scholarly journals Unravelling gendered practices in the public water sector in Nepal

Water Policy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1017-1033
Author(s):  
Gitta Shrestha ◽  
Floriane Clement
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equity ◽  
Strategic Change ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Professional Culture ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Fresh Perspective

Abstract Despite decades of gender mainstreaming in the water sector, a wide gap between policy commitments and outcomes remains. This study aims at offering a fresh perspective on such policy gaps, by analysing how gendered discourses, institutions and professional culture contribute to policy gaps. We rely on a conceptual framework originally developed for analysing strategic change, which is used to analyse gender in the public water sector in Nepal. Our analysis relies on a review of national water policies and a series of semi-structured interviews with male and female water professionals from several public agencies. Our findings evidence how dominant discourses, formal rules and professional culture intersect to support and reproduce hegemonic masculine attitudes and practices of water professionals. Such attitudes and practices in turn favour a technocratic implementation of policy measures. We argue that gender equality policy initiatives in the water sector have overly focused on local level formal institutions and have not adequately considered the effects of masculine discourses, norms and culture to be effective in making progress towards gender equity. We conclude with policy recommendations.

Gender mainstreaming in integrated rural water supply and sanitation project in Mzimba, Malawi

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. K. K. Mwamsamali ◽  
A. W. Mayo
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Fiscal Year ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Rural Water Supply ◽  
Rural Water ◽  
Governance Institutions ◽  
Water Supply And Sanitation

Gender mainstreaming in the water sector in Malawi was analyzed using the Mzimba Integrated Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (IRWSS) project as a case in point. Information required for the study was obtained through interviews, administering a set of questionnaires and data collecting from existing documents. The results show that women in decision-making positions at head office of the Ministry responsible for water affairs only constitute about 11.1%. Assessment of the budget allocations has revealed that previously no budgetary allocations were made for gender issues, and that since the 2006/07 fiscal year about US$14,286 was allocated for gender mainstreaming. Women's involvement in local governance institutions and project activities in Mzimba is generally high. Most local water committees have 60% women and 40% men, whereas participation in project activities is highly rated at 97.2%. To improve gender balance, the Ministry responsible for water has to work with stakeholders in the education sector. Besides, great disparities still exist between men's and women's participation in water projects at a local level (97.2% for women) and a person's socioeconomic position greatly affects their inclusion in the local governance structures. Addressing these issues would, therefore, result in better gender integration in the water sector.

Women Chiefs and Post War Reconstruction in Sierra Leone

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 19-39
Author(s):  
Lynda R. Day
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Culturally Based ◽  
Women's Equality ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Post War ◽  
Traditional Structures

This paper examines the role of women chiefs in post war reconstruction in Sierra Leone, particularly the connection between women chiefs with the movement for women’s equality and economic empowerment. Contrary to scholarship which views culturally based traditional structures, including chieftaincy, as counterproductive to progressive change, I argue that traditional women chiefs have contributed to the movement for gender justice and gender equity and could be key to shaping and promoting both an agenda and an ideology for women’s social and political advancement on a local level. The study is based on fieldwork conducted in Sierra Leone from 1982 to 2012 and includes semi-structured interviews with women chiefs and other key players before, during, and after the war, as well as sources such as newspaper articles, journal and book publications and archival materials.

scholarly journals Improving women's energy access, rights and equitable sustainable development: a Ghanaian perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
De-Graft Owusu-Manu ◽  
David Mensah Sackey ◽  
Dickson Osei-Asibey ◽  
Rachelle Kyerewah Agyapong ◽  
David John Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Energy Access ◽  
Energy Policies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Access Rights

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to investigate the challenges in improving women's energy access, rights and equitable sustainable development from a Ghanaian perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe research utilizes a mixed method. A qualitative in-depth exploratory design was chosen to understand how gender is mainstreamed within Ghana's energy sector. This included semi-structured interviews with key managers, experience policy experts and focus groups. The semi-structured interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis (TCA).FindingsThe study reveals that the National Energy Policy of 2010, as the main energy policy regulating the energy sector in Ghana, does make provision for gender equality, safety especially women, in line with Ghana's sustainable development goals. The energy policy aims to empower women and create gender parity in the sector. Nevertheless, the study also found major challenges to gender mainstreaming in the energy sector, including poor analysis in formulating energy policies, inadequate financial resources, and poor monitoring and evaluation.Originality/valueThe paper exposes gender equity challenges associated with the energy sector in Ghana. It also offers a new policy angle which connects gender mainstreaming to sustainable development. The research describes how women are included in developing energy policies and in addressing gender challenges in the energy sector.

