Resource Poverty Research Articles

Real options perspectives on business firm human resource factor sourcing and poverty alleviation

A poor individual however poor has three resources, the intent/ability to work for a living, the intent/ability to learn and the ‘openness to experience’ new situations and contexts. The application of real options has mostly remained restricted to organisational levels. Real options have not yet touched the ‘the individual’ as a real asset and thus the possibility to consider it as a real option has not unfolded in the academic commune. In emerging economies like India some firms are growing at double digit rates. These firms are facing acute shortage of manpower. This article based upon the primary data collected from stakeholders’ and its content analysis attempts to create a real option-based ‘call/put’ and ‘buy/sell’ instrument for firm level HR sourcing for socio-economically poor individuals. The author comprehends that the application of such ‘real option’ tools would benefit both the firms as well as the poverty stricken individuals.

English

Environmental issues are externalities of economic development requires the handling of various instruments in order to be in harmony with the eco-nomic development environment. Payment for Envi-ronmental Services (PES) is now being developed globally as a market-based instrument that is prom-ising to address the issue of degradation of natural resources and the environment. PES mechanism has to be said that the concept is simple and flexible in a variety of conditions, so that the application was highly variable throughout the world. The main prob-lem lies in whether the Payment for Environmental Services (PES) that is now being developed globally as a market-based instruments are quite capable of dealing with poverty and degradation of natural re-sources and the environment. Refer to research find-ing shows that Tawang Polder has significant direct and indirect value for society. About 50% house-hold stated that they accept PES and 20% who re-ject the PES. Even PES is quiet potential in reducing poverty in these areas. Even in the society level such as huge support in Polder systems, social capital and local wisdom, the system management of polder should be designed appropriately and have to increase the level of participation in decision making. Another factor is also important is polder institution which has to be design clearly and transparent based on performance standart. The last factor is politic capital should be aware of democratization. Keywords : Environtmental Management, Poverty Reduction, Polder System

Global environmental justice and biodiversity conservation

This paper explores the potential for an environmental justice framing to shed new light on conservation controversies. We argue that, in order to make such progress, environmental justice analysis will need to provide a ‘difference‐friendly’ conception of justice and that this will necessarily involve moving beyond dominant liberal conceptions of distributional fairness. We are largely welcoming of global deployments of distributive justice principles. However, we also explore the dangers of focusing on distribution alone, questioning the assumption of positive relationships between benefit sharing and more culturally defined dimensions of justice such as recognition. The limits of access and benefit sharing for delivering justice writ large is that it can disenfranchise people who are less well equipped or less willing to navigate its prevailing system of knowledge. We argue that, especially in the context of resource poverty, efforts to improve distribution can require potential beneficiaries to assimilate to dominant discourses of society and nature. Such conditionality can contract the opportunities for local and autonomous constructions of ‘different’ ways of knowing nature, and in doing so may also contract possibilities for flourishing biodiversities.

Poverty and intra-household distribution of work time in Turkey: Analysis and some policy implications

Inequalities in work time might provide important insights on how poverty is experienced by people. Despite the growing body of literature on poverty and intra-household allocation of resources in Turkey, the linkages between poverty and inequalities in time use have not been studied empirically using nationwide data. We look at how distribution of paid and unpaid work burden differs between households of different income levels using the first and the single national time use survey in Turkey. Our results reveal one hidden dimension of poverty; a time deficit alongside the more obvious income deficit. We also find that the effects of time poverty are felt more severely by women, given the already uneven distribution of unpaid work within the Turkish household. We conclude that social policies targeting not only income but also time poverty, like provision of public care services for children and elderly, may have a double effect by relieving unpaid time burden of women and increasing female labor market participation, and therefore, increasing household income further.

