Improving Irrigation in Asia is based on a longitudinal study over two decades on innovative intervention for sustained performance of irrigation systems. The work identifies key factors that can help explain the performance of interventions, and explicates lessons for resource management and the management of development assistance. In 1985, the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat of Nepal and the International Irrigation Management Institute developed an ingenious intervention program for nineteen irrigation systems located in the middle hills of Nepal in an attempt to overcome the prevailing 'best-practices' traps, in regard to assisting irrigation systems. This book highlights the innovativeness of the project lay in its provision of ample opportunities for farmers to make decisions regarding the operation of the irrigation system based on their local knowledge and creativity. The authors of this work, Elinor Ostrom, Wai Fung Lam, Prachanda Pradhan and Ganesh P. Shivakoti provide detailed analysis of these interventions and support the conclusion that farmers can build on an innovative intervention that not only provides physical improvements but also enhances farmers' problem-solving capacity. They argue that to achieve sustainable improvements in performance, the farmers themselves need to engage in collective action over time and support local entrepreneurs who provide leadership and stimulate adjustments to change. Providing practical policy solutions, this study will prove a fascinating and invaluable read for academics and scholars of development studies, resource management, and irrigation studies, as well as development specialists in international agencies, policy makers in governments and international donor agencies.

This book constitues the first attempt of its kinds to probe the major features of modern Japanese organization that have played such a critical role in Japan's extraordinarily rapid economic development. The contributors inclue prominent academic business consultants such a Peter Drucker of the United states and Kazuo Noda of Japan; Japanese government officials such as Yoshihisa Ojimi, former Administrative Vice-Minister of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, and Taishiro Shirai, a member of the Central Labor Relations Commission; as well as outstanding Western experts on modern Japanese organization. The essays deal not only with Japanese government and business but also with teh structures of a newspaper and a university and with the role of Japanese intellectuals in modern organization. The portrait of Japanese organization that emerges is much more dynamic and volatile than has been generally supposed. One finds business and government managers creatively using so-called "traditional practices" in novel ways and undertaking bold departures to achieve new purposes. The findings contradict the view that decision sten from below. Not only do executive have an important role in initiating action; but lower-level officials function within a context defined by their superiors. Far greater tensions and conflict exist within organizations than is commonly reported by outsiders, especially in institutions like the university where conflicts often paralyze the decision-making process. Similarly, there is far greater divergence of interest among different sectors of society than one might infer from the stereotypical view of "Japan, Inc." And since the high level of consensus supporting the fundamental commitment to economic growth is now weakening increasing divergence may be anticipated in the future. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1975.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1831. Excerpt: ... THE HISTORY OF THE CHINESE PIRATES. BOOK FIRST. There have been pirates from the oldest (1 r.) times in the eastern sea of Canton; they arose and disappeared alternately, but never were they so formidable as in the years of Keaking, at which time, being closely united together, it was indeed very difficult to destroy them. Their origin must be sought for in Annam.f In the This prince was declared Emperor on the 8th February 1796, by his father the Emperor Keen lung, who then retired from the management of public affairs.--Voyage of the Dutch Embassy to China, in 1794-5; London edition, I. 223. Kea king died on the 2d of September 1820, being sixty-one years of age. His second son ascended the Imperial throne six days after the death of his father; the years of his reign were first called Yuen hwuy, but soon changed to Taou kwang--Illustrious Reason. Indo-Chinese Gleaner, vol. iii. 41. t Annam (Chinese, An nan) comprehends the country of CochinChina and Tungking. There have been many disturbances in (; year fifty-six of Keen lung (1792), a certain Kwang ping yuen, joined by his two brothers, Kwang e and Kwang kw6, took Annam by force, (1 v0 and expelled its legitimate king Wei ke le. Le retired into the province Kwang se, and was made a general by our government. But his younger brother Fuh ying came in the sixth year of Kea king (1802) with an army from Siam and Laos,-f and killed Kwang ping in a great battle. The son of the usurper, called King shing, went on board a ship with the minister Yew kin meih, and Meih joined the pirates, Ching tsih, Tung hae pa, and others, who rambled about these seas at this time. The pirate Ching tsih was appointed a king's officer, under the name of master of the stables. King shing, relying on the force of his new allies...