Participatory Irrigation Research Articles

Gender Perspective in Water Management: The Involvement of Women in Participatory Water Institutions of Eastern India

The paper examines the extent, nature, and factors affecting women’s involvement in participatory irrigation institutions of eastern India. Effective participatory water institutions are urgently needed to improve water management in eastern India, and a significant aspect of this is the involvement of women. There is inadequate representation, participation, and involvement of women in most water institutions. From the participatory and social point of view, this is a significant concern. The relevant data are obtained from the states of Assam and Bihar through a focused survey administered to 109 women in 30 water institutions, and a larger farmer-institutional survey covering 510 households and 51 water institutions. The research examines the extent and nature of the involvement of women in these institutions, as well as in farm decision-making, and the factors that prevent or foster their participation. Additionally, it examines the gender congruence in views regarding water institution activities and their performance, and the perceived benefits of formal involvement of women. The results show that their inclusion is very low (except required inclusion in Bihar), and the concerns of women are usually not being taken into account. Women are involved in farming and water management decisions jointly with men but not independently. Findings indicate that the views of women and men differ on many aspects, and so their inclusion is important. Responses indicate that if women participate formally in water user associations, it would enhance their social and economic standing, achieve greater gender balance, expand their awareness of water management, and contribute to better decision-making in the water institutions.

Participatory Irrigation Management: Barind Model a New Sustainable Initiative

During the past 20 years, substantial efforts were made to improve irrigation Management-Operation & Maintenance (MOM) through introduction of participatory irrigation management (PIM). PIM proved generally successful on small and medium schemes but it has yielded limited results on large schemes. Stakeholder engagement in irrigation system shapes hydrosocial territories: (1) by reducing tension between stakeholders, (2) by redirecting regional planning and strategy, (3) by highlighting water crises, (4) by decentralizing water responsibilities and (5) by integrating values and beliefs from different stakeholders (Sandra Ricart, et.al, 2018). Privatization started to become politically fashionable in the late 1980. In this context privatization means off-loading government ownership or responsibility for operation into the private sector, either to the farmers themselves or to an intermediate private subcontractor. But is it just a means of off-loading responsibility from a government line management system that can't cope, or is it really to benefit the farmers? (Adrian Laycock, 2011). Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) is an autonomous authority. The BMDA does not require external finance and sustainable finance to operate the irrigation project. There are around 16,000 deep tube wells and surface lift pumps covering around 0.6 million hectares (round the year) under BMDA management. BMDA is managed by a board chaired by an appointee of the government. There are three other members representatives from farmers including other relevant department's representatives. BMDA has introduced innovative concept for prepayment for water; this was started using a system of using electronic prepaid meters. There are no formal WUOs established instead keeps a very close liaison with the farmers and the communities through their field offices, this approach appears to be effective. The chief executive of a successful irrigation project should have a clear idea about people, land and water.

Mainstreaming Gender into Irrigation: Experiences from Pakistan

The influence of gender in participatory irrigation management reforms has been the subject of significant research in the past. Whilst there is some understanding of what hinders women and marginalized groups from participating in irrigation management, there is limited understanding of how male and female farmers vary in their perceptions on the effectiveness of participation in irrigation affairs. There is also limited understanding around the interaction on gender and the overall success of participatory irrigation management programs. Based on the information obtained from 128 households surveyed through separate male and female questionnaires in Pakistan in 2018 (Sindh and Punjab provinces), we studied the country’s experience in engaging gender into its participatory irrigation management program. We found there was a significant difference in participatory irrigation management perceptions across both gender and locational jurisdiction. Overall, women generally perceive the performance and impact of farmer organizations to be significantly less effective than men. Our study emphasizes the importance of putting findings in a historical context to inform the theory, policy, and practice of mainstreaming gender into irrigation management.

