters and their migrant collaborators are shown to use flexible procedures to prevent detection and custody. These procedures capitalise on the changes brought by liberalisation, allowing for the efficient flow of electronics consignments to distant African cities and villages. It is argued that thinking through these procedures allows for a nuanced understanding of contemporary gang dynamics beyond confinement.

Влияние коронавирусной инфекции (COVID-19) на рост человеческих лишений и борьбу с бедностью: экономический анализ гуманитарной логистики

The paper is focused on the influence of coronavirus pandemic on the global poverty and the relief operations in humanitarian logistics during the crisis. The conclusions are made about a significant paradigm shift in the organizational ecosystem caused by the pandemic. In modern conditions the work of logistics personnel and cluster management specialists have undergone many changes. The mass media play an integral role in logistics forecasting and subsequent poverty reduction initiatives. It is recommended to encourage corporate communication at the lowest level to achieve development goals in the face of growing fear of migration and job loss. There have been studied the results of practical experiments carried out in distant villages of India. The economic aspects of poverty alleviation have been analyzed using human capital method through understanding of deep philosophical morals of poverty, innovation economics, coordination of humanitarian agencies for opening innovative channels amidst rising death tolls and other critical situations. The logical deductive venue is far reaching as circumscribed by the past experiences in humanitarian deliveries and relief measures, which has propounded the novel grounds of research gaps in integration. The problem of poverty alleviation has been seriously contested and debated objectively by mapping the economic state of industries, as well as logistic operations to develop strategies that are ready for use on the ground. The question is raised whether public funding and aid can be sufficient to obtain a balance in the ecosystem of the livelihoods of the poor. Recovery phases must be structured and planned ahead of time during any pandemic, and COVID-19 should be no exception

Reasons for (Not) Choosing the Profession of Teaching; A Case Study on Organizational Loneliness-Commitment

The purpose of this study is to reveal the reasons for a classroom teacher (not) to choose the profession and her views on organizational loneliness and commitment related to the profession. A viewpoint, a case study and profession-related views were presented to teachers who would begin their duty or especially those who would work as the only teacher in village schools. In a part of the diary compiled from professional memories, difficulties that might be faced especially by teachers who would be assigned to distant villages under harsh conditions, were tried to be described via a case study.

How the Coronavirus Lockdown Impacts the Impoverished in India.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, several countries have imposed curfews, quarantines, and lockdowns to restrict the spread of the infection among people. India had initiated a nationwide lockdown to combat the pandemic starting from the last week of March until the end of May 2020. But, the lockdown had continued subsequently in several red zones across parts of the country for few months. However, scientists have criticized the government’s abrupt lockdown since it prevented people from preparing for the worst aftermath. Besides, the curfews have blocked millions of impoverished migrant workers from leaving cities to return to their homes in distant rural villages. As a result, the destitute workers have endured enormous hardship and outright discrimination desolately leading to their added physical and mental distress, pain, suffering, and death. Most of the victims of the lockdown have belonged to the economically distressed lower social classes of the Indian caste hierarchy. This article outlines their sufferings triggered by the long drawn-out lockdown episode.

Road network accessibility analysis using graph theory and GIS technology: a study of the villages of English Bazar Block, India

English Bazar municipality serves quality educational, health, marketing, recreational, administrative, and other urban facilities to the people of urban areas as well as rural areas of its surrounding. Over the last few decades, the study area experiences rapid population growth and positive economic changes. As a result, on a daily basis a huge quantity of goods and population flow within and outside the municipality. It creates high transportation demand for accessing the urban facilities. The roads and railway line radiate from the centre of the municipality towards the villages of this block and other adjacent blocks of the district. The aim of this paper is to analyze the road connectivity and network accessibility of the study villages using graph theory. Moreover, connectivity index, shimbel index, associated number, and average shortest path length have also been used for categorically understanding the magnitude of network accessibility. The result shows regional imbalances in terms of connectivity and network accessibility. Villages are located in the central position and adjacent to the English Bazar municipality (EBM) are most accessible. However, the distant villages which are far from the EBM having poor accessibility and poor road network efficiency. Therefore it would suggest that there is a need to improve the connectivity and accessibility of those distant villages for future growth and development of the study region.

Market participation, household food security, and income: The case of cowpea producers in northern Nigeria.

This article evaluates the impact of cowpea market participation on household food security and income in northern Nigeria. Using household survey data from a representative sample of over 1,500 farm households and applying a combination of instrumental variable techniques and dose–response functions, we found that cowpea market participation had a statistically significant positive impact on household food security and income. Cowpea market participation increased food expenditure by 1.6% and household income by 0.7% with a 10 unit increase in the quantity of cowpea sold. These results underscore the importance of cowpea market participation for household food security and income improvement. We also found that selling cowpea to rural and urban traders significantly increased household income, food expenditure, and food security. Results show that selling cowpea to rural and urban traders increased household income by 17% and 13%, respectively. The results point to the need for an enabling policy environment and public infrastructure to enhance market participation of farmers and traders. Public infrastructure investments in the form of feeder road construction and maintenance in the distant villages are encouraged, which in the long run can translate into improved cowpea productivity and welfare of smallholder farmers.

