The primacy of trust in the social networks and livelihoods of women agro-entrepreneurs in Northern Tanzania

This paper describes the primacy of trust in the social networks and livelihoods of rural Tanzanian women engaged in agro-entrepreneurial activity. The importance of trust emerged from a study of the “who you know” social and economic network knowledge systems of these enterprising women in Moshi, Tanzania and the role cell phones play within their networks. The nature of the women’s agricultural businessesand their perceptions of the characteristics of women business leaders and cooperative group members were also studied. The objective of the study was to identify opportunities for developing innovative cellphone-based applications that link smallscale farmers and other entrepreneurs to markets, thus enabling these entrepreneurs to utilize, strengthen and expand their social and economic networks. A complementary goal was to identify the characteristics of women who are likely to successfully champion new entrepreneurial ventures. Three data collection techniques were employed: (1) a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) survey, (2) structured interviews; and (3) focus group interviews. There were 26 women participants in this network study - all living in multi-ethnic areas in, or near, the town of Moshi. Each participant was the proprietor of a stall selling agricultural products in one of the three town markets. A total of 92 relationships were described by these 26 women. The majority of the women primarily used cell phones in their business communication andconsidered cell phones crucial to their businesses. The women valued long-term relationships with over 70% of the business relationships described by the women having lasted for more than one year. The study revealed that these relationships were based very strongly on trust and respect. This primacy of trust in these networks was further validated by the individual interviews and focus group discussions. Loyalty and the maintenance of inter-personal relationships are more important than price in these women’s business-related decision-making. The findings suggest the importance of building trust while expanding “who you know” networks to create social and economic capital in rural African communities. The pervasiveness and importance of cell phones in these communities raises the possibility of employing this technology to create value by harnessing social capital and expanding social networks. An entrepreneurial venture called WishVast emerged from this study and is described in this paper. WishVast is a cellphone-based system that allows individuals to interact within an expanded, geographically dispersed social network – and as aresult, it enables traditionally isolated individuals to connect, communicate and coordinate with a large number of potential clients

Stakeholders' Participation in Planning and Priority Setting in the Context of a Decentralised Health Care system: the case of prevention of mother to child Transmission of HIV Programme in Tanzania.

In Tanzania, decentralisation processes and reforms in the health sector aimed at improving planning and accountability in the sector. As a result, districts were given authority to undertake local planning and set priorities as well as allocate resources fairly to promote the health of a population with varied needs. Nevertheless, priority setting in the health care service has remained a challenge. The study assessed the priority setting processes in the planning of the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programme at the district level in Tanzania. This qualitative study was conducted in Mbarali district, south-western Tanzania. The study applied in-depth interviews and focus group discussions in the data collection. Informants included members of the Council Health Management Team, regional PMTCT managers and health facility providers. Two plans were reported where PMTCT activities could be accommodated; the Comprehensive Council Health Plan and the Regional PMTCT Plan that was donor funded. As donors had their own globally defined priorities, it proved difficult for district and regional managers to accommodate locally defined PMTCT priorities in these plans. As a result few of these were funded. Guidelines and main priority areas of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) also impacted on the ability of the districts and regions to act, undermining the effectiveness of the decentralisation policy in the health sector. The challenges in the priority setting processes revealed within the PMTCT initiative indicate substantial weaknesses in implementing the Tanzania decentralisation policy. There is an urgent need to revive the strategies and aims of the decentralisation policy at all levels of the health care system with a view to improving health service delivery

Has decentralisation affected child immunisation status in Indonesia?

Background: The past two decades have seen many countries, including a number in Southeast Asia, decentralising their health system with the expectation that this reform will improve their citizens’ health. However, the consequences of this reform remain largely unknown. Objective: This study analyses the effects of fiscal decentralisation on child immunisation status in Indonesia. Design: We used multilevel logistic regression analysis to estimate these effects, and multilevel multiple imputation to manage missing data. The 2011 publication of Indonesia's national socio-economic survey (Susenas) is the source of household data, while the Podes village census survey from the same year provides village-level data. We supplement these with local government fiscal data from the Ministry of Finance. Results: The findings show that decentralising the fiscal allocation of responsibilities to local governments has a lack of association with child immunisation status and the results are robust. The results also suggest that increasing the number of village health centres (posyandu) per 1,000 population improves probability of children to receive full immunisation significantly, while increasing that of hospitals and health centres (puskesmas) has no significant effect. Conclusion: These findings suggest that merely decentralising the health system does not guarantee improvement in a country's immunisation coverage. Any successful decentralisation demands good capacity and capability of local governments

Can You Hear us Now? Voices from the Margin: Using Indigenous Methodologies in Geographic Research

Indigenous methodologies are an alternative way of thinking about research processes. Although these methodologies vary according to the ways in which different Indigenous communities express their own unique knowledge systems, they do have common traits. This article argues that research on Indigenous issues should be carried out in a manner which is respectful and ethically sound from an Indigenous perspective. This naturally challenges Western research paradigms, yet it also affords opportunities to contribute to the body of knowledge about Indigenous peoples. It is further argued that providing a mechanism for Indigenous peoples to participate in and direct these research agendas ensures that their communal needs are met, and that geographers then learn how to build ethical research relationships with them. Indigenous methodologies do not privilege Indigenous researchers because of their Indigeneity, since there are many ‘insider’ views, and these are thus suitable for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers. However, there is a difference between research done within an Indigenous context using Western methodologies and research done using Indig- enous methodologies which integrates Indigenous voices. This paper will discuss those differences while presenting a historical context of research on Indigenous peoples, providing further insights into what Indigenous methodologies entail, and proposing ways in which the academy can create space for this discourse

