Full Empowerment Research Articles

The individual empowerment Index (IEI): A new approach for empowerment measures

Over the last three decades, many research works have been conducted to define and measure the complex and composite concept of empowerment. However, an individual empowerment tool is still needed, to be applied for any disadvantaged group, women, youths (male or female), poor, etc., or any economic sector, and which can be more suitable for rigorous impact assessment studies. This paper contributes to the growing empowerment literature by providing a new multi-domain, survey-based empowerment measurement tool, the individual empowerment index (IEI). The IEI is unique in its characterization and construction. It combines individual empowerment scores in six empowerment domains: production, household livelihood, resources, income, leadership, and time allocation. It is a flexible and survey-based empowerment parameter that can be generated at individual, household community or country levels, or for any target social category. The IEI is constructed through a specific methodology based on a scale survey with an ordinal variable principle and a general process for construction of domain indicators. A key advantage of the IEI is that different household members (even husband and wife) can have different IEIs and statuses. Findings from applying the IEI approach to data collected from 1120 West-African lowland rice farmers show that lowland rice farmers globally achieved on average 71% of their full empowerment potential with only 40% of them found to be globally empowered. Female farmers were found to have lower control over their lives and were less than male farmers to be empowered. IEI estimates and comparison between WIEI and other women empowerment indexes estimates show reasonable correspondence despite the difference in the methodology and can hold for the validity of the IEI. The new IEI is a suitable tool and is recommended for quantitative and rigorous impact assessment and monitoring of programs and projects empowerment indicators.

The Gaming Theatre Company: players, gameplay, performance and the law

Abstract This article proposes arguments proving that the act of playing a video game may attract copyright protection in the context of European intellectual property law. This article explores this from a multidisciplinary perspective including performance studies and EU copyright law. The increasingly popular practice and industry of ‘public gaming’ is suggesting that playing video games is now enriched with elements belonging more to musical and recitative performances. However, while actors and musicians’ performances constitute undeniable bricks of the creative process in presentations to the public, there is no such thing called ‘video game performance’ or ‘gaming performance’. The article suggests that, under certain conditions, players’ agency is able to generate a multi-layered meaning among players, audiences and the game.1 Therefore, after building a theoretical framework where gameplays are featured by theatrical performance qualities, the article proposes a definition of ‘public gaming performance’. After that, it uses such a definition to suggest that certain public gameplays, as well as being public performances under the performative studies umbrella, have everything they need to enjoy copyright protection under EU copyright law. On the one hand, then, this article uses theatrical models to shape gaming as a performative activity. On the other hand, it analyses the legal structures and mechanisms preventing game stream from attracting copyright protection while providing the reader with observations on the main obstacles to the full empowerment of players as performers.

Full Empowerment and the Participatory Governance in Rural Communities: A Comparative Study Based on Two Cases

Full Empowerment and the Participatory Governance in Rural Communities: A Comparative Study Based on Two Cases

Bringing Home la Leche: Expanding Teachers’ Maternal Roles in Rural Oaxaca

AbstractMaestra(woman teacher) is the most common occupation of Mexican women who pursue higher education. This coincides with perceptions that teaching is a public manifestation of women's prescribed responsibility for socializing children. And yet, like women teachers elsewhere, maestras who are mothers routinely struggle to juggle their household, childcare and employment responsibilities. This ethnographic study explores the extreme work‐life imbalance experienced by rural maestras in the state of Oaxaca. Because the mountainous terrain and underdeveloped infrastructure complicate commuting, maestras assigned to isolated communities may stay in these villages while their children live with other relatives. This discussion explores ways that these women's extradomestic employment that is at odds with local ideals of the “good mother” who is at home with her children may actually help reshape constructions of maternal roles and responsibilities. Analysis of mothers' narratives reveals the emotional strains of being away from their children, and speaks to the pride these dedicated teachers take in “bringing home the milk” as economic providers. Ultimately, the tensions these agentive mothers confront and negotiate in their private and professional lives underscore ways that the prioritization of the latter in gender role norms limits women's options, choices and opportunities for full empowerment.

