Lower Levels Of Empowerment Research Articles

Empowerment or Disempowerment of Middle and Lower Level Managers as an Efficient Model of Managing a Manufacturing Company in Poland – A Case Study

During the field studies concerning job satisfaction and commitment, the authors observed that there were no fundamental differences between answers provided by middle and low level managers and ordinary workers, concerning determinants of these phenomena: they showed the same low level of empowerment and complained about the same items to a comparable degree. The authors conducted the survey in a manufacturing plant with foreign investment by a worldwide operating company, located in Poland (Lower Silesia) in the Spring of 2014. The sample consisted of 81 workers, 25 administrative staff and 11 managers, thus general n=117. The chi-square test of independence, a p-value calculated by Monte Carlo simulation were used to determine whether or not and in which spheres the questioned managers differed from the workers and administrative staff. Consequently, the authors show that in conditions similar to those encountered in the analyzed manufacturing plant, centralization of power may be considerably high and managers of the middle and lower level may be more similar to workers in many respects. Next, the possible reasons for that “disempowerment” in terms of the so-called “end-of-the-pipe model” structure are given and discussed. The authors show also that some kind of remedy can be found in such situations using the simplest empowerment strategy – the so-called suggestion empowerment, as well as TQM or Lean Management practices (e.g., quality circles, 5M, TPM).

Determinants of better health: a cross-sectional assessment of positive deviants among women in West Bengal

BackgroundRural women in West Bengal have been found to have low rates of formal education, poor health knowledge, high rates of malnutrition and anemia, and low levels of empowerment. Despite these difficult circumstances, some women have positive health outcomes compared to women with similarly disadvantaged backgrounds. The purpose of this study is to identify factors associated with positive health outcomes among women with primary education or less.MethodsMultivariable regression models were built for outcomes of positive deviance to better characterize the factors in a woman’s life that most impact her ability to deviate from the status quo.ResultsPositive deviants in this context are shown to be women who are able to earn an income, who have access to information through media sources, and who, despite little schooling, have marginally higher levels of formal education that lead to improved health outcomes.ConclusionsStudy findings indicate that positive deviant women in disadvantaged circumstances can achieve positive outcomes amidst a host of contextual barriers that would predict poor health outcomes. Focusing on areas such as enhancing access to media sources, facilitating self-help groups for married women, and promoting prolonged education and delayed marriage for girls may improve health knowledge and behavior among married women with low levels of education.

Community Empowerment through Appropriate Technology: Sustaining the Sustainable Development

Abstract Rural communities are the major entities in developing and third-world countries. While outsiders want to develop local community, they should develop the local conditions and sustain the result. In order to get sustainability among rural communities, technology become a booster to reach it. However, the success rate of many community development projects result only compare between “before” and after condition of technology implementation. Furthermore, when its result reaches sustainable condition of community development, many communities can not further maintain as well as develop their sustainable development because low level of empowerment. This paper attemped to develop conceptual framework how to reach the sustainable development in a community which was strengthened through the implementation of appropriate technology in order to reach empowerment. The framework will be constructed through literature survey and then combined with several sample cases to provide a comprehensive discussion. This paper concluded that empowerment was the next shape of sustainable development. Three stages of community development were revealed. Appropriate technology can be positioned as the bridging point in reaching empowerment of rural communities. By looking at previous efforts which treated sustainable development as the final purpose of community development projects, this paper gave new lights how to reach beyond it. Empowering rural communities, sustaining their sustainable development.

Determinants of Higher Fertility Rates in Igunga District, Tanzania: Does Women Empowerment Matter?

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between women's empowerment and fertility in rural Tanzania. Data were collected from randomly selected 120 women in 4 randomly selected villages from 2 wards in Igunga District using a structured and non-structured questionnaire. Descriptive and regression analyses using Statistical Package for Social Sciences were used to determine the factors for fertility. Women's empowerment was measured by five proxies: economic decision-making, mobility, coercive control, family planning and contraceptive use, as well as family size decision-making. Fertility status was measured by age-specific fertility rates and total fertility rates. The main argument adopted by this study was that higher fertility rates might be lowered through interventions that enhance women empowerment. The results clearly indicate that women in the study area are less empowered based on the adopted indicators and that such lower levels of empowerment together with demographic and cultural factors including men's dominance are responsible for higher fertility in the study area. This study recommends that interventions addressing cultural factors and enhancement of women empowerment may lower higher fertility rates from the study area. Moreover, although this study dealt with women as the unit of data collection and analysis, it is important that such interventions should involve both men and women. This, as seen from male dominance, is important because any change that is expected will come from decisions made by men to change the current situation

