A praxis-based global ethical discourse on development and women

This article explores a praxis-based moral approach to the study of development and women. Drawing upon an illustrative case-study of Ankur Kala – a non-governmental organisation devoted to the development of destitute women in Kolkata, India – the article shows how studying actual development practices on the ground generates valuable insights without which our ethical understanding of women's development globally would be incomplete.     

Intersection of disability and gender: multi-layered experiences of Ethiopian women with disabilities

This article explores the intersection of disability and gender through the experiences of Ethiopian women with disabilities using household chores as an example. As these women are often hidden at home, little literature is available on them. Thus this article aims to highlight the lived experiences of women with disabilities who are or have been at home. The interviewed women introduce peer support as an important means to increase their self-esteem and face stigma in their daily lives in a positive manner through dialogue and negotiation. The paper further suggests employing women with disabilities as a means to enable them to play a significant role in development cooperation by changing the status quo towards equality.     

Fostering agency and wellbeing in women: an evaluation of the IMAGINE Initiative

There is growing evidence that fostering individual agency for women is important for effective economic development and well-being. This article assesses the outcomes of the IMAGINE Initiative in Kenya, a programme intended to empower individuals through a four-day interactive workshop. Routine de-identified programme data from 213 individuals who applied to participate were used. Data included socio-demographic measures, psychometric scales, and interviews of changes in education, health, economics, and relationships. Programmatic data showed significant changes in the level of intrinsic motivation and agency for those who underwent the training and as well as substantial behavioural changes in core areas of their lives.     

One village one product: evaluations and lessons learnt from OVOP aid projects

The One Village One Product project that originated in Japan's Oita Prefecture is just one component of many official Japanese development assistance projects aiming to promote rural development in more than 30 countries. Not all efforts, however, result in the same level of sustainability. Oita Prefecture built its movement on three principles: local yet global, self-reliance and creativity, and human resources development. The projects that satisfy these principles are generally found to be sustainable. These principles can also be applicable to overseas projects.     

Twenty reasons why local knowledge will remain relevant to development

Local knowledge has continued to gain popularity among development practitioners in the last four decades. However, the future of local knowledge seems hazy to some academics and researchers, perhaps due to the methodological challenges in operationalising local knowledge in development research. Rather than appropriate its full potential for sustainable (global) progress, renditions on the relevance of local knowledge in development research agenda have largely become rhetoric. Nonetheless, this viewpoint outlines 20 pertinent reasons in support of the relevance of local knowledge and why it has a future in development theory and practice.     

Assistive technology as support for the exercise of legal capacity

Exercising legal capacity refers to engaging in legal transactions and relationships and is essential for the full inclusion of people with disabilities in society. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has enumerated the right to legal capacity on an equal basis and has created a state obligation to provide access to support for the exercise of legal capacity. This article examines the use of assistive devices as support for decision-making in exercising legal capacity for individuals with physical and cognitive impairments; for example, the use of voice recognition programmes, screen readers, and screen enlargement applications to support people with mobility and sensory impairments to use online portals essential for legal actions such as banking. It also discusses the experimental use of cognitive assistance, including computer or electrical assistive devices, to facilitate communication for people with cognitive impairments including those with no external signs of consciousness. It highlights the diversity of options for ‘support for the exercise of legal capacity’ showing how they can assist people with various disabilities. Finally, the article examines the boundaries of the state obligation to provide such support, including issues of practical implementation and resource allocation.     

The Implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in a Non-Party State: Taiwan

This article introduces the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change in a non-Party state: Taiwan. It examines the reasons why Taiwan as a non-Party decided to voluntarily comply with the FCCC. The institutional and legal settings for an effective implementation, as well as the implementation strategies put forward by the Taiwanese academics and manifested by the government will be discussed. Critique of the implementation strategies pursued by the government, and external and domestic obstacles for an effective implementation will be investigated as well.     

《禁止化学武器公约》的核查机制

本文介绍了《禁止化学武器公约》的基本内容 ,探讨了该公约的各种监督实施程序和机制 ,包括公约的监督实施机构、一般核查制度、质疑性视察和有关执行措施。本文认为《禁止化学武器公约》所规定的核查机制是现行国际条约中一种最完善的监督实施机制 ,同时也指出并分析了其存在的问题     

Adult learning and literacy learning for livelihoods: some international perspectives

Reflecting contemporary interest in developing new adult literacy learning programmes based on ‘literacy for livelihoods’, this article examines some case studies from New Zealand, Bangladesh, and Egypt, illustrating literacy being used in livelihoods, and relates these to the kind of literacy being taught in many adult literacy programmes today. It argues that people often change their livelihoods, and that each livelihood has literacy practices embedded within it. The authors suggest that the use of these literacy practices embedded within the livelihood activities might be a better starting point for adult literacy learning than a school-based textbook.