Community Organization and Empowerment of Women: The Mujeres Pescadoras del Manglar Cooperative in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Gender equity is still a challenge for the world, especially in those regions where sociocultural practices permeated by machismo, that is, male chauvinism, intersect with poverty and institutionalized racial discrimination. The creation of safe and feminized spaces where women can express themselves freely is crucial in the process of cultivating their awareness of their own positions, and the first step toward individual and collective empowerment. In this article the authors point out the direct and positive relationship between feminine cooperativism and women's empowerment, taking as a case study the Mujeres Pescadoras del Manglar cooperative in Oaxaca, Mexico, a group of women who, thanks to a social work program implemented by La Ventana civic association, has been able to gain empowerment and recognition at a personal and political level. Likewise, Mujeres Pescadoras del Manglar is an example of the national phenomenon of bolstering female employment in the fishing sector, which is on the rise thanks to the growing number of women's cooperatives, through which they can access the labor market, feminize new spaces, and achieve full empowerment for themselves, their families, and the society in which they live. The fieldwork was carried out from November 2018 to February 2019 in the community of El Zapotalito, Oaxaca. The methodology used consists of semistructured interviews, life stories, field diaries, and participant observation. This article showcases a positive example of social work empowering low-income women on the Chica coast of Oaxaca.

The politics of authoritarian empowerment: Participatory pricing in China

Partial and perceived empowerment in the practice of public hearings, widely spreading across China since the late 1990s and still operating today, is puzzling. Citizens enjoy the right to participation, information, and formal equality but their political empowerment is constrained without the right to elect and dismiss officials there. This article examines the politics of ‘authoritarian empowerment,’ which combines partial empowerment and sophisticated control, and separates psychological empowerment from political empowerment. Through such a delicate combination and separation, citizens are partially empowered, paradoxically, to prevent their full empowerment. Our study is a supplement to the previous study of authoritarian deliberation (consultation) and phantom democracy, discloses the deficiency of the literature on local deliberative democracy in China, and enriches the literature on sophisticated authoritarian innovation in Southeast Asia. The article is based on documented research, interviews with 469 non-participants and 72 participants, and an in-depth case study in Shanghai.

Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) on women empowerment

Abstract The need to empower women seems to center on the fact that women have potentials to contribute to the development process but are constrained by some factors that render them powerless. For this reason, this study examined the impact of justice development and peace commission on women empowerment by assessing the empowerment initiatives, women participation and identifying factors that militate against full empowerment and participation of women. The theoretical background for this study is structural functionalism and the study is descriptive in nature. The study was conducted in JDPC, Ijebu-Ode and data was collected from primary and secondary sources. For primary data, IDI was conducted for 12 beneficiaries of the empowerment programmes and 6 employees of JDPC while secondary data were collected through extensive review of literature. The data collected were content analyzed. The findings revealed that not until recent empowerment programmes organized for women, women do not have the zeal for the programmes which has limited their consciousness and strength in the society. Also, awkward spending of women contributed to their failure from receiving further loans from JDPC. Equally, low level of education, tradition and belief that men are better than women affected the slow rate of empowerment of women.

Feminismo y discapacidad: El derecho humano a la educación inclusiva desde una perspectiva de género

This article shows a brief analysis of the emergence of a new feminism since the 90s, driven by organized women with disabilities. It is based on the criticism that the human rights model of disability makes about the ableist and the patriarchal system still in force. The right to education, in this context, appears as a key element to ensure the full development, advancement and empowerment of women with disabilities, however, the Spanish educational system continues to show important deficiencies that prevent it from being considered an inclusive model. Based on the Report of the research on the situation of inclusive education in Spain, carried out by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the United Nations, this issue is analysed from a gender perspective, showing that women and girls with disabilities still go through their particular first wave of feminism where the demand for a true education is a pending issue.Keywords: Women and girls with disability, feminism, disability, human rights, ableism, patriarchy, inclusive education.

