ORCID Profile
0000-0002-9015-1683
Current Organisation
University of New England
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2019
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 25-09-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-06-2019
Publisher: IWA Publishing
Date: 12-2011
DOI: 10.2166/WS.2011.081
Abstract: Decentralised water systems are considered to be effective, beneficial and are useful in a number of urban and peri-urban settings, and have been implemented to varying degrees across much of Australia. The use of decentralised water systems has introduced a change in the style of water service delivery and often there are new actors responsible and involved in the maintenance and operation of these systems. This raises questions about how to best implement and govern the use of decentralised water systems. To understand the issues and problem mitigation approaches required for decentralised systems, collection of data on the effectiveness, difficulties, functional aspects and ongoing problems in providing water services is required. Understanding the issues involved is not necessarily straightforward, as performance can be viewed from many different perspectives and may be difficult to measure. One key perspective to consider is that of householders, in their role as end-users of decentralised water systems. This paper suggests that dedicated household surveys can provide important information on the performance of decentralised water systems based on personal understanding and experience of these systems. This is stated on the basis of householder survey trials which indeed seem to provide useful information, both in terms of feedback from the in idual and in generating a coherent data set from which to statistically model the adequacy of various implementation styles and governance structures. An exploration of data sets from survey trials have contributed to collective learning, necessary in firmly establishing decentralised systems as viable options for the provision of urban water services now and into the future.
Publisher: Routledge
Date: 27-08-2014
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 03-07-2020
DOI: 10.3390/SU12135403
Abstract: Traditional lifestyles of lowland rice farmers of the southern provinces of Lao People’s Democratic Republic are rapidly changing, due to two important trends. Firstly, there is a push towards modernization and commercialization of farming. Secondly, though farmers still focus on rice farming as a key activity, there is an increasing move towards ersification of livelihoods. The changes have seen the uptake of non-rice crops, livestock husbandry and forest and river utilization as well as non-farming activities. This has influenced gender relations, impacting household agricultural production decisions and lified transitional trends. To explore the processes, we analyzed data from a study of innovation adoption amongst rice farmers in southern Lao PDR. The study revealed nuances of gender-based differences in the priorities and attitudes towards farming and off-farm activities, as well as differences in behaviour related to the adoption of new practices. Women were more focused on non-farming practices and considered engaging in the modern, non-traditional, economy more so than men. Women also reported experiencing greater challenges when engaging and trading in the agricultural marketplace. The study supports the importance of taking a gendered approach to understanding the inherent complexities within agrarian change.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 14-08-2020
DOI: 10.3390/SU12166594
Abstract: What influences farmers’ decisions to adopt agricultural technologies is an important question for international agricultural research projects. There are often interpersonal differences between women and men that influence the adoption of decisions and behaviours, but few studies in the literature focus on these factors. We describe a game-based approach to explore decision-making processes underpinning the adoption of new farming technologies and practices in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Sowing a different rice variety is the tailored technology. The game explored adoption behaviours influencing decisions on transitioning from growing glutinous rice, a traditional variety preferred for consumption, to “white” rice for commercial export to international markets. We conducted separate game-workshops with 36 women and 36 men in 4 villages of southern Laos that were transitioning from subsistence to commercial smallholder production. The gaming exposed various possible behaviours and decisions that women and men considered. Access to resources, both assets and information, was equal for all players, yet women were found to adopt new rice varieties more readily than men and to engage in cooperative behaviours in the game situation. The study highlighted the need for further gender-sensitive research into cooperation among women in the agricultural context—an understanding beneficial for countries and regions undergoing agricultural transition.
Publisher: IWA Publishing
Date: 05-2011
DOI: 10.2166/WST.2011.443
Abstract: Decentralised water supply systems are becoming increasingly affordable and commonplace in Australia and have the potential to alleviate urban water shortages and reduce pollution into natural receiving marine and freshwater streams. Learning processes are necessary to support the efficient implementation of decentralised systems. These processes reveal the complex socio-technical and institutional factors to be considered when developing an enabling environment supporting decentralised water and wastewater servicing solutions. Critical to the technological transition towards established decentralised systems is the ability to create strategic and adaptive capacity to promote learning and dialogue. Learning processes require institutional mechanisms to ensure the lessons are incorporated into the formulation of policy and regulation, through constructive involvement of key government institutions. Engagement of stakeholders is essential to the enabling environment. Collaborative learning environments using systems analysis with communities (social learning) and adaptive management techniques are useful in refining and applying scientists' and managers' knowledge (knowledge management).
