Decentralization and environmental conservation: gender effects from participation in joint forest management

"This paper analyzes how women's participation affects institutional outcomes related to the decentralized governance of community forests in Madhya Pradesh, India. The analysis is based on data from a representative sample of 641 cases of joint forest management, India's flagship program to involve communities in forest governance. We focus on two outcomes relevant for local livelihoods: control of illicit grazing and control of illicit felling in the forest. The paper statistically estimates the effects of women's participation on outcomes, and also the source of this effect in terms of women's representation in committees and action in protecting forests. We find that women's participation has substantial positive effects on regulating illicit grazing and felling, even after controlling for the effects of a range of independent variables. We also find that the “action effect” is more important than the “representation effect,” confirming some major arguments advanced by feminist environmentalists. Our statistical results are robust to different specifications and provide considerable empirical support for promoting women's participation in community-based protection of natural resources." Author's AbstractForestry resources, Gender equity, Decentralization, Community forestry, Forest management, Natural resources., Environmental protection, Gender, Collective action, Environmental management,

Optimal width and depth for maximum breaking load of wood beams

The strength of solid wood beams is an important property to consider in construction. Such beams do not receive further primary processing after leaving the sawmill, and their quality and strength properties are therefore determined by their initial, primary breakdown at the sawmill. The most efficient means of controlling the quality of solid wood beams is thus at the sawmill level. This paper presents a method of determining the width and depth of solid beams that will maximize breaking load

Fostering Social Development Through Civic and Political Engagement: How Confidence in Institutions and Agency Matter

Traditional approaches in social development have neglected the role of politics, civic engagement, and processes of democratization. This paper empirically tests the extent to which civic engagement and political action are shaped by confidence in state and non-state institutions and political and personal agency. The results underscore the importance of enabling social development through inclusive governance and democratization

Effects of Assets on Attitudes and Behaviors: Advance Test of a Social Policy Proposal

Raising asset limits and creating individual development accounts have been proposed in welfare reform. In part the rationale for these proposals is that assets have positive effects on attitudes and behaviors, including long-term planning, greater work effort, and improved social connectedness. The Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), between 1968 and 1972, included a wide range of attitude and behavioral measures. In this study, data from the PSID are analyzed to test for the following: a) the effect of assets on attitudes and behaviors; b) the effect of attitudes and behaviors on assets; c) the effect of income on attitudes and behaviors; and d) the effect of attitudes and behaviors on income. A path analytic model is estimated using LISREL. Results indicate modest effects of some assets that are (a) consistently positive as predicted, and (b) overall as strong as the effects of income. Results support the proposition that assets have a positive effect on expectations and confidence about the future; influence people to make specific plans with regard to work and family; induce more prudent and protective personal behaviors; and lead to more social connectedness with relatives, neighbors, and organizations. These results suggest that policy demonstrations are desirable

History and Significance of National Development Service (NDS): Creating ‘Civil Space’ and Commitment to Service in Nepal During the 1970s

Occasional Papers in Sociology and Anthropology - Volume 10, 200

Effect of Tie-Layer on the Bond Strength Between Thermoplastic and Borate-Treated Wood Substrate

A challenge in using wood or wood composites for exterior applications is durability. Borate-treated wood substrates are durable if leaching of the chemical over time can be reduced to acceptable levels. The goal of this project was to encapsulate borate-treated structural wood and wood-based composites with thermoplastic to extend their durability. In this study, the efficacy of two tie-layers (maleic anhydride modified high-density polyethylene and styrene-butadiene polymer) in bonding high-density polyethylene (HDPE) to treated wood substrate was examined together with determining the ideal hot-press parameters necessary to achieve a good bond. Boric oxide treated Douglas-fir and southern pine Parallam® and untreated Douglas-fir solid wood were the substrates investigated. The optimum processing parameters were 180°C platen temperature, 1035 kPa press pressure, and 300 s press time. Bond strength was determined by conducting a 90° peel test and a block-shear test. Durability of the thermoplastic barrier layer was evaluated by subjecting specimens to an accelerated aging test and reevaluating the bond strength. Maleic anhydride-modified HDPE tie-layer yielded improved bond strength that was durable, especially when bonded to a treated southern pine substrate

Aerosol emissions factors from traditional biomass cookstoves in India: insights from field measurements

