Community health workers – motivation and incentives

The Community Health Worker (CHW) literature is expansive, covering more than 30 years of interest in the concept. Despite this, understanding of CHW motivation and the effectiveness of monetary incentives is limited. Using self-determination theory (SDT) as an explanatory framework, the article outlines some of the roles and functions that CHWs have filled within health and community systems, CHW motivation, and how different factors either enhance or detract from this.

Agents de santé communautaires – motivation et incitations

Les documents portant sur les agents de santé communautaires (ASC) sont nombreux et couvrent plus de 30 ans d'intérêt dans ce concept. En dépit de cela, la compréhension de la motivation des ASC et de l'efficacité des incitations monétaires est limitée. En utilisant la théorie de l'autodétermination (TAD) comme cadre explicatif, cet article présente quelques-uns des rôles et des fonctions que les ASC ont remplis dans le cadre de systèmes sanitaires et communautaires, la motivation des ASC et la manière dont différents facteurs soit la renforcent soit l'affaiblissent.

Trabajadores de salud comunitarios - motivación e incentivos

Existen numerosas investigaciones sobre los trabajadores de salud comunitarios (tsc), que abarcan los más de 30 años durante los cuales el concepto ha sido objeto de estudio. A pesar de lo anterior, las motivaciones de los tsc y la eficacia de los incentivos monetarios no son ampliamente comprendidas. Con el apoyo de la teoría de la autodeterminación como marco analítico, el presente artículo expone algunos de los roles y de las funciones desempeñados por los tsc en los sistemas de salud comunitarios, así como las motivaciones que los impulsan, analizando, a la vez, los distintos factores que alientan o desincentivan tales motivaciones.

Trabalhadores comunitários da saúde – motivação e incentivos

A literatura sobre Trabalhadores Comunitários da Saúde (TCSs) é extensa, abrangendo mais de 30 anos de interesse no conceito. Apesar disto, o entendimento sobre a motivação dos TCSs e da efetividade de incentivos monetários é limitado. Utilizando a Teoria da Auto-Determinação (TAD) como estrutura explicativa, o artigo apresenta algumas das tarefas e funções que os TCSs têm realizado dentro dos sistemas de saúde e comunidade, a motivação dos TCSs e como fatores diferentes melhoram ou agravam a partir disto.     

Fertility differential by husbands' occupational status and income in Dhanbad district,Jharkhand, India

The paper attempts to find out fertility differential by husbands' occupational status and income level in Dhanbad district, Jharkhand (India). The mean number of children ever born (MCEB) is used to measure fertility, and monthly income as the income variable. Older and younger cohorts of women were examined separately for assessing fertility differential. MCEB was found to be high for women with husbands employed as labourers with a low monthly income. This was true for both the cohorts, but fertility levels were much higher among the older cohort. Low MCEB was found with increasing income of husbands and for those in private jobs.

Différence de fécondité en fonction du statut professionnel et du revenu des maris dans le district de Dhanbad, Jharkhand, Inde

Cet article cherche à établir des différences potentielles sur le plan de la fécondité en fonction du statut professionnel des maris et de leur niveau de revenu dans le district de Dhanbad, à Jharkhand (Inde). Le nombre moyen d'enfants par femme (NMEF) est employé pour mesurer la fécondité, et le revenu moyen comme variable de revenu. Des groupes de femmes jeunes et plus âgées ont été examinés séparément pour évaluer la différence sur le plan de la fécondité. On a constaté que le NMEF était élevé pour les femmes dont les époux travaillaient comme ouvriers et percevaient un revenu mensuel faible. Il en était ainsi des deux groupes, mais le degré de fécondité était beaucoup plus élevé parmi les membres du groupe des femmes plus âgées. Un NMEF plus faible a été constaté parmi celles dont les maris avaient des revenus supérieurs ou occupaient des postes dans le secteur privé.

