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Indigenous Communities (indigenous + community)
Kinds of Indigenous Communities Selected AbstractsTELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES IN RURAL AND REMOTE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN AUSTRALIAECONOMIC PAPERS: A JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMICS AND POLICY, Issue 1 2002ANNE DALY First page of article [source] Emerging patterns of cannabis and other substance use in Aboriginal communities in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory: a study of two communitiesDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 4 2004ALAN R. CLOUGH Abstract A recent rise in cannabis use in Indigenous communities in northern Australia may have compounded existing patterns of other substance use. This paper describes these patterns in Arnhem Land in the ,Top End' of the Northern Territory (NT). Economic impacts of the cannabis trade are also described. In a descriptive cross-sectional study, random samples included 336 people (169 males, 167 females) aged 13,36 years. Consensus classification of lifetime and current use of cannabis, alcohol, tobacco, kava, inhalants (petrol) and other drugs was derived based on health workers' proxy assessments. A sample (n = 180, aged 13,36) was recruited opportunistically for interview. Lifetime cannabis users among those interviewed (n = 131, 81 males, 50 females) described their current cannabis use, usual quantities purchased and consumed, frequency and duration of cannabis use and other substance use. In the random samples, 69% (63,75%) of males and 26% (20,31%) of females were lifetime cannabis users (OR = 7.4, 4.5,12.1, p 5 0.001). The proportion of males currently using cannabis was 67% (60,73%) while the proportion of females currently using cannabis was 22% (16,27%) (OR = 7.9, 4.8,13.1, p 5 0.001). Current cannabis users were more likely than non-users to be also using alcohol (OR = 10.4, 4.7,23.3, p 5 0.001), tobacco (OR = 19.0, 7.9,45.8, p 5 0.001) and to have sniffed petrol (OR = 9.1, 4.6,18.0, p 5 0.001) but were less likely to be using kava (OR = 0.4, 0.2 ,0.9, p 5 0.001). Among those interviewed, higher tobacco consumption in current users and greater alcohol use in lifetime users was associated with increased cannabis use. Action is required to reduce cannabis use, especially in combination with other substances. [source] Other people, other drugs: the policy response to petrol sniffing among Indigenous AustraliansDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 3 2004Dr PETER H. D'ABBS Abstract This paper examines the policy response of Australian governments to petrol sniffing in Indigenous communities from the 1980s until the present. During this period, despite the formation of numerous inquiries, working parties and intergovernmental committees, there has been little accumulation of knowledge about the nature and causes of sniffing, or about the effectiveness of interventions. Policies are fragmentary; programmes are rarely evaluated, and most rely on short-term funding. The paper sets out to explain why this should be so. It draws upon a conceptual framework known as ,analytics of government' to examine the ways in which petrol sniffing comes to the attention of government agencies and is perceived as an issue; the mechanisms deployed by governments to address petrol sniffing; ways in which knowledge about sniffing is generated; and the underlying assumptions about people that inform policy-making. Drawing upon case studies of policy responses, the paper argues that a number of structural factors combine to marginalize petrol sniffing as an issue, and to encourage reliance on short-term, one-off interventions in place of a sustained policy commitment. Four recommendations are advanced to help overcome these factors: (1) agreements should be reached within and between levels of government on steps to be taken to reduce risk factors before the eruption of petrol-sniffing crises; (2) the evidence base relevant to petrol sniffing (and other inhalants) should be improved by funding and directing one or more existing national drug research centres to collate data on inhalant-caused mortality and morbidity, and to conduct or commission research into prevalence patterns, effectiveness of interventions and other gaps in knowledge; (3) the current pattern of short-term, pilot and project funding should be replaced with longer-term, evidence-based interventions that address the multiple risk and protective factors present in communities; and (4) insistence by governments that communities must take ,ownership' of the problem should be replaced by a commitment to genuine partnerships involving governments, non-government and community sectors. [source] Indigenous Methodologies: Suggestions for Junior ResearchersGEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2010NAOHIRO NAKAMURA Abstract Indigenous methodologies in geography have recently been developed to decolonise Western dominated paradigms. It has been argued that research which does not benefit Indigenous communities should not be conducted. However, Indigenous methodologies are not taught in many post-secondary institutions. Therefore, when they pursue