Livelihood Issues Research Articles

MARGINALIZATION OF THE MEAL MAKERS: ETHNOGRAPHIC OBSERVATIONS OF SALT FARMERS AND WORKERS OFTHE LITTLE RANN OF KUTCHH IN INDIA

India has witnessed inequalities despite making sustained developmental progress. The economically, socially, and ecologically marginalized communities are the worst affected by this skewed development. The Salt workers living inside the protected area of Wild Ass Sanctuary in Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) in India (Agariyas) experience such multi-dimensional marginality. Despite being the user of the common pool resource for decades, this community remains deprived of basic facilities and a range of public services during their stay inside the Rann. While their livelihood issues are well-documented, this research explored the complexities of their social, spatial, ecological, and political marginalization. An ethnographic study involving non-participant observations, in-depth interviews, and informal discussions with a range of different stakeholders was carried out during several short visits and a long stay. Data was collected in the form of field diaries, photos and videos, and audio recordings. For analysis, field notes and interview transcripts were read several times with a reflective mind. Situational and social arena maps were used for understanding the complexities of the lives of these populations. Despite the age-old association with the Rann, Agariyas became illegal residents of the LRK since it became a Wild Ass Sanctuary. While the ecological effects of climate change have affected the salt production cycles, increasing input prices, stagnant and decreasing output prices, increased occupational risk, and limited entrepreneur ability have resulted in grim economic prospects in an oligopolistic market. Carrying a historical stigma of belonging to the De-notified tribes, most Agariyas have poor social networks and remain politically invisible. They continue to remain excluded from most welfare entitlements of the public system. Agariyas face multiple and intersecting vulnerabilities that need policy attention. Ecological conservation to include economic, sociological, and anthropological viewpoints to appreciate the LRK as commons for the Agariyas who face unique challenges of sustaining and surviving.

The Neglect of Local Residents’ Livelihood Issues in the Urbanising Peri-Urban Mwanza City, Tanzania

The Neglect of Local Residents’ Livelihood Issues in the Urbanising Peri-Urban Mwanza City, Tanzania

Sektor neformalne reciklaže u Srbiji kroz perspektivu zdravlja

Even though recycling, incineration, and other waste treatment methods are available, landfills continue to dominate waste disposal in Serbia. Without proper management, numerous landfills pose grave dangers, as exemplified by the August 2021 fires at multiple landfills in Serbia. In addition to formal waste recycling systems, approximately 15 million people participate in informal waste recycling, primarily for plastics, metals, glass, and paper, while this figure in Serbia is estimated to be between 30 and 50 thousand. This review analyses emerging public health issues, particularly associated with the informal waste recycling sector in Serbia. Although informal recyclers contribute to waste recycling and reuse, the relatively rudimentary techniques they employ, in conjunction with improper management of secondary pollutants, exacerbate environmental pollution of air, soil, and water. Even worse, inadequate occupational health measures expose informal waste workers to a variety of pollutants, injuries, respiratory and dermatological conditions, infections, and other significant health problems that contribute to a low life expectancy. Integration of the informal sector with its formal counterparts could enhance waste management while simultaneously addressing these grave health and livelihood issues.

The research framework and key issues of sustainable livelihoods in the national park

The research framework and key issues of sustainable livelihoods in the national park

A Blockchain-Based Framework for Supervision of Livelihood Issues: Proof of Concept With Optimized Consensus

A Blockchain-Based Framework for Supervision of Livelihood Issues: Proof of Concept With Optimized Consensus

Solutions for sustainable livelihood development for fishers in the buffer zone of Hon Cau Marine Protected Area, Binh Thuan province

Choosing a sustainable livelihood model for residents in the buffer zones of protected areas is a central task and the key to the success or failure of protected areas. This study investigates and assesses resource and livelihood issues of people in Hon Cau Marine Protected Area, Binh Thuan province. In addition, the study also surveys, collects information and evaluates the competitiveness in the aspect of marine ecotourism of the study site and tourist attractions of the same type. The survey results show that there are two economic directions that can be developed to support the livelihoods of people in the buffer zone: tourism and aquaculture. In particular, when analyzing and evaluating the competitive advantages of local fishermen in the field of tourism and aquaculture, the results of the SWOT analysis show that aquaculture is a favorable and suitable direction for the economy, qualifications and experience of fishermen to replace inshore fishing livelihoods. The area's marine ecotourism has low competitiveness and low job-creation capacity. Therefore, the research team proposes that localities should prioritize investment in technology and financial transfer for people in the buffer zone in the field of high-tech aquaculture to transform livelihood models for affected people, directly from the protected area's fishing ban.

