Nancy E. Bertaux

Learning About Women, Economic Development, Entrepreneurship and the Environment in India: A Case Study

On a recent semester-long stay in India, students from Xavier University (Cincinnati, Ohio) learned about a variety of social and economic development issues, with an emphasis on the role and status of women. This study describes and assesses the impact and effectiveness of their learning with a particular focus on their exposure to Meerut Seva Samaj (MSS), one economic development initiative concentrating on rural women.The Indian economy has recently witnessed an increase in entrepreneurship among women. Entrepreneurship often allows women to engage in home-based work so that they still can attend to their domestic duties, while also helping to financially support the family. Banks, companies, and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are finding that offering micro-credit, or small loans, and other types of entrepreneurial assistance can help women start businesses. Meerut Seva Samaj provides a concrete example of how Indian women, especially in rural areas, can become successful entrepreneurs with the help of technology, training and other resources. MSS also assists local communities in the use of biogas, an environmentally friendly energy source that improves the environment and fertility of land in rural areas. The study places this service learning case study from India in the context of the literature on women, economic development, entrepreneurship and environmental issues.

The roots of today's “women's jobs” and “men's jobs”: Using the index of dissimilarity to measure occupational segregation by gender

Abstract Looked at broadly, occupational distributions by sex in the United States have changed remarkably little since 1900; accordingly, researchers have found a slow rate of decline in the index of dissimilarity (a measure of occupational segregation by gender), estimates of which have so far been confined to the 20th century. This paper analyzes trends in the index over the latter part of the 19th century. The results indicate that during this period, industrialization and the associated changes in the nature of the business enterprise resulted in a rapid declinne in occupational segregation by gender, as measured by the index. This decline occurs earliest in cities experiencing early industrialization. Index estimates are presented for the United States and for selected midwestern cities, and changes in the index are decomposed into occupational mix effects and sex composition effects. Occupation-specific index changes are used to identify which occupations influenced changes in the overall index. The results indicate that the dynamic occupational shifts of the 19th century set the stage for the “mens jobs” and “womens jobs” that have been so persistently stable in the 20th century.

Knowledge management and economic development in developing countries: an examination of the main enablers

Knowledge Management can be defined as the efficient utilisation of the existing intangible, knowledge-related resources available in every sector of the economy to enhance the productivity of all factors of production. The developing nations, given their abundance of unutilised skilled labour and availability of capital, have been lagging behind other nations in the world in terms of utilising their existing resources to advance their economies. This paper addresses the need for developing countries to focus on the factors that systematically enable effective knowledge management. These enablers include transparency, political will, enhancement of educational institutions, a comprehensive database, and greater connections between the public and private sectors. This paper both describes these enablers, and offers recommendations on how developing countries can enhance their presence so that knowledge management can become an effective and crucial part of their overall economic development strategy.

KAFRA: A Context-Aware Framework of Knowledge Management in Global Diversity

Multiple case studies in India, The Gambia, and Nigeria are the background for an empirically grounded framework of knowledge management (KM). Cultural diversity and gaps in the provision of infrastructure make managing knowledge challenging but necessary in developing countries. These cultural and infrastructural issues are also related to governmental, educational, political, social, and economic factors. These environmental factors interact with organizational variables and information technology to enable or constrain knowledge management processes in the creation and protection of knowledge resources. The framework can help organizations to prepare their KM projects, to reveal problems during the project, and to assess its outcomes.

Information technology education for women in developing countries: benefits, barriers and policies

Information Technology (IT) has been widely acknowledged as an important component in the fight to reduce global poverty; it has also been identified as having the potential to empower women around the world economically, socially and politically. Education, and IT education (ITE) in particular, are prerequisites for achieving higher rates of IT usage. In this paper, the nexus between gender, IT and ITE in the developing world is considered, including analysis of both the potential benefits of ITE, and barriers to womens participation in ITE in these countries. These barriers include literacy, education, language, mobility, location, time, money, skills, and sociocultural practices. Relevant policy initiatives are examined and assessed, including increasing access to IT (both hardware and software), establishment of telecentres, targeted ITE programmes, strategic modification of content in ITE programmes, measures to increase demand for ITE, scholarships for IT and ITE programmes, and increasing female role models.

