ISER_Presentation - Institute for Social and Environmental

Institute for Social and Environmental Research-Nepal Fulbari, Chitwan

Improving Human Lives and Environmental Conditions

Introduction • Established in 2001 to address complex challenges on key social and environmental issues facing Nepal through high quality scientific research. • A non-profit, non-partisan, independent non-

governmental research and development organization.

Introduction Goal To build social and environmental research capacity to improve human lives and environmental conditions through high quality scientific research, policy advocacy, and effective program interventions.

Approach

A three-pronged, interlinked approach

Research Goals •

To assess the influence of rapid changes in the ecological context on population processes, with a special emphasis on the process of family formation, urbanization, children's well-being, and population growth.

•

To assess the influence of changing demographic parameters, particularly related to population growth, migration, and family formation, on the ecological context.

Training Goals •

To train Nepali social scientists in state-of-the-art social and environmental science research methods.

•

To train social and environmental science students, scholars and researchers in developing context specific research methods .

Institutional Goals •

To create, strengthen and institutionalize technical capability and research infrastructure for social demographic and environmental research in Nepal.

•

To develop strong institutional links with Universities and research organizations around the world that will be the basis for cooperative research and training programs.

Priority Areas 1. 2. 3.

4. 5. 6.

Population Dynamics Population and Environmental Dynamics Education and Empowerment Livelihoods Support Social Justice and Good Governance Capacity Building

Research Programs

Social Research Programs

Environmental Research Programs

SOCIAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS

Research Ethics 

ISER-N Respects Right to Individual Privacy and Freedom.



Participation in All Research Programs is Voluntary.



All Research Programs are Reviewed and Approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB).



Respondent Confidentiality is Maintained in Every Step of Research Processes (Data Collection, Data Entry, and Analysis) with Highest Possible Standards.

2: Research Design

Case Controlled Comparison

2: Research Design 2.1 Multilevel

2.2 Longitudinal Panel 2.3 Mixed Method Data Collection 2.4 Multi Mode Data Collection

Multi-level Community Level

Household Level Individual Level

Longitudinal Panel Community Level

Community Level

Household Level

Household Level

Individual Level

Individual Level

Time 1

Time 2

Time n

RESEARCH- METHODS MIXED METHODS: ARCHIVAL ETHNOGRAPHY COGNITIVE INTERVIEW FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW PURPOSIVE GROUP INTERVIEW INDIVIDUAL – SURVEY, CLINICAL GIS/GPS, REMOTE SENSING

CAMARA TRAPING LABORATORY

RESEARCH- MODES

MIXED MODES: VAST MAJOTIRY FACE TO FACE PAPER AND PENCIL BASED RECENTLY TELEPHONE GIS/GPS, REMOTE SENSING

CAMARA TRAPING LABORATORY

MEASUREMENT Retrospective

Panel

Neighborhood History Calendar (NHC) 1950-1995

Neighborhood History Calendar Updates 1996-2006

Neighborhood History Calendar Updates 2012

Household Census Agri. & Cons. Survey 1996

Household Agri. & Household Agri. Cons. Survey, 2000 & Cons. Survey, 2012 & 2006

Individual Interview with Life History Calendar (LHC) 1996

Individual Interview with Life History Calendar (LHC) 2008

Individual Interview with Life History Calendar (LHC) 2012

Demographic Events Registration 1997 …

Example of Schooling Year

NHC measure Distance to nearest school LHC measure School enrollment

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

90

90

60

60

60

0

0

0

0

0

1976

1977

1978

60

30

30

0

1

1

Social Research Programs Population Health  Elderly Health and Wellbeing (1998, 2007)  Armed Conflict, Family Change and Mental Health (2009)  HIV/AIDS and Later Life Health and Wellbeing (2009) Family Change and Fertility  Changing Social Context and Family Formation (1995, 2006, 2012)  Developmental Idealism (2003)  Marital Dynamics (2004)  Religion and Family Life (2007)  Menstruation and Education (2006- 2008)  Ideational Influences on Family (2008)  Household Registry System (1997- ongoing)  Contraceptive Use Survey (1997-ongoing)

Social Research Programs Migration  Armed Conflict and Migration (2009-2010)  Migrants to the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: Values, Behaviors and Plans (2009-2010) Population and Environmental Relationships  Household Agriculture and Consumption (1996, 2001, 2006)  Seasonal Agriculture (1997-1999)

On-going Social Research 

   

Ideational Influences on Family Migrants to the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: Values, Behaviors and Plans Caste/Ethnicity influence on Group Participation Household Registration System Contraceptive Use Survey

MIGRATION International

Internal 1360 Individuals in 41 countries

Destination

986 individuals in 51 districts

Research Projects S.N.

