beyond the decisions-making: the psychic determinants of conduct and economic behavior

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TABLE OF CONTENT

Beyond the Decisions-Making: The Psychic Determinants

of Conduct and Economic Behavior ……………….……………………… 6-24

Dante Roberto Salatino

Green Supply Chain Practices on Corporate Sustainability Performance:

An Empirical Study ………………………………………. 25-35

Nitin Simha Vihari & Himani Binjola

Economic Valuation of Rural Wetlands in Bangladesh:

A Case Study of the Padma Beel of Pabna ……………………………………… 36-52

Ayub Ali and Syed Naimul Wadood

Gap between Expectation and Convenience of Open Access

Public Toilets in Dhaka: A Cross Sectional Investigation ……………………… 53-61

Syed Billal Hossain, Russell Kabir, Md. Shahjahan,

Alauddin Chowdhury & S. M. Yasir Arafat

Neurogame: An Alternative and Complementary Method

in the Teaching and Learning Process of Neuroanatomy ……………………… 62-71

Ribeiro, F.S., Soares, B.O., Santos, I.F.,

& Da Silva Júnior, E.X.



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Beyond the Decisions-Making: The Psychic Determinants of Conduct

and Economic Behavior

Dante Roberto Salatino

About the Author(s)

Researcher of the Institute of Philosophy and of the Institute of Linguistics - Lecturer in the

General Psychology Department - Faculty of Philosophy and Letters - Teacher and Researcher in

Artificial Intelligence in the Mechatronics Career - Faculty of Engineering - National University of

Cuyo - Email for correspondence: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The objective of this paper is to provide a useful tool to evaluate the impact of conduct and

economic behavior in decision making. It is a research based on a theory of the psychic structure

and operation with a marked neurobiological support. The use of a new method is introduced: the

Transcurssive Logic, to investigate the subjective reality of which, the economy, forms part. Are

corroborated the hypotheses suggested by Hayek in his treatise on Theoretical Psychology: The

Sensible Order (1952), and they are given foundation to the psychic processes that give rise to both

the behavior as the conduct. It constitutes a basic contribution to Economic Psychology.

Keyword: Economics, Psychology, Methods, Social Sciences.

JEL Code: A12, B41

CITATION: Salatino, D. R. (2017). “Beyond the Decisions-Making: The Psychic Determinants of Conduct and

Economic Behavior.” Inter. J. Res. Methodol. Soc. Sci., Vol., 3, No. 1: pp. 6–26. (Jan. – Mar.

2017); ISSN: 2415-0371.




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1. INTRODUCTION

The recent contributions of Economic Psychology and Neuroeconomics focus almost exclusively

on the supposed psychic and neurological mechanisms involved in decision making, which appears

as the only motive of economic conduct, forgetting that this conduct is given in function of a

particular behavior.

Every person or social individual has a double need, one primary: that of survival,

manifested as a desire; and a secondary one: that of knowing, expressed as a belief. The social in

the person arises from a desire that 'represents' at the deep level (in his being) motivating a

behavior, and a belief that characterizes superficially (in his seem) the object of that desire and thus

conditioning his conduct. (Salatino, 2012, p.132)

The foregoing derives, in the sensible (as subject), in opposing manifestations that arise

from the instinctive as externalizations that lead to self-preservation, which affects his life and

originates fear or apprehensiveness for the present. From the emotional (as an individual) or those

circumstances that support the adaptation that by affecting their relationship with the environment,

sustain the affections but also the suffering and mistrust for what has already lived. Or from the

emotional (as a person) where the fundamental objective is the recognition or social 'survival',

provoking an emotion in the other, even if it bring rigged together to the hope put in a future, the

anguish by its uncertain character.

All this expressive baggage enables the emergence of a belief that is the sustenance of all

knowledge, both own and surrounding.

From this belief it can be said that there are at least five ways of reaching it (Stebbing, 1965,

p. 526): a) That we have always believed in something that we do not question and before which we

are helpless against error; b) Based on the authority that recognizes two variants: i) acceptance of a

truth out of respect and ii) acceptance of a truth for being told by an expert; c) In front of direct

(apparent) evidence; d) By persuasion that is almost always subject to deception; and e) For

conviction or reasoning, mechanism that is patrimony of the logic and therefore of the science. That

is, a belief can be given by revelation, faith or superstition, by opinion, by presumption, by

persuasion or by conviction or certainty.

As Tarde says (1895, p. 108), the elementary social act, in its form at least, has only as basic

members a desire and a belief. Social relations, although potentially infinite, can be grouped

according to the same author (op. cit., p. 12) into two groups: (i) those which are based on the

transmission of a belief and are based on the apparent (Or how it should be according to a norm)

and ii) those in which what is transmitted is a desire, expression of what is (the own being).

By basing ourselves on the individual element we could say that the social, in the last

instance, arises from something 'profound' that is represented by the desire of a subject, and that is

related to something 'superficial', as it is a belief that acts as an object. Excluding the mode of belief

that is given by conviction or certainty that responds to a convention (or how science operates),

beliefs either have an external foundation and can respond either to a voluntary act or that does not

depend on the desire of the other, and where are excluded the modalities by opinion and

presumption, or respond to an imposition of the desire of others as is the case of persuasion. All this

allows us to establish logical relationships between the fundamental social elements as shown in

Figure 1.



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Fig. 1: Logic relations between the social elements

Legends: S = subject – O = object – V = apparent transformation - = hidden transformation

The previous figure confirms, on the one hand, the interrelations that are established

between desire and belief in a social individual, that is, the imposed or voluntary character of each

one of them and the emergence from there of the different beliefs. The codes assigned in the graph

are due to having considered the desire as the subject's heritage, and belief as an object of that

desire. On the other hand, this scheme corroborates, without a doubt, that the logical nucleus of any

social act as we see it here, is an PAU (universal autonomous pattern), according to what is defined

by the Transcurssive Logic (TL of here in forward) (See Appendix)

The needs that give rise to the social act are satisfied through the 'social patterns' that are

evidenced, individually, in behavior as we have seen and socially, in conduct through a series of

'social figures'. (Salatino, 2012, p. 134)

These ‘social figures’ fulfill the non-trivial function of establishing the 'social role' which

becomes evident through a determined conduct; That is, by that behavior that is limited by a norm;

and they are:

(i) Indifference: coexistence without mutual influence of two poles of interests that generate

two parallel instances that are only contacted superficially (in appearance) without interfering.

(ii) Agreement: coexistence with mutual influence of two poles of interests that have

elements in common that bring them together and distinctive elements that are adapted by both

parties to allow the 'fit' of the two instances making possible links at the superficial level through

the appearance - the lie of a conduct - and the acceptance, by mutual agreement, of the profound

level or the behavior of each one.

(iii) Conflict/Evasion: confrontation of two poles of interests to settle a shortage through the

same object. The conflict disrupts the steady state or stable disequilibrium that is maintained in the

social system by negative feedback (Salatino, 2009, p. 84), the one in which its dynamics are

developed through 'controlled oscillations' between the superficial and the profound (the conduct

and the behavior). This disturbance manifests itself as 'out of control oscillations'. Its behavior is

comparable to that shown by physical oscillations increased in amplitude in exponential form by

positive feedback. These 'oscillations' are caused by the influence between the superficial and

profound levels in cross form and leading to a 'catastrophe'. It reaches the limit of what is tolerated

by dynamic stability. Both systems are forced to choose, that is to say, they bifurcate out or it is

passed to a level of greater complexity, taking away preponderance to the occasional 'opponent'

becoming 'dominator' of the situation; Or on the contrary, becoming "dominated" or even more,

disappearing directly from the conflictive situation.

(iv) Submission: coexistence of the poles of interests where one of them predominates

because of the intact adaptability to the different avatars, made possible by the full use of the

superficial / profound assembly (conduct / behavior) and thus to influence the other, that only

handles the superficial level (the conduct) to the detriment of the profound level. This figure can

have two variants: an absolute, where submission is total both in the seem (conduct) and in the

being (behavior), and the other, relative, where such submission is only apparent (in the conduct).

Submission may be a consequence of figure (III). In addition, its evolution can follow different

paths that lead to any of the above figures by rehabilitation of the profound (behavior) level.



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The specified figures highlight what is relevant at the sociocultural level, or what is

equivalent, what we can research on the practical plane; in addition to confirming the relevance of

the application of the Theory of Games to unravel some of the mechanisms involved in economic

decision-making, something that will be discussed later.

Nevertheless, it is possible to probe through these figures, other planes of behavior and

elements that arise from it, such as: sensations (pleasure, neutrality, displeasure); that of reactions

(attraction, displeasure, rejection); the one of the emotions (love, harmony, hatred); that of

perceptions (subject, action, object); that of the psychic (idea, language, thought); etc.

From the social roles raised as a result of the operability of the social figures, finally emerge

what we will call 'personal roles' and that are: dominator, dominated and indifferent.

Assembling the logical relationships that link the elemental social elements with the

personal roles, we have all the necessary ingredients to define, from the conducts that generate the

beliefs (myths, religions, dogmas, ideology, etc.), to the fulfillment of a desire through behavior,

both in its adequate form (to a norm) and excessive, from which emerge roles as those of the leader,

autocrat, etc. Figure 2 summarizes the logic of social relations proposed.

Fig. 2: Logic of social relations

The objective of this work is to provide a method and a theoretical tool capable of analyzing

behavior and human conduct, these 'complex manifestations' are heritage of subjective reality

(Salatino, 2009), which are not usually addressed by objective science, but which can complete the

explanation of why a decision making is made. With this contribution is intended to bring

Psychology closer to the Economy, although from a different perspective than the one current

proposed by the Cognitive Sciences.

In order to better understand our purpose, in this introduction, I have proposed as a real

framework the logic that supports both a social act and also the relationships that a person maintains

with others, as is conceived by the TL.



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2. LITERATURE REVIEW

The search for antecedents of our position we must do it from different perspectives: (1) From the

justification of a psychology based on central nervous system (CNS) physiology, (2) Through the

approach of the economic conduct from the subject, (3) Showing the existence of common patterns

underlying to phenomena Which in appearance are totally different., and (4) demonstrating the

presence of the phenomenon of symmetry.

2.1 Psychology based on physiology

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), English philosopher, politician and economist representing the

classical economic school who theorized about utilitarianism and in his book A system of logic

(1843-1889-1950) in the chapter on the logic of the moral sciences, Says: “There are a great number

of social phenomena whose determining causes are the desire for wealth and the psychological law

which refers to the preference of a gain greater than a lesser ... In reasoning about this law of human

nature we can be qualified to explain and predict this type of phenomena, insofar as they depend

solely on such circumstances, bypassing the influence of any other social situation.” (Nagel, 1950,

p.337)

Adolf Horwicz (1831-1894), a German philosopher who, in addition to writing about the

nature and function of philosophy, did also about the history of the development of the will (1876),

and his book on psychological analysis where he used Physiology as a guide for psychological

research, that served as an inspiration to some of those who attempted to approach economics from

a psychological perspective.

Gabriel Tarde (1843-1904), Sociologist, Criminologist and French Social Psychologist, has

been the pioneer in the field of Social Psychology in talking about the causes of economic behavior,

based on the interrelation between desires and beliefs (what we have already mentioned)

(Quintanilla et al., 2005, p. 46) and in a Psychology interpreted from the physiology, although also

based on the introspection, since according to the author, when it comes to observing inter-

psychological phenomena (as he called to social phenomena) this form of meditation, he claimed, is

the only method of subjective and objective observation at the same time. (Tarde, 1902, p.83) From

2009 the TL was added (see Appendix), which, with this same purpose, is based not on

introspection but on Neurobiological Psychology.

Gustav von Schmoller (1838-1917), representative of the German historicist school, is

perhaps one of the greatest enthusiasts in the task of approximating the Economy to Psychology. In

the introduction of Grundriß der Allgemeinen Volkswirtschaftslehre (Principles of General

Economic Theory (1901-1904)) gave to the Psychology a place of privilege. It says there:

“Psychology is the key of all human sciences and therefore also of economics ... Nothing less than a

psychological history of humanity, especially a history of the evolution of feelings as shown by

Horwicz in his book of 1878: Psychologische Analysen auf physiologischer Grundlage.” (Nau &

Schefold, 2012, p 34)

Hans Vaihinger (1852-1933), German philosopher who in his Philosophie des Als Ob (The

philosophy of the 'as if') also mentions the book of Adolf Horwicz Psychologische Analysen auf

physiologischer Grundlage (The psychological analysis with physiological basis) that served him of

inspiration and where it shows that “All psychology is based on the so-called 'reflex scheme': the

sensory impressions following stimulation, ideas lead to thought, expressive movement and to the

volitional action.” Vaihinger, 1924, p.xxii)

Friedrich August von Hayek (1899-1992): The Sensorial order is a work on theoretical

psychology written by this philosopher, jurist and economist, Nobel prize of Economics in 1974 for

his contributions, among others, on the interdependence of the economy, the society and the

institutions. In this remarkable work, which will be discussed in some detail, it leaves a series of

possibilities with regard to the functioning of the psyche, such as, for example, the formation of

models with patterns of stimuli arising from the perception of the surrounding reality . (Hayek,

1952, p. 114) These writings on psychology laid solid foundations to support his ideas about

economic knowledge and the problems that economic science had to solve.



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2.2 Economic conduct from the subject

John Stuart Mill: also in the book A system of logic (loc. cit.) says, referring to the social

phenomena derived from a psychological law: “Taking into account that they have no origin in

other social facts and that no other circumstance can interfere , gave rise to have created a

department of science called: Political Economy,” making clear allusion to its subjective roots. In

contrast, in the chapter devoted to the definition of economic policy, it says: “Economic Policy can

be defined as the science of laws which regulate the production, distribution and consumption of

wealth. Wealth is defined, as all material objects useful or agreeable to mankind, except such as can

be obtained in indefinite without labor.” (ibid., p. 412)

Austrian school of economics: this line of economic thinking emphasizes that individuals

do not act automatically and in response to a rational elaboration that requires a total knowledge of

the ends and means. An individual acts as a consequence of cognitive processes that allow him to

perceive, recognize patterns, learn and understand the social reality that will determine the means

and ends appropriate to his subjectivity to face an economic decision. That is, your decisions will

always be individual and subjective. They are some of the outstanding figures of this school: Carl

Menger (1840-1921) (Subjective value theory, Menger, 2007, p 114); Ludwig von Mises (1881-

1973) (Praxeology: logical structure of human action, Mises, 1998, p. 30) Methodological

individualism: all social phenomena, including economics, can be explained from individuals, their

goals, their beliefs and their actions, Mises, op. cit., p. 41); Friedrich August von Hayek (1899-

1992): the methodological norms he adopted are a direct reflection of his perception of the subject.

This is what he notes when says: “It is probably not an exaggeration if we say that any important

advance in economic theory during the last hundred years was a further step in the constant

application of subjectivism.” (Hayek, 1955, p. 31).

2.3 Common patterns

Carl Gustav Hempel (1905-1997), a logical empiricist philosopher and epistemologist, who in his

Philosophy of Natural Science states: “What scientific explanation, especially the theoretical ... is

achieved by a systematic unification, by exhibiting the phenomena as manifestations of structures

and common underlying structures and processes that conform to specific, testable, basic principles.

If such an account can be given in terms that show certain analogies with familiar phenomena, then

vey well.” (Hempel 1966: 83) (Metaphorical by analogy method (Salatino, 2009) (see Appendix))

Milton Friedman (1912-2006) in one of the most influential works in economic

methodology says: “A fundamental hypothesis of science is that appearances are deceptive and that

there is a way to looking at or interpreting or organizing evidence that will reveals superficially

disconnected and diverse phenomena to be manifestations of a more fundamental and relatively

simple structure.” (Friedman, 1966, p. 33).

2.4 Symmetry

Bastiaan Cornelis van Fraassen (1941-). American philosopher of Dutch origin specialized in

philosophy of the science and logic. He defines symmetry as he does in mathematics and physics,

but proposes it as a guide for the characterization of a scientific theory, since he considers it as the

main key to understanding the theoretically constructed world through a model. (Van Fraassen,

1989)

3. METHODOLOGY

According to the previous characterization and in conventional form we can distinguish four ways

of approaching this research: from the ontology, the epistemology, the methodology or from the

ethics. (Sum & Jessop, 2013) Ontological, in this case, refers to the structure and properties of what

exists in that reality that we have raised. An important ontological derivative would be a set or

group of elements whose existence may be known by an observer from their individual reality.



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The epistemological approach encompasses that which is concerned with the nature of

knowledge or the beliefs that arise in the exchange with such reality.

Finally, the ethical would have to do with a set of psychic and affective qualities that form

the character as an expression of a knowledge or experience and condition the behavior of each

individual in his real world. (Figure 3).

Figure 3: S = subject – O = object – V = apparent transformation - = hidden transformation

The above diagram shows the suggested interrelations between the modes of approach of the

facts that occur in the reality that we are going to investigate. We mean by 'fact', the relations

existing between a generic subject and an object, through a double transformation, where the

subject is the source of those changes, while the object is the destination of them.

Of the transformations that determine the facts, one of them, which we identify as' apparent

'(V) tells us how the things of reality relate to the customs of a subject, so we can also call it:'

organization '.

The transformation designated as ‘hidden’ () refers to the necessary coherence, which on

an individual level, must exist between the facts that occur in reality and its representation. Since an

individual, in his becoming, is linked to others and which together determine the progress of the

social system, it is essential that in each of them a reorganization of the relations that seem to

determine the facts, in order to cope with the demands of the system and thus allowing a sustained

degree of evolution. For this reason we could call this transformation: 'disorganization'.

The proposed provision allows us to consider the coexistence of the true determinants of the

events that occur in this reality that we are trying to characterize, as well as its consequences that

condition its observation and experience. Characters and beliefs on the one hand, and things and

rules on the other, define, as we are suggesting, the participation of subjects and objects (observers

and observed) in those facts that we intend to analyze.

The factual sciences, whose object of study are real facts, require both observation as

experimentation. In natural sciences such as biology, physics or chemistry this is basically ensured

because it is easy to separate the observer from the observed; but in the social sciences, such as

economics, for example, this is very difficult if not impossible.

One way of achieving some approximation to the scientific method as it is applied to the

natural sciences, when trying to investigate economics, is to vary the point of view, or better, to

adapt the real frame of reference that is adopted.

