Community-based household waste management: Lessons learnt from EXNORA's ‘zero waste management’ scheme in two South Indian cities

This paper presents two case studies on the efforts by a community-based organisation to promote a sustainable integrated waste management system in Indian mega cities. This effort was initiated in 1989 by a local non-governmental organisation (NGO) called EXNORA and is based on a ‘zero waste management scheme’ set up, run and financed by the residents themselves. As this model has been widely quoted as successful, the study aims at learning from two communities implementing this model.Results are reported from a survey of the two schemes that used various tools to assess both their performance and sustainability in selected residential areas of two Indian cities, Chennai and Hyderabad. The results indicate limited success of the schemes both in saving a significant fraction of the generated waste from dumping, and in rehabilitating the local poor. However, they show that motivated individuals can successfully set up and manage waste collection systems that lead to overall environmental improvements. The differences in the two schemes reflect how the local assets and contexts impact on the success of the scheme. The scheme in a rich neighbourhood of Hyderabad was less ambitious in its overall objectives and focussed on the provision of a waste management service, using the opportunity to provide local employment to a socially deprived fraction of the population. The scheme in a middle-class area of Chennai, although pioneering in its approach, suffered from diseconomies of scale and lack of social integration, making it less viable in the medium to long term. Both schemes suffered from a lack of community involvement, motivation and political support, which threatens the long-term sustainability of the enterprise. The research concludes that the role that communities can realistically play in management of their own waste depends on the local context. The system advocated by EXNORA seems to require significant local resources, and political and technical support which are hard to find and sustain without strong local leaders. Another model set up in the city of Visakhapatnam is finally introduced as an alternative. This is based on triangular contracts between the municipality, the residents and micro-enterprises and may provide a good solution in dealing with the technical and commercial aspects which communities find difficult.     

Evaluation of HIV/AIDS peer education projects in Zambia

This 1998 evaluation assessed the peer education programmes of HIV/AIDS projects run by four non-governmental organisations. A mini-case study approach was used and analysis was based on cross-case itemistic variables. The projects were assessed only in terms of immediate developmental outcomes to target groups rather than on long-term impact. The study concluded the following: (1) The projects had raised community awareness of HIV/AIDS; (2) Basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS was for the most part accurate; (3) There was anecdotal evidence of behavioural changes in terms of partner-reduction as reported by the projects, though the evidence was sometimes conflicting; and (4) There was evidence that certain traditional practices, which contributed to the spread of the virus (e.g. sexual cleansing and scarification), were becoming modified over time. The programmes were also instrumental in protecting human rights and enabling people living with HIV/AIDS to maintain human dignity.     

社区安全与环境设计--在"可防卫空间"之后

社区犯罪历来都被认为与社区实质环境之间存在直接的关系,本文回顾了近40年来与社区安全有关的环境行为研究后发现,可防卫空间、建筑规模、土地使用和空间结构等实体要素与犯罪和居民的安全感之间有密切联系,它们的关系是复杂的多层次的,而且还受到了社区的社会结构、认知和管理等多方面的影响。     

正确认识图书馆员与读者的关系

为读者服务是图书馆的历史使命，图书馆员的工作永远是为读者服务。从图书馆的建设目标阐述了读者与图书馆的关系，针对有学者提出的以“图书馆员第一”取代“读者第一”的观点进行了讨论，并认为“读者第一”的观点永远不能动摇。     

Re-evaluating the Community Question from a German perspective

The far-reaching effects of the social systemic division of labor on the organization and contents of primary ties make the Community Question an important issue for many sociologists. This paper looks at the personal embeddedness of families in three German cities (Berlin, Hamburg, and Stuttgart) and examines the Community Question with data collected at the end of 2003. It is based on the theoretical views of Wellman [Wellman, B., 1979. The community question. The intimate networks of East Yorkers. American Journal of Sociology 84, 1201–1231], who used a network analysis perspective to conceptualize “the Community Question”. The results of this German study generally support the results of Wellman's second East York Study. However, the network structures analyzed in my study vary from the three ideal-type models. Cluster analysis shows that Wellman's typology can be replicated relatively well in Germany. In contrast to traditional discourse related to the Community Question, particular network types are not associated with low levels of social relations. Moreover, structural factors do not explain the existence of different network types. Thus, the networks are not a product of only one community model. They suggest that it is less helpful to talk about “Saved”, “Lost”, or “Liberated” communities than it is to regard communities as a mixture of strongly-knit nuclear clusters and of broader, sparsely-knit relations that provide access to different groups and their resources.     

浅谈后勤社会化条件下的学生思想政治工作

通过分析高校后勤社会化后的新情况,探讨新形势下学生思想政治工作的新特点,并结合管理实践,提出了在后勤社会化新条件下提高教育管理工作主动性和实效性的系列措施。     

国际合作计划生育结合项目与社区发展——云南罗平县结合项目实践的分析

根据云南省罗平县结合项目实施情况的实地考察,从社区发展方法的视角,对项目实施过程中的社区宣传、社区组织、资金筹措、效果评估和基层总体项目管理能力等方面进行了分析.     

古代蒙古社会的成吉思汗崇拜

英雄崇拜体现了一个民族的审美文化传统,作为蒙古族的缔造者,曾经创下震惊世界伟业的一代天骄成吉思汗,是广大蒙古族民众引以骄傲和自豪的英雄,成吉思汗崇拜无疑成了蒙古族社会的流行。成吉思汗崇拜是在蒙古族特殊的发展进程中形成,它对早期蒙古国家、民族的发展以及统一元朝的建立都产生了重大而深远的影响。     

图书馆特色化在学科建设中的人文理念

大学图书馆特色化建设是学科建设的重要组成部分.它是一种融服务性与学术性为一体的教育科研活动,是一项尊重人、尊重知识的创新性管理工作,体现了深厚的传统人文理念与图书馆工作的精神.     

实现以人为本的的图书馆服务理念

"用户至上,服务第一"是图书馆的核心价值观,图书馆的服务质量直接影响着图书馆工作的发展。本文介绍了新时期图书馆读者服务工作的特征,探讨了图书馆的以人为本、个性化服务内容和服务方式。