Human Development Approach Research Articles

Human capital development practices and performance of business organizations in imo state

The study examined human capital development practices and performance of business organizations in Imo State. It specifically focused on the influence of developmental human capital development and collaborative human capital development practices on market share and customers’ satisfaction of business organizations. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was 96 (ninety-six) registered business organizations in Imo State. The entire population of the study was used due to its manageable size. Data was collected with a structured questionnaire designed by the researchers. The questionnaire was validated by two professionals in the field of measurement and evaluation of the principal researcher’s institution, and the reliability of the instrument was determined with test re-test which yielded a coefficient of 0.87. Data was collected through physical contact with the respondents. Data collected was analyzed with mean and standard deviation. Analysis of the data collected revealed that both developmental and collaborative human capital development practices have positive influence on both market share and customers’ satisfaction of business organizations. Thus, it was recommended that: management of organizations should prioritize the use of developmental human capital development approaches like training and development, performance appraisal, and performance counseling to prepare their employees for higher performance; and management of organization should encourage the use of collaborative human capital development practices like goal setting, role-clarification, and interpersonal relations to increase the productivity of their employees.

Enhancing Work Performance Through Human Capital Development in Engineering Industry: A Systematic Literature Review

Objective: The study aims to identify various human capital development (HCD) techniques that contribute to the enhancement of work performance within the engineering industry, and to understand the relationship between HCD initiatives and work performance. Theoretical Framework: The defined framework serves as the foundation for assessing the impact of different human resource development approaches on the work performance of employees in the engineering business. This highlights the importance of recognizing how investments in human capital may result in enhanced organizational outcomes. Method: The method used in this study is a systematic literature review (SLR) as proposed by Shaffril et al. (2020) that consisted by three phases; (1) identification, (2) screening, and (3) eligibility. Results and Discussion: The study discovered that Human Capital Development (HCD) has a substantial impact on employee’s work performance in the engineering industry, namely through meticulously designed training initiatives that cater to both technical and soft skills. Organizations that provide resources and provide strong support for complete HCD initiatives experience enhanced work performance, heightened motivation, and more productivity. Research Implications: The study has significant implications for engineering organizations to prioritize comprehensive human capital development strategies to enhance employee work performance and maintain a competitive edge in the industry. Originality/Value: The study’s uniqueness and significance arise from its thorough examination of the effects of various Human Capital Development (HCD) strategies on work performance in the engineering industry. It offers practical insights for maximizing HCD initiatives to improve employee productivity and organizational achievements.

Strategi Meningkatkan Kualitas Kinerja Aparat Desa Mekarsari dengan Pendekatan Pengembangan dan Pola Manajemen Sumber Daya Manusia

This study aims to find out what strategies are used to improve the performance of the Mekarsari Village apparatus. How to approach the development of human resources for the Mekarsari Village Apparatus. As well as knowing the pattern of human resource management in the Mekarsari Village apparatus. This study uses a qualitative approach with phenomenological methods, data collection techniques using observation, interviews and documentation. Research resource persons from the Village Head, Village Apparatusand the Mekarsari Village community. The analysis technique uses SWOT analysis. The validity test used the source training method and technical triangulation methods. The results of the study show that the strategies implemented to improve the quality of the performance of village officials in Mekarsari are carried out by: 1) Increasing the quality and quantity of employees through continuing to higher education, attending training, technical guidance, courses, seminars, work shops, etc. which aim to increase knowledge and employee experience. 2) Increase the number of employees according to the needs and the ideal number for a village. 3) Improve office facilities and infrastructure. The human resource development approach model in Mekarsari Village includes four approach methods used to develop employees: formal education, assessment, various work experiences, and personal relationships. The Strategy to Improve the Performance Quality of Mekarsari Village Officials with the Development Approach and Human Resource Management Pattern is quite effective in improving the performance quality of the Village apparatus. This can be seen from the quality of service which is more effective and efficient than before.

