Land reforms and voluntary resettlement: household participation and attrition rates in Malawi

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the factors influencing household participation in and withdrawal from a World Bank-funded voluntary resettlement scheme moving 15,000 low-income farming households within and across rural districts in Malawi. Using a survey of 203 beneficiary households, focus groups and in-depth interviews, we identify a lack of access to land and conflict over land in the area of origin as salient participation factors in resettlement, while withdrawal factors include lower access to infrastructure and poor soil quality in resettlement areas. We also highlight limited prior awareness of actual conditions in resettlement areas, low and biased participation in the decision to move, a greater desire for formal land titles due to loss of customary entitlement as a result of resettlement, and widespread ambiguity and confusion over titles for resettled plots. In this context, we point to a pattern of ‘negative resettlement’, in which households remain resettled despite major grievances, for lack of an alternative option, contrasting with ‘positive resettlement’, where households remain by choice. We suggest that intra-district resettlement is more likely to be successful than inter-district resettlement when there is a risk of informed consent deficiency. These findings point to the relative failures of this particular resettlement scheme, and suggest possible improvements for land redistribution schemes from agro-industrial projects to poor households.     

基于SNA视角的政府投资项目合谋关系研究

政府投资项目中腐败案件和工程事故的背后往往存在着合谋问题,合谋主体之间通过社会关系网结成合谋网络。本文从社会网络视角研究合谋关系结构特征,以上海"11.15"大火为例通过SNA分析政府投资项目中各利益主体之间的合谋关系及其利益关系。研究表明合谋关系网与利益关系网之间存在不一致性,合谋关系网中建设单位与总承包单位居于核心位置,合谋网络呈现多个中心性质。在结构洞位置,关键中间人通过收取建桥费获得高额合谋收益,而其他结构洞位置行为人通过收取过桥费获得合谋收益。合谋网络的核心结构行为人具有跨项目合谋特性,而其他行为人合谋具有单个项目性质。本文实现了微观具体主体行为与宏观关系网络相结合,拓展了社会网络分析方法在合谋领域的应用,丰富了对合谋关系的认识,强调在治理合谋问题时在关注合谋利益的同时,应关注关系网络。     

公共政策与社会政策：一个系统论的比较

公共政策与社会政策是多学科的交叉研究领域,二者行动主体和作用客体是存在差异的。公共政策的主体更多的是社会权威机构,以政府和利益集团为核心进行政策制定和决策分析;社会政策的主体是以政府为先导,更加依靠非政府的民间组织发挥政策制定和实施的功能。公共政策偏重权威资源的调配,其制定和决策更多是从宏观层面、整体布局上解决问题;而社会政策由于有社会民间组织的积极参与,使得它有可能关注具体而微的个体生活困境,直接面向需要解决困难的社会成员。     

Sexual dimorphism in teeth: discriminatory effectiveness of permanent lower canine size observed in a XVIIIth century osteological series

Recent studies have shown that the most dimorphic tooth is the mandibular canine. We have carried out a study on a random sample of 146 skeletons dating from the plague outbreak in Marseilles (1722). We studied 1284 maxillary and 1432 mandibular permanent teeth. Sexual dimorphism was tested on 89 individuals. We selected a set of four dental indices and calculated the dimorphism percentage by ratio expression male/female. Dimorphic ranking was made, by allotting the first rank to the tooth presenting the highest dimorphism and the last rank to the one presenting the lowest ratio. Comparisons of means were made on both sexes (sex determined by post-cranial data) through a Student's test (t-test). We noted that lower canines and lateral incisor are the most interesting teeth in the dimorphic dental determination. The lower index presented the highest relative risk with RR = 1.56 [1.04-2.32]. In 58% of the cases, the lower dental index enabled a correct sex determination (determined on the basis of the post-cranial skeleton). These results showed the existence of a relative dental dimorphism (male > female mesiodistal diameters) with humans. In conclusion, this method, using dental measurements, may be used as an additional technique to determine sex on fragmentary adult skeletons, immature material, missing pieces or ambiguities on post-cranial remains.     

养老服务业的市场需求分析

老龄化程度的不断加深,为我国养老服务业的发展提供了客观需要和外在的基础条件。本文首先阐述了养老服务业的市场构成和影响养老服务业市场需求的诸多因素,然后在消费者调查的基础上,着重分析了我国养老服务业的市场需求潜力。     

Disentangling the Weight of School Dropout Predictors: A Test on Two Longitudinal Samples

The aims of this study are to identify the most powerful predictors of school dropout and to determine how stable they are over time. Two generations of White French-speaking boys and girls from 12 to 16 years old (n = 791 in 1974, n = 791 in 1985) completed a self-administered questionnaire on their psychosocial adjustment at least one year before leaving school. As expected, the analyses showed that school, family, behavioral, social, and personality variables could all predict dropping out of school in the two samples. Furthermore, these predictors were quite stable over time. However, statistical improvement measures in logistic regression analyses indicated that school experience variables (i.e., grade retention, school achievement, school commitment) were the best screening variables for potential dropouts. The contribution of other psychosocial variables, even though significant, did not improve very much the capacity to identify who will drop out of school. The discussion highlights the implications of the findings for secondary prevention and screening practices.