OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development
Open access peer-reviewed journal
Wealth Status And Improved Rice Varieties Adoption Among Smallholder Farmers In Nigeria
Bola Amoke Awotide a, Alexandra Nimo Wiredu b, Aliou Diagne c and Vivian Ojehomon d
a Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
b CSIR-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, Tamale, Ghana
c Impact Assessment and Policy Unit, Africa Rice Centre, Cotonou, Republic of Benin
d National Cereal Research Institute (NCRI), Badeggi, Niger State, Nigeria
Volume 05, Issue 09, Pg. 12-27, 2012.
Abstract: Due to the high cost and risk associated with adoption, the wealth of a household may be an important factor in the decision to adopt Improved Rice Varieties (IRVs) in Nigeria. This study assessed the role of household wealth in IRVS adoption. The study employed the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to generate the wealth index which was used to partition the respondents into wealthy and non-wealthy households. The logit and the Tobit models were adopted to assess the determinants and intensity of adoption of IRVs among 600 randomly selected smallholder rice farmers from the three major rice producing ecologies in Nigeria. Data were collected using well-structured questionnaire. Results indicated that factors determining the adoption and intensity of adoption of IRVs varied between the wealthy and non-wealthy households. Farmers organization, access to credit, access to seed, education, wealth index, contact with extension agents were some of the variables that had positive and significant influence on the farmers decision to adopt IRVs. Farm size, wealth and income positively and significant affected the intensity of adoption. The cost off seed had negative and significant effect on both the decision to adopt and the intensity of adoption. Hence, if the desired adoption rate and intensity of adoption of IRVs is to be achieved, it is important to embark on wealth group specific policies, adopt programs and policies that can lead to improvement in wealth and households income, encourage formation of farmers’ organization and ensure the price of IRV seeds are affordable to the rural farmers.
Keywords: Adoption, Wealth, Rice, Farmers, Logit, Tobit, Nigeria
Efficiency Of Commercial Banks In Bangladesh-A Data Envelopment Analysis
Md. Shoaib Ahmed a, Farhana Ferdousi Liza b
a School of Business, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB)
b Department of Computer Science, American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB)
Volume 05, Issue 09, Pg. 28-62, 2012.
Abstract: This paper develops a general idea to measure the efficiency of a bank in different segments such as- efficiency in management, efficiency in earnings, efficiency in cost control, efficiency liquidity, efficiency in debt & leverage and efficiency in market operation by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Moreover, we combined all the layers to measure the overall efficiency or ranking of the banks in an economy. Using the data from 2002 to 2011 of 35 commercial banks in Bangladesh, our result reveals that third generation local commercial banks are most efficient along with a foreign commercial bank operating in Bangladesh. It has also been found that these banks maintained their consistency in efficiency during the period of 2002-2011. The study also suggests that there is an intensive competition existing among the second and third generation banks as their efficiency score increased gradually.
Keywords: DEA, Banking Efficiency, Commercial banks in Bangladesh
The Provision of Basic Services through Indigent Grants, is it Equitable and Sustainable in South Africa?
Boitumelo H. Moatshe a, Z.P. Mbecke b
a Development Bank of Southern Africa, 1258 Lever Road, Headway Hill, Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa b.Meraka Institute, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Volume 05, Issue 09, Pg. 56-70, 2012.
Abstract: In terms of section 27 of the South African Constitution Act, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996): (1) everyone has the right to have access to amongst others, sufficient food and water; and social security, including, if they are unable to support themselves and their dependents, appreciate social assistance. In an effort to address the rights to basic services in accordance with the South African Constitution, the South African Government introduced the indigent grant which responds to the requirement of the South African Constitution. Indigent means a consumer or household that cannot afford to pay consistently for the basic services and municipal rates. The qualified applicants’ total household’s monthly gross income should be no more than R1500. The applicant must be the legal owner of the property. The indigent grant is also considered by the Government as a partial answer to the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Indicator 31b, for creating “reasonable access” to services. Registered indigent communities receive free monthly 6kl of water and 50kwh of electricity, costing local municipalities more or less R50 per month per applicant. This paper reviews service provision to poor households in South Africa from year 2002 to year 2010. The paper acknowledges the efforts of the post-apartheid Government but ascertains that the indigent grant is far from being a solution to the misery of the majority of the population based on the review of the Multi-Deprivation Index. The paper identifies elements that could hamper the sustainability of the indigent grant and recommends three key elements that the municipalities should manage in order to sustain the indigent grant. These elements are the systems and information access, financial sustainability and community’s willingness to participate.
