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Contracting challenges in post-disaster reconstruction in developing countries: Evidence from Nepal reconstruction
(Elsevier Ltd, 2025-04-15) Puri A; Ameer Ali N; Elkharboutly M
This study aims to identify the challenges of procuring and contracting post-disaster reconstruction projects in developing countries using conventional construction contracts, with Nepal as a case study. After the 7.6 Mw Gorkha Earthquake in 2015, Nepal embarked on extensive reconstruction efforts supported by various foreign governments and agencies. While these efforts were generally hailed as successful, large-scale non-residential reconstruction projects encountered significant challenges. This issue is common globally due to the lack of attention from researchers on large-scale non-residential reconstruction, leading to overlooked issues and the continuous failure of these projects to meet their objectives. One key issue in such projects is using conventional construction contracts not designed for post-disaster scenarios. This study used a qualitative research design that included semi-structured interviews to collect data and thematic analysis to gain insights from individuals involved in Nepal's reconstruction. Fifteen interviews with experts involved in managing construction contracts during the reconstruction were conducted and analysed using Nvivo 14 software. Upon analysis, two main themes emerged: procurement and bureaucratic, and contract-related, each further divided into sub-categories. These themes highlight how Procurement Act and conventional contracts used in reconstruction in Nepal failed to address post-disaster needs. The findings emphasise the necessity for pre-disaster evaluations and updates to procurement laws and contracts to establish more suitable approaches for reconstruction. Aligning contracts with the specific requirements of post-disaster contexts can significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of reconstruction efforts. Future research should focus on developing disaster-focused contracts to enhance global reconstruction practices.
Enabling sustainable agrifood value chain transformation in developing countries
(Elsevier Ltd, 2023-04-01) Hidayati DR; Garnevska E; Childerhouse P; Tong X
As agri-food value chains in developing countries transform to serve higher value markets, they are coming increasing under pressure to embrace sustainable practices. Many key players, particularly smallholders, find it difficult to comply with sustainable practice requirements. They face various barriers in the chain's operation (in terms of governance and value addition), while their primary focus is on increasing incomes to alleviate poverty. Therefore, this study empirically identifies and analyses the factors that enable sustainable value chain transformation in developing countries. A total of three key dimensions (sustainability, governance, and value addition) were used to explore the factors that enable sustainable value chain transformation. Furthermore, the existing practice as well as future intentions towards sustainable value chain practices are evaluated. A quantitative method was employed within Indonesia's cashew sector, and structured interviews were conducted with 159 smallholders from the key production area on Madura Island. The analysis was performed using a combination of descriptive and principal component analyses (PCA). A total of eight factors that enable sustainable transformation were identified. Farm practices and information communication were identified as the most significant enabling factors, as well as stakeholder support, certification motivation, and market expansion. Conversely, the most challenging factors were pre-harvesting value, value capturing, and value adding activities. The results reveal the current practices, barriers, and enablers, and provide policy and practice insights for transforming sustainable value chains in developing countries.