It will be said that the same methods that are used in physics have been successfully applied

for a long time, as is the case when one wants to record the behavior of some economic variables, as

with the relation that links total utility and marginal utility, which in mathematical terms is its first

derivative. (García, 2000) But this alone is not enough to justify that the economy, as a social

science that is, is being approached 'scientifically', because here the participation of the subject is

relegated to a mere equivalent, that to save the appearances, is establishes as real reference.

In this work we will use as a method the TL (see Appendix) which is based on two of the

central ideas in science: 1) the unification or the possibility of demonstrating that there are



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phenomena, which, however disparate they may seem, respond to a single relational pattern ; and 2)

symmetry or one of the guiding principles of nature.

The theme of unification is one of the key points of the philosophical framework on science

defended by Philip Kitcher whose conception of the logic of science has been in favor of a view of

scientific explanation as unification, at least as a regulative ideal, and that agrees with his

presumption about the existence of a causal structure of the world. (Gonzalez, 2012, p. 55)

According to Kitcher, understanding phenomena is not simply a matter of reducing our

fundamental incomprehensibility, but of seeing connections, patterns common in what initially

seemed to be different situations. Thus, science increases our understanding of nature, showing us

how to derive descriptions of many phenomena using the same derivation patterns, over and over

again. By demonstrating this we are taught how to reduce the number of types of facts that we have

to accept as ‘ultimate’ or ‘fundamental.’ (Kitcher, 1989, p. 432) For our methodological purposes,

these words of Kitcher are vital, since it leaves established two of the most important aspects of our

method . On the one hand, the use of structured patterns from the primordial aspects that define a

fact; On the other, and the most relevant, helps to select a fact, among all those who respond in

some way to the pattern, and that in TL is used as the 'object of study' of the research being done.

The latter, perhaps, constitutes the most relevant methodological contribution of TL.

Explanatory unification is considered to be one of the greatest achievements of science.

Examples of this are the works of Newton, Darwin, Bohr, or Maxwell, to name but a few. In

economics, they show the same rank of unification, the supply and demand mechanism, or

Samuelson's economic analysis. (Mäki, 2001, p. 489)

Samuelson in his analysis of the economy privileges the unification, which focuses on the

maximization of economic behavior, which coincides in general lines with the proposal made in this

work, as explicit in the following general principle:

“Most economic treaties deal with the description of some part of the world, of reality

or of the elaboration of particular elements abstracted from reality. Implicit in such

analyzes are certain recognized formal uniformities, which are in fact characteristic of

every scientific method. I propose here investigate these common characteristics in the

hope of demonstrating how it is possible to deduce general principles that can serve to

unify large sectors of current economic theory.” (Samuelson, 1965, p. 7).

In addition to the previous explanatory unification we must require our method to leave

evidence of the possibility of leading to an ontological unification, in order to make it operative.

Ontological unification brings to a theory, referential and representational capacities and consists in

re-describing seemingly independent and diverse phenomena as manifestations of the same and

small number of entities and processes. (Mäki, 2001, p. 498) This supports the existence of an

underlying relational pattern.

Finally, the other element on which the method presented here is based, the symmetry, has

suffered, as it were, a kind of evolution since in the second decade of the last century, when the

German mathematics Emmy Noether demonstrated in a theorem (Noether, 1918) why of the

existence of conservation laws and magnitudes that do not change during the temporary unfolding

of a physical system. Or put another way, it showed that natural laws do not change over time.

(Salatino, 2016b, p.3)

Van Fraassen projects the concept of symmetry beyond physics or mathematics, attempting

its application to any scientific theory, suggesting that 'similar problems have similar solutions’. On

the other hand, it establishes as a method to individualize the relevant features or aspects of the

solution. Although this proposal is similar to those already presented, it differs in that once the

relevant parameters have been isolated, a group is formed with them. (op. cit., p. 259) This

algebraic structure ensures that the solution to the proposed problem consists of a rule (a function)

that depends only on those parameters; which is to say that, from the methodological point of view,

the object of study has been isolated. (Salatino, 2015, p. 45)



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In 2009 we focused our interest in the symmetry group and proposed some modifications

that allowed us to adapt it as a tool for the analysis of some social phenomena, such as language.

Among the modifications we can mention that the group is formed with only two elements and two

transformations, arranged in two levels that represent the essential aspects of a problem, observed

from two different frames of reference. The temporal evolution of the levels occurs in the opposite

direction. There must be absolute simultaneity (t = 0) of the frames of reference, being verified the

conservation (without changes in a frame of reference) and invariance (without changes between

frames of reference).

In summary, the method presented is based on: a) economic facts, because they belong to

the social sciences, depend on the subjective reality and not on the objective reality that frames

traditional science; Or otherwise put, decision making (one of the basic economic behaviors) can

not be simulated with an algorithm, unless we take into account that it is determined by a specific

behavior; b) the selected basic elements must form a relational pattern; c) the minimum pattern

must form a group to demonstrate the presence of symmetry; That is, it should make it possible to

evidence the conservation and invariance of the fundamental laws governing the fact or

phenomenon being studied; and d) the developed scheme must have ontological projection, that is,

it must have strict relation with the facts that can be evidenced empirically.

4. FINDINGS & DISCUSSION

Why the method we have just presented can be useful to assess a decision making seen from the

subject?

In order to answer the above question, we will base ourselves, in addition to our research, on

two works written by the same Nobel Prize winner for economics: Friedrich August von Hayek. In

The Counter-Revolution of Science, the author tells us:

“The main reasons for keeping the terms 'subjective' and 'objective' for the contrast we

are referring to [differences between the natural sciences and the social sciences],

despite the misleading connotations that these terms may have, are on the one hand, that

at least in economics [and also in psychological methods] the term 'subjective' has been

used for a long time in the sense given here. On the other hand, and perhaps more

importantly, the term 'subjective' emphasizes that the knowledge and beliefs of different

people, although possessing that common structure that makes communication possible,

make them different, and sometimes even contradictory in many ways. If we assume

that all the knowledge and beliefs of different people are identical or if we conceive of a

single mind, then it would not matter if we described them as an 'objective' or

‘subjective’ fact.” (Hayek, 1955, p. 29)

This confirms that in economics the approach from the subject is an important current of

thought that has contributed a different and useful knowledge about the economic phenomena that,

without doubt, have origin in the psyche of a person. To support this latter hypothesis, we will take

as a relevant reference a very particular work by Hayek: The Sensory Order - An Inquiry into the

Foundations of Theoretical Psychology. (TSO) It is in this theoretical work in which Hayek built

the solid foundations on which to support his ideas about economic knowledge and what economic

science should solve.

TSO represents the greatest approximation never shown between the subjective and the

economic knowledge which, in addition, contributed to delimit the true object of study of the social

sciences. He did not assign to the psyche (to the mind, as he calls it) any special 'substance', because

otherwise it would ascribe to mental events attributes of whose existence there is no evidence

(Hayek, 1952, p. 177), but defined it as the interaction of physical phenomena, such as the joint

functioning of neurons in the cerebral cortex. Despite having succeeded in most of his

appreciations, not having all the current neurobiological advances at that time, he had the

disadvantage of confronting a ‘mind’ that stricto sensu is both observer and observed. This last



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problem, which we have already mentioned in Methodology, we will approach it from the TL, we

will do the same with the 'correspondence' between the 'physical order' that shows us our

environment and the 'mental order' that Hayek defines as consisting of 'classes related' and thus

explain why our senses interpret reality in a disparate way as the physical sciences do; our position

is quite similar, of course with other fundamentals.

The answer to the above question is supplemented by our theory of how the psychic

apparatus is structured and how it works, presented in 2013.

We will analyze, of the human being, the dynamics of their relationships, with himself

which allows him to preserve his life, with the environment that gives him knowledge or

experience, and with his peers that enables him to communicate his decisions. These relations have

as unique objective to maintain the biological life, the psychic life and the social life, and in that

sense, they are intentional.

The dynamics of these relationships are as follows: a) the environment is presented with its

avatars, b) the subject acknowledges having received this impact (he perceives it), and c) elaborates

an adaptive (and re-adaptive, as would say Piaget, (1947) 1975, p.14), thus indicating that he has

found 'sense' to the surrounding reality and that he ‘learned’ what to do about it in order to remain

alive in the three instances he has to face. This 'learning' has as a previous step going ‘testing’

alternatives to get as close as possible to an appropriate response. If this step is not fulfilled, that is,

no response is given or given but it is not adequate, the human being dies socially, psychically and

even, biologically, for not being able to adapt to the demands of the environment. (Salatino, 2016a,

p.19) The latter case, in game theory, would be tantamount to losing the game.

As we shall see, the situation in which a subject finds himself interacting with the three

instances of his reality, fits well with a variant presented in this paper of John F. Nash's approach to

non-collaborative games (Nash, 1950). This way of approaching the decision making in economy is

reflected in Figure 4, which we analyze below.

Nash made a vital contribution to the economy when he demonstrated that decision making

is an interactive question where selfishness (‘the intention to survive’) prevails, and that the best

results for a group in the short and medium term, despite that decisions are taken individually, are

achieved when a very particular type of equilibrium is reached between pairs of opposing and

simultaneous strategies.

Fig. 4: CH = character – TH = things – RU = rules – BE = beliefs

The above figure is intended to reflect a real framework for decision making something

different from what was previously stated. The variant is the fact of focusing the problem from the



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subject and not only of what results from their interaction with others. In other words, making a

decision here is much more selfish than in the case of non-cooperative games, because here what

really is at stake is life itself.

Without making of this approach somewhat dramatic, we mean that decision-making, for

example, the dictating of norms that is forged in the theoretical building of political economy, arises

from a subject that interacts in a group, not a group which contains a subject, because they are

sustained in their behavior. Therefore, the application of these standards in the practice of economic

policy, which regulate their conduct, should reflect part of that normative origin; However, it does

not, far from it, proposes a supposed “scientific equity” (according to the Nietzschean expression -

Nietzsche, 2004, p. 80) that conceals the true affections that underlie them, such as the ambition of

dominion or the craving for possession.

The graph of Figure 4 may very well represent a situation similar to that evidenced in a non-

cooperative game between two players: a subject with his character and therefore with his ethics,

and the environment with his things and his other subjects . There are two well-defined levels: the

superficial or apparent level or that where the future of the players is settled according to a strategy

chosen consciously and unconsciously by the subject according to certain imposed rules; and the

profound level, where the rules of the game (structure) are proposed that depend on the individual

beliefs, and to which he has no access, nor can modify any of the players (the structural is neither

conscious nor unconscious, it's biological). This double state of our psyche, to call it somehow, is

already pointed out by Hayek in TSO:

“What, then, are the special attributes of conscious behavior by which we distinguish it

from behavior which also seems to be coordinated and intentional but of which the

person acting is not 'conscious'? Such unconscious behavior can occur either because

the person's attention is in the particular moment otherwise compromised, or because

it’s completely unconscious as is the case in some states of sleepwalking and hypnotic

trances.” (Hayek, 1952, p. 134)

We must clarify that Hayek confuses, in some way, the unconscious with a lack of

consciousness (unconsciousness). The unconscious is that functional state of a psyche that governs

the automatic outputs (habits) of our psychic apparatus and therefore our behavior. Consciousness

takes care of the inputs (especially those that require attention, although there are inputs that are

unconscious, much of the perceptive process is unconscious) as well as the cognitive aspect and our

intentional behavior. (Salatino, 2014, p.15)

A system (a couple of players: the subject and its environment) represents a repose dynamic

state that accuses a certain organization (determines a specific behavior), a certain stable

disequilibrium that promotes an exchange that is projected as an evident action (a conduct that fits

to norms or rules).

The irruption of a proposal or challenge from the environment (the equivalent of point a) of

the dynamics already specified) causes a deviation in the subject that perceives it (point b) (S) that

leads to submit that 'organization' previous to the rules of the game, those general rules that define

the generating structure of their behavior in relation to the situation, as something disorganized that

the profound structure reorganizes.

This reorganization is carried out elaborating either a defense that arrived at as an adaptive

response to the environment ( O), or as a change of level of complexity that allows it, by means of a

strategy, to respond with an attack, which causes that the environment behave as a subject who

receives a challenge and the alternatives of the game are repeated until that one of the two does not

adapt and 'die', that is lose the game, or they reach an agreement and declare that the game is over.

The situation raised, necessarily, will lead to some of the social figures that we raised in the

introduction. Or in other words, depending on the outcome of this 'game', will face a reality where

there will be raised a conflict / evasion or an agreement. From the resolution of this proposal will



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arise the social and then personal roles of Dominator and Dominated if the proposed circumstance

is of a general nature, the role of indifference will never arise.

To clarify the concepts a little more, we will analyze a more concrete example. Let us

suppose that the central government of a Latin American country decides to implement an

economic policy in line with globalizing currents in order to try to insert itself at the worldwide

level, eliminating tariff barriers and allowing the free circulation of capital: financial capital (loans

and international credits), productive capital (Raw materials, capital goods) and commercial capital

(what is bought and sold). (García Echevarría, 1996)

The government of the country represents the 'environment' of the previous example.

Start the game. Government agents make the proposal, they pose a challenge, not to a local

company, but to the common subject who gives life to these companies, saying: there will be lower

production costs with the consequent reduction of prices, will increase employment there where

multinational enterprises arrive, increased competition will lead to higher quality products,

technological improvements that will increase production and facilitate economic transactions; as a

direct consequence of all of the above, there will be greater accessibility to goods that are now not

accessible. A disequilibrium has arisen.

The opposition on behalf of all the 'common subjects', instead of using the attack as a

strategy showing all the disadvantages that can have, opt for a lukewarm defense against the

onslaught of government and decides to take the opportunity to be linked to the government

because they know that between one of the downsides of globalization is economic inequality that

will occur in the country which would benefit directly the most powerful companies, which are

almost always in collusion with power. The game is defined, the common subject loses.

They are defined, in the first instance, the roles of dominator (the governing) and dominated

(the common subject).

We see in this example a situation, not strange in our countries, where the behavior of the

subject, which ultimately constitutes the one that makes a country progress, is not taken into

account. This subject has found, after hard experiences, a way of 'surviving', biologically,

psychically and socially which has shaped the way he behaves. He has had to submit to norms

indispensable for coexistence, but in no case this forced conduct, so far, canceled his behavior or

crushed his beliefs.

The decision of third parties is supported in great academic developments defended by

technocrats who decide what behavior that the common subject must observe to be in agreement

with the conduct dictated by the norm imposed.

According to the final result of this hypothetical case, globalization tends to eliminate the

stable disequilibrium that must exist between the Political Economy, whose ultimate basis should

be the behavior of the common subject, and the Economic Policy that dictates the rules, in favor of

the latter and in detriment of the first that collapses to reach a deadly stable equilibrium. In this way,

what began as a 'non-cooperative game' was transformed into a ‘zero sum’ game. This split is what

leads to ‘mortal equilibrium.’ That is to say, the appearance of economic conducts not sustained in a

genuine economic behavior, which puts directly into force the social figure of submission.

Final consequences of a bad economic decision (not based on behavior): predation of the

raw material, property of the common subject, to be more abundant and cheaper than in any global

village. Not being able to pay even the interest of the loans taken for the technological update

necessary to enter the world market (something non-existent), which forces him to give away the

precious raw material, which in turn is bought by multinational companies disguised as regional

enterprises, which pushes the common subject into a state of total submission. (Stay, 1993)

In order to finish answering the question posed at the beginning of this discussion we will

make an analysis of the subjective reality. We have already defined the frame of reference where

the subject develops. This is one of the real systems that define the TL: the socio-cultural, which as

we saw is a composition of what is present, that is, of the facts as they are shaped by representing

interrelations between subject and object, the two only components of subjective reality It is



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considered as the 'motor' that drives the gestation and regulation of the dynamics of other real

systems. Its structural unit is the REM or real fact.

Another of the real systems is the bio-external: characterization from the logical point of

view of the three major biological levels that record the physical aspects of life. These levels of life

that can be qualified by TL are: a) unicellular or multicellular without central nervous system

(CNS), which comprises simple animals and plants; b) multicellular with CNS, which include the

animals themselves; and c) the animal that, through understanding, can use the sense it gives to its

environment to adapt and evolve, the man. Its structural unit is the GEN.

Finally, the psycho-internal system: all living beings are autonomous and this autonomy

becomes evident when they are observed as different from their surroundings. Little life can have a

structure that ignores that it is different from what surrounds it. Setting a boundary between the

'inner' and the 'external' is a privilege of the living being. To the real system capable of sustaining

this 'knowledge' and relating it to the environment, we will call it psycho-internal and it is the one

that takes care of the concrete subjective aspects, both volitional and cognitive. Its structural unit is

the FREN.

All units reviewed, show the same structure, that is, they are arranged on two levels, one

superficial or evident and one profound or hidden, which arise from the interrelationship of the

subject and the object (or their equivalents) through two transformations or changes. These two

levels form a group and maintain a complex relationship with each other; that is, a triple relation of

opposition, complementarity and concurrence or simultaneity, and with a common logical

denominator: the PAU or universal autonomous pattern. (See Appendix)

The two levels that the units display are: in the REM, the superficial: the seem and the

profound: the being; In the GEN, the superficial: the phenotype and the profound: the genotype;

While in FREN, the superficial: the idea and the profound: thought. (Figure 5).

Fig. 5: Structural unit of the subjective reality

The psycho-internal system, our psychic apparatus, as we have seen, has a structural

(relational) distribution identical to the socio-cultural system. We say that both are homeomorphic

and not isomorphic as Hayek suggests (Hayek, 1952, p. 38). This condition allows facts that occur

outside the psychic apparatus to be 'recorded', as it were, in the psychic structure as phenomena that

give rise to the 'construction' of experience. A kind of ‘structural memory’. A similar mechanism is

pointed out as the origin of the experience in TSO (op. cit, p. 41). Hayek establishes as the central

thesis of his psychological theory, saying: “... a large part of the content of the sensory qualities

[mental contents] is the result of an interpretation based on experience.” We could add that not

only part but everything is understood in terms of experience, and when it does not exist, then we

will have to learn or 'die'.