Adaptive minimum adjustment consensus model for large-scale group decision making under social networks and its application in Integrated Care of Older People

Elderly care has become a vital livelihood issue as the aging population continues to grow. Generally, integrated care of older people (ICOPE) involves doctors, nurses, and family members. The service quality evaluation of integrated care can be modeled by social network large-scale group decision making (SN-LSGDM), and linguistic distribution assessment (LDA) is a powerful means to express evaluation information. However, it lacks the associated research. This paper proposes an adaptive minimum adjustment consensus model for SN-LSGDM with LDA and then applies it to evaluate elderly care modes. Firstly, trust relationships are updated according to the opinion similarity and the trust deviation. Then, a new clustering method based on trust density and opinion similarity is proposed to cluster DMs. Further, the expert and subgroup consensus levels are measured by considering the distance from the collective opinion. Moreover, adaptive consensus models are constructed in terms of the minimum adjustment of subgroups and experts. Finally, a case study of the service quality of ICOPE demonstrates the effectiveness of the new method, and comparison and sensitivity analysis reflect the advantages of the new approach.

Placing Indian Village System in the Centre of Development-Induced Displacement Discourse

The contemporary development process under the impact of neo-liberal policies has rapidly changed and restructured the socio-economic sphere of village life in India. The evolving pattern of rural society has turned its socio-economic structure into a complex space full of contradictions. As a result, the geographical space has been altered in terms of the representation of maps, information, and ideological interests. These spatial patterns have added to the complexities of space that have attracted scholars who relate it to new theories in developmental economics. The present paper attempts to analyse some of these aspects of the Indian rural society undergoing the process of development and displacement and its impact on different socio-economic groups, i.e., peasants, small and marginal farmers, share-croppers, artisans, agricultural labourers, and landless labourers. One-sided development, especially in the agrarian economy, disturbs the traditional skill, livelihood, and social order ultimately spreading the issues of unsustainable livelihood, hardship, and marginalization in peri-urban areas. Reskilling and participation in the decision-making process of the displaced people of developing society have become a challenging issue for policy orientation related to Development Induced Displacement (DID).

Gender discourse on displacement and livelihood issues: a study ofwomen tea plantation workers, North Bengal, India

Present paper examines methods and methodological concerns of few significant conceptual constructs based on inter-sectional variables like colonial history of tea plantations, feminization of workforce, political economy of displacement, issues of sustainable livelihood; gender, labour and identity crisis or gender, space & identity; and emerging feminization of underclass at the face of declining tea economy in North Bengal. Further, observational analysis post closure of tea gardens would be included to substantiate trend analysis from a feminists’ scholarship. It attempts to develop a theoretical discourse subsequently a tangible feminist framework keeping the gender-labour and displacement- livelihood issues at center space of the thematic dialogue.

Climate change induced human displacement in Bangladesh: Implications on the livelihood of displaced riverine island dwellers and their adaptation strategies.

In Bangladesh, many people are being displaced in riverine island (char) areas every year due to climate change and its associated natural catastrophes. This study intends to investigate the impact of climate change on internally displaced char people’s lives and livelihoods along with local adaptation strategies and hindrances to the coping mechanism. Data have been collected from 280 internally displaced households in two sub-districts. A mixed-method approach has been considered combined with qualitative and quantitative methods. The results disclose that frequent flooding, riverbank erosion, and crop loss are the leading causes for relocation, and social relations are impeded in the new place of residence. Increasing summer and winter temperatures, recurrent flooding, severity of riverbank erosion, and expanding disease outbreaks are also important indicators of climate change identified by displaced people, which are consistent with observed data. This study also reveals that almost all households come across severe livelihood issues like food shortage, unemployment and income loss, and housing and sanitation problems due to the changing climate associated with disasters in the former and present places. In response to this, the displaced people acclimatize applying numerous adaptation strategies in order to boost the livelihood resilience against climate change. However, fragile housing, financial conditions, and lack of own land are still the highest impediments to the sustainability of adaptation. Therefore, along with the government, several organizations should implement a dynamic resettlement project through appropriate scrutiny to eradicate the livelihood complications of internally displaced people.

