How Civil Society Organizations Works Politically to Promote Pro-Poor Policies in Decentralized Indonesian Cities

This paper examines how civil society organizations (CSOs) have taken advantage of the increased opportunities created by decentralization to influence the role and functions of local administrations in urban areas of Indonesia. The paper utilizes evidence from two cities in Central Java where policies were passed that expanded health insurance coverage for the poor: Semarang (pop. 1.5 million) and Pekalongan (pop. 300,000). The paper argues that CSOs are increasingly able to influence local policy outcomes -- regardless of the leadership qualities among elected officials -- by working politically. We describe the political context of each city, which varies greatly. We provide evidence of how pro-poor advocates expanded their capital by identifying allies, building coalitions and taking advantage of critical junctures in order to influence social policy. We demonstrate how developing constituent interest in public policy has helped CSOs hold government accountable to the poor. We present a fiscal analysis of municipal revenue and spending produced by CSO partners, which illustrates both the challenges of increasing allocations, as well as the outcomes in terms of expanded coverage of health services. In conclusion, we offer implications for development programming going forward

Development of a lean design framework for enhancing the application of product design

Substantial benefits can be achieved through the adoption of lean type thinking earlier at the design stage to create more viable products. A complex design cannot be easily leaned out in production; therefore, the production of affordable and sustainable products requires effective lean design considerations at the conceptual level. The research presented in this thesis investigates and demonstrates the application of lean design for product enhancement. The aim of the research was to develop a novel lean design framework that would support the generation of product design with attributes such as maximise value, manufacturable, and operable with minimum waste and resources ensuring avoidable harm is eliminated. The framework consists of a systemised process which is organised in to phases and activities that provides a unique practical manner to lean out a design. The construction of the framework initiated with an extensive literature review and proceeded with an industrial field study which consisted of 34 interviews with 11 manufacturing companies in Europe. The findings were amalgamated to generate a lean design definition and principles which would form the foundations of the framework. A real-life industrial case study of an offshore oil/water separator was used to validate the framework. In conclusion, the lean design framework provides the necessary means by which a lean design can be achieved. As a result a functionally viable and enhanced design that is cheaper to manufacture through controlling waste and eliminating avoidable harm occurrence can be realised with minimal effort. The research makes the following contributions: (1) identification of essential elements in lean design, (2) generation of a lean design definition and principles, (3) Lean Design Framework development and (4) illustrative guidelines based on the framework to be used by designers in realising a lean product design

Can international alliances influence sustainable fashion practices: a UK/Bangladesh experience?

The presentation will outline current work that has been undertaken as part of a three-year British Council funded Development Partnerships in Higher Education (DelPHE) project that brings together international collaboration between London College of Fashion (LCF), the BGMEA Institute of Fashion Technology (BIFT) in Dhaka and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). As retailers are increasingly under pressure to ensure that ethical and environmental standards run all the way through the supply chain, there is a need for research projects to explore best practice and ways forward to improve the competitiveness of the Bangladesh manufacturing sector to add value in this area

Child labor in the Era of Sustainable Development: insights from Jhenaidah City of Bangladesh

The existence of child labor in developing countries like Bangladesh is undoubtedly a serious problem in the era of sustainable development. Undoubtedly to abolish child labor from all level is not so easy. The current study was intended to assess the livelihoods pattern and causes of being involved as child labor in Jhenaidah city-Bangladesh and to find out the ways in which child labor can be diminished gradually. This study was exploratory in nature where convenience sampling was adapted, seventy-five children aged less than 18 years were interviewed with an interview schedule. The extent and prevalence of child labour in a country are being considered as a significant indicator of how far-off that country stays away from the overall sustainable development. The results of this study demonstrate that the majority (17/22.67%) children engaged in performing work in shops or hotels. The X2 (p\u3c0.5) results elucidate that there exists gender difference in child abuse and harassment. The rate of physical and mental abuse and torture was higher in male children, in contrast, the prevalence of sexual harassment and abuse by slung was significantly higher in female children. The working hours as an average above 7 hours or more, and per day wage of children in Jhenaidah found just above 1.4$ (120 BDT). The principal component analysis indicates that lack of parental employment facilities which has directly related to poverty found as the foremost reasons for a child to make involvement as labour before completing age 18, this result is not only applicable for Jhenaidah but also possibly applicable for all developing countries. Besides, father’s education and death of mother were the important indicators of being child laborer. The ways of eliminating child labour are not so easy task because the problem has been indissolubly embedded in our society for long. Hence, it requires moral, political will and commitment from all people in the society for ending and eradicating child labour. Alongside all these, international organizations must make sure their robust participation in enhancing this process