Research Areas

Year

Funding Agency

Associated UM Faculty Staff

1

Chitwan Valley Family Study: Changing Social Context and Family Formation

1995, 2006

NICHD

William G. Axinn, Dirgha Ghimire, Susan A. Murphy, Arland Thornton

2

Chitwan Valley Family Study: Ideational Influence on Marriage and Childbearing

2008

NICHD

Arland Thornton, William G. Axinn, Jennifer Barber, Dirgha Ghimire

3

Reciprocal Relationships between Population and Environment

1996, 2001, 2006

NICHD

William G. Axinn, Jennifer Barber, Dirgha Ghimire

4

Intergenerational Influences on Family Formation in a Changing Social Context

2007

NICHD

William G. Axinn, Arland Thornton, Dirgha Ghimire, Jennifer Barber

5

Partnership in International Research and Education (PIRE) Collaborative Research and Training in Social Context, Population Processes, and Environmental Change

2007

NSF

William G Axinn, Dirgha Ghimire

6

Marital Processes, Husband-Wife Relationships and Fertility Limitation

2009

NICHD

Dirgha Ghimire, William G. Axinn, Prem Bhandari

7

Migrants to the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: Values, Behaviors, and Plans

2009

Center for International and Regional Studies of the Georgetown University of Foreign Service in Qatar

Arland Thornton, Dirgha Ghimire

Research Projects

Contd….

S.N.

Research Areas

Year

Funding Agency

Associated UM Faculty Staff

8

Innovative Methods for Obtaining Survey Data from Migrants

2010

NICHD

Arland Thornton, Dirgha Ghimire, Prem Bhandari

9

Elderly Health and Wellbeing

1998, 2006

MiCDA, University of Michigan

Amy Pienta, William Axinn, Dirgha Ghimire

10

Armed Conflict, Family Change, and Mental Health

2009

PSC and the Global Health Research and Training Initiatives, University of Michigan

William G Axinn, Dirgha Ghimire

11

HIV/AIDS and Later Life Health and Wellbeing

2009

MiCDA, University of Michigan

William G Axinn, Dirgha Ghimire

12

Developmental Idealism Pilot Survey

2003

PSC Small Grant, University of Michigan

Arland Thornton, Dirgha Ghimire

13

Marital Dynamic

2004

PSC Small Grant, University of Michigan

Dirgha Ghimire, William G. Axinn, Lynette Hoelter

14

Menstruation and Education

2006, 2008

Becker Center, University of Chicago

Rebecca Thornton

15

Tiger-Human Interaction Study

2010

Michigan State University

Neil Carter

Research Projects

Contd….

S.N.

Research Areas

Year

Funding Agency

Associated Faculty Staff

16

Fuelwood Consumption Survey

2009

San Diego State University

Alex Zvoleff

17

Ecosystem Services and Population Change

2010

San Diego State University,

Alex Zvoleff

2011

Nepal Academy of Science and Technology

Binoj Shrestha, ISER-N

18

Impact of Mikania micrantha on Natural Forest

19

Investigation of Indoor Solid Fuel and Kerosene Use as Tuberculosis Risk Factors

2012

NICHD

Michael Bates, Kirk Smith, Sharat K. Verma

20

CNH: Feedbacks between Human Community Dynamics and Socioecological Vulnerability

2012

NSF

Scott Yabiku, Dirgha Ghimire, Sharon Hall, Sean Murphy. Li Ann, Jennifer Glick, A. York

21

Marital Relationship Dynamics

2012

PSC Small Grant, University of Michigan

Dirgha Ghimire

22

Documenting Distribution and Trends of Developmental Idealism in Nepali Textbooks

2012

PSC Small Grant, University of Michigan

Dirgha Ghimire, Arland Thornton

23

Measurement of Remittance Use in a Remittance Dependent Economy

2012

PSC Small Grant, University of Michigan

Prem Bhandari, Dirgha Ghimire

ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS

Environmental Research Programs

Study of Reciprocal Relation between Population and Environment

Environmental Research Programs

Land Use

Flora Diversity

Groundwater Quality

1, Population and Environmental Research; The Reciprocal Relationship Between Population and Environment 1.1. Flora Research (1996, 2000, 2006) 1.2. Land Use Mapping (1996, 2000, 2006)

1.3. Household Consumption and Agriculture Survey (1996, 2000, 2006)

2, Partnership in International Research and Education 1.1. Tiger Human Interaction Study (2009-2010) 1.2. Ecosystem Services and Population Change (2009) 1.3. Mapping Wildlife Habitat in Chitwan (2011) 1.4. Climate change, vulnerability and adaption in Chitwan Valley (2011)

3, Invasion Ecology 3.1. Impact of Mikania micrantha invasion in Chitwan National Park (2011) 4. Others: 4.1. Arsenic Test in drinking water (2004), 4.2. Documentation of traditional knowledge on biodiversity (2003, 2007) and