Indigenous topics, many junior researchers are self-taught in these methodologies. However, these methodologies cannot be defined simply and they are too diverse to be learnt in a short period. In Japan, Indigenous peoples are not widely recognised and research on contemporary Indigenous issues is limited. The concept of Indigenous methodologies is rarely discussed. Because of this, Japanese researchers rarely identify their research as adopting an Indigenous methodology. Indigenous researchers are thereby discouraged from pursuing Indigenous methodologies. Furthermore, a methodology or a thesis statement used by researchers to reflect Indigenous perspectives often gets little support from Indigenous peoples. My master's research on the Ainu mirrored this situation. While Indigenous methodologies remain difficult to learn, junior researchers should not be discouraged from this form of engagement. Practical suggestions are therefore necessary to encourage their use and application. Based on my experience, I suggest that researchers approach Indigenous communities from a learning perspective. This would encourage open-mindedness and sensitivity. Researchers should also be prepared and willing to refine their research questions and to continue their literature searches after their fieldwork is completed. These strategies could limit misinterpretation and exploitation of Indigenous knowledges and peoples. [source] Undernutrition among children in South and South-East AsiaJOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 9 2010Sant-Rayn Pasricha Abstract Undernutrition remains a major public health problem among children living in Asia. Although the burden is maximal among poorer, rural and Indigenous communities, the problem affects the majority in many Asian countries, especially in South Asia. In order to prevent the pervasive consequences of undernutrition, strategies that address this burden are required. Successful implementation of strategies may be limited by the complex aetiology of undernutrition, including the political setting. Rising food insecurity because of climate change, land use for biofuel production and the recent global financial crisis threaten to exacerbate childhood malnutrition. In this review, we describe the burden of undernutrition among Asian children and discuss contributing factors and potential solutions. [source] Language rights in Indigenous communities: The case of the Inuit of Arctic Québec1JOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 3 2005Donna Patrick Despite the rise of language rights, it is not clear whether the granting of rights to Indigenous and minority groups has any direct effect on the ability of these groups to revitalize and maintain their languages. This paper offers an analysis of macro-level rights discourse in Canada, drawing on certain Supreme Court of Canada decisions regarding Francophone-minority and Aboriginal peoples. It then traces certain consequences of the granting of Indigenous language rights for Indigenous language instruction and maintenance, focusing on the Inuit in the Arctic Québec region of Nunavik. [source] Nutritional status, body composition, and intestinal parasitism among the Mbyá-Guaraní communities of Misiones, ArgentinaAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2010M.L. Zonta Indigenous communities in Argentina represent socially and economically neglected populations. They are living in extreme poverty and environmental degradation conditions. New information about health status and socio-environmental features is urgently needed to be applied in future sanitary policies. Present study describes the nutritional status, body composition, and intestinal parasitism among Mbyá-Guaraní children from three communities in the Misiones Province. Anthropometric parameters were analized for 178 individuals (aged 1,14). Data were transformed to z -scores using NHANES I and II. Stunting showed the greatest prevalence (44.9%). Children were found to have low arm circumference and low arm muscle area, although with tricipital skinfold value near to the reference. They also tend to have shorter than normal lower limbs. Fecal samples and anal brushes (for Enterobius vermicularis) were collected in 45 children (aged 1,13). Ritchie's sedimentation and Willis' flotation techniques were used to determine parasitoses. Ninety five percent of children were infected with at least one species and 81.4% were polyparasitized. The higher prevalences corresponded to Blastocystis hominis, hookworms (Ancylostoma duodenale/Necator americanus), and Entamoeba coli. Associations occurred between hookworms with B. hominis/E. coli and B. hominis with nonpathogenic amoebas. Thirty nine percent of the children with stunting presented B. hominis, Strongyloides, and hookworms. Our results indicate that this indigenous population is subjected to extreme poverty conditions and is one of the most marginalized in this country. Severe growth stunting and parasitic infection are still quite common among Mbyá children affecting about half of them along with significant changes in body composition and proportions. