الفهرس يوجد فقط 14 صفحة متاحة للعرض العام
 |  | from | 383 |  |  |
| | | from | 383 | | |
المستخلص
Determinants of Rural Quality of Life: A Study of Human Development Conditions in Assiut Governorate
Summary
Rural development aims at improving the quality of individuals’ life in rural community. Studying the current conditions of rural community in Egypt proves that socio-economic facets are still far from reaching goals of policies and programs directed towards the improvement of the quality of life of the Egyptian villages. This failure is reflected in many constraints such as high rates of illiteracy, low level of health conditions, widespread of unemployment especially among youth, and reluctance of many individuals to participate in the development programs. This situation raises the necessity of investigating determinates affecting the quality of life in the countryside – through investigating different aspects like housing conditions, public participation in the development programs and environmental activities, political participation, and woman status in community development.
The present study aims mainly at identifying determinants of the quality of life in rural Assiut governorate through the following sub-aims:
1. Investigating human development indicators in Assiut governorate through available human development reports (Secondary data)
2. Exploring some indicators of human development in selected villages in Assiut governorate using cross-section sample (Study data)
3. Identifying differences in the level of significance of indicators among selected districts of Assiut governorate
To accomplish the study goals, three districts of Assiut governorate were randomly chosen, and then two villages were randomly selected of each district. A personal interview, a tool for collecting the study data, was carried out with a total number of 240 household of the chosen six villages. The quality of life represents the dependent variable of the study, while independent variables are
• Housing conditions
• Membership in non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
• Participation in development programs and environmental activities
• Political participation
• Health services
• Childhood care
• Woman status and empowerment
Percentages and statistical analysis of variation are employed to determine the level of significance of investigated variables.
Results
1. Sample characteristics
1. The total number of family members was high in the study sample at large, where the majority of the investigated families included 6 individuals or more (68.33%). The Abo-Teej and Al-Quosia districts contained the highest family membership number, where, it reached 76.25% in Abo-Teej district and represented the majority with 72.50% in Al-Quosia district.
2. The age ranged between 40 – 49 years for one third of the study sample representing 33.75%.
3. Less than half of the study sample had 11 or more of official learning years representing 40.83% with the highest reported in Abo-Teej district reaching 48.75%. The illiteracy percentage among the study sample was 19.17% representing less than one third of the sample reaching the highest also in Abo-Teej district with 25.0%.
4. The majority of the investigated sample was married reaching 96.66% without any divorce cases that reflected family stability.
5. About half of the study sample – 49.17% – was governmental employees as a major salary-paid job and less than half of the study sample work in agriculture reaching 42.91%. In Abo-Teej district 66.25% of the sample occupied governmental jobs and 25.75% of the sample working in agriculture. In Al-Fat’h district, percentage of the governmental employment reached 45.0% and those working in agriculture were 41.25%. In Al-Quosia district, more than one third of the sample was governmental employees reaching 36.25%, while, more than half of the sample were agriculture workers.
6. The majority of the study sample did not hold another job other than the major job reaching 85.0%, whereas, 11.67% had another work that is agriculture and 3.33% had other businesses along with the major job.
2. Housing conditions
A. The percentage of the red brick usage in building house walls reached the majority of the study sample with 77.50% with Al-Quosia district the highest reaching 90% followed by Abo-Teej district representing the majority of 75.0%.
B. The usage of concrete for the house roofing represented more than half of the study sample reaching 52.50% that was highest in Abo-Teej district reaching 66.25% and 53.75% in Al-Fat’h. Wood usage was highest in Al-Quosia district reaching very close to half of the sample – 48.75%.
C. The usage of Al-Balat in the floor lining reached more than one third of the study sample – 35.83% with highest percentage in Al-Quosia district reaching 42.50% and lowest in Al-Fat’h district representing 25% only.
D. The usage of Al-Geer as the wall painting was the highest reaching 37.92% representing more than one third of the study sample followed by Al-Mahara reaching 31.25%. Al-Quosia district used Al-Geer the most reaching 63.75%, whereas, Al-Fat’h district used Al-Mahara the most reaching 68.75%.