When and how managerial ties and institutional distance matters for export venture performance in a digital age : an emerging market perspective : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Marketing at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2022) Sima, Herbert
Despite the recent research on export performance, research is still unclear about what and how drives export performance in the digital age, especially for firms from emerging markets. Given the unprecedented and rapid environmental changes globally, exporting firms from emerging markets have encountered serious strategic issues. To overcome the challenges caused by cross-market institutional environment distance, social networking theory suggests that emerging market export firms need to rely on different managerial ties (host market business and political ties, home market ties and intrafirm ties) when conducting business in foreign host markets. Drawing on resource integration and innovation, social networking theory, digital technology, social media, institutional theory and export venture performance literature, in this thesis I have developed a series of conceptual models that have addressed the key research gaps in the extant literature. This thesis consists of three papers. Paper 1 is a conceptual study that outlines the contingent role of managerial ties in the resource integration-export venture innovation framework concerning emerging market export ventures. Paper 1 provides a platform for further empirical exploration, in relation to resource integration, managerial ties and export venture innovation. In Paper 2, I explore and examine the contingent effect of managerial ties in the digital market technology-export venture performance framework. In Paper 3, I further uncover the contingent effect of the institutional environment in the social media platform-export venture performance framework. The studies in Papers 2 and 3 are conducted based on the empirical evidence of 251 Chinese manufacturing firms’ export ventures. The results suggest that digital marketing technology has a direct impact on export venture economic and channel performance. In Paper 2, it is found that host market managerial ties (business and political) can positively impact the effect of digital marketing technology on export venture performance, whereas home market managerial ties either have no impact or have a negative contingent effect on digital marketing technology-export venture performance conceptualisation. In Paper 3, my research findings confirm that a firm’s social media platform has a direct and significant effect on export venture economic and channel performance. The institutional environment has both dark and bright side effects in the social media platform-export venture performance framework. Collectively my empirical research offers substantial new and novel insights into social networking theory, institutional theory, digital marketing technology, social media platform, and export venture literature. The outcomes of my research also provide insightful managerial implications for export ventures, especially for those from the emerging markets operating in foreign host markets.
Portraits of people and places of developing countries : a literary analysis of the public faces of development as presented in popular literature : case study: A Small Place (1988) by Jamaica Kincaid : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
(Massey University, 2006) Faloon-Cavander, Jacinda,
The literature that keeps me awake at night, containing written images that impress a certain public face of development, is the topic and exploration of this thesis. That the general public still lack in understanding regarding matters of development is key to carrying out this literature analysis. Images of the developing world are everywhere, and as such, an example of non-technical, non-industry specific creative writing is chosen for examination to highlight this point. The short, punctuating and controversial 'essay' A Small Place, by Caribbean author Jamaica Kincaid, is the case study for this thesis. The literature review is in four parts presenting the idea of public faces of development, the importance of interdisciplinary study combining literature with the humanities, an view of the underpinning contemporary themes of development - focusing on foundations of belief as opposed to physical conditions of development situations, and an introduction to Jamaica Kincaid and issues in Caribbean women's literature. Through the example of this case study, that takes its shape from close observations of the text, I conclude that popular literature has not only a literary place in ethnographic discussions, but an important historical and scientific place that helps the general reader to identify the difference between truth and fallacy represented in the various public faces of development.
Maximising participation : an integrated model of alternative development and participatory instructional design : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2002) Hatton, John
This thesis is concerned with participation by third world people within an alternative development context. The thesis is aimed at identifying the current parameters within which participation is accepted and proposes that these should (and can) be extended. The thesis proposes a holistic alternative development model, which promotes maximum participation. This model is achieved by the integration of accepted alternative development practice and current instructional technology practice. The thesis initially outlines the theoretical perspectives of both practices to define each process and identify relational, structural and methodological linkages. Investigation of relational linkages reveals a strong link between the two practices with corresponding steps occurring at each phase of the process. In addition the investigation reveals similar considerations, in respect to participation, particularly in the areas of needs analysis, design and evaluation. A parallel ideology in respect to participant input, empowerment and self-determination is also evident. Secondly the thesis proposes an integrated alternative development model that maximises participation and achieves enhanced empowerment, equity and appropriateness. Primary research by way of a case study is utilised to further investigate the model. The case study (based in Vanuatu) gives comparison between current alternative development practice and the integrated model. The study reveals the integrated model significantly enhances participant input resulting in a development intervention that fully considers the instructional needs of participants and better promotes empowerment and efficiency. Using a web based questionnaire as a research tool, the thesis also investigates current participatory trends in instructional design. This research aims to identify if development practitioners have 'picked up' on current instructional technology. The survey revealed that 88% of all respondents whilst promoting participation, did not seek participant input during instructional design. The findings of the thesis show a definite developmental advantage in enhancing participation by the integration of the two practices. Additionally the integrated model proposed in the thesis gives a clear direction as to how this can be achieved.