4.3. Sagarmatha seed bank Feasibility study (2010)

Environmental Sample

On-going Environmental Research 

  

Fuelwood Use Pattern and Biomass Availability Community Forest Management System Tiger human interaction in Chitwan Recording Geographic location of Conflict incidents and prepare GIS map

Flora Research: Data Collection 1) Research plots (Total research plots – 265) a) Barandabhar Buffer Zone Forest - 62 b) Chitwan National Park (CNP) – 34 c) Forest along the Narayani River – 21 d) Grassland in CNP – 10 d) Common Land – 138

2) Data a) Plot information b) Plant information

1953

1978

Land Use Change in Chitwan

Land Use Mapping: Data Collection 1) Finding the Neighborhood Location and Boundary Total Neighborhoods- 171 2) Data Collection 

GPS Information of boundary points



Measure Distance and Bearing of Neighborhood boundary and



perimeter of all land use categories.

Land Use Mapping

Household Consumption and Agriculture Survey: Data Collection  Household Survey- 151 NBH (1996, 2000, 2006)

 Study of  Agriculture, disease and pests  Animal Husbandry  Physical Facilities (Consumption)  Experience and perception on Environmental Change  Family Economics

38

Tiger-Human Interaction Survey (2009) 1) Camera Trapping of Tiger

2) Tiger Tolerance Survey 3) Community Forest Mapping and Survey Camera

Tiger-Human Interaction Study (2009)

Bear with cubs

Chittal Tiger

Leopards Rhinoceros

People carrying grass

Ecosystem Services and Population Change (2010) 

Fuelwood Consumption Survey   



Fuelwood use Demand and Supply

Forest Biomass Research 

 

Tree species diversity Demography and Woody biomass estimation

Mapping Wildlife Habitat in Chitwan (2011)  Study of land cover change of wildlife habitat in Barandabhar

Forest, Chitwan.  Objective: Produce a high-resolution land cover map Barandabar forest from the satellite imagery and Quantify land cover change (excluding urban/agricultural areas) from 2000-2010.  Data collected from the 150 GPS points in Barandabhar Forest  Status: Data Collection completed and in the stage of analysis

Impact of Mikania micrantha invasion in Chitwan National Park (2011) Funded by Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and ISER-N Objective: To study the impact of invasive plant Mikania

micrantha in forest and grasslands of Chitwan National Park Status: Data Collection completed and in the stage of

analysis

DATA PROCESSING AND MANAGEMENT

Data Collected Community Histories (1995, 2006) School Histories(1995, 2006) Health Histories (1995, 2006) Household Interview (1996, 2000, 2006) 8 Household Registry Interview (1997- to date) 18 Individual Interviews 7 Flora (1996, 2000, 2006) Camera Trapping

45

Data Processing  Data

Collected from the Field are Checked by Research Supervisor  Development of Data Entry Protocols  Codebook Design  Each Research Instrument then Coded by an Independent Coder  User Friendly Data Entry Program Designed as to the Research Instrument

Data Processing 

Each Interview is Entered Two to Three Times  Data Entry Program are Designed to Check Keying Discrepancies to Minimize Data Entry Errors  Internal and External Consistency Checking  Ready for Analysis

Data Release For Public Strict Policy of Safeguarding Respondent’s Privacy and Confidentiality  Instrument Containing Identifying Information are Stored Separately and Safely in a Highly Secure (Locked) Room  Identifying Information is Carefully Removed from the Data  Data is Released to Public Worldwide through Different Outlets 

Data Archive And Dissemination 

Data are Archived and Disseminated through ISER-N Office at Fulbari, Chitwan and the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/DSDR/STUDY/ 04538.xml

PUBLICATIONS

PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS ● Over 62 Scientific Articles Published in World Class Peer-reviewed Journals ● Over 50 Articles Published through Other Outlets and as Resource Manuals

● 12 PhD/MSc Dissertations/Theses from the US Universities ● Five Research Briefs/Policy Briefs ● Over 50 Presentations at National and International Conferences

DATA ACCESS/AVAILABILITY The Data is Available at Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan:

http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/

TRAINING

Nepali Students, Scholars and Research Staff Trained By Training Type Summer Institute Courses, Survey Research Center, University of Michigan Long-term Academic Training Other Seminar and Workshops

37 12 4

12 of these 37 (32%) individuals completed PhD and MS in the United States

54

US Students and Post Doctoral Fellows Field Training in Nepal Students and Post Doctoral Fellows Undergraduate Students

8

Graduate Students

18

Post Doctoral Fellows/Junior Faculty

7

55

On Site Training Training , Workshop and Seminars

Participants

Data Users’ Workshops

73

Training on Survey Research Techniques

140

Seminars and Symposium

70

Trainers’ Training on General Interviewing Technique 2010

A Symposium on Social Science in the Public Interest: Building Foundation for New Nepal