E. The usage of a private tap water inside the house was majority reaching 73.33% of the study sample. The highest was reported in Abo-Teej district for families using private tap water reaching 86.25% and lowest usage of private tap water was noticed in Al-Quosia district reaching 60.0%.
F. The percentage of families using private toilet inside the house reached 100% among the study sample with majority having Balady toilet representing 91.67% with highest percentage in Al-Quosia and Al-Fat’h districts reaching 96.25% and 95.0%, respectively.
G. There was sewage drainage in 100% of the study sample but without a sewage drainage network that necessitated dependence upon underground drainage – Byarah.
H. The percentage of families receiving electric current through the public network reached 100%.
I. Half of the study sample had live-stock stable – 50.0% - with majority of them located inside the house – 72.50% that was highest in Al-Fat’h district 85.71% and lowest noticed in Abo-Teej district reaching 53.66% of such stables inside the house.
J. The room occupancy of 2 or less individuals reached the highest among the study sample – 71.67% - where Al-Quosia was the highest with 100% and Abo-Teej the lowest reaching 53.75%. Room occupancy of 4 individuals or more was 9.16%.
K. The percentage of families with a house composed of 3-4 rooms reached the highest among the study sample – 35.40% with largest houses noticed in Abo-Teej and Al- Fat’h districts – 51.25%.
L. The percentage of families with good house ventilation was majority reaching 63.30% of the study sample that was highest in Al-Quosia district reaching 70.0% and lowest in Al-Fat’h district representing 52.50%.
M. The percentage of full satisfaction with the house illumination was majority of the study sample reaching 67.50% and dissatisfaction was 3.75%. Al-Fat’h district reported the highest satisfaction reaching 75.5% and lowest satisfaction was noticed in Abo-Teej reaching 8.0%. More than two thirds of the study sample was satisfied with the house ventilation reaching 67.50% that was highest in Al-Fat’h district reaching 75.0% and lowest in Al-Quosia district reaching 60.0%. The percentage of full satisfaction with the roominess of the house was more than half of the study sample reaching 55.0% and dissatisfaction was 12.50%. Highest satisfaction was notice in Al-Fat’h district reaching 66.25% and lowest in al-Quosia district reaching 38.75%. Full satisfaction with the drinking water reached majority of 73.75 of the study sample and dissatisfaction was 7.92%. Highest satisfaction was notice in Abo-Teej district reaching 80%. Satisfaction with the sewage drainage reached majority of 51.25% of the study sample and dissatisfaction was 13.33% with Abo-Teej district the most satisfied – 62.50%.
Results of housing conditions can be summarized as follows:
The usage of red brick for building house wall was highest reaching 77.50% among the study sample.
The usage of Al-Balat for the flooring was low but was the highest among the study sample reaching 35.83%.
The usage of Al-Geer as wall paint was high reaching 37.92% among the study sample.
The percentage of families getting drinking water from private house tap was high reaching 73.33% among the study sample.
100% of the study sample had a private toilet inside the house with highest usage for the Al-Balady toilet – 91.67%.
100% of the study sample had sewage drainage although was also 100% through underground Byarah.
100% of the study families got their electric current service through public network.
50.0% of the study family had their live-stock stables inside their houses.
The room occupancy was low reaching 71.67% for 2 individuals or less per room.
Percentage of families with the house composed of 3-4 rooms were high reaching 35.40%.
Good house ventilation was noticed in majority of families studied reaching 63.30%.
Percentage of house illumination satisfaction was high reaching 67.50%; satisfaction with level of house ventilation was high reaching 67.50%; satisfaction with the roominess of the house reached 55.0%, and, satisfaction with the drinking water reached 73.50%.