Land-use and land-cover change and its environmental implications in a tropical highland watershed, Ethiopia

This study analysed long-term land-use and land-cover change (LUCC) in a highland watershed covering an area of about 154 km2 in the Blue Nile basin of Ethiopia. Two sets of panchromatic aerial photographs (1957 and 1982) and a Landsat TM image (2001) were the main input data from which three land-use and land-cover maps were produced by employing geographical information systems/remote sensing techniques. These data were complemented by some socio-economic data that were generated by using household survey, key-informant interview and group discussion methods. The results show that in regard to land-use and land-cover, the major change has been the reduction of areas under natural vegetation cover and expansion of open grassland, cultivated areas and settlements. Over the four and a half decades considered, areas of forest and dense tree cover and shrub grassland decreased by 64 and 6%, respectively. Forest and dense tree cover experienced the greatest change; from accounting for ∼9% of the total area of the watershed in 1957 to only ∼3% in 2001. In general, much of the de-vegetation occurred between 1982 and 2001. Cropland and rural settlement showed a small but consistent increase between 1957 and 2001. Riparian vegetation decreased during the first period, but increased almost to the same level during the second period by gaining land from the other land-use and land-cover types. The observed LUCCs were driven by a combination of proximate and underlying causes. These include increasing demographic pressure and associated demands on environmental resources, widespread rural poverty and inadequate management of common property resources owing to poorly defined ownership arrangements. There is a need for short-term and long-term strategies to ensure sustainable land management and agricultural development in the watershed.

Critical determinants of the epilepsy treatment gap: A cross‐national analysis in resource‐limited settings

Epilepsy is one of the most common serious neurologic disorders worldwide. Our objective was to determine which economic, health care, neurology, and epilepsy-specific resources were associated with untreated epilepsy in resource-constrained settings. A systematic review of the literature identified community-based studies in resource-constrained settings that calculated the epilepsy treatment gap, the proportion with untreated epilepsy, from prevalent active epilepsy cases. Economic, health care, neurology, and epilepsy-specific resources were taken from existing datasets. Poisson regression models with jackknifed standard errors were used to create bivariate and multivariate models comparing the association between treatment status and economic and health resource indicators. Relative risks were reported. Forty-seven studies of 8,285 individuals from 24 countries met inclusion criteria. Bivariate analysis demonstrated that individuals residing in rural locations had significantly higher risks of untreated epilepsy (relative risk [RR] 1.63; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26-2.11). Significantly lower risks of untreated epilepsy were observed for higher physician density (RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.55-0.78), presence of a lay (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.60-0.91) or professional association for epilepsy (RR 0.73, 95% CI 0.59-0.91), or postgraduate neurology training program (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.55-0.82). In multivariate models, higher physician density maintained significant effects (RR 0.67; 95% CI 0.52-0.88). Even among resource-limited regions, people with epilepsy in countries with fewer economic, health care, neurology, and epilepsy-specific resources are more likely to have untreated epilepsy. Community-based epilepsy care programs have improved access to treatment, but in order to decrease the epilepsy-treatment gap, poverty and inequalities of health care, neurology, and epilepsy resources must be dealt with at the local, national, and global levels.

An Update on Research Ethics in Asia

There are many international guidelines that have been developed to ensure that the conduct of researches by countries, institutions and individuals are ethical. There are, however, unique opportunities as well as challenges in research in the ASEAN region which mandate not only adherence to these guidelines but which necessitate regional as well as individual country efforts to ensure that biomedical researches uphold the dignity, ensure safety and protect the rights of participants. Some of the challenges are: the widespread poverty or uneven distribution of resources in developing countries which cause patients to participate in clinical trials to avail of services that otherwise are inaccessible, lack of a research infrastructure that makes ethics review of protocols inadequate or slow, and lack of post-trial access to medications which have been tested in precisely the populations that need these drugs. The aim of this paper is to review the ethical challenges in health research encountered in Asia and to describe the regional efforts being undertaken to address them.

Which policy would work better for improved soil fertility management in sub-Saharan Africa, fertilizer subsidies or carbon credits?