A gender perspective as trigger and facilitator of innovation

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Fogelberg Eriksson
Keyword(s):  
Driving Force ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Gender Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Organizational Conditions ◽  
Local Case ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
And Gender

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore whether a gender perspective contributes to or functions as a driving force for innovations in organizations. The following questions are addressed: how can a gender perspective generate innovations and what are the conditions that favour innovations driven by a gender perspective? Design/methodology/approach – This study builds on a qualitative case study of an upper secondary school in Sweden, which has been showcased as a good example of gender awareness and gender mainstreaming in schools. Semi-structured interviews with representatives of the school were conducted and documents were analysed. Findings – The gender perspective contributed to innovations by triggering them and supporting the innovative processes, ensuring that the innovations did not stop at essentialist solutions. New ways of performing core processes were developed with the innovative leverage of the gender perspective. The perspective must be actively used and integrated into the core processes if it is to work properly, which was the case in this school. Research limitations/implications – This study indicates the importance of conducting further studies on innovations in the public sector as well as acknowledging gender in innovation studies, not least because this study focuses on a local case in a specific national context. Practical implications – This school exemplifies the use of a gender perspective as a driving force for innovations in organizations. The case points to important organizational conditions for innovation and actual gender-aware innovations. Originality/value – The study expands the understanding of innovation(s) in organizations and elaborates on the gendered dimensions of innovation as both process and product.

The IS/IT Outsourcing Phenomenon in the Public Sector of a Developing Country

2011 ◽  
pp. 173-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulwahed Moh. Khalfan ◽  
Tom G. Gough
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
Strategic Change ◽  
It Outsourcing ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public ◽  
Post Evaluation ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
First Time

This chapter presents an overview of a national case study exploring the IS/IT outsourcing phenomenon in the public sector of a developing country. The study is empirically based and provides a logical extension to earlier research studies/endeavors in the field of IS/IT outsourcing. Kuwait, where the data collection for this study was carried out, has been used as an example of a developing country . The primary data on IS/IT outsourcing practices, obtained for the first time in Kuwait, were collected by means of survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews supported by organizational documentation. The research seeks to identify the factors that give rise to the IS/IT outsourcing phenomenon, and the degree to which they influence the practices, procedures, and outcomes of IS/IT outsourcing arrangements in Kuwait. The overall research aimed to provide a comprehensive pragmatic picture of IS/IT outsourcing practices, including motivations, risk analysis, contract drafting and legal issues, vendor selection criteria, evaluation practices, decision-making processes, and post-evaluation experience. There is growing evidence within the Kuwaiti environment to suggest that public organizations are not achieving the desired benefits from their IS/IT outsourcing operations. IS/IT outsourcing projects in Kuwait are still undertaken in ways that are not clearly related to strategic change. It is clear that IS/IT outsourcing is a multi-faceted phenomenon that should be studied broadly in context. The lesson is that the solutions must make sense for the particular context in which they will be implemented, considering all cultural and environmental factors. It was found that culture plays an important role throughout the outsourcing process. The findings of this study also suggest that there will be an increasing utilisation of IT outsourcing services in the public sector of Kuwait.

scholarly journals Inclusion of the Public in the Natural Capital, Ecosystem Services and Green Infrastructure Assessments (Results of Structured Interviews with Stakeholders of Commune Liptovská Teplička)

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milena Moyzeová
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban

AbstractNowadays, topics like natural capital assessment, ecosystem services and green infrastructure have become frequent subjects of a number of national and international projects accomplished on local, regional, national and cross-frontier levels. These projects respond to the deterioration of biotopes due to their fragmentation and degradation as a result of constructions and tourism/recreation. This situation requires an economic assessment of ecosystems from the view point of their capacities to satisfy human necessities with simultaneous conservation of the environmental quality, and the optimal status of landscape diversity both in rural and urban areas. The aim of the Green Infrastructure initiative is to stop the loss of land as an irreplaceable natural resource and to contribute to the inclusion of ecological and sustainability aspects into the spatial planning and regional development in rural and urban areas. Green Infrastructure is the tool that may reduce the loss of ecosystem services connected with future occupation of land and improve functions of land. It may support ecological measures aimed at conservation of agricultural landscape and adoption of measures in the sphere of forest and water economies. Important role in the assessment of ecosystems is played not only by the scientists but also by experts and the public at large. This is the reason why ever more stakeholders possessing knowledge of local territory and personal life experience participate in these projects. Their judgments and views, often bearing information important for the above-mentioned assessment, are applied to proposed measures aimed at the improvement of environmental quality and quality of life in terms of sustainability. This article brings the possible example of how to include a selected sample of stakeholders into the assessment of natural capital and ecosystem services on local level in the frame of Green Infrastructure. The aim of this paper is to analyse attitudes of the involved for the evaluation of natural capital and ecosystem services at a local level by means of structured interviews. Obtained views will be applied for the assessment of ecosystem services and proposals aimed at protection and conservation of natural capital and building of green infrastructure. The research was carried out in the model territory of the rural commune Liptovská Teplička.