Empowerment of Rural Women in Agriculture: A Socio-psychological Analysis

KEYWORDS Empowerment. Autonomy vs. Dependency. Self-esteem vs. Self-depreciation. Reflective vs. Repetitive Behavior ABSTRACT Empowerment in woman's development is a way of defining, challenging and overcoming barriers in her life through which she increases her ability to shape her life. The active, multi-dimensional processes enable them to realize full identity and power in all spheres of life. Rural women play a crucial role in agricultural development and allied fields. However without their total intellectual and physical participation in these activities, it is not possible to achieve the goals of rural uplift. In the present study an attempt has been made to analyze the present status of women empowerment in different caste categories in Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh by examining pivotal socio-psychological factors of empowerment such as autonomy vs. dependency, self-esteem vs. self-depreciation and reflective vs. repetitive behavior of women. The results showed that majority of the women had medium or low level of empowerment. Further women who were illiterate/less educated were less empowered and generally belong to the scheduled caste category. In overall terms, the researchers would argue that the broad based approach is one of the best approaches to guarantee gender equity and to empower rural women, and that this approach should be considered in the formulation of rural policies and the creation and implementation of agricultural and rural development programmes and projects.

P-1180 - The level of empowerment in mentally ill in Croatia regarding the employment, education and social contact-comparisons, correlations and predictions

After using the Croatian adaptation of the Rogers Boston Empowerment scale on 176 people with mental illness the moderate levels of empowerment were found. Statistically higher levels of empowerment was documented in people that have better social contact (in a form of a friend and family support), people that have better education (faculty) and those who are unemployed. The lowest levels of empowerment have the people that have partner/spouse, high school education and are disabled. Having partner/spouse and being disabled or retired are variables found to be predictors for having low level of empowerment in mentally ill persons in Croatia. The results point to the need of interventions on strengthens the empowerment in people with mental disorders in Croatia.

MODEL PEMBERDAYAAN PETANI MENUJU KETAHANAN PANGAN KELUARGA

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 8.65pt 6pt 9pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" lang="en-us" xml:lang="en-us">The purpose of this study was to analyze the model of farmer empowerment for household food security. Research design was cross sectional, it was conducted in Lebak District on March</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;" lang="en-us" xml:lang="en-us">- November 2010. The data collected was household characteristics, consumption, level of farmer empowerment, and household food security. A systematic stratified random sampling was applied to select 95 farmer households. The path analysis was applied to analyze </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;" lang="en-us" xml:lang="en-us">Model of Farmer Empowerment for Household Food Security</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;" lang="en-us" xml:lang="en-us">. The results showed that 42.1% of farmer household are food insecure, and most of them (52.6%) have low level of empowerment. Model of farmer empowerment for food security can be started with the development and strengthening of megapolitan environment, followed by strengthening the means of production and capital.</span></p>

P03-182 - ‘Mores’ project: clinical evaluation and need assessment of psychiatric patients living in two residential facilities in Modena, Italy

ObjectivesThe ‘MORES’ (MOdena RESidenze) project was a naturalistic study designed to assess clinical outcomes and to investigate psychosocial needs in two groups of patients currently admitted in two residential facilities characterized by different intensity of care (“low protection” vs. “high protection”).Methods32 patients (62%) in a Sheltered Housing (SH, low protection) and 20 patients (38%) in a Psychiatric Residence (PR, high protection) were assessed by means of a multi-dimensional and multiaxial system. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected from patient charts. Clinicianadministered instruments (BPRS, GAF, CAN) and self-rating scales (LQL, VSSS, Empowerment Scale) were administered to all 52 patients. Chi-squared test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used to compare the two groups.ResultsThe most frequent diagnosis was Schizophrenia (n=41; 79%). No differences were found in socio-demographic and clinical characteristics between the two groups, as well as in psychometric scores. Scores at the BPRS, GAF, CAN and Empowerment scales revealed in both groups a medium-low degree of psychiatric symptomatology, low global functioning, high level of care needs (many of them satisfied, 73%) and a low level of empowerment, respectively. Self-perceived quality of life was poor (LQL: SH=4,57±0,31; PR=4,4±0,33), specifically related to the housing situation and VSSS (SH=3,81±0,85; PR=3,52±0,82) suggested poor satisfaction with mental health services.ConclusionThough no difference were found between the two groups, patients’ needs emerged clearly, suggesting need for further investigation to tailor more specific rehabilitation programs.