Is Digital Good for Providing Water Security? – A Case Study of India

We live in an urbanizing world. Large cities with population greater than 750,000 would represent US$21.8 trillion in economic activity or 47.7% global GDP. These cities are already home to 1.7 billion people, about 24% of the world’s population. By the year 2050, it is expected that ninety percent of the world’s urban population growth will occur in Asia and Africa. Economic growth goes hand-in-hand with the urban growth. With the population increase in cities, there is a need for ample and consistent supply of water. The supply of water is a fundamental component of the environmental, economic and social health of cities. There is a huge investment of US$90 billion a year in water supply infrastructure to ensure delivery of clean water to the citizens. If the current trend continues, the volume of urban water need will have to go up by 80% by the year 2030. In this context, The World Economic Forum classified water security as one of the greatest threats to global prosperity in the year 2014. Hence, it becomes essential to manage the water resources in an efficient manner to cater to a large population. The world around us is transformed by various technologies and adopted by humans. Improvement in the performance and cost of computing power, storage and bandwidth are the causes of these technologies. Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies like Virtual & Augmented Reality, Big Data Analytics, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Block Chain have created disruption in various industries through the way businesses are run. India as a country has an advantage of monetising digital technologies for solutions related to social issues due to STEM qualified expertise and experience. AI4SG has got the potential to provide the most sought after Water Security for a country like India. The current study attempts to identify whether there is a dearth in the supply of water due to lack of rain or excess exploitation; or is it that the resources are available but the management of water resources is not efficient. State-wise analysis across India is conducted to identify the gap. The measure used for this study is the Composite Water Quality Index devised by Niti Aayog. The study has found that the gap between supply and demand of this significant resource can be bridged with the proven technology of Block Chain. Issue of Water loss, Water trading and Water quality could be resolved using Block Chain technology. The most common areas of improvement in Water management across various States of India are Water supply, Ground water restoration/rejuvenation, Participatory Irrigation, On-farm use, and Waste water treatment. Block Chain as a technology solution is proposed to bring in possible resolution to these issues to improve upon the water management process.

From Sharing the Burden of Scarcity to Markets: Ill-Fitting Water Property Rights and the Pressure of Economic Transition in South Asia

In this paper, we consider the process of transition from an equitable distribution of water to support semi-subsistence outcomes to market-oriented agriculture. We examine the stresses placed on water institutions as farmers adjust production to become more market-oriented and consider the relationship between farmers and irrigation officials under different scenarios. The paper is used to highlight some of the challenges pertaining to property rights but also considers the dangers of simply transposing solutions from full-market agriculture in developed economies to developing nations and countries in transition. In this context the role of Participatory Irrigation Management is scrutinized. We argue that this approach can potentially accommodate greater flexibility and market orientation in agriculture but ultimately the beneficiary-benefactor relationship between irrigation officials and farmers in parts of South Asia needs to be seriously challenged.

Unraveling the Relationship between Collective Action and Social Learning: Evidence from Community Forest Management in Canada

An important outcome of social learning in the context of natural resource management is the potential for collective action—actions taken by a group of people that are the result of finding shared or common interest. Evidence of the relationship between collective action and social learning is beginning to emerge in the natural resource management literature in areas such as community forestry and participatory irrigation, but empirical evidence is sparse. Using a qualitative inquiry and research design involving a case study of the Wet’zinkw’a Community Forest Corporation, this paper presents research that examined the relationships between collective action and social learning through community forest management. Our findings show strong evidence of collective action outcomes on the part of board members responsible for the community forest, such as establishing a legacy fund, adding value to logs, protecting First Nations cultural values, and hiring locally. Our data also reveal that the actions taken by board members were encouraged through social learning that was related to acquiring (new) knowledge, developing an improved/deeper understanding, and building relationships. However, we found limited opportunities for community forest partners and the general public to learn and contribute to collective action outcomes since the actions taken and associated learning occurred mainly among board members.

Spatio-temporal variations in effects of participatory irrigation management (PIM) reform in India: A panel data analysis

After a decade of implementation of participatory irrigation management (PIM) policy in India, the impact of PIM on agricultural and irrigation scenario is studied in six states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Rajasthan) implementing the PIM reform. In case of each state, district level panel data of 10 years each before and after the PIM enactment is analyzed for the variables depicting agricultural and irrigation scenario. The decadal mean values calculated before and after implementation of PIM indicate that increased share of net irrigated area to net sown area (3–12%), increased productivity of major crops (11–20%), increased food grain productivity (8–39%) with decreased share of food grain crops area to gross sown area (1–3%), increased area under high yielding varieties in three states (13–54%), increased cropping intensity in five states (3–12%) and increased fertiliser consumption (21–80%) during post PIM period. Net irrigated area has shown an increase from 6 to 38 percent that is because of relatively more increase in groundwater irrigated area (16–63%) as compared to canal irrigated area after PIM (-16 to 31%). District wise agricultural development index (ADI) and irrigation development index (IDI) are derived showing betterment in both after PIM reform. Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) regression models are worked out that revealed variations in impact of PIM in the states of India. The PIM has made significant impact on food grain productivity as evident from the significant coefficient value for interaction term between year and PIM dummy in case of Karnataka, Odisha and Rajasthan. In case of other three states, the impact of PIM is not significantly visible.

