JICA Research Institute Repository / リポジトリ
Not a member yet
485 research outputs found
Sort by
Human Security in Singapore: Where Entitlement Feeds Insecurity
Get PDFThis paper examines the paradoxical development of Human Security in Singapore. Despite achieving a high level of human security nationwide, the heavy top-down approach has not sufficiently empowered the Singaporean society to independently cope with risks at the community level. The study covers the following areas. First, a brief background on Singapore’s efforts to achieve high levels of human security is presented. Second, we discuss that the downside risks or inadvertent policy implications for human security are the result of uneven access to, or provision of, protection by the state and a lack of empowerment (i.e., actions that enable people to cope with risks). Third, we give a snapshot of the Singapore government’s recent efforts in mitigating the downside risks, particularly after the watershed 2011 general elections. Fourth, the study discusses Singapore’s policies in mitigating transnational human security risks. Given Singapore’s small size and proximity to other states, the city state is aware of its vulnerability and hence needs to take steps to mitigate transnational risks that would have a spillover effect into Singapore.research repor
Human Security in Practice in Thailand
Get PDFThe paper aims to examine the discursive practice of human security in Thailand both in terms of concept and operationalization. It particularly focuses on the questions of why and how Thai policymakers have imported and embraced the concept of human security in the Thai polity, as well as how they perceive values and challenges related to human security issues. By reviewing the literature and interviewing nine key informants from the government, non-government, and academic sectors, the paper contends that the positions of the Thai state on human security issues are Janus-faced. While seemingly mainstreaming human security issues, both by promoting the discourse abroad and by establishing a human security ministry, there is also a flipside to the process. Apart from the reductionist view of human security simply as social security for vulnerable groups the concept of “human security” is always secondary to ‘state’ or ‘national’ security. As a result, the Thai style of human security contains only a loose substance of the original and human security is still in the dark shadow of state security. Finally, the paper reveals that the discrepancy between the ideals and practices of human security in Thailand is ascribable to the vagueness of the concept in the eyes of policy stakeholders, the gap between policy architects and policy implementers, and the de-politicization of the concept.research repor
High Incidence of Neonatal Danger Signs and Its Implications for Postnatal Care in Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Study
Get PDFBackground
Reducing neonatal mortality is a major public health priority in sub-Saharan Africa. Numerous
studies have examined the determinants of neonatal mortality, but few have explored
neonatal danger signs which potentially cause morbidity. This study assessed danger signs
observed in neonates at birth, determined the correlations of multiple danger signs and
complications between neonates and their mothers, and identified factors associated with
neonatal danger signs.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted in three sites across Ghana between July and September
in 2013. Using two-stage random sampling, we recruited 1,500 pairs of neonates
and their mothers who had given birth within the preceding two years. We collected data on
their socio-demographic characteristics, utilization of maternal and neonatal health services,
and experiences with neonatal danger signs and maternal complications. We calculated
the correlations of multiple danger signs and complications between neonates and
their mothers, and performed multiple logistic regression analysis to identify factors associated
with neonatal danger signs.
Results
More than 25% of the neonates were born with danger signs. At-birth danger signs in neonates
were correlated with maternal delivery complications (r = 0.20, p < 0.001), and neonatal
complications within the first six weeks of life (r = 0.19, p < 0.001). However, only 29.1% of neonates with danger signs received postnatal care in the first two days, and 52.4% at
two weeks of life. In addition to maternal complications during delivery, maternal age less
than 20 years, maternal education level lower than secondary school, and fewer than four
antenatal care visits significantly predicted neonatal danger signs.
Conclusions
Over a quarter of neonates are born with danger signs. Maternal factors can be used to predict
neonatal health condition at birth. Management of maternal health and close medical
attention to high-risk neonates are crucial to reduce neonatal morbidity in Ghana.journal articl
A Quantitative Study of Social Capital in the Tertiary Sector of Kobe : Has Social Capital Promoted Economic Reconstruction Since the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake?
