Preserving our folktales, myths and legends in the digital era

A video recording of Mr. Tshering Cigay Dorji (Tokushima University, Japan) giving a presentation on preserving folktales, myths and legends in the digital era at the National Storytelling Conference in Bhutan, June 2009.World Oral Literature Project: an urgent global initiative to document and make accessible endangered oral literatures before they disappear without record

Barriers on the emergence of women as leaders in Bhutan

Women leadership is not heard or seen much, because we view the picture of leadership through patriarchal lenses. From the history of Bhutan, it can be perceived that the concept of a woman as a leader was unfamiliar until recent years. Rulers and top executives of the country were all male. However, in recent years the nation witnessed the emergence of the few women leaders. The paper examines current patterns of leadership in Bhutan in few key areas and organizations. The obstacles and challenges confronted by Bhutanese women are analyzed and found that there are social, political, cultural and religious barriers that impede women’s career advancement. The career expansion and acquiring leadership position of women is till a problem in Bhutan. The paper also uses case study of the first two national parliamentary elections of Bhutan to demonstrate the kind of women participation and range of challenges that hinders their participation

A Study of the Expectations and Perceptions of Bhutanese Tour Operators in Regard to the Service Quality of the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators.

This research aims to study the expectations and perceptions of the members of the Association of the Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO) with regard to service quality, focusing on five dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. It analyzes the impact of various demographics factors on the expectations and perceptions of tour operators with regard to ABTO service quality. Data was collected from 218 member tour operators using the convenience sampling method. The results show differences in the tour operators’ expectations and perceptions in regard to ABTO service quality when segmented into the fine dimensions. Expectations were much higher in all cases and perceptions performed much lower than expectations, leading to a negative disconfirmation in regard to the service quality delivered by ABTO

Effective School Discipline Practices of Some Primary Schools in Pema Gatshel Dzongkhag

The study was conducted under Pema Gatshel Dzongkhag (district) to investigate the effectiveness of school discipline under Pema Gatshel district in Bhutan. The main objective of this article was to evaluate the perception of the effective school discipline according to the principals, teachers, and parents. This paper was a qualitative study based on in-depth semi-structured interviews which were limited to forty-five key participants from six different schools under the Pema Gatshel district. Data were analyzed employing content analysis. The major findings of this study revealed that for efficient functioning of school discipline policy in schools, various stakeholders like parents, teachers, students and the community should work collaboratively. The study also revealed that schools should include students and parents in the decision-making process particularly while trying to bring changes to school discipline policy

THE ECOLOGY OF MONTANE BENGAL TIGERS (Panthera tigris tigris) IN THE HIMALAYAN KINGDOM OF BHUTAN

Large carnivores are endangered across the globe. Loss of habitat and habitat fragmentation, prey depletion, and direct poaching for the illegal wildlife trade are the major causes driving them towards extinction. Although tigers (Panthera tigris) once roamed across Asia, they are now restricted to 7 % of their historical range and experiencing rapid population declines. This warrants a concerted, multipronged strategy that will halt further declines of tigers in the wild. One approach put forth by some scientists is to focus conservation on 6% of the presently occupied tiger habitat identified as tiger sources sites. Other scientists argued for a broader strategy to enhance tiger populations outside of tiger sources sites. Bhutan, for example, was not included in this 6% solution. Here we evaluate whether Bhutan is a potential tiger source site using spatially-explicit mark recapture models to estimate tiger density and spatial distribution in Bhutan. We used large scale remote-camera trapping across n=1,129 sites in 2014 – 2015 to survey all potential tiger range in Bhutan. We estimated 90 (95% CI 80 – 103) individual tigers with 45 females (95% CI 49 – 80) and with a mean density of 0.23 (0.21 – 0.27) adult tigers per 100 km2. Thus, Bhutan has significantly higher numbers of tigers than almost all identified source sites (mean=54) in the 6% solution. We used N-mixture models to estimate spatial distribution and relative abundance of primary prey species of tigers in Bhutan, and the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on tigers and their prey. Gaur (Bos gaurus) and sambar (Rusa unicolor) are concentrated in the southern part of Bhutan and were strong determinants of tiger occupancy. Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) and muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak) are wildly distributed across Bhutan, but did not affect tiger occupancy. In contrast to many other tiger ranges, anthropogenic disturbance did not show consistent negative impacts on tigers and their prey. We show how important the landscape of Bhutan and adjacent northeast India is to regional tiger conservation. With low human density and large swaths of forest cover, this landscape is a promising stronghold for tigers in future

A Participatory Action Research approach to telemedicine supported health care delivery in rural Nepal

Rural and geographically isolated, the majority of Nepalese communities have very low incomes, poor transportation, and scarce health care resources; these people provide the context for this study. The consequences of these deprivations include high maternal and infant mortality rates, high prevalence of infectious disease and poverty. There are therefore exceptional challenges and disparities in meeting health care needs. However the recent advent of modern information communication technology (ICT) or Telemedicine has unleashed a new wave of opportunities for supporting the delivery of health care services. Despite suggestions that telemedicine will offer hope in developing countries there is only limited published evidence to support this claim. Telemedicine is and must remain a process of the delivery of care rather than a technology. The system must connect patients and healthcare professionals in a chain of care, rather than follow the wide array of existing or new and advanced technology. The successful introduction of telemedicine with tangible outputs requires an in-depth understanding of the existing health care system of the country and its challenges; strongly expressed ‘genuine need’ for the service by all the stakeholders as interested partners (patients, practitioners, health care service providers and the public); the actual status of ICT infrastructure in the country and costs. This study used a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach to explore the feasibility, acceptability and impact of a telemedicine system in partnership with Dhulikhel Hospital: Kathmandu University Hospital and with three of its 12 rural, remote outreach centres, and the populations they serve. Participatory, repeated data collection methods included surveys, interviewing, listening and being with staff and communities over a two year period. The researcher and researched engaged in a complex inter-locking journey from which the Unlocking, Unblocking and Validation concepts emerged. The findings of this study emphasise the pivotal role that the rural health care workers play. Telemedicine not only has a place in improving access to healthcare through enhanced communication but it also empowers health care workers. These people need continued support to develop their competencies and boost their confidence within the changing health care environment. In conclusion telemedicine is primarily about people rather than technology. Effective and holistic telemedicine development is built upon a combined, interactive model involving access, communication and empowerment

One-Dimensional Dynamic Modeling of the Lower Mississippi River

The Mississippi River (MR) has been engineered with the development of the levee system, dams for flood control measures, jetties, revetments and dredging of the navigation channel. These alterations have reduced the replenishment of the sediment to the Louisiana Coastal area. To aid in the restoration planning, 1-D numerical models have been calibrated and validated to predict the river response to various changes such as channel modifications, varied flow conditions and hurricane situations. This study utilized the HEC-RAS 4.1 and the CHARIMA (Dr. Forrest Holly, University of Iowa). The models were calibrated for hydrodynamics and sediment using Tarbert Landing discharges (HEC-RAS), Belle Chasse sand concentrations (CHARIMA), and Gulf of Mexico (GOM) stages. The models showed that a large percentage of the river flow is lost over the East Bank downstream of Bohemia which reduces the sand transport capacity of the river. This reach is subject to flow reversals during hurricanes