Diferencial de fertilidade pela condição ocupacional dos maridos e renda no distrito de Dhanbad, Jharkhand, Índia

O artigo visa descobrir o diferencial de fertilidade em razão da condição ocupacional dos maridos e nível de renda no distrito de Dhanbad, Jharkhand (Índia). O número médio de crianças nascidas (MCEB) é utilizado para medir a fertilidade, e a renda mensal como variável de renda. Grupos de mulheres mais velhas e mais novas foram examinados separadamente para se avaliar o diferencial de fertilidade. O MCEB encontrado foi alto para mulheres com maridos empregados como trabalhadores com baixa renda mensal. Isto ocorreu em ambos os grupos, mas os níveis de fertilidade foram muito mais altos entre o grupo mais velho. Um baixo MCEB foi encontrado com a renda crescente dos maridos e para aqueles em empregos privados.

La diferencial de fertilidad según el reconocimiento profesional y los ingresos de los esposos en el distrito de Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India

Este ensayo busca establecer la diferencial de fertilidad según el reconocimiento profesional y el nivel de ingresos de los esposos en el distrito de Dhanbad, en Jharkhand, India. El número promedio de hijos nacidos (NPHN) se utilizó para medir la fertilidad y se estableció la variable de ingreso de acuerdo al ingreso mensual. Se examinaron por separado grupos de mujeres, jóvenes y mayores, para evaluar la diferencial de fertilidad. Se determinó que el NPHN era alto para las mujeres cuyos esposos trabajaban como obreros con ingresos mensuales bajos. Esta situación prevalecía en ambos grupos de mujeres, pero los niveles de fertilidad eran más altos para el grupo de mayor edad. Un NPHN bajo se asoció a esposos con ingresos más altos o con un empleo en el sector privado.     

Governmental Corruption and Social Change in New Zealand: Using Scenarios, 1950–2020

New Zealand has long enjoyed a reputation as a country with a corruption-free state sector, and ranks very highly on the Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (meaning its corruption levels are perceived to be extremely low). However, there is prima facie evidence to suggest that this situation may be changing, not dramatically but significantly. While the state sector changes of the 1980s and early 1990s may be having some impact on this shift, it also has to be understood in the context of wider societal changes, which are probably more decisive. After some brief conceptual clarification, the article presents three scenarios sketching past (1950s/1960s), present (1990s–2006) and future (2006–2020) social and governmental conditions thought to be relevant to corruption levels.     

Socioeconomic Development and Voluntary Associations in Swedish Municipalities

Abstract

This paper explores the link between voluntary associations and socioeconomic development in Swedish municipalities. According to previous research in the field of social capital, the causal flow goes from having many associations to a high level of socioeconomic development. It has been argued, however, that the causal flow from the level of socioeconomic development to the level of social capital is so weak that it can be ignored. This paper tests a simple simultaneous equation model in order to test whether the causal flows from socioeconomic development to social capital and the inverse are simultaneous. The study is carried out at an aggregated level (the municipalities) that corresponds to the lowest administrative level in Sweden. The results indicate that the socioeconomic development cannot be ignored and that there is a simultaneous relationship. Moreover, the empirical findings indicate that the relationship is negative between the variables expressing socioeconomic development and associational density.     

Curbing Corruption in India: An Impossible Dream?

This article analyses the serious problem of corruption in India by examining its causes and the various anti-corruption measures employed by the government from the formation in 1941 of the first anti-corruption agency, the Delhi Special Police Establishment, which was expanded to form the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April 1963. India's ineffective anti-corruption strategy can be attributed to the lack of political will of its leaders and its unfavourable policy context, which has hindered the enforcement of the anti-corruption laws. The lack of political will in fighting corruption is manifested in the lowest per capita expenditure and least favourable staff-population ratio of the CBI when compared to those of its counterparts in Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Thailand. To enhance the CBI's effectiveness, it should be removed from the jurisdiction of the police and be established as an independent agency dedicated solely to curbing corruption. The Constitution of India should also be amended to empower the CBI to investigate corruption cases at the state level without obtaining the consent of the chief minister of the state. In view of the lack of political will, this article concludes that curbing corruption in India remains an impossible dream in the foreseeable future.     

