Showing papers on "Rural area published in 2001"

Farming Systems and Poverty IMPROVING FARMERS' LIVELIHOODS IN A CHANGING WORLD

Abstract: Small farmers produce much of the developing world's food. Yet they are generally much poorer than the rest of the population in these countries, and are less food secure than even the urban poor. Furthermore, although the majority of the world's population will live in urban areas by 2030, farming populations will not be much smaller than they are today. For the foreseeable future, therefore, dealing with poverty and hunger in much of the world means confronting the problems that small farmers and their families face in their daily struggle for survival. The material for this book is derived from a study originally undertaken at the request of the World Bank in order to provide a specifically agricultural perspective to the revision of the Bank's rural development strategy. It has drawn on many years of specialized work within FAO and the World Bank, as well as in a number of other national and international institutions. Findings were supported by more than 20 case studies from around the world which analyzed innovative approaches to small farm or pastoral development. This book is intended for a wider audience than the original study, and it is hoped that policy makers, researchers, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and the agribusiness sector will all find its conclusions and recommendations interesting and thought provoking; and that they will carry the analysis further by applying the approach at national level to assist in the formulation of rural development strategies.

Conditional Cash Transfers and Their Impact on Child Work and Schooling: Evidence from the PROGRESA Program in Mexico

Abstract: In this paper we investigate whether a conditional cash transfer program such as the Programa Nacional de EducaciA³n, Salud y AlimentaciA³n (PROGRESA) can simultaneously combat the problems of low school attendance and child work. PROGRESA is a new program of the Mexican government aimed at alleviating extreme poverty in rural areas. It combats the different causes of poverty by providing cash benefits that are targeted directly to households on the condition of children attending school and visiting health clinics on a regular basis. Some of the questions addressed are as follows: Does the program reduce child labor? Does it increase participation in school activities? Does the latter occur at the expense of children's leisure time? And how do the effects of the program vary by age group and gender? Our empirical analysis relies on data from a quasi-experimental design used to evaluate the impact of the program involving a sample of communities that receive PROGRESA benefits (treatment) and comparable communities that receive benefits at a later time (control). We estimate the effect of treatment on the treated" using both double-difference and cross sectional difference estimators. Our estimates show significant increases in the school attendance of boys and girls that are accompanied by significant reductions in the participation of boys and girls in work activities. We also find that the program has a lower impact on the incidence of work for girls relative to boys."

Jails, prisons, and the health of urban populations: a review of the impact of the correctional system on community health.

Abstract: This review examined the interactions between the correctional system and the health of urban populations. Cities have more poor people, more people of color, and higher crime rates than suburban and rural areas; thus, urban populations are overrepresented in the nation's jails and prisons. As a result, US incarceration policies and programs have a disproportionate impact on urban communities, especially black and Latino ones. Health conditions that are overrepresented in incarcerated populations include substance abuse, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other infectius diseases, perpetration and victimization by violence, mental illness, chronic disease, and reproductive health problems. Correctional systems have direct and indirect effects on health. Indirectly, they influence family structure, economic opportunities, political participation, and normative community values on sex, drugs, and violence. Current correctional policies also divert resources from other social needs. Correctional systems can have a direct effect on the health of urban populations by offering health care and health promotion in jails and prisons, by linking inmates to community services after release, and by assisting in the process of community reintegration. Specific recommendations for action and reseach to reduce the adverse health and social consequences of current incarceration policies are offered.

Rethinking Rural Development

Abstract: Rural development has been central to the development effort, but rural poverty persists and funding is falling: a new narrative is needed. This overview article describes a Washington Consensus on Food, Agriculture and Rural Development, and summarises from the various contributions here the elements of a post-Washington Consensus. Rural areas are changing, particularly with respect to demography, diversification, and strengthening links to national and global economies. Key issues include: agriculture as the engine of rural development; the future viability of small farms; the potential of the non-farm rural economy; the challenges of new thinking on poverty, participation and governance; and implementation problems. The article concludes with five general principles and ten specific recommendations for the future of rural development.

Critical factors for designing programs to increase the supply and retention of rural primary care physicians.

