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published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The study identified the "most important" and the "most feasible" poultry extension strategies for the improvement of poultry production in Bangladesh during the next five years. Eighty-two poultry Extension agents of the Bangladesh Department of Livestock assessed the importance of the poultry Extension strategies and 15 Extension administrators assessed the feasibility of the "most important" strategies as identified by the agents. The response rate was 82.4% for the extension agents and 100% for the administrators. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse their responses. The respondents identified 38 "most important" poultry Extension strategies and 12 of these strategies as being also "most feasible" for the improvement of poultry production in Bangladesh. In addition, using the Spearman rank order correlation (rs, the study found that there was no significant difference between poultry Extension agents who were Veterinary Science graduates and Animal Husbandry graduates in their ranking of the importance of the poultry extension strategies despite the differences in their educational preparation.

This thesis explores the practice of strategic planning and its effect on the performance of small engineering firms in Bangladesh. Small businesses play an important role in the economy of Bangladesh. Despite substantial efforts on the part of the government, such as provision of hardware and software support and many promotional incentives, the growth and performance of small industry in general and engineering industry in particular, appears to be unsatisfactory. Although the research findings are inconclusive the literature in the developed industrialised countries generally recommends that small firms need to use strategic planning as an essential tool for improving their performance. It was therefore hypothesised that the lack of strategic planning is one of the major factors responsible for under-performance of small engineering firms in Bangladesh. To address the research issues about strategic planning practice and its link with performance, a conceptual framework was developed incorporating certain characteristics of firms, the personal backgrounds of owner-managers and of the environment that could influence the relationship. Adopting both quantitative and qualitative approaches this study has examined the research issues based on the data collected through interviews with 141 owner-managers of small engineering firms in the Dhaka city, where most of the engineering firms are located. Overall, the findings of the study indicate that even though strategic planning in a formal sense is unlikely to exist in small firms, owner-managers of successful firms are well aware of opportunities and threats in their environment, their strengths and weaknesses as well as the implications (strategic awareness) of their project. Small firms can improve their performance through strategic planning, but only if it is based on an understanding of the opportunities and threats in the environment, and of their own strengths and weaknesses which enable them to assess both the short and long-term implications (strategic awareness) of the project. The present findings highlight the dangers of assuming that the process of strategic planning (normative/formalisation) will, by itself, lead to improvements in performance. Researchers who have concluded that strategic planning does not generally benefit the performance of small firms appear to have been incorrect. It can be said that conceptual and methodological differences across studies have been largely responsible for the debates concerning the value of strategic planning in small business. The present study thus highlights the importance of heightening the awareness of small firms about the environment, and of triggering their portfolio of ideas, and in doing so, seeking also to encourage effective exploitation of ideas by heightening the strategic awareness of the firms. This strategy emphasises the importance of 'software' support such as provision of information, counselling, training, and education. For providing such services the implications of the research are that this should be as proactive as possible, maximising personal contact with the owner-managers, possibly by setting up agencies on regional basis and manned by experienced staff, particularly in the provision of market and other environmental information.

