Helal Mohiuddin - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Helal Mohiuddin

Gender, Technology and Development, Jul 1, 1997

Swasti Mitter and Sheila Rowbotham (eds), Women Encounter Technology: Changing Pattern of Employm... more Swasti Mitter and Sheila Rowbotham (eds), Women Encounter Technology: Changing Pattern of Employment in the Third World, Routledge, London and ... The divergence of feminist thought among Dorothy Smith (a sociologist), E. Fox Keller (a scientist) and G. Lloyd (a historian ...

<jats:p>The Canada 150 Conference on Migration of Bengalis was triggered by our academic as... more <jats:p>The Canada 150 Conference on Migration of Bengalis was triggered by our academic as well as personal desires to establish broadly the history of migration of Bengalis or Bangla-speaking people to Canada. As long-time researchers on Asian immigrants in Canada, and through our involvement in the Metropolis Research Project, we realized that there was hardly any published material on Canadian Bengalis. Therefore, in 2017, on the eve of Canada's 150th anniversary, we took the opportunity to celebrate and document the history and contemporary trends of Bengali immigrants in Canada.</jats:p>

Alternate routes: a journal of Critical Social Research, 2019

The ‘civil society’ in Bangladesh is glorified as ‘savior of democracy’ for its intellectual cont... more The ‘civil society’ in Bangladesh is glorified as ‘savior of democracy’ for its intellectual contributions and active involvement in the mass upsurge of 1990. However, post-upsurge Bangladesh democracy ignited terrorism, gangsterism, subversive insurgency, homicidal political rivalry, corruption and conflict-ridden political venality over two decades (1991-2011). It is revealed through this applied sociological investigation that formation of the post-upheaval “civil society mafias” took place through transformation of civil society “pressure groups” of the pre-upsurge decades into political power-brokers. A unique feature of this political transformation is that the 'civil society mafias' coercive politics has established much deeper roots in the regions (periphery) than the capital (center)--a phenomenon coined in this paper as 'decentralization of coercive politics'. A conscious process of de-institutionalization of political institutions' through state patron...

Popular socio-anthropological literature asserts that small community organizations produce solid... more Popular socio-anthropological literature asserts that small community organizations produce solidarity-cultural homogeneity, proximity, reciprocity, cooperation, and collaboration. However, the present study conducted on a small Bangladeshi immigrant community in Winnipeg, Canada documents that conflicts, divisions, disintegration, mistrust, suspicion, hatred and factionalism replace their solidarity. This in-depth study documents that these expressions reflect their intense security-vulnerability and identity-insecurity, as well as individual-level subaltern survival strategy in response to security vulnerability. This study also finds their security-vulnerabilities to be outcome of complex interplays of ideological and value-driven motivations generated through globalization, individualism, terrorism, and local and global politics.

The working paper, Masculinity and Gender-based Violence in Bangladesh, explores qualitative, lif... more The working paper, Masculinity and Gender-based Violence in Bangladesh, explores qualitative, life history data on masculinities, gender norms and violence within the context of Bangladesh.

Resources, 2015

Recognizing the significance of medicinal plants for rural livelihoods and primary healthcare, th... more Recognizing the significance of medicinal plants for rural livelihoods and primary healthcare, this paper attempted to analyze institutional interplays in medicinal plants management in Bangladesh. It assessed the governing process of natural resources by identifying cross-scale linkages of the institutions involved with managing medicinal plants. The study intended to delineate the interactional patterns and dynamics between existing formal and informal organizations toward exploring prospects of new medicinal plants governance institutions. Employing case study and participatory approaches to empirical field investigation, two intervention cases of the Livelihood and Agro-Forestry (LEAF) and Sustainable Environmental Management Program (SEMP) were assessed in two different social-ecological settings of the country. Involving 45 respondents in each site, Focus Group Discussions were carried out, and a total of 26 Key Informants were interviewed. The findings have revealed that undefined roles and responsibilities, inadequate coordination, and weak linkages among the cross-scale institutions resulted in ineffective management and relatively poor performance. Institutions with direct or indirect involvement in the process of managing medicinal plants interacted haphazardly, without much focus on the subsector and its local producers. Addressing the weaknesses, this study calls for formulating a national sub-sectoral approach focusing on strengthening and sustaining local producers and value addition to OPEN ACCESS Resources 2015, 4 94 producer levels. Finally, this research offers a framework for developing a multi-stakeholder forum to govern medicinal plant resources coherently and effectively in Bangladesh.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This study assesses and reviews persistence, extent and magnitude of gender mai... more EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This study assesses and reviews persistence, extent and magnitude of gender mainstreaming focus in documented policies and practices of the three UNICEF assisted country programmes, namely Birth Registration, Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), and Maternal Health. At the core of this study rests the 'gender-sensitiveness' of the projects' diverse operational dynamics. The study captures the essence of UNICEF guided outlines and indicators which suggest that 'gender sensitiveness' need to be analyzed through two core perspectives: 1) To what extent the project implementation practices comply with gender mainstreaming and gender parity principles, and 2) What initiatives need to be taken to bridge already persistent gaps and drawbacks of the implementation process. In congruence, five broader sets of approaches were adopted for the assessment: 1) Human Rights-based Gender Issues (including CEDAW & CRC), 2) Needs-based Gender Issues...