A Study on the Dynamic Relationship between Wealth Gap and Economic Growth in China

Abstract With the economic globalization, the relationship among all countries has become more and more closed (this phenomenon is often called “global village”). The wealth also flows more freely than that of before in the world. Due to this, there is a better improvement in our everyday life. But it also raises many livelihood issues such as the wealth gap. At present, the wealth gap problem has become one of the biggest serious problems in each country, especially, in the developing countries. Because of this, quantities of scholars and economists spare no effects to explore the dynamic relationship between wealth gap and economic growth. In this, this paper sets China who is the biggest developing country in the world with bigger wealth gap as an example. The annual time series data from 1980 to 2016 is applied to analyze the dynamic operating mechanism between wealth gap and economic growth in China. All datum are sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China. Using the vector error correction model to conduct an empirical analysis, the dynamic operating mechanism between them will be fully understood. Then, the results of this empirical study will provide some ideas as reference for China’s government to settle the wealth gap.

Cultivating sustainable and healthy cities: A systematic literature review of the outcomes of urban and peri-urban agriculture

• UPA's contribution to urban sustainability is gaining research attention post-2015. • A clear regional bias is visible with current research focusing on the Global North. • While the Global North reported positive environmental outcomes, research in the Global South emphasizes social sustainability. • Issues of land, labour and livelihoods are largely discussed in the context of the Global South. • Urban planning and policy must recognize UPA as a nature-based solution with sustainability and wellbeing co-benefits. Despite considerable interest in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in recent decades, its contributions to urban sustainability and human wellbeing remain contested. This systematic literature review examines the geographical landscape of the peer-reviewed literature on UPA and assesses its reported outcomes on sustainability and wellbeing. Following systematic review protocols, we undertook a two-step literature screening and quality assessment process. From a total of 4029 articles, based inclusion-exclusion criteria, we filtered 320 articles for quantitative and 86 for qualitative assessment. Quantitative analysis confirmed an exponential increase in literature on UPA since 2015 and a regional bias towards the Global North. The qualitative analysis identified six thematic outcomes of UPA under three sustainability pillars - environmental sustainability; material well-being; labour and livelihoods; land tenure and urban planning; and food and nutritional security as part of economic sustainability; and subjective and relational wellbeing as well as gender and social differentiation as elements of social sustainability. Environmental sustainability was most discussed, followed by subjective wellbeing and food and nutritional security. Gender and social differentiation issues were least represented in the papers. There remain knowledge gaps around how urban policy and planning can recognise, leverage, and scale up the sustainability and wellbeing co-benefits of UPA.

The Wetlands Paradigm Shift in Response to Changing Societal Priorities: A Reflective Review

This paper reviews some of the key influences that wetlands have had on the development of human society together with the history of wetland use, conservation and management in the context of changing human interactions from prehistoric to modern times. It documents the origins of the Ramsar Convention and the changes in the criteria for defining wetlands of international importance from an emphasis on migratory birds to those of wider functional importance contributing to community well-being. This led to a significant increase in the number of signatories from developing countries The change in scientific emphasis from ecology to ecosystems (and ecosystem services) is identified as a key element of the wetland paradigm shift, which has occurred in the last half century and renewed the recognition of the importance of the natural capital of wetlands. It represents a change in research agenda from what wetlands are to what wetlands do. Modification of the Ramsar wise use concept is documented, and evolution of wetland assessment methods is traced in relation to policy development and the need for a strong science evidence base to improve decision-making connected with wetland conservation and management. The author also addresses the significance of wetland economic valuation and biodiversity issues, transboundary water management with particular reference to the marshlands of Mesopotamia (southern Iraq), conflict, and human livelihood issues. Examples are given of the drive towards wetland restoration in different countries, and at different scales, with awareness of the extraordinarily high costs associated with major schemes such as the Florida Everglades which may prohibit replication in other parts of the world. Adoption of the Ecosystem Approach and the “Wholescapes” concept are seen as important in the future management of wetland ecosystems. The wide-ranging interactions within the structure of a new wetland paradigm are summarized diagrammatically. An examination of current societal priorities and challenges resulting from the nexus of issues arising from food production, energy, water, and environmental change and health suggests both significant threats to wetlands, but also some opportunities for these ecosystems to play a part in sustainable solutions contributing to human well-being. The paper concludes with an endorsement of a new World Charter for wetlands but emphasizes the vital importance of partnership working and the key engagement of local communities to make any new initiative for enhanced protection and management of wetlands to work on the ground. Key challenges facing wetland science are identified, but it is the realization that healthy wetland ecosystems are a significant contributor to human and societal well-being that underpins the paradigm shift in research, management and policy needs.