Creating Indigenous Discourse: History, Power, and Imperialism in Academia, Palestinian Case

This article examines the impossibilities of implementing decolonizing research for indigenous scholars. In addition, it articulates the relationship between a decolonizing research approach and the historical and current forms of academic imperialism; a prototype of the Palestinian legacy is presented. The author argues that the current indigenous discourse is a remnant of oppression. The existing indigenous discourse is not due to the original quest but instead, it is in response to oppression. Also, the author explains the struggles of some indigenous scholars in complying with the reporting and ownership of knowledge that is required by Cartesian principles.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Implementation of an insecticide-treated net subsidy scheme under a public-private partnership for malaria control in Tanzania – challenges in implementation

BACKGROUND: In the past decade there has been increasing visibility of malaria control efforts at the national and international levels. The factors that have enhanced this scenario are the availability of proven interventions such as artemisinin-based combination therapy, the wide scale use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and a renewed emphasis in indoor residual house-spraying. Concurrently, there has been a window of opportunity of financial commitments from organizations such as the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), the President's Malaria Initiative and the World Bank Booster programme. METHODS: The case study uses the health policy analysis framework to analyse the implementation of a public-private partnership approach embarked upon by the government of Tanzania in malaria control - 'The Tanzania National Voucher Scheme'- and in this synthesis, emphasis is on the challenges faced by the scheme during the pre-implementation (2001 - 2004) and implementation phases (2004 - 2005). Qualitative research tools used include: document review, interview with key informants, stakeholder's analysis, force-field analysis, time line of events, policy characteristic analysis and focus group discussions. The study is also complemented by a cross-sectional survey, which was conducted at the Rufiji Health Demographic Surveillance Site, where a cohort of women of child-bearing age were followed up regarding access and use of ITNs. RESULTS: The major challenges observed include: the re-introduction of taxes on mosquito nets and related products, procurement and tendering procedures in the implementation of the GFATM, and organizational arrangements and free delivery of mosquito nets through a Presidential initiative. CONCLUSION: The lessons gleaned from this synthesis include: (a) the consistency of the stakeholders with a common vision, was an important strength in overcoming obstacles, (b) senior politicians often steered the policy agenda when the policy in question was a 'crisis event', the stakes and the visibility were high, (c) national stakeholders in policy making have an advantage in strengthening alliances with international organizations, where the latter can become extremely influential in solving bottlenecks as the need arises, and (d) conflict can be turned into an opportunity, for example the Presidential initiative has inadvertently provided Tanzania with important lessons in the organization of 'catch-up' campaigns

Weaving indigenous agricultural knowledge with formal education to enhance community food security : school competition as a pedagogical space in rural Anchetty, India

In communities from the remote rural regions of Anchetty, young learners’ informal learning experiences often come through interactions with local agriculture and the environment in which they and their families work and learn. These informal learning experiences are essential to what are otherwise called ‘indigenous knowledge systems’. For primary school students in Anchetty, the ways in which they engage in learning community-based agricultural knowledge are challenged by school-based formal education processes. Using a school competition as a pedagogical strategy for integrative space, this paper supports and explores the meaning and characteristics of indigenous agricultural knowledge (IAK)

The Primacy Of Trust In The Social Networks And Livelihoods Of Women Agro-Entrepreneurs In Northern Tanzania

This paper describes the primacy of trust in the social networks and livelihoods of rural Tanzanian women engaged in agro-entrepreneurial activity. The importance of trust emerged from a study of the "who you know" social and economic network knowledge systems of these enterprising women in Moshi, Tanzania and the role cell phones play within their networks. The nature of the women's agricultural businesses and their perceptions of the characteristics of women business leaders and cooperative group members were also studied. The objective of the study was to identify opportunities for developing innovative cellphone-based applications that link small-scale farmers and other entrepreneurs to markets, thus enabling these entrepreneurs to utilize, strengthen and expand their social and economic networks. A complementary goal was to identify the characteristics of women who are likely to successfully champion new entrepreneurial ventures. Three data collection techniques were employed: (1) a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) survey, (2) structured interviews; and (3) focus group interviews. There were 26 women participants in this network study - all living in multi-ethnic areas in, or near, the town of Moshi. Each participant was the proprietor of a stall selling agricultural products in one of the three town markets. A total of 92 relationships were described by these 26 women. The majority of the women primarily used cell phones in their business communication and considered cell phones crucial to their businesses. The women valued long-term relationships with over 70% of the business relationships described by the women having lasted for more than one year. The study revealed that these relationships were based very strongly on trust and respect. This primacy of trust in these networks was further validated by the individual interviews and focus group discussions. Loyalty and the maintenance of inter-personal relationships are more important than price in these women's business-related decision-making. The findings suggest the importance of building trust while expanding "who you know" networks to create social and economic capital in rural African communities. The pervasiveness and importance of cell phones in these communities raises the possibility of employing this technology to create value by harnessing social capital and expanding social networks. An entrepreneurial venture called WishVast emerged from this study and is described in this paper. WishVast is a cellphone-based system that allows individuals to interact within an expanded, geographically dispersed social network - and as a result, it enables traditionally isolated individuals to connect, communicate and coordinate with a large number of potential clients