Education in the Commonwealth Caribbean: findings from a national adult literacy programme

This paper shares the findings of an assessment carried out in 2007 of a national adult literacy programme introduced in 2005 in the Eastern Caribbean nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The paper discusses some social and spatial factors that may impede or facilitate men's and women's ability and desire to participate in adult literacy programmes. Surveys administered to programme participants, as well as interviews conducted with participants and programme staff, comprised the primary means of data collection.

L'éducation aux Antilles du Commonwealth : conclusions d'un programme national d'alphabétisation pour adultes

Cet article a pour but de disséminer une évaluation entreprise en 2007 d'un programme national d'alphabétisme pour adultes lancé en 2005 au pays de St-Vincent-et-les-Grenadines situé aux Petites Antilles dans la Caraïbe de l'est. L'article examine les facteurs sociaux et géographiques qui peuvent ou entraver ou faciliter la capacité et le désir des hommes et des femmes de participer à des programmes d'alphabétisation pour adultes. Les moyens les plus importants de cueillir des données étaient des enquêtes menées auprès des participants aux programmes, aussi bien que des entretiens avec les participants et les employés des programmes.

Educación en la Comunidad del Caribe: hallazgos de un programa nacional de alfabetización para adultos

Este artículo comparte los hallazgos surgidos de la evaluación de un programa nacional de alfabetización para adultos, que fue realizada en 2007. Dicho programa había sido inaugurado en 2005 en la nación de San Vicente y las Granadinas. El artículo examina la incidencia de algunos de los factores sociales y espaciales que impiden o propician que los hombres y las mujeres puedan y deseen participar en tales programas. La información se recopiló principalmente a través de encuestas aplicadas a los participantes del programa y mediante entrevistas realizadas con éstos y con el personal del programa.

Educação em país caribenho pertencente à Commonwealth: resultados de um programa nacional de alfabetização de adultos

Este artigo compartilha os resultados de uma avaliação realizada em 2007 de um programa nacional de alfabetização de adultos introduzido em 2005 no país caribenho de São Vicente e Granadinas, situado ao leste. O artigo discute alguns fatores sociais e espaciais que podem impedir ou facilitar a capacidade e disposição de homens e mulheres de participar de programas de alfabetização de adultos. Pesquisas administradas voltadas para os participantes do programa, assim como entrevistas conduzidas com participantes e funcionários do programa, compreendem o principal instrumento de coleta de dados.     

Women on Wheels: empowering women through an innovative training and employment programme

Significant victories have been won due to the development sector’s engagement with gender inequality as a political project, but regressive shifts have also led to development being conceptualised as a managerial issue rather than as a process of social change. This article uses empirical research conducted in New Delhi, India with an organisation that trains and employs poor urban women as commercial drivers to discuss how an obsession with “cost effectiveness” and “scale” can delegitimise the valuable work of some organisations. This article encourages re-engagement with gender equality as a complicated social issue rather than as a technical-rational management project.     

Women and globalisation: challenges and opportunities facing construction workers in contemporary India

This article identifies the opportunities and constraints faced by female construction workers in urban India, citing empirical research conducted in the city of Ahmedabad. The Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) conducted three surveys in 1998, 2003, and 2007 to learn more about the needs and priorities of construction workers in the context of economic globalisation. While enthusiastically endorsing the role that training and certification can play in providing skilled women with opportunities for quality employment, the author emphasises the need for wider policy intervention at the state and national levels to ensure that such programmes have replicable, sustainable, and gender-equitable results.     

Nocturnal Oviposition Behavior of Necrophagous Dipterans in Kelantan,Malaysia*

Abstract: The likelihood of dipteran maggots colonizing a corpse due to nocturnal oviposition can be used to challenge the postmortem interval (PMI) estimated assuming diurnal oviposition. Earlier experiments tested nocturnal oviposition behavior by exposing fresh baits once during a single night. In this pilot study, oviposition behavior was studied using beef baits, which, simulating the decay of the body seen in case situations, decomposed inside cages designed to open and close at scheduled intervals during consecutive night or twilight periods. Freshly hatched maggots from diurnally oviposited eggs emerged in control baits on the third day, while a limited number of maggots attributable to nocturnal or twilight oviposition were observed in experimental baits only on the fifth or sixth day, indicating a categorical delay. These results suggest that such delayed and limited nocturnal oviposition is not forensically significant since the larger maggots deriving from diurnal oviposition would be the ones considered when estimating PMI.