Get PDFSocial capital is thought to have both positive and negative aspects. This paper examines how social capital has worked in the process of recovery and reconstruction in Kobe since the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake. The paper focuses on the tertiary sector of Kobe because since the earthquake there has been a structural shift from the secondary sector due to the damage caused by the earthquake, and because the sector accounted for 80% of employment, the most important factor for reconstruction in the mid- and long-term. The paper proves that both bonding and bridging social capital are important factors for employment. This finding provides empirical evidence for the on-going debate on how to rebuild Tohoku.research repor
ネパールにおける社会運動・反乱の発生の要因に関する考察
Get PDFネパールは過去、2 回の大規模な反乱及び 2 回の人民運動を通じて、家産制国家から民主 的な体制へと、大きな政治体制の変革を経験した。 本論では、こうしたネパールの大規模な運動・反乱の発生と成功の要因について、認識要因、 資源要因、環境要因の 3 つの視点から考察した。また、運動・反乱の歴史的な展開をたどるこ とにより、政治環境や人々の「認識」がいかに変化し、その後の運動や反乱にどのような影響を 与えたかについても検討した。その結果、以下のような仮説を導いた。①ネパールにおいては 家産制国家から民主的な体制への移行の中で、一般市民の政治社会体制への不満と変革 への意識が徐々に醸成されたことが反乱・運動発生の背景にある。②ただし、2 回の反乱につ いては、政治エリートによる「たたかいの政治」の性格を有し、資源要因と環境要因によって反 乱の発生と成功の大部分を説明できる。③特に環境要因の構造的な側面としては、(1)政権側 の政治的な分裂と抑圧能力の低下、(2)大国に挟まれた小国としての地政学的な特徴の 2 点 が指摘できる。ただし、短期的な政治的機会の変化は、主に偶発的要因によって引き起こされ た。④逆に、2 回の人民運動は、都市部中産階級の運動への積極的な参加によって特徴づけ られており、その都市部一般大衆による集合行動は、環境要因よりも認識要因によって説明で きる。⑤ネパールにおける運動・反乱の歴史の中で、武力闘争から徐々に武力を用いない抗 議活動に変化している状況がみられる。その背景には、一般市民と反体制政治家の双方の認 識の変化があるものと推測される。research repor
Ex-post Risk Management Among Rural Filipino Farm Households
Get PDFThis study investigated the factors affecting the choice of coping strategies by rural Filipino farm households in the face of both covariate (or systemic) and idiosyncratic shocks. The study, conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency Research Institute (JICA-RI) in 2010, surveyed farm households in villages from three provinces in the Philippines. Using a multivariate probit model, the effects of shock attributes (i.e. coverage, intensity, and frequency), as well as both household and village characteristics were analyzed. The study found that in general, rural farm households rely mainly on the strategy of dissaving/selling assets regardless of shock attributes. However, in the face of idiosyncratic shocks, there is a greater probability that these households would count on borrowing/transfer as a coping option, while in the case of more frequent covariate shocks, they are more likely to reallocate labor. The findings from this study suggest the importance of the following factors in mitigating vulnerability and enhancing resilience: helping the farmers diversify sources of income and redistributing land ownership, improving agricultural infrastructure, and developing social insurance and social networks. For that purpose, there is a need for continuous agrarian reform including support for improvements in the agricultural infrastructure as well as for the further development of social protection.research repor
Constraints on Rice Sector Development in Mozambique
Get PDFWe analyze a rice farmer panel data set that was collected in 2007/08 and 2011 in Mozambique. We found that in a rainfed area, farmers expanded their cultivated area as local paddy prices increased in parallel with international rice price trends. However, the average yield decreased as the farmers were approaching to marginal land of their land frontier. To improve yield for further production increases, the production mode must shift from extensification to intensification through the introduction of land-saving technologies, such as irrigation development. A lesson learnt from the Chokwe Irrigation Scheme, the largest scheme of the country, is useful for this aim. A key lesson is that assuring water access is crucially important because timely water application directly increases output and also increases the returns to chemical fertilizer use. In Chokwe, a recent increase in the real price of modern inputs, such as fertilizer and tractors, saw farmers substitute family labor for modern inputs, that is, a return to traditional farming. To recapture the momentum of modernization, our analyses suggest that training and market access are important. Those farmers who received a training program did not give up using animal traction. Additionally, those who had access to rice buyers, kept using chemical fertilizer.research repor