Abstract: ContextThe Physician Shortage Area Program (PSAP) of Jefferson Medical College (Philadelphia, Pa) is one of a small number of medical school programs that addresses the shortage of rural primary care physicians. However, little is known regarding why these programs work.ObjectivesTo identify factors independently predictive of rural primary care supply and retention and to determine which components of the PSAP lead to its outcomes.DesignRetrospective cohort study.Setting and ParticipantsA total of 3414 Jefferson Medical College graduates from the classes of 1978-1993, including 220 PSAP graduates.Main Outcome MeasuresRural primary care practice and retention in 1999 as predicted by 19 previously collected variables. Twelve variables were available for all classes; 7 variables were collected only for 1978-1982 graduates.ResultsFreshman-year plan for family practice, being in the PSAP, having a National Health Service Corps scholarship, male sex, and taking an elective senior family practice rural preceptorship (the only factor not available at entrance to medical school) were independently predictive of physicians practicing rural primary care. For 1978-1982 graduates, growing up in a rural area was the only additionally collected independent predictor of rural primary care (odds ratio [OR], 4.0; 95% CI, 2.1-7.6; P<.001). Participation in the PSAP was the only independent predictive factor of retention for all classes (OR, 4.7; 95% CI, 2.0-11.2; P<.001). Among PSAP graduates, taking a senior rural preceptorship was independently predictive of rural primary care (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.3-4.7; P = .004). However, non-PSAP graduates with 2 key selection characteristics of PSAP students (having grown up in a rural area and freshman-year plans for family practice) were 78% as likely as PSAP graduates to be rural primary care physicians, and 75% as likely to remain, suggesting that the admissions component of the PSAP is the most important reason for its success. In fact, few graduates without either of these factors were rural primary care physicians (1.8%).ConclusionsMedical educators and policy makers can have the greatest impact on the supply and retention of rural primary care physicians by developing programs to increase the number of medical school matriculants with background and career plans that make them most likely to pursue these career goals. Curricular experiences and other factors can further increase these outcomes, especially by supporting those already likely to become rural primary care physicians.

Understanding users’ perspectives of barriers to maternal health care use in maharashtra, india

Abstract: This paper uses data collected using in-depth, semi-structured interviews to examine utilization of maternal health care services among two rural and urban populations of Pune and Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. The study aims to identify key social, economic and cultural factors influencing women's decisions to use maternal health care and the places used for child delivery, whilst considering the accessibility of facilities available in the local area. Socioeconomic status was not found to be a barrier to service use when women perceived the benefits of the service to outweigh the cost, and when the service was within reasonable distance of the respondent's place of residence. A large number of women perceived private services to be superior to those provided by the government, although cost often meant they were unable to use them. The provision of services did not ensure that women used them; they had to first perceive them to be beneficial to their health and that of their unborn child. Respondents identified the poor quality of services offered at government institutions to be a motivating factor for delivering at home. Thus further investigation is needed into the quality of services provided by government facilities in the area. A number of respondents who had received antenatal care went on to deliver in the home environment without a trained birth attendant. Further research is needed to establish the types of care provided during an antenatal consultation to establish the feasibility of using these visits to encourage women, particularly those with high-risk pregnancies, to be linked to a trained attendant for delivery.

Attracting and Retaining Teachers in Rural Areas.

Abstract: Although the problem varies across the United States, overall there is a shortage of rural teachers, especially in the subject areas of math, science, and special education. Recruiting teachers for rural settings requires targeting persons with rural backgrounds, attacking the negative stereotypes surrounding rural schools, and stressing the benefits of teaching in rural schools. Institutions of higher education could help recruit teachers for rural areas by encouraging students to visit rural districts, posting job openings, selling the positive aspects of rural teaching, inviting rural educators to be guest lecturers, providing rural internships, increasing interaction with rural personnel directors, preparing for teaching in multiple subject areas, sponsoring recruiting fairs, offering masters degree programs through summer school, and preparing teachers to direct extracurricular activities. Retaining rural teachers requires the coordinated effort of the school and the community. The community can recognize new teachers' accomplishments and invite them to local activities. The school can ease the transition of new teachers by assigning mentors, providing administrative contact and support, providing frequent inservice programs, providing release time for inservice and professional development activities, streamlining paperwork, offering orientation programs, locating adequate housing, providing merit increases for exceptional performance, and establishing the support of the school board. (Contains 29 references and 3 tables.) (TD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ATTRACTING AND RETAINING TEACHERS IN RURAL AREAS BY HOBART L. HARMON, Ph.D. EDUCATION CONSULTANT 3699 RICHARDSON ROAD TIMBERVILLE, VA 22853 E-MAIL: hharmon@shentel.net 1 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 14 document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating a. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of clew or opinions stated in this docu meet do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONALRESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Paper presented at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education's 53rd Annual Meeting and Exhibits Hyatt Regency Dallas Dallas, Texas BEST COPY AVAILABLE March 2, 2001

