Differential livelihood adaptation to socio-ecological change in coastal Bangladesh

Socio-ecological changes, brought about by the rapid growth of the aquaculture industry and the increased occurrence of climatic shocks and stresses, have significantly affected the livelihood dynamics of coastal communities in Asia. Empirical studies, to date, have largely provided a snapshot of the impacts and responses to a particular disturbance at a single spatial scale at a given time, often assessing the characteristics that make certain populations more vulnerable than others. To ensure equitable and environmentally sustainable livelihoods in the future, it is essential to unpack the complex social and ecological dynamics that drive long-term changes in a system’s configurations and shape the adaptive capacities of actors within the system. This study, therefore, explores the drivers, differential livelihood adaptations and well-being outcomes of socio-ecological change in coastal Bangladesh, using poverty as central lens for differentiation. The study takes a socio-ecological systems approach, whereby insights from vulnerability, resilience, political ecology, livelihoods, adaptation, poverty and human well-being are integrated into an interdisciplinary conceptual framework. A mixed methods approach was used to collect empirical evidence from two communities, both of which underwent transformations in farming systems when maintenance of the status quo through incremental adaptation was no longer feasible. Findings show that in the absence of good governance, social power resulting from high wealth status and associated political ties can steer the direction of socio-ecological change to one that is desirable for a small group of powerful stakeholders and completely undesirable for others. Differences in wealth status lead to differences in adaptive capacity; however, changes in vulnerability contexts brought about by power dynamics further exacerbate these inequalities. While resource constraints can restrict a household’s livelihood adaptation options, its adaptation space can also become narrower through negative externalities arising from the activities of other households. This can push some households towards downward trajectories, locking them in a poverty trap. In contrast, good governance and wider participation in decision making, can shift the farming system to one that is desirable for the majority of stakeholders. The study emphasises that resilience building through transformational adaptation should account for the heterogeneous values, interests and needs of different households. This can translate into more equitable adaptive capacities and prevent the system from embarking on a maladaptive trajectory in the future

Supplier strategies to compensate for knowledge asymmetries in buyer-supplier relationships: implications for economic upgrading

This paper explores a special form of international outsourcing relationship in which suppliers make recurrent discrete transactions with the same buyers over a long period of time without the existence of any original legally binding written agreement. The study examines three research questions: (1) Can suppliers in such relationships access any of their buyers' tacit knowledge? (2) What implications does their access or the lack thereof have for their economic upgrading? (3) What strategies do suppliers adopt to compensate for existing knowledge asymmetries? The case analysis of three small Bangladeshi garment manufacturers reveals the following key findings. The studied firms only have access to their buyers' explicit/codified knowledge. Notwithstanding this, they have successfully developed relevant knowledge that has allowed them to engage in process upgrading

Real, forged or deep fake? Enabling the ground truth on the internet

The proliferation of smartphones and mobile communication has enabled users to capture images or videos and share them immediately on social networking and messaging platforms. Unfortunately, these platforms are also used to manipulate the masses by performing social engineering attacks by sharing fabricated images (or videos). These attacks cause public shame, ethnic violence and claim lives. With the rise of advanced image processing tools, the deep fakes are automated, and their implications are boundless. In this article, we discuss different types of modification of images/videos and survey the corresponding methods and tools. We also highlight the ongoing efforts to detect fake images and videos using advanced machine learning tools and fact-checking. Along with these tools, we also need different complementary approaches discouraging the production and propagation of manipulative forged images and videos on the Internet. This paper further emphasizes that we desperately need socio-technological solutions that empower end-users with the right tools to make an informed moral decision while producing, uploading, and sharing media. Finally, supporting this, we discuss a holistic blockchain-based solution

Rana Plaza collapse aftermath: are CSR compliance and auditing pressures effective?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the intended and unintended consequences of compliance and auditing pressures in the Bangladeshi garment industry. To explore this issue the authors draw on three medium-sized suppliers. The institutional changes that followed the Rana Plaza accident in April 2013 make Bangladesh in general and the garment industry in particular an interesting and suitable research setting for standards compliance. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a multiple case study approach. Face-to-face interviews have been conducted with the owners of three Bangladeshi garment manufacturing firms and several workers. Additionally, organisational documents and local newspaper articles had been collected wherever possible. Findings – The results indicate that the pressure for compliance has led the case companies to prioritise the implementation of measurable standards over the socially grounded needs and priorities of workers. As a consequence certain initiatives instead of adding new social value in fact destroyed previously existing social value. Furthermore, the pressure for compliance created the necessity to find ways to cover the sizable cost of compliance. This prompted firms to pursue process upgrading through technological advancements and increased work pressures on the labour force. These initiatives led to an increased power imbalance and the exclusion of unskilled workers from the job market. Research limitations/implications – The paper contributes to the understanding of the human rights implications of compliance and auditing pressures and initiatives. Furthermore, in order to further enrich existing knowledge in the critical accounting literature, the study draws on insights from the global value chains (GVC) and international business (IB) literatures. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the understanding of the human rights implications of compliance and auditing pressures and initiatives. Furthermore, in order to further enrich existing knowledge in the critical accounting literature, the study draws on insights from the GVC and IB literatures