3. Membership in non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
A. Agricultural societies
Percentage of such membership reached 34.58% of the study sample with highest membership reported in Al-Quosia district reaching 65.0% and lowest in Al-Fat’h district reaching 11.25%. The nature of the membership showed that 86.75% were regular members out of the study sample where Abo-Teej district was the highest with 90.91% regular membership. 16.88% of the study sample was regular attendants for the society meetings with highest attendance noticed in Abo-Teej district reaching 27.27% of its sample.
B. Youth sport clubs
Such membership was very low reaching 3.75% of the study sample with highest participation reported in Abo-Teej district reaching 7.50% contrasting no participation at all in Al-Quosia district. 88.89% of the participants were regular members, and the percentage of participating in the meetings was low – 11.11%.
C. Local community developmental societies
Such participation was very low reaching 3.33% with Abo-Teej district the highest reaching a rather low level of 6.25%. out of these participants, 62.50% were regular members with a high - 50.0% - attendance amongst them for the society meetings.
D. Political party
Such membership reached 13.33% of the study sample with highest membership reported in Abo-Teej district reaching 20.0% and lowest noticed in Al-Quosia district reaching 3.75%. 90.63% of the participants were regular members with low attendance in the party meetings reaching 12.50%.
4. Participation in development programs
• Aware about development programs
The percentage of the study sample aware about the development programs reached 100%. About who is in charge of such programs, 52.50% of the study sample considered the government in charge of them, whereas, 47.50% thought that the public are the responsible side. The percentage of participating in such programs reached 55.0% with the highest participation noticed in Al-Fat’h district reaching 66.25% and the lowest was in Al-Quosia district where it was 43.75%.
• Forms of participation
a) Building a school
Donating money was the highest form of participations where it reached 35.30% of the studied sample – 51 participants - with most noticeable participation in Al-Fat’h district reaching 42.85% and the lowest in Abo-Teej district reaching 30.77%.
b) Building and furnishing a health care unit
The highest participation was also by donating money reaching 44.44% of the studied sample – 18 participant – with most prominent participation in Abo-Teej district reaching 66.67% and lowest in Al-Quosia district reaching 38.46%.
c) Building a religion institute
The participation with money donation reached 55.93% with highest participation reported in Al-Fat’h district reaching 71.43%, on the contrary, there was no participation in Al-Quosia district.
5. Participation in environmental activities
• Out of the 94 participant investigated, 39.20% participated in environmental activities with highest share in Abo-Teej district reaching 52.50% and lowest in Al-Quosia district. Participation activities included clearing up of the village, trash disposal, tree implantation of the village, leveling of still water bonds, connecting drinking water pipes, and connecting sewage drainage system.
• Participation in village cleaning was low reaching 30.85% out of which 55.20% participated by manpower. Participation in trash disposal was 32.97% out of which 51.61% participated by manpower. Village tree implantation showed 31.91% participation out of which 43.33% participated by manpower. Still water bond leveling showed low participation of 18.08% out of which 52.94% participated by manpower. Connecting drinking water pipes showed 57.44% participated out of the studied participants with 51.85% participating as manpower. Connecting sewage drainage system showed no participation.
6. Political participation:
A. Voting for the presidential election
Such participation reached 87.90% of the study sample with highest participation in Al-Quosia district reaching 91.25% and lowest noticed in Al-Fat’h district reaching 83.75%.
B. Voting in people assembly election
Such participation reached 87.90% of the study sample with highest participation also in Al-Quosia district reaching 91.25% and lowest reported in Al-Fat’h district reaching 83.75%.
C. Voting for local people assembly election
The study sample showed 73.75% of participation in such election also with Al-Quosia district showing highest participation of 91.25% and Abo-Teej district the lowest reaching 56.25% participation of its studied sample.
7. Health care services
A. Health care unit, family planning center, a pharmacy or private clinic, and vaccination centers are available at all investigated villages, while neither private hospital nor an ambulance is available in the selected villages.
B. Trained housemaids (Daayaah) are the dominant consultants for child bearing.
C. The usage of folk medicinal prescriptions showed 96.67% reluctance of using them with highest usage reaching 3.33% in Al-Quosia district and non in the other two districts.
