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491. Knowledge and Behaviour Assessment of Drivers and Community People Towards Road Safety: A Baseline Study

Author:
Mrinmoy Samadder and Polin Kumar Saha
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
Abstract:
Recently, road traffic accidents are considered as the leading cause of death both in developed and developing countries. In Bangladesh, BRAC has recently initiated a new program on road safety in aiming to increase road safety awareness among road users. The ultimate goal of the program is to achieve “zero fatal road accidents” between Syedpur- Enayetganj road of Nabiganj Upazila in Habiganj district. The study intends to understand the current status of knowledge and practices on road safety of selected motor and non-motor drivers, students, teachers and a group named Community Road Safety Group (CRSG). To achieve this goal, the present study conducts conducted a baseline survey in both intervention and control areas followed by Focus Group Discussion (FGD), in-depth interviews, and investing the CRSG group formation including its activity plan in the treatment area. Findings show that both the drivers and students possess poor knowledge about the traffic rules and the road safety issue. Alternatively, it is also found a significant issue that there is a huge gap between knowledge and behaviour of drivers at time of driving. Finally, it has been revealed that road accidents blame to many contributory factors leading to site-specific road accidents such as a variety of vehicles in a specific road structure, speed of the vehicles, traffic regulations, poor education of students etc. and all of these are interrelated with the human attitude, behaviour and road conditions.
Topic:
Development, Infrastructure, Behavior, and Roads
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

492. China’s Belt and Road: a Game Changer?

Author:
Alessia Amighini
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI)
Abstract:
Officially announced by president Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has since become the centrepiece of China’s economic diplomacy. It is a commitment to ease bottlenecks to Eurasian trade by improving and building networks of connectivity across Central and Western Asia, where the BRI aims to act as a bond for the projects of regional cooperation and integration already in progress in Southern Asia. But it also reaches out to the Middle East as well as East and North Africa, a truly strategic area where the Belt joins the Road. Europe, the end-point of the New Silk Roads, both by land and by sea, is the ultimate geographic destination and political partner in the Belt and Road Initiative. This report, edited by Alessia Amighini, provides an in-depth analysis of the BRI, its logic, rationale and implications for international economic and political relations.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Infrastructure, Economy, and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
Political Geography:
China and Asia

493. Electrification in Nigeria: Challenges and Way Forward

Author:
Joseph Ishaku
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA)
Abstract:
Although electricity has been generated in commercial quantities in Nigeria for over a century, the rate of electricity infrastructure development in the county is low and power supply remains inadequate. Prior to reforms, the central challenges of the Nigerian power sector was the vertically integrated monopoly of government in power generation, transmission and distribution. While the reforms was successful in privatizing the generation and distribution segments of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), the overbearing problems in the sector persists –with privatization only changing the dimensions of the challenges. Financing remain a major problem across all the segments of the NESI partly due to non-cost reflective tariff. Yet each segment of the NESI also faces its unique challenges. The generation segment is riffed with the problems of energy security and inefficiencies in other segments. The challenges in the transmission segment lies in the lack of modern transmission lines and equipment, gross mismanagement, poor maintenance of available infrastructure and inefficient grid design. Distribution companies face the problem of huge Aggregate Technical, Commercial, and Collection (ATC&C) losses. In terms of electricity access, 46.09 percent of the Nigerian population remains unconnected to the national grid, representing 83.98 million people. Further, electricity demand is estimated at 24,380 MW as at 2015 compared to NESI’s available generation capacity of 7,139.6 MW. In terms of energy use, Nigeria has the lowest in the world – 80 percent below its energy use based on income levels. In a bid to tackle aforementioned challenges, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) set ambitious targets for the country’s energy mix. This should allow Nigeria exploit its potential for coal, solar, wind, biomass, as well as small and large hydroelectric power electric generation, while reducing the prevalence of self-generation, which constitute two-thirds of present energy mix. By 2020, the FGN targets to achieve up to 75 percent access to electricity by connecting 1.5 million households annually. While Nigeria’s energy mix targets are desirable, the prospect of success remain bleak on account of financial constraints, pricing policy and lack of policy coordination. Improving electricity supply in Nigeria and addressing barriers to achieving the energy mix targets will entail: addressing payment risk, financing power sector investment, as well as improving the pricing and tariff structure, gas pricing and allocation, and market regulation.
Topic:
Development, Markets, Infrastructure, Regulation, and Electricity
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