Gender and Inequalities in Access to Formal Education in Nigeria

It is on record that the scourge of poverty is more pronounced on the female gender than male in Nigeria. Education which is known worldwide as an instrument of development has not been sufficiently accessed by Nigerian women. Fewer women apply for entry to universities as a result of fewer girls completing secondary education and this problem has its roots in primary school. Men have greater access to high-paying, secure employment than women. This paper therefore attempts to examine the relationship between gender and inequalities in access to formal education in Nigeria. Education for women and girls at all levels, therefore, should aim at reversing the trend of gender discrimination by ensuring full empowerment of women in the true sense of raising their status.

Party Leadership Selection in the United Kingdom

n the past few decades, British parties have undergone deep transformations, also concerning their leader selection rules. It could be interesting to directly tackle this area of intra-party changes, also given the increasing attention devoted to party leaders and to their mode of selection. This article will explore both the precise features of the changes in the rules governing the selection of party leaders (particularly focusing on the selectorate), and also the characteristics of most recent leadership races occurred in the most important parties in the United Kingdom. To begin with, the article will explore the expansions of the selectorate occurred between the mid-1960s and today, particularly analysing the implementation of OMOV (one-member one-vote) systems. Second, attention will be devoted to the precise features of the selection mechanisms, by applying the quadripartite scheme devised by Hazan and Rahat (the selectorate, the candidacy, the decentralization, and the voting system). Third, we will focus on the most recent leadership races that elected Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May as leader of, respectively, the Labour and the Conservative Party. All in all, the article shows that British parties have surely undergone deep transformations concerning the rules for the selection of their leaders and the precise features of recent leadership races, but also that a full empowerment of party members has not been reached yet.

IMPLEMENTASI PERATURAN DESA MAJASARI NOMOR 3 TAHUN 2012 TENTANG PERLINDUNGAN TENAGA KERJA INDONESIA (TKI) ASAL DESA MAJASARI

This research aims to analyze the implementation of policy the protection of indonesian labor Majasari in Majasari village, Indramayu and the policy barriers. This research used descriptive approach with qualitative methods. This technique of data collection is done by way of interview, observation and documentation. An examination of the validity of the data is done by triangulation of sources. The data analysis process includes the collection of data, data presentation, data reduction and withdrawal of the conclusion. The results showed that the implementation of the policy of Indonesian labor protection in the village of Majasari is not yet running to its full potential. Protection undertaken include pre placement, placement, full-time placement and full empowerment and family labor indonesia abandoned integrated. Barriers in the implementation of this policy related to budget that never noted in the budget revenue and expenditure of the village Majasari, a limited number of employees of the village, the absence of mentoring on a full-time business group of Indonesian labor Majasari, low awareness of candidates and after Indonesian labor as well as the implementing party of Labor Placement Private report to the Government of Indonesia village, trouble filling the pregnancy and childbirth on the cow.Keyword: Early Marriage, Population Policy, and Sleman District

Does Chinese Securities Regulators Have Stronger Self-beliefs in Decision-making than Stock Market Investors?

Chinese securities regulators are not entirely rational, so they are easily to perform the behaviors that stray from the regulatory objectives and principles. Therefore, it is of great theoretical and practical importance to discuss the characteristics of self-beliefs in decision-making of Chinese securities regulators. This paper uses the psychological questionnaire including contextual factors to investigate whether Chinese securities regulators and securities market investors are affected by three behavioral biases related to self-beliefs, i.e. overconfidence, confirmation bias, and hindsight bias. Also, we apply variation analysis to examine the differences in self-beliefs in decision-making between Chinese securities regulators and securities market investors, and accordingly discuss whether Chinese securities regulators have stronger self-beliefs in decision-making. The main finding of this paper shows that Chinese securities regulators’ performance in overconfidence, confirmation bias and hindsight bias is significantly different from securities market investors. And after combining and calculating three types of irrational behaviors, we find that the self-beliefs level of Chinese securities regulators（M=48.75）is significantly lower than the ones of personal investors（M=67.97）, institutional investor（M=62.43）and executives of listed companies（M=65.52）, implying that Chinese securities regulators lack the sense of security & self-confidence and are vulnerable to external factors such as laws and regulations so as to give up their positions when they make regulatory decisions. On the basis of the research findings, this paper gives the policy suggestions on improving effectiveness of the Chinese regulatory practice through focus on core functions, full empowerment, incentives, etc.