Keywords: Basic services; indigent grant; indigent communities; municipal services; reasonable access; multi-service model, Multi-Deprivation Index
The Emerge of Shopping Centers and the Synchronic Continuity of the Tajrish Traditional Bazaar- A Comparative Study of the Tajrish Traditional Bazaar and the Ghaem and Tandiis Modern Shopping Centers and their Relationship
Marzieh Azadarmaki a
a Conservatoire Nationale des Arts et Métier(CNAM), Paris, France.
Volume 05, Issue 09, Pg. 70-86, 2012.
Abstract: The invasion and succession in cities is a phenomenon that affects the functions of the bazaar. Heavy traffic in downtown areas, air pollution in cities, the transformation of the structure of economic activities, the flow of immigrants on the market, the transfer of certain functions of the bazaar to commercial companies and etc all this has created problems for the bazaar. In the present decades, “Bazaar” has faced a new and distinguishable rival in Iran. Every day “Shopping Centers” are spreading all over regions in Iranian cities. They are as a symbol of the extension of consumerism and the occurrence of a consumer society and globalization. These places represent youth subcultures and cultural challenges against the hegemony at national level. Will the bazaar tolerate and survive these changes, or has it already been eliminated from the urban cycle? Will it coexist with this urban monument or will it be eliminated?
Keywords: Traditional bazaar, Modern shopping centers, Tajrish, coexistence, consumerism, modernism
Towards Ensuring Qualitative Supervision of Teaching Practice in Nigerian Universities for Sustainable Development
Joseph Babatola Ayodele a, Babatope Kolade Oyewole b
a, b Department of Educational Foundations and Management, Faculty of Education, Ekiti State University
Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria
Volume 05, Issue 09, Pg. 88-94, 2012.
Abstract: The role of education in any national development cannot be overemphasized. Teachers are of the core of any educational enterprise. Hence, teaching practice programme plays a vital role in the preparation of teachers in all teacher training institutions including the universities in Nigeria. To this end, this paper examines the ways and manners teaching practice supervision is being conducted in Nigerian universities with the aim of suggesting probable measures that could help in ensuring qualitative supervision of teaching practice in Nigeria universities for sustainable development. The paper discusses the concept of supervision, standards of teaching practice, challenges of qualitative supervision of teaching practice in Nigeria, and measures to ensure qualitative supervision of teaching practice for sustainable development in Nigeria. Some of these include organizing orientation programme for institutional based supervisors, increase in the duration of teaching practice, imbibing the idea of clinical supervision, effective collaboration with school teachers/management, supervision conference with student teachers, constituting monitoring team among others. It concludes that emphasis must be on quality assurance in the supervision of teaching practice programme in Nigerian Universities for sustainable development.
Keywords: Supervision, Teaching Practice, Sustainable Development, Student Teacher, Qualitative.
Ouster Clauses, Judicial Review and Good Governance: An Expository Study of the Experience in Nigeria and Malaysia
Abdulfatai O. Sambo a, Abdulkadir B. Abdulkadir b
a, b Department of Public Law , Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
Solicitor and Advocates of the Supreme Court of Nigeria
International Islamic University Malaysia.
Volume 05, Issue 09, Pg. 98-110, 2012.
Abstract: Ouster clauses are provisions in the statutes that take away or purport to take away the jurisdiction of a competent court of law. It denies the court the ability to make any meaningful contribution with respect to matters relating to sustainable development and good governance brought before the court. In fact, it seeks deny the litigant any judicial assistance in respect of the matter having bearing on sustainable development and good governance brought before it. The legislature seeks, by the enactment of ouster clauses, to deny the court the power of judicial review in respect of the matter in which its jurisdiction has been ousted. Ousting the jurisdiction of the court is a reaction from the legislative arm of government to the increasing powers of the court in respect of judicial review of certain disputes. Thus, democracy with calls for constitutionalism has gained more recognition in many parts of the world. Given the general functions of judiciary as one of check and balance mechanisms in democracy, most people and government have developed interest in the judiciary and judicial process. Despite this, the benchmark of academic discourse seems to argue that courts’ hands are tied and should not review matters having to do with ouster clauses. This paper therefore makes an analytical exposition into the attitude of the courts in Nigeria and Malaysia to matters having to do with ouster of courts’ jurisdiction. It reveals the reactions of courts to constitutional ouster clauses and the ones contained in statutes and analyses how judicial review of the clauses can help promote good governance and sustainable development. The objective is to improve the quality of courts’ decisions and aid law reform in this area of law. It therefore hypothesizes that review of ouster provisions by the courts promotes constitutional justice, democratic principles, good governance, sustainable development and reduces injustices in the polity. For the purpose of the analysis, various constitutional provisions and courts’ decisions from the countries under review are examined.