Why do many smallholder farmers fail to adopt improved land management practices which can improve yields and incomes? The reason is not always because these practices are uneconomical but sometimes it is because resource poverty prevents farmers from taking advantage of yield and income enhancing agricultural practices. In this study we examine the relative merits of using a carbon payment scheme compared to a subsidy policy to help reduce the cost of specific land management practices with productivity and ecosystem benefits such as carbon sequestration. Using a 30-year crop simulation model, we examine the impacts of different soil fertility management treatments (SFTs) on yields and soil carbon and proceed to compute discounted incremental revenue streams over the same period. We find that the SFTs simulated are on average profitable given the conditions assumed in our DSSAT simulations. When carbon was priced at $8 or $12/t CO2e, the increase in incremental incomes generated from a carbon payment were invariably higher than those imputed from a 50% fertilizer subsidy. When carbon was priced at $4/Co2e, the increase was almost similar and sometimes higher than that from the imputed income transfer from a 50% subsidy. If these indications hold in further research, it could imply that using fertilizer subsidies as the sole mechanism for stimulating adoption of improved soil fertility management practices may unnecessarily forgo other complementary and possibly superior alternatives. Depending on the specific economic equity considerations, we conclude that either of these instruments can be used to help farmers break through resource barriers that prevent them from adopting productivity-enhancing and environmentally beneficial agricultural practices. However, given the fiscal burden on public finances and possible opportunity costs of any substantial subsidy program, it is possible that a carbon payment system can be a reasonable alternative assuming the range of carbon prices used in this study and especially if accompanied by measures to ameliorate the costs of fertilizer to farmers.

High performance work practices in small firms: a resource-poverty and strategic decision-making perspective

High performance work practices (HPWPs) are human resource management practices aimed at stimulating employee and organisational performance. The application of HPWPs is not widespread in small organisations. We examine whether the implementation of coherent bundles of HPWPs (aimed at employee ability, employee motivation or at the opportunity to perform) depends on the scarcity of resources, as reflected in the size of the company, and on strategic decision-making in small firms related to the owner’s expertise and attitudes. In our research, a total of 211 employees from 45 small organisations were asked to rate the presence of HPWPs in their organisation. These averaged perceptions were linked to information provided by the owner–managers on the size of their firm and their own expertise and attitudes. The findings support that smaller but coherent bundles of HPWPs can be found in small organisations and that the implementation of these bundles depends on available resources, strategic decision-making and the combination of the two. These findings highlight the need to integrate the notions of resource poverty and strategic decision-making to understand the uptake of bundles of HPWPs within small firms.

MEASURING LONG-TERM ENERGY SUPPLY RISKS: A G7 RANKING

The security of energy supply has again become a similarly hot topic as it was during the oil crises in the 1970s, not least due to the recent historical oil price peaks. In this paper, we analyze the energy security situation of the G7 countries using a statistical risk indicator and empirical energy data for the years 1978 through 2010. We find that Germany's energy supply risk has risen substantially since the oil price crises of the 1970s, whereas France has managed to reduce its risk dramatically, most notably through the deployment of nuclear power plants. As a result of the nuclear phase-out decision of 2011, Germany's supply risk can be expected to rise further and to approach the level of Italy. Due to its resource poverty, Italy has by far the highest energy supply risk among G7 countries.

Juanita de Barros, Steven Palmer and David Wright (eds), Health and Medicine in the Circum-Caribbean, 1800–1968, Routledge Studies in the Social History of Medicine, No. 33 (New York: Routledge, 2009), pp xi + 309, $125.00, paperback, ISBN: 978-0-415-96290-2.

Juanita de Barros, Steven Palmer and David Wright (eds), Health and Medicine in the Circum-Caribbean, 1800–1968, Routledge Studies in the Social History of Medicine, No. 33 (New York: Routledge, 2009), pp xi + 309, $125.00, paperback, ISBN: 978-0-415-96290-2. - Volume 56 Issue 1