Residential solid biomass cookstoves are important sources of aerosol emissions in India. Cookstove emissions rates are largely based on laboratory experiments conducted using the standard water-boiling test, but real-world emissions are often higher owing to different stove designs, fuels, and cooking methods. Constraining mass emissions factors (EFs) for prevalent cookstoves is important because they serve as inputs to bottom-up emissions inventories used to evaluate health and climate impacts. Real-world EFs were measured during winter 2015 for a traditional cookstove (chulha) burning fuel wood, agricultural residue, and dung from different regions of India. Average (±95 % confidence interval) EFs for fuel wood, agricultural residue, and dung were (1) PM2.5 mass: 10.5 (7.7–13.4) g kg−1, 11.1 (7.7–15.5) g kg−1, and 22.6 (14.9–32.9) g kg−1, respectively; (2) elemental carbon (EC): 0.9 (0.6–1.4) g kg−1, 1.6 (0.6–3.0) g kg−1, and 1.0 (0.4–2.0) g kg−1, respectively; and (3) organic carbon (OC): 4.9 (3.2–7.1) g kg−1, 7.0 (3.5–12.5) g kg−1, and 12.9 (4.2–15.01) g kg−1, respectively. The mean (±95 % confidence interval) OC ∕ EC mass ratios were 6.5 (4.5–9.1), 7.6 (4.4–12.2), and 12.7 (6.5–23.3), respectively, with OC and EC quantified by the IMPROVE_A thermal-optical reflectance protocol. These real-world EFs are higher than those from previous laboratory-based measurements. Combustion conditions have larger effects on EFs than the fuel types. We also report the carbon mass fractions of our aerosol samples determined using the thermal-optical reflectance method. The mass fraction profiles are consistent between the three fuel categories but markedly different from those reported in past literature – including the source profiles for wood stove PM2.5 emissions developed as inputs to receptor modeling studies conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board of India. Thermally stable OC (OC3 in the IMPROVE_A protocol) contributed nearly 50 % of the total carbon mass for emissions from all fuels

Social, economic, and resource predictors of variability in household air pollution from cookstove emissions

We examine if social and economic factors, fuelwood availability, market and media access are associated with owning a modified stove and variation in household emissions from biomass combustion, a significant environmental and health concern in rural India. We analyze cross-sectional household socio-economic data, and PM(2.5) and particulate surface area concentration in household emissions from cookstoves (n = 100). This data set combines household social and economic variables with particle emissions indexes associated with the household stove. The data are from the Foundation for Ecological Society, India, from a field study of household emissions. In our analysis, we find that less access to ready and free fuelwood and higher wealth are associated with owning a replacement/modified stove. We also find that additional kitchen ventilation is associated with a 12% reduction in particulate emissions concentration (p<0.05), after we account for the type of stove used. We did not find a significant association between replacement/modified stove on household emissions when controlling for additional ventilation. Higher wealth and education are associated with having additional ventilation. Social caste, market and media access did not have any effect on the presence of replacement or modified stoves or additional ventilation. While the data available to us does not allow an examination of direct health outcomes from emissions variations, adverse environmental and health impacts of toxic household emissions are well established elsewhere in the literature. The value of this study is in its further examination of the role of social and economic factors and available fuelwood from commons in type of stove use, and additional ventilation, and their effect on household emissions. These associations are important since the two direct routes to improving household air quality among the poor are stove type and better ventilation

Understanding Geographic Variations in Bmi in India

Comparison of Body Mass Index is a useful marker for energy imbalance and associated variations across populations. High BMI is associated with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, whereas low BMI is associated with increased mortality. BMI comparisons across geographical locations may give us indication as to which direction the public health policies should head and what could be the corrective approach towards a more balanced and healthier energy level. The current study uses Indian National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) data for women from 2005-06 to develop state-specific models of BMI and do inter-state comparisons. We also examined the individual versus contextual predictors of these variations. of the total sample (N = 118,734), 29% had a BMI lower than 18.5, and were classified as underweight, with Uttar Pradesh having the highest number of underweight women, followed by Maharashtra, West Bengal and Karnataka. North-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram, collectively had lowest percentage of underweight residents. Female respondents who had higher levels of education, were married, and were employed, had a lower prevalence of being underweight (p\u3c0.000). Women who smoked and consumed alcohol were also more likely to be underweight. But addition of such individual level variables like income and wealth variables, educational and demographic variables, and health behaviors alter the odds of having a low BMI in some states (such as Punjab, Kerala, Goa & Delhi), but not in others (such as Bihar, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Madhya Pradesh & Manipur). In former types of states where individual level variables change the odds of having low BMI, continued investments in education, health education targeted toward health-adverse behaviors, and access to public health resources may show improvement in levels of BMI. On the other hand, states where individual level variables did not influence the odds of having low BMI in our analysis might have different genotypical characteristics of the female respondents. It is also possible that these states might need intervention not only at individual level, but also at the level of macroeconomic and developmental factors such as food security, or to health-related factors such as the availability, accessibility, and quality of health care services, particularly those directed toward women. The current study shows the need for two-pronged policy interventions to alter the BMI imbalance in India

Influence of biochar filler on mechanical properties of basalt fiber reinforced polyamide-6 composite for automotive applications

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