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY CUSTOMERS: THE INFLUENCE OF CUSTOMER EMPOWERMENT ON CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF WELL-ESTABLISHED BRANDS

Labelling product innovations as designed and/or selected by customers can positively affect non-participating consumers’ self-stated behavioural intentions, that is, it can increase the probability of purchasing that product. Most previous studies have used fictitious brands to test the aforementioned effect, raising concerns about the degree to which these findings are relevant for marketing practice. Brand managers thus might wonder whether labelling product innovations as user-designed and/or user-selected might indeed increase sales for their well-established brands. This paper addresses this research gap by investigating the possible effects of three alternative strategies for labelling innovations (i.e., empowerment-to-select, empowerment-to-create, and full empowerment) for two well-established technology brands. For all three strategies and both brands, we find that involving customers significantly increases the perceived innovation ability, which then positively mediates the effect on behavioural intentions. However, due to a negative direct effect, only labelling products as selected by customers has an overall positive effect.

Gender and the Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) began in 2016 with great hopes that they will promote social development, economic development, and environmentally sustainable development with the motto, “Leave No One Behind” (UN 2016). In particular, SDGs’ goal 5, “Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls” (UN 2016). However, persistently high gender gap was found in many countries around the world whether they are developed or developing. The 2016 Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI), which examines gender inequality across four key areas of health, education, economy and politics, showed that the gender gap widened in many countries, and the gap in “economic participation and opportunity” showed the largest gender gap compared to health, education and political participation (World Economic Forum 2016). Interestingly, the GGGI do not match the global ranking of countries based on their GDP size, GDP per capita, or even the level of poverty. Thus, in order to deal with the underlying causes of deep-rooted and persistent gender inequality we must develop more culturally nuanced and contextualized approaches in the SDGs to tackle gender inequality (Song & Kim 2013). Gender inequality is simply not acceptable in the world where half of the world’s citizens are not provided with the same rights as the other half. It is also economically less productive to rely on only half of the world’s labor force to help eradicate poverty. Education, employment, and full empowerment of women and girls must be a priority for the SDGs.

Gender Differential and Poverty amongst Women in Nigeria

Poverty is no respecter of gender; it cuts across both male and female. However, it is on record that the scourge of poverty is more pronounced on the female gender than male in Nigeria.That fewer women apply for entry to universities is a result of their being fewer girls completing secondary education and this problem has its roots in primary school. Men have greater access to high-paying, secure employment than women. This study, therefore attempts to examine the relationship between gender differential and poverty amongst women in Nigeria. It relies heavily on secondary data for its analysis. The study reveals that only a very tiny proportion of women do get into the commanding heights of national life for which higher education is a prerequisite. Education for women and girls at all levels, therefore, should aim at reversing the trend of gender discrimination by ensuring full empowerment of women in the true sense of raising their status.

The Van Panchayat Movement and Struggle for Achieving Sustainable Management of the Forest : A Case Study of Uttarakhand in North India

During the nineteenth century, the denial of customary rights of people by the British colonial forest department, led to conflict with the local society. Our study shows how this conflict paved the way for the origin of van panchayats (VPs) in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand at the beginning of the twentieth century. The objective is to analyze such conflicts and see how VPs appeared and eventually evolved into people’s participatory forest management. VP as a system was institutionalized in 1931. The end of the British Empire and the emergence of independent India (1947) began a new era in the history of forest management. Several experimental attempts were undertaken. VP rules were revised and amended to accommodate the evolving changes in the relationship between local villages and the state Forest Department. This led to the birth of the system of joint forest management (JFM) in early 1990s. In one sense, VP could be regarded as a people’s movement for the restoration of customary rights, which eventually resulted in the Forest Rights Act of 2006. This Act substantially restored people's sovereign rights over forest, independent of either the state or Forest Department interference. Nevertheless, struggle for full empowerment of local villages over their surrounding forests and other resources continues.