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The Lives and Work of Beatrice Medicine and Vine Deloria Jr.ANTHROPOLOGY & EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2007Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy In this article, we offer a tribute to the memories of Dr. Beatrice Medicine and Dr. Vine Deloria Jr., two of the most revered and celebrated Indigenous educators. We describe the legacy these scholars leave as one that calls on Indigenous communities to survive by both fighting against ongoing colonization and pursuing individual and communal well-being. We respond to reflections offered by Troy Richardson, Donna Deyhle, and Teresa McCarty in this issue. Medicine's and Deloria's scholarship and leadership remind us about the importance of recognizing the wisdom of elders, of developing research that serves a community purpose, and of working toward the self-education of Indigenous peoples through claiming power and sovereignty. [source] Association of natural fluoride in community water supplies with dental health of children in remote Indigenous communities , implications for policyAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 3 2009Ross S. Bailie Abstract Objective: To map the geographic distribution of fluoride in water supplies and child dental caries in remote Indigenous communities of the Northern Territory (NT). To examine the association between fluoride levels, household and community factors, access to services and child dental caries in these communities and to model the impact on the caries experience of children of introducing water fluoridation. Methods: Fluoride testing was conducted in 80 locations across the NT in 2001. Measures of mean caries experience for six-year-olds and 12-year-olds and community and housing-related infrastructure were obtained from records of the NT School Dental Service. Associations between community fluoride levels, community level variables and childhood caries experience and potential impact of water fluoridation were assessed using linear regression modeling. Results: Mean caries experience for six- and 12-year-olds tended to be higher in northern and eastern areas of the NT, corresponding to the distribution of low levels of natural fluoride. Several-fold more children in remote NT communities are exposed to the risks of inadequate fluoride than are exposed to excessive fluoride. Mean reticulated fluoride level was the only variable significantly associated (p<0.05) with caries experience in both age groups. The potential reduction of caries through introducing water fluoridation is expected to be about 28% for children living in communities with the lowest levels of fluoride (<0.3 mg/L). Conclusions and Implications: Introduction of fluoridation of water supplies into communities with inadequate natural fluoride is a vital measure for improving the dental health of children living in remote NT communities. [source] Monitoring local trends in Indigenous tobacco consumptionAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 1 2009David P. Thomas Abstract Objective: To compare two methods of monitoring tobacco consumption in remote Indigenous communities. Methods: We examined the monthly difference between wholesale invoice and point-of-sale data for tobacco products from three stores from remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. We assessed three measures of wholesale data. Results: The average monthly difference between the sale data and the average of wholesale invoices for the previous, same and following month was -33 cigarettes per day (95% CI -157, 92). This average of three months' wholesale invoices provided a more precise estimate than either wholesale invoices from the same or previous month. Conclusion: Tobacco wholesale data provided a close estimate of sales data in these stores. Implications: This wholesale data could be used to monitor local trends in remote Indigenous tobacco consumption, facilitating the evaluation of the impact of tobacco control activities and informing future work to reduce Indigenous smoking and its harms. [source] Risk factors for preterm, low birth weight and small for gestational age birth in urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in TownsvilleAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 2 2006Katie Panaretto Objectives: To assess the characteristics of Indigenous births and to examine the risk factors for preterm (<37 weeks), low birth weight (<2,500 g) and small for gestational age (SGA) births in a remote urban setting. Design: Prospective cohort of singleton births to women attending Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Services (TAIHS) for shared antenatal care between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2003. Main outcome measures: Demographic, obstetric, and antenatal care characteristics are described. Risk factors for preterm birth, low birth weight and SGA births are assessed. Results: The mean age of the mothers was 25.0 years (95% Cl 24.5,25.5), 15.8% reported hazardous or harmful alcohol use, 15.1% domestic violence, 30% had an inter-pregnancy interval of less than 12 months and 9.2% an unwanted pregnancy. The prevalence of infection was 50.2%. Predictors of preterm birth were a previous preterm birth, low body mass index (BMI) and inadequate antenatal care, with the subgroup