A Fresh Look at the Debate on the Causes of Poor Performance of Certain Irrigation Schemes: The Complexity of Hydraulic Behaviour of Canal Systems

AbstractThe paper starts with a retrospective review of the debate on the causes of poor performance of irrigation schemes in the 1990s which resulted in a sharp decline in the interest of financing agencies in the irrigation sector and a shift to a new model of irrigation projects focusing on participatory irrigation management associated with rehabilitation works. Evidence is overwhelming that many new‐type projects have had mixed results. It is evident that improved management alone cannot boost the performance of poorly designed irrigation systems. Design flaws should be corrected.This paper goes on to discuss the complexity of the hydraulics of irrigation canals and the intricate behaviour of a hierarchy of canal systems with innumerable numbers of nodes that should respond to changes in demand and supply. Minor differences at the head of main canals may result in serious deviations from the planned operation and even extreme differences in delivery or chaos at the tail ends. It was only in the mid‐1980s that hydraulic academics studied these phenomena of instability related to the sensitivity of control structures and their interaction. Admittedly occasional observers from other disciplines could not identify the technical causes of the poor performance of some irrigation schemes. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

STUDI PENYUSUNAN PROFIL DAERAH IRIGASI JAMBO REUHAT

The purpose of compilation study of Jambo Reuhat irrigation area profile was to collect correct and actual data and information as input in planning P3A organizational empowerment/”Keujruen Blang” program to improve the management of participatory irrigation in Jambo Reuhat Irrigation Area based on potential local resources. Jambo Reuhat Irrigation Area is located in the administrative area of East Aceh Regency which includes Idi Rayeuk, Idi Tunong, Darul Ihsan and Banda Alam Sub-districts. The method used was descriptive research which is case study and field study. SWOT analysis was performed to formulate strategy and policy which would be used. This study also distributed questionnaires to 12 (twelve) P3A in Jambo Reuhat Irrigation Area. The socio-economic aspect in Jambo Reuhat Irrigation Area should increase business opportunity for productive economy which could be developed optimally by agricultural intensification, improving technology mastery pre- and post-harvest, agronomy and agricultural business diversification. In organizational aspect, the status of P3A/”Keujruen Blang” should be raised to legal entity and have legality in performing works related to improving the performance of Jambo Reuhat Irrigation Area. In technical aspect, damaged irrigation channels and buildings with decreased functions should be. In agricultural business aspect, mastery and application method of efficient technology in crop processing, crop preparation to post-harvest should be improved. Potential local resource which should be developed was animal farming to support agricultural activities and to be integrated optimally with activities to improve farmers’ economy.

Transaction Cost in Irrigation Tank Management: An Institutional Economic Analysis

Irrigation tanks formed the lifeline of village economy. The Government of Karnataka amended its Irrigation Act in 1965 and Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) was brought under the domain of Cooperative Act and Water Users Cooperatives were formed to managed and operate the tanks. The present study was undertaken to assess the transaction cost in irrigation tank management in central dry zone of Karnataka. Two tanks Bukkarayanakere (farmers managed) and Ayyanakere (Minor Irrigation Department managed) were considered for the study. The results revealed that, total transaction cost incurred was high in Minor Irrigation Department managed tank or defunct water users association (` 1,06,085 per year) than farmers managed tank or active water users association (` 61,480 per year). This is because of free riding problem that prevailed in the Minor Irrigation Department managed tank command. Educating the farmers regarding the benefits of collective action is necessary to reduce the transaction cost.