D. The dependence of the health care barber was nil in the study sample.
E. The dependence of the health care unit for health check was 70.0% with highest dependence noticed in Al-Fat’h district reaching 97.50% and lowest in Abo-Teej district – 47.50%.
F. Self-medication without professional consultation excluded 81.25% of the study sample with the highest abstinence of such practice noticed in Al-Fat’h district reaching 100% of its sample and lowest reported in Al-Quosia district reaching 55.0% of its sample with highest percentage of sample using medicine without prescription and consultation reaching 45.0% of its sample.
G. The percentage of families depending on a private physician reached 73.75% of the study sample with highest practice noticed in Al-Quosia district reaching 78.75% and lowest in Al-Fat’h district reaching 67.50% of its sample. Those families that are not using the private physicians reached 26.25% of the study sample with highest percentage of such practice noticed in Al-Fat’h district (32.50%) and lowest reported in Al-Quosia district – 21.25% of its sample.
H. The regular follow up of pregnancy with the physician reached 47.50% of the study sample with highest practice noticed in Al-Fat’h district reaching 68.75% and lowest of 18.75% in Al-Quosia district. Families do not follow the pregnancy up at all represented 20,42% of the study sample with highest practice in Abo-Teej district reaching 25% of its sample and lowest practice in Al-Quosia district reaching 12.50% of its sample.
I. The housemaid was responsible for 46.78% of the baby deliveries among the studied families with highest percentage noticed in Al-Quosia district – 62.03% and lowest in Abo-Teej district – 35.0%. The usage of the health care unit physician for delivery reached 12.02% of the study sample with highest usage in Abo-Teej district reaching 17.50% and lowest in Al-Fat’h district reaching 6.67%. The usage of an obstetrician reached 41.20% of the study sample.
J. 94.85% of the study sample vaccinated their children with the remaining 2.15% did not.
K. There were 24.46% of the study families who had lost children by death with highest loss noticed in Abo-Teej reaching 31.25% of its sample and lowest in Al-Quosia district reaching 13.92%. Families without child losses by death reached 75.54% of the study sample.
8. Woman stats and empowerment
A. The percentage of participant accepting women work reached 58.75% of the study sample with highest acceptance noticed in Al-Fat’h district reaching 61.25% and lowest acceptance reported in Abo-Teej district – 55.0%. Percentage of women work rejection reached 28.75% of the study sample with highest rejection noticed in Abo-Teej district reaching 11.67% and lowest reported in Al-Quosia district – 7.50%.
B. The percentage of the study sample that accepted the girls’ education reached 87.50% with highest acceptance reaching 95% in Al-Fat’h district and lowest in Al-Quosia district – 75.0%. Rejection of girls education was 9.17% of the study sample with highest rejection noticed in Al-Quosia district reaching 16.25% and lowest in Al-Fat’h district – 5.0%.
C. The families that were happy with the arrival of a baby girl was 74.58% of the study sample with highest happiness notice in Al-Fat’h district reaching 91.25% and lowest happiness in Al-Quosia district reaching 52.50%. Thus the unhappiness with the arrival of a baby girl was 25.42% of the study sample that was highest in Al-Quosia district reaching 47.50% and lowest in Al-Fat’h district – 8.75%.
D. The percentage of acceptance for the women voting was 85.42% among the study sample that was highest in Al-Fat’h district reaching 95% and was lowest in Al-Quosia district reaching 78.75%. Thus, rejection of the women voting was 14.58% of the study sample with highest rejection noticed in Al-Quosia district reaching 21.25% and lowest rejection in Al-Fat’h district – 5.0%.
E. The percentage of acceptance of participation of women in women activity clubs reached 30.0% of the study sample with highest acceptance noticed in Al-Fat’h district reaching 38.50% and lowest reported in Al-Quosia district reaching 18.75% of its sample. Thus, rejecting such participation reached 70.0% of the study sample and was highest in Al-Quosia district representing 81.25% of its sample and lowest in Al-Fat’h district reaching 62.50% of its sample.