at greatest risk of preterm birth being women with a previous preterm birth and infection in the current pregnancy. Predictors of a low birth weight birth were a previous stillbirth, low BMI and an interaction of urine infection and non-Townsville residence; predictors of an SGA birth were tobacco use, pregnancy-induced hypertension and interaction of urine infection and harmful alcohol use. Conclusion: The prevalence of demographic and clinical risk factors is high in this group of urban Indigenous women. Strategies addressing potentially modifiable risk factors should be an important focus of antenatal care delivery to Indigenous women and may represent an opportunity to improve perinatal outcome in Indigenous communities in Australia. [source] The investigation of a ,cluster' of hepatitis B in teenagers from an Indigenous community in North QueenslandAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 4 2000RUTH L MALCOLM Background: In early 1999, five teenagers from the same Indigenous community were notified as having hepatitis B. Hepatitis B vaccine should have been offered to thiscohort of teenagers in a ,catch,up' program during the late 1980s when they were of preschool age. Objectives: To determine the vaccination status of residents of the community born between 1981 and 1985 (inclusive) and to ascertain the prevalence of markers of hepatitis B infection and carriage in the incompletely vaccinated teenagers in this cohort. Methods: Community health records were examined to identify all residents in the study cohort. Immunisation records were obtained from local hospital records and from a statewide computerised vaccination database. Serological tests for markers of hepatitis B infection and carriage were performed on blood samples from the incompletely vaccinated teenagers. Results: Only 44% of 235 teenagers who had their vaccination status assessed were fully vaccinated. One hundred and eleven (47%) of the cohort had not received any hepatitis B vaccine. Over 90% of the incompletely vaccinated had been infected with the hepatitis B virus and 26% of these were hepatitis B carriers. Conclusions: Despite the availability of an effective hepatitis B vaccine and the recommendation for a catch,up program, the pre,school aged cohort of children at the community were not effectively targeted for vaccination. Hepatitis B remains a consequential infection in Indigenous communities in North Queensland. [source] What Makes an Aboriginal Council Successful?AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 4 2009Case Studies of Aboriginal Community Government Performance in Far North Queensland Indigenous community governments are at the frontline of current efforts to ,close the gap' between Indigenous and non-Indigenous living standards. Yet there is little empirical evidence about successful performance by these organisations and considerable scepticism about whether introduced Western governance models can ever be viable in Indigenous communities. To identify the governance attributes that contribute to successful performance, case studies were conducted at three Aboriginal councils in far north Queensland. The untested assumptions in current notions of ,good governance' were examined. Currently accepted good governance principles and practices were investigated to ascertain their actual causal relationship with council performance. The research further identified key contextual, historical and cultural factors that are important in shaping successful or unsuccessful governance. Practical strategies are suggested for policy-makers and Indigenous leaders to build the performance of Indigenous community governments. [source] Problems of Indigenous Community Councils in North AustraliaAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 4 2006Chris Adepoyibi Since 1978 community councils have been able to directly qualify for Northern Territory government funding. Community councils have therefore become instruments for community governance as well as being responsible for delivering municipal services to Northern Territory Indigenous communities. The effectiveness of these councils are influenced by the community/cultural environment and the strategic environment. A community council plays an important role in negotiations between these two environments. The article observes that there is a strong separation of responsibilities in communities between those relating to municipal services and those relating to community/cultural issues and suggests a realignment of supervisory authority and de-concentration of responsibilities within community councils. [source] Approach to treatment of mental illness and substance dependence in remote Indigenous communities: Results of a mixed methods studyAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 4 2009Tricia Nagel Abstract Objective:,To develop and evaluate a culturally adapted brief intervention for Indigenous people with chronic mental illness. Design:,A mixed methods design in which an exploratory phase of qualitative research was followed by a nested randomised controlled trial. Setting:,Psycho-education resources and a brief intervention, motivational care planning (MCP), were developed and tested in collaboration