Impact of soil and water conservation practices on crop income in tembaro district, southern Ethiopia

This study investigated the impact of soil and water conservation practices on crop income in the Tembaro district, Kembata Tembaro zone, Southern Ethiopia. We selected 236 households using stratified sampling. For this study, we collected primary data through structured questionnaires, focus group discussions, and interviews with key informants. Propensity score matching was used to investigate the impacts of soil conservation initiatives on agricultural income. Age, distance from the farmer’s training center, total land size, extension contact, and training all influence participation in soil and water conservation practices. ATE revealed that crop income differed positively between the control and treatment groups. The total household income increased by 422 ETB as a result of participation in the program. This demonstrates the importance of soil and water conservation for boosting crop income. As a result, governmental and non-governmental development partners should invest in farmer capacity building through extension and training to achieve soil and water conservation goals while simultaneously addressing the livelihood issues of resource-dependent local farmers.

Nafkah Istri Nushūz Perspektif Imam Syafi’i dan Ibn Hazm

Livelihood is one of the important things in human life, so it is necessary to study it. However, there are differences of opinion about the livelihood of Nushuz's wife. This study examines more deeply the livelihood of the wife of Nushuz by focusing on two problem formulations, namely 1) the livelihood of the wife of Nushuz according to the opinion of Imam Shafi'i and Ibn Hazm, and 2) the legal istinbat used by Imam Shafi'i and Ibn Hazm looking at the issue of livelihood. For nushuz's wife. Using a qualitative literature research method, this research concludes that according to Imam Syafi'i, a nushuz's wife is not entitled to her husband's maintenance until she quits her nushuz. Meanwhile, according to Ibn Hazm, whether the wife of Nushuz or not, she is still entitled to a living from her husband. The legal istinbat used by Imam Shafi'i is qiyas, while Ibn Hazm is the explicit meaning of the Qur'an letter an-Nisa verse 34.

Scaling up qualitative research to harness the capacity of lay people in invasive plant management.

Successful management of invasive plants (IPs) requires the active participation of diverse communities across land tenures. This can be challenging because communities do not always share the views of scientists and managers. They may directly disagree, have alternative views, or be unwilling to manage IPs. Reviews of IP social science identify opportunities to better understand the role of cultural processes and everyday practices to address these challenges. To scale up and leverage the insights of existing qualitative social science IP research, we used meta-ethnography to unlock accounts and interpretations of lay perspectives. Meta-ethnography is a form of qualitative research synthesis increasingly used beyond its origins in health and education to produce interpretive syntheses of an area of research. In the 7 phases of meta-ethnography, we systematically identified and synthesized 19 qualitative articles pertinent to lay experience and knowledge of IPs in diverse settings. Action and meaning regarding IPs were influenced by 6 meta-themes in personal and social life: dissonance, priorities, difference, agency, responsibility, and future orientations. Through descriptions and examples of each meta-theme, we demonstrated how the meta-themes are higher level structuring concepts across the qualitative research that we analyzed and we retained grounding in the in-depth qualitative research. We characterized the meta-themes as leverage points and tensions by which we reframed lay people in terms of capacity for reflective IP management rather than as obstacles. The meta-ethnography synthesis shows how leverage points and tensions emerge from everyday life and can frame alternative and meaningful starting points for both research and public engagement and deliberation regarding IP management. These insights are not a panacea, but open up new space for reflective and mutual consideration of how to effectively navigate often complex IP problems and address conservation and social and livelihood issues in dynamic social and physical environments.