It is important to clarify why I use understand rather than interpret in the previous

paragraph. The analysis that the subject does of its surroundings (to discriminate what he perceives)



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and the relation he makes of the obtained to experience (memory), if it exists, is in charge of a

series of psychic processes (Salatino, 2014, p.159) These processes can be divided into Superficial

psychic processes and Profound psychic processes:

Superficial psychic processes: (i) Learn: is related to the changes and is the one that occurs

at the moment of perception; (ii) Understand: it is the analysis or division of what is perceived in

the different real systems, to leave a real 'fact' in an idea (psychic structure = structural memory =

experience); and (iii) Explain: it has to do with: I) inference or application of the inviolable

principles of traditional logic, and II) with the association or implication based on previous

experiences and knowledge, to give individual reading of a particular fact. It is related to the use of

concepts through meaning.

Profound psychic processes: (i) Know: has to do with the differences between objects. It is

which brings together all objects given their differences (is a disjunction) and for example, that the

psyche can determine that the OS (superficial object), or external object perceived is different from

the SS (superficial subject), or the subject itself considered as an object. Is directly linked to

volitional thinking through which originates an embodied experience, that is, a 'incarnation' of

learning to fulfill a particular desire. (ii) Interpret: Has to do with separating related similarities by a

change or transformation not evident or profound (it is a conjunction). It is related to the 'sense' that

acquires a fact when it becomes a phenomenon. Is the germ of the behavior of a subject, and (iii)

Comprehend: Is the process that starts from an idea (psychic structure) and ends with its projection

into a function: cognitive thinking. It is the one that allows, after an internal reorganization (re-

adaptation) of the subjective slopes of the components of every real fact, to project towards the

surface the sense of that fact, that is to say, a resurgence of the truth, our truth, that which allows us

to respond from the subjective, not only with the will (behavior) but also to a strategy (conduct), to

the proposals made by the environment. Finally, comprehension is what, in our feeling, establishes

a belief. Belief is a functional affirmation of truth; and truth appears when a desire is satisfied and

this is consistent with some belief.

5. CONCLUSION

Hayek, when he tries to demarcate the true individualism of false, points out that the true one

represents a social theory because it tries, from the knowledge of the forces that determine social

life, to elaborate political maxims. "There is no other way toward an understanding to social

phenomena but through our understanding of individual actions directed towards other people and

guided by their expected behavior." (Hayek, 1958, p. 6)

What is indicated by the previous quotation is what we have tried to show in this work,

although with some nuances. It is clear from our analysis that the origin of the rules or the practical

projection of the scope of a economic conduct must be, as Hayek says, based in the obliged

knowledge that must have those who exercise power, of individual actions.

Such individual actions are manifested by a certain behavior which has as undoubted origin

the structure and functioning of our psychic apparatus, as we have seen. The expected conduct that

standards must safeguard is a direct consequence of our behavior. We have offered here a useful

tool to assess the impact that individual desires and beliefs (which translate into actions or behavior)

should have on the issuance of norms that regulate economic conduct; the only way for political

economy to become the basis of our understanding, not only of economics but of social facts.

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APPENDIX

Transcurssive Logic

The method and the scientific tool that allows to analyze the primordial interrelation (or interaction

of organizational nature) that exists between subject (S) and object (O), and that defines the

dynamic evolution (the elapse) of the subjective reality, something which is beyond the reach of

traditional science, to endorse the point of view of the observer.

Its main contribution consists in a modification of the traditional concept of what we

understand by reality as we perceive it and how it influences our behavior and our conduct,

according to the circumstances.

This approach, despite being based on the perspective that a subject has of the real facts that

affect it, respects two of the central ideas in science: 1) unification: or the possibility of

demonstrating that there are apparently independent phenomena that respond to a single relational

pattern; and 2) the symmetry: which is one of the guiding principles of nature.

Given the two characteristics above allows scientific approach to social and humanistic

aspects of reality, which is for what was created; although this form of approach can also be

extended to any scientific discipline in order to discover the relationships existing between the

fundamental aspects that define any real fact, and this with a double aim; on the one hand, as a

method to facilitate the search of the object of study of an investigation and to put it in value. On

the other hand, as a didactic tool to support the arguments that give rise to objective and verifiable

knowledge, supported by observation and experimentation.

2.0 Methodological aspects

2.1 Based on unification: although science argues as a unifying element the same cause for

apparently independent phenomena, here we will limit ourselves to propose the existence of

multiple independent phenomena that respond to a common relational pattern. This is at the heart of

a variant of Peirce's abductive reasoning, which we call metaphorical by analogy. (Salatino, 2009)

(Figure 6)

Fig. 6: Method of Metaphoric by analogy

The analogy allows us to discover the hidden model that underlies every metaphor. The

analogy is a going from the concrete (the observable) through a model or pattern, to the abstract

(theory) or from the superficial to the profound. It applies to a known domain (source or observable

results) to try to better understand or understand an unknown domain (destination). In other words,

analogy makes more familiar a domain in which extreme or surprising phenomena occur (as Peirce

called them). In this way, through the abduction it is possible to approach them doubly, on the one

hand, generating explanatory hypotheses, and on the other hand, allowing their investigation.

Through the metaphor is made the reverse way to that of analogy. It goes from the profound

to the superficial, from the abstract to the concrete; (like the Greek term Aletheia: uncover), which

becomes evident in the change produced on the surface and which is nothing other than the impact



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of the transfer from the source domain to the destination domain, Which allows abduction to

generate a hypothesis. In this way it is concluded that it is possible that the questioned (observed)

domain shows a similar logical structure and therefore, a homologous functioning to the known

domain, taken as reference.

In summary, then, we use the analogy in order to find some similarity between two domains

that, superficially, appear as very different, opposite or even excluding. When the analogy is found,

the metaphor (abduction) is responsible for giving an answer to that occult and mysterious

phenomenon that we are trying to observe or study.

2.2 Based on symmetry: Symmetry is the language of group theory. Therefore, it is through a

generic group that we can apply the principles of Transcurssive Logic to demonstrate the presence

of symmetry, the only way to validate a scientific approach. The structure of this type of group

consists of two opposing static elements (A and B) and two opposing dynamic elements. Each,

alternately, occupies one to one of the four vertices of a rectangular parallelogram. All elements

have a binary code that identifies them and that arises from a table of assignments with at least two

basic attributes ( and ). If this is the case, both attributes must be opposites. (Figure 7).

Fig. 7: Generic group

The static elements, besides opposites are complementary and concurrent. Of the dynamic

elements, one of them has the function of connecting by 'transforming' both of the static elements

(V). From the logical point of view it behaves as a disjunction and its code corresponds to the co-

presence of both attributes, which is equivalent to the union of the elements by their differences, so

we will also know it as 'organization'. The other dynamic element represents a 'hidden

transformation' whose function is to break the previous ligature, which will enable the future

evolution of the system (). Logically behaves as a conjunction and its code arises from a co-

absence of attributes, which is equivalent to a separation of elements by their similarities; We will

also know it as 'disorganization'.

This arrangement which structurally represents a group of Galois, functionally represents a

Galois connection; That is, the opposition of two aspects or concepts through another opposition,



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which here we will know as PAU (Universal Autonomous Pattern). The triangle of the figure is

only to highlight the two levels that form this structure and its temporal evolution in the opposite

direction. The rotation in both directions is obtained, to the right at the superficial level, applying

XOR () [XOR : 0 0 = 0; 0 1 = 1; 1 0 = 1; 1 1 = 0.] to its codes; While to the

left at the profound level, is achieved by applying the equivalence () [ : 0 0 = 1; 0 1

= 0; 1 0 = 0; 1 1 = 1] (the opposite operation to XOR, since the profound level, from

the logical point of view, is the negation of the superficial level)

In all cases, it is necessary to justify both the choice of the attributes that support the codes

and to demonstrate that the result of the application of the operations to these codes produces a

logical sequence of phenomena that are characteristic of the real fact being studied. In the case of

social or humanistic applications, the static elements of the group must necessarily be subject and

object.



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Green Supply Chain Practices on Corporate Sustainability

Performance: An Empirical Study

Nitin Simha Vihari, Himani Binjola

About the Author(s)

Corresponding author, Nitin Simha Vihari is a Senior Research Fellow, Department of

Management Studies, IIT Roorkee. Email: [email protected]

Himani Binjola is an Assistant Professor, Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to validate the direct and intervening effects of internal and external

Green Supply Chain Practices on Corporate Sustainability Performance. Further, the study tests for

the moderating effect of Institutional pressures. The study uses multivariate casual modeling

approach named Structural Equation Modeling, in order to validate the linkages among the latent

constructs. Top and Middle level managerial workforce of the select Indian pharmaceutical

companies are considered as the respondents for this empirical investigation, using simple random

sampling method. The study uses adapted scales from the past researchers and with a response rate

of 72.61 %, the author’s tested the formulated hypotheses and validate the proposed research

framework. The study reveals that both the internal and external Green Supply Chain Practices

significantly influences the Corporate Sustainability Performance with respect to the

Pharmaceutical companies in India. Furthermore, Institutional Pressures such as coercive,

normative and mimetic positively moderates the direct relationship between the two central latent

constructs. The study offers implications for both practitioners and academicians. Given the

complex regulatory and competitive norms, which are enveloping the firm’s business environment,

Green Supply Chain Practices evolved as a significant predictor of Corporate Sustainability. Cross

sectional research design, simple random sampling and select Indian Pharmaceutical companies are

few of the limitations of the current study. Very few studies have focused on the importance of

Green Supply Chain Practices with respect to the Indian Pharmaceutical companies and its

managerial workforce and also the moderating variable considered as part of the study has

significantly contributed to the academic literature of Environmental Management and Supply

Chain Management.

Keywords: Green Supply Chain Practices, Structural Equation Modeling, Indian Pharmaceutical

Companies, Corporate Sustainability Performance, Institutional Pressures

CITATION: Vihari, N.S. and Binjola, H. (2017). “Green Supply Chain Practices on Corporate Sustainability

Performance: An Empirical Study.” Inter. J. Res. Methodol. Soc. Sci., Vol., 3, No. 1: pp. 25-35.

(Jan. – Mar. 2017); ISSN: 2415-0371.



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1.0 INTRODUCTION

Modern day manufacturers are adopting various environmental practices as there are strict

environmental regulations and for attaining competitive gains, manufacturers are focusing towards

these environmental practices. Manufacturers in collaboration with their supply chain partners,

suppliers and customers can be into a superior competitive place and can be into a better position if

they execute environmental management in a cost effective manner (Vachon and Klassen, 2006).

If organizations collaboratively work and function so it will help in reducing environmental

pressures and it will lead in reducing wastes and will help in improving supply chain functions

(Seuring and Muller, 2008). Green supply chain management (GSCM) can be seen as a popular

prospect for manufacturers in supply chain management as an approach towards reducing their

environmental damages and for environmental management, and can also be seen for achieving

operational (Zhu et al.,2008,2012a,2012b; Svensson,2007).Enterprises these days are required to

promote green supply chain management (GSCM) practices ,as stakeholders and institutional

pressures are compelling enterprises to pursue green supply chain management(Tata et al.,

2010).Government and regulatory institutional factors are key factors for motivating the execution

of external GSCM practices (Gonzalez-Benito and Gonzalez-Benito, 2006).Commercial

competitive pressures are important for organizations to pursue in-house eco-design (Chung and

Wee, 2008).Other studies have examined relationships of institutional pressure, mainly regulatory

pressure along with environmental management practices such as internal GSCM practice on

ISO14001 certification (Quazi et al., 2001) and external GSCM practice on investment recovery

(Mitra, 2009).This kind of institution investigation is a systematic analysis and approach towards

promoting proactive environmental management practices such as green supply chain management

(Beskovnik and Jakomin, 2010).

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Internal and External Green Supply Chain Practices

GSCM can be broadly classified as internal and external practices and institutional pressures

including the normative, coercive and mimetic practices can drive practice of both. In this paper,

internal GSCM practices are the ones that can be implemented and managed independently by

individual manufacturers. For external GSCM, such as supplier’s co-ordination is required with

external stakeholders or partners i.e. suppliers and customers. Environmental, operational and

economic performance improvements can be seen in both internal and external GSCM practice.

(Seuring and Muller, 2008).Waste reduction and resources conservation can result in environmental

performance which will result in improvement in economic performance. Decreased inventory

levels and improved product quality in environmentally based supply chain can also contribute in

economic performance improvement (Zhu et al., 2005).This paper introduces to the different

myriad relationship and elements for internal and external GSCM and the performance outcomes by

manufacturing enterprises.

2.2 Institutional Pressures

In recent years institutional theory’s role can be prominently seen the fields of OM and SCM

(kauppi, 2013). According to Scott (2008), institutional theories suggest that external forces are

important for encouraging enterprises for practicing similar strategic practices. According to

institutional theory organizations are not only making profits but they also realize the importance of

social authority (Suchman, 1995). Economic variant and social variant are the two main forms of

institutional theory (Ketokivi and Schroeder, 2004). Mechanisms, which lead towards institutional

isomorphism, are coercive, mimetic and normative (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983). The coercive

mechanism includes of formal and informal pressures, which are created on the firm by other firms,

and also the pressure, which is created by societal expectations (Kauppi, 2013; DiMaggio and

Powell, 1983).

Here, coercive pressure, normative pressure and mimetic pressure are the three dimensions

shaping institutional theory (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983). Normative isomorphism is a result of



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professionalization. “Members of particular profession define the pressures, challenges and struggle

of that specific occupation and give a guideline to the future professionals through legality” (Liang

et al., 2007). Mimetic isomorphism takes place when one organization tries to mimic the other

organization and tries following the other organization, this could only happen when one

organization is not sure about its goals, vision, environmental uncertainty or technology is not well

understood (Di Maggio and Powell,1983; Liang et al., 2007).

Coercive Isomorphism takes place when there is external pressure by stakeholders (e.g.

buyers, government agencies, regulatory norms etc.) and it also takes place when there are varied

expectations from society (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983).

2.3 Corporate Sustainability Performance

The concept of corporate sustainability performance can be understood rationally as it is difficult to

express it in operational terms (Labuschagne et al., 2005). Understanding the goals of CSP,

companies need to understand the sustainability of their present practices that how their current

practices and their direction will help them in achieving their goals. There have been various

analysis regarding CSP i.e. Porter (1985) analyzed the importance of financial aspects in terms of

profitability and economic growth, Peteraf (1993) analyzed economic performance, growth and

long-term profitability in terms of CSP and other works i.e. Chan (2005) and Christmann (2000)

analyzed CSP through impact of environmental management on corporate and Brown and Dacin

(1997) studied in depth the effect of social responsibility on enterprises focused more on the ethical

aspects of CSP.

3. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT

3.1 Internal and External Green Supply Chain Practices and Corporate Sustainability

Performance

New environmental practices help in exploring new opportunities for enterprises as that helps

competition for adding new values and core values to business programs (Hansmann and Krogger,

2001; Wagner and Schaltegger, 2006; Lai et al., 2010).Internal and external GSCM has a positive

relationship with an organization’s economic performance and this relationship is beneficial for

both. (Gil et al., 2001; Montabon et al., 2007 ; Rao and Holt, 2005; Wong et al., 2012b).

Sustainable management practices will bring significant growth in sales, return on assets, profit

before taxation and cash flows from operations (Ameer and Othman, 2012). Environmental

performance can be improved with internal and external GSCM (Frosch, 1994). Close bonds such

as suppliers and customers and close relationships between suppliers and customers contribute in

management strategies and all these factors help in contributing in improving environmental

performance(Florida,1996;Gunasekaran et al., 2008). UK researchers, Haji-Gazali and Simula

(1994), portrayed that on average consumers paid approximately 13% more for green products

(Varangis et al., 1995). Economic performance can be improved with customer satisfaction and

corporate reputation by practicing environmental management (Tang et al., 2012). We posit that

“Internal Supply Chain practices have a positive influence on Corporate Sustainability

Performance.”

3.2 Internal and External Green Supply Chain Practices and Institutional Pressures

There are many external and internal pressures on manufacturers for adopting environmental

management practices and literature has also identified many groups which exert pressure for

adoption of Internal and external GSCM and other environmental management practices. Chinese

consumers especially youngsters have developed awareness about green products (Liu et al., 2009;

Lo and Leung, 2000). According to Institutional theory, a firm will always observe the actions of

other firm. For environmental protection and in view of regulating, corporate social responsibility is

necessary for legitimacy (Boiral, 2007). There can be situations when there could be positive,

negative or no relationship may exist between various pressures and in adoption of specific GSCM



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practices. We posit that “External Supply Chain practices have a positive influence on Corporate

Sustainability Performance.”

3.3 Internal and External Green Supply Chain Practices, Institutional Pressures and

Corporate Sustainability Performance

In Normative Isomorphic pressures, for example, it is perceived that manufactures should take

organizational routines which result to organizational legitimacy. Coercive institutional drivers may

force manufacturers to adopt GSCM practices. Multi institutional isomorphic pressures may

encourage competitors to adopt GSCM practices for improving competitiveness.

Environmental pressures help in adopting GSCM practices. Market regulations,

environment pressures help an organization to adopt environmental practices. These practices help

in growth of the firm. However, according to institutional theory perspective institutional pressures

help in the growth of the firm and help in adopting environmental practices. We posit that

“Institutional Pressures act as a moderator between Green Supply Chain practices and Corporate

Sustainability Performance.”

Fig. 1: Conceptual Framwork

Survey approach was used for the data collection and is also the most favored tool among

the quantitative researchers (Fowler, 2009; Amayah, 2013). Survey research is most relevant to the

unit of analysis if the study, which is the managerial workforce among the select pharmaceutical

companies in India (Dwivedi, 2005). Random sampling technique from the class of probabilistic

sampling techniques is used to identity the respondents. After data screening procedure, a total of

342 responses with the response rate of 64.75% were considered for subsequent analysis. At the

outset of analysis, the sample’s demographic profile was calculated. It comprised of gender, age and

education, job profile in the organization and tenure in the current organization. The demographic

profile of samples helps to understand that respondents are appropriate for the study as per their job

profile, experience and education. It also reveals that data is normally distributed as per

respondents’ age, gender, job profile, experience and education. Further, it highlights that samples

do not take account of high level of polarization. The tools used in exploring the sample’s

demographic profile are tables for tabulated description of profile, charts and graphs for graphical

description and discussions for the basis for a clearer picture.



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Descriptive statistics were computed to examine demographic and professional

characteristics of the 342 respondents. Their managers’ characteristics were examined as well. The

statistical software SPSS 20.0 was used for the descriptive statistics. Demographic characteristics of

the respondents are presented in Table 1.