Global Review of Institutional Reforms in the Irrigation Sector for Sustainable Agricultural Water Management, Including Water Users’ Associations

AbstractThis paper reviews institutional reforms in the irrigation sector for sustainable agricultural water management (AWM) undertaken in 14 countries and regions, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, South Korea, Sudan, Chinese Taipei, Turkey and Ukraine. These regions represent a vast diversity of geography, climate, governance, socio‐economic conditions and level of development. In those countries with smaller land areas and high‐technology manufacturing, such as Japan and Korea, agriculture is now being viewed as technology‐driven food factories of the future. Meanwhile, for countries with a significant base population and increasing growth rates, such as China, India and Indonesia, agriculture seems to dominate the development debate. The comparative evaluation analyses the issues regarding institutional and organizational reforms focusing on the legal and organizational framework structure including water users' associations (WUAs) for water supply services, participatory irrigation management (PIM) and management transfer, and public–private partnership (PPP) towards sustainable irrigation and drainage (I&D) and agricultural water management (AWM). Despite the diverse geography and institutional frameworks, food security remains a major concern in all the countries and regions reviewed in this paper. The formation and functioning of WUAs, ageing I&D infrastructure and its operation and management (O&M) appear to be the major institutional and PPP challenges for sustainable AWM in the immediate future. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Irrigation Governance in Developing Countries: Current Problems and Solutions

The evolution of water governance and societal perception in large, public irrigation systems in developing countries has triggered successive waves of reforms since the 1980s. Among them are Participatory Irrigation Management, Irrigation Management Transfer, Public-Private Partnerships or Market Instruments. Reforms have generalized the implementation of Water Users Associations (WUAs) in continuous interaction with a public Irrigation Agency. This paper set out to review recurrent problems and reported solutions in the governance of irrigated areas in developing countries and to relate solutions to problems in a case study context. The combination of literature review and the experience of the authors permitted identification and characterization of eight problems and eight solutions. A semi-quantitative approach was designed to relate solutions to problems in case study WUAs. The approach is based on the definition of a generic problem-solution matrix and a WUA-specific problem vector. The solution vector indicates the adequacy of each solution to a case study WUA. It can be obtained by multiplying the problem vector with the problem-solution matrix. Application of this approach to seven case study WUAs demonstrated its potential. Local fine-tuning of the coefficients defining the problem-solution matrix seems required to draw conclusions effectively guiding decision-making.

Institutional Reform in the Irrigation Sector in China

AbstractIrrigation development relies on sustainable water use and sound irrigation facilities. Participatory irrigation management (PIM) is advantageous because it increases irrigation water efficiency, strengthens construction and maintenance of irrigation facilities, improves irrigation service and capacity building, and increases the sense of responsibility for farmers to protect irrigation systems and their sense of being in charge of improving their own irrigation management. However, there remain some issues that have not yet been addressed in practice. This paper summarizes the experiences and lessons from the practice of institutional reform in the irrigation sector in China and discusses the incentives for farmers to participate in irrigation management and the requirements for a well‐functioning water users' association (WUA). Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Participatory Management of Irrigation System in North Eastern Region of India

The demand of water by various competing sectors, such as industry, power, drinking and irrigation, is increasing while the supply of available fresh water remains the same. This calls for efficient use of water in all sectors especially irrigation, which consumes the highest amount of water in India. Due to recurrence of drought and flood India suffered from famine, so after the Independence the government has rigorously pursued the construction of irrigation dams to increase agricultural production and meet the increasing demand of food. Construction of dams was given priority than management of irrigation projects. But due to a large gap between irrigation potential created and irrigation potential utilized, there was a paradigm shift in the irrigation sector. As a result, the concept of participatory irrigation management (PIM) was widely spread through seminars, National Water Policies and specific irrigation Command Area Development (CAD) programme. The first National Water Policy in 1987 and the subsequent policies had provisions for involvement of farmers in irrigation management for efficient use of irrigation water. Many states in India implemented PIM Act under the policy. It also applies to the northeastern region (NE region) of India. This region has a traditional irrigation system such as bamboo drip irrigation in Meghalaya, water conservation among the Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh, zabo system of Nagaland and dong irrigation among the Bodos of Assam which are traditionally managed by the farmers. This article examines the farmers’ participation in irrigation management in the NE region. It attempts to highlight the changes of PIM policies, involvement of farmers or the Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) in irrigation management, constraints and suggest ways to strengthen them for efficient use of irrigation water in the NE region of India.