Risk,Reflexivity and Sub-politics: Environmental Politics in Hong Kong

Increasing attention has been drawn to the risk posed by air pollution, a risk that has wide-ranging effects (on the environment, health, the economy, culture, urban design and politics). New environmental movements and political agendas have emerged in the past 10 years. A growing number of social groups have been formed to express their concerns and challenge established laws and rules. This paper will borrow Ulrich Beck's concepts of risk, reflexivity and sub-politics to analyse the new social movement that addresses air quality in Hong Kong. While previous environmental problems were considered manageable, air pollution is a risk that seems to defy solution. As a result of the institutional failure to deal with this risk, there has been a new alignment of interests and the emergence of a new form of politics—a sub-politics that leads to a sharing of power between established and informal politics, and the government and society. Although established political institutions have been receptive, altering the rules and increasing public participation, the extent of sub-politicization is still limited. This is due, in part, to the overall absence of reflexive self-regulation among individuals in the society, which might lead to a state of ‘disorganized irresponsibility’.     

Community Participation in Spatial Planning: Exploring Relationships between Professional and Lay Stakeholders

The literature that explores relationships between lay and professional stakeholders in community participation generally suggests that professionals perceive five main difficulties in working with lay people: it is unnecessary within democracies; lay people lack expertise; they are not representative; there is commonly a lack of trust, and decision-making is made more complex. In respect of spatial planning in South West England, from survey evidence these difficulties are not so apparent except in respect of complex decision-making. It is likely that the variation between the literature and the survey is influenced by the longer heritage of community participation in the spatial planning process in England, than in most other local authority services.     

Reinterpreting India's Rise through the Middle Power Prism

Abstract

India's spectacular rise in recent years has been the source of hyperbolic theorising and speculation on its major power status. Middle power theory offers a set of dynamic analytical parameters which allow for re-evaluating India's global influence and identifying both strengths and weaknesses of its power projection and resources. Placing emphasis on themes of Third World leadership, good international citizenship, multilateral activism, bridge-building diplomacy, and coalition-building with like-minded states, the middle power concept can encapsulate key aspects of India's contemporary agency and account for structural dynamics which constitute a reformist world-view through the reconfiguration of the Indian state within the existing world order. Overall, middlepowermanship delineates fundamental continuities in India's foreign policy tradition, epitomises India's existing position in the neoliberal world order, while providing a good indication of the directions India will take on the global stage in the short and medium-term.     

Managerialism Meets Regime: A Distinctively Singaporean Marriage?

Managerial reforms were once assumed to be apolitical, and hence universally applied to various political settings. This assumption has been widely contested; some argue that managerial reforms are not applicable to countries outside what are termed Western liberal democracies, due to differing political contexts. The case of Singapore offers a counter-argument to these claims—managerial reforms were well-received in the state and its bureaucracy; both of which were vastly different from those of liberal democracies. The article further argues that this was not a coincidence; there seem to be salient reasons why managerial reforms were able to ‘marry’ Singapore's regime. This case study offers insights vis-à-vis a broader question: whether and how managerial reforms can be justified within and received in differing political contexts. It seems imperative to address this question, given the implications for future scholarship and how managerialism is a significant matter of concern to many governments worldwide.     

China's Relations with India's Neighbours: From Threat Avoidance to Alternative Development Opportunity

Abstract

China, once seen as a threat by the states of South Asia, is now viewed correctly as an alternative development opportunity. The unprecedented success of the Chinese development model places it as an obvious alternative to that offered by India—or indeed by the Western model of development—but what implications does this have for the middle and small powers that surround India, and indeed for India and the Western developed world? The fundamental rationale for China's relations with South Asia has changed radically, but the Sino-centric nature of Chinese foreign policy remains. Uniquely, for India's neighbours, but also for the global political economy as a whole, Chinese economic power raises political issues of human security, economic interdependence, and the relationship between physical infrastructure and the benefits of global public goods. The Chinese necessity to tranship through South Asia is identified as a complex new reality for the great power.