F. The percentage of acceptance of participation of women in the productive families’ projects was 49.17% of the study sample with highest acceptance notice in Al-Fat’h district reaching 66.25% and lowest in Al-Quosia district reaching 20.0%. Thus, the rejection of such participation was 50.83% of the study sample with highest rejection percentage in Al-Quosia district – 80%, and lowest rejection rate in Al-Fat’h district – 33.75%.
G. The ideas of nominating woman for a village mayor (Omoodah), a city governor, or the country presidency were completely rejected by the study sample.
Recommendations
According to human development reports issued by the National Planning Institute in cooperation with the United Nation’s Developmental Program (UNDP), and from results extracted from the present study - it was possible to conclude specific recommendations that could enhance the level of living standards and accordingly could improve that quality of life in rural Assiut governorate. The study, therefore, recommends the followings:
• Health care services
a) Building medically equipped health care units staffed with physician and nurses to improve the health care services at the levels of the district and the villages.
b) Increasing chances for cooperation between public and private sectors for providing health care service at district and the village levels.
c) Establishing health care centers for serving motherhood and childhood in villages and districts.
d) Providing family planning programs in villages and districts to increase awareness of population problems through seminars and forums to change habits and wrong beliefs of the community.
• Education services
a) Increasing investments in cultural and educational services to face the illiteracy problem prevailing among rural inhabitants using educated youth efforts.
b) Establishing illiteracy combating classrooms particularly for girls’ education to lower the illiteracy percentage among them.
c) Increasing the extent of the civil society and the private sector participation in providing the education services and raising the skill level of the teachers by continuous training.
• Economic aspects
a) Interest should be paid for developing, evolving and encouraging the traditional carriers and manufactures that are unique to the governorate and paying efforts to improve the labor skills to help increasing their income. In addition, the availability of training centers for such manufactures and developing modern approaches could evolve the yield and increase the demand on their products.
b) Encouraging small manufactures and youth and women participation to accelerate the development rate.
c) Providing easy funds for the projects of the new graduates to start their independent activities.
d) Paying great interest to increase productivity of the agricultural sector in particular and the other productive sectors as well that would increase personal income in villages and cities alike.
• Environmental aspects
a) Increasing the efficiency of the pure water, electricity and sewage drainage services and extending the road network to all villages and sub-villages (Nogou’a) because of their effect on public health and improving the individuals’ quality of life and raising their level of living.
b) Providing sewage disposal trucks and reducing their usage costs to be reasonable for individuals to combat alternative tools they develop such as underground disposal (Byarah).
c) Paving the entrance of villages and connecting it with the nearest paved main roads to facilitate transporting between parts of the governorate.
• Women status and empowerment
a) Increasing the interest in programs that combat illiteracy directed towards females.
b) Paying more interest to improve the health conditions of women and implementing approaches that lowers rate of motherhood deaths and malnutrition and to increase awareness of the preventive health care and environmental health.
c) Providing loans with easy prerequisites and simplifying official processing for establishing small businesses particularly for the villager women.
d) Holding cultural workshops to raise the villager women’s awareness for the importance of their participation in governmental activities and programs directed to them so as to improve their economic, social, cultural and environmental standards.
e) Holding training workshops that acquired the villager women new skills that improve the family income.
f) Raising the awareness of the villager women of the importance of their political participation by encouraging political parties to train and nominate women leaderships to participate in national and local people legislative assemblies. Correcting the community attitude against the women political voting and leadership through specific media approaches and insuring a minimum percentage for women in different assemblies, activity clubs and administrations.
• Public participation in development
a) Working towards empowerment of the programs for public participation and integrating them and increasing such participation for all the community sectors and giving a chance for all to participate and not to restrict it to specific community sector.
b) Increase the community awareness of the women participation since they represent 50% of the community manpower and removing the social discrimination against women that led to their negativity towards the community problems.
c) Increasing the participants’ knowledge about the needs of the local community so as improve and integrate the public participation.
d) The improvement of the health, cultural, environmental and economic aspects of the community individuals would widen the fields of their active participation.