with aboriginal mental health workers in three remote communities in northern Australia. Participants:,A total of 49 patients with mental illness and 37 carers were recruited to a randomised controlled trial that compared MCP (n = 24) with a clinical control condition (treatment as usual, n = 25). Intervention:,The early treatment group received MCP at baseline and the late treatment group received delayed treatment at six months. Main outcome measures:,The primary outcome was mental health problem severity as measured by the health of the nation outcome scales. Secondary measures of well-being (Kessler 10), life skills, self-management and substance dependence were chosen. Outcome assessments were performed at baseline, six-month, 12-month and 18-month follow up. Results:,Random effects regression analyses showed significant advantage for the treatment condition in terms of well-being with changes in health of the nation outcome scales (P < 0.001) and Kessler 10 (P = 0.001), which were sustained over time. There was also significant advantage for treatment for alcohol dependence (P = 0.05), with response also evident in cannabis dependence (P = 0.064) and with changes in substance dependence sustained over time. Conclusions:,These results suggest that MCP is an effective treatment for Indigenous people with mental illness and provide insight into the experience of mental illness in remote communities. [source] IDENTIFYING MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS AMONG RURAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLESAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 4 2003Dein Vindigni ABSTRACT Objective: To critically review the methodological properties of previous musculoskeletal studies among Indigenous populations. In particular, non-rheumatic, musculoskeletal conditions of mechanical origin are examined as these appear to be commonly related to syndromes of pain and disability. Design: Systematic review. Setting: Rural, Indigenous communities throughout the world. Subjects: Indigenous peoples aged 16 and over living in rural communities. Main outcome measure: Minimum requirements for methodologically sound musculoskeletal health research according to previously published criteria. Results: Due to methodological limitations in the 14 studies reviewed, only five methodologically acceptable studies were found. Conclusion: Given the paucity of methodologically sound musculoskeletal studies among Indigenous populations, the true prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions in these communities remains largely unknown. [source] Australian Indigenous Studies: A Question of DisciplineTHE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 3 2006Martin Nakata This paper is an early discussion of the ways we are approaching Indigenous Studies in Australian Universities. The focus is on how disciplinary and scholarly issues within Indigenous Studies can be interrogated and yet retain the necessary cohesion and solidarity so important to the Indigenous struggle. The paper contrasts Indigenous Studies pursued by Indigenous scholars to other disciplinary perspectives in the academy. Categories such as the Indigenous community and Indigenous knowledge are problematised, not to dissolve them, but to explore productive avenues. I identify one of the problems that Indigenous studies faces as resisting the tendency to perpetuate an enclave within the academy whose purpose is to reflect back an impoverished and codified representation of Indigenous culture to the communities that are its source. On the other hand, there is danger also in the necessary engagement with other disciplines on their own terms. My suggestion is that we see ourselves mapping our understanding of our particular Indigenous experiences upon a terrain intersected by the pathways, both of other Indigenous experiences, and of the non-Indigenous academic disciplines. My intention is to stimulate some thought among Indigenous academics and scholars about the future possibilities of Australian Indigenous Studies as a field of endeavour. [source] The investigation of a ,cluster' of hepatitis B in teenagers from an Indigenous community in North QueenslandAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 4 2000RUTH L MALCOLM Background: In early 1999, five teenagers from the same Indigenous community were notified as having hepatitis B. Hepatitis B vaccine should have been offered to thiscohort of teenagers in a ,catch,up' program during the late 1980s when they were of preschool age. Objectives: To determine the vaccination status of residents of the community born between 1981 and 1985 (inclusive) and to ascertain the prevalence of markers of hepatitis B infection and carriage in the incompletely vaccinated teenagers in this cohort. Methods: Community health records were examined to identify all residents in the study cohort. Immunisation records were obtained from local hospital records and from a statewide computerised vaccination database. Serological tests for markers of hepatitis B infection and carriage were performed on blood samples from the incompletely vaccinated teenagers. Results: Only 44% of 235 teenagers who had their vaccination status assessed were fully vaccinated. One