Changing World Economic and Financial Scenario

The dawn of the 21st century has changed the scene of the world economy and shifted the center of economic growth from the Western hemisphere to the Asian Continent. The global financial crisis of 2008 and the European debt crisis of 2010 have exposed the inherent weakness of G-7 economies, which are facing the challenges of twin deficits, falling productivity, rising debts, and an aging population. In contrast, the emerging economies particularly, China, India, and Brazil, have shown robust economic growth from 2000 to 2010. The objective of this paper is to measure the changes taking place in the world economy from 2000 to 2010 and their impact on asset allocation, employment, poverty, and allocation of resources. For this purpose, the author has selected total of 14 countries as a sample and divided them into two groups: G-7 and E-7. The G-7group Includes the USA, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Japan, and Canada while E-7 contains China, India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, Turkey, and Pakistan.
 The methodology used in the study is to compare different economic and financial indicators of these two groups of countries in order to obtain desired results. Mostly time series and cross-sectional secondary data, collected from the database of IMF, World Bank, US Federal reserves, relevant international research journals, and books, have been used. Different statistical techniques such as trend analysis and ratio analysis have been applied to measure the changes in selected variables. The results of the study are very encouraging. We found that increase in the national income of emerging economies has brought trickle-down effects and reduced poverty and inequality level in emerging economies. Only in China, about 400 million people have come out of the poverty trap due to rising employment opportunities. The share of E-7 economies in the world R & D has increased from14% in 2001 to 20.1% in 2007, while the share of G-7 economies has declined by 2.4% during the same period.
 The study found the declining trend of productivity levels in G-7 countries vis-à-vis E-7 countries. The anti-migrants policy of G-7 countries is one of the contributing factors to the decline of productivity. This study endorses the views of Blanchard (1997), David Romer (2001), Yuan Langwiler (2004), David C. Colander (2004), Andrew Glyn(2006), and John Hawksworth (2007) who contended that the USA will no more be a world economic power and China will likely to overtake her as world economic leader by mid of 21st century.

Food Insecurity at the Grassroots: A Challenge of College of Agricultural Sciences, Joseph Ayo Babalola University, A Nigerian Private University

The paper researches the progress of food insecurity in developing countries with special reference to Ikeji- Arakeji in Nigeria, and immediate environ of the Joseph Ayo Babalola University, a private university. The work is aimed at challenging educational institutions to redirect their program to solve problems of their immediate environment. Poverty , illiteracy, government negligence, taboo and underutilization of the agricultural resources were among the prevalent problems confronting the environment. The potential of the institution in terms of human, equipment facilities and availability of funds were also x-rayed to assess the challenge posed to the environ. Recommendations ranging from immediate (preliminary investigations to nutritional needs, disbursement of agricultural loans, road connections to the interior , setting up of University farms) and long (educating the populace with reference to nutrition, land use and job creation) term were highlighted. The College of Agricultural Science of the University is well able to alleviate the poverty posed by food insecurity on her environ if the recommendations could be implemented.

The erosion of African communal values: a reappraisal of the African Ubuntu philosophy

The paper, which exploits conceptual analysis techniques, interrogates an African notion of a ‘community’ as embodied in the ideas of ‘Umntu ngumntu ngabantu.’ The problem the article seeks to address is the erosion of community values. The study intends to explore the question: How can we retrieve the communal cultural values of tolerance, humanity, respect and some of common elements of our cultural treasures of Ubuntu that African communities used to be proud of? Using the philosophy of Ubuntu as a hermeneutic key, I argue that any member of a community whose personal life is guided by Ubuntu could be said to have embraced the core humanistic attributes of Ubuntu. These are being caring, humble, thoughtful, considerate, understanding, wise, generous, hospitable, socially mature, socially sensitive, virtuous, and blessed: character attributes that veer away from confrontation towards conciliation. The paper is based on a small scale survey, which exploited an open ended questionnaire in its data collection. Data revealed that despite major constraints such as poverty and scarcity of resources, crime, substance abuse and many others, family members are still willing to help and support each other. Finally, the study suggests that the values of Ubuntu, if consciously harnessed, can play a major unifying role in the process of harmonising the South African/African nation(s). Key words: Community, communalism, African humanity, African philosophy, Ubuntu.

Delivering Happiness: Translating Positive Psychology Intervention Research for Treating Major and Minor Depressive Disorders