Table 1: Summary of Demographic Characteristics

Demographics Employees’ details

342n

Frequencies Percentages (%)

Gender Male 197 57.60%

Female 145 42.39%

Age Less than 25 years 59 17.25%

25-30 years 102 29.82%

31-35 years 82 23.97%

36-40 years 56 16.37%

41-45 years 29 8.4%

Above 45 years 14 4.09%

Experience 1-5 years 91 26.60%

6-10 84 24.56%

11-15 88 25.73%

16-20 69 20.17%

More than 20 years 10 2.92%

Education Graduate 182 53.21%

Post graduate 129 37.71%

Any other 31 9.06%

Table 1 shows the gender wise distribution of respondents. Overall, the final sample

comprised slightly more male 254 (63.98%), than females 143 (36.02%). With this information, it is

presumed that, lower percentage of female employees than male employees is representative of

Indian managerial representation (Baral & Bhargava, 2010).

The present study uses the widely acknowledged multivariate causal modeling technique

named as two stage approach, suggested by Anderson and Gerbing (1998). The two stages are

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) respectively. CFA

confirms the extracted relationships by comparing the variance co variance matrix from both the

sample and model. It just validates the model’s measurement. Both the structure model and

measurement model are used to build the second stage SEM, which is a combination of CFA,

multiple regression and Path Analysis (Hussey & Eagan, 2007). Hierarchical Multiple Regression

Analysis was used to test the moderating effects of the latent construct Institutional Pressures.

Common Method Bias (CMB) is the degree to which the systematic error variance

influences the study variables (Richardson et al., 2009). CMB is also termed as Common Method

Variance, which is measured by Harman’s single factor approach (Podsakoff and Organ, 1986).

Principal Component Analysis was used on all the items from the four latent constructs and resulted

a unrotated factor structure with 4 distinct factors that cumulative variance accounted for 66.42% of

the total variance. The first factor enveloped mere 21% of the total variance, which lead to the

confirmation regarding the absence of CMB in the response set.



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Table 2: Descriptive Statistics

S.no Constructs Mean S.D. 1 2 3 4

1

Internal Green Supply Chain

Practices 5.27 0.742 0.75

2

External Green Supply Chain

Practices 5.84 0.864 .422** 0.79

3 Corporate Sustainability Performance 5.61 0.911 .367** .513** 0.83

4 Institutional Pressures 5.92 0.528 .521* .615* .351* 0.88

Note: * p<0.05 and ** p<0.01

4.0 FINDINGS

A well-established multiple-item seven-point Likert scale spanning from 1 (“strongly disagree”) to

7 (“strongly agree”) was used to measure the variables of the study. The descriptive statistics for all

measurements are shown in Table 1. Four items of Internal Supply Chain practices and three items

of External Supply Chain practices were adapted based on existing literature on GSCM (Zhu and

Cote, 2002; Zhu and Sarkis, 2004; Zsidisin and Hendrick, 1998). Six items of Institutional pressures

were adopted from DiMaggio and Powell (1983), Zhu and Sarkis (2007) and Kauppi (2013). Six

items of Corporate Sustainability Performance was adapted from the study conducted by Zhu et al.,

(2005).

4.1 Measurement Model Results

Measurement model is the initial step to perform multivariate causal modeling of the two-stage

approach. Reliability, discriminant validity and convergent validity are the key parameters, which

complete a measurement model (Hair et al., 2006). Reliability is a measure of consistency in the

responses given by the respondents with the acceptable limit ranging from 0.7 to 1 (Hair et al.,

2006). Reliability values of all the four latent constructs were measured by Cronbach’s alpha by

benchmarking the loading (greater than or equal to 0.7) of each item with the respective construct. It

was found that all the four latent constructs exhibited a reliability of more than or equal to 0.7 by

meeting the acceptance limit (Hair et al. 2006) and the corresponding values are represented in

Table 2. Discriminant validity is the degree of the distinctiveness between the constructs, which is

measured by the parameters (Hulland, 1999, Fornell and Larcker 1981) of cross loadings, and

Average Variance Extracted (AVE). Each item of a respective construct is needed to have a greater

loading compared to the other constructs and the square root of the AVE values ought to be larger

than the inter construct correlations (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). Convergent validity is the second

type of testing for the construct validity, which is measured solely by the Average Variance

Extracted (AVE) values. An AVE value above or equal to 0.5 indicates that the items of a construct

are converged, i.e. on an average all the constructs in the proposed research model at least explain

more than or equal to 50% of its items (Hair et al., 2006). By comparing table 2 and 3, it can be

observed that that the values of Average Variance Extracted (AVE) are more than or equal to 0.5

for all the four corresponding latent constructs. Thus, the measurement has adequate convergent

validity. Furthermore, the square root of the AVE values of all constructs is found to be more than

0.8, which indicates that the measurement has good discriminant validity. Table 3 represents the

summary of the results obtained from the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Thus the response

set of the present study shows good reliability and validity characteristics.



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Table 3: Results of CFA

Latent Constructs Indicators Loadings Reliability AVE AVE Square

Root

Internal Green Supply

Chain Practices

IGSCP1

0.76

0.84

0.57

0.75

IGSCP2 0.82

IGSCP3 0.84

IGSCP4 0.71

External Green Supply

Chain Practices

EGSCP1

0.77

0.78

0.63

0.79

EGSCP2 0.84

EGSCP3 0.75

Institutional Pressures

MP1

0.78 0.88 0.54 0.73

MP2 0.85

RP1 0.94

RP2 0.91

CP1 0.82

CP2 0.72

Corporate Social

Performance

FP1

0.74

0.81

0.59

0.76

FP2 0.87

FP3 0.91

FP4 0.89

SP1 0.82

SP2 0.83

SP3 0.71

SP4 0.76

EP1 0.85

EP2 0.89

EP3 0.92

EP4 0.95

EP5 0.86

4.2 Structural Model Results

The structural mediated model and the respective fit indices are represented as part of table 4 and

Fig 2. The GFI, NFI, NNFI, AGFI and RMR are 0.91, 0.85, 0.82, 0.73 and 0.072 respectively. All

the fit indices and the χ2/df values are in the acceptable range as given by Hair et al., (2006).

Table 4: Fit Indices of Structural

Structure Model χ2 df p χ2/ df NFI CFI GFI AGFI RMR

Hypothesized Model 716.74 238 <0.01 3.01 0.85 0.91 0.91 0.73 0.072

The moderating effect of institutional pressures on the relation between Green Supply Chain

practices and Corporate Sustainability Performance is conducted using Hierarchical Regression

Analysis (Hair et al., 2006). The analyses were performed individually to both internal and external



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green supply chain practices and are mentioned as part of Table 5 and 6. The results of the analysis

indicate that institutional pressures act as a sign cant moderator.

Table 5: Moderating effect of IP on IGSCP and CSP

Variables

CSP

B SE Change in R2 R2 df1,df2 F

Step1: Controls 0.06 6, 192 1.853**

Age 0.07 0.12

Gender 0.28 0.15

Step2: Main Effects 0.48** 0.53 11, 194 42.29**

IGSCP 0.42 0.13**

IP 0.27 0.09**

Step3: Interaction 0.05 0.56 13, 196 38. 15**

EGSCP * IP 0.13 0.07*

Note: * p<0.05 and ** p<0.01

Table 6: Moderating effect of IP on EGSCP and CSP

Note: * p<0.05 and ** p<0.01

The summary results of the hypotheses are mentioned as part of Table 7 along with the p-

value, standard error, standardized estimate and the regression coefficient.

Table 7: Results of Hypotheses

S.no Hypothesis

Independent

Variable

Dependent

Variable

Standardized

Estimate S.E. t-value p-value Result

1 H1 IGSCP CSP 0.32 0.248 4.392 0.002 Supported

2 H2 EGSCP CSP 0.28 0.174 3.165 0.000 Supported

3 H3a IGSCP*IP CSP 0.11 0.07 2.114 0.000 Supported

4 H3b EGSCP*IP CSP 0.07 0.05 2.326 0.000 Supported

4.3 Discussion

The key concern for most of the pharmaceutical companies in the developing economy context like

India is to minimize the economic risk due to environmentally oriented penalties. In order to

achieve this, proactive strategies are to be formulated through Green Supply Chain Management

Practices. Above all, the empirical results shown by the study validates the linkage between Internal

and External Green Supply Chain practices, Corporate Sustainability Performance and Institutional

Variables

CSP

B SE Change in R2 R2 df1,df2 F

Step1: Controls 0.06 6, 192 1.853**

Age 0.07 0.12

Gender 0.28 0.15

Step2: Main Effects 0.42** 0.48 8, 190 36.57**

EGSCP 0.28 0.08**

IP 0.26 0.06**

Step3: Interaction 0.02 0.51 9, 189 33. 41**

EGSCP * IP 0.07 0.05*



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Pressures. The results of the study underline that Internal and External Green Supply Chain

practices significantly influence the Corporate Sustainability Performance of a firm and this effect

was found to be more in the presence of Institutional Pressures, which is acting as a moderator. The

moderating effect of Institutional Pressures was found out be more on Internal Supply Chain

practices than External. As external supply chain factors require more time and effort to deal with

several customers and suppliers. Zhu et al., (2010) proposed that, most of the companies in

developed economic context, have implemented internal green supply chain practices than external,

in order to meet the regulations of their respective country. The normative, coercive and mimetic

pressures are anchoring the growth story of many pharmaceutical companies (Zhu et al., 2012b).

The study considered Corporate Sustainability Performance as a three pronged construct such as

economic performance, societal performance and environmental performance (Lewis and Harvey,

2001). The results showcased that both internal and external green supply chain practices have

significant impact on the three sustainability performance indicators of the firm. Out of the three

performances, environmental performance is observed to be crucial and requires great efforts to

achieve, because of the dependency on manufacturers, suppliers and customers. Furthermore, the

commitment and support of top and middle level management make it easy to maintain the

environmental values (Bansal, 2003; Carter et al., 1998) and is empirically validated by Bowen et

al., (2001). The communication between the three levels of management in the process achieving

environmental excellence is further highlighted in the study conducted by (Apsan, 2000). It is

observed both from the study and literature that few of the regulatory pressures more externally

oriented, for instance customer collaboration and can be very much new to the organization. In that

case, firms tend to focus on internal activities till completely understand the regulatory policy and

then try to sort the external issues. Green supply chain practices impact the economic performance

of a firm in two broad ways. One relationship is the direct one and the second is through

environmental and operational performance. Further, it is empirically verified that proactive

environmental management would drive economic performance of firm by compromising the other

societal and operational performance (Gonzalez-Benito and Gonzalez-Benito, 2005). Inline, Bowen

et al., (2001) also stated that economic performance couldn’t be reaped short term and it takes own

course to achieve the mark by balancing on the other two indicators.

5.0 CONCLUSION

The study explained the structural relationships that exist between Green Internal and External

Supply Chain Practices with Corporate Sustainability Performance. The study also validates that

institutional pressures play a vital role in this relationship and have driven the Indian

pharmaceutical setups to practice Green supply chain practices. The study suggests practical

implication for the academicians and practitioners and especially to manufactures and policy

makers. It further creates a niche for the future research on green supply chain practices,

environmental management and organizational theory. The key managerial implication from the

current study is the ways in which economic performance of the firm could be improved by

channelizing the green supply chain practices and the corresponding balancing between

environmental and operational performance. Policy makers could find ways to motivate the

manufacturers with respect to mimetic and normative forces in order to implement green supply

chain practices. As every research suffers from few limitations, this study is no exception to it. The

authors believe that the limitations of this study give away various opportunities and future research

avenues. The hypotheses presented in this study do not capture the nuanced relationships and

insight. Secondly, there is less discussion on the relationship between each of the dimension of the

latent construct towards the other. For instance, the effect of coercive pressure on the economic or

environmental performance is very less explained. Future studies could replicate this linkage by

choosing different sectors like shipping and transport logistics (Wong et al., 2012a) with different

culture and large samples. A more dynamic longitudinal study with the existing linkage rather than

the cross sectional design and comparison of the results could also be made. The idea of

sustainability needs to be inflicted gradually through the departments and employees rather than a



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sudden enforcement. The sustainability strategy should be aligned with core business strategy, in

order to build effective and efficient organizations. Inline to this, future researchers could study the

concept of Green Supply Chain practices from the perspective of organizational overall growth

story.

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Economic Valuation of Rural Wetlands in Bangladesh:

A Case Study of the Padma Beel of Pabna

Ayub Ali and Syed Naimul Wadood

About the Author(s)

Corresponding author, Ayub Ali, Master of Economics in Environmental Economics, Dhaka

School of Economics, Dhaka-1000, E-mail: [email protected].

Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, E-mail:

[email protected]

ABSTRACT

Wetland is a valuable ecosystem for sustainable environment. These have traditionally been used

for multiple purposes, and have significant roles in the livelihood of the local community. In recent

years, these multiple use systems are getting converted to single use system due to economic and

social pressure from dominant stakeholders. In this context, we selected a particular wetland in the

district of Pabna, namely the Padma Beel, to estimate direct economic benefits from its multiple

uses, e.g. wetland cultivation, irrigation, fisheries, jute retting, duck keeping and fodder collection.

The study shows that wetlands are resourceful ecosystems that provide many benefits and services

but some of these benefits and services can be difficult to recognize, quantify and value. On the

other hand, direct benefits and services such as fish capture can be quantified and valued using a

market price approach. Wetlands also contribute to household food security of the surrounding

neighborhood locations in a number of ways.

Key Words: Common property resources, environmental valuation, market price approach, natural

resource management, wetlands

CITATION: Ali, Ayub and Wadood, Syed Naimul (2017). “Economic Valuation of Rural Wetlands in

Bangladesh: A Case Study of the Padma Beel of Pabna.” Inter. J. Res. Methodol. Soc. Sci., Vol., 3,

No. 1: pp. 36-52. (Jan. – Mar. 2017); ISSN: 2415-0371.



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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Wetlands are one of the most productive and resourceful areas (Dugan 1990, IWRB 1992) but are

often not properly used and users also do not have proper understanding of their total economic and

other non-economic values (Convention on the Biological Diversity, 2010). Yet only a few studies

have yet been conducted to understand economic benefits of rural wetlands in Bangladesh (Islam,

2011; Islam, 2012). On the other hand, globally smaller and rural wetlands are often taken under

valuation considering their direct economic benefits like wetland cultivation, fisheries, water for

irrigation, wetlands for transportation, vegetation, jute retting and fodder collection (Mukherjee,

2008).

Economic valuation studies, taking into consideration both direct and indirect benefits of

wetlands are important for informed wetland management and conservation. According to the

Ramsar Convention (2007), wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, natural or

scientific, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt,

including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters

(Handbook, 2010). Bangladesh is a land of water and wetlands. Wetlands constitute more than fifty

percent territory of the total country and play a significant role in the social and economic

livelihood of the population (Convention on the Biological Diversity, 2010). Wetlands can be of

different types based on their hydrological and ecological attributes (Table 1). The wetlands in

Bangladesh encompass a wide variety of ecosystems including: the main rivers (Ganges,

Brahmaputra and Meghna) and their 700-plus tributaries and distributaries; some 6,300 Beels

(permanent and seasonal shallow lakes in floodplain depressions); at least 47 major haors (deeply

flooded depressions in the north-east), baors (oxbow lakes); vast areas of seasonally flooded land;

the extensive mudflats and coastal chars of the estuaries of the rivers; mangrove forests; intertidal

zones along the eastern coast; reservoirs; and fish ponds and tanks. They occupy about half the land

area of the country in the monsoon season.

There is no recent assessment of wetland area in Bangladesh. However, National Water

Resources Database (NWRD, 1997) has estimated about 172,087 hectares of permanent wetlands

(excluding rivers and estuary) in the country.

Table 1: Wetlands Areas by Types

Types of Wetlands Area in Hectares

Open Water Wetlands

Rivers 749,700

Estuarine and Mangrove Forest 610,200

Beels and Haors 114,200

Inundable Floodplains 548,6600

Kaptai Lake 68,800

Closed Water Wetlands

Ponds 146,900

Baors (oxbow lake) 5,500

Brackish water farms 108,000

Total 7,289,900

Source: Akonda 1989 and Khan 1994, Asian Wetland Bureau, cited in Fourth National Report,

2010.

The database also revealed that 21% of the country is deeply flooded (more than 90 cm) and

35% experiences shallow inundation during monsoon. National Water Management Plan (NWMP)

has divided the country into eight hydrological zones based on their characteristics. Hydrological

zone wise areas of permanent wetlands are provided in Table 2.



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Table 2: Wetland Areas in Different Hydrological Regions in Bangladesh

Hydrological

Regions

Area in

1997

(ha)

South -East 1,255

South -Central 2,604

South -West 18,400

North -West 27,016

North -Central 15,940

North -East 53,180

Eastern -Hills 53,692

Total 172,087

Source: NWRD, 1997, cited in Fourth National Report.

We purposively selected the Padma Beel in the district of Pabna for our case study. We

interviewed a sample of households within the surrounding area (a total of three villages), and have

gathered information from those households who obtained direct benefits from the Beel. These

households were selected through a stratified random sampling framework after making three strata

in terms of three villages, and yet each village was further stratified into three sub-strata in terms of

socio-economic status of the surveyed households. Equal importance was assigned to lower income,

middle-income and upper income residents of the villages. Direct economic valuation was

measured from the survey data that we collected from the respondents. By providing a means for

measuring and comparing the various benefits of wetlands, economic valuation can be a powerful

tool to aid and improve wise use and management of national wetland resources. We also examined

the food security aspects of benefits of wetland for the surveyed households in the surrounding

areas.

The goal of this study was to estimate direct economic values of a wetland area in rural

Bangladesh, taking the Padma Beel of Pabna as a case study, using the market price method. The

following specific objectives were also set out to: (i) estimate the direct use value of the Padma

Beel; (ii) examine various direct and indirect uses of the Beel; (iii) study and understand the overall

ownership and management pattern of the Beel; and (iv)examine food security impacts of the Beel

on neighboring resident households.