Incorporation of the human development approach in territorial planning

Incorporation of the human development approach in territorial planning

Tourism and health in Senegal: the local human development approach in the example of the Cap Skirring resort in Casamance

Tourism and health in Senegal: the local human development approach in the example of the Cap Skirring resort in Casamance

Religion, Mission, and Development: The Catholic Church as a Religious Infrastructure in Kafa, Ethiopia

Abstract The Catholic Church, along with other denominational groups, is an important part of the religious landscape in the Kafa region of southwestern Ethiopia. In addition to pastoral activities, the Catholic Church is particularly involved in the provision of social infrastructure facilities such as schools, kindergartens, or hospitals as part of the Human Integral Development approach to its mission. This article therefore examines the role of the Catholic Church and its mission on the everyday life of the people in the Kafa region. Drawing on ethnographic research, the article conceptualises the Catholic Church as a religious infrastructure – a notion that sheds light on the socio-material processes and entanglements that enable the anticipation of ideas about the future and about development. In addition, the article explores the role of the Catholic Church in sociocultural transformation processes through this infrastructural approach, thereby contributing to a subject that has been hitherto neglected in anthropological studies of religion and Christianity.

The place of religious inequalities within international development and humanitarian response frameworks: Lessons from Iraq

Within the international development and humanitarian arenas no one disagrees with the language and aspirations of inclusion, protection, rights and equality. Yet, most development framings – policy and operational – have still to develop meaningful ways to attend to the specific advantages or disadvantages associated with religious views or beliefs that shape the way people and communities function and behave within society. This paper explores influential conceptual and programmatic framings of international development and humanitarian response, specifically the human development approach, capital and asset-based framings, horizontal inequalities, the SDGs and humanitarian principles. We analyse the extent to which they engage with considerations of religious inequalities (religious diversity, identity, inclusion) and language of ‘religion’ and belief. Drawing on an evidenced-based case study of humanitarian/development responses in Iraq in the period from 2014 to 2019, the paper illustrates the reality of how a smorgasbord of religion-blind development concepts and framings interplay at the frontline of a humanitarian response to conflict, and the ways in which multiple actors wrestle and flex to design, target and implement programmes that were conceived in a religion-blind frame. The research shows how the explicit incorporation of the context and nature of religious diversity dynamics into frameworks has critical real-world impacts on the design, delivery, monitoring and impacts of interventions. Failing to incorporate an understanding of inequalities experienced by people marginalized because of their religious affiliation or belief (whether intentional or through mere oversight) has very likely muted the hoped-for outcomes of many development and emergency response initiatives. Our hope is that international development and humanitarian framings can better deliver on their objective to “leave no one behind” by ensuring inequalities on account of religious identity or practice are appropriately considered.

Perpetuating precarity in theory and in practice: a case study of work-integrated learning in the non-profit sector in Northern Canada

ABSTRACT Work-integrated learning (WIL) is a process of curricular experiential education within a workplace or practical setting. WIL is portrayed as a win-win, yet this research suggests that WIL perpetuates precarity and deepens inequalities between students, between different types of employers, and between geographic regions. Using the Human Development and Capabilities Approach (HDCA), this study investigated how eight diverse non-profit organisations (NPOs) in northern Canada are positioned to support students to develop personal agency through WIL. Most WIL research is urban-centric, focused on for-profit industries and framed within Human Capital Theory (HCT), making this study an outlier. Using a case study approach underpinned by critical and social realism, this study explores the ways in which WIL enables and constrains the development of agency at individual, social, and institutional levels. The research shows inconsistencies in current approaches to WIL. The increasingly precarious positioning of NPOs within the labour market threatens their ability to offer students (future) decent work. The institutional and policy environments that undergird WIL do not acknowledge the distinctness of non-profit organisations within a neoliberal economy and this makes invisible other dimensions that affect decent work, such as the regulatory environment, collectivisation, and the ‘contracting regime.’

Violence and the Right to Education in the Northern Triangle of Central America

Based on a human rights and development approach, this article aims to study the influence and impact of structural violence in the Northern Triangle of Central America on children’s right to education. First, it analyses the context of poverty, inequality and generalised violence that plagues the sub-region under study. Secondly, a diagnosis is made of the situation regarding the right to education through indicators of educational completion and efficiency, including critical moments in the transition through the education system, as well as the phenomenon of school dropout. The article then analyses a series of determining factors in the violation of the right to education, insofar as they are linked to the situation of generalised structural violence. Finally, a series of conclusions are offered in order to guide debate and reflection on possible solutions to the problem studied.