Input-output relationship and economics of pangas monoculture and carp-pangas polyculture in two districts of Bangladesh

An attempt was made to study the input-output relationships and economics of pangas monoculture and carp-pangas polyculture in Bangladesh. By analyzing the data collected from 50 pangas farms and 55 carp-pangas farms, the study has investigated the production systems of two technologies and the effects of fingerling stocking and applications of feed and fertilizer on fisheries income. The data were collected from the fishermen of Trishal and Bhaluka of Mymensingh district, and Kahaloo and Adamdighee of Bogra district during 2001-02. For pangas monoculture, the stocking density was 31,561 per ha while it was 55,017 per ha in carp-pangas polyculture. Most of the farmers used urea, TSP and lime before stocking. Rice and wheat bran happened to be the most common feed ingredients for both types of culture in general. Other important ingredients used were mustard oil-cakes, rice polish, wheat flour, fish meal, bone meal, soybean meal and poultry litter. In terms of quantities, rice bran and wheat bran dominated the farmers list. Rice and wheat bran together constituted about 60% of all studied feeds. Feed cost constituted 59.13% of total costs for pangas monoculture and 67.44% for carp-pangas polyculture. Per ha productions of pangas and carp-pangas in a single culture cycle were 15,508 kg and 19,745 kg, respectively. Per ha gross profits were estimated to be Tk 310,311 and Tk 464,418 for pangas monoculture and carp-pangas polyculture, respectively. Net profit appeared to be Tk 264,216 per ha for pangas monoculture and Tk 416,509 per ha for carp-pangas polyculture. The BCRs calculated were 1.46 and 1.68 for monoculture and polyculture, respectively. The break-even costs per kg of fish were estimated at Tk 36.93 for pangas and Tk 30.93 for mixed species which was much lower than the prices the producers received. Break-even productions were estimated at 10,702 kg per ha for pangas monoculture and 11,784 kg per ha for carp-pangas polyculture. Fingerling and feed cost, and pond size significantly explained the variation of income from pangas monoculture. These factors have significantly influenced the income from the crop. Functional analysis shows that 1% increase in the feed cost might increase 0.51% of pangas income and 0.41% in carp-pangas income. No other inputs had shown this much of responses to increasing income from a fish

Filtration and catalytic reaction in trickle beds : use of solid foam guard beds to mitigate fines plugging

La sensibilité des réactions catalytiques à la filtration et le dépôt simultané de fines dans les réacteurs à lit ruisselant ont été évaluées au moyen de l'hydrogénation catalytique de l'a-méthylstyrène présent dans des suspensions diluées de kaolin dans du kérosène. Nous avons observé une corrélation négative entre la conversion catalytique et l'ampleur du dépôt spécifique au sein du lit engendrant une étape supplémentaire de transfert de masse au travers du dépôt en croissance sur les collecteurs. La sévérité de la résistance au transfert de masse est sensible à la compaction du dépôts autour des collecteurs qui est influencée par l'importance des vitesses superficielles de gaz. En outre, les pertes irréversibles observées concernant l'activité du catalyseur ont été attribuées, après avoir débarrassé le catalyseur de son dépôt, à une perte de sites actifs par le piégeage de fines dans les microporostiés du catalyseur. L'accumulation de fines dans le lit de catalyseur a été notablement réduite par l'adjonction en amont du lit de modules à base de mousses inorganiques (d'alumine ou de carbure de silicium) à haute porosité et faisant office de filtres de garde. Des études hydrodynamiques ont été réalisées avec et sans les blocs de mousse pour évaluer leur rôle sur la répartition de la suspension, la réduction du dépôt spécifique et la chute de pression dans le lit ruisselant. Il a été constaté que l'efficacité de capture par les blocs de mousse dépend de la connectivité et du degré d'ouverture des cellules dans les mousses ainsi que de la nature physico-chimique des matériaux constitutifs. Le nombre de modules de mousse a affecté la réduction des dépôts spécifiques et la chute de pression dans le lit. Ceci indique une possibilité de prolonger la durée de vie des réacteurs d'hydrotraitement à lit ruisselant à l'aide de lits de garde à base de mousse

Hydrodynamic and heat transfer study in corrugated wall bubbling fluidized bed experiments and CFD simulations