Keywords: constitutionalism, good governance, judicial review, ouster clauses, sustainable development.
The Path Analysis of Social Capital Components in Economic Empowering of Rural Women in Iran
Mohammad Salehianbehrouz a
a Export Development Bank of Iran, Hamedan Branch, Hamedan, Iran.
Volume 05, Issue 09, Pg. 110-114, 2012.
Abstract: Empowering has been considered as a tool to privilege the people in the third millennia to obtain social, economic and cultured development, especially for those living in rural areas. This has become a great concern for most governments which would like to change the structure of villages under the crisis situation. Education and occupation are two important parameters which can be used to measure the efficacy of empowering the people in these areas. The focus of some governments and authorities is women in these areas as the hidden and silent stratum of the society. It is believed that letting women play a role in their finding their status can help them to change the economic power of the family and improve the arrangement of society. By doing that, the society can enjoy the energy and thought of a part which can strengthen the other part. After the Islamic revolution in Iran, the motto of empowering women has so widely spread that there have been implemented different programs and plans for women to improve their status in the society. Women, in rural areas, have had a different situation from those living in urban areas. The family restrictions have imposed many limitations on women’s participation in social activities. Establishing special schools for illiterate women has helped them to become more aware of their situation and find solutions to improve their economic problem. On the other hand, official pressures make more women involved in economic activities have provided more opportunity for women to the present paper aims to answer some questions to clarify the trend ahead; (1) What is the rate of indices of economic empowerment and social capital in statistical samples in Iran? (2) What extent of rural women’s economic empowerment is determined by social capital indices? This research is a quantitative, non-experimental and instrumental study in which the statistic sample is consisted of 45334 rural women in Hamedan, Iran. From each parish, based on class attributes, 13 villages were chosen randomly and the selected statistical sample became 256 persons. To determine the validity of questionnaire, 30 questionnaire were completed by rural women .The results showed that the research tool is of great ability for gathering the data and there is a significant and positive relationship between the components of social resources and economic empowerment. The variables introduced in analysis model explained 42% of economic empowerment variations. It can be definitely concluded that there is a long path to pave for empowering the women in rural areas. The most direct influence of empowering plans in rural areas of Iran can be seen in the downsizing of families as the women are aware of educational system and the family handling more and more. Unfortunately, the distribution of social capital has been unfair in different regions of Iran. Due to the negative policies, most concentration has been on megacities, leading to undue growth of big cities and overwhelming immigration.
Keywords: empowering, Iran, social capital, women.
Democracy, Sustainability and Urban Design in Iran
Seyedmahmood Moeini a, Bahareh Shavandi b Alirezakhezrian c
a Department of Architecture, Malayer Branch, Islamic Azad University Malayer, Malayer, Iran.
b Department of Architecture, Hamedan Branch, Islamic Azad University Hamedan, Malayer, Iran.
c, Department of Architecture, Malayer Branch, Islamic Azad University Malayer, Malayer, Iran.
Volume 05, Issue 09, Pg. 116-120, 2012.
Abstract: Most people in the world now call cities home but many urban landscapes convey the message that the city is beyond the control of ordinary citizens. Urban landscapes also appear to leave no place for nature and do not provide inhabitants with opportunities to create the sustainable future that we are told must be a key aspiration of our time. As such, our urban landscapes are often disempowering, sometimes induce despair, and generally represent a missed opportunity for people to play an active role in enhancing urban sustainability. This research focuses on identifying the characteristics of urban landscapes inthe history of Iran that invite people to interact with them in positive ways and translating these characteristics into urban design principles. The goal is to create opportunities for diverse groups of people to enhance their environments and become stewards of the ecosystem services on which the sustainable city will depend. It posits that the experience of visibly transforming the places where we live will create a virtuous circle of empowerment and creation of quality (empowering) places, which coupled with the community building that usually accompanies hands-on collective efforts, will contribute substantially to sustainability and well-being. This can be vividly informative when the traditional teachings of Islamic and Iranian architecture are considered in which the comfort and peace were the priorities of urban design. A global scan of indicative examples of community initiatives will lead to development of a typology of inviting/interactive landscapes and translation of their characteristics into draft design principles that can be tested in the big cities which are devoid of humanistic attitude. On the other hand, a new characteristic has been added to the urban design which can be summarised in necessity to freedom. The democracy concept, the signature of modern and technological societies, implies the obligation of listening to popular will and applying it if possible. Due to this fact, the call for social participation in decision-making for all public is one of the strategies of modern humanities to create city based on the capacity of citizenry which is influenced by culture and ideology. In the meantime, the debate on public participation is extremely important, among other reasons because we know that planning is in favour of in- power party or the behind the counter party. Is public participation a familiar concept to the different actors involved in urban planning? People alienation from the current debate suggests that our cities do not reflect the aspirations of all citizens, so the city is not for all. The history of urbanization in Iran shows that political parties imposed their views on formation of the cities to drive the social development as they could exploit the outcomes in their own goals. The growth of Iranian cities around some central notions such as Bazar could be based on the concept of power and ruling. The governors tried to make the cities grow only in urbanization and through design and not real progress of education and human resource. The continuation of life and urbanism in these cities could be seen in economic activities and these cities became deserted as the trade and commerce changed their direction. Sustainability in this approach relied on economic participation of the city as a whole in supplying the neighbourhoods, which showed to be a precarious one in practice.