Needles to Say

Story telling and informal learning is passed down generations and has been recognized as the best approach for human evolution and development. Its efficient process has made its impact and has demonstrated its benefits scientifically at the DNA level. There are scientific publications that attribute human evolution to this DNA based memory, making humans thrive on this planet as dominant species with emotions and care. One such form of storytelling and informal learning is folk quilting which has an extensive history. The power of storytelling and informal learning over generations helped quilters acquire their sense of identity, belonging with a deep sense of felt values. Every patch in a quilt is a story to say invoking memories presenting a living tradition in the folk world. The story of quilts are not just personal appeal to those who stitch but symbol of care, comfort, and inspiration to their loved ones and to those who eventually own them. Community of collaborative quilters within families and guild collectives resonate to social values; patience, connectedness and expression that are central to the form. Hybrid networks of quilting communities in developed countries maintain integrity of social values different from that of traditional folk quilters in developing countries due to the very nature of digital accessibility. With the growing global market, native folk quilters are approached by the creative industries with a certain sense of urgency. Creative technological tools are introduced to meet the demand for increased production. With market driven production, care and collaboration are in question. To top it all, as digital immigrants, traditional folk quilters struggle with technological adoption as they are already threatened to survive and sustain the purity of the indigenous form. They now are further challenged to impart their sense of effective passing down of traditions to their younger generation with the care different from their own. Adopting technology on their own terms is no easy feat, as makers of technology don’t necessarily see folk artists as their primary users. As part of my research into creative technology influencing quilters, I hope to draw on transdisciplinary methodologies ranging from textual analysis of case studies from India and North American folk art history, folk feminist ethnography, cultural studies, ethno-mathematics and digital fabrication. I will be interviewing folk quilters, quilt guilds, artists, designers and technologists to understand the complex dynamics of the interplay of social values, aesthetics, technology and production. In my proposed paper, I will share voices from the field that will examine the changes in the process of how memories and stories are told with the coming of new digital tools and technology and a reaction on how to take forward care for cultural nature of this rich artistic tradition to their own communities through living practitioners. These voices could help transfer the cultural nuances to creative technologists in ways that inform their design processes such that they improve the chance of technology success amongst folk artists for creative production, discourse building and folk quilting pedagogy to sustain and thrive.

Diverse socio-economic backgrounds and international pathways: European mobility opportunities through a scholarship programme for Mexican doctoral students

AbstractMexico is the main Latin American country sending students abroad for international education. In 2020, 34,781 Mexican students were enrolled in higher education institutions (HEIs) outside their country of origin. From those, 37% studied in a European country. The National Science and Technology Council (CONACYT) has funded international student mobility (ISM) for Mexican students since 1970 for the training and consolidation of human resources. Some debates suggest these scholarships mainly benefit students with privileged backgrounds and reproduce inequalities in HE. This paper examines the socio-demographic profiles of CONACYT scholarship doctoral awardees who studied in Europe between 1997 and 2005, along with their different previous HE trajectories and decisions to study abroad. This paper is drawn from my doctoral research using transformative learning theory concepts and the capability approach, exploring the transformative nature of ISM associated with individual meanings of the mobility experiences, capabilities developed, and implications for social change. This paper presents findings from the socio-demographic data collected in 2017 and 2018, from 85 survey respondents who studied in seven European countries. Moreover, it focuses on the qualitative data gathered from in-depth semi-structured interviews with 25 participants who carried out their doctoral studies in the UK, Spain, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. The findings show significant participation of students from less privileged backgrounds and a complex mix of drivers for outward mobility linked to previous educational opportunities and future life aspirations. This paper brings insights from a human development approach, showing how these scholarships are instrumental in increasing ISM opportunities, contributing to social mobility, and facilitating career development. These findings suggest that investment in these types of scholarships contribute to the democratisation and widening participation of international mobility in the European context.

Advancing a transformative human development approach to climate resilience through local innovation in South Africa

ABSTRACT Climate change continues to exacerbate social and economic development challenges in local communities the world over. This paper advances a human development approach to climate resilience innovations, showing how local innovation initiatives can be conduits for increased equity, agency, efficiency and sustainability vis-à-vis effective responses to climate impacts. Based on a scoping review of literature (journal articles, books, theses, occasional papers etc.), and through a discussion of four case studies focused on technological and institutional innovations in selected rural South African communities, a major finding is that local innovation initiatives vis-à-vis livelihoods are laden with opportunities for improved social, economic and ecological well-being. Appreciating and supporting these local innovations will open up viable and transformative pathways towards effectively responding to the impacts of climate change and variability. The paper contributes to an interdisciplinary integration of innovation and climate change research by exploring climate resilience through a transformative human development lens.

