Participation in social forestry re-examined: a case-study from Bangladesh

Bangladesh has enthusiastically launched social forestry projects that make grandiose promises of seeking local community involvement and participation in the management of forest resources. This study examines the functioning of the Chandra Agroforestry Research and Demonstration Project to evaluate the actual extent and nature of popular participation it entails. After discussing the project and its locale, the methodology of the study is described as an analysis of qualitative and quantitative data collected in the period February-August 1994. The theoretical framework was based on a modified version of Zaman's framework that uses prevalence and opportunity as the indicators of participation. Analysis of prevalence indicators reveals that professional foresters make all major decisions for the project without consulting the farmers involved. The government also has sole responsibility for monitoring and evaluating the project, and the farmers are skeptical that the government will allow them to profit from the benefits arising from the project. Analysis of opportunity indicators shows that the project is not decentralized, cooperative and collaborative linkages have not been made, project flexibility has been sacrificed to bureaucracy, and the incentives promised to the farmers have not materialized. It is concluded that the participation of local residents in the Chandra project has been insignificant but that the project has succeeded in reducing 1) the historical distrust and conflict between forestry officials and local farmers, 2) encroachment on government lands, and 3) the rate of deforestation. In addition, the project has given participating farmers a sense of security.     

Asian workers in the Gulf states of the Middle East

One of the most conspicuous developments in recent years in the Korean political economy is the enormous increase of Korean investment in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia. In particular, since the appreciation of the Korean currency (won) in 1987 and the rapid increase of industrial action by Korean workers, more Korean foreign direct investment (FDI) has been carried out by small-and medium-sized firms, particularly in the manufacturing sector. However, many of the Korean firms in the region have already experienced various problems. This article examines the determinants of the new phase of Korean FDI. It also discusses the possible consequences of Korean FDI in Indonesia.     

Antecedents of task performance: An examination of transformation leadership,team communication,team creativity,and team trust

Higher education requires best leaders and collaborative environment to stimulate staff and student because of facing more challenges and to make the educational institutions remain relevant in a competitive global context. Considering the fruitful academic outcome, ideal leadership style and collaborative work are essential among teachers and students. Therefore, an empirical study was performed to investigate the effect of transformational leadership and team communication on task performance. The proposed model was verified by quantitative study to clarify the complex relationship between predicators and outcomes. Research data were collected from a sample of 273 master students from the University of Science and Technology of China. The collected data were examined through partial least square analysis technique. The results suggested that team perception of transformation leadership has positive effect on team communication and team trust to measure high task performance. In addition, team communication has positive effect on team trust, whereas team trust has a significant effect on team creativity, which enhances the task performance.     

South Asia and the Asiatic Mode of production: Some conceptual and empirical problems

Abstract

The resurgence of dialectical sociology has stimulated a renewed interest in the investigation of political and economic developments in third world countries with the aid of Marxist paradigms. In this connection a substantial volume of literature has been produced recently, mostly by western scholars, on Marx's definition of the Asiatic Mode of Production (AMP) or its related genre, such as Oriental Despotism. Hopefully the revival of this interest will open up lines of investigation hitherto ignored or inadequately developed. At the same time numerous difficulties arise on the theoretical, empirical and ideological levels when one attempts to explain the dynamics of change in countries and regions of South Asia with the above mentioned concepts in mind.     

Distribution of HLA-DQA1, polymarker, CSF1PO, vWA, TH01, TPOX, D16S539, D7S820, D13S317, and D5S818 alleles in East Bengali and West Punjabi populations from Indo-Pak Subcontinent

Blood samples were collected from 115 individuals residing in the Pakistani state of West Punjab and 81 Bengali individuals residing in the state of East Bengal, India. These samples were analyzed for the loci HLA-DQA1, PM (LDLR, GYPA, HBGG, D7S8, and GC) and eight short tandem repeats: CSF1PO, TPOX, THO1, vWA, D16S539, D7S820, D13S317, and D5S818. Departures from Hardy-Weinberg (HWE) were observed in Punjabi population at LDLR, THO1, D13S317, D5S818, and D16S539 and at CSF1PO and THO1 in Bengali population.     

Technology and economic development: the case of Taiwan

In this paper it is argued that Taiwan succeeded in developing by deviating from the currently popular ‘Washington Consensus’ strategy in specific ways. In particular, it developed investment strategies that have now reached a crucial ‘Schumpeterian’ phase. This has important implications for high and information technology sectors. Following Schumpeter we assume that innovation in specific firms can have economy‐wide effects. Models based on this idea can be shown to have multiple equilibria. The idea of a positive feedback loop innovation system or POLIS is formalized by picking an appropriate sequence of equilibria over time. It is shown that POLIS has empirical relevance by applying the formal model to an actual economy. Recent financial crisis in many Asian countries, most notably South Korea, seems to have reversed the conventional wisdom regarding the East Asian ‘miracle’. This paper applies the concept of a POLIS to show that neither the current view that the miracle was a mirage nor the earlier contrarian view that the growth was a result of factor accumulation only is correct. Ultimately technological transformation—in particular the creation of a positive feedback loop innovation system is what makes the difference between sustained growth and gradual or sudden decline. Although various problems remain in both the real and the financial sectors, the successes of Taiwan in building the preconditions for an innovation system are worth examining. Upon careful examination of Taiwan's system of innovation within the above Schumpeterian model it is found that of all the ‘miracle’ economies Taiwan has the best chance of building a POLIS in the near future. Because of Taiwan's strength in building a POLIS, the PRC can also benefit from continuing contact with Taiwan through trade and FDI from Taiwan.     

Land tenurial dynamics and participatory forestry management in Bangladesh

Of late, participatory forestry management, more popularly known as ‘social forestry’ (SF), has acquired great significance in Bangladesh as a strategy for both forest resource management and rural development. However, research on the contextual factors such as social relations, institutional structures, forest policies and land tenurial arrangements which regulate SF's performance in the field has been limited. Land ownership and tenurial arrangement is one crucial factor which has remained virtually unexplored in the context of Bangladesh SF. This article examines the land use and tenure arrangements in selected SF projects in Bangladesh. It focuses on the perceptions and choice of the SF farmers regarding land ownership, tenure and use; implications of central land tenurial policy on farm productivity and farmers' motivation; and also on the difference between farmers' land use choice and the assumptions of the SF planners. It shows that land tenure is a complex issue for SF. Although tenurial security is a major motivating force for farmers, providing permanent land ownership alone has little impact on farm productivity or on the growth of collective effort among SF farmers. Farmers need institutional assurance and support (especially from the government) to fully utilize the potential rights and benefits associated with such ownership. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.