English

Assessing the performance of an irrigation scheme is an important management function which will indicate the state of the scheme and suggest possible remedial measures to improve the effectiveness of the scheme. This study was conducted to assess the technical and agricultural performances of the Okyereko irrigation scheme in the Central Region of Ghana. Secondary data were collected from the scheme with respect to rainfall, yield for the period of 2011 to 2015 seasons whilst field measurements were carried out to determine the water supply and demand. This study assessed three technical performance indicators and two agricultural performance indicators during the 2014/2015 season. The V-notch and the rectangular weir were used to measure the water delivery and the Manning formula was used to calculate the flow-rates in canals. Water requirements were estimated using the modified Penman method. The results from this study indicated an overall scheme conveyance efficiency of 78.2%, a maximum dependability of irrigation intervals between water applications of 2 and a scheme relative irrigation supply of 1.38. The agricultural performance indicators, output per unit irrigation supply and water productivity per unit crop evapotranspiration (ET), were found to be 0.90 and 20.53 kgm-3, respectively for rice. This study recommends that farmers should be actively involved in all performance assessments and scheme organizations in order to improve the performance since the farmers are major stakeholders of irrigation schemes and are responsible for operation and maintenance after the introduction of Participatory Irrigation Management. Keywords: Irrigation scheme, agricultural productivity, performance assessment.

Participatory Irrigation Management and Irrigation Water Use Efficiency in Maize Production: Evidence from Zhangye City, Northwestern China

Water has become increasingly scarce in northwestern China due to climate change, economic growth and burgeoning population. Improving agriculture water use efficiency is of strategic significance in promoting socio-economic water productivity for arid and semi-arid inland river basins. Based on the household-level data collected in Zhangye City, which is located in the middle reaches of Heihe River Basin (HRB) in northwestern China, irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) of maize is estimated based on stochastic frontier analysis. The impacts of influential factors, especially the participatory irrigation management (PIM) through water user associations (WUAs), on IWUE were further examined. Results show that the estimated average Technical efficiency (TE) and IWUE of maize production are 0.74 and 0.24, respectively. The participation level in irrigation management is very low, with only 40% of the respondents participating in WUA meetings. In addition, most have a relatively superficial understanding of the roles and management scheme of WUAs. Empirical results show that though significantly positive, the magnitude of the impact of PIM on IWUE is relatively small. Households that participated in WUA meetings achieved only 0.002% higher IWUEs than those have never participated in. WUAs are not operating with their designed objectives. Consequently, reform of the traditional management form of WUAs to make them more transparent, fair, and extensively participated in among farmers is in urgently need. In addition, we also find that water price, source of irrigation water, irrigation technology adoption and famers’ education level and farming experience also have significant positive impacts on IWUE.

MONEVA - a Monitoring & Evaluation System to Assess the Performance of Participatory Irrigation Management/Irrigation Management Transfer Programs in the Mediterranean Region

One of the major shortcomings of the Participatory Irrigation Management/Irrigation Management Transfer (PIM/IMT) programs undertaken in many countries of the world, is the predominant absence of Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) systems specifically addressed to accompany these processes, and become a major instrument to correct, improve and learn. To contribute to closing this gap, this paper presents the main features of “MONEVA”, an M&E system tailored to PIM/IMT programs, and adapted to different Mediterranean Countries. The system is based on the principles of the Logical Framework Analysis (LFA), which permitted the development of objectives, outcomes, outputs and appropriate indicators for the monitoring of results. MONEVA is integrated with seven menus and many submenus which detailed description is reported in the embedded User’s Manual. Only selected options are presented in this paper. The important and innovative features of MONEVA are its capacity to adapt to every country by using only the indicators relevant to the country, and a simple and objective system of evaluation. The results of its application in the pilot countries Jordan and Tunisia, i) demonstrated its flexibility to adapt to local contexts and the easiness of its application which supported its adoption, and ii) validated its characteristics as a Decision Support System (DSS), having a great potential for improving the implementation of the PIM/IMT programs, through the identification of their criticalities and thus, facilitating the definition of corrective actions at government and agency levels, but particularly, at the Water Users’ Association (WUA) level.