494. Arctic Imperatives: Reinforcing U.S. Strategy on America’s Fourth Coast

Author:
Thad W. Allen, Christine Todd Whitman, and Esther Brimmer
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
"The United States, through Alaska, is a significant Arctic nation with strategic, economic, and scientific interests," asserts a new Council on Foreign Relations-sponsored (CFR) Independent Task Force report, Arctic Imperatives: Reinforcing U.S. Strategy on America's Fourth Coast. With the Arctic "warming at twice the rate as the rest of the planet" and melting sea ice opening up this resource-rich region to new trade routes and commercial activities, the report stresses that "the United States needs to increase its strategic commitment to the region or risk leaving its interests unprotected." The report notes that while Russia has numerous ice-breaking vessels and China is building a third icebreaker, the United States owns only two operational icebreaking ships—one heavy icebreaker and one medium-weight icebreaker—to serve both the Arctic and the Antarctic. Asserting that "icebreakers are a national capacity" required for a range of maritime missions to support U.S. security, economic, and commercial needs, the Task Force recommends that the United States fund and build additional icebreakers. The report also finds that the United States needs greater investment in Alaskan infrastructure, including deepwater ports, roads, and reliable telecommunications, to support economic development and a sustained security presence in the region. Currently, "almost no marine infrastructure is in place within the U.S. maritime Arctic."
Topic:
Climate Change, International Trade and Finance, Infrastructure, Hegemony, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Russia, China, Europe, Asia, North America, Arctic, and United States of America

495. Civilizational Transformation of Society: The Value Dimension

Author:
Vill Bakirov
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Institution:
Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Abstract:
In the early 21st century the Ukrainian society civilizational modernization is far from being over. The current task is to acquire the modern European society model, the society that has overcome the negative attitude to the past and has liberated itself from the utopias concerning the future. The nation has to have an intensive intellectual life and a corresponding infrastructure, whose backbone in the 21st century is formed by the system of authentic universities. The author comes to a conclusion that universities have to realize, fully and responsibly, their mission in the post-industrial world in the third-wave university context, to search for convincing responses to the challenges of time, and, at the same time, must remain the centers of spirituality, culture and the free value-related self-determination of people.
Topic:
Infrastructure, Culture, Higher Education, Modernization, and Society
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine

496. Social Accountability in Tajikistan: Enchancing Trust Between Communities and Water Service Providers

Author:
Oxfam Publishing
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Tajikistan was one of the first countries that signed up for the Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA). Oxfam’s strategy on social accountability in the country focuses in three aspects: constructive engagement, enhancing trust through the Community Advisory Boards (CABs), and promoting women’s engagement. The programme has generated strong commitment from the government, communities and water services providers.
Topic:
Water, Infrastructure, Governance, Accountability, and Community
Political Geography:
Central Asia, Asia, and Tajikistan

497. Social Accountability in Lebanon: Promoting Dialogue in Humanitarian and Development WASH Programmes

Author:
Oxfam Publishing
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Oxfam’s work in Lebanon, both on humanitarian WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) and more long-term water development programmes, uses social accountability mechanisms to assess community needs, empower citizens and promote dialogue among affected stakeholders. This strategy has helped to unlock some tensions in an effort to provide basic rights and services to vulnerable people. However the situation in many settings remains fragile, and further efforts are needed to promote dialogue and to anchor consultation processes to the water sector dynamics in Lebanon.
Topic:
Infrastructure, Accountability, Humanitarian Crisis, and Empowerment
Political Geography:
Middle East and Lebanon

498. From Beneficiaries to Buyers: Creating a viable market for toilets in the Philippines

Author:
Rona Ramos and Tom Wildman
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In 2013, super typhoon Haiyan wreaked havoc on Eastern Samar and Bantayan Island and triggered a huge humanitarian response. Now the challenge is to support sustainable development. Having a toilet is a ‘damgo’ (a dream), not a necessity for poor families in the Philippines. If you didn’t think having a clean toilet at home was important before the disaster, why would it be important afterwards? By bringing together the right expertise and getting good financial products in place Oxfam has supported poor families to access new markets and products actively, with the intention of supporting long-lasting change.
Topic:
Development, Infrastructure, Sustainability, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Philippines and Asia-Pacific

499. Combining Humanitarian and Development Approaches in Bangladesh: Using VRA and PCMA methodologies

Author:
Oxfam Publishing
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Many rural communities in Tala, south-west Bangladesh are vulnerable to environmental hazards including water-logging, arsenic contamination, salinity and cyclones. Pre-crisis market assessment (PCMA) is used to support humanitarian programming based on an understanding of daily needs, how these change during crises, and how local market systems respond to these needs. Using vulnerability and risk assessment (VRA) allowed Oxfam to test the assumptions of humanitarian programme staff and provide a richer, more detailed analysis of the local context. The combination of PCMA with VRA can subsequently be used to facilitate better contingency planning to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of emergency responses.
Topic:
Development, Infrastructure, Crisis Management, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and Asia

500. Treading Water: The Worsening Water Crisis and the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism

Author:
Simone Klawitter and Alison Martin
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In the wake of the devastating destruction in Gaza in 2014, the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM) was established as a temporary measure to facilitate the entry of construction materials and a range of items classified and treated as ‘dual use’ by Israel. Two and a half years on, vital water sector recovery and development remains hampered and fully controlled by the Government of Israel, demonstrating the extent to which Israeli government policies continue to undermine humanitarian response, cause de-development and exacerbate the separation of the Gaza Strip from the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the world. This paper analyses the effectiveness of the GRM in improving access to water, health and sanitation services, assesses the roles and responsibilities of a range of actors and identifies urgent steps in relation to the GRM that should be taken to contribute to the development of a just, effective and sustainable water sector in Gaza.
Topic:
Development, Territorial Disputes, Water, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza