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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the formal workplace learning situation in Nepal and argue that workplace learning is not in priority in Nepali Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) despite a regular policy emphasis. Design/methodology/approach: Data were gathered using both desk-based review of pre-diploma and diploma-level curricula and semi-structured interviews with eight employers and six technical school principals. Coded themes were interpreted in the meaning-making process. Findings: Workplace skills learning in Nepal has remained a neglected agenda. Despite some successful implementation practices and policy recognition, it is stagnated. Employers expect skills in graduates relevant to their demands. However, unfortunately, there needs to be more trust for a culture of shared responsibilities among employers and TVET providers for arranging the provisions so that the learners can acquire the skills that the employers need. There is a blaming game between them, which has ultimately resulted in the poor arrangement of workplace learning. Practical implications: TVET providers' and employers' engaged participation in recognizing and developing workplace learning for making the learning as per the needs of the world of work could benefit them and also support students to upgrade and acquire employability skills. Originality/value: This paper is based on empirical data and contributes new knowledge in academia which is still rare in the context of Nepal.

Sexual violence within marriage (SVWM) is a major public health and human right issue and yet remains a much neglected research area, especially in Nepal. An exploratory study using free listing, in-depth case histories and causal flow analysis was conducted among two major ethnic groups in Nepal. Descriptive data collected from free listing indicate that about half of the married women aged 15 to 24 years reported ever experiencing SVWM. Data revealed that the underlying reasons for SVWM are complex and complicated due to the multiple forms and contexts in which it occurs. For many couples, multiple factors alongside, and within, their socioeconomic and cultural contexts contribute to the risk of experiencing SVWM. Major factors escalating the risk to SVWM include gender norms, economic dependence of women, poverty, alcohol consumption of husband, lack of knowledge, social stigma, and lack of supportive familial and social environment. Raising awareness about sexual violence is required for its prevention and for managing the consequences. Further research is required to identify the determinants, the effects of SVWM on sexual and reproductive health outcomes and to help programs develop the best strategies for dealing with SVWM among young couples. (Contains 3 tables.)

Relation between education and development has been recognized in Nepal since the beginning of planned development efforts and the modern schooling at mass level. Both were initiated during 1950s. Beginning of Development Studies in MPhil and PhD in Education in School of Education, Kathmandu University focused exploring such relationships in a systematic manner. This reflective paper shares some of the ideas and experiences on comparative education and development while working and developing the program Development Studies. It has been realized that comparative education can provide an important frame to explore such relationships. Accordingly, attempts were made to develop the program Development Studies that derive from understanding and exploring the pattern of the everyday life of the people, their knowledge base and the meaning they give to aspects like education and development. The purpose was also to consider how state interventions a modernization/globalization interplay with local values and meanings. The paper discusses challenges and strengths achieved while working with Development Studies. Finally, some key points are drawn to establish the international and comparative perspective of Nepali practices and experiences.

In Nepal, children with low vision attend specialized schools for students who are totally blind and are treated as if they were totally blind. This study identified children with low vision and provided low vision devices to them. Of the 22% of the students in the school who had low vision, 78.5% benefited from the devices. Proper devices and counseling improved the quality of life of a significant number of these students. (Contains 4 tables.)

This article explores the extent of, and factors associated with, sexual harassment of young female migrant workers in the carpet and garment factories in Kathmandu Valley. Information is drawn from a survey of 550 female workers aged 14 to 19 and 12 in-depth case histories. Bivariate and multivariate techniques were applied to identify the factors associated with harassment. The survey found that 1 in 10 young women had experienced sexual harassment or coercion. Those who were exposed to pornographic movies were more likely than those with no exposure to any kind of movies to report sexual harassment. Perpetrators included coworkers, boyfriends, employers, and relatives. Case histories revealed that the inability of young women to communicate effectively with their peers and sex partners, lack of self-esteem, job insecurity, and other socioeconomic problems made them vulnerable to these abuses. The results suggest the need for advocacy and a range of factory-based interventions. (Contains 4 tables.)

