scholarly journals Structure and agency: understanding water policy changes in West Africa

Water Policy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 479-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Cherlet ◽  
Jean-Philippe Venot
Keyword(s):  
Water Policy ◽  
National Level ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Paris Declaration ◽  
Qualitative Comparison ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Individual Agency

Ownership of development processes has been high on the international agenda since the Paris Declaration of 2005. There is, however, much discussion about whether highly aid-dependent governments can really ‘own’ policy reforms in their countries. In this paper, we argue that the ownership of policy reforms is the outcome of an interaction between individual agency and structural conditions. Taking the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Burkina Faso (since 1996) and Mali (since 2004) as an entry point, the paper describes the interplay between national policy makers, international organizations and dominant development discourses in the shaping of water policy reforms in both countries over the past 15 years. Despite the apparent uniformity of the global IWRM paradigm, a qualitative comparison of water policy changes in the two countries shows that policy reforms, as well as the extent to which they are ‘owned’ by national policy makers, are significantly distinct. This can be explained by different forms of individual agency and diverse structural conditions at a national level.

Water governance, resilience and global environmental change – a reassessment of integrated water resources management (IWRM)

2007 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Galaz
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Policy Uncertainty ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Complex Behaviour ◽  
Global Environmental

Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) is gaining increased acceptance among water policy makers and researchers as a way to create more effective governance institutions, leading towards integrated water development solutions for poverty alleviation, while addressing social, economic and environmental aspects of water challenges. However, global environmental change poses fundamental challenges to water policy makers as it implies vast scientific, and hence, policy uncertainty; its implications for international water governance initiatives remain unspecified, effectively hindering dialogue on how current IWRM initiatives should be modified. This paper addresses the lag between our growing understanding of resilient interconnected freshwater resources (and their governance) and the reforms being promoted by policy makers. In particular, there is a need to rethink some of IWRM's key components to better tackle the challenges posed by the complex behaviour of interconnected social-ecological systems and global environmental change.

scholarly journals UNESCO'S CONTRIBUTION TO TEACHER EDUCATION QUALITY ASSURANCE

2021 ◽  
pp. 7-12
Author(s):  
Наталія Авшенюк
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Task Force ◽  
National Level ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
National Education ◽  
Teacher Policy

This article is based on an analysis of the leading UNESCO documents on quality assurance in teacher education (Teacher Policy Development Guide (2019), Reimagining our futures together – A new social contract for education (2021), The Futures of Teaching: Background paper prepared for the Futures of Education Initiative (2021)) focuses on the determinants for increasing the effectiveness of teachers' work. The reports also highlight the factors which make teachers more effective and satisfied in their work, create a positive attitude, increase motivation and improve pupils' success, as illustrated by the study of the education systems of various countries. They state that a comprehensive national policy for teachers backed by suffi-cient resources, the necessary political will and appropriate administrative skills is the most effective of all possible investments in education at the national level.The recommendations of the UNESCO International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 are reviewed. The UNESCO Teacher Policy Development Guide aims to foster professionalism and teaching excel-lence, including strategies for recruiting and training talented teachers. The Guide is intended to assist gov-ernmental institutions and structures responsible for education policy at the national level. The Guide aims to help educators and educational planners and policy-makers coordinate educational policies with national education sector plans and strategies. The Guide emphasises in particular that education policy should reflect the specifics of the country, but should also be based on the progressive experience of other countries and international organisations.

Homeowners’ Preferences for Smart Irrigation Systems and Features

EDIS ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (5) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Hayk Khachatryan ◽  
Alicia Rihn ◽  
Dong Hee Suh ◽  
Michael Dukes
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Resource Economics ◽  
Irrigation Systems ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Fact Sheet ◽  
Drought Conditions ◽  
Economics Department ◽  
Irrigation Technologies

Drought conditions make landscape irrigation and reducing water use top-of-mind for many Floridians. Encouraging wise water use is of particular importance to the smart irrigation industry and water policy makers. This 5-page fact sheet written by Hayk Khachatryan, Alicia Rihn, Dong Hee Suh, and Michael Dukes and published by the UF/IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department pinpoints key attributes and barriers affecting consumers' irrigation purchases and their adoption of smart irrigation technologies. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe1080