Data Users’ Workshop 2010 Participants

Capacity Building Programs… International Participation in Training Programs North America England (1)

Europe Netherlands (2)

USA (28)

Asia

Japan (1)

Nepal Pakistan (15)

Bangaladesh (3)

Africa

South America Legend Country of participants

Australia

RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE

Human Resources

Human Resources

RESEARCH STAFF

ADMINSTRATIVE STAFF

Study Manager Research Associate Computing Manager Research Supervisors Assistant Supervisors Team Leaders Interviewers Data Entry Staff

1 1 1 3 3 4 31 6

Total

50

Executive Officer Account Officer Logistic Assistant Supporting Staff Total

1 1 1 5 8

Ethnically Diverse Research Staff Caste/Ethnicity Breakdown of Staff at ISER-N, 2010 Newar (12%)

Lower Caste Hindu (5%)

High Caste Hindu (40%)

Hill Indigenous (20%)

Terai Indigenous (23%)

ISER-N Researchers 

Dr. Dirgha Jibi GhimireExecutive Director, Ph.D. Sociology, the University of Michigan, USA



Dr. Prem Bahadur Bhandari Research Scientist, Ph.D. Rural Sociology and Demography, the Pennsylvania State University, USA



Dr. Dharma Raj Dangol Research Scientist, Ph.D. Natural Science, University of Vienna, Austria



Ms. Meeta S. Pradhan Assistant Research Scientist, currently a Ph.D. student of Social Demography, the University of Michigan

ISER-N Researchers… 

Dr. Nabaraj Devkota, Research Scientist, Ph.D. Natural Resource Management, Massey University, New Zealand



Mr. Binoj Kumar Shrestha, Research Associate, M.Sc. Biodiversity and Environmental Management, Tribhuvan University, Nepal and University of Bergen, Norway



Dr. Humanath Bhandari Research Scientist, Ph.D. Agricultural Economics, University of Philippines at Los Banos, the Philippines



Mr. Ram Prasad Luitel, Program Advisor, M.S. Natural Resource Management, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand



Dr. Harish Chandra Neupane Medical Scientist, MBBS, MS, FICS



Dr. Chandra Prakash Sedai, Medical Scientist, MD, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

International Collaborators Dr. William G. Axinn, Professor, Department of Sociology, and Director, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Michigan, USA Dr. Jennifer Barber, Professor, Department of Sociology, and Research Professor, Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Michigan, USA Dr. Arland Thornton, Professor, Department of Sociology, and Research Professor, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA Dr. Lisa D. Pearce, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA Dr. Emily Oster, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Business, The Becker Center, University of Chicago, USA

International Collaborators.. Dr. Rebecca Thornton, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA Dr. Scott T. Yabiku, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Arizona State University, USA Dr. Amy Pienta, Associate Research Scientist, ICPSR, University of Michigan, USA Dr. Jack Liu, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, USA

Dr. Li An, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, San Diego State University, USA

Institutional Collaborations in Nepal          

Nepal Bote Society, Madi, Chitwan Sewange Village Chepang Women Group, Shaktikhor, Chitwan Darai Utthan Samaj, Mangalpur, Chitwan Tharu Janjagriti Youth Club, Bangai, Shardanagar Kumal Society of Sisabas, Meghauli Bhangerithan Child Development Society, Kabhreghat, Mangalpur Mohana Secondary School, Mohana Bachhauli Secondary School, Bachhauli Bharatpur Secondary School, Bharatpur Nepal Rashtriya Shamsher Adarsha Secondary School, Gaindakot

Institutional Collaborations in Nepal… 

Society for Environmental and Educational Development, Fulbari, Chitwan  Nepal Federation for Indigenous Nationalities, Kathmandu  Nepal Family Planning Association, Bharatpur  Ecological Services Center, Bharatpur  IUCN-the World Conservation Union, Kathmandu  Kathmandu University, Kavre, Dhulikhel, Kavre  Tribhuvan University, Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Rampur, Chitwan  District Developmental Committee, Bharatpur, Chitwan  District Education Office, Bharatpur, Chitwan

Institutional Collaborations Abroad      



The University of Michigan The Pennsylvania State University, USA University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA The Becker Center, University of Chicago, USA Michigan State University, USA Arizona State University, USA San Diego State University, USA

Physical Infrastructure 

    

Two-story office building with training hall, meeting hall, coding room, library, several office rooms Guest house Highly secure computing facility Telephone survey facility Back up energy supply and climate control equipment 5 field offices

Future Plans Provide social science research expertise 2. Institutionalize and strengthen scientific and high quality social science research in Nepal 3. Support action research initiatives 4. Promote analytical discourse on evidencebased policy analysis and feedback 1.

Chitwan Valley Family Study (CVFS)

71