Trees in the landscape: towards the promotion and development of traditional and farm forest management in tropical and subtropical regions

This introductory paper aims to synthesize the findings on on-farm trees research with the integration of traditional silvicultural knowledge on multipurpose trees for the design of small scale forestry practices in Africa and Asia. The science, socio-economics and governance aspects of traditional tree based management systems have been documented through the different papers. The findings provide a synopsis of on- farm tree management in Africa and Asia. The synthesis shows that there are still important knowledge gaps such as the ownership of land and trees, gender, the motivation to invest on farm trees, income and livelihood strategies and ecological issues of on farm trees in the context of climate change adaptation and sustainable development goals. There is a general consensus that successful implementation of community involvement in natural resource management in Africa and Asia will only be realized by implementing enabling policies on land tenure, devolution for full empowerment visa viz planning, beneficiation and sharing of benefits.

Shared Responsibilities for Full Participation in Society: Planning Further Integration of the ICF Into AAC

The World Health Organization's (WHO's) 2001 International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) has as one of its central tenets the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in society. It acknowledges the need for medical and rehabilitation intervention in its biopscychosocial framework. However, the WHO realizes that society must do its part to facilitate this full participation and empowerment. Persons with complex communication needs (PWCCN) often need augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in order to express themselves. However, in order to access and successfully use AAC, PWCCN need access to the necessary AAC devices and services, as well as a willing society to interact with them as full contributing members of society. The factors outside of a person's specific physical and/or cognitive functional limitations are addressed in the ICF via the Personal and Environmental Factors. Personal Factors include the individual's personality traits, lifestyle, experiences, social/educational/professional background, race, gender, and age. Environmental Factors include community support systems, social service agencies, governments, social networks, and those persons that interact with the PWCCN. This article addresses the sociopolitical influences on PWCCN and their functioning from a human rights perspective. The necessary introspective role of speech-language pathologists in this process is explored.

Powerful stakeholders as drivers of community forestry — Results of an international study

Community forestry is a complex collective action by forest users that takes place within a broader network of multiple actors at local, national and international levels. This paper looks at all relevant actors and tests the hypothesis of whether they have a significant influence on the outcomes of community forestry. The empirical basis comprises 57 cases of community forestry in four developing and one developed country. The cases were selected to represent a variety of political conditions and best practices, defined as success in the achievement of high outcomes. The actors were theoretically defined, and we identified political, economic and societal actors. Additionally, their power and interests were theoretically defined and observed in the field studies. The group of powerful actors desires specific outcomes for the local users of the community forests. As far as the ecological outcomes, some 40% of the powerful actors prefer sustained forest stands, and 20% also find biodiversity to be important. With regard to the economic contribution to the local users, 25% of powerful actors support only a subsistence level for the local users, and 25% prefer higher economic contributions. Within the social outcomes, 40% of powerful actors accept devolution of some information and decision rights to the local users, but only 2% would grant them full empowerment. The interests of the powerful actors were compared with the outcomes achieved in practice. A comparison shows that within each outcome there is a congruence of 82–90% between the interests of powerful actors and the outcomes for local users. We interpret these findings as empirical evidence that powerful actors have a significant influence on the outcomes of community forestry for the local users.

Economic Empowerment of Women in Agriculture through Micro Finance Bank in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria

This research work analyzed the economic empowerment of women in Agriculture through Microfinance Bank in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State, with the view of ensuring Women in the area were economically empowered to greater production efficiency. Data were collected from 80 women farmers who were beneficiaries of the microfinance loans from Urban and Rural area of the Local Government, through a well structured questionnaire. The data was achieved using descriptive statistical table and Chi- square statistical techniques method. The result of the findings showed that 82.5% of the women were into crop production while 17.5% were into animal production. The analysis revealed that impact of microfinance loan is moderately high on the women practicing agriculture in the area. It also showed that the problems women are having towards getting and use of microfinance facilities in the area for agricultural production is high. The positive impact of the empowerment through microfinance banks ensured that the women of the area were self - reliance, economically empowered, improved in the living standards and house hold in general. However the study revealed that much still needed to be done as the women are yet to be fully empowered. Among the problems to effective achievement of set objectives is lack of collateral, lack of saving, poor technical know how and poor infrastructures. It is recommended among others that full empowerment facilities should be made available to rural women as an enabling environment for them to give out their best and that government should employ more extensionists especially females to guide and motivate the women to better productivity.