On the Urbanization of Poverty

Abstract: The poor urbanize faster than the population as a whole. But experience across countries suggests that a majority of the poor will still live in rural areas long after most people in the developing world live in urban areas. Ravallion identifies conditions under which the urban sector's share of the poor population in a developing country will be a strictly increasing and strictly convex function of its share of the total population. Cross-sectional data for 39 countries and time-series data for India are consistent with the expected theoretical relationship. The empirical results imply that the poor urbanize faster than the population as a whole. But the experience across developing countries suggests that a majority of the poor will still live in rural areas long after most people in the developing world live in urban areas. This paper - a product of Poverty, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to monitor overall trends in poverty in developing countries. The author may be contacted at mravallion@worldbank.org.

Rural out-migration in the drought prone areas of Ethiopia: a multilevel analysis.

Abstract: This article presents a multilevel analysis of rural out-migration in Ethiopia over the 1984–1994 period. Using a recent household survey carried out in the drought prone rural areas of Ethiopia, discrete-time hazard models are used to examine the impact of individual, household and community factors on migration. Incorporating a life-course and the “new economics of migration” perspectives, our findings suggest that rural out-migration in these areas can be viewed as a function of individual, household and community characteristics. We find that mobility of people for schooling in the impoverished rural communities is minimal. Migration of both sexes was possible mainly through marriage, although females tend to depart their residences more than males. Our findings also reveal substantial period effects on out-migration trends.

Attitudes to voluntary counselling and testing for HIV among pregnant women in rural south-west Uganda

Abstract: This paper describes the results of a study exploring the attitudes of women attending maternity clinics to voluntary counselling and testing during pregnancy in rural areas in south-west Uganda. It was a qualitative study using focus group discussions (FGDs). Twenty-four FGDs were carried out with 208 women attending maternity clinics in three sites in rural south-west Uganda. The FGDs were all recorded and transcribed, and analysed using standard computer-based qualitative techniques. Almost all women were willing in principle to take an HIV test in the event of pregnancy, and to reveal their HIV status to maternity staff. They were anxious, however, about confidentiality, and there was a widespread fear that maternity staff might refuse to assist them when the time came to deliver if their status were known. This applied more to traditional birth attendants than to biomedical health staff. There were also rumours about medical staff intentionally killing HIV-positive patients in order to stem the sprea...

The rise of urban fox populations in Switzerland

Abstract: Since 1985 increasingly more foxes have been recorded from cities in Switzerland. The inquiry of town officials showed that foxes are observed in 28 out of the 30 largest Swiss cities today and breeding dens are known in 20 of these cities. Urban foxes are observed more often than one would expect in larger cities than in smaller towns. In Ziirich, the largest city in Switzerland, urban foxes were very scarce until the early 1980s. According to the hunting statistics, from 1985 onwards, there was a drastic increase in the urban fox population. In the adjacent rural areas, there was also a clear but less extreme increase in the fox population from 1984 onwards due to successful vaccination campaigns against rabies. As an explanation for the presence of foxes in human settlements we suggest two alternative hypotheses, which focus either on the population pressure in the rural areas or on the behavioural adaptations of urban foxes. The presence of foxes in urban areas influences behaviour and attitudes of people towards urban wildlife and it has a consequences for the management of foxes and the treatment of zoonoses such as rabies and the alveolar echinococcosis.