How Does Targeted Poverty Alleviation Policy Influence Residents’ Perceptions of Rural Living Conditions? A Study of 16 Villages in Gansu Province, Northwest China

Rural living conditions (RLCs) in China are influential on the overall development and stability of regions, particularly for populations in distant poverty-stricken villages. This paper takes 16 villages of Chedao town in Gansu province, Northwest China (NWC) as our case study. Using data from the Poverty Alleviation and Assistance (PAA) project launched by Lanzhou University in June 2017, and the perceptions of residents of Chedao, we pinpoint RLC changes in the targeted poverty alleviation (TPA) process. The three main results show that: (1) From the residents’ perceptions, the impact of alleviation measures on RLC is mainly reflected in improved housing conditions, infrastructure, and public services. We find no significant effect on cultural conditions. However, eco-environmental conditions have obviously weakened. (2) Housing size, accessibility, distance to shops, and safe drinking water are the most significant factors in housing conditions, infrastructure, public services, and eco-environmental conditions, respectively. (3) Out of the different levels of rural poverty households (RPHs), severe rurality villages are more strongly aware of the positive changes in RLC than residents of mild rurality villages. Moreover, in residents’ view, housing conditions are most improved in severe rurality villages, infrastructure is most improved in moderate rurality villages, and public services are most improved in mild rurality villages. Eco-environmental conditions worsen across all levels. Our findings shed light on the perceptions of residents on changes occurring in rural living conditions, and provide a basis for subsequent studies of RLC in Northwest China.

O cinema de Josafá Duarte no sertão do Brasil: feito pelo povo, para o povo

Este trabalho apresenta o produtor, roteirista, cineasta e ator Josafá Duarte, morador do distrito de Salgado dos Mendes, município de Forquilha, zona norte do estado do Ceará, no Brasil. Em uma segunda etapa, apresenta a prática de gravação de Josafá Duarte, com ênfase nas relações interpessoais do seu grupo de trabalho. Na terceira secção revela as estratégias de exibição para dar visibilidade à sua obra, a destacar os usos das mídias digitais, as apropriações dos vendedores de DVDs piratas, que proliferam a obra de Josafá em bancas de jornais e em camelôs, e a exibição pública nos distritos e localidades distantes com o apoio de uma Kombi antiga cedida pela Prefeitura. Em um quarto momento deste texto, será apresentada uma discussão sobre o tipo de cinema realizado por Josafá Duarte, e alguns conceitos sobre este tipo de cinema para circunscrever o tipo de filme que ele pratica e os aspectos de produção que são envolvidos na realização. A conclusão é a de que é necessário repensar a história do cinema brasileiro a partir da consideração da relevância do trabalho realizado pelos pequenos produtores em suas comunidades. Metodologicamente, a pesquisa partiu de quatro entrevistas, observação das gravações do curta-metragem “Escapei fedendo” (Josafá Duarte 2017) e registo em diário de campo, análise do blog do sujeito do trabalho, bem como de sua conta no YouTube. A redação do artigo utiliza a técnica da narrativa de vida.

The Importance of Bushmeat in Household Income as a Function of Distance from Protected Areas in the Western Serengeti Ecosystem, Tanzania

Bushmeat hunting is widespread in villages adjacent to protected areas in Western Serengeti. However, little information is available about the role of bushmeat income in the household economy as a function of distance from the protected area boundary, preventing the formulation of informed policy for regulating this illegal trade. This study was conducted in three villages in Western Serengeti at distances of 3 (closest), 27 (intermediate) and 58km (furthest) from the boundary of Serengeti National Park to assess the contribution of bushmeat to household income. The sample consists of 246 households of which 96 hunted or traded bushmeat, identified using snowball sampling through the aid of local informers. The average income earned from bushmeat was significantly higher for bushmeat traders than hunters. The contribution of bushmeat to household income was significantly higher in Robanda the village closest to the protected area boundary compared to Rwamkoma and Kowak, the more distant villages. A Heckman sample-selection model reveals that household participation in hunting and trading bushmeat was negatively associated with distance to the protected area boundary and with the household head being female. Household reliance on bushmeat income was negatively associated with age and gender of the household head and distance to the protected area boundary. Hence, efforts to reduce involvement in hunting, and trading bushmeat should target male-headed households close to the protected area boundary.

Highland to High Fashion: The Development of a Women Cooperative in Ladakh

Pashmina or cashmere is one of the most expensive natural fabrics in the world, and yet the lives of those who produce this rare fibre are the toughest ones. This article seeks to analyse the various stages in the creation and development of the Looms of Ladakh Women Cooperative under Project Laktsal of the district administration Leh. It is an initiative to empower rural Ladakhi women by endowing them with skills necessary to add value to raw pashmina and woollen fibres to turn them into the high-end products perennially in demand. Sharing the lessons learnt in bringing together 150 uneducated, unemployed women from different and distant villages and in training and uniting them by the creation of a cooperative society is the endeavour of the article. It analyses various steps involved in building forward and backward linkages for the organisation and imparting the women with such diverse skills as knitting, weaving, production planning, marketing and financial management. The article also tries to put the effort in the right perspective, giving an idea of the extremely tough conditions faced on a daily basis by the women of rural Ladakh.