1.2 The Study Area

The study focused on economic valuation of a rural wetland as MUS (Multiple Use System) in the

district of Pabna. The Padma Beel is identified as a wetland by the Local Government Engineering

Division sub-district maps. This Beel is located within three villages, under two unions and two

sub-districts of Pabna, namely Ramchandapur and Noydapara of Majhpapa union at Atgoria sub-

district and Kamalpur of Debigram union at Chatmohar sub-district. The Padma Beel is connected

by the Chandabroti Khal with the Chandabroti River and Kamala River. It is in the west side the

Ramchandapur village and Chandabroti river north side is the Kamalpur village and the Kamala

River. It is in the North side of the Gofurabad Railway Station and almost five kilometers away

from the station. The Beel is in the Southside and within ten kilometers from the National Highway.

After the construction of Chandabroti Khal, the wetland got a fresh life. Now, most parts of

the year the Beel gets water. It gets flooded during the rainy season and remains waterlogged for

three to four months (June-July to September–October). Deposition of silt during the rainy season

makes the land in the flood plain highly fertile. But in recent years, the Beel has been converted into



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a scientific fisheries location, and now there are cases of water logging problems for some months.

Jute and Aush or Amon are the main crops cultivated during water logged periods, as it can

withstand standing water or requires standing water for retting. Apart from fisheries the wetland bed

itself is used for cultivation of Boro rice and jute. The wetland water is also used for irrigation and

jute retting and farmers collect fodder from wetland. The farmers informed that they found

cultivation of rice in the wetland remunerative as they could save money in terms of labor,

irrigation and fertilizers costs.

3. LITERATURE REVIEW

Wetlands provide very important goods and services to the society and help in sustaining critical

livelihoods of wetland communities as well as communities living far downstream. Direct economic

valuation is very important tool for the wetlands goods and services, which are sometimes more

important direct use values for public policies in support of wetland (Emerton, 1998 and Barbier, et

al., 1997). In addition, crops, fish and aquatic food products are also important (Barbier et.al, 1997).

Wetlands system has proven itself to be highly productive and ecologically sound (Rezaul et. al.

2004). Wetlands ecosystems have been recognized to provide various services (de Groot et. al.,

2006). Services often provided by wetlands include storm water detention, flood protection, water

quality enhancement, freshwater fisheries, food chain support, feeding grounds for juvenile marine

fish, biodiversity, carbon storage and climate regulation (Hassan et. al., 2005). The needs of

agriculture for flat, fertile land with a ready supply of water implies that wetlands are often a

potentially valuable agricultural resource (UNEP and IWMI, 2011). Wetland agriculture can bring

significant benefits in terms of food security, health and income. Therefore, wetland resources

planning and management requires a clear vision of the relative importance of agricultural

production and natural resource conservation (Ramsar Convention Secretariat, 2010).

Direct use values of a wetland are estimated by using market price approach. The study

shows that Wetlands are complex ecosystems that provide many benefits and services but these

benefits and services can be difficult to recognize, quantify and value (Kyophilavong, 2011).

Taruvinga (2009) concludes that wetland cultivation in the rural setting was profitable, with

statistically significant positive linear correlations with household food security such that wetland

cultivators were more than twice food secure than non-wetland cultivators. Wetlands and their

biodiversity have been contributing substantially to the socio-economic life of rural Bangladesh by

providing opportunities of employment, food and nutrition, fuel, fodder, transportation, irrigation

and so forth (Rahman, 1989). The values of wetland resources were estimated using primary and

secondary data, market prices, productivity, and contingent valuation methods were used to

estimate the value of wetland resources (Kakuru et.al, 2013). The valuation exercises in the

literature also include calculating the values of supplying drinking water to the city, value of

benefits accruing to various people whose livelihoods depended upon the wetland, value of

preventive measures that people used to avoid water borne diseases and the willingness to pay of

the people for enjoying better recreational facilities (Verma 2001).

4. METHODOLOGY The study planned to have an economic valuation of marketable products and services of the Padma

Beel using direct market price method. Based on this, the following model was designed:

V PQ C (1)

where, V = Direct Use Value; P = Prices of Product; Q = Amount of Product and C = Cost of

Product; A total of six major direct economic functions of the wetland were identified, these are: (1)

use for cultivation; (2) use of wetland as a source of irrigation; (3) wetland fisheries; (4) use of

wetland water for domestic uses; and (5) jute retting and (6) source of fodder.

The study encompassed surrounding areas of the Padma Beel in Pabna as the sample frame.

The households residing within this area were taken as primary sampling units. We divided these



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households into three wetland stakeholder groups such as “A”; “B” and “C”, based on income and

asset levels of the households. The groups were (i) upper income group (“A”); (ii) middle income

group (“B”); and (iii) the lower income group (“C”).

Firstly, we listed all the households in all three survey villages, and classified these households

in terms of A, B or C with the basis of discussion of field assistants with some key informants in

these villages. Secondly, the field assistants conducted face-to-face questionnaire survey with

households selected in terms of random sampling within the sub-categories.

A brief description of the scope and coverage of the study and possible outcomes of the study

was provided before starting face to face interview. Some secondary information was also collected

from the local people, particularly, the fertilizer dealers, local political leaders. Local government

office records were consulted in order to prepare an accurate group classification of households.

The Padma Beel is surrounded by three villages; namely Ramchandapur, Kamalpur and

Nodapara. A total of 150 families/households were selected for face-to-face questionnaire

interviews. Table 3 summarizes the distribution of respondents with respect to their income level

and assets status. While the total number 150 was chosen considering convenience, number of

respondent households in the sub-groups was taken considering proportionality.

Table 3: Sample Size

Survey

Villages

Status of Respondents Total

Upper (A) Middle (B) Lower (C)

Ramchandapur 20 20 20 60

Kamalpur 25 25 24 74

Nodapara 5 5 6 16

Households

Totals 50 50 50

Total Households

n =150

Source: Poribar porikolpona, khana jorip.

The data was collected in the month of October 2014, and it took seven days to complete the

face-to-face questionnaire interviews. A total of five field assistants led by one of the authors of this

study completed the interviews. Data was preserved in MS Excel, SPSS and STATA. Statistical

analysis was done in STATA v. 12.

5. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

5.1 Number of Beneficiaries According to Use of Wetland

Wetland cultivation and services were also explored with the objective of trying to estimate their

potential direct economic benefit of wetland. Wetlands’ direct benefits depend on the number of

beneficiaries using wetlands. Our sample covers 150 sample households of a total of 888 people. A

total of 44 (88%) respondents within “A” category, 47 (94%) respondents within “B” category and

33 (66%) respondents within “C” category reported to be associated with the wetlands cultivation

and 13 (26%) of “A” group households, 35 (70%). According to our sample survey open access

fisheries were involved with the lower class socio economic characteristics of respondent’s

population.



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Table 4: Number of Beneficiaries According to Use of Wetland

Different Uses Of Wetland

Beneficiaries

(No. of Households)

Upper (A) Middle (B) Lower (C)

No. of Surveyed Households 50 50 50

a) Wetland Cultivation (No. of HHs) 44 (88) 47 (94) 33 (66)

b) Wetland Fisheries (No. of HHs)

Open Access

13 (26) 36 (72) 35 (70)

Scientific 36 (72) 2(4) 2 (4)

Pond 2(4) 2(4) 5 (10)

c) Jute Retting (No. of HHs) 22 (44) 24 (48) 12 (24)

d) Duck Keeping (No. of HHs) 32 (64) 45 (90) 41 (82)

e) Cattle Grazing (No. of HHs) 47 (94) 45 (90) 44 (88)

f) Fodder Collection (No. of HHs) 2 (4) 5 (10) 10 (20)

g) Poultry (No. of HHs) 42 (84) 46 (92) 43 (86)

h) Collection of Snails (No. of HHs) 0 (00) 3 (6) 8 (16)

i) Commercial Use of Water (No. of HHs) 36 (72) 9 (18) 2(4)

j) Cultivation Use of Water (No. of HHs) 44 (88) 47 (94) 33 (66)

Source: Based on Field survey, 2014.

5.2 Total Net Benefit from Wetland Cultivation Five categories of crops are produced in the Padma Beel surrounding area, such as Amon, Boro,

Robi, jute and vegetables. During monsoon two thirds of the land of the Padma Beel gets water

logged. This is caused by anthropogenic activities (scientific pond) that are one third of the land of

the Padma Beel, there is no production of any crops in those areas. Another two thirds of the land of

the Padma Beel, produce Amon, jute and vegetables. Boro rice is the major crop cultivated in the

water spread area of the Beel. Farmers find wetland cultivation remunerative as they could save

money in terms of fertilizer costs and labor costs (less time spent on irrigation), compared to upland

areas. Apart from the nutrient enriched silt of the wetland, wetland water has high nutrient value--

farmers generally obtain higher yield for wetland rice as compared to the case of the upland.

Farmlands surrounding the Beel are irrigated mostly from the Beel and it helps the farmers to cut

down their costs on fertilizers as nutrient of wetland water is higher than the fresh water from

ground and/or river.

During the summer season when wetland bed dries up, wetland cultivation is a common

practice carried out by the farmers having land in wetland bed or in the low-lying areas. According

to our sample survey total area under wetland cultivation is 131.44 acres. Boro, Robi, Jute and

vegetables are the major crops cultivated in the wetland bed. Total area under wetland rice

cultivation is 79.67 acre, jute is 23.35 acre, wheat is 17.10 and bean is 11.32 acre.

The benefits from cultivation of rice, jute wheat, bean and others crops are provided in the

Appendix Table 1. The estimated annual net benefit from wetland cultivation is Tk. 8,829,220 per

year. Wetlands annual net benefit was calculated in comparison to the wetlands total benefit and

upland total benefit.

5.3 Total Net Benefit from Wetland Services

Wetland services are reflected in the livelihood pattern of the surveyed residents, and this

particularly benefited the lower income group. There are many services such as fisheries, Jute

retting, using water, fodder, and duck keeping, caw, snail and poultry. In the Appendix Table 2,

wetland net benefit is calculated by the wetland services. The table shows the average annual net

benefit and total annual net benefit for the wetland services. It is evident that since the upper income

group households have larger capacity to absorb benefits and services, they report higher amount of

benefits as compared to the middle income group and the lower income group.



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5.3.1 Benefit from Fisheries Operation In this study, fisheries operation or benefit is one of most valuable indicators to estimate the

wetland net benefit of services that it contributes to calculate the estimate of the whole wetland

benefit. There are three types of fisheries operations (open access fisheries, scientific fisheries and

pond fisheries) and three types of fisheries owner systems (owners operated, lease holders operated

and open access fish operated). Open access fisheries are most important for livelihood of the lower

income group respondents. The total area under wetland fisheries is about 142 acres. Open access

fisheries involved 13, 36 and 35 of upper, middle and lower class respondent households

respectively; scientific fisheries involved 36, 9 and 2 households respectively and pond fisheries

involved 5, 12 and 2 with respectively.

5.3.2 Benefits from Jute Retting Jute is the major commercial crop in the study area. During the rainy season the whole area is

flooded with water from the Chandraboti River. Availability of water bodies is an added advantage,

which helps farmers in jute retting. During monsoon, The Padma Beel is used for jute retting by

large number of farmers from surrounding habitations.

The benefit of using the wetland for jute retting is estimated by taking the cost of an

alternative that can perform the same function. In the table 5 shows that average annual benefits per

households of Ramchandrapur Kamalpur upper class is Tk. 990 and 1196 and total annual net

benefit of Ramchandrapur and Kamalpur upper class is Tk. 94050 and 143520 respectively. On the

other hand, average benefits per households of Ramchandrapur and Kamalpur lower class is Tk.

170 and 276.042 that it small amount benefits than the others class. Total jute retting annual net

benefit under is areas Tk. 465,177.98.

Table 5: Benefits from Jute Retting

Units Class Average Benefits

Per HH

Total No. Of

Households

Within Class

Total Net Benefit

Ramchandrapur

Upper 990 95 94050

Middle 280 114 31920

Lower 170 171 29070

Kamalpur

Upper 1196 120 143520

Middle 690 133 91770

Lower 276.042 190 52447.98

Nowdapara

Upper 640 15 9600

Middle 640 20 12800

Lower 0 30 0

Total 465,177.98


5.3.3 Benefit from Fodder Collection

On an average 32% of our sample households collect fodder from the wetland. Farmers collect

water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) and water borne vegetation and supplement commercial fodder

to reduce the cost of feeding the cattle population. On average, for four months in a year,

households collect fodder from the wetland. In our household questionnaire survey it has been

revealed that on average each household of three villages can save Tk. 40861.67, 5865.64 and

12755.56 per year respectively depending on the herd size and family’s dependence on wetland

fodder. Since fodder collection also involves labor time, households that have their own source of

fodder mostly avoid collecting from wetland. Average annual benefit per household of

Ramchandrapur, Kamalpur and Nowdapara for upper class is Tk. 115202.5, 8768 and 18900

respectively. On the contrary, Average annual benefit per household of Ramchandrapur, Kamalpur



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and Nowdapara for lower class is Tk. 3085, 3222.917 and 466.67 respectively. Hence, the total

annual net benefit from fodder collection is Tk. 15,047,299.83.

Table 6: Benefit from Fodder Collection

Units Class Average Benefits

Per HH

Total No. Of Households

Within Class

Total Net

Benefit

Ramchandrapur

Upper 115202.5 95 10944237.5

Middle 4297.5 114 489915

Lower 3085 171 527535

Kamalpur

Upper 8768 120 1052160

Middle 5606 133 745598

Lower 3222.917 190 612354.23

Nowdapara

Upper 18900 15 283500

Middle 18900 20 378000

Lower 466.67 30 14000.1

Total 15,047,299.83


5.3.4 Benefit from Using Water

Water using system is very important for the crop cultivation and fisheries. The opportunity cost of

using water is calculated to estimate the water valuation. In the appendix table 4, there are two

systems of using water e.g. using water for irrigation and using water for scientific fisheries. The

annual benefit from using water for irrigation is Tk. 2,496,069.46 and the benefit from using water

for scientific fisheries is Tk. 7,289,261.64. Total annual using water benefit is Tk. 9,785,331.10.

5.3.5 Benefit from Others Services or Livestock (Duck Keeping, Snail, Poultry and Fodder)

Others services or Livestock play a vital role in the agricultural and rural economies of the

developing world. Not only do they produce food directly, they also provide key inputs to crop

agriculture. In this study area, livestock components are very important for the livelihood adjacent

lower class residents of the wetland. Table 7 shows that lower income group (“C”) is in a

comparatively better position compared to the others groups with respect to services such as duck

keeping, snail, poultry and fodder.

Table 7: Benefit from Others Services or Livestock (TK)

Surveyed

Villages Class

Average

Benefits Per HH

Total No. Of

Households

Within Class

Total Net

Benefit

Ramchandrapur

Upper 1,614 95 153,330

Middle 3,258 114 371,412

Lower 1,589 171 271,719

Kamalpur

Upper 429.6 120 51,552

Middle 2,083.2 133 277,065.6

Lower 2,555 190 485,450

Nowdapara

Upper 19,444 15 291,660

Middle 9,444 20 188,880

Lower 3,820 30 114,600

Total 2,205,668.60




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5.4 Total Direct Benefits from the Wetland

Table 8 shows the whole benefit that can be achieved from the wetlands. Wetlands’ total net benefit

is calculated by the wetlands’ cultivation and services. The table 8 shows the sample total net

benefit, per household net benefit and total net benefit for the wetlands’ cultivation and services.

Total whole wetland net benefit under the area is calculated to be Tk. 7.3 crore (these are based on

estimation of benefits throughout the past 12 months). Total area of the Padma Beel is

approximately 1,500 bighas or 430 acres. In this connection it can also be said that one third of the

land is leased out to the influential people and the current study has not included this part to

estimate the direct economic valuation of the Padma Beel. Considering this fact into our estimation

(i.e. leaving one third of the areas from this calculation), this can thus be said that the annual per

acre direct values of the Padma Beel is Tk. 2.53 lakh (equals USD 3200, at 1 USD=BDT 79).

Table 8: Total Net Benefit from Wetland, One Year Calculations (TK)


5.5 Food Security Aspects Wetlands are very useful for crop cultivation, livestock production and others services. As such

wetlands are of great potential in poverty alleviation in developing countries (Mombo et.al. 2012).

In the rural area, wetlands are important in sustaining much of the residents. Wetlands and food

security concept is interrelated by the crop cultivation and services with the rural population

especially for the Padma Beel stakeholders’ residents. In the context of the Padma Beel area, food

security may be affected by factors ranging from wetlands crop cultivation and services, household

size, wetland net benefit, education and status etc. Therefore, access to wetlands cultivation and

services affected to the rural food security. A Probit regression model has been applied to the

respondents’ response of the principle three meal elicitation question.

5.5.1 All Meals and Status of Household

The dependent variable “all meals” exhibits how many of the surveyed households responded “yes”

to questions such as whether they afforded to take food three times in a day, all the time during the

last one-year time.

Survey Villages Class

Sample

Total

(TK.)

Sample

Number

Per HH

(TK.)

Total No. of

Households

within Class

Total Net

Benefit

(TK.)

Ramchandrapur

Upper 7,992,952 20 399,647.6 95 37,966,522

Middle 854,157 20 42,707.85 114 4,868,694.9

Lower 745,075.6 20 37,253.78 171 6,370,396.38

Kamalpur

Upper 2,285,732 25 91,429.27 120 10,971,512.4

Middle 906,888.3 25 36,275.53 133 4,824,645.49

Lower 460,118.9 24 19,171.62 190 3,642,607.8

Nowdapara

Upper 631,073 5 126,214.6 15 1,893,219

Middle 526,336.5 5 105,267.3 20 2,105,346

Lower 74,845.02 6 12,474.17 30 374,225.1

Grand Total 73,017,169.07

Area of the Wetland under consideration (Acres) 288.1

Calculated Direct Economic Benefits, per Acre of Wetland 253,443.8



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Table 9: All Meals and Status of Household

All Meals

Status Insecure (0) Secure (1) Total

1 0 50 50

2 19 30 49

3 40 10 50

Total 59 90 149


The Table 9 shows that there are three socio economic characteristics in the study area but

status 1 (upper income group) no one household reported “no” to the query regarding whether they

were able to afford three meals in a day over the last year. Within status 2 (middle income group),

19 out of 49 were found to insecure and 30 out of 49 is secure and in status 3 (lower income group)

40 out of 50 were found to be insecure and 10 out of 50 were reported as secure.

We also asked the respondent household whether they considered their household to be

“food secured”. A total of 90 households reported themselves to be “food secured”, whether all of

them reported “yes” to question such as “all three meals?” Similarly, all 59 households which

reported they to be “food insecure” also mentioned “no” to query such as “all three meals?”