Considérant l'effet des parois sur la croissance des bulles, nous avons récemment utilisé des plaques ondulées comme cloisons dans des lits minces fluidisés gaz-solide à multi-compartiments. Des analyses approfondies de la dynamique des bulles et du transfert de chaleur paroi-lit dans des lits fluidisés à cloisons planes (FWBFB) ou ondulées (CWBFB) ont été effectuées pour une variété de déclinaisons pariétales et des conditions d'opération couvrant une large gamme d'angles d'ondulation (θ = 120 °, 90 °), de distances moyennes inter-paroi (C), de hauteurs initiales de repos du lit et des rapports de vitesses superficielles du gaz aux vitesses minimales de barbotage, Ug/Umb. Il a été observé que le débit de gaz nécessaire pour amorcer le barbotage était plus faible dans le cas du CWBFB. Par ailleurs, un réseau de zones cou (distance minimale) et hanche (distance maximale) du CWBFB a également favorisé la rupture des bulles, une haute fréquence des bulles, une faible vitesse de montée des bulles et donc tous convergeant vers une meilleure distribution de gaz. Le CWBFB a offert un fonctionnement de fluidisation gaz-solide stable, une faible hauteur de désengagement de transport (HDT) comparé à FWBFB. CWBFB offert significanlty supérieur coefficient de transfert de mur-à-lit chaleur comapred à FWBFB. Des simulations complètes de type mécanique des fluides numériques (CFD) transitoires Euler-Euler 3-D ont également été menées, ce qui a permis de mieux comprendre les effets de parois ondulées sur l'augmentation de la force de traînée sur les particules dans des zones à hautes pressions convergentes-divergentes des parois ondulées. Ceux-ci ont indiqué des changements notables dans le régime de fluidisation en remplaçant les parois planes par des parois ondulées et ont en outre révélé que les zones cou étaient responsables de la création des instabilités comparativement aux zones hanche. La moyenne dans le temps des contours de la fraction volumique simulée de gaz a corroboré avec les résultats expérimentaux que le CWBFB a offert la meilleure distribution de gaz par rapport à FWBFB. Les profils axiaux de la moyenne dans le temps de la fraction volumique solide simulée ont montré que CWBFB réduit de façon nette la HDT.With the endeavor of approaching an ideal allothermal gasifier, recently our group proposed a reactor concept of allothermal cyclic multi-compartment bubbling fluidized beds for biomass gasification with steam. The concept consisted of multiple intercalated parallelepipedic slim gasification and combustion compartments to enhance unit heat integration and thermal efficiency while preventing contact between flue gas and syngas to generate a N2-free high-quality biosyngas. However, the efficiency of contacting between gas and particles in bubbling fluidized beds is dictated to a large extent by the bubble dynamics which impacts mixing, heat and mass transfers. Literature showed that the decrease in clearance between flat walls for slim fluidization enclosures or in diameter for cylindrical vessels would make fluidized beds very sensitive to wall effects and prone to operate in slug flow regime. Since the occurrence of slugging in multi-compartment slim beds could reduce their thermal and chemical efficiency, the objective of current work was to devise suitable strategies in treating the incipient bubbles to suppress the slugging behavior of bed. By considering the effect of walls on bubble growth, we recently employed corrugated plates as separating walls in slim multi-compartment gas solid fluidized beds. Thorough analyses of bubble dynamics and wall-to-bed heat transfer in flat- (FWBFB) and corrugated- (CWBFB) wall bubbling fluidized beds were performed for a variety of wall declinations and operating conditions covering a range of corrugation angles (θ=120o, 90o), average inter-wall clearances (C), initial rest bed heights (Hi) and ratios of gas superficial velocity to minimum bubbling velocity, Ug/Umb. It was observed that gas flowrate required to achieve the incipient bubbling condition was lower in case of CWBFB. A network of neck (minimum clearance) and hip (maximum clearance) locations in CWBFB also promoted bubbles breakup, higher bubble frequency, lower bubble rise velocity and thus all converging into a better gas distribution. CWBFB offered stable gas-solid fluidization operation and lower transport disengagement height as compared to FWBFB. During the experimental work, digital image analysis technique and fast response heat flux probes were employed to study the effects of operating and geometrical parameters on bubble dynamics and wall-to-bed heat transfer. Two artificial neural network correlations valid both for FWBFB and CWBFB were recommended for the estimation of bubble frequency and size (equivalent diameter). Full 3-D transient Euler-Euler CFD simulations with kinetic theory of granular flow were also carried out which helped shaping an understanding of the effects of corrugated walls on increasing the drag force on particles in the converging-diverging high-pressure zones in corrugated walls. The dynamic fluctuations in the simulated solid phase volume fraction, granular temperature and granular pressure were monitored to determine their standard deviations. These revealed notable shifts in the fluidization regime by replacing flat walls with corrugated walls and further revealed that necks were responsible for inception of instabilities as compared to hips. Time averaged contours of simulated gas volume fraction corroborated with experimental findings that CWBFB offered better gas distribution as compared to FWBFB. Axial profiles of simulated time averaged solid volume fraction and granular temperature showed that CWBFB significantly reduced the transport disengagement height as compared to FWBFB