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1 – 5 of 5Giri Aryal, John Mann, Scott Loveridge and Satish Joshi
The innovation creation literature primarily focuses on urban firms/regions or relies heavily on these data; less studied are rural firms and areas in this regard. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
The innovation creation literature primarily focuses on urban firms/regions or relies heavily on these data; less studied are rural firms and areas in this regard. The purpose of this paper is to employ a new firm-level data set, national in scale, and analyze characteristics that potentially influence innovation creation across rural and urban firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use the 2014 National Survey of Business Competitiveness (NSBC) covering multiple firm-level variables related to innovation creation combined with secondary data reflecting the regional business and innovative environments where these firms operate. The number of patent applications filed by these firms measures their innovation creation, and the paper employs a negative binomial regression estimation for analysis.
Findings
After controlling for industry, county and state factors, rural and urban firms differ in their innovation creation characteristics and behaviors, suggesting that urban firms capitalize on their resources better than rural firms. Other major findings of the paper provide evidence that: first, for rural firms, the influence of university R&D is relevant to innovation creation, but their perception of university-provided information is not significant; and second, rural firms that are willing to try, but fail, in terms of innovation creation have a slight advantage over other rural firms less willing to take on the risk.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the first to analyze the 2014 NSBC, a firm-level national survey covering a wide range of innovation-related variables. The authors combine it with other regional secondary data, and use appropriate analytical modeling to provide empirical evidence of influencing factors on innovation creation across rural and urban firms.
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Birth and birthright, in relation to citizenship, are entangled in a complex politics of power and patriarchy as well as past and present notions of cultural and national identity…
Abstract
Birth and birthright, in relation to citizenship, are entangled in a complex politics of power and patriarchy as well as past and present notions of cultural and national identity in Nepal. The debates highlight how gender inequality intersects historically with social inequality in a highly stratified society based on religion, caste and ethnicity. The constitutional discussion that has been ongoing in Nepal since the end of the 10-year long civil war in 2004 highlights the need for a critical feminist approach that looks at the multi-faceted and intersecting relationship between citizenship, gender, political projects of imagined communities, social inequality and access to political power. Women have become responsible for the containment of attributes, values and identity within nation-state, regional boundaries, and communities or collectivities. They are constituted as both an asset and a threat to the nation-state should there be fluidity in borders or boundaries. With the struggle to produce and promulgate a new constitution in Nepal, we see how women’s interests and equality can be sacrificed in the name of protecting idealized social and political values as well as preserving the nation-state itself.
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This paper asks what was the state of building-code enforcement and citizen – government collaboration in disaster preparedness when an earthquake hit Kathmandu metropolitan city…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper asks what was the state of building-code enforcement and citizen – government collaboration in disaster preparedness when an earthquake hit Kathmandu metropolitan city (KMC) in 2015? It reviewed government documents, analyzed media reports, interviewed building-code monitoring officers and carried out a detailed case study of the earthquake-damaged Park View Horizon Housing Apartment (PVHA) Complex. The research found several earthquake-resilience issues. They were enforcement-vulnerability (Building bylaws, planning permit and building code); institutional-coordination vulnerability; Apartment-regulation vulnerability; technological vulnerability; and citizen-government-collaboration vulnerability.
Design/methodology/approach
The study area of this research is KMC, and this research is based on content analysis, field observation and interview. It has reviewed all the newspapers and media reports that had covered earthquake issues during and after the 2015 disaster, as well as the articles published in Nepal, South Asia, the USA, New Zealand and Haiti. The literature on Nepal’s building code, seismic history and institutional arrangements for governing earthquake-related issues were reviewed. After field observation of some of the damaged apartments, a detailed case study of PVHA Complex was carried out.
Findings
The research found several earthquake-resilience issues. They were enforcement-vulnerability (Building bylaws, planning permit and building code); institutional-coordination vulnerability; Apartment-regulation vulnerability; technological vulnerability; and citizen-government-collaboration vulnerability
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this study was its heavy reliance on content analysis, one case study and a few interviews and discussions with affected residents, local governments and developers.
Practical implications
This study would help enhance disaster governance in developing nations.
Social implications
The citizen–government collaborative approach to earthquake resilience would enhance human resilience to disaster at individual and community levels.
Originality/value
Since this is the first research carried out on the state of building code and institutional resilience at the time of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, it is original and provides policy insights for earthquake resilience in Nepal.
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M.A. Abedin, Umma Habiba and Rajib Shaw
The southwest coastal region is part of an inactive delta of large Himalayan rivers and is protected from tidal surge by the Sundarbans mangrove forest. This area is the hub of…
Abstract
The southwest coastal region is part of an inactive delta of large Himalayan rivers and is protected from tidal surge by the Sundarbans mangrove forest. This area is the hub of all types of disasters such as cyclones, tidal surges, floods, drought, salinity intrusions, repeated waterlogging, and land subsidence. Cyclonic tidal surges and floods are the more common disasters, and their effects are frequently experienced at the local level. But silent and invisible disasters such as increased salinity, arsenic contamination, and drought affect local livelihoods, people, and environments in this region. The vulnerability of southwest region to increased salinity, arsenic contamination, and drought are the result of a complex interrelationship among biophysical, social, economical, and technological characteristics of the country. Moreover, in the current and foreseeable future, the country is likely to be affected by the biggest, most long-lasting, and global scale but silent disaster: increased salinity, natural arsenic contamination, and drought. Therefore, this region is thought to be the most disaster-prone region in Bangladesh because of natural disasters and highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Jahirul Hushen, Arpaporn Powwattana, Chockchai Munsawaengsub and Sukhontha Siri
This study aimed to identify the proportion and factors influencing the use of maternal health services (MHS) in rural Thawang, Rolpa, Nepal.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to identify the proportion and factors influencing the use of maternal health services (MHS) in rural Thawang, Rolpa, Nepal.
Design/methodology/approach
This was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted among 417 mothers who had given birth in the previous two years. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was applied to identify associations and predictors.
Findings
The results showed that the use of maternal health services was 50.8%. Adjusting for all other factors in the final model, age group 25–30 years (AOR: 2.30; 95% CI: 1.199–4.422), spouse communication (AOR: 7.31; 95% CI: 2.574–20.791), high accessibility (AOR: 2.552, 95% CI: 1.402–4.643) and high affordability (AOR: 10.89; 95% CI: 4.66–25.445) were significant predictors.
Research limitations/implications
This is a community-based cross-sectional study, and hence cannot establish causal relationships. The research was conducted in a limited rural area mid-Western Nepal, and this may limit the generalization of results to other settings of the country.
Practical implications
This research supports to local level government and district health authority to develop and implement need based action to increase maternal health service in the local context.
Originality/value
Underutilization of maternal health services is the result of socioeconomic dynamics, poor access to health services and other physical developments. To increase utilization of maternal health services in rural areas, there is a need to tackle the root cause of health inequality such as reducing poverty, increasing female education, involving women in employment and increasing access to health as a priority development agenda by government authorities. This research supports local level government and district health authorities to develop and implement needs-based action to increase MHS in the local context.
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