How Special Are Rural Areas? The Economic Implications of Location for Rural Development

Abstract: Despite on-going change, rural areas remain characterised by relative abundance of natural capital, and by distance and the relatively high cost of movement. They are also home to most of the world’s poor. Compared with urban areas which enjoy proximity to customers and producers, rural areas may have comparative advantage only in primary activities based on immobile natural resources and closely related activities. There are differences, however, between ‘peri-urban’, ‘middle countryside’ and ‘remote’ areas. In some areas, economic growth, urban expansion, and improved transport and communications create new urban-oriented opportunities for rural services and labour. Remote areas will continue to present special difficulties, however; and, in general, the potential for non-agricultural diversification is less than is sometimes argued.

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (Gem)-2001 South African Executive Report

Abstract: The 2001 South African Executive Report ranks thecountry 14th out of the 29 countries participating in the 2001 GlobalEntrepreneurship Monitor on the Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA)index.The country ranks 13th on the startup index, and 25th on the newfirm index. Three investigation methods are used in the series of national GEM studies:an adult population survey; interviews with entrepreneurship experts in thatcountry; and selected national and demographic data.The GEM modelexamines general framework conditions for economic growth and nineentrepreneurial framework conditions – financial support, government policy,government programs, education and training, research and development transfer,commercial and professional infrastructure, market openness, access to physicalinfrastructure and cultural and social norms. In terms of distribution of entrepreneurial activity in South Africa,findings suggest that the low rate of entrepreneurial activity among blackadults is partly explained by different rates in urban and rural areas; inmetropolitan areas, differences in entrepreneurial activity rates by race aresmall. It is estimated that 83% of entrepreneurial activity in rural areas isdriven by necessity, compared with 50% in the metropolitan area; 66% of suchactivity among blacks is necessity-driven compared with 23% among whites.Entrepreneurial activity among owner-managers of established businesses hashigh rates, and the survival rate of startups is more than twice as high amongestablished owner-managers, pointing to the value of entrepreneurial experiencein launching a successful venture. Evaluating the relationship between entrepreneurship and education, it issuggested that tertiary education increases the likelihood that someone willperceive good opportunities for starting a business, although not to highlevels (by international comparison). The most common sources of financingamong startup entrepreneurs are found to be: self-finance or savings(regardless of race, location, gender, or education) and immediate or extendedfamily. Four significant factors hindering entrepreneurial capacity are: (1)education; (2) cultural and social norms; (3) financial support; and (4)government policy. A small proportion of entrepreneurs account for most of thejob creation by new firms in South Africa, and necessity entrepreneurship tendsto be a response to poverty. (CBS)

Information and communication technology, poverty, and development in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia

Abstract: The objectives of the paper are: to examine patterns of utilization, ownership, and affordability of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and South Asia; to discuss applications of ICTs to the poor by the private sector, the Government, and external donors; and to suggest ways in which ICTs can best be used in poverty alleviation strategies. The paper finds that SSA and South Asia have the lowest access to ICTs resources. There are critical access gaps between urban and rural areas, and between the poorest and the richest. Evidence indicate that in a sufficiently competitive and liberalized market the private sector is most effective in providing commercially viable communications services, even in rural or less viable areas. The paper proposes some principles for using ICTs in poverty alleviation strategies: 1) Tnformation is a dynamic process of acquisition and use. 2) The effective use of information by the poor may be constrained by lack of skills, financial resources, and the existence of urban/rural, gender inequities. 3) The effectiveness of ICTs must be assessed along with existing information systems. 4) ICTs must focus on areas where complementary investment has already been built and encourage the participation of the communities and of the poor. 5) Long term strategies for ICT diffusion must be centered around integrating ICTs into wider educational programs.

The environmental attitudes and practices of family businesses in the rural tourism and hospitality sectors

Abstract: This paper examines the environmental goals of rural, family owned/operated tourism business with a view to evaluating their conservation ethic and commitment to sustainable tourism. From a survey of 198 family businesses in Western Australia, it was determined that about half of them had implemented a range of sustainable management practices. Future research needs are identified, and management ideas are suggested which could encourage the adoption of sustainable tourism practices in rural family businesses.