Community-based disaster response teams for vulnerable groups and developing nations : implementation, training, and sustainability : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Emergency Management at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2019) Cull, Paul
Bystanders are often the first to respond to disasters and, for this reason, Community-Based Disaster Response Teams (CBDRTs) should be established in vulnerable communities. The literature review examines Disaster Risk Reduction initiatives and identifies that there is little information available regarding strategies and training curriculum that could be used to establish and maintain CBDRTs in developing nations and with vulnerable groups. The three research questions for this investigation ask how CBDRT courses could be adapted for these communities, what topics and activities would be most useful for such training, and how the teams could be established and maintained. The research objectives are to identify strategies that could be used to train CBDRT groups in these contexts, to propose an outline for a basic training course, and to describe techniques that could contribute to the sustainability of these teams. Research was conducted with CBDRTs in developing nations using a mixed methods methodology with the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) programme being employed as a case study. Quantitative data was obtained from a questionnaire completed by CERT course graduates, and qualitative information was acquired from key informant interviews. After a review of the CERT programme that discusses its history, curriculum, success stories, and potential pitfalls, the data collected is presented through statistical analysis of the questionnaire replies and thematic analysis of the interview transcripts. Suggested CBDRT training strategies are creating courses for adolescents, modifying the material for non-literate learners, and providing additional practical activities. Recommendations for establishing programmes include developing teams for young people, cooperating with Community-Based Organisations to solve existing problems, and offering CBDRT training in the post-disaster environment. Techniques for maintaining the teams involve developing leadership, creating support networks, and cultivating partnerships with local authorities. The final conclusion is that the CERT model could be used as the basis for an international CBDRT training programme, although it would require adaption of the course content and presentation style.
Gender awareness in Japan International Cooperation Agency's development assistance : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies, Massey University
(Massey University, 1999) Matsui, Junko
In the past, development efforts have failed to bring about genuine women's development which concerns both women's well-being and their status in the Third World. In order to achieve women's development, thorough understanding of the causes of women's underdevelopment, sound conceptualisation of women and development and strategies to bring about women's development are required. States and development agencies have specific perception on women and conceptualise women and development in various ways. From the different concepts we could expect different outcomes. In this research I look at implications of Japan International Cooperation Agency's women in development policy concerning women's development in the Third World. In the first part of this research, I discuss concepts and strategies for women's development. The earlier thought on women and development, emerged in 1970s, attributes failure of past development efforts bringing about women's development, to preconceptions policymakers and planners have about women's roles in their families communities and nations. However, women's issues and women's projects were often continued to be marginalised within the development efforts which is informed by the perspective. Another perspective identified women's subordination to men as the fundamental cause of women's disadvantages they face. Strategies for women's development are suggested based on the perspective problematising women's subordination in this research. The strategies must involve the improvement of women's immediate conditions and the change of unequal gender relations. Women's needs to achieve their well-being and ones derived from their tasks need to be identified and addressed. It is recognised that improvement of women's status is necessary to achieve their well-being. Women's needs could be addressed through both women specific projects and mainstream projects. In order to alter women's subordination to men transformative intervention was suggested. The transformative intervention seeks to address women's interests in transforming gender relations in a project addressing women's material needs. Moreover, in order for women to become agents of their development and to alter power within gender relations, women's self empowerment process must be encouraged. Self-empowerment is regarded as complementary to the strategies. Self-empowerment includes conscientisation about oppressive structure, and mobilisation of women to meet their own needs. JICA concerns about women's participation in development projects, identification of gender division of labour and improvement of women's well-being in the Third World. However, JICA's concept of Women in Development is grounded on the perspective advocated in 1970s and is not informed by the failures of attempts made during 1970s and 1980s. JICA fails to problematise unequal gender relations and to develop strategies to transform gender relations. Hence, self-empowerment and transformative intervention are not recognised. JICA also lacks awareness toward marginalisation of women's issues and women's projects in development operation. Women's subordination in planning procedures reflects in the number of WID-related projects implemented and the kinds of needs addressed through development projects.