5.5.2 Relationship between Food Security Scale with the Status and Months of Distress Food security is related to status and months of distress as reported by the survey respondents. From

the Table 10 it is observed that there were some food insecure people in some months whereas total

food secure is 94 sample of households out of 149 and food insecure is 55 out of 149. And there

were particularly two months when food insecurity was reported to be very high compared to the

other months. Status 1 households are completely food secure whereas status 2 and status 3

households were not. September-October and October- November were months most often reported

to be food insecure (months of distress) by the surveyed respondent households.

Table 10: Status and Months

Months of Distress

Status 0 1 2 3 4 Total

1 50 0 0 0 0 50

2 30 0 18 1 0 49

3 14 1 32 2 1 50

Total 94 1 50 3 1 149


The Figure 1 shows that food security is related with the twelve months but food insecure is

higher from the September- October and October- November and others months’ low significantly

with the food insecure. The significant social changes reflected in the diagram are that over the

period (from September- October and October- November) the wetland adjacent household is food

insecure as at that time wetland is made water logged situation by the anthropogenic activities.



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Figure 1: Months of Food Insecurity as reported by the Survey Respondents

Source: Based on the Field Survey, 2014.

5.7.3 Relationship between Wetland and Food Security

We run a Probit regression analysis that models food security (household food security, value of 1 is

the household is food secured, 0 if otherwise) as a function of variables such as age of the

household head, education of the household head, dummy for villages, household size, brick of

floor, thatch of wall, some indicator of rank or status of the household, gross total income and share

of household wetland income (services and net benefits from wetland cultivation or benefit from

staying close to the wetland).

The Probit model is given by:

0 1 101| ...iP Y X G X X (2)

where, 1Y if the household’s food secured and 0 if the food insecure (all meals); 1X = age of

household head (age_head); 2X = education of the household education (edu_head); 3X = dummy

for village of kamalpur; 4X = dummy for village of ramchandapur; 5X = household size

(hh_size); 6X = brick of floor (brick_fl); 7X = thatch of wall (thatch_wl); 8X = rank of status

(status); 9X = gross total income (lngtotal); 10X = share of household wetland income (shwetinc).

In equation (2), G(.) is a function taking on values strictly between zero and one:

0 ( ) 1G z , for all real numbers z . This ensures that the estimated response probabilities are

strictly between zero and one. In the case of the Probit model, G is the standard normal cumulative

distribution function (CDF), which is expressed as an integral: ( ) (z) ( )G z v dv where

( )v is the standard normal density, and the integral is over minus infinity to the value of z. Since

the probability P must be between 0 & 1, we have the restriction: 0 ≤ E (Yi/Xi) ≤ 1. That is the

conditional expectation must be lie between 0 & 1. The standardized value of a normally distributed

random variable is called a Z score and is calculated using the following formula.

xZ

(3)

where, x = the value that is being standardized = the mean of the distribution; and = standard deviation of the distribution. Therefore, (1) equation estimates the wetland direct values,

(2) equation explains the impact analysis for the qualitative that it introduces the dummy dependent



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variable and (3) equation explain the z – score that shows the significant level associated with

standard deviation.

Table 11: Probit Regression Result of Food Security

Dependent Variable: Household reported “all meals” (1) or “not all meals” (0)

all meals Coefficient Robust Std. Err. Z p value

age_head .0226* .012 1.86 0.063

edu_head .007 .040 0.19 0.852

kamalpur 1.592*** .478 3.33 0.001

ramchan .586 .454 1.29 0.197

hh_size -.144 .106 -1.36 0.173

brick_fl -.302 .401 -0.75 0.451

thatch_wl -.366 .468 -0.78 0.434

status -1.716*** .277 -6.20 0.000

lngtotal .096 .222 0.43 0.668

shwetinc -.851 .604 -1.41 0.159

constant 1.731 2.709 0.64 0.523

Number of Observations: 149


The table shows that “all meals” is the dependent variable and it is defined in context to the

food security. Food security depends on various independent variables. Nevertheless, wetland

related food security is affected by household size, status, wetlands’ net benefit from cultivation and

wetland services. Household size, status, wetlands’ net benefit, coefficient negative sign was

expected as household size and status numbers are adversely related with the all meals. Wetland net

benefit from cultivation are adversely related to the all meals because wetlands’ net benefit from

cultivation cannot properly explained for access to wetland cultivation limited to the lower class

population while wetland services properly explain the food security in the wetland adjacent

residents.

5.7.4 Average Marginal Effects of Food Security

In this section, we have made an attempt to understand the marginal effects of changes in

independent variables. In this analysis the change in one variable resulting from the change in

another, holding all else constant, is called a marginal effect (ME). In the Probit regression model

this is the interpretation of the slope parameter, which can be written as / x.

For the Probit regression model, Yi=β0+β1Xi+Ui, if Yi=1, then Yi ≥ 0, the marginal effect

can be written as

0 10 1 1

( )( )i

ii

xME x

x

(4)

Rather than computing the marginal effect at one specific variable, we can alternatively find

the marginal effect at each value of dependable variable (food security) and explanatory variable

and then average this quantity across all observations. This is called an average marginal effect

(AME). For the present case, the AME can be estimated as

0 1 11

1 ˆ ˆ ˆ( )n

ii

AME xn

(5)



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We use this equation (5) to estimate the average marginal effect of food security of the

adjacent wetland households. This average marginal effect equation interprets that a one unit

change in the explanatory variable increases or decreases the probability of food security by the

estimated values reported below against each variable.

Table 12: Average Marginal Effects (AMEs) of Food Security

Delta-method

dy/dx Std. Err. Z P>|Z

age_head .004* .002 1.94 0.052

edu_head .001 .007 0.19 0.852

kamalpur .300*** .084 6.58 0.000

ramchan .110 .085 1.29 0.196

hh_size -.027 .020 -1.36 0.174

brick_fl -.057 .075 -0.76 0.449

thatch_wl -.069 .086 -.080 0.425

Status -.323*** .039 -8.29 0.000

Lngtotal .018* .042 0.43 0.669

shwetinc -.160 .112 -1.43 0.154 Source: Based on Field survey, 2014

Average marginal effects reflect the significant change for the dummy variable, with

dummy independent variables, average marginal effects measure discrete change. Average marginal

effects for continuous variables measure the instantaneous rate of change. Hence, age_head and

lngtotal is statistically significant at 10% level and kalampur and status variable is statistically

significant at 1% level. On the other hand, share of household wetland income from the wetland

cultivation is not found to be related to all meals or food security in a statistically significant way.

All meals or food security related to independent variables such as age_head, edu_head, kamalpur,

ramchan, hh_size, brick_fl, thatch_wl, status, lngtotal and shwetinc.

Over all 81.88% had been correctly classified in this model that explains all meals or food

security phenomena. In middle class and lower class some of the households have experienced food

insecurity, characterized by low harvest and households having a single meal in a day. Especially

wetland adjacent lower class people utilize the wetlands’ resources as an alternative source of

household food. Wetlands are the basis of food security, directly providing resources for

consumption, indirectly supporting crop and livestock production, materials that are sold for

purchasing food in emergency situations and services that support food production. With increasing

population around the wetlands, coupled with land shortage and weather variations, the poor people,

especially in the study areas will continue generally to rely on wetland ecosystem services directly

for subsistence and income generating activities for sustaining their livelihoods unless alternative

livelihood options are provided.

6. CONCLUSION

In the study area of Pabna, wetlands which used be Multiple Use Systems (MUSs) are getting

converted to Single Use Systems (SUSs) depending on economic, social & political pressure from

dominant stakeholders. Economic benefits and number of beneficiaries are higher for MUSs as

compared to SUSs. Economic and ecological functions of MUS change over time and space.

Attempts to classify MUS according to their uses across ecological zones and economic valuation

are very limited. Future research on economic valuation of MUS should focus on ecological

functions- e.g., nutrient trapping and recycling; spawning and breeding ground for indigenous fish

species; groundwater recharge and impacts on hydrology; runoff and soil erosion control, and flood

mitigation; regulating micro-climate on the area surrounding the wetland, and biodiversity



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conservation. There is a need for economic valuation of wetlands in economic and ecological

functions. In this study area, government and local government need to take steps (such as canal

dredging) for the rural wetlands since the wetlands contribute to the livelihood and food security of

the surrounding area population. Based on the principles of co-management, government and

communities should work together to ensure conservation of existing protected areas (PAs), to

demonstrate the development benefits of conservation of protected areas. Hence, special care must

be taken to maintain wetlands with their perfect environment. Wetlands management needs to be

incorporated into a system of integrated land and water use and indeed, into the socioeconomic

system of the country.

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Islam, D. (2011). State of Leased of Wetland in Bangladesh: Who Are the Gainers and Who Are the

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Handbooks for the Wise Use of Wetlands, 4th Edition, Vol. 1. Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Gland, Switzerland, 9-31.

Rahman, M. M., Rahman, M. R., & Asaduzzaman, M. (2013). The Aggression of Human Activities

on ChalanBeel a Threat on Wetland Environment: Study on Natore-Rajshahi Region of

Bangladesh. Journal of Science Foundation, 8(1-2), 151-159.



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Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. (2005). Handbook of the Convention on

Biological Diversity: Including Its Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. Secretariat of Convention,

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Taruvinga, A. (2009). Economics of Wetland Cultivation in Zimbabwe: Case Study of Moshanaland

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Wasswa, H. F.M. (2013). Economic Implications of Wetland Conversion to Local People’s

Livelihoods: The Case of Kampala- Mukono Corridor (KMC) Wetlands in Uganda. Academia

Journal of Environmental Sciences, 66-78.



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APPENDIX

Appendix Table 1: Total Net Benefit from Wetland Cultivation (in TK.)

Units Class

Average

Benefits per

HH (A)

Average

Benefits

per HH

(B)

Average

Benefits

per HH

(C)

Average

Benefits

per HH

(D)

Average

Benefits

per HH

(E)

Sum Total

(A+B+C+D+E)

Total No. of

Households

within Class

Total Net

Benefit

[1]

Upper 5649.3 2683.05 556.25 30 0 8918.6 95 847267

Middle 6611.86 604.34 535.61 847.90 166.40 8766.11 114 999336.54

Lower 3095.31 -534.93 110.73 3454.29 0 6125.4 171 1047443.4

[2]

Upper 12267.40 3520.24 2691.72 448 3752.82 22680.18 120 2721620.6

Middle 7523.88 2240.57 1356.74 2004.81 204 13330 133 1772890

Lower 4747.71 533.33 356.25 0 100 5737.29 190 1090085.1

[3]

Upper 3472.80 1320 359.4 1100 0 6252.2 15 93783

Middle 8720 1320 0 1180 0 11226 20 224520

Lower 243.33 0 0 832.5 0 1075.83 30 32274.9

Total 8829220.54

Note: A = Rice, B= Jute, C= Wheat, D= Bean, and E= Other Produces.

Legend: [1] Ramchandrapur; [2] Kamalpur; and [3] Nowdapara.

Appendix Table 2: Total Net Benefit from Wetland Services (in TK.)

Units Class

Average

Benefits

per HH

(A)

Average

Benefits

per HH

(B)

Average

Benefits per

HH (C)

Average

Benefits

per HH

(D)

Average

Benefits

perHH (E)

Sum Total

(A+B+C+

D+E)

Total No.

Households

with. Class

Total Net

Benefit

[1]

Upper 220170 990 52752.45 115202.5 1614 390729 95 37119250.25

Middle 20705 280 5401.24 4297.5 3258 33941.74 114 3869358.36

Lower 22925 170 3359.376 3085 1589 31128.38 171 5322952.30

[2]

Upper 41798 1196 16557.49 8768 429.6 68749.09 120 8249890.8

Middle 9642 690 4924.332 5606 2083.2 22945.53 133 3051755.76

Lower 5587.5 276.04 1792.875 3222.92 2555 13434.33 190 2552523.46

[3]

Upper 57000 640 23978.4 18900 19444 119962.4 15 1799436

Middle 53000 640 12057.3 18900 9444 94041.3 20 1880826

Lower 7100 0 11.67 466.67 3820 11398.34 30 341950.2

Total 64187943.13

Note: A = fisheries, B= Jute retting, C= using water, D= fodder and E= others services (duck keeping, snail and poultry). Legend: [1] Ramchandrapur; [2] Kamalpur; and [3] Nowdapara.



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Appendix Table 3: Benefit from Wetlands Fisheries

Units Class Open

Access Scientific Pond Total

Sample

HHs Per HHs

Total No. of

Households

within Class

Total Net Benefit

[1]

Upper 3400 4250000 150000 4403400 20 220170 95 20916150

Middle 180200 190000 43900 414100 20 20705 114 2360370

Lower 163500 280000 15000 458500 20 22925 171 3920175

[2]

Upper 34950 810000 200000 1044950 25 41798 120 5015760

Middle 92050 120000 29000 241050 25 9642 133 1282386

Lower 134100 0 0 134100 24 5587.5 190 1061625

[3]

Upper 0 265000 20000 285000 5 57000 15 855000

Middle 0 265000 0 265000 5 53000 20 1060000

Lower 42600 0 0 42600 6 7100 30 213000

Total 36,684,466.00


Appendix Table 4: Total benefit from using water

Units class

Using water ( for irrigation) Using water (for scientific fisheries)

Benefit Per HHs

Total

No.

HH

Within

Class

Total

Net Benefit Benefit Per HHs

Total No.

Households

Within Class

Total

Net

Benefit

[1]

Upper 64715.6 3235.78 95 307399.1 990333.5 49516.68 95 4704084.6

Middle 51777.26 2588.863 114 295130.382 56247.5 2812.375 114 320610.75

Lower 34973.52 1748.676 171 299023.596 32214 1610.7 171 275429.7

[2]

Upper 145383.7 5815.348 120 697841.76 268553.5 10742.14 120 1289056.8

Middle 88642.56 3545.702 133 471578.366 34465.75 1378.63 133 183357.79

Lower 43029 1792.875 190 340646.25 0 0 190 0

[3]

Upper 300 60 15 900 119592 23918.4 15 358776

Middle 20800 4160 20 83200 39486.5 7897.3 20 157946

Lower 70 11.667 30 350.01 0 0 30 0

Total 2,496,069.46 7,289,261.64

Total 9,785,331.10




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Gap between Expectation and Convenience of Open Access Public

Toilets in Dhaka: A Cross Sectional Investigation

Syed Billal Hossain1, Russell Kabir, Md. Shahjahan2, Alauddin Chowdhury3

& S. M. Yasir Arafat

About the Author(s)

1Research Assistant, Department of Public Health, Daffodil International University, Bangladesh;

2Associate Professor and Head, Department of Public Health, Daffodil International University,

Bangladesh; 3Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health, Daffodil International University,

Bangladesh

Senior Lecturer, Department for Allied and Public Health, Anglia Ruskin University,

Chelmsford, UK. Corresponding author: Dr. Russell Kabir, Senior Lecturer in Research Methods,

Department for Allied and Public Health, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Postgraduate Medical

Institute, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, Essex, UK. Email: [email protected]

Lecturer, Department of Public Health, ASA University, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to explore the extent of availability of open access public toilets in Dhaka

and to find out the reasons behind avoiding use of it. The is a cross-sectional study in Dhaka city

undertaken between February to May 2016. Data was collected from 384 respondents who live or

visit regularly for work in Dhaka. Semi-structured questionnaire was used in data collection through

face-to-face interviews. The availability of open access public toilets found strongly associated with

the extent of urinate/defecating in open places (p<0.001), Urinary/anal infection history (p<0.001)

and opinion of the respondents about relationship between disease and present public toilet situation

of the city (p<0.001). While more than 81 percent people replied ‘no/don’t know’ when asked about

availability of public toilets near their working places. Male respondents are almost 0.4 times more

likely to visit open access public toilets (p<0.001) than females. Around 60 percent of the

respondents share dissatisfaction with the cleanliness and over 70 percent with the indoor

environment, both are strongly significant (p<0.001) as the main reasons for avoiding open access

public toilets. Avoiding open access public toilets is also significantly related to poor water supply

system (p<0.001), soap availability (p<0.002), tissue availability (p<0.001) and feeling troubled

with room structure (p<0.001) of last visited public toilet. Unhygienic and uncomfortable

environment are common features of almost all the public toilets in the city but the situation is

clearly ignored by the authorities. The research suggests that almost all the people notify the

demand for new and much more public toilets into the city so that they can have access when they

are necessity.

Keywords:

Dhaka, open access, public toilet, urban sanitation

CITATION: Hossainm, S.B., Kabir, R., Shahjahan, Md., Chowdhury, A. and S.M.Y. Arafat (2017). “Gap

between Expectation and Convenience of Open Access Public Toilets in Dhaka: A Cross Sectional

Investigation.” Inter. J. Res. Methodol. Soc. Sci., Vol., 3, No. 1: pp. 53-61. (Jan. – Mar. 2017);

ISSN: 2415-0371.




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1.0 INTRODUCTION

Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh has one of the highest population growth in the world. Along

with more than 6.97 million people (BBS, 2011)Error! Reference source not found. its current

growth rate is over three per cent and bears the merit of being the fastest developing city in the

world. It accommodates more than one-third of the total urban population and about nine per cent of

the total population of the country in an area of 797 sq. km. with an extremely high population

density of 27,700 people living per square kilometer (BBS, 2011). Although, the average income is

high in Dhaka rather than other parts of the country, many people remain poor. An estimate

suggests that the poverty headcount rate was around 32 Percent in 2006. (Salma and Mehedi, 2011)

Additionally, nearly half a million migrants flow into Dhaka each year to try to make a living in the

city due to various push and pull factors and predictions show that by 2025, Dhaka will be home to

more than 20 million people larger than Mexico City, Beijing or Shanghai (Khairul, 2014).

Nearly one-third residents in Dhaka live in slums houses and most of the new migrants

choose slums firstly to live in every year. Moreover, about one million people living in the city do

not have a place to live in (SACOSAN-V, 2013). They are a floating population living in stations,

parks, market places, etc. With this massive increase in population (which already poses challenges

of overcrowding, pollution, poverty and overtaxing services), lack of planned development, the

situation has already become worse However, an estimate conducted in 2001 shows that about one-

third of the total population of Dhaka do not have access to any sanitation facilities (Salma and

Mehedi, 2011). They defecate either in roadside drains or other open places. Since there have not

been any recent, major development projects, it is likely that this situation has worsened by now.