Water for Life

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline Baer
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
State Capacity ◽  
National Level ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
The Right

Chapter 5 provides a case study of the human rights-based approach to water policy through an analysis of the Bolivian government’s attempts to implement the human right to water and sanitation. It explores these efforts at the local and national level, through changes to investments, institutions, and policies. The analysis reveals that while Bolivia meets the minimum standard for the human right to water and sanitation in some urban areas, access to quality water is low in poor and marginalized communities. While the Bolivian government expresses a strong political will for a human rights approach and is increasing state capacity to fulfill rights, the broader criteria for the right to water and sanitation, including citizen participation and democratic decision-making, remain largely unfulfilled. This case suggests political will and state capacity might be necessary but are not sufficient to fulfill the human right to water and sanitation broadly defined.

scholarly journals What We Talk about When We Talk about Poverty: Culture and Welfare State Development in Britain, Denmark and France

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Cathie Martin ◽  
Tom Chevalier
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
National Level ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Historical Case ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Fiction Writers ◽  
Welfare State Development ◽  
Political Agents ◽  
Cross National

Why did historical anti-poverty programs in Britain, Denmark and France differ so dramatically in their goals, beneficiaries and agents for addressing poverty? Different cultural views of poverty contributed to how policy makers envisioned anti-poverty reforms. Danish elites articulated social investments in peasants as necessary to economic growth, political stability and societal strength. British elites viewed the lower classes as a challenge to these goals. The French perceived the poor as an opportunity for Christian charity. Fiction writers are overlooked political agents who engage in policy struggles. Collectively, writers contribute to a country's distinctive ‘cultural constraint’, or symbols and narratives, which appears in the national-level aggregation of literature. To assess cross-national variations in cultural depictions of poverty, this article uses historical case studies and quantitative textual analyses of 562 British, 521 Danish and 498 French fictional works from 1770 to 1920.

scholarly journals Shared socioeconomic pathways for climate change research in Finland: co-developing extended SSP narratives for agriculture

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heikki S. Lehtonen ◽  
Jyrki Aakkula ◽  
Stefan Fronzek ◽  
Janne Helin ◽  
Mikael Hildén ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
National Level ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Change Scenario ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Climate Change Research ◽  
Food And Agriculture ◽  
Agriculture And Food ◽  
Farm Subsidies

AbstractShared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs), developed at global scale, comprise narrative descriptions and quantifications of future world developments that are intended for climate change scenario analysis. However, their extension to national and regional scales can be challenging. Here, we present SSP narratives co-developed with stakeholders for the agriculture and food sector in Finland. These are derived from intensive discussions at a workshop attended by approximately 39 participants offering a range of sectoral perspectives. Using general background descriptions of the SSPs for Europe, facilitated discussions were held in parallel for each of four SSPs reflecting very different contexts for the development of the sector up to 2050 and beyond. Discussions focused on five themes from the perspectives of consumers, producers and policy-makers, included a joint final session and allowed for post-workshop feedback. Results reflect careful sector-based, national-level interpretations of the global SSPs from which we have constructed consensus narratives. Our results also show important critical remarks and minority viewpoints. Interesting features of the Finnish narratives compared to the global SSP narratives include greater emphasis on environmental quality; significant land abandonment in SSPs with reduced livestock production and increased plant-based diets; continued need for some farm subsidies across all SSPs and opportunities for diversifying domestic production under scenarios of restricted trade. Our results can contribute to the development of more detailed national long-term scenarios for food and agriculture that are both relevant for local stakeholders and researchers as well as being consistent with global scenarios being applied internationally.

scholarly journals Beyond national indicators: adapting the Demographic and Health Surveys’ sampling strategies and questions to better inform subnational malaria intervention policy

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ifeoma D. Ozodiegwu ◽  
Monique Ambrose ◽  
Katherine E. Battle ◽  
Caitlin Bever ◽  
Ousmane Diallo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Surveys ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
National Level ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Sampling Strategy ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
Malaria Prevalence ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
Malaria Indicator Survey ◽  
Narrow Scope