Despite the availability of many treatment options, depressive disorders remain a global public health problem. Even in affluent nations, 70% of reported cases either do not receive the recommended level of treatment or do not get treated at all, and this percentage does not reflect cases of depression that go unreported due to lack of access to health care, stigma, or other reasons. In developing countries, the World Health Organization estimates that <10% receive proper depression care due to poverty, stigma, and lack of governmental mental health resources and providers. Current treatments do not work for everyone, and even people who achieve remission face a high risk of recurrence and residual disability. The development of low-cost effective interventions that can serve either as initial therapy for mild symptoms or as adjunctive therapy for partial responders to medication is an immense unmet need. Positive activity interventions (PAIs) teach individuals ways to increase their positive thinking, positive affect, and positive behaviors. The majority of such interventions, which have obtained medium-size effect sizes, have been conducted with nondepressed individuals, but two randomized controlled studies in patients with mild clinical depression have reported promising initial findings. In this article, the authors review the relevant literature on the effectiveness of various types of PAIs, draw on social psychology, affective neuroscience and psychophamacology research to propose neural models for how PAIs might relieve depression, and discuss the steps needed to translate the potential promise of PAIs as clinical treatments for individuals with major and minor depressive disorders.

Natural resource management and poverty in post-Taliban Afghanistan

Post-Taliban Afghanistan faces a wide range of complex issues. These include deep rural poverty and degraded and over-exploited natural resources. The international community and the Government of Afghanistan must mobilise resources to tackle the poverty and enhance the status of natural resources. The paper argues that, despite some recent significant improvements on strategy and policy formulation, natural resource management is not yet far advanced towards the MDG goals. The paper offers an analysis of matters with recommendations for change.

SMEs and environmental responsibility: do actions reflect attitudes?

AbstractGlobally there is mounting pressure for firms to assess their impact on the environment, and to modify their behaviour accordingly. The small and medium enterprise (SME) sector is often described as ‘hard to reach’ and lagging behind in terms of ‘green business’ due to management and resourcing issues characteristic of SMEs (e.g. resource poverty and a lack of management capability). This absence of resource slack then translates into an unwillingness and/or inability to commit to environmental improvements in any systematic and ongoing fashion, if at all. However, a lack of action in the context of the firm does not always reflect the personal attitudes of the individual SME owner‐managers. The link between attitude and action is explored in the paper through the examination of the inter‐relationship between awareness of environmental impact, attitude towards environmental issues, and environmental practice adoption. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

The Case for VM-based Cloudlets in Mobile Computing

Resource poverty is a fundamental constraint that severely limits the class of applications that can be run on mobile devices. The authors present a vision of mobile computing that breaks free of t...

Psychological Manifestation of Patients with Sinonasal Tumors: An Obscured and Commonly Neglected Aspect of the Disease

The nose and paranasal sinuses occupy the mid portion of the face and are closely related to vital structures like orbit, skull base, cranial nerves, blood vessels etc. (Figure 1) Sinonasal carcinoma is the commonest malignancy of these structures [1,2] and accounts for about 3% of all head and neck malignancies. The hidden nature of the mucosal covering of these structures affected by this tumor contributes to its late clinical manifestation. In most cases, early symptoms are subtle and non-specific; hence, diagnosis is usually made at late stage of the disease [3,4]. Brent et al. [5] documented six month as the average duration between first symptom and diagnosis of sinonasal malignancy [5]. The delay is definitely much longer in developing countries where further delay is caused by poor cancer awareness, traditional and religious believes, poverty, limited and uneven distribution of health resources, and a huge population that over burdens the available diagnostic facilities. Late disease stage presentation characterized most of the patients with sinonasal malignancies in developing countries.

New Activism for Political Recognition

This article seeks to understand the emergence of new activism among tribal (adivasi) women in Odisha2, India, and study whether it leads to the creation of new political spaces for them. New activism is defined as a multiscalar quest for better rights, and takes the form of collective resistance and mobilization. On the basis of the fieldwork and secondary information about the tribals’ situation in selected districts of Odisha, it was found that the present mining-based industries have led to forced displacement, increasing poverty and erosion of resources and rights among poor, adivasi women and men. In this context, tribal women’s collective action has emerged as a strong force against these problems in their habitats. We focus particularly on two issues of concern— liberalization of mining and the liquor trade—which have significantly restructured the state apparatus and eroded the constitutional rights and status of tribal communities. Under this new regime of power, tribal women have scaled up their resistance by allying with other activist groups. They have not only transformed their worldview but have also become more professional and strategic in their action, thereby gaining voice and visibility, and creating a new political space for themselves. The new activism has given tribal women political recognition among different actors at different scales, which can no longer be ignored by the ruling class in the country.