Functioning Achievements in Urban Bangladesh: A Comparison with Rural Areas

In view of the differences in the nature and concept of poverty across rural and urban regions, this article argues that a nationwide standardised poverty reduction strategy package may not be equally effective in these two regions. This article examines the limitations of existing poverty assessment approaches used in Bangladesh and identifies various indicators that are responsible for the achievement of higher level functioning in urban regions in contrast to rural areas. The methodology of the study is based on 917 samples of poor persons with microcredit collected from nine districts of Bangladesh. Significant differences have been observed in the indicators of poverty for rural and urban areas. The results from our participatory study reveal that the urban poor are more inclined towards social functioning achievements such as voting, decision-making at both household and work levels, having a voice at local meetings and co-operatives, whereas the rural poor are still demanding the most basic requirements.     

西部欠发达地区扶贫开发与新农村建设协调推进的成功实践——陕西省实施板块推进、连片开发式扶贫战略调查

西部欠发达地区如何实现扶贫开发与新农村建设有机结合,协调发展,陕西省联系省情实际,认真落实中央建设新农村与构建和谐社会的各项方针政策,坚持以部门支农资金为基础,以县级整合扶贫资源为关键,创造性地实施了整合资源、板块推进、连片开发式扶贫战略,为新阶段扶贫开发与新农村建设的有机结合和协调推进,创出了一条新路子。     

医疗损害举证责任之缓和规则

医疗损害举证责任缓和是指在诉讼中患方的举证达到一定的程度,无法达到法律要求的证明标准情况下,实行举证责任转换,由医方承担举证责任的一种举证责任规则。它是一种不同于举证责任倒置的,有效平衡医患双方当事人在诉讼中举证能力的,充分体现诉讼武器平等原则的举证责任制度。在患方的证明具有相当程度因果关系的可能性、医方无法证明医疗行为与损害结果之间没有因果关系及具备对此种因果关系推定的基础性条件的情况下,才能适用医疗损害举证责任缓和规则。在我国现行立法规定的举证责任规则不能完全保护患方权益的情况下,为了提高诉讼效率,公正、合理地裁判医疗损害纠纷案件,有必要在法律上引入和构建举证责任缓和规则。     

The Influence of Nondisclosure on the Mental Health of Urban African-American Adolescents Exposed to Community Violence

African-American youth residing in urban poverty have been shown to be at increased risk for exposure to violence and internalizing symptoms, but there has been little investigation of moderating processes that might attenuate or exacerbate this association. The current study examined nondisclosure as a possible moderator of the association between community violence and internalizing symptoms with a sample of 152 low-income urban African-American early adolescents using hierarchical regression analyses. Results revealed that nondisclosure for relationship reasons (e.g., adults could not be trusted to provide needed support) moderated the association between exposure to community violence and internalizing symptoms. Unexpectedly, however, results of simple effects analyses revealed a stronger association between exposure to violence and internalizing symptoms for youth who disclosed more to adults. Although unexpected, this pattern builds upon prior research indicating that adult–child relationships are compromised within the context of urban poverty and that protective factors may lose their power under conditions of extreme stress.     

Sustained Development Leads to Higher Living Standards简

正CHINA’s economy has significantly advanced over the past 35 years of reform and openingup.Chinese people’s incomes have risen and their living standards have improved,from barely having enough to eat and adequate clothing to today’s generally better-off lifestyle.     

Techniques in Innovative Policy Making: Example of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in India

The problem of social ills such as unemployment, poverty, and accelerating pace of rural-urban migration is not only enormous in magnitude, but also complex by nature in developing countries. This article introduces an innovative regulatory approach that addresses the complexity and scale of such problems. An analytical and decision-making model is presented. This model prescribes reflecting on two or more problems simultaneously. Such an approach is expected to create a fresh opportunity for policy makers and scholars in solving problem scenarios, bringing their vantage point to bear on pressing social matters. The model presented in this article is applied to analyze the NREGA or National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 in India. This Act represents a novel approach to policy-making and demonstrates the positive role governments can play in labor markets. The design, implementation, and promising initial results clearly challenge existing wisdom on how to make effective policy decisions. The framework presented in the article best explains various facets of this remarkable policy and shows how governments can intervene in the labor markets and correct for imperfections. Pioneering future applications to other social and economic challenges are suggested. Also, implications for research and policy are provided.     