On the other hand, a general assumption shows that at any time point during the day, about two to

three million people stay on the streets for managing their livelihoods and other daily necessities.

An estimate shows that the number of rickshaws in Dhaka Metropolitan City in 2000 was about

280,000 and it is very likely that this number has doubled in 10 years (ICDDR, B 2014). Even the

total number of people involved in rickshaw pulling alone is about one million who spend on an

average, more than five hours a day on the streets (ICDDR,B 2014). In addition, according to

different newspaper sources, more than one million people travel to Dhaka City every morning

from the neighboring areas too.

The nearly two hundred and fifty open access public toilets are existing in Dhaka city, care

not much for women nor for sanitary conditions (Salma and Mehedi, 2011). In a city where over

fifty lakh people are without proper toilet facilities, about two hundred and fifty open access public

toilets will remain for them an unreachable luxury. Open areas such as parks, pavements, waterside,

and any quiet area remain their points of relief and sources of mal-hygiene for the city. The other

fortunate half of the populace, those who have toilets in their homes and offices, also require

facilities in public places whilst shopping, working and running errands, but such conveniences are

hard to get hold of, and uncertain. UN-Water chairman Pasquale Steduto said at 2008 that, ‘The

focus on sanitation is fundamental to human beings. The MDG target on sanitation is seriously

lagging schedule. The entire UN System has a shared responsibility in mobilizing concrete actions

towards its achievement; investments must increase immediately’ (WHO and UNICEF, 2008;

Nelson et al., 2014)).

Child and gender friendly public toilets that offer private and separate toilets for boys and

girls, as well as facilities for hand washing with soap, are better equipped to attract and retain all,

especially women. Where such facilities are not available, Women often cancel their outdoor work

during menstruation. Also, girls are often withdrawn from school when they reach puberty due to

absence of proper toilet facilities. Therefore, this study wants to address following two facts about

open access public toilets in Dhaka, these are: the extent of availability and the reasons behind

avoiding use of it so that the extent of the problem can be addressed and eventual policy making to

improve the quality of life.



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2.0 METHODOLOGY

2.1 Study Origin and Design

This Cross-Sectional study was conducted in between February 2016 to May 2016. The study area

included eighteen cluster or busy zones form both the South (DSCC) and north (DNCC) city

corporations in Dhaka city. Each of these zones contains two busy spots. Generally, people of busy

areas need public toilets more than others. These cluster areas were selected for the study as these

are the busiest and most eventful areas of the city. During survey interview, informal discussions

were conducted with respondents which dealt with respondent’s experiences regarding deficiencies

in the current provisions and expectations about good quality, and inclusive healthy public toilets at

the future.

2.2 Target Respondents and Sampling Procedure: Respondents of the study were citizens living in Dhaka and those that visited Dhaka regularly (from

the cluster areas). The selected areas were the important transportation, business and administrative

areas of the city. These areas were in both the south and north city corporation of Dhaka. However,

while every selected zone contains public toilets, either Government or private owned, most of

these areas lack public toilet facilities and people were often sighted urinating at open places.

Before the main survey, a quick field visit to the selected study areas gave an idea about the

concentration of public toilet users and their characteristics. This also helped to determine how to

approach the ultimate study sample. Our target respondents were mainly the Government and

Private Service Holders, University Students, Wage laborers (Construction, Hotel and Transport

workers, Street Vendors etc) and Unemployed citizens (Retired, Housewife, and Disabled etc. of 18

years or above. Sample Size was estimated by the random sampling formula of Necessary Sample

Size (S) = z²×SD×(1-SD)÷C². There were 18 Clusters/Busy zones; 20 respondents from each

(18×20=360); with 6 other public toilets and related spot and 4 samples from each of those spots

(6×4=24) were selected to collect data. Finally, 360+24 = 384 respondents from different 42 spots

were included in the study.

2.3 Data Collection and Analysis

Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data on socio-demographic factors and

collective data on the feasibility of open access public toilets in the city of the users. The

questionnaires were administered through face-to-face interviews. The interviews were conducted

in the local native language (Bengali). The interview questionnaire was pre-tested and revised

before actual data collection to ensure quality. The questionnaire items included respondent’s socio-

demographic factors, Level of Demand related factors and Present feasibility related factors.

Collected data was regularly checked by the field supervisor and the principal investigator to ensure

quality and completeness of the questionnaires. The Software Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)

was used in the analysis of collected data. All factors that significantly related to the level of

demand and feasibility of open access public toilets at bivariate analysis were included in the linear

regression model at multivariate analysis (an alpha level < 0.05 was used to determine statistical

significance).

3.0 FINDINGS

A total of 384 samples were studied, of them 222 were male participants and 162 were female.

They were selected from those living in the city and those who were passing the respective zones

almost every day for their regular work or job. Socio-economic and demographic characteristics of

the respondents showed that the mean (±SD) age was 34.7 (±13.9) years. Around 31 percent of the

respondents had higher secondary education and among others almost an equal percentage shared

below primary education level. In between primary to secondary level including 15 percent of

respondents with education level of bachelor to above. Wage laborers such as, street

vendor/business, transport workers, hotel workers, construction workers etc. were the largest

(45.1%) portion of respondents followed by University students, the unemployed and government



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or private service holders. A maximum of 41.1 percent of respondents’ income was between 5,000

to 9,999 BDT, with the median of 12,000 BDT.

Findings about managing the needs of toilets or washrooms during outside of home revealed

that, almost 70 percent of them use Mosque/Office/Nearest restricted toilets. 16 percent of

respondents used toilets in markets/shopping centers. Alongside 14.6 percent of them are used to

holding their urine/excreta pressure or urinate/defecate at open places. This data frequently matched

with their last type of public toilet visited. Around 47 percent of respondents stated that their last

visited public toilet was at Mosque/office/nearest restricted toilets. 30 percent of them visited toilets

in markets/shopping centers.22.7 percent of them used open access mobile/temporary public toilets,

among them a few respondents stated that the last public toilet that they had visited was Open

access DCC public toilet. To find out the level of availability and the impact of the unavailability of

public toilets a chi-square analysis was conducted to investigate the association. A significant

association found with gender (p<0.001), age group (p<0.001) and education level (p<0.001).

Availability of open access public toilets near working place also found associated significantly

with extent of urinating/defecating at open places (p<0.001).

After being asked, approximately 95 percent significantly (p<0.03) responded that there is a

need for new and more public toilets in the city. On the question of necessity though 05 percent

participants felt that they don’t need any public toilets in their job/working areas. Not surprisingly

more than 98 percent people thought that the existing number of public toilets is not sufficient.

Relatively more than half of the respondents therefore voted to increase more than five times than

the existing number of public toilets while suggestions for five times and four times to increase the

number with 27.6 percent and 21.9 percent sequentially.

Table-1: Associations with the extent of availability of public toilet near work places Availability of public toilets near work

places

Variables Yes (%) Absent/Don’t know (%) Total (%) p-value

Overall 18.5 81.5 100

Gender

Male 14.6 43.2 57.8 0.001

Female 3.9 38.3 43.2

Age Group

Less than 30 12.5 32.2 44.7

30 to 49 5.2 29.7 34.9 <0.001

50 to above 0.8 19.5 20.3

Education level

Below than primary 5.7 20.0 25.7

Primary to secondary 5.2 21.1 26.3 0.001

Higher secondary 7.3 23.7 31.0

Bachelor to above 0.3 16.7 17.0

Occupation

Government/Private Service 3.6 16.7 20.3

Wage laborer 7.5 37.5 45.0 0.626

University Student/Unemployed 7.4 27.3 34.7

Managing toilet needs outside of home

DCC public toilet/Toilet in market 3.4 12.8 16.2

0.434 Mosque/Nearest restricted toilet 13.3 55.9 69.2

Urinate/defecate at open places 1.8 12.8 14.6

Extent of visiting open access public toilet

Rarely 9.3 46.4 55.7 0.315

Very few 9.1 35.2 44.3

Extent of urinating/ defecating at open places



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Never Do 6.0 37.8 43.8

<0.001 Rarely 3.9 26.8 30.7

More than twice in a week 8.6 16.9 25.5

Feel any necessity for open access public toilets

Yes 71 293 94.8 <0.03

No 0 20 5.20

Sufficiency of the existing number of open access public toilets

Sufficient 0 7 1.82 0.203

Not Sufficient 71 306 98.2

Demand than existing number

4 times 20 64 21.8

5 times 23 83 27.6 0.110

More than 5 times 28 166 50.6

To investigate the main reason behind avoiding using open access public toilets, a chi-

square analysis was employed. It found a significant association with gender (p<0.01) and

occupation (p<0.001). Around 60 percent of the respondents shared their dissatisfaction on the

cleanliness and over 70 percent for the environment. Both are significant (p<0.001) as being the

main reason for avoiding open access public toilets. While satisfied, respondents responded only

17.7 percent for cleanliness and 29.2 percent for indoor atmosphere. 24 percent of the participants

agreed that existing open access public toilets are very dirty places and half of them added that the

indoor atmosphere also same. Avoiding open access public toilets was also significantly related

with a poor water supply system (p<0.001), soap availability (p<0.002), tissue availability

(p<0.001) and feeling uncomfortable in the layout of the toilet. (p<0.001).

Table 2: Associations with reasons behind avoiding open access public toilets

Reasons behind avoiding public toilets

Variables Unhygienic Environment Dissatisfactory

service

Total p-

value

Overall 48.7 21.9 29.4 100

Gender

Male 31.8 12.0 14.1 58.8 0.010

Female 16.9 1.0 15.4 42.2

Occupation

Government/Private Service 13.8 4.9 1.5 20.2

Wage laborer 13.8 10.2 21.1 45.1 <0.001

University Student/Unemployed 8.1 6.7 6.8 21.6

Cleanliness of the public toilets

Satisfactory 1.6 3.6 12.5 17.7

Not Satisfactory 31.8 13.0 13.5 58.3 <0.001

Very Dirty 15.4 5.2 3.3 24.0

Indoor Atmosphere at last visit

Satisfactory 8.3 6.8 14.1 29.2 <0.001

Not Satisfactory 40.3 15.1 15.4 70.8

Water supply at last visit

Good 26.3 8.5 19.5 54.4 0.001

Collected water Jar 22.4 13.3 9.9 45.6

Soap availability at last visit

Yes 15.9 5.7 14.3 35.9 0.002

No 32.8 16.1 15.1 64.1



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Tissue availability at last visit

Yes 3.3 0.8 4.6 8.9 <0.001

No 45.3 21.9 24.1 91.1

Feels uncomfortable for indoor structure

Yes 20.6 13.3 4.9 38.8 <0.001

No 28.1 8.6 24.5 61.2

Responsible for present condition

Government authority/DCC 26.6 20.3 17.2 65.6 <0.001

Leaseholders/Service providers 20.6 0.2 12.2 34.4

Respondents of the study gave mixed responses in the consistency of holding urine/excreta

pressure. 22.4 percent of them hold their urine/excreta pressure almost every day, while 37.5

percent hold sometimes, just 26 percent hold rarely and others were hold their pressure once/twice

or more than twice in a week. Among the respondents who reported holding urine/excreta pressure,

most of them marked their duration of holding urine/excreta pressure as not more than one hour.

Around 65 percent of them hold pressure in between 30 minutes and about 35 percent of

respondents hold pressure usually between thirty minutes to one hour. Almost 40 percent of

participants do not wait to urinate/defecate at open places in case of unavailability of any type of

public toilet, although about 69 percent of total respondents had familiarity with promotional

activities to prevent open urinating/defecating. 31.2 percent could not remember or had no

awareness knowledge about the prevention of open urinating/defecating at open places.

To prioritize the main reasons for avoiding open access public toilets, respondents mostly

referred to the point of hygiene. Half of them replied that their reason for avoiding open access

public toilets was due to unhygienic conditions. Another 21.9 percent of respondents expressed

their uneasiness with the environment around and 29.4 percent mentioned that they were not

satisfied with the services and/or do not want to pay money for using open access public toilets.

Respondents who expressed their unwillingness to pay money, also added some reasons to explain

why. Such other reasons included being situated far from the job/working places and dissatisfaction

with the public toilet services. A small percentage said that the open access public toilets are not

safe or felt insecure to visit there.

Table-3: Logistic Regression analysis with the extent of visiting open access public toilets of

respondents as dependent variable

Variables Coefficient

(ß)

p – value Odds

Ratio

95% CI for Exp. (ß)

Lower Upper

Gender

Male -0.951 <0.001 0.386 0.237 0.629

Female

Occupation -0.409 0.012 0.664 0.482 0.915

Cleanliness of the public toilets 0.140 0.522 1.150 0.750 1.764

Indoor Environment at last visit

Satisfactory

Not Satisfactory -0.744 0.012 0.475 0.266 0.850

Feels trouble with room structure

Yes 1.423 <0.001 4.149 2.492 6.909

No

Reasons behind avoiding open access

public toilets

-0.016 0.827 0.984 0.851 1.138

Responsible for present condition -0.087 0.467 0.917 0.725 1.159

Constant 2.418 0.042 11.223



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Logistic regression analysis considering the extent of visiting open access public toilets of

respondents as dependent variable and gender, occupation, cleanliness, room atmosphere and

feeling trouble with room structure, reason for avoiding public toilets and opinion about responsible

for present condition as independent variables. The table estimates that male respondents are almost

0.4 times more likely to visit open access public toilets (p<0.001) than females. Occupation is also

significantly associated with the extent of visiting open access public toilets. It also shows that,

opinion about indoor environment of last visited public toilet defer by almost 0.5 times for not

satisfactory than satisfactory (p<0.05). Also, whom are visit open access public toilets rarely, they

are around 2.5 times more uncomfortable with indoor structures (p<0.001).

4.0 DISCUSSION

In Bangladesh, urinating/ and defecating in open places is not very common. However, in Dhaka

city urinating in open places by men is quite a common practice. This does not happen only because

of habit or illiteracy; it is practically difficulty to access a public toilet. Most of the toilets were

established by Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) more than twenty years ago with a very limited

feature of services. The total number of existing public toilets in working condition in the city is

around 5,000 (including DCC authorized and non-governmental open access public toilets) but for

almost 6.97 million (BBS, 2011) people of the city those are surprising in number and about 480

open access public toilets made this issue harder (Salma and Mehedi, 2011). A research project

named “Transparent Chennai” in India revealed that, there are only 714 public toilets in the city of

Chennai, for a population of 46.81 lakhs (Transparent Chennai, 2011). Another study in Nairobi of

the Water and Sanitation Program published that Most of Nairobi’s 138 public toilets were built

during the colonial era or soon afterwards. They are now owned by the Nairobi City Council

(NCC), but for a variety of reasons they have received little maintenance or management attention

for the last 20 years and many are in a very unhygienic, barely functioning state (WSP, 2004).

The availability of public toilets within the city is less than the amount needed. Several

significant associations with availability of open access public toilet was found in this study, such

as extent of urinate/defecating at open places (p<0.001), Urinary or anal infection history (p<0.001)

and about relationship between disease and present public toilet situation of the city found

significant association (p<0.001). While more than 81 percent people replied, absent or don’t know

when asked about availability of public toilets near their place of work. It affects regular city life as

other different studies revealed that, Toilet limitations significantly restrict people’s mobility in

cities and their ability to take part in public life. “Ensuring public toilet provision is available to

everyone can be considered essential to removing a serious barrier to wider participation in public

life” (Knight and Bichard, 2011). A recent Survey of public toilets among the residents, workers

and visitors in Cambridge suggested that, about 29% respondents stated that they were very likely

and 35% respondents somewhat likely to use a public toilet nearby a city building, if they were in a

commercial square. A maximum of 79% of respondents felt the greatest need for public toilets is

near main city square ‘Harvard’ and about 40% of respondents also seek public toilets near different

parks.

To explore the level of demand among respondents found significant association between

extent of availability of open access public toilets and respondents’ opinion regarding Extent of

urinating/ defecating at open places (<0.001). Around 95 percent respondents responded that there

is a need for more and new public toilets near their place of work and it also significantly associated

with the extent of availability (<0.03). "Sanitation is a cornerstone of public health. Improved

sanitation contributes enormously to human health and well-being, especially for girls and women.

We know that simple, achievable interventions can reduce the risk of contracting diarrheal disease

by a third." said WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan. (WHO and UNICEF, 2008) and Ann

M. Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF said, “The absence of adequate sanitation has a

serious impact on health and social development, especially for children. Investments in improving

sanitation will accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and save lives”

(WHO and UNICEF, 2008; Bhardwaj et al., 2013; Jeratagi et al., 2017).



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Cleanliness and indoor atmosphere of the open access public toilets, are both significant

(p<0.001) as reasons for avoiding open access public toilets. Avoiding open access public toilets

also related with poor water supply system, soap availability, tissue availability and feeling trouble

with indoor structure of last visited open access public toilets. About 24 percent of the participants

agreed that existing open access public toilets are very dirty places and over 70 percent respondents

expressed dissatisfaction at the atmosphere. A Toilet survey study in2011 in Singapore (RAS, 2011)

signified that, most of the respondents felt that the rating of toilets should be made compulsory.

About half were very unhappy or unhappy with users’ efforts while most remained neutral about

owner’s efforts and government intervention. The respondents of that study were happiest about the

effort of cleaners and about half felt that users are most responsible for keeping the toilets happy

followed by owners and cleaners. Regarding the need for improvement, respondents ranked toilet

cleanliness first followed by its maintenance and design and they also felt that toilets remained dirty

mainly because of irresponsible users. “Evidence indicates that inclusively and well-designed

neighborhood outdoor spaces positively contribute to people’s health and quality of life” (Aspinall

2010; Yimam et al., 2014).

It was also observed that there were some mismanagement functions of public toilets,

mostly in the places of excessive gathering. Male respondents are almost 0.4 times more likely to

visit open access public toilets (p<0.001) than females. Along with mismanagement an insecure

environment is also common in public toilets of Dhaka city. Security for Women and Children

(when guardian visits the public toilet) can rarely be seen and among the surveyed public toilets

about half of those have no “Women Section”.