AbstractIn malaria-endemic countries, prioritizing intervention deployment to areas that need the most attention is crucial to ensure continued progress. Global and national policy makers increasingly rely on epidemiological data and mathematical modelling to help optimize health decisions at the sub-national level. The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program is a critical data source for understanding subnational malaria prevalence and intervention coverage, which are used for parameterizing country-specific models of malaria transmission. However, data to estimate indicators at finer resolutions are limited, and surveys questions have a narrow scope. Examples from the Nigeria DHS are used to highlight gaps in the current survey design. Proposals are then made for additional questions and expansions to the DHS and Malaria Indicator Survey sampling strategy that would advance the data analyses and modelled estimates that inform national policy recommendations. Collaboration between the DHS Program, national malaria control programmes, the malaria modelling community, and funders is needed to address the highlighted data challenges.

scholarly journals Ageing Organisations and the Extension of Working Lives: A Case Study Approach

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 773-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
WIETEKE CONEN ◽  
KÈNE HENKENS ◽  
JOOP SCHIPPERS
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
National Level ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Physical Work ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Working Lives ◽  
Economic Climate ◽  
Health Related

AbstractThis paper examines how the economic climate and policy changes at national level have been affecting organisational practices, aimed at the extension of working lives of older workers, over the last decade. We analyse case studies conducted among Dutch organisations. Our findings show that personnel policies are typically short-term oriented and vary in their existence and content congruous to the economic climate. Policy changes in retirement arrangements, and the debate about raising the official retirement age, have made both employees and employers realise that the extension of working lives has become an unavoidable fact, although both parties still seem intrinsically opposed to it. Changes to safety regulations and the increase in costs for employers if employees drop out of work due to ill health have led to an increasing focus on health-related measures in professions with intense physical work over the last decade. We conclude that, while national level policy changes in areas like health and safety do percolate down and begin to affect organisational practice, it is at the organisational level that they still need to be worked through.

scholarly journals National and regional trends in MRI utilization in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Osnat Luxenburg ◽  
Mor Saban ◽  
Vicki Myers ◽  
Sharona Vaknin ◽  
Noga Boldor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Waiting Times ◽  
National Level ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Third Wave ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Unequal Distribution ◽  
Elective Surgical Procedures ◽  
Regional Trends ◽  
The Face ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri

Abstract Background and purpose Marked reductions in imaging exams have been documented during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aimed to examine the effect of the two waves of COVID-19 on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) utilization at the national and regional level. Materials and methods A retrospective-archive study was conducted in Israel, comparing March–December 2020 with March–December 2018 and 2019. Data on MRI utilization were obtained from the national MRI registry, while data on confirmed COVID-19 cases, by place of residence, were obtained from the Israeli Ministry of Health open COVID-19 database. Results The number and rate of MRI examinations decreased during the first COVID-19 wave, with the steepest drop in April 2020: 47.5% relative decrease compared to April 2019, and 42.2% compared to 2018. This was followed by a compensatory increase between the waves and a return to almost pre-pandemic levels of use, with just a modest decrease, during the second, more intense COVID wave, compared with the previous year. Existing differences between regions increased during the pandemic. The rate ratio of MRI exams between Tel-Aviv and the Northern periphery increased from 2.89 in April 2019 to 3.94 in April 2020. Jerusalem metropolitan region, with the largest burden of COVID disease, demonstrated only a modest decrease (1%) in MRI utilization during the first 10 months of the pandemic. Conclusions At the national level, time trends in reduced MRI utilization followed the first wave of COVID-19, and were accompanied by increased regional disparities. These changes were not explained by differences in the burden of COVID-19 disease but might be explained by unequal distribution of MRI scanners among regions. Reduced utilization was not evident during the second wave, nor at the beginning of the third wave, despite higher COVID-19 case load, demonstrating adaptation to the new normal. Patterns of MRI utilization might help policy-makers and healthcare managers predict the behavior of imaging as well as other sectors, such as elective surgical procedures, during an ongoing pandemic. This forecast might help to manage the lasting effects of the pandemic, including extended waiting times, in the months and years following its remission. In preparation for future national emergencies, timely and detailed data on MRI utilization can serve as a “sensor” for a wide array of diagnostic and interventional medical activities, providing policy-makers with an updated snapshot to guide their response at the regional and national levels.

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