A Development of Human Capital in the Context of Health and Safety Management in Construction

In construction industry Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) involves the development and implementation of measures to ensure the socio-economic efficiency of enterprises. By creating a safe work culture and environment for workers OHS is considered to raise human dignity in workplaces. As human capital develops to a high level it combines legal, social-economic, organizational-technical, sanitary-hygiene, and treatment-prophylaxis at workplaces. Current research states the human capital development approach from three aspects: health (state of health, occupational health, sanitation, and hygiene); knowledge (education, like-mindedness, mentoring, training), and professional skills (esteem, skills, skills, professional development) from the digitalization prospectives. The econometric methods involved are Latent Class Analysis for accounting the cross-sectional relationship and post estimation concerns in the data. The results denote the hypothesis were proven OHS investment has a positive effect on work personality in the construction industry and Organizational performance has a positive effect at work_experience and flexibility of the workers in the construction industry. Besides, another finding in this study shows that work effectiveness has a positive effect on OHS_investment and flexibility in the construction industry. Therefore, these findings necessitate the human capital in the context of health and safety management in construction industry. More importantly, human capital development should be prioritized for transforming the curse of the natural resources into blessing for these nations. Therefore, we recommend that the researcher and policymakers should promote human capital development regulation in construction sector from the digitaliztion prospective.

Erosion prevention through empowerment of human resources to support food security around the Kambaniru watershed, East Nusa Tenggara

The high activity of the community that is not accompanied by the readiness of human resources around the watershed determines the status of the land use index, the erosion index, and economic and social factors. The negative externality impacts arise due to unfriendly land-use management on various types of cultivation, including agriculture, cultivation, plantations, or even livestock, contributing to the potential for erosion. This study aims to create a causal model of erosion prevention through a human resource development approach to support community food security and develop a technical program for land rehabilitation around the Kambaniru watershed, East Nusa Tenggara. The research method is presented descriptively with observation, tabulation, and data valuation techniques. The performance assessment results of the Kambaniru watershed show a medium-category classification. Multi-purpose plants and trees are prioritized for land rehabilitation to prevent erosion and provide food security for the poor, such as corn and tubers. Human resource capacity development in the upstream and central communities has successfully supported the erosion prevention and land rehabilitation program. The policy implications of this research are as follows: the limited capacity of community human resources in land conservation can be started by socializing the planting of short-lived trees. The recommended species are legume family types that can thrive in various types of soil and are flexible with climate change. Corn and tubers are a source of high calories and nutrients needed to improve the quality of human resources in the Kambaniru watershed area. Therefore, developing a food reserve land program in the Kambaniru watershed is necessary.

The role of social capital and quality of life on happiness and preventing family breakdown

Aim: The research was conducted with the analytical purpose of the relationship between social capital and quality of life with happiness and the role of social capital in preventing family breakdown. Method: The current research is a survey method. The statistical population is the population of 20 years and older in Kerman. According to Cochran's formula, the selection of the research sample is equal to 400 people. Research tools for data collection include World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (1989), Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (1989) and Social Capital Questionnaire (Putnam 1993). The theoretical framework of the research is associated with the integration of the human development approach based on the description of Griffin and McKinley and the theories of Putnam, Coleman, Stone, Harper, Fukuyama regarding social capital. Results: The research results indicate that the relationship between quality of life and happiness is not significant, but social capital has a direct and positive effect on happiness, which is equal to: 0.155. With the increase of social capital, the level of happiness of people also increases. This relationship is a very strong relationship. Conclusion: All people want to be happy, but the structures of a society cause that sometimes their happiness is combined with despair and disappointment. People like Fukuyama have a direct reference to the relationship between the incidence of social problems and social capital. According to Fukuyama, the incidence of issues such as family breakdown and suicide and the like is a sign of the lack of social capital in people involved in these issues.