PARTISIPASI ANGGOTA P3A DALAM PEMELIHARAAN JARINGAN IRIGASI

This study aims to find out the participation of P3A (Farmers of water user Group) farmers in maintaining irrigation networks. The data used in this research is in the form of primary data and secondary data. Primary data obtained by direct observation at the location or interviews based on the questionnaires with members of the P3A Tara-tara Three Urban Village, Sub-district of West Tomohon, Tomohon City. While secondary data including articles related to research. The method of analysis used in this study is the random sampling method means that every member of the population has the same opportunities and opportunities to be selected as a sample. This study suggests that the participation of P3A members in the maintenance of irrigation networks, the areas that run the rice fields from upstream to downstream, so that the benefits of irrigation can be felt maximally. Hence, P3A is required for maximum management and maintenance by using participatory management approach. Basically, participatory irrigation management and maintenance approach is a strategic approach in managing irrigation infrastructure through farmer participation in all aspects of irrigation management, including planning, design, implementation, development (development/rehabilitation), and financing.

Participatory Irrigation Management and Transfer: Setting the Guiding Principles for a Sustaining Monitoring & Evaluation System – a Focus on the Mediterranean

A major shortcoming of Participatory Irrigation Management and Irrigation Management Transfer (PIM/IMT) is the absence of Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) systems that accompany these processes and become a major instrument to correct, improve and learn. Although at the global level some countries have exerted efforts to implement M&E systems, these still present limitations, as the review of the international experiences shows. The Mediterranean situation is even more dramatic since only Tunisia implements an M&E system, whereas Egypt has shyly moved in this direction with a limited practical application. This state of affairs led the authors to develop a set of guiding principles to develop an M&E system to be applied in countries where PIM/IMT is adopted. This paper revises the main international efforts devoted to assess the performance of PIM/IMT and the state of the art of these processes in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries. Moreover, it sets the framework and analyses the main sustaining factors for the development of a new M&E system for these countries.

A Q Methodology-Based Analysis of Experts’ Attitudes towards Obstacles and Challenges of Irrigation Management Transfer to Farmers

Purpose: Using Q-methodology approach, this study attempts to examine the attitudes of experts towards the barriers and challenges of irrigation management transfer. Methods: In terms of purpose and research methodology, this study is applied and mixed-method (quantitative-qualitative), respectively. To identify the challenges of irrigation management transfer, Q methodology was used. In the first phase, a questionnaire containing two questions about the barriers and challenges to irrigation management transfer were administered to experts and managers of two organizations involved in agricultural water management. After collecting their views and reviewing internal and external resources, 41 items were derived. In the second phase, 30 participants including 20 managers and experts from Guilan Jihad-Agriculture Organization and Guilan Regional Water Authority, as well as 10 faculty members from Departments of Water, Development and Rural Planning in universities of Guilan and Kharazmy were studied. The participants were selected using purposive sampling method. Findings: Based on the results, a group of experts with the majority of faculty members believed that organizational and cultural barriers were the most important obstacles to the realization of participatory irrigation management. The second group including executive experts with the majority of Guilan Jihad-Agriculture Organization members mentioned that technical and administrative obstacles had more prominent role than cultural and institutional barriers. Finally, from the perspective of the third group that was relatively smaller than the other two groups, the major challenge in non-realization of participatory irrigation management was rooted in cultural-educational issues. Limitations: Because this study was conducted in the first half of the year characterized with the peak agricultural activity, access to key managers and experts of Guilan Regional Water Authority was very difficult and time consuming. Practical implications: Codification of clear and practical guidelines enjoying impressive views of the three groups of stakeholders (Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Jihad-Agriculture and academia) in the field of enforcement mechanisms, consulting, regulatory, determination of duties according to the executive, advisory and monitoring position, and avoiding frequent changes in executive agencies responsible for participatory irrigation management can be helpful in this regard. Authenticity: To date, several important studies have been conducted in this area, each one being an appropriate guide by itself. Distinguished feature of this study is that it looked at this issue from another perspective and tried to study the problem in a distinct way (Q-methodology) from the point of view of different groups involved to compare the differences of views and to drive distinguished components of the three groups’ standpoints (based on the career status of the respondents).