Exploring the Connections among Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in the Public Schools of 19th Century Cincinnati, Ohio

My 1987 dissertation, Womens Work, Mens Work: Occupational Segregation by Sex in Nineteenth-Century Cincinnati, Ohio, included a case study of the feminization of public school teaching in the city. In my research for this case study, I became aware of the separate black and German public schools that existed in the city during the nineteenth century, and I began to notice both the parallels and the contrasts between the racial, ethnic and gender issues that are all-important elements in the history of the public schools. I vowed to return to this topic when the dissertation was complete. This article represents a first step toward pulling together the strands ofrace, gender and ethnicity. I am also now working with historian Michael Washington on an analysis of the relationship of the nineteenth-century black schools of Cincinnati to the black community.

Education, Citizenship, and African American Community in Nineteenth-Century Cincinnati: Issues of Social, Cultural, and Human Capital

In Cincinnati, Ohio, the history of the social and economic status of blacks as it relates to educational and civic participation have received attention from a number of scholars, especially with respect to the nineteenth century. In this article, the authors focus on human, social, and cultural capital as a conceptual framework for understanding this history. The authors find that the interconnections between human, social, and cultural capital in these real-world circumstances were complex and significant. The authors find evidence of the social and cultural capital developed by African Americans in nineteenth-century Cincinnati in their schools and organizations as well as their narrative of their own historical past. Nevertheless, the authors also find that maintaining social and cultural capital was an ongoing individual and collective struggle for blacks in the city. The conclusions about cultural, social, and human capital in Cincinnati’s nineteenth-century African American community are linked to our understanding of the significance of African American migration from the South and emphasize the creative responses of African Americans, even in the face of extraordinary constraints that made it difficult to sustain institutional continuity.

Prospects for Irish macroeconomic recovery and stability

Most accounts of Irelands recent financial and budget crises focus on the failure and questionable practices of banks, the decision by the Irish government to guarantee the debt accumulated by the Irish banks, and the subsequent financial collapse that occurred as international creditors recognised the grave difficulties that Ireland faced in repaying its debt. Our analysis puts the challenges resulting from these events into a larger historical and political context. We contend that the problems Ireland is confronting are best understood as a property bubble, accompanied by regulatory lapses and structural problems in public finance. With respect to problems created by the collapse of the Celtic Tiger, we argue that export-oriented growth, though not a panacea, continues to provide the opportunity for Ireland to grow its economy despite a massive debt and the need for international support for financing this debt.

Rural Community and Human Development through Sustainable Information Technology Education: Empirical Evidence from Osun State in Nigeria

In developing countries, Information Technology education is associated with high cost and is not typically available outside urban areas. Seeking IT education might not be on the priority list of countries battling numerous problems related to healthcare, housing, nutrition and other basic needs of life, but globally, IT education is an increasingly important aspect of human resource development, as well as economic development. This article presents a case where the provision of IT education differs from the conventional emphasis on urban dwellers. The authors discuss the case of Summit Computers in a rural community in Nigeria. The analysis of the case suggests that for developing countries to benefit from advances in IT, awareness among the real users, convenience, affordability and consideration of how IT training can meet local needs and employment are important factors. Entrepreneurship, participation and empowerment of local users are also discussed as important factors that enhance the sustainability of IT education in rural communities.

Participant‐Centered Evaluation of Job Training Programmes for the Economically Disadvantages: A US Case Study

This article reports results from a US case study utilising participant-centred evaluations of government training programmes for the econ-omically disadvantaged. The study concludes that when qualitative evidence such as open-ended, face-to-face interviews with participants are added to the quantitative evaluation techniques currently used, significantly new or different insights can be gained for policy-making purposes.