A Framework for the Development of Human Centred ICT4D Initiatives: A Capability Approach Perspective

The term “development” is often used concomitantly with Information Technology for Development (ICT4D) and Information Systems for Development (ISD4D) initiatives in discussions related to these fields. Development as an outcome is often pursued through ICT mechanisms without questioning the assumptions about its contribution to human development. Development, as a construct, has been the subject of increasing debate in the ICT4D research community, and is especially fuelled by the current global economic uncertainty. It is when the paradigm of development is shifted away from the predominant Western theory of development, as postulated by many economic development theorists, as well as other development theories, such as utilitarianism, for example, that new development outcomes can be explored. One such outcome is the result of a human centred development approach, where well-being and human development form the focal point of ICT initiative outcomes. The Capability Approach (CA), developed and promulgated by Nobel Prize laureate Amartya Sen, provides an operationalizable framework that views development as human development and having or obtaining certain freedoms. The CA affords the observer the opportunity to assert the social dimension of development and, in the case of this study, that of a rural community in South Africa, with the ICT4D artifact delineated to mobile health, or mHealth.

The human development and capability approach: A counter theory to human capital discourse in promoting low SES students’ agency in education

This discursive article discusses some of the inherent and durable problems associated with human capital discourses in education. While human capital is regarded as a core element in ensuring international competitiveness, this discourse greatly jeopardizes the ability of lower SES students to acquire agency through schooling. This is due to its two self-contradictory assumptions: a profit-based ideology and a neglect of the influence of social structure on educational inequality, which greatly contribute to educational inequity. We argue that educational inequity can be improved through two complementary perspectives, which address the influence of structural constraints on educational results, as argued by Bourdieusian academics, and which optimize the advantages of agency, as proposed by the human development and capability approach.

Rethinking Human Development and/as Human Security for the Anthropocene

Abstract Three recent reports from the United Nations Development Programme reconsider human development thinking and revive UN human security thinking: the 2020 Human Development Report (HDR 2020); the 2022 Special Report (SR 2022) on human security; and the 2021/2022 Human Development Report (HDR 2022). The trilogy marks an overdue return to human security thinking. HDR 2020 builds a sense of common human fate, employing the notion of the Anthropocene. SR 2022 adds a diagnostic stress on growing subjective insecurities and a prescriptive stress on solidarity. HDR 2022 explores the escalating felt insecurities, their drivers, and possible responses. It attempts to integrate and extend the other two reports; most of HDR 2020's components and themes recur, but in more mature forms and enriched by perspectives and tools from SR 2022. The present article lays a basis for reconsideration of similarities, differences, and possible complementarities between human development and human security approaches and the social quality approach.

Leaving no Country Behind: A Fuzzy Approach for Human Development

ABSTRACT “Leaving no one behind” (LNOB) constitutes one of the core principles underpinning the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We propose a complementary fuzzy logic approach to identify countries left behind in human development and each of its dimensions. We find that the countries left furthest behind at the beginning of the century were those that most reduced gaps with respect to better performing countries after two decades. Nevertheless, we cannot clearly speak of convergence in human development. There are notable exceptions, such as the Central African Republic, Liberia, Yemen, Haiti or Venezuela, which despite the improvement in their Human Development Index worryingly increased their gaps in human development dimensions relative to the rest of the world. Our analysis highlights significant advantages of using the proposed fuzzy-based LNOB approach to incorporate the moral imperative of leaving no country behind in the measurement of human development.

Land tenure security for low-income residents' urban livelihoods: A human development approach review of temporary occupation license

Existing studies on the human development approach discuss how eliminating capability deprivation and enlarging people’s choice led to improvement on their overall wellbeing. However, land tenure security, the pre-condition to safeguard secure livelihood for poor and low-income urban residents is rarely discussed. This study examines the potential of the human development approach to the land tenure security debate by using a desk review of literature on both concepts. It employs the usage of a land policy instrument, known as the Temporary Occupation License (TOL), which aims to provide urban low-income residents with tenure security despite their lack of formal ownership over the land. In this context, land tenure security is understood from the subjective perspective, rather than from its traditional economic objectives. Findings show that the pursuit of human development through TOL results in an enhanced security of tenure amongst urban low-income residents in two forms. Firstly, protecting them against the threat of eviction through the principle of equity in which TOL provides opportunity for nonlandowners with legal access to state land for housing. Secondly, allowing households to gain the benefits of labour and capital invested in the land. For instance, the principle of efficiency embedded within TOL allows households to utilise land according to their priorities and needs; empowerment allows them to make decisions pertaining to housing and tenure upgrading, whereas sustainability allows citizens and authority to achieve developmental results that benefit both parties. The study concludes that the pursuit of the human development approach in land management, through administrative decisions and conducted in a participatory manner, can indeed enhance land tenure security for urban low-income residents.