Micro-insurance through corporate-NGO partnerships in West Bengal : opportunities and constraints

This Practical Note examines the nascent micro-insurance sector in West Bengal, paying particular attention to the corporate- NGO partnership model for micro-insurance distribution,which has been enabled by India's unique regulatory framework. We challenge the popularconstruction of this model as a 'win - win' for all parties by analysing conflicting understandings of micro-insurance schemes and their purposes by insurance companies, NGOs, and poorvillagers. The article also considers the role of the specific political context of West Bengal inconstricting corporate- NGO micro-insurance

On the Source and Rewriting of 1 Corinthians 2.9 in Christian, Jewish and Islamic Traditions (1 Clem 34.8; GosJud 47.10-13; a ḥadīth qudsī)

The article reopens the file of sources, parallels and rewritings of 1 Cor 2.9, a saying that Paul attributes to some written source, when others sources put it into Jesus' mouth (e.g. GosThom 17). A state of research highlights that the hypothesis of an oral source is generally preferred but an accurate study of 1 Clem 34.8, a parallel too often neglected, supports the presence of a written source that existed before 1 Cor 2.9. GosJud 47.10-13 will help to understand the attribution of the saying to Jesus. The last important part of this article studies its parallel in Islamic traditions, a ḥadīth qudsī.

Symptoms of chronic stress at work in NGO workers

Working in a NGO often involves providing life saving resources (food, medicine, equipment, water, etc) to needy populations around the globe. Such duty requires highly dedicated employees and humanitarian workers are said to face a hign degree of pressure in their daily work. Despite the evidence of taxing work demands, and a high potential for stress related problems, very few studies on occupational chronic stress have specifically looked at NGO workers. Assuming that "field stress" can relay to workers at headquarters, we carried out an exploratory study about occupational health among employees of a NGO's headquarters. We sent a questionnaire to all employees (N=130) of a NGO headquarters located in Switzerland. We used the TST questionnaire (French version of the Langner's questionnaire on psychiatric symptoms) to identify cases with potential mental health problems. We also included in the questionnaire some items about motivation, acknowledgment, work-life balance, job demand, and autonomy. A total of 75 employees answered our questionnaire (57% response rate). 44% of our sample were men (n=33) and 56% were women (n=42). The mean age was of 40 years (SD=7.6). 56% were working at the headquarters of the NGO in questions as of 2 years or less. Not surprisingly, a majority of respondents reported to be highly motivated (74%) and the meaning of work was important for 80% of them. However, 35% indicated having problems in conciliating their private and professional life. Most frequent reported symptoms included feeling "weak all over" (81%), having "trouble getting asleep often" (35%), "clogging in nose" (35%), feeling "nervous often" (33%), and "memory not all right" (33%). The score for psychiatric symptoms was high in 8 (11%) employees whose health might therefore be at risk. In comparison, other sudies showed that this proportion was 9% for French teachers and 16% for sales personnel1. Results show that symptoms of mental health problems do occur among NGO workers. Some of these symptoms are known to be linked to occupational stress. Chronic stress manifests itself first in non-specific symptoms (e.g. fatigue) and later in specific pathologies. This could explain the relatively low proportion of cases with a high score in Langner's scale than was expected. Therefore, we hypothesize a healthy worker effect. The fact that our sample is 40 years old in average, and that the turnover is quite high can also support this hypothesis. Further research is needed in order to better understand occupational stress in this specific population. An upcoming study will investigate the role of organizational factors associated with health complaints. Therefore, a longitudinal survey including quantitative and qualitative methods is appropriate.

Early Modern Persian, Urdu, and English Historiography and the Imagination of Islamic India under British Rule

This paper analyses the early modern transformations of South Asian literary cultures through the production of historiography in Persian, English, and Urdu. In the 18th-19th centuries, South Asian communities experienced and participated in a major restructuring of the languages of the subcontinent. Urdu and English were institutionalized as governmental languages and utilized in new literary productions as Persian was gradually marginalized from the centre of literary and governmental polities. Three interrelated colonial policies reshaped the historical consciousness of South Asia and Britain: the production of new Persian histories commissioned under British patronage, the initiation of Urdu historiography through the translation of Persian and English histories, and the construction of the British history of India written in English. This article explores the historical and social dynamics of these events and situates the origins and evolution of the colonial historiographical project. Major works discussed are the Tārīkh-i Bangālah of Salīm Allāh Munshī (fl. 1763), James Mill's (1773-1836) The History of British India first published in 1817, Mīr Sher ʿAlī Afsos' the Ārāʾish-i mahfil, as well as the production of original Urdu histories such as Muḥammad Zakāʾ-Allāh's (1832-1910) the Tārīkh-i Hindustān.