Gender, Technology and Development, 1998

Gender, Technology and Development, 1997

Swasti Mitter and Sheila Rowbotham (eds), Women Encounter Technology: Changing Pattern of Employm... more Swasti Mitter and Sheila Rowbotham (eds), Women Encounter Technology: Changing Pattern of Employment in the Third World, Routledge, London and ... The divergence of feminist thought among Dorothy Smith (a sociologist), E. Fox Keller (a scientist) and G. Lloyd (a historian ...

Gender, Technology and Development, 1998

Corporal punishment in Bangladesh schools—especially in the primary and secondary levels— present... more Corporal punishment in Bangladesh schools—especially in the primary and secondary levels— presents a demonstration of power and authority on the part of the perpetrators. It is still widely prevalent due to absence of strategic directions, and lax legal sanction and weaker ‘media representation’. Despite the fact that the corporal punishment is often perceived as a long unchallenged culturally approved disciplining measure in educational institutions; contemporary Bangladesh society deserves a reversal of the practice. There is an emerging consciousness among the parents, guardians and social change agents against corporal punishment in school systems. Such consciousness is still latent, disjointed, minimalist and non- functional due to lack of platforms for airing ‘collective voices’. As Newspapers have been remaining silent, inactive and least critical of cultural approval of abuse in school systems—‘collective consciousness’ remains absent in public spheres. This state consequent...

Recognizing the significance of medicinal plants for rural livelihoods and primary healthcare, th... more Recognizing the significance of medicinal plants for rural livelihoods and primary healthcare, this paper attempted to analyze institutional interplays in medicinal plants management in Bangladesh. It assessed the governing process of natural resources by identifying cross-scale linkages of the institutions involved with managing medicinal plants.

Books by Helal Mohiuddin

) Red Alert! Non-Communicable Diseases, Dietary Habits and Lifestyle in Bangladesh, 2024

A recent World Health Organization (WHO) report found that noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) accoun... more A recent World Health Organization (WHO) report found that noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for 67% of disease-related mortality in Bangladesh and disproportionately affect certain socioeconomic and ethnic groups, including the Indigenous community. The present study investigates changes in the food habits and lifestyles of Bangladesh's urban Garo community. The findings show that the urban Garo community has much lower rates of diabetes compared to the Bengali population of Bangladesh; however, as this study reveals, this lower prevalence is partly related to the Garo community's propensity to avoid clinical testing and a lack of awareness regarding the negative health outcomes of this disease. The urban Garo community has a "rural mind and urban soul," characterized by their decreasing levels of physical exercise and vegetable intake and increased intake of fats and carbohydrates. At the same time, tobacco and alcohol use is also on the rise among Dhaka's Garo population. These changes in lifestyle and diet have created health risk to 21% of urban male Garos suffering from hypertension, and 23% and 35% of males and females, respectively, either suffering from obesity or being overweight. This trend is closely related to the so-called "urbanization of food habits" among Dhaka's Garo population. Unfortunately, despite having greater opportunities for healthy lifestyle management, the urban Garo population still largely depends on "quack doctors" and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines. The findings of this work revealed generally low levels of health and hygiene awareness among the Dhaka's urban Garo community, as well as considerable knowledge gaps regarding health and well-being maintenance. These findings call for future research and policy attention regarding emerging NCDs among Bangladesh's urban Indigenous communities.

Gender, Technology and Development, Jul 1, 1997

Swasti Mitter and Sheila Rowbotham (eds), Women Encounter Technology: Changing Pattern of Employm... more Swasti Mitter and Sheila Rowbotham (eds), Women Encounter Technology: Changing Pattern of Employment in the Third World, Routledge, London and ... The divergence of feminist thought among Dorothy Smith (a sociologist), E. Fox Keller (a scientist) and G. Lloyd (a historian ...

<jats:p>The Canada 150 Conference on Migration of Bengalis was triggered by our academic as... more <jats:p>The Canada 150 Conference on Migration of Bengalis was triggered by our academic as well as personal desires to establish broadly the history of migration of Bengalis or Bangla-speaking people to Canada. As long-time researchers on Asian immigrants in Canada, and through our involvement in the Metropolis Research Project, we realized that there was hardly any published material on Canadian Bengalis. Therefore, in 2017, on the eve of Canada's 150th anniversary, we took the opportunity to celebrate and document the history and contemporary trends of Bengali immigrants in Canada.</jats:p>

Alternate routes: a journal of Critical Social Research, 2019

The ‘civil society’ in Bangladesh is glorified as ‘savior of democracy’ for its intellectual cont... more The ‘civil society’ in Bangladesh is glorified as ‘savior of democracy’ for its intellectual contributions and active involvement in the mass upsurge of 1990. However, post-upsurge Bangladesh democracy ignited terrorism, gangsterism, subversive insurgency, homicidal political rivalry, corruption and conflict-ridden political venality over two decades (1991-2011). It is revealed through this applied sociological investigation that formation of the post-upheaval “civil society mafias” took place through transformation of civil society “pressure groups” of the pre-upsurge decades into political power-brokers. A unique feature of this political transformation is that the 'civil society mafias' coercive politics has established much deeper roots in the regions (periphery) than the capital (center)--a phenomenon coined in this paper as 'decentralization of coercive politics'. A conscious process of de-institutionalization of political institutions' through state patron...

Popular socio-anthropological literature asserts that small community organizations produce solid... more Popular socio-anthropological literature asserts that small community organizations produce solidarity-cultural homogeneity, proximity, reciprocity, cooperation, and collaboration. However, the present study conducted on a small Bangladeshi immigrant community in Winnipeg, Canada documents that conflicts, divisions, disintegration, mistrust, suspicion, hatred and factionalism replace their solidarity. This in-depth study documents that these expressions reflect their intense security-vulnerability and identity-insecurity, as well as individual-level subaltern survival strategy in response to security vulnerability. This study also finds their security-vulnerabilities to be outcome of complex interplays of ideological and value-driven motivations generated through globalization, individualism, terrorism, and local and global politics.

The working paper, Masculinity and Gender-based Violence in Bangladesh, explores qualitative, lif... more The working paper, Masculinity and Gender-based Violence in Bangladesh, explores qualitative, life history data on masculinities, gender norms and violence within the context of Bangladesh.

Resources, 2015

Recognizing the significance of medicinal plants for rural livelihoods and primary healthcare, th... more Recognizing the significance of medicinal plants for rural livelihoods and primary healthcare, this paper attempted to analyze institutional interplays in medicinal plants management in Bangladesh. It assessed the governing process of natural resources by identifying cross-scale linkages of the institutions involved with managing medicinal plants. The study intended to delineate the interactional patterns and dynamics between existing formal and informal organizations toward exploring prospects of new medicinal plants governance institutions. Employing case study and participatory approaches to empirical field investigation, two intervention cases of the Livelihood and Agro-Forestry (LEAF) and Sustainable Environmental Management Program (SEMP) were assessed in two different social-ecological settings of the country. Involving 45 respondents in each site, Focus Group Discussions were carried out, and a total of 26 Key Informants were interviewed. The findings have revealed that undefined roles and responsibilities, inadequate coordination, and weak linkages among the cross-scale institutions resulted in ineffective management and relatively poor performance. Institutions with direct or indirect involvement in the process of managing medicinal plants interacted haphazardly, without much focus on the subsector and its local producers. Addressing the weaknesses, this study calls for formulating a national sub-sectoral approach focusing on strengthening and sustaining local producers and value addition to OPEN ACCESS Resources 2015, 4 94 producer levels. Finally, this research offers a framework for developing a multi-stakeholder forum to govern medicinal plant resources coherently and effectively in Bangladesh.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This study assesses and reviews persistence, extent and magnitude of gender mai... more EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This study assesses and reviews persistence, extent and magnitude of gender mainstreaming focus in documented policies and practices of the three UNICEF assisted country programmes, namely Birth Registration, Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), and Maternal Health. At the core of this study rests the 'gender-sensitiveness' of the projects' diverse operational dynamics. The study captures the essence of UNICEF guided outlines and indicators which suggest that 'gender sensitiveness' need to be analyzed through two core perspectives: 1) To what extent the project implementation practices comply with gender mainstreaming and gender parity principles, and 2) What initiatives need to be taken to bridge already persistent gaps and drawbacks of the implementation process. In congruence, five broader sets of approaches were adopted for the assessment: 1) Human Rights-based Gender Issues (including CEDAW & CRC), 2) Needs-based Gender Issues...