Poor communities as corporate stakeholders: A bottom-up research approach

Abstract

This article strives to provide an understanding of salient issues affecting the daily lives of participants from various developing communities in the country, and within the bigger picture, discuss some implications for organisations that affect or are affected by such communities. A key implication is that the process of constant connectivity and dialogue, including dissent, with communities as corporate stakeholders, may be more important in establishing trust and earning accountability, than the outcomes of well-planned corporate social responsibility campaigns. The study is based on qualitative research undertaken between 2006 and 2008 in 35 South African rural and township communities in Limpopo Province, North-West and Gauteng. A bottom-up research approach was proposed by the researchers, which, instead of evaluating the effects of corporate communication campaigns on communities, was to begin at a grassroots level with communities themselves, by exploring top-of-mind issues. From the findings it was apparent that a vicious cycle of extreme and endemic poverty was the focal area that occupied community members’ minds. This study provides a linkage between certain aspects of corporate social responsibility, normative stakeholder theory, strategic communication and stakeholder dialogue, in an attempt to provide organisations with guidelines to evaluate and respond to the challenges of poor communities, and offer a perspective on the way strategic communication with poor communities should take place.     

War and other insecurities in East Asia: what the security studies field does and does not tell us

Abstract

Terrorism has become a challenge to which Southeast Asian studies need to respond. This article scrutinizes political and economic developments in regard to democracy and poverty in Southeast Asia, in particular the degree of change, and studies their influence on terrorism. The main question being asked here is whether external support for political and economic development could contribute to the Southeast Asian battle against terrorism. At the same time, this article seeks ways in which the international community, especially Europe, could support and participate in Southeast Asian efforts to address the root causes of terrorism. Finally, a global quantitative analysis of relevant factors is undertaken, and global conclusions are related to the developments and processes observed in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia. On the basis of the analysis, it can be established that some of the root causes of terrorism are indeed related to poverty and the lack of democracy. While it is clear that terrorist strategies to address these grievances by targeting innocent civilians are unacceptable, grievances related to poverty and the lack of democracy are perfectly legitimate. It seems that in order to inhibit individual terrorist motivations, democratization of political systems would do some good. However, the main economic and political grievances that are associated with the growth of terrorism are related to transnational communities. Thus, while Southeast Asian countries should continue to develop and democratize, they should also work together with the international community to democratize the international structures of governance.     

金融支农扶贫模式研究——兼论对河北省“环首都扶贫攻坚示范区”的启示

作为有效的经济杠杆和调控手段,金融手段对扶贫开发具有重要作用。近年来,国内外微型金融扶贫模式取得了较大发展,而国内拾荷模式、乡村金融服务站、农地金融和社区发展基金等金融扶贫模式也各具特色。与国家集中连片特殊困难地区扶贫攻坚战略相对应,河北省提出了打造"环首都扶贫攻坚示范区"的战略目标,而借鉴国内外金融扶贫模式,以金融手段推进"环首都扶贫攻坚示范区"建设就成为必然选择。     

Structural violence and politics

Abstract

In Red Tape, I do not use the term “arbitrary” in opposition to “systematic”, as is alleged by Harriss and Jeffrey. Arbitrariness accompanies systematic forms of discrimination, and is the result of both, the indifference to outcomes and to the chaotic style of functioning of Indian bureaucracies. Interpreting structural violence, or explaining injustice, requires understanding what the state means to different people. The chief argument that poverty is a form of violence, and represents the killing of the poor, underlines the injustice that results from treating poverty as a biopolitical fact. I employ a notion of politics that is not restricted to parties and mobilization, but which saturates all relations of inequality. Despite voicing dissatisfaction with the analysis presented in Red Tape, Harriss and Jeffrey fail to forward an adequate and coherent alternative.