Understanding Of Local People Research Articles

ANALYZING KAMILA SHAMSIE’S A GOD IN EVERY STONE: COLONIALISM AND RESISTANCE

Colonialism has been in practice from the ancient times and the suffrage of the people on the part of being colonised is a frequently disscussed notion. Colonialism is the settlement and political control over the other nation or country, in which the colonised are “defeated and conquered, exploited and humiliated” by the colonizers (Cahen, 2012). Colonialism was not the same phenomenon in different times of the world but everywhere it brought the natives and the settlers into most complicated and traumatic relationships leading to the massacres and extinction of certain races. The colonisers try to eradicate the native culture, but it seems that the culture of the colonised society is “frozen” in time because it contains the same culture as it was before colonisation (Liz, 2013). If there is Colonialism consequently there will be a response against those colonial exploitations in the form of anti-Colonialism. Anti-Colonialism is the framework of the oppressed, it is a theory that appears from the very beginning in the understanding of local people and their experiences in the context of colonial oppressions (Simmons, & Dei, 2012). The colonised have to fight for them in order to save their traditions, culture and social norms. Anti-Colonialism is the response given to colonial subjugations and victimisations. It is the movement which empowered the colonised people to gain independence from the colonial masters. Anti-Colonialism heightens the necessity to throw out colonial control and re-establish the native governments. In the second half of the 20th century anti-Colonialism was expressed in terms of liberty. Kwame Nkrumah said that “Never before in history has such a sweeping fervorfor freedom expressed itself in great mass movements which are driving down the bastions of empire” (Nkrumah, 1970). This qualitative study discusses colonial practices regarding the control of colonised and the machinery of colonised i.e. social, political, religious, economical and others. Colonialism comes with its reaction that is Anti-colonialism that questions the hegemonies of colonials against colonised. This study specifically focuses on A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsie.

ISLAMIC AND CULTURAL ACCULTURATION AS LOCAL WISDOM IN PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT OF MERAPI MOUNTAIN AREAS

The community around Mount Merapi with all its local wisdom believes that coexistence with Merapi requires norms and ethics. This research is a qualitative descriptive research with a literature review technique. This study aims to explore the concept of the beliefs of the Merapi people, the influence of Javanese Islam on the beliefs of the Merapi people, as well as the ethics of living the people around Merapi. Based on the results of the study, it is known that the concept of belief in the people on the slopes of Merapi is syncretism. The influence of Islamic teachings on the traditions of the Slopes of Merapi is the emergence of local people's understanding that combines Javanese traditions and Islamic teachings. In living, the Merapi community believes that with ethics in farming, raising livestock, living, and living, it can create harmony between the people on the slopes of Mount Merapi and the natural environment. The Merapi community continues to revive and preserve various traditions amid the onslaught of modernization currents, such as the wiwitan tradition, dawetan sapi, and becekan. This is one of the efforts to maintain a balance between humans and nature.
 Keywords: Islamic and Cultural Acculturation, Local Wisdom, Protecting Environment, Merapi Mountain Areas

THE The Anthropology of Su’Style Noodles

This content contains a lot of interesting concepts about food and diet. However, there is not a lot of mention of food culture in the article. Most of my topics will revolve around cultural output and cultural cognition, to feel the difference between local people and tourists. I will discuss the food recognition and food culture recognition of the local Suzhou culture in the follow-up, which will ultimately be reflected in the local people's understanding of food culture. The reason why I choose to eat Su-style noodles each week is because I lived in the old town before, and many authentic folk snacks were not as delicious as in the old town. The original intention of this theme is that many people do not recognize Suzhou's Food culture is a very important culture, which has been indifferent and generalized.The original intention of the old craftsman has also disappeared. Now the progress of science and technology has prompted the local people to not identify with this culture so much, and lack a sense of identity.