hundred and eleven (47%) of the cohort had not received any hepatitis B vaccine. Over 90% of the incompletely vaccinated had been infected with the hepatitis B virus and 26% of these were hepatitis B carriers. Conclusions: Despite the availability of an effective hepatitis B vaccine and the recommendation for a catch,up program, the pre,school aged cohort of children at the community were not effectively targeted for vaccination. Hepatitis B remains a consequential infection in Indigenous communities in North Queensland. [source] Reconciling pedagogy and health sciences to promote Indigenous healthAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 2 2000Denise Main Objectives: To increase knowledge and skills regarding Indigenous learning styles. To raise awareness within the tertiary education sector that Aboriginal students learn differently and that Indigenous cultures and pedagogy have validity and strength. To examine pedagogical strategies that assist both tertiary students capacity for learning and university lecturers' delivery and evaluation of teaching and learning strategies. Methods: A qualitative, ethnographic framework using personal observations, field and classroom experience, interviews and review of literature in the fields of education, public health and Indigenous cultural perspectives. Results: Aboriginal people are the receivers of services and programs that will be delivered, in the majority of cases, by university-educated, non-Aboriginal, professional health care providers. Indigenous students face specific challenges in obtaining an effective education for working in the Aboriginal and wider community in the field of public health; the challenges relate to culture, health paradigms and community. Conclusion: Lecturers in health and human science courses for Aboriginal students need to both examine and appreciate the cultural constraints on learning faced by their students within the context of mainstream curriculum, and to build on the large pool of knowledge and learning styles that Aboriginal society bequeaths to Aboriginal students. Implications: Academics can apply the cultural differences and knowledge base of the Indigenous community as a force to promote health through learning. [source] The New Scramble for the African CountrysideDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 2 2003Vupenyu Dzingirai There is in Africa, as in other parts of the third world, a desire for environmental management that simultaneously incorporates and benefits all stakeholders, including private businesses and villagers. While these partnerships continue to displace the failed state-centric management of the African landscape, research to document their local-level impact is still formative and developing. This article is an attempt to examine the new environmental management partnerships emerging in southern Africa's countryside. It argues that these new interventions not only fail to deliver benefits to villagers: more importantly, they curtail the long-established rights to land and other natural resources of indigenous communities. While villagers may engage in a battle to recover these rights, it is a struggle in which the odds are stacked against them, and which the private sector and its partners are set to win. [source] Toward Adaptive Community Forest Management: Integrating Local Forest Knowledge with Scientific Forestry,ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 1 2002Daniel James Klooster Abstract: This case study of indigenous communities in highland Michoacán, Mexico, examines data on forest change, woodcutting practices, social history, and a recent forest inventory and management plan prepared by a professional forester. It assesses the social and environmental fit of both local knowledge and scientific forestry and considers their abilities to contribute to sustainable forest management. Both bodies of knowledge are limited in their ability to inform the social practice of environmental management. The local forest knowledge system is particularly hampered by a limited ability to monitor the forest's response to woodcutting, while scientific forestry lacks the institutional flexibility to ensure the just and effective implementation of restrictions and prescriptions. This article recommends cross-learning between scientific resource managers and woodcutters, participatory environmental monitoring to assess the results of different cutting techniques, and explicit management experiments to facilitate institutional learning at the community level. This kind of adaptive management approach permits the flexible integration of local knowledge, scientific forestry, and appropriate institutional parameters to modulate human needs and goals with the discordant harmonies of inhabited and heavily used forests in a constant state of flux under processes of succession, disturbance, and spatial variation. Several barriers to this kind of institutional innovation exist, but outside intervention has the potential to change the dynamics of institutional evolution. [source] Pursuing community forestry in LiberiaENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 5 2009Jennifer N. Lamb Abstract While Liberian forests are a biodiversity hotspot