Ageing in India: drifting intergenerational relations, challenges and options

Abstract: India, like many other developing countries in the world, is presently witnessing rapid ageing of its population. Almost eight out of 10 older people in India live in rural areas. Urbanisation, modernisation and globalisation have led to changes in economic structure, erosion of societal values and the weakening of social institutions such as the joint family. In this changing economic and social milieu, the younger generation is searching for new identities encompassing economic independence and redefined social roles within, as well as outside, the family. The changing economic structure has reduced the dependence of rural families on land, which had provided strength to bonds between generations. The traditional sense of duty and obligation of the younger generation towards their older generation is being eroded. The older generation is caught between the decline in traditional values on the one hand and the absence of an adequate social security system, on the other. This paper explores the nature and extent of the social and economic pressures that are impinging on intergenerational relationships and discusses the implications for policy towards improving the wellbeing of India’s senior citizens.

Cataract blindness and barriers to uptake of cataract surgery in a rural community of northern Nigeria

Abstract: Aims—A population based cross sectional survey was conducted to determine the magnitude of cataract blindness and the barriers to uptake of cataract services in a rural community of northern Nigeria. Methods—1461 people out of 1924 registered eligible people were examined. The study population was chosen by two stage cluster random sampling. In the first sampling stage 15 villages were randomly chosen while in the final stage 170 people who were 40 years and over were selected in each village. Each selected person had visual acuity recorded for both eyes. Those with vision of less than 3/60 in the better eye were assessed for cataract. People with cataract were asked why they had not sought medical attention. Results—A blindness prevalence of 8.2% (95% CI 5.8%‐10.5%) was found among the sampled population. Cataract was responsible for 44.2% of the blindness. Thus, a cataract blindness prevalence of 3.6% was found. The cataract surgical coverage (people) was 4.0% and the couching coverage (people) was 18%. The main barrier to seeking cataract surgery was cost of the service (61%). Conclusion—Some regions of the world still have high burden of cataract blindness that needs attention. Such areas need an eVective free cataract outreach programme. (Br J Ophthalmol 2001;85:776‐780)

A Matter of Life and Death? Men, Masculinities and Staying ‘Behind’ in Rural Ireland

Abstract: This paper is set within the context of a growing interest in the gendered nature of rurality and of rural life, and in particular in the context of an emerging literature on rural masculinities. It focuses on rural men and in particular on the phenomenon of rising male rural suicide rates. The paper reviews existing research in order to ascertain the validity of popular claims of high and rising suicide rates among young men in rural Ireland, and explores possible explanations for this phenomenon. It draws on medical and psychological literature but sets this material in a wider geographical context, focusing on processes of contemporary rural restructuring and the oft-cited masculinity crisis. The paper concludes that in order to understand the processes behind rising male suicide rates, we need to understand the struggles for power and identity that are going on in places, and the movements of people in and out of places. Therefore geography and gender studies can contribute to a greater understanding of the phenomenon, suggesting that this is an area that merits further interdisciplinary research.

China urban : ethnographies of contemporary culture

Abstract: China Urban is an ethnographic account of China’s cities and the place that urban space holds in China’s imagination. In addition to investigating this nation’s rapidly changing urban landscape, its contributors emphasize the need to rethink the very meaning of the “urban” and the utility of urban-focused anthropological critiques during a period of unprecedented change on local, regional, national, and global levels. Through close attention to everyday lives and narratives and with a particular focus on gender, market, and spatial practices, this collection stresses that, in the case of China, rural life and the impact of socialism must be considered in order to fully comprehend the urban. Individual essays note the impact of legal barriers to geographic mobility in China, the proliferation of different urban centers, the different distribution of resources among various regions, and the pervasive appeal of the urban, both in terms of living in cities and in acquiring products and conventions signaling urbanity. Others focus on the direct sales industry, the Chinese rock music market, the discursive production of femininity and motherhood in urban hospitals, and the transformations in access to healthcare. China Urban will interest anthropologists, sociologists, political scientists, and those studying urban planning, China, East Asia, and globalization. Contributors. Tad Ballew, Susan Brownell, Nancy N. Chen, Constance D. Clark, Robert Efird, Suzanne Z. Gottschang, Ellen Hertz, Lisa Hoffman, Sandra Hyde, Lyn Jeffery, Lida Junghans, Louisa Schein, Li Zhang