Global climate is changing continuously as a result of industrial revolution and rapid urbanisation in many countries of the world which has significant impacts on environment, socio-economic condition, physical and biological issues. Increase of global temperature, rainfall changes, sea level rise, occurrences of extreme weather events such as floods, cyclones, typhoons, droughts etc. are the major and direct consequences of climate change in the world (Pulhin et al., 2010, & Shaw et al., 2010). There are also many other indirect consequences of climate change such as increasing poverty, food production reduction, health nuisance, ecological imbalance, environmental degradation etc. which have adverse impacts on the society and people (Shaw et al., 2010). Considering these acute problems, people of the world are acting collectively to combat with the consequences of climate change. As for example, establishment of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), undertaking various global agreements and protocols, formulation of policies, plans etc. on climate change and disaster management are the reactions of global people to deal with climate change and climate induced natural disasters. Bangladesh is a low-laying riverine disaster prone and densely populated country with high rate of population growth. Every year she is facing various climate induced natural disasters. In addition, climate change aggravates the consequences of natural disasters and thus, Bangladesh is recognised as one of the most vulnerable countries in the world. The worst situation is facing by the people of coastal areas due to their limited access to endowed resources, high risks and vulnerabilities to climate change and disasters (ERD, 2008; Ali, 1999; & Thomolla et al.). But, the coastal areas are endowed with various resources such as mineral resources, fisheries, forestry, ports and tourism facilities etc. Over exploitation, climate change and disasters are destroying these natural resources, degrading environment and making people vulnerable to disastrous situations. Low economic development, extreme poverty, geographic location and climate make the country vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters. Moreover, Bangladesh is facing various challenges related to climate change mitigation and disaster risk reduction due to poor socio-economic condition, lack of integration, lack of incorporation of emergency plan in development activities, inefficient institutional frameworks, limited access to information, lack of scientific assessment method and tool, limited access to natural resources, no curriculum on natural hazards, funding/financial constraints (Pulhin et al., 2010). This research has been undertaken to evaluate readiness of the people to climate change adaptation and disasters risk reduction in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. The main objectives of this research are to investigate livelihoods condition of the people to tackle impacts of climate change and natural disasters, assess resilience of the community/people to climate change and natural disasters, evaluate existing institutional frameworks, policies, plans and strategies and formulate climate change adaptation strategies by reviewing strategies from international best practices. The main methods of conducting this study were desktop research; data collection through questionnaire survey and key informants interview; Data input in SPSS and Excel, processing and analysis; institutional frameworks, policies, programmes and strategies evaluation. A preliminary literature review was carried out to enrich theoretical background and understand the possible impacts of climate change and natural disasters, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and to formulate study goals and objectives. A comprehensive literature review was conducted and based on the literature review a conceptual framework of the study was developed. Socio-economic conditions such as population increase, GDP growth rate, literacy rate etc. and environmental condition such as GHGs emission, sea level rise, temperature increase etc. have been analysed to know climate change and disaster preparedness conditions of the people and severity of the impacts in Bangladesh. Impacts of climate change and disasters such as major disasters, population and GDP exposed to disasters, inundation risk, damages and losses etc. have been mentioned to comprehend the severity of the situations. Secondary data for this study was collected from different sources such as previous studies, census data, ministries and departments, World Bank, UN agencies etc. and performed the analysis. To know real world scenario a study area was selected and data related to socio-economic condition, status of preparedness of the people etc. were collected through household questionnaire survey, checklist, key informant interview, expert opinions. Data collected from questionnaire survey were analysed by SPSS and MS Excel. Based on the data collected from field survey disaster preparedness and resilience of the people to climate change and disasters have been evaluated and after evaluation it is found that people’s disaster preparedness and resilience to climate change and disasters are average or below average. Besides that, institutional frameworks and various policies, plans, strategies, programmes for disaster management, climate change mitigation and adaptation have been evaluated. Many countries of the world have recognised that regulatory and institutional frameworks of climate change and disaster management in Bangladesh is comprehensive and appropriate, and they have also enhanced disaster management capacity of the country. Related data and documents have been collected from various secondary sources and evaluated by qualitative analysis method. Policies, plans, strategies and programmes (i.e. National Plan for Disaster Management (NPDM) 2010-2015; National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA)-2005; Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP)-2008 and Coastal Development Strategy (CDS)-2006) have been evaluated based on five evaluation criteria such as relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impacts and sustainability set by Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to know their effectiveness to achieve their ultimate goals and objectives. Analysis of the institutional framework and policies, plans, programmes showed that they are comprehensive and able to achieve targeted goals and objectives. But, lack of proper integration and coordination, shortage of resources, lack of transparency and accountability are creating problems to achieve the desired outcomes. Based on drawbacks found from the analysis, recommendations on socio-economic development, coastal resources and environmental protection, developing disaster preparedness, climate change adaptation strategies and institutional regulatory framework have been provided to improve disaster preparedness and resilience of the people. After implementation of these recommendations in the study area or other parts of the country the following outcomes such as better livelihood, food security, balanced ecosystem, environmental protection, improved disaster preparedness, climate change mitigation and disaster risk reduction will be achieved. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

No description available.

The goal of this exploratory research project is to gather data on head teachers’ leadership perceptions and practices, so that educational researchers, government officials and head teachers themselves have a better understanding of leadership and management in Bangladeshi high schools. Such data is critical for gaining a better understanding of leadership in Bangladesh and for future head teacher development and school improvement. Leaders can play a very important role in improving teaching and learning in schools. Many Western countries are interested in the power of leadership to generate and sustain school improvement. Bangladeshi schools strive to improve, to develop effective teaching and raise the achievement of students. Much depends on the vision and practices of the head teachers who lead the schools. This study explores the leadership concepts, styles, trends and current practices of the head teachers in four Bangladeshi private secondary schools both in rural and urban areas. Findings of this study show that Bangladeshi school leaders have vision for school improvement. They lead their schools with managerial and democratic styles of leadership. They work for professional development inside the school with a view to improve the teaching and learning process. Students’ achievement is their ultimate goal. They work under pressure with their skill of handling different kinds of adverse situation like bureaucratic complex, political influence, and shortage of human and physical resources. The methodology of this research is qualitative and the methods used for data gathering were interviews and focus group discussions. Four schools from Sirajganj, a district which is approximately one hundred kilometres away from the capital city, provided the sample. Four head teachers participated in interviews and were invited to meet together to take part in a focus group discussion about their leadership practices.

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This study of Fertility Differentials in Bangladesh is based on a subset of data obtained from the 1983 Bangladesh Contraceptive Prevalence Survey. The focus of the study is to identify the variables that significantly affect the cumulative fertility of women in Bangladesh and to examine differentials in fertility.Path analysis has been used for analyzing the data of this thesis. Differentials in fertility are examined in terms of selected demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the ever married women and their husbands.The study shows that age of women has the highest effect on number of children ever born. Religion has positive and significant direct effects on fertility. Education of women has significant negative effects on fertility. Employment status of women effect fertility negatively in rural Bangladesh. The results of this study also suggest that high fertlity in Bangladesh will persist if immediate action is not taken to halt it. / Department of Mathematical Sciences