Keywords: Democracy, Freedom, Iran, Sustainability, Urban design
Are African Leaders Born or Created? Unmaking of Progressive Leadership in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Christopher Isike a, Musa Abutudu b
a University of Zululand, South Africa
b University of Benin, Nigeria.
Volume 05, Issue 09, Pg. 122-134, 2012.
Abstract: Post-independence Africa has been plagued by a profound crisis of leadership which has had dire consequences for peace and development. This has become so perennial that it is now a political pathology generically associated with Africa even though its dominant characteristics such as corruption, insufficient accountability of public officials, ethnicization of politics, dictatorship and sit-tightism are common in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Often, the West (leaders and peoples) has blamed Africa’s development problems on bad leadership and dictatorship without acknowledging its role in propping up and maintaining such leaders in power. None of the above denies the fact that bad leadership is prevalent in Africa; however, its prevalence begs the broad question of whether African leaders are born or created.
This article uses the case of Patrice Emery Lumumba of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to address this broad question. It asks specific questions around why the DRC, one of the resource richest countries in the world has remained poor, wretched and underdeveloped since independence? What has been the role or absence of leadership in the DRC crisis? What is the role of the West and its allies in creating and nurturing a leadership crisis in the DRC? And how has this perpetuated the crisis of political instability, armed conflicts over resource control and chronic underdevelopment which appear intractable?
The article argues that the situation in the DRC today is the consequence of a profound leadership crisis which started on Independence Day in 1960, and that this leadership crisis was created and watered by mainly the United States, Belgium, Western banks and transnational companies. This post-independence interference in African politics reconditions African leaders and impacts on their ideological stances and policy choices in ways that retard progress and development for the continent.
Keywords: ethnicization of politics, conflicts, underdevelopment, human security
Does Monetary Incentive Works Effectively to Advance Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices: a Qualitative Exploration in Two Alive and Thrive Upazilas in Rural Bangladesh
Umme Salma Muktaa, Md. Raisul Haque b, Syed Masud Ahmed c
a,c Research and Evaluation Division, BRAC, Bangladesh.
b Health Programme, BRAC, Bangladesh.
Volume 05, Issue 09, Pg. 136-144, 2012.
Abstract: Poor infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices is one of the major causes of under nutrition and stunting in <5 children in Bangladesh. BRAC in partnership with AED is implementing Alive and Thrive (A&T) program to promoter optimum infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices in rural Bangladesh to address this. BRAC’s community health workers (Shasthya Shebika, SS) are the frontline health workers for this programme. Through works as volunteer they get some monetary return from the sales of health services and products to the community. The A & T programme designed an additional incentive package for staff motivation based on activities related to six specific indicators. Objective: The Study aimed to find the changes occurring in the specified indicators with respect to the IYCF practice resulting from the introduction of incentive packages. Methods: Qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews, informal discussions, and focus group discussions were used to collect relevant data. Pre-incentive data were compared with post-incentive data to compare changes. Results: The study observed some positive changes in colostrums feeding, initiation of breast-feeding within first hour, responsive feeding and, feeding during illness, hygiene practices, etc. But no changes were observed in case of exclusive breast feeding and age-specific complementary feeding practices. At pre-intervention the SSs were demoralized due to heavy work load, and also price hike in recent times. This lessened their interest to spare extra time for the services. But, with the offer of monetary incentive, situation changed for better. Conclusion: Performance-based incentive scheme successfully motivated the frontline health workers to change the behaviuors of the target women.
Keywords: Incentive, Effect, changes, Bangladesh, Alive and Thrive