Author: Ralph Hall

Congratulations Sarah Lyon-Hill!

On Thursday, May 10th, Master’s International student, Sarah Lyon-Hill, successfully defended her thesis entitled Building Governance Capacity in Rural Niger: A Study of Decentralization and Good Governance Policy as Experienced in a Local Village. Sarah served as a municipal and community development volunteer for Peace Corps in Niger between 2009 and 2011. Her experience as a Peace Corps volunteer inspired her thesis topic on the challenges facing school governance in rural Niger.

For her research, Sarah interviewed members of one rural community involved in local primary school governance to gain insight on community members’ perceptions concerning national public school decentralization policy. She used data gathered from these interviews, coupled with data gathered from an analysis of program and policy documents, to compare current school practices against the expectations outlined in Niger’s national policy and goals. Key findings included limited policy implementation at the local level accompanied by a lack of state capacity, accountability and responsiveness to local school needs on the part of central and regional government. Interviewees perceive a decline in education quality due to these reforms and a sense of powerlessness from the community. Community leadership, development of participatory public space, and trust building, could improve local education capacity to a certain extent; however, strong central government that provides additional resources and builds the capacities of school staff is necessary. Sarah plans to condense and revise her thesis for publication this summer and will pursue similar research in the Planning, Governance and Globalization doctoral program this fall.

I served as a member of Sarah’s thesis committee, along with Max Stephenson (committee chair) and Laura Zanotti.

Congratulations Julie Erickson!

On Friday, April 27, Master’s International student, Julie Erickson, successfully defended her thesis entitled Decentralization and Hospital Governance in Rural Paraguay. Julie served as a municipal development volunteer for Peace Corps in Paraguay between 2008 and 2011. Her experience as a Peace Corps volunteer inspired her thesis topic on the challenges facing hospital governance in rural Paraguay.

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For her research, Julie interviewed members of two local health councils in distinct rural towns to gain insight on member understanding of council functions and their perceptions of their role as council member. She used data gathered from these interviews, coupled with data gathered from an analysis of council documents, to compare current council practices against the expectations outlined in Paraguayan law. She focused her analysis on three areas of governance: civic participation, accountability and transparency. Key findings included a weak system of downward accountability within the council and a lack of economic and human resources available to the council to effectively carry out their responsibilities, as outlined by the central government. Julie plans to present her findings at the first annual National Peace Corps Association Conference in Minneapolis this summer.

I served as a member of Julie’s thesis committee, along with Max Stephenson (committee chair) and Ioannis Stivachtis.

Congratulations Laura Zseleczky!

On Friday, April 20, Laura Zseleczky successfully defended her masters thesis entitled Gender and Pest Management in Ghana: Implications for the Introduction of an IPM Program for Tomato. I had the pleasure of serving on Laura’s thesis committee with Dr. Maria Elisa Christie (committee chair) and Prof. Tim Luke.

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Laura’s research identified gender-based constraints to, and opportunities for, the introduction of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program for tomato based on a case study of tomato farmers in the town of Tuobodom in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. Her study seeks to identify the knowledge, practices, perceptions, and access to resources of men and women tomato farmers in Tuobodom, specifically with respect to pesticides and pest management. Laura used a mixed methods approach to combine quantitative and qualitative methodologies including focus group discussions, household interviews, participatory mapping, field visits, key informant interviews, participant observation, and a survey. Key findings in the area of health and safety, markets and the tomato value chain, and information and training reveal general and gender-specific issues that an IPM program should address when working with farmers to develop an effective and sustainable IPM package for tomato in this area. The results from her research also demonstrate the importance of gender analysis in identifying context-specific gender issues. For example, while her research confirmed that men’s roles in tomato production place them at higher risk of exposure to pesticides, her findings challenge the assumption that women’s reproductive roles (e.g., food preparation, caring for the sick, etc.) make them more aware of the risks of pesticides. In the coming months, Laura plans to develop one or two journal articles to summarize the rich and important findings of her work.

Ashford Talks About Our New Book

Nicholas Ashford recently created five short videos in which he explores many of the core issues we raise in our textbook Technology, Globalization, and Sustainable Development: Transforming the Industrial State (Yale University Press 2011).

The best order to view these five video clips are 4, 5, 1, 2, and 3.

Conversation with Secretary Ray LaHood

On Friday, February 17, I had the pleasure of speaking with the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, during his visit to Virginia Tech to discuss the high risks posed by distracted driving. To find out more about what the USDOT is doing to address the growing problem of distracted drivers, see: http://www.distraction.gov/index.html

[Photo by Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times]

VT Study Abroad Expo (Feb 21)

On Tuesday, Feb. 21, from 11am to 12pm, I will be attending the VT Study Abroad Expo in the Graduate Life Center (GLC) Multipurpose Room. If you are a VT student and have any questions about the 2012 Sustainable Europe summer course, this expo would be a great opportunity to ask them.

The deadline for applying for the 2012 summer course is Friday, February 24, 2012. Please make sure you submit an on-line application before this date if you would like to be considered for the summer program.

Congratulations Sara Marks!

On Friday, February 10, Sara Marks successfully passed the oral defense of her dissertation entitled “Water System Sustainability in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa: Participation, Sense of Ownership, and Performance.” Sara began her PhD while I was a postdoc at Stanford University and following my relocation to Virginia Tech, I became a member of her doctoral committee. An innovative component of Sara’s research is how she adapted and applied the idea of psychological ownership in the rural water sector. Over the past two decades, many researchers have associated the performance of rural water supply systems with a community’s sense of ownership for their system, but no research has been undertaken to try and quantify this phenomenon. Sara’s research provides an important contribution in this area and lays the foundation for a productive research career. Her main research findings will be published in a series of papers that should be available later this year.

The photos of Sara (below) were taken in Senegal in 2009, when she was supporting a research project on the productive use of domestic water in rural communities.

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