Participatory and integrated research approaches employed by a long-term Thai- Vietnamese-German collaborative research program, ‘The Uplands Program’, that address the vicious circles of resource scarcity, environm...Participatory and integrated research approaches employed by a long-term Thai- Vietnamese-German collaborative research program, ‘The Uplands Program’, that address the vicious circles of resource scarcity, environmental degrada- tion and rural poverty in mountainous regions of northern Thailand and northern Vietnam are discussed in this paper. We present two examples from the Thai component of the research program to show how different disciplines and stakeholders need to cooperate at different scales to make meaningful scientific contributions towards sustainable land use and rural development in mountainous regions. The case of resource conservation in the Thai highlands shows that local and scientific knowledge, conven- tional surveys and participatory modeling can be creatively combined. Integrated research on the potential of integrating fruit trees and associated technologies into mountain farming systems suggests that natural scientists have to work alongsideeconomists and social scientists to avoid harmful effects of purely technology-driven and productivity- enhancing approaches. The success of new technologies cannot be measured solely by adoption rates and yield increases, but also needs to take into account their long-term impact on various groups of farmers and the ecological, economic and social trade-offs that they entail. Technical and institutional innovations need to go hand in hand to provide viable livelihood opportunities for smallholder farmers in mountain watersheds. The major lesson learned from the first six years of our research in the mountains of Thailand and Vietnam is that conventional and participatory approaches are not antagonistic; if scientists from various disciplines and research paradigms are open-minded, the combination of both approaches can produce meaningful results that cater for the needs of both the academic community and local stakeholders in mountain environments.展开更多
The public power and the private enterprise, the main agents of national economic and social development, when cooperating strategically, promote increased functional efficiency of their activities. In order to highli...The public power and the private enterprise, the main agents of national economic and social development, when cooperating strategically, promote increased functional efficiency of their activities. In order to highlight the relevance of such partnership, this article aims to analyze the potential of actions jointly developed by private organizations and Brazilian universities. The research problem is lined in the field of health, which hosted actions developed between the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte （UFRN） and the Hospital Maternity Guiomar Fernandes （HMGF）, located in the city of Alexandria, in Rio Grande do Norte. The study emphasizes the shortcomings of this organization, the resolving power of the university in this scenario, and performs the analysis of the effects of this cooperation. The methodology used in this research was the case study in HMGF. With emphasis on fundraising and improving the informational management system, funding sources for projects of restructuring and expansion of the hospital were sought, as well as initiatives for developing hospital management softwares for small- and medium-sized organizations. As a result, the articulation between the university and the hospital provided the elaboration of a project for software development and the production of a project for physical restructuring and technological investment, aiming to expand the supply and quality of the hospital＇s services. The implementation of information systems, associated with investments in hospital infrastructure, providing increased efficiency in public assistance to the population, bringing both local and regional benefits, besides, providing the authorities with relevant data on the development of public policies.展开更多
文摘Participatory and integrated research approaches employed by a long-term Thai- Vietnamese-German collaborative research program, ‘The Uplands Program’, that address the vicious circles of resource scarcity, environmental degrada- tion and rural poverty in mountainous regions of northern Thailand and northern Vietnam are discussed in this paper. We present two examples from the Thai component of the research program to show how different disciplines and stakeholders need to cooperate at different scales to make meaningful scientific contributions towards sustainable land use and rural development in mountainous regions. The case of resource conservation in the Thai highlands shows that local and scientific knowledge, conven- tional surveys and participatory modeling can be creatively combined. Integrated research on the potential of integrating fruit trees and associated technologies into mountain farming systems suggests that natural scientists have to work alongsideeconomists and social scientists to avoid harmful effects of purely technology-driven and productivity- enhancing approaches. The success of new technologies cannot be measured solely by adoption rates and yield increases, but also needs to take into account their long-term impact on various groups of farmers and the ecological, economic and social trade-offs that they entail. Technical and institutional innovations need to go hand in hand to provide viable livelihood opportunities for smallholder farmers in mountain watersheds. The major lesson learned from the first six years of our research in the mountains of Thailand and Vietnam is that conventional and participatory approaches are not antagonistic; if scientists from various disciplines and research paradigms are open-minded, the combination of both approaches can produce meaningful results that cater for the needs of both the academic community and local stakeholders in mountain environments.
文摘The public power and the private enterprise, the main agents of national economic and social development, when cooperating strategically, promote increased functional efficiency of their activities. In order to highlight the relevance of such partnership, this article aims to analyze the potential of actions jointly developed by private organizations and Brazilian universities. The research problem is lined in the field of health, which hosted actions developed between the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte （UFRN） and the Hospital Maternity Guiomar Fernandes （HMGF）, located in the city of Alexandria, in Rio Grande do Norte. The study emphasizes the shortcomings of this organization, the resolving power of the university in this scenario, and performs the analysis of the effects of this cooperation. The methodology used in this research was the case study in HMGF. With emphasis on fundraising and improving the informational management system, funding sources for projects of restructuring and expansion of the hospital were sought, as well as initiatives for developing hospital management softwares for small- and medium-sized organizations. As a result, the articulation between the university and the hospital provided the elaboration of a project for software development and the production of a project for physical restructuring and technological investment, aiming to expand the supply and quality of the hospital＇s services. The implementation of information systems, associated with investments in hospital infrastructure, providing increased efficiency in public assistance to the population, bringing both local and regional benefits, besides, providing the authorities with relevant data on the development of public policies.