Institutionalising co-management activities for conservation of forest resources: Evidence from the Sundarban mangrove forest management of Bangladesh

Understanding local stakeholders' perceptions of co-management institutional activities serves a significant role in the proper functioning of the co-management institutions for the Sundarban mangrove forest conservation effort, but this currently remains unexplored. This study aimed to identify the current co-management institutions, co-management activities, and local people's understanding of these activities in the implementation of the co-management approach. The study was conducted in four villages in the Chandpai range of the Sundarban mangrove forest. Thematic content analysis was conducted on the qualitative data, which had been collected through key informant interviews at the local, regional and national levels, followed by focus group discussions in the study villages. The key forest co-management activities and practices identified were: forest protection and monitoring; meetings; local livelihood initiatives; and organisational supports. These co-management activities were implemented through institutions largely situated at the local level, through Village Conservation Forum, People's Forum and Community Patrol Group; higher-level institutions included the Co-management Committee, where local, district and national stakeholders were represented. Local people with forest dependency were participating in forest co-management activities and their awareness of forest conservation and social network had increased. In addition, people who had received training from government and non-government organisations reported benefits such as improved resource harvesting techniques, organisational skills and practical knowledge, which would be useful in times of natural disasters. However, local people also reported a range of issues affecting their full participation, which included top down decision-making, insignificant financial support, absence of alternate income sources, lack of meeting places for VCF members, gender inequality in participation, corruption and lack of skill-based training. A key governance issue for the local-level forest co-management institutions was limited access to the government organisations who oversaw policy and institutional control. In contrast, non-government organisations provided important institutional capacity-building support to local communities, and acted as a conduit to higher level committees. Broader impact could be achieved by fostering local participation, especially that of women, through genuine collaboration with other stakeholders, and extending the lessons learned from the study villages through exchange visits and sharing of ideas with other VCF villages in the area.

Tambang dan Masyarakat: Dampak Ekonomi dan Kesehatan Dumping Tailing bagi Masyarakat Pesisir Lingkar Tambang

The gold mining company PTAMNT, which operates in West Sumbawa, discharges its mine waste into the middle of the sea using the deep sea tailing placement (DSTP) method. For local people, the presence of foreign goods is seen as dangerous for their economic life and health. The toxins in it can contaminate sea water and fish. Even though their life depends a lot on the sea. Therefore, society rejects its existence. This study questions the level of acceptance of the local community as well as the economic and health impacts of tailings dumping. This study uses a qualitative method, by putting forward case studies. Data collection used the method of observation, in-depth interviews, focused group discussion, and document searches. Initially, the economic life and health of the community were considered to be affected by tailings dumping. However, local people's understanding turned out to be dynamic. When the knowledge and experience of the community increases and is in different contexts, the perspective on tailings (DSTP) changes and can accept it. Their knowledge and experience shows that tailings dumping using the DSTP method does not have any (bad) impacts on both economic life and health. It was understood later that the real big problem for the local community was not tailings dumping and its impacts, but rather the existence of the mining company itself as a whole which was seen as not always giving significant meaning to daily economic and social life.

Local soil knowledge, sustainable agriculture and soil conservation in Central Vietnam

Efforts to support farmers living near forests to achieve sustainable agriculture and natural resource conservation have predominantly focused on services or schemes such as agricultural extension and community-based forest management, with little attention being focused on farmers' local soil knowledge (LSK). This paper provides insights into farmers' LSK, their agricultural and soil conservation practices and economic reliance on natural forests. Household survey (n = 146) and key informant interviews (n = 24) with farmers was conducted in two communes of the buffer zone of Bach Ma National Park, Central Vietnam. The results indicated that 70% of farmers had reasonable LSK, and farmers with comprehensive LSK (21%) were more familiar with their soils and the relationships between essential soil properties that reflect soil problems. Most farmers used soil colour to allocate crop types because of its association with soil fertility or plant yields. Erosion was identified as a major production constraint, yet less than a fifth of farmers had placed soil erosion control measures into practice. However, low-cost techniques, such as growing native plant cover (e.g.“lồ ô” (Bambusa balcooa)), were suggested by a few farmers to address soil loss. The Katu farmers had greater potential to secure LSK as the next generation are continuing to farm, while the Kinh farmers' LSK is threatened by a lack of engagement in farming by the younger generation. However, Katu farmers have less opportunity to use their LSK due to limitations in farm size and cropping options. These findings have raised different challenges to the succession of farmers' LSK for sustainable agriculture and natural resources conservation in the two communes. Finally, this study highlighted the importance of involving farmers' LSK in the early stages of designing and conducting research through forums or workshops to improve relevance and adoption of practices developed so they align with local people's understanding and practice.