5.0 CONCLUSION

The Study findings show that about most of respondents have knowledge about sanitation and

demerits of urinating/defecating at open places. But also, the male respondents are used to urinating

in open places. This is one of the main reasons for air pollution in the city and near about half of the

respondents feel sick due to diarrheal disease in last six months. Due to non-maintenance, after long

time use of open access public toilet in unhygienic condition, bacteria make their homes in toilet

and hard-pressed to get sick. There is a crying need for more public toilets for a populous city like

Dhaka. The research suggests that almost all the people notify the demand for new and much more

public toilets into the city. They also share their experiences about inaccessibility and necessities of

public toilets. Unhygienic and uncomfortable environment are common features of almost all the

public toilets in the city but the situation is clearly ignored by the authorities.

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planning and designing public restrooms. Journal of Planning Literature. 21, pp. 267–294.

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importance for environmental attributes of neighborhood open space, Environment and

Planning B: Planning and Design. 37, pp.1022–1039.

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. 2011. Population & Housing Census-2011.

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rural setup in Maharashtra. healthline, 4(1), pp.89–93.

Cambridge Public Health Department.2014. Public toilets survey: Cambridge Residents, Workers &

Visitors – 2013. [Online] Available at: www.cambridgepublichealth.org/publications/2013-

Public-Toilets-Survey-Cambridge-Residents-Workers-&-Visitors--Summary-Report.pdf

[Accessed 27 June 2016].

Fifth South Asian Conference on Sanitation. 2013. Bangladesh Country Paper. [Online] Available

at: www.buet.ac.bd/itn/publications/sector-documents/documents/Bangladesh-Country-Paper-

(SACOSAN-V).pdf [Accessed 6 May 2016].

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Greed, C. H. 2004, Public toilets: the need for compulsory provision, Proceedings of the Institution

of Civil Engineers–Municipal Engineers. P.77–85. International Centre for Diarrheal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B,) and WaterAid Bangladesh,

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north Karnataka, India: a cross sectional study. International Journal of Community Medicine

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http://www.watercentre.org/services/events/wash2014/attachments/presentations/a4.-md-

khairul-islam/at_download/file [Accessed 14 March 2016].

Knight, G. and Bichard, J. 2011. Publicly Accessible Toilets: An Inclusive Design Guide.

Nelson, K.B. et al., 2014. User Perceptions of Shared Sanitation among Rural Households in

Indonesia and Bangladesh D. W. Dowdy, ed. PLoS ONE, 9(8), p.e103886.

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www.toilet.org.sg/docs/npsurvey.pdf [Accessed 3 March 2016].

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in Dhaka city.

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through: www.transparentchennai.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Public-Toilets-

Transparent-Chennai-Issue-Brief.pdf [Accessed 27 June 2016].

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Management of Public Toilets in the City of Nairobi. WHO and UNICEF, 2008. Poor Sanitation threatens public health. [Online] Available at:

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among people living in rural areas of Denbia district, Northwest Ethiopia, 2013, a cross-

sectional study. Pan African Medical Journal, 18(334).

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NEUROGAME

An Alternative and Complementary Method

in the Teaching and Learning Process of Neuroanatomy Fernando Silva Ribeiro,

Bárbara Oliveira Soares,

Iara Feitosa dos Santos,

& Edivaldo Xavier da Silva Júnior

About the Author(s)

Students in Physiotherapy, University of Pernambuco – UPE, BR 203, Km02, s/n, CEP 56328-

903, Petrolina, PE, Brazil.

Professor, University of Pernambuco – UPE, Departament of Physiotherapy, University of

Pernambuco – UPE, BR 203, Km 02, s/n, CEP 56328-903, Petrolina, PE, Brazil. For email

correspondence: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to manufacture board games, using materials of low cost, as a playful

tool, alternative and complementary in the process of teaching and learning practical of

Neuroanatomy.The study was a research-action, descriptive and exploratory, developed at the

Human Anatomy Laboratory of the University of Pernambuco (UPE), Petrolina, from February to

November 2016. The games were manufactured by three monitors of the Neuroanatomy discipline,

with supervision of the responsible professor. To manufacturing of the games have utilized low-cost

materials such as: Styrofoam sheet, A4 paper, paper scissors, glue, paintbrush, fabric inks and

biscuit, Microsoft Office Word software 2010 version and printer.Seven board games were

systematically manufactured, which deal the macroscopic and morphofunctional aspects of the

spinal cord, brain stem, diencephalon, telencephalon, vascularization, peripheral nervous system

and structures of difficult practical study, such as reticular formation and the afferent and efferent

great ways.The production of board games with low cost materials has shown to be a simple,

possible and inexpensive process, but it requires cautious execution during the stages. In this way, it

was conceivable to develop a new playful, alternative and complementary tool for the practical

teaching and learning of Neuroanatomy.

Keywords:learning, teachingmaterials, experimental games, neuroanatomy

JEL Code: [See JEL Code sheet for classification, if applicable]

CITATION: Ribeiro, F.S., Soares, B.O., Santos, I.F., Da Silva Júnior, E.X. (2017). “Neurogame: An Alternative

and Complementary Method in the Teaching and Learning Process of Neuroanatomy.” Inter. J.

Res. Methodol. Soc. Sci., Vol., 3, No. 1: pp. 62 – 71. (Jan – Apr 2017); ISSN: 2415—0371

../../../../Fernando/Desktop/Internacional%20Journal%20of%20Research%20&%20Methodology%20in%20Social%20Science/[email protected]



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1. INTRODUCTION

Human Anatomy (HA) is an essential discipline for the formation of students in the health

area(Kruse, 2004). The study of this discipline involves the understanding of the nomenclature and

location of the specific structures of the human body, correlating them with their functions(Braz,

2009). Part of Human Anatomy, Neuroanatomy studies the morphofunctional aspect of the

structures that make up the Human Nervous System and its relations with the environment

(Machado and Haertel, 2014).

The study of Neuroanatomy usually involves the use of theoretical and practical classes,

which in the last one, it is essential the use of cadaveric material, allowing the student to relate what

is studied on the theory and the books, with the materials on the laboratories. In addition, its use is

important to strengthen the ethical-humanistic aspects and contribute to the formation of future

professionals in the area of health(Costa and Lins, 2012).

However, the conservation costs and the laws in Brazilian legislation make it difficult to

obtain and maintain cadaveric material to be used in the human anatomy laboratories of higher

education institutions, thereby compromising the teaching and learning process of the

discipline(Melo and Pinheiro, 2010; Pontinha and Soeiro, 2014).

This process is difficult with regard to Neuroanatomy, since the programmatic content is

extensive; The teaching material is, sometimes, insufficient for the number of students; The visual

repulsion and the odor caused by the use of formaldehyde allied with the idea of death, in some

cases, generates stress, anxiety and fear associated to the practical study; And, the memorization of

complex structures and nomenclatures occasionally makes learning monotonous and

discouraging(Fornaziero et al., 2003, Azambuja Montes andSouza, 2010,Silva Júnior et al., 2014,

Anyanwu, 2014,Silva e Oliveira and Furtado, 2015).

Thus, it is necessary to elaborate and apply new methods and materials that summarize

improvements in pedagogical practices for teaching and learning of Neuroanatomy(Fornaziero et

al., 2003), like educational games. These can be defined as the use of playful principles to promote

learning, the acquisition of knowledge and skills(Cain and Piascik, 2015). The use of board games,

as a complementary tool, is an alternative that can facilitate the understanding of the theoretical

class and promote a greater interest of the student by the practical class(Orlando et al., 2009),

promoting a more attractive and dynamic learning(Arruda and Sousa, 2014).

Some alternatives, like the use of prossected pieces, anatomical models manufactures,

didactic scripts, softwares and board games have been showing an effective in the active

involvement of students during classes and, consequently, a more dynamic learning(Abdulmajed et

al., 2015; Aburahma and Mohamed, 2015; Akl et al., 2007; Moraes et al., 2016).

In this sense, it is important to manufacture board games, since these can be used as a

playful tool in the teaching and learning process to promote the critical and reflective performance

of the students and facilitate the consolidation of knowledge, from the resolution of

problems(Anyanwu, 2014).Thus, they allow to involve the morphofunctional neuroanatomics

aspects, like a climbing in teaching and an emerging technology that possibly will have an impact

on the formation of critical-reflexive professionals with a creative profile for the different

situations(Anyanwu, 2014; Silva e Oliveira and Furtado, 2015,Silva et al., 2014).

Thus, the manufacture of these board games, which can be used during the practical classes

of Neuroanatomy, is an alternative method that, used in consonance with the corpses(Calazans,

2013), to facilitate the teaching and learning process; Promote self-learning; Clarify difficulties in

learning content; Encourage active participation; Acquire new information; As well as improving

long-term retention and clinical application of knowledge; And finally be an important learning

tool(Gibson and Douglas, 2013, Anyanwu, 2014, Abdulmajed et al., 2015, Aburahma and

Mohamed, 2015).

Alternative methods that promote the teaching of Neuroanatomy in a playful way are an

important aid in their learning, since it is a complex curricular component and with a vast

nomenclature to be apprehended by future health professionals. In this way, the objective of this



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study was to create board games, using materials of low cost, as a playful tool, alternative and

complementary in the process of teaching and practical learning of Neuroanatomy.

2. DATA & METHODOLOGY

The study was action research, descriptive and exploratory, developed at the Human Anatomy

Laboratory of the University of Pernambuco (UPE), Petrolina, in the period from February to

November 2016. The production was carried out by three selected students-monitors of the Program

of Academic Strengthening of the UPE (PFAUPE) for the disciplines of Locomotor Apparatus

Anatomy, Systemic Anatomy and Neuroanatomy of the Physiotherapy course.

2.1. Board game manufacture

For the preparation of the board games were used low-cost materials like Styrofoam sheet, A4

paper, paper scissors, glue, paintbrush, fabric paints, biscuit (figure 1), Microsoft software Office

Word 2010 version and printer. In addition, the elaboration of the questions for the games was

based on consultations carried out in Neuroanatomy books indicated in the discipline schedule.

Three pins of different colors were manufactured with biscuit to represent the participants; a

Styrofoam was coated with A4 paper; the manufacturing of the board was used Styrofoam as base,

colored with the use of brushes and fabric inks; the question cards, board boxes, and pictures were

formatted in Microsoft Office Word 2010 software and printed on A4 paper.

The board houses were glued in the board in a sequential way, the images used for

questions, while the question cards were glued on card stock and coated with plastic tape on the

edges to make them more rigid and preserved. The board houses are related to the four types

different questions developed for the game: "Who am I?"; "Direct question"; "True or false?",

"Image", "Pass" and "Advance two houses".

The games approach the morphology and function of the structures that compose the Human

Nervous System. The playful material was used during practical classes and shifts of the discipline

of Neuroanatomy for students of the first semester of the Physical Therapy course, presenting a

good acceptance, but the impact of this material on their performance was not evaluated in this

study.

3. FINDINGS & DISCUSSION

3.1. Findings

The manufacturing of board games was a process with simple steps, but requiring prudent

execution. The process began with the consultation in books, text and atlas of Neuroanatomy, in

order to strengthen the theoretical reference utilized to formulate the questions. In this stage, for

each board, questions were developed at different levels, low, medium and high difficulty. Thus, the

playful and challenging character of the games were consolidated.

These questions were formatted on standard-size cards (4.21inx2.91in) using the Microsoft

Office Version 2010 software. With the same dimensions were formatted the figures that made up

the back of the question cards, that identified them as to the type of question, among the four types

developed for these games.

The houses of the trail of the boards were formatted with the same software, with standard

dimensions of 2.36in x 2.16in and the images selected from the internet or books. In this stage full

attention was necessary, because the size patterns must be respected for the playing cards, game

houses, and the images present dimensions that allow their visualization and, due to the large

number of these models per board, the errors and disproportionate measures may occur. After, the

formatting material was printed on A4 paper.

Styrofoam sheets were painted with brushes and fabric paints on the upper and lateral sides

(Figure 2). The cutouts of the board houses and the selected images were glued onto the board,

completing their preparation. For questions cards, more extensive part of the process because they

needed to be glued one at a time, used cardboard, the same size, to provide them with greater



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rigidity. In addition, after the elaboration of these cards adhesive tape was used to cover their edges,

aiming to increase the material durability.

In this way, it was possible to construct seven board games (figure 3), which approach the

macroscopic and morphofunctional aspects of the spinal cord, brainstem, diencephalon,

telencephalon, central nervous system vascularization and structures of difficult practical study,

such as reticular formation and the great afferent and efferent ways, as shown in figure 4.

The manufacturing of the games was made in a systematic way, starting from the

elaboration of the questions to the preparation of the board (figure 5). It has shown to be simple and

fast, whereas the construction of the questions cards, board houses and pictures consisted of the

longer and meticulous steps.

3.2. Discussion

The development of educational games is essential for innovation and diversification of the

teaching and learning process. The constant use of traditional teaching methods become the study

discouraging to the student, since they sometimes consider the study of Human Anatomy and

Neuroanatomy as decorative.

Thus, board game is a playful and complementary method that can be integrated with the

traditional teaching methods of these disciplines(Anyanwu, 2014), aiming to potentiate attractive

and dynamiclearning(McCarroll et al., 2009).

For Fornaziero, Regina and Gil (2003) the use of these games generate enthusiasm and

motivation throughout the learning, becoming attractive educational process for the students. This

method involves active participation and the development of skills like interaction between

participants, encouraging the exchange of knowledge. Thus, it presents a great importance in the

development of critical thinking and in the collective resolution of problems, essential skills for the

practice of health professionals, as stated by Gibson and Douglas (2013).

From this perspective, the use of games in the teaching and learning process has impacts on

the training of students in several aspects. The inclusion of these games in the curriculum of the

disciplines presents positive results, not only in the cognitive aspect, but also in the interactional

behavior and the development of abilities. As Alk et al. (2007) shown that this tool has great

potential to promote learning in the various domains: cognitive, affective and psychomotor.

In addition, other studies have evaluated the impacts and effectiveness of the use of games

in the training of students, and have presented results that corroborate positive impact of the use of

games as a teaching tool(Gibson and Douglas, 2013, Anyanwu, 2014, Abdulmajed et al., 2015,

Aburahma and Mohamed, 2015). According to these studies, students have developed skills such as

creativity, feeling more motivated in the competitions and challenges posed by the game, gaining

greater understanding and retention of the contents for long time, as well as allowing easy

identification of key ideas and content with smaller and lager domain.

In this way, the student ceases to be passive in the teaching and learning process and it

becomes the protagonist, while the professor ceases to play the main role and becomes the mediator

of this process.

Generozo, Escolano, and Dornfeld (2007) proposed a board game about the

Human Anatomy and Physiology of the systems, for students of the 2nd year of High School and

verified greater acquisition and fixation of the contents, highlighting the use of this tool in a

complementary way to the other methods of teaching. These studies corroborate the benefits and

positive impact that the games promote in student learning, according to the literature analyzed,

corroborating with Anyanwu's (2014) study.

The manufacture of board games for teaching and learning in higher education is still an

underdeveloped practice. Thus, there is scarceness of studies in the literature that deal about

production process them. The Anyanwu's study (2014) is the only one, until then in the literature

that presents the development and application of a board game on Human Anatomy as a

complementary tool in Higher Education. In his study, the author manufactured a zoned board:



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“General Road”, “The Vascular Street”, “The Osteologyand Muscular Avenue” and “Nerve Lane”,

according to the content approached.

On this there were question-cards with specific problems according to the zone of the board.

In addition, the game had a bank with a fictitious coin drawn up for its applicability, distributed at

the beginning of the game to the players, in identical amounts. However, this study focuses on the

constituents of the game, the rules and the evaluation of the perception of the students regarding the

use of this tool in pedagogical practice, but does not refer to the materials used to make it, as well as

its accessories.

The present study produced 7 board games describing the whole procedure adopted, which

was also possible to manufacture 600 question-cards, according to the topics covered in

Neuroanatomy discipline. In addition, the detailing of the steps, and to know the low costs materials

used to manufacture them, is essential, allowing researchers, teachers and students to produce,

develop and use their own materials as a way to retain and complement the contents worked in the

classroom.

On the other hand, board games are commonly used as a learning tool in elementary school.

In their study, Silva et al. (2014) developed a board game on the theme "Fundamentals of Ecology"

for students in the 3rd year of High School, and showed the importance of its use for learning, as

well as the relevance of implementing this method of teaching to traditional and expository methods

on the pedagogical practice of others disciplines.

The elaboration of board games, from the use of materials of low cost becomes the

educational tool cheaper. In this sense, it is worth emphasizing the importance of developing these

games with this type of material, making them accessible for both professors and students.

For the Neuroanatomy discipline, the literature presents a scarceness studies on the board

games manufacture used as a complementary tool in the its teaching and learning practical process.

In this perspective, it is necessary to develop more studies on the preparation of board games for

Human Anatomy and Neuroanatomy, as well as the evaluation of students' efficacy and perception

regarding their application.

4. CONCLUSION

The manufacture of board games, using low-cost materials, proved to be a simple, possible and

accessible process, but it requires prudent execution during the stages. It presents great relevance by

showing other pedagogical material to be used in the teaching-learning process of the

Neuroanatomy discipline, since they are easy to handle and make it suitable for students and

professors.

Thus, it was conceivable to develop an alternative and complementary tool to the traditional

method of practical teaching of Neuroanatomy. However, the literature presents a scarceness studies

related to the manufacture of this type of pedagogical material. Therefore, it is necessary to develop

new studies that explore the stages and materials used to make board games, in order to contribute

to the process of retention of learning. In this sense, new games can be developed, customized, for

different disciplines. Despite being one more tool in the process of teaching and learning in the

human morphology area, the use of the corpse is essential in this process, and the tool produced is

complementary on the process.

Based on the analyzed literature it was perceived that this type of tool is widely used in basic

education, leading us to believe that its use in higher education will obtain similar results, given the

presence of the playful enabling the teaching and learning process, and encouraging the instinct of

competition. With this, students cease to be passive agents in process one, and become the builders

of themselves knowledge.



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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank for the financial support of the Academic Enhancement Program at

the University of Pernambuco (PFAUPE), dedicated to the promotion of teaching, research and

extension, and researchers at the of Study and Research Laboratory in Human Anatomy

(LABEPAH), UPE, Petrolina.

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APPENDIX 1

Schemes and Figures

Figure 1.Low cost materials used for the manufacture of board games

Figure 2.Low cost materials used for manufacturing the game.

Figure 3.Manufactured neurogame exemplary.



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Figure 4. The diagram shows the contents approached in each seven board games.



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Figure 4. Steps for manufacturing the seven board games.



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