A reconceptualisation of social value creation as social constraint alleviation

Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper includes two interconnected objectives. The first is to provide a reconceptualisation of social value creation as social constraint alleviation. The second is to respond to the call put forward by Giuliani and Macchi (2014) to produce synergies between bodies of literature exploring the development impact of businesses. The paper focuses on ideas from the global value chain/global production networks (GVC/GPN), business and human rights, corporate social responsibility (CSR), international business (IB) and (social) entrepreneurship literatures. Design/methodology/approach – The paper offers a reconceptualisation of social value creation by building on the synergies, complementarities and limitations of existing concepts identified through the literature review. Findings – The reconceptualisation of social value creation put forward in this paper contributes to the literature in the following way. It offers a useful and clear definition of the term “social” (Devinney, 2009), and it attends to the limitations of the constraint concept as put forward by Ted London and his collaborators (London, 2011). Furthermore, it sketches out the basic ideas of a two-system approach to allow for the differentiation between symptom treatment and root cause alleviation. Finally, it offers a refinement of Wettstein’s (2012) proposed capability-based remedial action concept. The paper furthermore proposes that there are three distinct ways in which businesses generally respond to social constraints. Originality/value – The paper illustrates how the redefined concept of social value creation can connect different bodies of literature and help make sense of existing empirical results, without engaging in definitional debates

Complementary Feeding Practices among Mothers in Selected Slums of Dhaka City: A Descriptive Study

Improper complementary feeding (CF) practice is one of the main reasons for malnutrition among Bangladeshi children aged less than two years. In this context, using the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), this study assessed the CF practices among mothers in four selected slums (Tejgoan, Rayerbazar, Beribadh, and Jafrabad) of Dhaka city. This descriptive study, conducted during January-June 2010, included 120 mother-child pairs from the selected slums. Samples were selected conveniently, and the sociodemographic profiles of mothers in the four slums were similar. The mean (standard deviation) age of the children was 14.68\ub15.55 months. A questionnaire, developed following the guidelines of WHO for CF practices, was used for collecting data. Twenty-seven (23%) mothers were exclusively breastfeeding (EBF) their children. Among non-EBF mothers, 15 (16%) started CF after the recommended time. At 6-8 months of age, 2 (40%) of the EBF and 12 (67%) of the non-EBF mothers gave complementary foods twice a day to their children. In both the groups\u20149-11 months of age\u2014about 70% mothers gave complementary foods twice a day to their children. The frequency of CF was acceptable (3 times a day) in 13 (81%) of the EBF and 32 (56%) of the non-EBF children at 12-23 months of age. Complementary foods given by 24 (89%) of the EBF and 86 (93%) of the non--EBF mothers to their children were not adequate in energy contents. Two (7%) EBF and 16 (17%) non-EBF mothers did not wash their hands after defaecation. Three (11%) EBF and 24 (26%) non-EBF mothers did not properly clean their hands and utensils before feeding. Nine (33%) EBF mothers did not wash their children\u2019s hands. Fifty (54%) non-EBF mothers also did not do this. Feeding with psychosocial care practices was not perfect in either of the groups. The findings showed that, according to the WHO guidelines, the CF practices among mothers of children aged less than two years were very poor in the selected slums of Dhaka city. These findings indicate that there is a considerable gap between the recommendations of WHO and the energy intake among this group of children

Legal, Accounting and Tax Aspects of the Selected Non-profit Organisation

Import 04/11/2015Práce je zaměřena na občanská sdružení a jejich transformaci na spolek, popsání účetnictví v neziskové organizaci a také na jeho zdaňování. Pomocí analýzy právních předpisů, je popsán postup při transformaci občanského sdružení na spolek a také jsou zde uvedeny dokumenty, které jsou pro transformaci potřeba, dále znázorňuje účetnictví a zdanění ve vybrané neziskové organizaci. Práce je řešena v souvislosti s novou právní úpravou občanského zákoníku a jiných předpisů.The work is focused on civil associations and their transformation to the association, describe the accounting in non-profit organisation and also to its taxation. Through the analysis of legislation, a process is described for the transformation of the civic association in the association and documents, which are for the transformation of the need for, further illustrates the accounting and taxation in the selected non-profit organization. The work is addressed in the context of the new legislation of the civil code and other regulations.117 - Katedra účetnictvívelmi dobř

A community-based cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of different bundles of nutrition-specific interventions in improving mean length-for-age z score among children at 24 months of age in rural Bangladesh: study protocol

PRIFPRI3; CRP4; ISIPHND; A4NHCGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH

Measures, Gaps, and Mitigation Strategies in Bangladesh’s COVID-19 Response

AbstractThe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread rapidly from China to most other countries around the world in early 2020 killing millions of people. To prevent virus spread, world governments implemented a variety of response measures. This paper’s objectives were to discuss the country’s adopted measures to combat the virus through June 2020, identify gaps in the measures’ effectiveness, and offer possible mitigations to those gaps. The measures taken included screening device deployment across international air and land ports, flight suspensions and closures from COVID-19 affected countries, and declaration and extension of a national public holiday (equivalent to lockdowns in other countries). Identified gaps were test kit, PPE, ICU beds, and ventilator shortages, limited public awareness, and insufficient coordination and collaboration among national and international partners. Proper and timely risk mapping, preparedness, communication, coordination, and collaboration among governments and organizations, and public awareness and engagement would have provided sufficient COVID-19 mitigation in Bangladesh. </jats:p