and integral to the livelihoods of indigenous communities, 14 years of conflict forestry turned this national asset into a source of economic inequality and corruption in an extreme example of a ,natural resource curse'. Moreover, overharvesting of timber through the conflict period has endangered community livelihoods and raised concerns regarding resource sustainability from international conservation organizations. Since the end of conflict in 2003, the Liberian government has forged international partnerships to create a reformed policy framework balancing commercial, conservation and community (the three Cs) interests. In an effort to contribute to the larger body of work on the role of natural resource management institutions in the creation and fostering of the resource curse, this paper offers a case study of timber in Liberia. We feel that an in-depth understanding of the Liberian case clarifies the challenge of timber as an extractive commodity and how the institutional framework can be shaped to provide a positive contribution to economic development. The discussion focuses on the historical development of Liberian land and forest tenure institutions that lead to poverty, ecological degradation and conflict. Tracing the more recent implementation of the three Cs, this paper analyzes the current conditions of community engagement and outlines critical steps to be taken for Liberia to escape further resource driven cycles of conflict. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Decolonising, Multiplicities and Mining in the Eastern Goldfields, Western AustraliaGEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2003Leah M. Gibbs In this ,postcolonial' era, peoples and places around the globe continue to face ongoing colonisation. Indigenous peoples in particular experience colonisation in numerous forms. Despite recent attempts to ,decolonise' indigenous spaces, hegemonic systems of production, governance and thinking often perpetuate colonial structures and relationships, resulting in further entrenched colonisation or ,deep colonising' (Rose, 1999). The interface between indigenous communities and the mining industry provides fertile ground for the tensions emerging between decolonising and deep colonising. Gold mining operations at Placer Dome's Granny Smith mine in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia present a valuable case study for examining this tension. Changes taking place at the mine site are decolonising in intent, though outcomes may be deep colonising in effect. Recent discussions among cultural geographers over meanings of place, Ollman's (1993) notion of vantage point and a broadly postcolonial literature inform consideration of this tension. Acknowledgment and incorporation of multiple vantage points into new resource management systems allows current hegemonic approaches to be rethought, and provides insights for the shift towards genuinely decolonising processes. [source] Sowing the Seeds of Progress: The Agricultural Biotechnology Debate in AfricaHISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2008Noah Zerbe Recent innovations in agricultural biotechnology raise a number of questions for the future of farming in both the developed and developing worlds. Conflicting international agreements, particularly tensions between the World Trade Organization's Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity, provoke debates between farmers, plant breeders, and indigenous communities over the extent of ownership rights in genetic resources. Further, trade disputes between the United States and the European Union help to shape the terrain on which biotechnology is developed. The future of agricultural biotechnology in Africa is largely a function of the outcome of these debates. [source] Burden of stroke in Brunei DarussalamINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF STROKE, Issue 5 2009S. H. Nainar Brunei Darussalam, located on the north-west coast of Borneo, has a total area of 5765 km2 (1). Divided into four districts , Brunei-Muara, Belait, Temburong and Tutong with the majority of the population living in the Brunei-Muara District, approximately 74% of the population is urban with an overall population of 390 000, male/female ratio 1·13 : 1 (2). The main ethnic group is Malay (66·6%), which comprises the different Brunei indigenous communities of Malay, Belait, Bisaya, Brunei, Dusun, Kedayan, Murut and Tutong. Chinese ethnicity comprises 11% while other undefined ethnicities 22·4%. Approximately, 39·2% are aged below 19 years, 2·8% over 65 years with a median age of 26 years. Brunei's gross national income per capita (PPP international $) is 49 900 (3). [source] NGOs, gender and indigenous grassroots developmentJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2002Janet Henshall Momsen This paper looks at two very similar efforts by indigenous communities to develop a tourist attraction based on their own culture and to market it in two very different environments: California and Mexico. Both groups have been displaced from their traditional areas, are being advised by a woman consultant and are expecting women community members to provide cultural performances and crafts for sale to visitors. Unlike the NGOs involved, the communities see this tourism activity as a reclamation and reaffirmation of a culture that has been almost lost, rather than as an exercise in local economic development. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A Window into the Recent Past in Chiapas: Federal Education and Indigenismo in the Highlands, 1921-1940JOURNAL OF LATIN AMERICAN & CARIBBEAN ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 1 2001Stephen E. LewisArticle first published online: 28 JUN 200 In the 1920s and 1930s Mexico's Ministry of Public Education (SEP) launched ambitious projects aimed at modernizing and "civilizing' the highlands of Chiapas "incorporating' its indigenous populations into the national mestizo mainstream, and imposing federal laws and instiaitions in the state. SEP teachers met fierce resistance from ladino alcohol mercliants, debt-labor contractors, planters and politicians and from the Tzotzil and Tzeltal Maya themselves. By the time President Lázaro Cárdenas managed to impose his reform agenda on the state in late 1936, die SEP's battle had largely been lost, kind and labor reforms merely provided local ladinos with new ways to control the highland Maya. By 1940, indigenous communities were tied politically to state and national party machines. Only now might tills system of domination lie breaking down, as the PRI reels from its recent losses at the national and state levels. [source] Mission Encounters in the Colonial World: British Columbia and South-West AustraliaJOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS HISTORY, Issue 2 2000Peggy Brock This paper considers various aspects of the interactions of missions and indigenous peoples in regions of Canada and Australia. An analysis of first encounters indicates that the introduction of Christianity was dependent on both evangelist and client population agreeing to a modus operandi for the mission. The structure and operation of the mission were determined by the pre-existing indigenous society and the financial and personnel resources of the mission organizations. Attitudes towards, and acceptance of, Christianity were not static, they depended on changing material and political circumstances both within and outside indigenous communities. This comparative analysis indicates that religious change was not only negotiated between missionary and "convert," but among indigenous peoples themselves. The decision to profess Christianity was not a one-off decision made by individuals or communities. Rather it was a long process of change which was contingent on the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the mission world and countervailingpressures from within indigenous and colonial societies. [source] Contexts of Monumentalism: regional diversity at the Neolithic transition in north-west FranceOXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 1 2002Chris Scarre The origins of funerary monumentalism in north-west France remain inextricably linked to questions surrounding the Neolithic transition in that region. Debate continues over the relative importance of influences from earlier Neolithic communities in north-east or southern France on the Mesolithic communities of western France. An alternative interpretation places these influences within the context of broad processes of change affecting indigenous communities throughout northern and western France during the fifth millennium BC. The evidence from several regions of northern and western France is reviewed in this perspective, with emphasis on the regional character of monument traditions. Though at one level these regional narratives must have been interrelated, the regional diversity of the process must also be underlined. The argument moves us away from simplistic notions of extraneous influences to a more nuanced understanding of change within the context of individual communities at the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition. [source] General Comment No. 17 on "Authors' Rights"THE JOURNAL OF WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Issue 1 2007Hans Morten Haugen General Comment No. 17 on authors' rights is a comprehensive assessment of the normative content of article 15, paragraph 1(c) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the Covenant). Also, the obligations and violations are spelled out in great detail. It is found that the General Comment makes a clear distinction in principle between standard intellectual property rights and the protection given in accordance with article 15, paragraph 1(c). At the same time, the General Comment does not outline any specific tools for determining when an intellectual effort would result in human rights protection and when it would fall outside of the scope of this protection. Two clarifications have resulted in a positive reception of the General Comment among those who expressed criticism during the drafting. First, General Comment No. 17 acknowledges the need for human rights protection for local and indigenous communities. Second, General Comment No. 17 emphasizes the balance between the private interests of the authors and the other human rights recognized in the Covenant. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||