Lecturas posibles sobre la construcción del actor económico

2017 ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Nicolás Gómez Núñez
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Endogenous Development ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Basic Ideas

En tres breves capítulos, el artículo pone a disposición las ideas básicas que cruzan la reflexión sobre las actividades económicas que las personas realizan en condiciones de pobreza, destacándose la preocupación sobre si estos desempeños pueden constituirse en alternativas de crecimiento económico a nivel local o si ellas son actores que inciden en las políticas públicas que organizan los supuestos del desarrollo.Palabras clave Actividades Económicas Autogestionadas / Autonomía / Capacitación / Desarrollo Endógeno.Abstract:In three brief chapters, the article displays the basic ideas that intersect the reflection on the economic activities that people perform in conditions of poverty, standing out the concern whether these performances can constitute in alternatives of economic growth at the local level or whether they are activities that affect the public policies which organize the theories of development.Key words Self-managed economic activities / Autonomy / Training / Endogenous Development

scholarly journals NICU and postpartum nurse perspectives on involving fathers in newborn care: a qualitative study

BMC Nursing ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine W. Buek ◽  
Dagoberto Cortez ◽  
Dorothy J. Mandell
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Father Involvement ◽  
Perinatal Care ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Newborn Care ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Provider Attitudes ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Sense Of Efficacy

Abstract Background Perinatal care nurses are well positioned to provide the education and support new fathers need to navigate the transition to fatherhood and to encourage positive father involvement from the earliest hours of a child’s life. To effectively serve fathers in perinatal settings, it is important to understand the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of healthcare providers that may encourage and engage them, or alternatively alienate and discourage them. Methods This qualitative study involved structured interviews with ten NICU and postpartum nurses from hospitals in two large Texas cities. The interview protocol was designed to elicit descriptive information about nurses’ attitudes and beliefs, sense of efficacy and intention for working with fathers, as well as their father-directed behaviors. Nurses were recruited for the study using a purposive sampling approach. Interviews were conducted by telephone and lasted approximately 25 to 35 min. Data were analyzed using a qualitative descriptive approach. Results Overall, study participants held very positive subjective attitudes toward fathers and father involvement. Nevertheless, many of the nurses signaled normative beliefs based on race/ethnicity, gender, and culture that may moderate their intention to engage with fathers. Participants also indicated that their education as well as the culture of perinatal healthcare are focused almost entirely on the mother-baby dyad. In line with this focus on mothers, participants comments reflected a normative belief that fathers are secondary caregivers to their newborns, there to help when the mother is unavailable. Conclusions Nurse attitudes and practices that place mothers in the role of primary caregiver may be interpreted by fathers as excluding or disregarding them. Further research is needed to validate the results of this small-scale study, and to assess whether and how provider attitudes impact their practices in educating and engaging fathers in newborn care.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Antibiotic Use and Resistance: Are Antibiotics the Dentists’ Anxiolytics?

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 735
Author(s):  
Julie Dormoy ◽  
Marc-Olivier Vuillemin ◽  
Silvia Rossi ◽  
Jean-Marc Boivin ◽  
Julie Guillet
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Oral Surgery ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Clinical Factors ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Public

Background: Antibiotic resistance is a global health crisis. The aim of this study was to explore dentists’ perceptions of antibiotic resistance. Methods: A qualitative method was used. Seventeen dentists practising in the Nancy (Lorraine, France) region were surveyed. They were general practitioners or specialised in oral surgery, implantology, or periodontology. The practitioners took part in semi-structured interviews between September 2019 and July 2020. All of the interviews were transcribed in full and analysed thematically. Results: Four major themes have been selected: attitudes of the dentists in regard to the guidelines, clinical factors that influence prescriptions, non-clinical factors that influence prescriptions, and the perception of antibiotic resistance. The dentists stated that they were very concerned regarding the public health issue of antibiotic resistance. However, they often prescribe according to their own interests and habits rather than according to the relevant guidelines. Conclusions: Although dentists are generally well aware of antibiotic resistance, they often do not adequately appreciate the link between their prescribing habits and the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance. Regular updating of practitioners’ knowledge in this regard is necessary, but patients and the general public should also be made more aware of the issue.

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