Official development assistance and poverty reduction strategies : a critical examination of the "New Poverty Agenda" : a research report presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MPhil in Development Studies, Massey University
(Massey University, 2002) Shougee, Fathimath
Development assistance or aid as we know today was created in the post-war years. During the 1950s and 1960s three main factors contributed to the expansion of development assistance to developing countries. They are cold war rivalry between the Soviet Union and United States which led to the expansion of bilateral aid, the wave of independence from mid 1940s onwards that created a need and demand for aid, and the formation of multilateral organizations such as the United Nations' Agencies and the World Bank. Over the years donors have provided a number of justifications for providing development assistance. They include economic reasons, political v strategic or security reasons, and humanitarian reasons including poverty reduction. Poverty reduction as an objective of development assistance, has received varying levels of importance in the history of development assistance. Poverty reduction was the main focus of development assistance in the 1970s. This focus was soon overtaken by the 'oil crises' and the mounting debt problems of poor countries. In the 1990s, poverty reduction re-emerged as the main focus of development assistance. This study had generally focused on tracing the place of poverty reduction in development assistance and assessing the degree of change and continuity in development practice. More specifically, this study examined the 'new poverty agenda' with the aim of comparing and contrasting it with past development strategies. The historical review of development assistance and poverty reduction revealed that development practice had mostly been based on the dominant theories and ideologies in donor countries, as opposed to ideas and needs of the recipients. Even though poverty reduction has often been quoted as one of the important objectives of development assistance, in practice it has always been dominated by objectives such as increasing economic growth, debt repayment or promotion of macroeconomic reform. The historical review of the effectiveness of development assistance also revealed that it has not been very successful in reducing poverty in poor countries. While at times it had been successful in helping the poor, this was often at the expense of the 'other' poor. Similarly, development practice had not been very successful in reaching the 'poorest of the poor' in recipient countries. The study reviewed 'new poverty agenda' through the World Development Reports (1990-200/2001), the International Development Targets and key concepts of the agenda. The review of the 'new poverty reduction' agenda was mixed. From a purely theoretical basis the 'new poverty agenda' have many positive points including the consensus on the multi-dimensional nature of poverty, country 'ownership' of development strategies and partnership with recipient countries. The multi-dimensional view poverty and the International Development Targets for achieving poverty reduction has raised the issues previously neglected such as social security and empowerment. On the other hand, the 'new poverty agenda' was found to be built around some of the main elements of the neo-liberal ideology of the past few decades. The importance attached to income-based approaches and the emphasis on economic growth and other related aspects such as making markets work for the poor and expanding people's productive assets in the World Development Report 2000/2001 showed that economic development is still given priority over all other dimensions of poverty. In spite of the recognition of the multi-dimensional nature of poverty it was not matched by a multi-dimensional approach to poverty reduction in its policy prescriptions. At the same time the practice of poverty reduction in the 1990s points to the gap between the rhetoric and reality.