Gender, Technology and Development, 1998

Gender, Technology and Development, 1997

Swasti Mitter and Sheila Rowbotham (eds), Women Encounter Technology: Changing Pattern of Employm... more Swasti Mitter and Sheila Rowbotham (eds), Women Encounter Technology: Changing Pattern of Employment in the Third World, Routledge, London and ... The divergence of feminist thought among Dorothy Smith (a sociologist), E. Fox Keller (a scientist) and G. Lloyd (a historian ...

Gender, Technology and Development, 1998

Corporal punishment in Bangladesh schools—especially in the primary and secondary levels— present... more Corporal punishment in Bangladesh schools—especially in the primary and secondary levels— presents a demonstration of power and authority on the part of the perpetrators. It is still widely prevalent due to absence of strategic directions, and lax legal sanction and weaker ‘media representation’. Despite the fact that the corporal punishment is often perceived as a long unchallenged culturally approved disciplining measure in educational institutions; contemporary Bangladesh society deserves a reversal of the practice. There is an emerging consciousness among the parents, guardians and social change agents against corporal punishment in school systems. Such consciousness is still latent, disjointed, minimalist and non- functional due to lack of platforms for airing ‘collective voices’. As Newspapers have been remaining silent, inactive and least critical of cultural approval of abuse in school systems—‘collective consciousness’ remains absent in public spheres. This state consequent...

Recognizing the significance of medicinal plants for rural livelihoods and primary healthcare, th... more Recognizing the significance of medicinal plants for rural livelihoods and primary healthcare, this paper attempted to analyze institutional interplays in medicinal plants management in Bangladesh. It assessed the governing process of natural resources by identifying cross-scale linkages of the institutions involved with managing medicinal plants.

) Red Alert! Non-Communicable Diseases, Dietary Habits and Lifestyle in Bangladesh, 2024

A recent World Health Organization (WHO) report found that noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) accoun... more A recent World Health Organization (WHO) report found that noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for 67% of disease-related mortality in Bangladesh and disproportionately affect certain socioeconomic and ethnic groups, including the Indigenous community. The present study investigates changes in the food habits and lifestyles of Bangladesh's urban Garo community. The findings show that the urban Garo community has much lower rates of diabetes compared to the Bengali population of Bangladesh; however, as this study reveals, this lower prevalence is partly related to the Garo community's propensity to avoid clinical testing and a lack of awareness regarding the negative health outcomes of this disease. The urban Garo community has a "rural mind and urban soul," characterized by their decreasing levels of physical exercise and vegetable intake and increased intake of fats and carbohydrates. At the same time, tobacco and alcohol use is also on the rise among Dhaka's Garo population. These changes in lifestyle and diet have created health risk to 21% of urban male Garos suffering from hypertension, and 23% and 35% of males and females, respectively, either suffering from obesity or being overweight. This trend is closely related to the so-called "urbanization of food habits" among Dhaka's Garo population. Unfortunately, despite having greater opportunities for healthy lifestyle management, the urban Garo population still largely depends on "quack doctors" and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines. The findings of this work revealed generally low levels of health and hygiene awareness among the Dhaka's urban Garo community, as well as considerable knowledge gaps regarding health and well-being maintenance. These findings call for future research and policy attention regarding emerging NCDs among Bangladesh's urban Indigenous communities.