The progress and obstacles of implementing and improving e-government in Islamic Republic of Iran

To improving efficiency and transparency of government services, government authorities may increase the frequency of interaction between citizens and government as well as improving the quality of the government services and trust. Electronic Government (E-Government) in definition is the delivery of government services to citizens, businesses, and government organizations through the use of internet, web based applications, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is the solution to build more reliable and efficient contact with citizens. Like the developing and developed countries, Iran also has been processing the various aspects of ICT, IT, and e-Government. Though, in order to implement and improve e-Government; Iran has faced with some obstacles. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to study progress of e- Government and identify obstacles of implementing and improving e Government in Iran. In this thesis, based on the literature review, the progress of e-Government in Iran was studied and various obstacles were identified. Therefore, as a result, e- Government of Iran is said to be in the transactional stage of the United Nations’ e-Government maturity stages. In addition, establishing more reliable, efficient, and accurate e-Government initiatives, plans, guidelines, and strategies will extremely enhance e-Government status of Iran. On the other hand, the needs of the citizens should always be under consideration when implementing and improving e-Government services; because citizens are considered to be at the core of every e-Government services and the responsibilities of the authorities.

Advocating recognition and redistribution in poverty alleviation programs in Ghana : an examination of state and NGO programs and policies

Abstract This thesis argues that poverty alleviation strategies and programs carried out by the government and Non Governmental Organizations in Ghana provide affirmative solutions to poverty. This is because, these intervention strategies have been influenced by conventional discourses on poverty that fail to adequately address non-economic issues of poverty such as powerlessness, marginalization and tmder-representation. The study is carried out in a two-pronged manner; first, it analyses state policies and strategies, particularly the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), on poverty alleviation and compares these to NGO programs, implemented with funds and support from external donor organizations. Specifically, I focus on how NGOs and the governnlent of Ghana negotiate autonomy and financial dependency with their funding donor-partners and how these affect their policies and programs. Findings from this study reveal that while external influences dominate poverty alleviation policies and strategies, NGOs and the government of Ghana exercise varying degrees of agency in navigating these issues. In particular, NGOs have been able to adapt their programs to the changing needs of donor markets, and are also actively engaged in re-orienting poverty back to the political domain through advocacy campaigns. Overall, rural communities in Ghana depend on charitable NGOs for the provision of essential social services, while the Ghanaian government depends on international donor assistance for its development projects.

NGO Duties in Relation to Human Rights. A Closer Look at One Proposal

This paper investigates the moral duties that human rights NGOs, such as Amnesty International, and development NGOs, such as Oxfam, have in relation to human rights – especially in relation to the human right to a decent standard of living. The mentioned NGOs are powerful new agents on the global scene, and according to many they might be duty-bearers in relation to human rights. However, until now their moral duties have hardly been investigated. The present paper investigates NGO duties in relation to human rights by looking in particular to a moral theory recently proposed by Leif Wenar, a theory which has some similarities to utilitarianism. In applying this theory, a case for human-rights duties of NGOs is developed mainly by considering the indispensable role that civil society plays in protecting human rights. The paper concludes that, at least, NGOs bear duties with regard to human rights when, as in certain real-life cases, NGO involvement is the only way to achieve acceptable protection against standard threats to certain goods, such as a decent standard of living.

A Study on the Efficiency of Islamic Economic Instruments in Selected Islamic Countries

Department of Applied Economics,Cochin University of Science and Technology

The role of NGO in informal seed production and dissemination: The case of eastern Ethiopia

Seed is the basic input to crop production. Farmer-based seed production as an alternative agricultural technology transfer is increasingly given especial attention in developing countries where food insecurity is critical. This paper aims to assess the seed production and dissemination strategy among smallholder farmers in eastern Ethiopia that has been introduced by Hararghe Catholic Secretariat (a Non-GovernmentalOrganization). A survey of 160 households in four administrative districts and focus group discussions were used to collect data. While narratives helped understand the process, logistic regressionwas used to identify determinants of land allocation to seed production. Results indicate the crucial role of informal networks and social capital as facilitators of access to production inputs, information and knowledge. The informal seed supply system initiated by the NGO has a huge potential to benefit smallholder farmers by improving their access to higher-yielding varieties of various crops, thereby contributing to an increase in their wellbeing. However, the traditional practice of seed exchange, influenced by social relations, will remain uneconomical to seed producers. Thus, the paper suggests that this potential can be further exploited if some preconditions such as establishment of seed banks, investment in human capital, removal of the underlying constraints and creation of reliable seed markets are given emphasis.

Meeting of minds : islamic encounters c. 570 to 1750.

Ayuda a los alumnos a entender la mentalidad de las personas que integraban el mundo islámico y de aquellas otras con las que se encontraron en su expansión. Para ello, se estudian las condiciones sociales, políticas, religiosas y culturales del mundo preislámico e islámico hasta 1750. Cada sección se estructura como una investigación histórica, para que cada estudiante seleccione, ordene y clasifique la información y aprenda a relacionar las cuestiones clave. Su contenido se adapta al curriculum nacional inglés.