Education : unlocking the doors to development : perspectives on the role education plays in development : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North
(Massey University, 2002) Auty, Jeffrey Graeme
The needs of those living in the developing world are so great that no one area of learning or development can solve all those needs. If education is going to supply some of the keys needed to unlock the doors to appropriate and sustainable development then it needs to be education that is relevant, empowering, and available to all. This sort of education will enable individuals and countries to formulate the objectives and develop the skills necessary to engage in their own development. Human beings are born with the wonderful ability to learn, to communicate, to adapt, and to develop their environment. This ability is not limited to the information that can be gathered from the immediate surroundings. Through reciting, reading, writing, and information technologies, humans learn from the past and record today's lessons for the future. Humans have the unique abilities of being able to learn co-operatively, opening each other's minds to infinite possibilities. As a species we value education so highly we list it as a basic human right. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights begins with the words. 'Everyone has a right to education' (Reprinted in Morsink 1999:335). It is the thesis of this paper that when everyone is allowed to exercise that right then many of the problems of the world and the doors that shut people out and deny them their basic human rights will be solved as together we learn how to live sustainably. The year 2015 has been set as the goal for countries to achieve Education for All (EFA). Setting a goal like this generates all sorts of questions such as: How can that target be achieved? What sort of education will that be? What will be the purpose of that education? What should be taught in order to make a better, more sustainable world? How can developing countries compete against rapidly changing and expensive education systems when they can hardly afford to supply basic education, let alone food and health care to their expanding populations? It also places countries and lending agencies in the dilemma of asking what comes first, economic development and repaying debt, or educating the population? In a short thesis, such as this, one can only hope to survey the surface of such a large topic and to point to some of the doors that the key of education can unlock in the quest for more sustainable forms of development. The thesis begins by showing that historically there has always been a strong link between education and development. The quantitative and qualitative issues associated with achieving Education for All (EFA) are then examined. The point is made that the 'banking concept of education' (Freire 1993:53) where education is seen as information that needs to be drilled into people is insufficient. Education that unlocks the doors to development needs to be education that, as Freire puts it, involves 'praxis and conscientization' (Narayan 2000:199). This sort of education places the emphasis upon the process by empowering people to participate in their own development and trusting them to design their own solutions. In Chapter 4 education is then placed alongside other development issues such as nutrition, health, and the environment. The relationship between each of these and education is analysed. Appropriate and relevant education is shown through the case studies as supplying some of the necessary keys so that the doors that trap people in cycles of underdevelopment can be unlocked. In the chapter on education without walls the ways alternative forms of education can be used to solve developmental problems and achieve life long learning for all is examined. Each chapter is illustrated with case studies drawn from the author's two decades of work with education in Asia and the Middle East. The conclusion of this thesis is that education does not need to be an impossible development goal on an ever-expanding list. Rather, when applied correctly, it can be part of the methodology for achieving those goals. As Dean Rusk very aptly put it, 'Education is not a luxury which can be afforded after development has occurred; it is an integral part, an inescapable and essential part, of the development process itself.' (Cited in Hanson & Brembeck 1966:28)
Bisinis belong olgeta mere long Honiara, Solomon Islands = Informal activities of the women of Honiara, Solomon Islands : 31.798 research project presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
(Massey University, 2000) Fakaia, Matthew
Solomon Islands' women in the Urban Informal Sector (UIS) seem to be invisible to the policy makers both from the perspective of their contribution and their needs. Although government programs aim at assisting small scale entrepreneurs, women as a group are not considered for any form of special assistance. The major reason for this is that most of the enterprises women engaged in, such as petty trading, food processing and livestock raising fall outside census of production survey. Often, these surveys are only conducted among enterprises employing ten or more workers. The small enterprises which are crucially important to the survival of women and their families are ignored. Women have limited access to critical resources like education, land, technology and credit. Hence they are often excluded from employment in the formal sector. Theoretically, the UIS provides employment for the groups excluded from employment in the formal sector. The notion of the informal sector captures certain peculiarities, such as informality of business organization, use of rudimentary technology, lack of separation of consumption and production, ease of entry and exit, reliance on family labour and apprentices and small requirement for capital. This study has been carried out on Solomon Islands women in UIS to view the nature and the extent of their activities today and to critically assess any measures in place to support those activities. The data from the fieldwork shows the importance of UIS activities to the food security of urban households, community development, the national economy and individual empowerment. The study reveals the link between UIS and the rural subsistence economy with reciprocal support of cash and food crops. It also reveals that there are women who could have worked in the formal sector actually chose to work in the UIS, for various reasons. The report concludes with a discussion of measures that could be taken to support UIS women in their activities.

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