Cultural landscapes: exploring local people's understanding of cultural practices as “heritage”

PurposeA vital testimony of human presence landscape is recognised and protected by international, national and local documents as an identity resource and one of the factors that contribute to the identity building processes (UNESCO, 1994; European Landscape Convention, 2000). The validation of landscape as cultural heritage presents not only new challenges but also opportunities for the heritage sector. In fact, a landscape plays a dual role: as part of the cultural heritage, which has to be preserved for its values, and as a “living” site, where individuals and groups live and work. This implies that the acknowledgement of its cultural significance should not be exclusively determined on the basis of discipline-driven frameworks and benchmarks but should rather be the result of a shared awareness within local communities.Design/methodology/approachThrough the analysis of the vineyard landscape of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato (Italy), the author discusses how the selection of a World Heritage site driven by “outstanding universal values” risks presenting a top-down approach to heritage processes.FindingsIn this article, the author explores how people living in this cultural landscape articulate their understandings of heritage values, and she addresses issues concerning their participation in decision-making processes, questioning whose values and meanings do the “outstanding universal value” legitimise or not.Originality/valueWhat the author argues is that the World Heritage listing's focus on extraordinary values risks constructing heritage around a consensus that privileges only some actors, whose voices and stories enliven the prestige of the wine production of this cultural landscape, omitting other values, memories and practices from the identity and meaning making processes. Does the identification and representation processes validated through World Heritage status capture how a landscape is understood by individuals and groups living within it? If not, how do these differences affect people's engagement? A further point of discussion is whether individuals and groups want to be engaged in decision-making processes and on which terms.

People’s adaptation to thermal conditions inside buildings for religious practice

Users of naturally ventilated (NV) buildings often try to adapt to maintain thermal comfort when thermal dissatisfaction is perceived, while this ability seems to be unnecessary for those living in air-conditioned spaces. Such a thermal subjective difference led to an establishment of the adaptive model, which was included in the ASHRAE Standard-55:2004 in 2004, to reflect thermal comfort requirement of NV-building users. Some forms of this American standard was officially adopted by Thai's Rating of Energy and Environmental Sustainability in 2012. However, its suitability for local application has remained questionable, thereby necessitating the need for more field-based research to gain a better understanding of local people's requirement for indoor thermal environments. This field research aimed to investigate users' adaptive thermal comfort using 517 datasets consisting of respondent personal information, subjective votes, and adaptive actions and thermal environmental data of three NV meditation halls in Thailand. The results reveal the inaccuracy of the predicted mean vote method. The respondents' neutral temperatures are higher than their thermal preference. Moreover, the 80% indoor acceptable thermal range in the study was slightly wider compared to a limit suggested by the ASHARE Standard. Regarding thermal adaptations, personal adjustments played a significant role in the first sequence of action, whereas psychological adaptations were more important in the later sequences.

Attitudes to illegal behaviour and conservation in western Tanzania

AbstractNatural resources in and around protected areas in many countries in Africa are under intense pressure as a result of illegal behaviour, such as fishing, hunting and logging. A better understanding of local people's perceptions of the nature of illegal behaviour and the relevance of conservation actions would be useful in informing conservation decisions. We gathered information on the attitudes and perceptions of communities in the vicinity of Ugalla Game Reserve in western Tanzania regarding illegal behaviour and the effectiveness of conservation practices, using household surveys, key informants, and focus groups. We found that local people use the Reserve illegally, especially for hunting (28 ± SE 6%) and logging (20 ± SE 5%). We explored behaviours that are problematic for conservation in the partially protected areas around Ugalla. Local communities reported feeling isolated, harassed and intimidated by approaches used to protect Ugalla. They were angered by the conservation of Ugalla as a trophy hunting site for foreigners, and the excessive force and beatings used by game rangers to keep them away from the Reserve. Improving local livelihoods (17%), participatory conservation (16%), and giving people land for agricultural activities (16%) were among the ways that local communities felt would reduce illegal activities. Our findings suggest the need for conservation measures to benefit local communities around Ugalla transparently and equitably. Outreach programmes would help to raise conservation awareness and attract positive attitudes towards conservation. To encourage local support for conservation, we also suggest that conservation authorities create and maintain good relations with people living near the Reserve.

Improving global health – is tourism's role in poverty elimination perpetuating poverty, powerlessness and ‘ill-being’?

ABSTRACTThe spectrum of challenges for public health in a global context is ever expanding. It is difficult for health professionals to keep informed about details of key issues affecting global health determinants such as poverty. Tourism is seen as one strategy to eliminate poverty in developing countries and to improve global health, but the industry struggles with keeping its promise. Apart from often negative impacts on the well-being of local communities, it also turns out not to be as altruistic as it appears at first sight. Discourses largely focus on power and control of the non-poor over the poor despite all the rhetoric to the contrary. Economic aspects still dictate the debate rather than local people's understanding of well-being. Only with a major shift in the approach to local populations, acknowledging the communities’ right to self-determination and accepting them as equal partners with access to genuine benefits, will this disturbing imbalance be redressed and allow better health for more people possible. Public health professionals should question claims about the beneficial influence of tourism in poor regions and not lower their vigilance for poverty-related health problems, so that the poor are not overlooked when all other stakeholders are busy with their own agenda.

Ethnoécologie de la pollinisation et des pollinisateurs : savoirs et pratiques dans trois sociétés

This paper brings together three case studies on the interrelationships amongst people, pollination processes and pollinators (notably honeybees). In the palm groves of Saharan oases, the milieu and varieties of palm trees are created by horticulturalists, who fulfil themselves the role of pollinators. In southern Morocco, entire landscapes, including in particular the agroforests of argan trees, are the products of a remarkable symbiosis between bees and people. In Indonesia, honey harvesters have an exacting local knowledge of the giant honeybees and the timing and nature of blooms. They use this knowledge to attract migratory swarms and to decide the optimal moment to harvest honey so that the bees are incited to return. The authors, specialists in social system/ecosystem interactions, decided to pool their expertise so as to render more accessible their research results, which are often dispersed amongst journals specialized in different cultural areas. By focusing their analyses instead on an important biological phenomenon threatened by human action (in this case, pollination), they hope that their audience will also include biologists, policy makers and environmental managers. Given the growing diversity and complexity of threats facing biodiversity, the responses proposed by conservation biology alone are often inadequate. To understand the dynamics of anthropo-ecosystems, the outcomes of a long co-evolutionary process involving a wide range of living beings, an interdisciplinary approach is mandatory. Conservation and sustainable use cannot be achieved without an understanding of local people's knowledge and practices, a prerequisite for establishing in partnership with them, protection measures that are both respectful and locally adapted.

Exploring Local Perceptions of Climate Change Impact and Adaptation in Rural Bangladesh

This paper reports on findings from 30 focus group discussions and 30 key informant interviews conducted in 12 districts of Bangladesh in May 2012. The discussions and interviews draw attention to perceptions of climate change and how climate-related trends influence people’s lives, both directly and indirectly. The findings also identify how people adapt to and cope with these changes. This paper aims to improve our understanding of local people’s perceptions of these changes, explore the ways they are affected by them, and how well they are adapting to them. In order for policymakers to plan responses to climate change in Bangladesh, it is essential to understand how people understand and cope with these trends.

Indigenous knowledge perceptions and development practice in northern Malawi

This paper discusses contested issues in development related to Indigenous knowledge, and conventional development practice and theory. Drawing on findings from field research, this paper argues that although development aims at improving the quality of life of people concerned, the understanding of such improved life quality is different between local people and development experts. Experts emphasise economic growth as measured by per capita income, which is sometimes inadequate in explaining local people's understanding of development. The findings of the study lay bare the underlying values of local farmers in northern Malawi that contribute to improving quality of life and living standards. Indigenous knowledge developed by farmers shows that progress is understood in terms of adequate food, fresh, tasty value-laden food available for consumption and utilising more than one part of the crops grown, and not just adequate income.

Time and timing, work and action: Aspects of rural livelihoods in northwest Nigeria

Rural West Africans confront a challenging array of circumstances in pursuit of their livelihoods, which are negotiated through repertoires of knowledge, skill, wisdom and information that are held individually, communally or as the prerogative of experts. Of some significance is timing: finding the most effective or propitious moment for action. On the farm, anticipating the beginning and progress of the rains is crucial and sought through the empirical observation of natural phenomena, or as in northwest Nigeria additionally through agricultural star calendars and almanacs by Muslim clerics. Furthermore, some clerics use divination to identify propitious moments for their clients whereby they may achieve success in non-farm jobs and businesses that are an integral part of rural livelihoods. Taking action to achieve particular outcomes on and off the farm raises issues about local people's understanding of the physical world and their place within it, and the power of religion and the supernatural. An appreciation of such matters would appear to be crucial for those from the scientific and technological North who may be attempting to transform African societies.

Local people's perceptions of forest biodiversity in the walnut fruit forests of Kyrgyzstan

The biodiversity of the walnut fruit forests in Kyrgyzstan is under huge pressure due to various socio-economic challenges and anthropogenic factors. In this context, the participation of local people plays a significant role in the conservation of biodiversity. This study assessed local people's understanding of forest biodiversity and evaluated their knowledge of the wildlife at three different locations. The research was conducted between May and September in 2008 with randomly selected households (n = 142). The results indicated that the local people were aware of the concept of forest biodiversity. This concept is perceived in different ways depending on the benefits gained from the forest and due to a bias which is strongly related to profession. Regarding the current conditions of biodiversity in general, people have clear and positive intentions for conservation. However, it seems that people will be unable to reduce their impact on forest resources in the future due to the current socio-economic challenges. Further, people's expectations for the future of forest biodiversity varied significantly (6–52%) between the sites due to the differences in the pressure exerted by humans on the forests and the availability of forest resources. Concerning the people's knowledge of wildlife this was limited to few species (28–35% of the species occurring in this area). This study highlights the fact that increasing awareness of wildlife is essential for the maintenance of biodiversity. Local people and the forestry sector need to stress the importance of biodiversity in establishing a sound conservation strategy, as well as income-generating activities.

ASSESSING LOCAL PERSPECTIVES IN A FORESTED LANDSCAPE OF CENTRAL CAMEROON

ABSTRACT Decision makers require better understanding of local people's needs in tropical forested landscapes to enable more locally relevant and sustainable conservation. The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) developed a series of survey methods that assess the perceptions and priorities of forest dependent people with regard to their environment. These methods were applied in a fragmented forest landscape in Central Cameroon, near a small forest reserve. The results show that despite the importance of agriculture for food and income, people still rely on the forest for most aspects of their livelihoods. However, people's relationships with the forest are changing, potentially leading to increased conflicts and resource degradation. These issues are not easily captured in sociological surveys, but the methods applied generated insights into people's views and preferences regarding the forest and provide grounds for negotiation and compromise between the stakeholders. Future work will link people's preferences to the results of a biodiversity survey.