Abstract: Published data from quantitative assessments of in-home fuel use in developing countries are sparse, yet this information is important for understanding the basic daily energy consumption of half the world's population as well as the effectiveness of programs seeking to reduce the health, environmental, and socioeconomic impacts of using inefficient cooking technologies and fuels. This paper presents results from a coordinated training and field study program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Projections Agency, with the goal of increasing our understanding of household energy use by building capacity of stove implementing organizations. The programs were conducted with stove organizations in India, Nepal, and Peru, with results from Nepal and Peru indicating the respective stove interventions resulted in significant fuel savings (~27–66%), and in India the energy consumption from combined usage of a pellet stove and liquefied petroleum gas was 59% lower than use of traditional biomass stoves. The fuel savings in Peru were highly dependent on the level of stove maintenance and user training with the largest savings (66% per capita) achieved in homes where the stoves were maintained and users were provided additional training, indicating that these are critical factors for realizing maximum stove performance in homes. Combining these results with previously published KPT results showed patterns of higher baseline fuelwood consumption in Latin America (2.1–3.4kg per capita per day) in comparison to Nepal and India (1.0–1.4kg per capita per day). The fuel savings estimates from the KPT studies were generally similar to savings estimates for controlled testing (Water Boiling Tests and Controlled Cooking Tests) of the respective program stoves, showing promise for better linking stove performance in the laboratory with field performance. Finally, variability of fuel consumption and fuel savings estimates are examined to inform on study design and monitoring for carbon offset methodologies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a study on the assessment on the impact of poaching to the population of the one-horned rhinoceros at the Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP) in Nepal. It intends to analyze the effect of poaching within the ecological, socioeconomic, political and legal framework by integrating the poaching model with the population dynamic models. These models were used to predict the population of rhinos within 1973-2002 which is vital to determine the efficiency of antipoaching policy.

This paper reports the pregnancy intention transition occurring amongst young married couples in Nepal. Information was drawn from a sample survey of 997 young women 499 young men, and data from the Nepal Demographic Health Survey 2001 (NDHS). A new definition of unintended pregnancy was developed. Using bivariate and multivariate analyses, the results show that the conventional NDHS definition of unintended pregnancy provides a substantial under--estimate of prevalence. Unintended pregnancy was more likely to be reported by both men and women who were younger, with a higher number of living children, a smaller desired family size, higher exposure to mass media, a higher level of education and low household well-being. The results suggest the 'transition phenomena in pregnancy intention' in developing countries like Nepal where total fertility is still high and the desired fertility is falling rapidly. The paper recommends that services should focus on helping those groups of couples who were identified in the analysis as being at increased risk of unintended pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Conflict between snow leopards and humans across the trans-Himalaya is a pressing conservation concern. Conflict severely impacts the socio-economy of the local pastoralist community and threatens snow leopard survival. We investigated the socio-economic factors influencing such conflict and pastoralist attitudes towards snow leopard conservation using semi-structured interviews for a better understanding of what factors influence the variability in losses among the households in the Narphu valley, Nepal. While snow leopards caused significant losses to impoverished pastoralist households, respondents were generally accepting of their presence due to religious reasons and strict law enforcement. We observed poor herding and guarding practices with households owning larger numbers of total livestock (especially large bodied animals like yak (Bos mutus f. grunniens) and cattle (B. primigenius f. taurus)), which resulted in the higher loss. Further, compensation and insurance schemes were dysfunctional, with few households insuring their livestock and receiving compensation for depredated livestock over the past two years. We recommend improving herding practices and the implementation of compensation and insurance schemes to lower the economic loss faced by herders due to predation and creating positive avenues for the co-existence of snow leopards and humans. Livestock depredation across the trans-Himalaya causes significant economic losses to pastoralist communities. Quantification of livestock predation and the assessment of variables associated with depredation are crucial for designing effective long-term mitigation measures. We investigated the patterns and factors of livestock depredation by snow leopards (Panthera uncia) using semi-structured questionnaires targeting herders in the Narphu valley of the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. During the two years (2017/18 and 2018/19), 73.9% of the households interviewed (n = 65) lost livestock to snow leopards, with an annual average loss of two livestock per household. Of the total depredation attributed to snow leopards, 55.4% were yak (mainly female: 79%), 31.7% goat, 6.8% sheep, 3.2% horse and 2.8% cattle. Results from applying Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) revealed the total number of livestock owned and the number of larger bodied livestock species as the main explanatory covariates explaining livestock depredation. Forty-one (41%) of all herders considered snow leopard's preference for domestic livestock as the main factor in livestock predation, whereas only 5% perceived poor herding practice as the main reason for the loss. Our study found poor and changing herding practices in the valley, whereby 71% herders reported careful herding as a solution to snow leopard depredation, and 15% of herders considered the complete extermination of snow leopards as the best solution to the problem. Tolerance levels and awareness among herders towards snow leopard conservation is increasing, mainly due to the Buddhist religion and strict law enforcement within this protected area. We recommend the effective implementation of a community-based livestock insurance scheme to compensate the economic loss of herders due to predation and improved herding practices as the recommended mitigation measures for ensuring livestock security and snow leopards' conservation in the valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]