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2010
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2022
DOI: 10.1111/SJTG.12447
Abstract: Globally, the COVID‐19 (SARSCoV‐2) pandemic has affected human health and the flow of goods and services in many sectors, with significant social and economic consequences and repercussions. COVID‐19 lockdowns have disrupted food systems impacting farmers, food producers, traders and consumers. Using a food system approach, disruptions to and the resilience of vegetable food production and trade was analysed. Representatives of traditional farming systems in Lao PDR producing and trading vegetables were involved. Over 350 farmers, 60 wholesalers, 50 retailers and 70 consumers were surveyed to determine the disruptions to vegetable supplies in terms of quantities traded, prices and income fluctuations. Findings revealed significant impacts on trading capacity and consequent reductions in incomes, prices, purchases, transport and sales of produce. However, livelihoods resumed as soon as the lockdown lifted. Traditionally, vegetable production and trading are a woman's tasks and hence women were the most affected by the disruptions. With trading contractions, the stability of the food supply was threatened, but only temporarily, indicating that a traditional, resilient farming system based on lower population densities, lower input requirements and lower productivity could adapt to novel disruptions in the short term.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-05-2014
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-08-2013
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 05-2012
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2012
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2015
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 2013
DOI: 10.1068/C11192
Abstract: Australia has seen a deep ision in opinion in search of a carbon pricing mechanism. While concepts of carbon taxation and emission trading have comparable public support, climate scepticism is infuencing the debates in political and public spheres in downplaying the need for carbon pricing. Public deliberation is a possible engagement option to address the conflict inherent in climate policy preferences. This research explores the way that a deliberative forum involving twenty-four Australians promoted effective communication between participants through which conflict between policy preferences became more tangible. While the forum did not eliminate disagreement in preferences in the choice of carbon pricing mechanisms, participants reached consensus on fundamental principles such as the need for trusted sources of information, trusted governance procedures, and transparent accountability by appropriate institutions. Shared political expectations encouraged dialogue and cooperation in discussions by enhancing reciprocal understanding. Two sceptical participants who originally had strong opinions different from the rest of the group managed to find common ground. Public deliberative forums that are conducive to reciprocal communication are able to provide a mechanism for joint problem-solving processes that are less adversarial and more responsive to the range of people's preferences.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2018
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 13-10-2022
DOI: 10.3390/SU142013113
Abstract: The participation of youth in agricultural entrepreneurship (agripreneurship) is beneficial for the sustainable development of agrarian societies that are transitioning towards the commercialization of agriculture. Accordingly, we investigated the phenomena that motivate practicing young, small- and medium-scale agripreneurs to pursue their careers, using the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos) as a case study. To achieve this, we applied narrative inquiry techniques to the accounts of 74 young Laotian agripreneurs regarding their entry into agripreneurship. This enabled us to identify and describe common and influential paradigms that were subsequently interpreted from the perspective of entrepreneurship and behavioral studies of career decision making to explain the influence of motivations on the young agripreneurs. Our study has shown that despite the characteristics that set agripreneurship in Laos apart from entrepreneurship in general, commonly identified typologies of entrepreneurial motivation, particularly income, extrinsic benefits and emotional paradigms also motivate Lao youth to become agripreneurs. The application of narrative inquiry has revealed the emphasis some practicing agripreneurs in Laos place on the attainability of their career, which resulted in its practice by both opportunity-driven and necessity-driven entrepreneurs, with implications for the sustainable development of other countries in transition to commercial agriculture.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2010
DOI: 10.1002/SD.428
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2015
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-01-2018
No related grants have been discovered for Kim Suzanne Alexander.