Sentiment Analysis on Power Rationing Micro Blog Comments Based on SnowNLP-SVM-LDA Model

In the context of energy conservation and emission reduction, many places across the country have introduced "power rationing" policies. In order to understand the public's emotional attitude and emotional characteristics of the policy, help government departments to grasp the trend of public opinion and optimize strategic decision-making, this paper proposes a public opinion analysis method based on the SnowNLP-SVM-LDA model. This paper takes micro blog comments on power rationing as the research object, and obtains a total of 5242 micro blog comments through Python collection and data cleaning. Firstly, the word cloud map is drawn for the comment text after Jieba word segmentation, and then the SnowNLP-SVM model is used to classify the sentiment of micro blog comments, and then LDA topic mining is carried out for positive and negative comments respectively.Research shows that most micro blog netizens (69.34% of the total sample) hold a negative attitude towards power cuts. This paper identifies three major topics of national policy, support for the government, and power supply security in positive emotions, and three major topics of people's livelihood issues, rising coal prices, and government work in negative emotions. Through the analysis of this paper, it provides data support and theoretical support for government departments to guide the trend of public opinion and optimize work decisions.

Social and Occupational Impact of Coal Mining in Dhanbad (Jharkhand) India - A Case Study

The purpose of the study is to assess the impact of mining activities on occupational and social changes in coal mining area of district Dhanbad (Jharkhand). The area affected by mining activities called beneficiaries is compared with the area having no effect from mining activities called non-beneficiaries. Five villages were selected from each area. With the help of a random sampling method, 24 respondents from each village were drawn. Data were analyzed by using two-point scales (dichotomous scale) along with percentages associated with the 'Yes’ response and the all sample tested by the ‘Z’ test. The traditional structure of rural communities in this area was also reduced. Caste hierarchy and dominance were replaced by professional hierarchy and dominance. Due to mining, the people are more educated and aware to make themselves economically strong. It was found that the level of aspiration of villagers had increased as a result of mining. The study will be a valuable addition to the field of social science and policymaker to enhance the coping capacity related to the impacts of coal mining on socio-economic life. This study helpful for researcher/planner to gives a perception regarding the issues of livelihood and social structure of the Dhanbad Coal Field. This study is more inspiring for future research.

Feminist Methods, Methodology and Interpretations on Displacement and Livelihood Issues: A Study of Women Tea Plantation Workers, North Bengal, India

Feminist Methods, Methodology and Interpretations on Displacement and Livelihood Issues: A Study of Women Tea Plantation Workers, North Bengal, India

Equilibrium of Tiered Healthcare Resources during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China: A Case Study of Taiyuan, Shanxi Province.

COVID-19 has caused more than 500 million infections and 6 million deaths. Due to a continuous shortage of medical resources, COVID-19 has raised alarm about medical and health resource allocation in China. A balanced spatial distribution of medical and health resources is a key livelihood issue in promoting the equalization of health services. This paper explores the spatial allocation equilibrium of two-tier medical and health resources and its influencing factors in Taiyuan. Using extracted POIs of medical and health resources of AMAP, we evaluated the spatial quantitative characteristics through the Health Resources Density Index, researched the spatial distribution pattern by kernel density analysis, hot spot analysis, and service area analysis, and identified the influencing factors of the spatial distribution equilibrium by the Geodetector model. The findings are as follows. The overall allocation level of medical and health resources in Taiyuan is low. There are tiered and regional differences; the response degree of primary care facilities to external factors is greater than that of hospitals; and the comprehensive influence of economic and topographic systems is crucial compared with other factors. Therefore, in order to promote the rational spatial distribution of medical and health resources in Taiyuan and to improve the construction of basic medical services within a 15 min radius, it is important to continuously improve the tiered healthcare system, uniformly deploy municipal medical and health resources, and increase the resource allocation to surrounding counties and remote mountainous areas. Future research should focus on collecting complete data, refining the research scale, analyzing qualitative differences, and proposing more accurate resource allocation strategies.